STORY BEHIND THIS PHOTO – 76. Mr. Ramachandran receives a telegram from Swami. This is a scanned copy of telegram received by Sri. Ramachandran, of Pune long back. I had already posted 2 stories relating to Sri. Ramachandran whose wife was a cousin of my wife. Sri. Ramachandran was a Scientist and worked as Scientific Advisor to the Chief of Southern command of India Army. Towards the end of April 1965 he received at his home in Poona a telegram which read: "Satya Sai Baba arriving at your residence, May 5th, to perform Upanayanam and give Brahmopadesam. Ramachandran was very startled. This referred to the thread-ceremony for his two sons, which was long overdue. Well, was Baba really coming? Such a thing had never been mooted, and Ramachandran felt he was not worthy of the great honour. Certainly he had no idea whatever about the correct way to receive such a great and holy saint. Sri. Ramachandran, did not know what to expect on May 5th, but thought it would be best to prepare everything for the ceremony, and say nothing to any one about the possibility of Baba coming. He decided to invite only his relatives and very close friends to come to the ceremony, which would mean providing lunch for about fifty people. Somehow the word had spread and on the morning of May 5th people began arriving at an early hour to take up a position in Ramachandran's large garden. As the hot morning wore on, the crowd grew larger until there must have been about a thousand people sitting in neat rows awaiting the arrival of Sai Baba. All seemed quite certain that he was coming. Inside the house Ramachandran and his wife were working hard, and praying hard that everything would be in order when and if Swami arrived. There were flowers and decorations and all the necessary accoutrements for the ceremony. On a dais they placed their best armchair, covered it with a satin cloth and placed flowers on each arm. This was the seat of honour for Swami. The clock hands moved on, shadows in the garden shortened, but there were no signs of the guru's arrival. At about eleven in the morning Ramachandran entered his puja room, made a special prayer for guidance, and then conducted the thread-ceremony himself. Immediately afterwards he saw a little boy of about eight years - a complete stranger - among the people inside the house. The boy seemed to know the hostess, Mrs. Ramachandran, for he went to her and, saying that he was an orphan, asked for food. She gave him some but was surprised to see him eat only a few mouthfuls and walk away. When she looked again for him he was gone. None saw him go but he could not be found. It was as if he had melted into the air. And who was he, anyway? He did not belong to the neighbourhood, and none of their friends had ever seen him before. Soon after this it was observed that there was an imprint on the satin cover of Baba's chair as if someone had just been sitting there. Also the flowers on one arm were crushed as if a hand had rested on them. Anyway the conviction grew that Sai Baba had himself been present in the astral, or subtle, body and had purposely left these marks to let them know of his visit. This conviction was strengthened in Ramachandran's mind when his eldest son, Raja, confided something to him. As part of the thread-ceremony a boy receives a mantra from the one performing the ritual, while both kneel with a cloth covering their heads.(Brahmopadesam). In this case, of course, it was the father, Ramachandran, who gave the mantra, but Raja said that he had seen, while under the cloth, not his father's face but that of Sai Baba, which he knew well from photographs. After the ceremony came the lunch. Mr. and Mrs. Ramachandran had arranged food for about fifty persons only. Or could feed maximum of about 100 persons. But there were over 1000 devotees gathered and all took their position to sit and take food. Ramachandrans decided to just go on feeding the crowd until supplies ran out. But, incredibly, supplies did not run out - not until after everyone had eaten his fill. STORY BEHIND THIS PHOTO – 76. Mr. Ramachandran receives a telegram from Swami. This is a scanned copy of telegram received by Sri. Ramachandran, of Pune long back. I had already posted 2 stories relating to Sri. Ramachandran whose wife was a cousin of my wife. Sri. Ramachandran was a Scientist and worked as Scientific Advisor to the Chief of Southern command of India Army. Towards the end of April 1965 he received at his home in Poona a telegram which read: "Satya Sai Baba arriving at your residence, May 5th, to perform Upanayanam and give Brahmopadesam. Ramachandran was very startled. This referred to the thread-ceremony for his two sons, which was long overdue. Well, was Baba really coming? Such a thing had never been mooted, and Ramachandran felt he was not worthy of the great honour. Certainly he had no idea whatever about the correct way to receive such a great and holy saint. Sri. Ramachandran, did not know what to expect on May 5th, but thought it would be best to prepare everything for the ceremony, and say nothing to any one about the possibility of Baba coming. He decided to invite only his relatives and very close friends to come to the ceremony, which would mean providing lunch for about fifty people. Somehow the word had spread and on the morning of May 5th people began arriving at an early hour to take up a position in Ramachandran's large garden. As the hot morning wore on, the crowd grew larger until there must have been about a thousand people sitting in neat rows awaiting the arrival of Sai Baba. All seemed quite certain that he was coming. Inside the house Ramachandran and his wife were working hard, and praying hard that everything would be in order when and if Swami arrived. There were flowers and decorations and all the necessary accoutrements for the ceremony. On a dais they placed their best armchair, covered it with a satin cloth and placed flowers on each arm. This was the seat of honour for Swami. The clock hands moved on, shadows in the garden shortened, but there were no signs of the guru's arrival. At about eleven in the morning Ramachandran entered his puja room, made a special prayer for guidance, and then conducted the thread-ceremony himself. Immediately afterwards he saw a little boy of about eight years - a complete stranger - among the people inside the house. The boy seemed to know the hostess, Mrs. Ramachandran, for he went to her and, saying that he was an orphan, asked for food. She gave him some but was surprised to see him eat only a few mouthfuls and walk away. When she looked again for him he was gone. None saw him go but he could not be found. It was as if he had melted into the air. And who was he, anyway? He did not belong to the neighbourhood, and none of their friends had ever seen him before. Soon after this it was observed that there was an imprint on the satin cover of Baba's chair as if someone had just been sitting there. Also the flowers on one arm were crushed as if a hand had rested on them. Anyway the conviction grew that Sai Baba had himself been present in the astral, or subtle, body and had purposely left these marks to let them know of his visit. This conviction was strengthened in Ramachandran's mind when his eldest son, Raja, confided something to him. As part of the thread-ceremony a boy receives a mantra from the one performing the ritual, while both kneel with a cloth covering their heads.(Brahmopadesam). In this case, of course, it was the father, Ramachandran, who gave the mantra, but Raja said that he had seen, while under the cloth, not his father's face but that of Sai Baba, which he knew well from photographs. After the ceremony came the lunch. Mr. and Mrs. Ramachandran had arranged food for about fifty persons only. Or could feed maximum of about 100 persons. But there were over 1000 devotees gathered and all took their position to sit and take food. Ramachandrans decided to just go on feeding the crowd until supplies ran out. But, incredibly, supplies did not run out - not until after everyone had eaten his fill. With Love & Regards, "Mumbai" Srinivasan ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Web. Links: “Previous Sareeram” - The Old Body - (Story of Shirdi Sai Baba, as told by Sri Sathya Sai Baba) : The link: http://www.ssso.net/bombaysrinivasan-ebook2.htm Sri Sathya Sai Hrudaya Nivasi – The link: http://www.ssso.net/bombaysrinivasan-ebook.htm ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- __._,_.___ Reply to sender | Reply to group | Reply via web post | Start a New Topic Messages in this topic (1) Recent Activity: a.. New Members 2 Visit Your Group _________________________ This forum is a personal work and not affiliated to the official Sai Organisation. 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