If we ask ourselves what is so special about Swami’s love? And then look deep within ourselves….we will know it is essentially His selflessness, His love is as selfless as it can be.

While each one of us has experienced it in our hearts and minds this love… so pure and so arresting, Frank Baranowski has proved it scientifically for the whole world.

Professor Frank Baranowski, a psychologist and regression therapist from the University of Arizona, specializes in research on auras (the energy pattern surrounding the human body) and this is what he recounts on seeing Swami many years ago in Brindavan, Baba’s Ashram in Bangalore.

He says,

“I have always been able to see the human aura, that is, the energy pattern which surrounds a person. The auras around average people extend as much as three to five feet. Auras are composed of every imaginable colour and these colours change as a person's emotional, physical and mental states change. In general, whenever the colour blue is evident in a person's aura, it is an indication of deep spirituality; green is a healing color; yellow indicates high intelligence; and red means anger or frustration. The colour pink, which is rarely seen, typifies a person capable of selfless love, this was the colour that Sathya Sai Baba had around Him. The aura around Sathya Sai Baba went beyond the building against which He stood; this energy field reached thirty or forty feet in all directions. Never having seen any aura like this before, my first reaction was to look for fluorescent lights, which may have been shining on Him. But as I watched, the beautiful pink energy pattern moved as He moved, there was no doubt, this was His aura…. …As He walked among them, the beautiful pink colour in His aura permeated the violent red colours in the crowd. His selfless love transcended their fears and worries….you have to meet this man to understand His gifts. He gives of himself to thousands of people from all around the world who await his blessings.

I was not brought up in any belief, though I am a Christian by birth and a Roman Catholic. The scientific community in my country finds it difficult to accept God. ‘It is not scientific,’ they assert. The aura that Swami projects is not that of a man…. Two days ago, right outside this hall, I looked into His eyes. They had a glow in them. It was clear to me that I had looked into the face of Divinity. If ever I can use the phrase, 'I have seen Love walking on two feet', it is here."

The living embodiment of all love and grace, our beloved Sai is giving away so much positive energy every time He comes out for Darshan, whether we ask for it or not, whether we deserve it or not. In His infinite compassion, He overlooks our deficiencies, our shortcomings. What does He ask in return for all this grace?

Ask the devotees who had had the opportunity to speak to Him and they will tell you how so many times they have asked Swami if they can do anything for Him and He would invariably say - “You just be good, be happy. I do not want anything else.”

This is love for love’s sake, isn’t it? It is a Love that is truly genuine and utterly selfless, selflessness forms the nadir and the zenith of this love.

It is this penchant for serving mankind selflessly that prompted Baba to open Super Specialty Hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore which offer free medical care to the poorest of the poor. What you offer to the needy should be what you would offer to your own son or daughter, Swami has always insisted. And true to His message Swami’s hospitals offer the best treatment possible with the latest technology, equipments, et al for no charge whatsoever. Aiding the treatment, of course, is His Divine Grace.

The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Puttaparthi (left) and Bangalore (right)

When Swami decided to offer pure drinking water to all dry and arid areas of Anantapur in March 1995, one million people in more than 700 villages who used to travel miles for a pot of water everyday, now had water at their doorstep! And that in just nine months! It was at a cost of US$ 70 million. The Prime Minister of India, who inaugurated the project, said, "Anantapur has now become ‘Anandpur’" (meaning, the city of joy!).

What is more heart warming is that without a second thought Swami extended this project to another 300 villages in Medak and Mahabubnagar district when villagers from those areas expressed their wish.

And more recently in 2002 the people of the city of Chennai were blessed when Swami, quite unexpectedly, announced the drinking water project for the city of Chennai, a city in South India well-known for its water-nightmares. More than US$60 million was spent to reconstruct the Kondaleru-Poondi canal and once and for all after more than fifty years the water-starved city was free from water-stress.

The saga of selfless service of the Lord is never ending. Now there is again a free drinking water supply project on for the upland and water-starved remote areas of East and West Godavari districts of Andhra Pradesh commemorating His 80th Birthday.

Divine Love and Compassion are not abstract qualities, we know now. They are as real as the Sun and the moon and reveal themselves magnificently as Selfless Service. Swami often tells us: “You are not just human. You are in fact Divine.”

And it is to help us discover this latent Divinity in us that He constantly exhorts: “Help ever, hurt never; Love all, serve all.”

The Highest Expression of Selfless Love - Service

Service is the highest expression of selfless love. It is for ourselves more than for others, Swami has explained to us many times.

Many years ago, when late Dr. Fanibanda asked Bhagavan:

“Swami, what is the purpose of the Seva Organisation?”

Swami replied, “Nothing.”

The good doctor was knocked out by this most unexpected reply! Recovering from the shock, Dr. Fanibanda then hesitantly asked,

“Nothing Swami? How could that be? There must be some reason.”

Swami, then smiled and said,

“Yes, there is a reason. I founded this Organisation so that you might improve yourself!”

Indeed, and that is why it is often said: “Do not talk about the service you have done. Instead, reflect on what service has done to you!”

How significant are these words! A whole new perspective to love and service!

“Students Are My Life” - Baba

If there is a community which is singularly fortunate in the present times, it is the students of Swami’s school and the college, undoubtedly. For, as Swami has told many times and even very recently during Dasara celebrations, 2005, “Students are My Life”.

Yes, there is nobody more dear to Him than His students. Just like all great masters of yore, a lion’s share of His time is always for the young minds and understandably so as they are the torchbearers of His mission.

There will be harmony in the family and peace in the nation, Swami says, only when the students’ higher nature is fostered and encouraged to blossom by means of study, prayer and spiritual practice along with quality secular education.


To instill self-confidence in them and drive them towards self-realisation has been Swami’s tireless effort right from His childhood. Then it was only a few classmates for the young Sathya, now it is thousands of students from His schools and colleges. His enthusiasm remains the same, His perseverance remains the same, His mission remains the same.

Finest Moments of Love….

This incident happened a few years ago. A student had just joined the Brindavan campus of the Institute and one morning he is told that Swami has sent something for him. Surprised, he opens the pack and then completely breaks down. Nobody quite understood what was happening. The boy had not disclosed to anyone that his mother had just passed away and everyday the thought of his mother would devastate him. When he opened the pack and saw a ponds cream there, he was overwhelmed with Swami’s omniscience and love because it was his mother who would put cold cream on his lips everyday when he was at home and his Sai Mother was now there to take care of him and knew everything about him.

Another interesting incident concerns a student from Prashanthi Nilayam campus who was suffering from asthma. His illness did not allow him to go to the Mandir for darshan and one evening, feeling very frustrated with himself, he went to the dining hall of the hostel where there was a big picture of Swami and cried his heart out to Him. Immediately, there is a call for him from the Mandir and as soon as he reaches there, Swami calls him to the interview room. Swami tells him that he should give Him his asthma. What the boy needs to suffer for the whole year, Swami says, He could suffer it for one minute. The boy pleads against it because he did not want Swami to suffer even for a moment. But Swami out of His love absorbs the boy’s asthma into Himself and the student is cured for ever.

Such are the finest moments of love that weave the special relationship that exists between Swami and students…it is this purely selfless love of Swami that strikes a chord in their heart, every student will tell you. His pure love is like the philosopher’s stone. Once touched by His love, every student is transformed…they are unmade and remade the way they ought to be.

For every student it is these moments of love - a small interaction, a beautiful smile, a motherly care and concern, a friendly quip, a divine revelation – all these and more, which are his life’s precious treasure…his eternal source of strength and inspiration, physical distance from Swami being no barrier.

In the modern world, we have institutions who try to mould the character of the student at the school level but there is hardly anyone except Swami who is everyday counseling and correcting the students at the graduation and post-graduation level, and with tremendous success. So, what is the key to this success? Undoubtedly it is His pure selflessness.

All the education in Sai’s educational institutions – be it kindergarten courses to masters degrees and doctoral works – all education is provided absolutely free. “Be Good. Get a good name for your parents. Get a good name for your country,” is all Baba would ask from every student leaving the comfort of His Lotus Feet into the wide world after his education. It is these loving words which become a constant spring of joy and an eternal mission for every student.

One can go on and on talking about Swami’s love because everything that Swami does always has love as the inner basis. It is for this reason that Swami says,

"To grasp My Meaning, you have to tear into tatters the doubts and diversions that you now indulge in and develop divine love. For, the embodiment of love can be known only through wisdom and pure love…."

- Heart2Heart Team