A HISTORIC DAY

[ Click on the above images for enlarged image ]

The two pictures above are truly historic. Just look at the date on the foundation stone being laid by Baba - 23rd November 1954, four years after He moved into the New Mandir, now the nucleus of Prashanti Nilayam. In the picture on the opposite page can be seen the hospital building on the right and the Ashram complex as it was then. The big tree facing the Ganesha idol can be seen as also the road leading to the Chitravathi river. What is amazing is how empty and barren the landscape was then. Kasturi describes beautifully, as only he can, how the uneven landscape was flattened to enable the hospital to come up. Would anyone present then when this small General Hospital came up have dreamt of a world class Hospital in Puttaparthi? Yet, exactly 37 years later, such a hospital DID get established, which, thanks to its record, is now definitely among the top wonders of the medical world. What these pictures teach us is that one should always make a modest start, staying within one’s means. Big things could come later, and they sure will if there is Purity and Love.

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