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II.
Resurrections
Subbamma: What
deliverance!
Bhagawan fulfils His devotee’s
last wish.
Subamma was wife of the Karnam (landlord)
of Puttaparthi. She had great affection for young Sathya,
and after the declaration of Avatarhood, her house served
as the first Mandir where devotees gathered for Darshan of
Bhagawan. The moving story of Subbamma’s final moments
are narrated by Prof N. Kasturi in ‘Satyam, Shivam,
Sundaram’:
Subbamma was the person most anxious about
Swami’s "health" and most worried about the
hundreds of pilgrims who gathered at Puttaparthi. Baba even
now recalls that the grinding stone in her house was always
busy, preparing chutney (an Indian dish) out of the heaps
of coconuts that the pilgrims offered. She had immense love
and devotion to the Lord and Baba had said that He would satisfy
her one desire... to have the Darshan of Baba in her last
moments. It is indeed a thrilling story, the story of those
moments and that Darshan.
Subbamma fell ill; she was taken to Bukkapatnam;
but in spite of her illness, she came over one day in a bullock
cart to see Prasanthi Nilayam, which was then under construction;
she was soon bedridden; she could not move; her condition
worsened; and, Baba was away, at Bangalore!
Subbamma, in her delirium, talked about Baba
and the vision of Shirdi Sai Baba that she had been privileged
to see, of the manifold Leelas of Sai Krishna that she had
witnessed, and, when she came to, her talk was about the same
incidents and the same Person. She was in the midst of relatives
who did not have much sympathy with these sentiments, for
they felt that her love for the strange little miraculous
Boy had taken her away from attachment to her kith and kin.
They told her that her Baba was a hundred miles away, and
so, it would be better for her to concentrate her failing
attention on men and matters, nearer and closer. But, her
faith did not falter.
Meanwhile, Baba left Bangalore for Tirupathi,
where He spent some time with the devotees of His own Concretised
and Consecrated Image. Of course, Baba knew that Subbamma's
soul was struggling to free itself from the mortal coil, and
that she was rolling in her deathbed at Bukkapatnam. The people
around her announced that she had breathed her last. But,
some peculiar glow on her face, made them nervous to take
the body to the cremation ground. The wise people of the village
shook their heads when it was suggested that she had died.
They advised patience, and admonished the relatives; "The
bird has not flown yet," they said.
How could the bird fly, even though the door
of the cage was lying open? She must have the Darshan and
she must wait, until Baba comes. And, Baba too was hurrying
towards her bedside. He left Tirupathi by car, and arriving
at Puttaparthi, proceeded to Bukkapatnam, three full days
after the first announcement of Subbamma's end!
Her eyes had lost the glint, she was placed
on the floor and people were evincing an uneasy impatience.
Baba sat by her and in a low voice, called out, "Subbamma,"
"Subbamma," just twice and no more! Then, to the
wonderment of everyone crowding around, Subbamma opened her
eyes; her hand extended towards Baba and grasped His palm
firmly and began to stroke it lovingly; Baba put His Fingers
to her lips; her mouth opened a little, as if she knew that
Baba was giving her something to slake the thirst of the soul.
From the fingers of Baba there poured into her mouth the Immortal
Ganga and Subbamma joined the ranks of the Released!
Reference: “Sathyam
Shivam Sundaram” Vol-I, by Prof.
N Kasturi. Chapter: ‘Bala Sai’). Publisher:
Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust, Prasanthi Nilayam.
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