A. Anantha Vijaya
1988 Prasanthi Nilayam

I was working as a Senior Research Fellow in a research project during 1984-85 in Osmania University and I had also registered for an MPhil degree. On account of an incident that happened in my life during that period, I got disturbed a lot and could not concentrate on my academics. I started spending more time in Sivam, Hyderabad. One day, my research guide who got vexed with me asked me to choose either MPhil or Sivam. I replied Sivam and resigned my Senior Research Fellowship, but continued to stay in the hostel.

After leaving my research, my routine was to have breakfast in hostel, come to Sivam and participate in the puja activities and then go to a nearby theatre and watch the movie ‘Shirdi Sai Mahatyam’ return to Sivam post lunch and stay there till Sivam closed for the day. Many times I used to sleep in Sivam to attend Omkaram, Suprabhatam and Nagar Sankirtan the following day. This went on for months without any hope or concern about my future.

One evening when I was sitting in Sivam, a woman SevaDal, who was very affectionate to me, informed me that Swami was starting an MBA course and that the applications could be obtained till tomorrow. I did not show much interest because sitting in Hyderabad, I wondered as to how I could get the application from Puttaparthi in a day. I shared this with an elderly Seva Dal at Sivam. He suggested that we both go to the Hyderabad inter-state bus stand and check out whether anybody was travelling to Puttaparthi by the 8.00pm bus. Accordingly, we went to the bus stand and found one lady known to us travelling to Puttaparthi by that bus. We requested her to get an application.

After a few days, when I was in Sivam, she rang me up saying that she got the application. Bhagawan had started working towards taking me in His fold. I applied for the admission, prepared for the entrance examination and went to Puttaparthi to write the exam. While in Parthi I went for Darshan. An elderly person came and announced that all MBA course aspirants could sit in the Mandir portico. I was thrilled to sit there for the first time in my life where normally students and faculty sit. Swami came for Darshan and some students were openly asking Him for admission. I just asked for Padanamaskar and wept on His lotus feet and got my ‘Shirdi Sai Satcharitra’ autographed by Bhagawan. After all my mental agony I had gone through, Swami’s proximity was a soothing balm to my ailing mind.

I went to my hometown & briefed my mother about happenings in Parthi & that I had discontinued from the MPhil course in Hyderabad. I was pining for being with Him again – there was hope but also the apprehension of being rejected. I got two pairs of white dress stitched and took a cheque for Rs. 2000 from my mother and returned to Hyderabad.

I reached hostel and opened the door and found an envelope lying on the floor from Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. With shivering hands I opened the envelope and read only the first four words: We are glad to…

Brother A. Anantha Vijaya is based in Hyderabad where he is a visiting faculty in a reputed management school