Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group IV | Mr. K. Kishore Prabhu

Mr. K. Kishore Prabhu,
26, Supriya, ACES-Stage-II,
Sanjay Nagar, Banglore-560094

Tel: 080-23418401
E-mail: kishore_prabhu57@rediffmail.com,

Mr. K. Kishore Prabhu (48), Manager, quality control in a reputed company at Mandya, relates a few of his experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in his own words.

'It has been my good fortune to belong to a family of Sri Sathya Sai devotees. Swami's grace made me a student of His Brindavan campus during 1972-77. Owing to His grace again, I married a student of Swami from the Anantapur campus. She, too, like me, belongs to a family of Sri Sathya Sai devotees. My daughter studied from Class I to XII in Sri Sathya Sai School, Prasanthi Nilayam.

When I was a student, there was a tirade against Bhagavan by Dr. Narasimhayya and others who had no belief in the Divinity of Swami. I, too, used to harbour certain doubts sometimes. One of the points made by the critics of Swami was that He keeps things in His long robe sleeves and produces them with slight of His hand making the onlookers believe that He is materializing them.

One day, in 1975-76, I think, I had a fleeting thought on similar lines. At that time, I was near the gate of the old mandir at Brindavan. Swami came there and was talking to someone, who, I believe, was an archeologist. Suddenly, Swami took His sleeve up His hand and produced an idol. I think He presented it to that Archeologist. Thus the doubt that had occurred in my mind fleetingly was cleared by Bhagavan almost at once.

Once I was standing at the portico of the old mandir at Brindavan. Swami came there and materialized a ring. There was a picture of someone on that ring. 'This is Prema Sai, my next incarnation', Swami told me showing the ring. There was the picture of Prema Sai face sporting a beard on it.

When I was studying in the Brindavan campus, Swami used to give divine discourses often. Once, while speaking to us, He materialized a ring. 'This is the ring presented by King Janaka to Rama, his son-in-law', Swami told us. It was very large. We wondered how big Rama's finger was. 'Yes!' said Swami, 'He was 20 feet tall. Krishna was 10 feet tall. The present incarnation is 5 feet', Swami explained. He sent the ring back from where He had brought it.

I took my B.Sc. (Biology) degree, and was looking for a job. I went to Swami and asked, 'I want a job, Swami!' I told Him that there was a vacancy in a particular company.

'Apply', Swami told me. I applied and was called for an interview.

'Go and face the interview with confidence', Swami told me, 'I am with you'.

I appeared for the interview. There were ten candidates in all. Some of them had experience; some had better qualifications. How could I stand a chance against such tough competition? Relying on Bhagavan, I answered their questions in the interview. None of those in the management or the interview committee was a devotee of Swami. Yet, I was the only one selected for the job. A Sai miracle, indeed!

I joined service in January, 1978. In March, 1978, my Company declared a lock-out. During the period of lock-out, Swami gave me seva in Brindavan and kept me engaged. Four months passed and the lock-out was continuing. One day, when Swami was about to retire, I called, 'Swami!' He turned back and called me nearer. 'What is the matter?' He asked.

'It is four months already since the lock-out was declared', I said, 'kindly lift the lock-out'.

Those that were present were taken aback by my audacious request. But Swami paused for a moment and looking at me said 'all right, I will lift the lock-out only for you'.

As I was thinking about what Swami had told me, I was perplexed. How could the lock-out be lifted only for me?

Next day, I received a letter from my management to come and report to duty. No one else received similar letter. I went and joined.

When I was in seva, Swami entrusted the work of an electrician to me. This was during the preparation for Trayi's second anniversary. It was completely a new area for me. I could not tell what a phase was and what a neutral was. But, I could attend electrification work like a professional electrician, thanks to Swami's grace and guidance. At that time, I had been initiated by Dr. K.B.R. Prasad into installation of Public Address System.

One day I was asked by the convener to install public address system to a meeting to be addressed by Bhagavan. It appears that Swami told them that no public address system was necessary, but the convener thought that it should be installed. We arranged the system, took trial and kept everything ready. Swami arrived.

'Is everything ok?' Swami asked me.

'Yes Swami!' I replied. Swami began His Divine Discourse. Just then the system failed. I tried to locate the fault and struggled for quite some time. All my efforts were in vain. Swami concluded His Discourse. At once, the system came to life. We arranged the system in spite of Swami's express instructions not to arrange. How could the system function against God's will?

In 1987, we were asked to shift the exhibition material from Brindavan to Prasanthi Nilayam. We dismantled the material including the '21 feet man' and shifted all the material to Prasanthi Nilayam. We could also assemble and install it successfully. But, for some reason not known to us, the man's brain was not functioning.

At darshan, Swami asked, 'how are things?'

'We installed everything, Swami!' we replied, 'but the brain in man is not functioning'.

'Your brains are not functioning', Swami remarked, 'you remove the plate behind the head. There is a bulb there. It is loose. You fix it well'.

We followed Swami's instructions scrupulously. The brain began to function well after the bulb was fixed tightly.

We came to Prasanthi Nilayam for darshan of Bhagavan. It was the year of Swami's 60th Birthday.

'You go and work in the space theatre', Swami told us.

We went there. We came to know that an expert from the overseas who came to install it was eager to return to be at his place for Christmas.

'There are no workers, Swami', he told Swami, and 'I want to go back. Even if there are workers, it will take two to three months, anyway'.

'Don't go', Swami told him, 'workers are coming'. Just then, we came and were sent to work in the space theatre. We had to fix steel ribs of the dome. For that we had to climb up to sixty feet and join the steel ribs at the top. Even when we reached a height of thirty feet, it was frightening as we were feeling giddy. However, we started doing work relying on Bhagavan. Then Swami came there to inspect.

'Where are our monkeys?' He asked jocularly. We were all up on the ribs like monkeys. The work was completed in 15 days though the expert from the overseas did not think it possible to complete it with in the next two to three months. During that period, the sevadal members from Bangalore and Hyderabad also came and helped us.

I was married on September 12, 1986. Swami performed our marriage in the interview room at Prasanthi Nilayam. During wedding, Swami allowed us to take photographs with Him. When a photograph was being taken, Bhagavan's hand was catching mine.

'Swami, I don't know anything in house maintenance', I prayed.

'Don't worry', Swami told me, 'I caught your hand firmly in mine while the photograph was being taken. I will not leave you'.

When I was at Brindavan attending to the work of shifting the twenty-one feet man to Prasanthi Nilayam, Swami came to us at about 2:15 p.m. 'Who is Kishore Prabhu?' Swami asked. I stood up with folded hands.

'Congratulations! You were blessed with a daughter at 1-30 p.m. today. Both mother and child are all right. I will take care of them', Swami told me as I was overwhelmed with joy.

Once Mr. N. Kasturi told me an incident in which Swami's car had a flat tyre. Swami was coming on Salem - Dharmapuri Road. One of the devotees had sought permission of Swami to stop His car at their village and arrange a brief halt. Later, an invitation was printed in the devotee's name as if to derive some personal projection. Swami did not like such egoistic action. So he skipped that village by taking a different route in the last minute. After skipping that programme, Swami was proceeding on His way, when one of the tyres of the car burst. Swami had to halt at a road-side place where there were no amenities.

As the local devotees were not aware of Swami's arrival there, no arrangement could be made. Swami and the others had to spend the winter night on a roadside place with lot of inconvenience and discomfort. In the middle of the night, Mr. Kasturi felt warm. When he awoke in the early morning, he saw a dhoti covering him. Swami always wears a dhoti inside His robe. As Mr. Kasturi was shivering in cold, Swami removed His dhoti and covered it on Mr. Kasturi though He had to remain in the cold only with the robe on.

'Do you know why this happened?' Swami asked Mr. Kasturi.

'No, Swami!'

'An old man was eagerly waiting for me at that place where I permitted them to arrange a brief halt. As I did not turn up, this old devotee has been very sad and disappointed. I caused him that pain. So I had to take the result of my action by courting this inconvenience. I could waive that, but as I am now in human form, I accepted on my own volition the effect of my action just to teach all of you that no one can escape the causative results of one's action'.

Mr. Kasturi told me another incident also.

One day a photographer came and took some photographs of Swami with prior permission. When he developed the film and printed it, he was disappointed because Swami's face, hands and feet were in purple colour. He tried to take prints again and again, nearly ten times, thinking that something had gone wrong. But the result was the same. He showed the prints apologetically to Mr. Kasturi. Far from chiding him for his carelessness, Mr. Kasturi congratulated him.

'The original colour of the Divinity is said to be purple', Mr. Kasturi told him, 'Swami blessed your shots with His original complexion. How fortunate you are!'

Mr. Kasturi showed me that Photograph in which the body complexion of Bhagavan is purple.

I had cherished two desires - 'one is to travel in Swami's car with Him and the other is to push the cradle when Swami sits in it on His Birthday'.

When I was in seva at the Institute building, I had to go to the space theatre to attend work there. After talking to us on the work that was going on at the Institute building, Swami said, 'come on, I will drop you at the space theatre'. I was flabbergasted at this unexpected bonanza. In fact, swami had to go the other way to the mandir. But He came to the space theatre only to drop me, and then left. Thus one of my two desires was fulfilled. This was in 1987.

At the time of Swami's Birthday, a jhula (cradle) was arranged in the Purnachandra Auditorium. I was posted on duty at the stage near the auditorium. Dr. K.B.R. Prasad who was in-charge of the PA system asked me to go and sit at the back of the stage. Swami came and sat in the jhula. I was right behind Him. He signalled that the jhula ceremony could start. Then I pushed the jhula. Afterwards many others joined. At the end, Swami signalled to stop. I was there till then. I had the lucky opportunity to start as well as end the jhula ceremony - much more than I had desired.'

-- Mr. Kishore Prabhu

(As narrated to Mr. B. Parvatala Rao at Prasanthi Nilayam on 25.06.2005)