Saipadananda and Sai Sudha

The golden jubilee of Sai Sudha is a great event and it reminds me of the valuable contributions made to it as Editor by Saipadananda Radhakrishna Swami, President of All India Sai Samaj for over a decade. His editorials month after month were pearls of wisdom and unique exposition of the thoughts of Sai Baba and our sacred scriptures. Having been closely associated with him I remember the efforts he took to send in his contribution on time wherever he was and however busy he was. He was a stickler for discipline and the pledged word and J do not think he ever missed the deadline for Sai Sudha. He chose his topics for the monthly editorial with care and deliberation and once he started writing in his beautiful hand (his handwriting was a thing to admire) he never stopped until he finished. He wrote in simple but beautiful English and was able to unravel the mind of Sai Baba and the great truths of the upanishads in language which even a child can understand. He never claimed to be a scholar or a pundit but what he wrote was something which scholars and pundits would envy. Many who knew about his purva ashrama life would have wondered where and how he aquired that erudition and scholarship and the beauty of the language which marked his writings. The biography of Saipadananda "Apostle of Love" is a resume of his teachings and expositions largely taken from the editorials in Sai Sudha. He was an inveterate writer and not all that he wrote was to see the light of day. He wrote on the back of wedding invitation cards or on envelopes with blank space or on any piece of paper which he could pick up. He wrote in the numerous diaries presented to him by devotees and threw them away. He wrote on birth and death, human suffering and cruelty, the passions of greed, anger, jealousy and hatred, the travails of old age and the vanity of man who lives in a world of maya. He hated publicity and shied away from honours and accolades. He was content to be taken for what he appeared to be a harmless sadhu who radiated from his eyes love and compassion. People who came to him, the simple folk who have been fed and taught to look for miracles whenever they see a sadhu or for instant cure or solution to their problems must have been disappointed when they found that he was just an ordinary human being like themselves who could not or would not perform miracles or with a wave of his wand relieved them of their worries or gratified their wishes. But soon they found that he was more than a human being, that he was a man of love and compassion, love that was unalloyed and pure which had no colour or bias, which had no beginning or end, which was all pervasive and soul filling. They found themselves in a sweet embrace of love and forgot what they came to see him for. In that instant they forgot their worries and problems and the questions they wanted to ask him and what remained was unfathomable peace and happiness which transported them for a few minutes to a world where everything mundane was forgotten and love and compassion reigned supreme That was the miracle that Saipadananda performed and that was the only miracle he knew, the miracle of undiluted, overwhelming, smothering love and compassion which he gave in abundance to his devotees and whoever sought his help and blessings. In the world of today and especially in our country love and compassion are scarce commodities and violence, hatred, conflict and anti-social evils seem to dominate our life. We have ceased to respect human life and we have lost the feeling of brotherhood and universal oneness which the great saints and sages of our country, the Buddah and in our own times, Mahatma Gandhi had taught us and practised them in their own lives. Our flesh has become heir to many diseases, of the mind and body through pursuit of an unreal and unhealthy way of life and succumbing to ephemeral pleasures which inflame passions and make us lose bur reason, poise and balance. Saipadananda was a beacon light in these troubled times showing the people a saner path to self-realisation and happiness and his contributions to Sai Sudha reflect his concern and anxiety to bring about a revolution in the minds of men and women by his message of love and compassion.

RANGASWAMY PARTHASARATHY

Madras-28.