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XI.
The One appears as Many
The Lord –
Ever Alert for His devotee
How Baba appeared as an old man
to save Dr. Padmanabhan
Dr. R S Padmanabhan, a genial and highly
renowned dentist practising in Bangalore, has been a devotee
of Baba since 1942. His wife, Mrs. Kamala Padmanabhan and
he are active members of Sri Sathya Sai Seva organisations.
In his long association with Swami, the doctor has had wonderful
experiences. Here is an instance where Baba saved them from
a disaster as narrated to Smt. Shakuntala Balu in her book,
“Living Divinity”:
Once, the doctor and his wife had gone to
Puttaparthi and they were anxious to return to Bangalore the
same night. That was during the monsoon season and Bhagawan
had asked them not to travel at night but wait util daylight.
The doctor was restless thinking of the considerable
amount of work waiting for him in Bangalore and, moreover,
it did not seem like it would rain heavily. So they set off.
Twenty miles later, the rain came down, lashing past the windows
and drumming on the car. Visibility became very poor and turning
back was impossible.
Dr. Padmanabhan kept the car crawling on
- it was already dark and the road was empty - he felt it
was better to plough on rather than stand still in the streaming
rain and the darkness. He was also afraid, of the car engine
stalling. The car bumped along, very slowly when, suddenly,
there was a flash of light.
An old man was waving a hurricane lamp. Dr.
Padmanabhan stopped. The old man told them that they were
headed straight into a strong current of water that was flowing
after a small bridge upstream had burst. The old man had halted
the car, just in time: a few more yards and the car with its
occupants would have been swept away.
"You are lucky", said the old
man who advised them to stop for the night as the bridge could
only be repaired in the morning. Then he went away.
Dr. Padmanabhan drove back to his cousin's
house for the night and left again for Bangalore the next
morning.
A month later, while Sri Sathya Sai Baba
was in Bangalore, He castigated Dr. Padmanabhan for not heeding
His words and starting out on the journey at night.
"If I had not been on the look
out that night: what would have happened to you?"
He asked, sternly.
The doctor, realising that it was Bhagawan
who had rescued him that dark night, apologized to Him for
having disregarded His words and expressed his gratitude for
His grace.”
Reference: "Living
Divinity” by Mrs. Shakuntala Balu.
Page: 189-190. Published by S. B. Publications, Bangalore,
1983.
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