Sathya Sai Baba is one of independent India's earliest celebrity gurus. He was a craze all over India even in the pre-television era of the late 1960's and early 1970's. Although he did not travel much outside his native state of Andhra Pradesh, he had devotees organising Sai Satsangs in far-off places like Calcutta. His framed photographs "materialised" vibhuti (holy ash) in his followers' homes in cities as far apart as Jaipur and Jamshedpur. Sathya Sai Baba was born Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23, 1926 at Puttaparthi, then no more than a two-lane village in Andhra Pradesh. His parents were Pedda Venkama Raju and Easwaramma. His paternal grandfather, Kondama Raju, had become a sadhu (ascetic), devoted to his guru Venkavadhoota. Child prodigy It is said that the Baba was a child prodigy, one who composed bhajans (devotional songs) spontaneously. The simple village folk marvelled at the child's gifts, calling him Biddalaguru (child-guru) and Brahmajnani (knowing universal truths). There were other qualities too in the child that captivated people -- his sunny temperament, generous and loving nature and kindness to creatures great and small. Sathya went to school at Puttaparthi, Bukkapatnam (a couple of miles away) and Kamalapuram in Cuddapah district. Later, he went to a high school in Uravakonda (in Anantapur district), where his elder brother was a teacher. Even as a child Sathya was already manifesting extraordinary powers -- plucking things out of the thin air, on one occasion even transfixing a scolding teacher to his chair! The smiling, frizzy-haired lad was half-prankster and half-conjurer in his schoolmates' eyes. He was bright, showing flair not only for academics, but also music, dance and drama. He also loved Shirdi Sai Baba and knew his life-story by heart. The turning point A turning point in Sathya's life came in 1940. A scorpion bite saw Sathya remain unconscious all through one night. About two months after this incident, his father returned home one day to find practically the entire village assembled at his doorstep: Sathya was "materialising" jasmine and candy and doling them out to everyone. "What are you doing? Who are you really?" he asked his teenaged son. "I am Sai Baba!" said Sathya. In spite of this, however, he was promptly sent back to school in Urvakonda. Later that year, the family went to the Virupaksha temple in Hampi (in Karnataka). There, in the sanctum sanctorum, they actually saw Sathya standing in place of the shiva linga. Rushing out, they found the boy outside the temple, exactly where they had left him. In October, Sathya finally broke away both from school and family ties. He came back to Puttaparthi from Urvakonda and started staying in the home of Karnam Subbamma, an old lady who was like a foster-mother to him. Eventually, devotees built a temple nearby for Sathya Sai Baba, where he moved in December 1945. The banks of the river Chitravathi and a tamarind tree there will always be associated with Sai Baba lore. In those early years, he would join his devotees in ecstatic revelries on the riverbank, even manifesting nectar, which everyone shared. The tree produced, at Sai Baba's will, whatever the devotees asked for, and so became known as the Kalpavriksha (wish-fulfilling tree). Prashanthi Nilayam The Prashanthi Nilayam was inaugurated on November 23, 1950, near Puttaparthi, to accommodate the surge of devotees. In the half-century since that day, Puttaparthi itself has become totally associated with Prashanthi Nilayam. The Nilayam has grown to encompass a free deemed university and a free super-speciality hospital. This year, to mark the Baba's 75th birthday, a train service was introduced between Bangalore and Puttaparthi. The town already has an airstrip. Ray of light What first drew people to this yogi was the sheer joy that radiated from him. Added to this was the Baba's ability to 'materialise' things. In newly independent India, struggling to conquer poverty, hunger and disease, he was a ray of light for many. His effervescence and "miracles" gave his devotees hope, faith and ananda or joie de vivre. The years that followed, however, showed the steel in the man -- he had a self-imposed mission to alleviate suffering and sorrow. His followers too were expected to meet exacting standards of service and ethical living. His preachings, though coloured by the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads, pointed out a practical and secular way to live and serve. Today, there are Sathya Sai Organisations all over the world. Hundreds of visitors flock to Prashanthi Nilayam as well as Brindavan near Bangalore every day in a quest for peace, and a meaning and direction for their chaotic lives. At the Nilayam hospital, thousands of people who cannot afford heart and kidney treatment anywhere else get expert attention free of charge every year. ( Click here to read more about Sai Baba's Ashram. ) - Kohinoor Dasgupta Archive