CVK Sastry
1989 Prasanthi Nilayam

It was nearly two decades ago when I was working at Guntur in a Post Graduate College, I came across an advertisement for the requirement of Post Graduate Teachers for a school in Nairobi, Kenya. The only thought I had in my mind was to try for the same vacancy as I would have opportunity to see a country that Swami had physically visited in East Africa. It was probably His call, and I soon appeared for the interview at Chennai.

The person who interviewed me exclaimed, “You are from SathyaSai University!” He then shared his personal audience that he had with Swami in 1969 at Lawrence school, Lovedale in Ooty. He offered the post to me immediately.

I ultimately landed in Kenya. Six months after my arrival, a group of friends from Andhra Pradesh invited me to their house. I found a wall calendar with Swami’s picture hanging on a wall. What attracted me was the address of the local Sri Sathya Sai Centre written on the lower part of the calendar. I asked the boys, “How far is the Sai centre from here?” That one question took care of my stay for the rest of the period in Kenya. I joined the centre and became a Balvikas Guru and subsequently the EHV Coordinator. Shortly, I also became the first Headmaster of the SathyaSai School, Kisaju (a place in the Maasai land) in less than three years. An anonymous donor had gifted the land, built a school and donated it to the Sri Sathya Sai Centre, Kenya for the needy.

Before the Sathya Sai School had begun functioning, a group of Sai devotees thought that a team of teachers (including me) should go to Parthi for an International EHV conference that was to be held in July 1998 and seek Swami’s blessings. Swami, out of His infinite compassion, granted an interview to our team on the last day of our stay. The amount of Love and concern Swami showered cannot be explained in words. During the course of the interview, He asked, “Where is My ring? I had no clue as to what ring Swami is referring to. Swami had never given me a ring earlier (during my seven years of stay at Parthi).

 However, I gathered some courage to show Swami a ring I was wearing on my index finger. It was suggested by an astrologer. Swami pointed at the ring and said, “This is not My ring!” Swami created an embossed ring with His face on it. After the interview, I wondered why did Swami ask “Where is My ring?” I then recalled that way back in 1989, after I completed my M.Sc. degree I had told my mother (who wanted me to wear a ring) that I wanted to wear one with Swami’s picture on it rather than that of Lord Balaji. The all-knowing Lord, after ten years, had fulfilled this deep desire.

Every word of Swami comes true!

Once in 1983-84, Swami gave an interview to Gavaskar and Viswanath and declared that He would conduct a World Cup match in Parthi. I admit, we had taken this declaration of His very lightly as we had just completed making a good Volleyball court. After fifteen years, one day in January 1999, as I visited a friend’s house in Nairobi, I watched on television a live Cricket match being played – in Parthi in the Presence of Swami. It was the World Peace Cup!

Brother CVK Sastry is from the 1989 batch of Prasanthi Nilayam and serves as a Vice Principal of a college in Haldwani, Uttarakhand. He was earlier based in Kenya where he was actively involved in Sai Schools imparting EHV & co ordinate activities of the Sai Centre, Nairobi. During his student days, brother Sastry was an active member of Veda group