We have assembled all our resources, plus nearly 20 years of visiting Sathya Sai Baba at Prashanthi Nilayam, and compiled our resources into a book to guide new visitors to the Prashanthi Nilayam Ashram.

Our book is called Guide to Visiting Sai Baba

Guide to Visiting Sai Baba

This is an E-book, and has sections on

• Air travel to India, Airline Meals, keeping healthy
• New Bangalore Airport, immigration, customs and travel to Prashanthi Nilayam
• Ashram and Puttaparthi Township Accommodation
• Ashram Facilities
• Daily Activities
• What to wear
• Food, Canteens and keeping healthy
• Things to see and do
• Banks and other faciliities in Puttaparthi Township
• What to do with begging
• Sathya Sai Baba’s Love and Grace
• Going home
• Plus three Appendices, Taxi Operators, How to wear a Sari, and Accommodation in Puttaparthi Township

Our purpose in writing this book is to provide a comprehensive guide to the first-time visitor, (or going first time alone) to the main ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, Prashanthi Nilayam, the Abode of Highest Peace.

We hope that the information in this book (illustrated) will help those to begin to experience that peace on their journey, during their stay at Prashanthi Nilayam, and when they return home. The last section of this E-book has a short guide on what to do when you get home.

As with all books we have edited and written, we offer this to Sathya Sai Baba, and hope it is of benefit to all its readers.

The book is in Adobe PDF format, so requires Adobe Reader, any version from Adobe 5 and upwards. If you do not have Adobe Reader, then you may download this for free from the Adobe Website, www.adobe.com

The price is $US9.95

If you would like to purchase this book, then here is how:

I have been reading a book …

The book

And we find that there is a very large coverage of this phenomenon on the internet. Many sorts of issues get caught up on this phenomenon, and I’d like to look at this from a spiritual point of view, and try if I can, to apply Swami’s dictum, first, common sense, then spiritual sense.

There are calendars, and then calendars. The Gregorian Calendar ( the one in common use by humanity) gets a good scrutiny, then the various Mayan Calendars are examined.  I must say, if you persevere with the Mayan stuff, after a few chapters, you begin to see just how much mathematical accuracy there is with the Mayan Calendars, even though they go back a long, long, way.

To understand that, you need to understand that the Mayan civilisation had their own way of saying “Everything is Brahman”.   They called it K’ul .

The calendars essentially had a spiritual function, as did the entire culture, which used astrology to determine times when grids of energy were full of K’ul, and the times were propitious for accessing K’ul and undertaking certain tasks. Does this sound familiar?

There  are some cogent claims for the year 2012 and the future of humanity undergoing change.  The exact form and nature of that change is of course, under furious debate, with many conflicting assertions which can be found all over the internet. This book does point to changes, and concludes that they might also be changes to consciousness, as well has changes to nature itself.

Therein is the key. Changes to consciousness.  Sathya Sai Baba has taken form for the people and undertaken a clearly avowed mission of restoring righteousness to the earth, restoring the Vedas, and the Vedic scholars. Vedas, of course, are not Hinduism, nor is the practice of chanting Veda a sort of Hindu practice of a particular kind. The Vedas are for all humanity, and contain the highest essences and guides for true humanness.

While all this 2012 material looks to the future of humanity, I find it curious that very little of the 2012 material looks to the past of humanity.  We have very little record of life on this planet,  more than 10,000 years ago. Yes, there is some archaeological material, but what of written records? I think there is only one continuous record, and that is the Ramayana. The Ramayana occurred over 20,000 years ago. Only one other religion goes back beyond the flood, Zoroastrianism (which Sathya Sai Baba has told is the oldest continuing religion outside of India) and their records were destroyed when Alexander the Great burned the Library of Alexandra. Many Gathas and Avestas were lost in that fire.

So what happened at the ‘flood’?  The planet nearly died, according to some sources.  Atlanta sank under the sea. Atlanta, Atlantis… Lanka, the home of Ravanna, the place of the war in the Ramayana.  Lanka was in the region of the Equator, as told by Sathya Sai Baba. It was not the Sri Lanka of this modern era.

I think, also, if we look to one festival in Hinduism, Diawali, Deepavali, there is another explanation given for the genesis of this festival; Lord Krishna raised his hand and stopped a heavenly body from colliding with the earth. The resultant explosion of light debris is celebrated to this day as Diwali.

So there is a tension between the future of humanity and the past of humanity. What is it we need to learn, what do we need to know and understand, how do we approach that which is coming? We’ll take a look at this in another post.

The ashram is gaily decorated, flags hanging from the Ganesh Temple, and from East Prashanti across the walkway to the darshan hall. Giant red balls hang from the celing, the porch is decorated, the darshan hall is full. Students sit in front of the garage area, and in front of the porch. Red, blue, violet, yellow, gold, green decorations hang from the ceiling and sway in the pleasant breeze. In the centre area where the perspex canopy is normally visible, streamers fill that entire area, silver, green, gold and red streamers sway in the breeze.

A feeling of peace and intimacy pervade me as I sit through the bhajans. Arunachala Shiva Om, the bhajans lift the energy and bring that feeling of home, here in Prashanti Nilayam.

I look over the assembled devotees, all drawn by that desire to see the Lord, to feliciate the Lord, to offer him their worship, their pranams, their love. I think of Church services I have attended over the years and try to compare being here in Prashanti Nilayam. It is incomparable, for grace flows into the Darshan Hall, non-stop.

The pigeons are resting on the chandeliers, I see both sparrows and finches (so my question from many days before is settled; there are finches here in Prashanti Nilayam).

I think back to the many darshans I have had on this trip; Christmas Day, New Years Day, the decorations, and wonder in awe at the sense of timelessness I often experience here, in Prashanti Nilayam. And I think to the future, to the unborn generations who will come here in Awe and give thanks for this Holy Ground, that the Lord has trod.

People come and people go. The bhajans continue. I rest in peace, drifting along with the bhajans, Sai Gopala Hare. A Seva Dal walks up and down and cajoles devotees to stay.

Swami comes, towards the end of the bhajans. He comes in the sedan-chair, the sunlight is brilliant upon his form, and waves of love pour off him as he enters the darshan Hall. I offer my love.

God is my best friend. There are many paths to the Divine, up that mountain towards blessedness, that path HE has come to restore. We may walk that path of devotion, of service, of bhajan or meditation, of practising Human Values, or the path of good character and integrity.

Wherever there is purity of thought, word and deed, there is God.

For me, that lingering sense of intimacy remains, that sense of closeness, that sense of oneness. There is such a gap between human love, which loves in order to satisfy needs or to give and get, and Swami’s thorough-going intimacy within. Swami is everywhere within us, his love drenches us within as he patiently waits for us to return to the heart, where his home is.

So I have two homes, here, this Holy Ground of Prashanti Nilayam, and the home of the Lord, in my heart. So do you, dear reader.

St Paul, in one of his letters to the nascent Christian Community wrote:

Always be happy in the Lord;
What I want is your happiness;
The Lord is always near

And that is my prayer for you, dear reader.

Sai Ram from a pleasant morning in Prashanti Nilayam.

Late afternoon I was out in the village doing my errands and walking along Gopuram Road—towards the Gopuram, actually, when the wooden doors opened and I could see right up into the Darshan Hall, right up, past the porch, and in fact, I reckoned that I could see the windows on the Interview Room! “Oh, the Gopuram Gate is open”, I thought. Seva Dals tumbled out onto the Main Road, and the crowds rushed past me to get up to the gate and take darshan. A police escort vehicle was waiting on the road outside the gate. (more…)

Grey skies, puddles along the road, and sporadic rain during the night. Devotees scurry to the ashram with brolly, raincoat, shawls. Villagers wear jerseys, vests, balaclavas, and wrap scarves around their head (in that unusual manner that I have only ever seen in India). Lady with a decorated cow passes by. Waiting for the Lord. I think I sing more bhajans in my head than what they sing inside in the mandir.

We hear the bells go for Arathi. Gee-whiz, what does this mean? People look to one another, and I see two army fellows in jungle greens duck off for a spot of chai. Close my eyes and concentrate, on the inner level. “Wait.”

Sure enough, about three minutes later, Seva Dals spill out onto the road, and the Police Escort car comes out and parks directly in front of the Gopuram. Very quickly, the Lord’s car emerges, and people push everywhere. I give that the flick and run up the road a bit.

Car comes around the corner, people in white, Seva Dals run towards me carrying ropes; I snap off a picture and I have no idea if it is any good, so much movement and so many people running towards me. So take a look:

Watch that sun on the front bonnet of the car. Its gonna be news, later on.

I have been feeling an impression to move to the other end of Swami’s travels, so this day, I decided to follow Swami. The first thing was that the School Bus was caught on Main Road as Swami was coming, you know those huge red and silver APSTC buses? Well, there was one, it was chockers, full of children in blue uniforms, and it moved to the side of the road. Well! Swami decided all these children needed Darshan, and they got it; I saw a bit of a lurch or lean-to on the bus as Swami’s car went past, and the children, well, I could hear Jaikars and Sai Rams! coming from the bus. As I ran past the bus, the children were all gleeful, smiles and singing the Sarva Dharma Prayer! What a way to go to school!

Onwards, down main road, the eager crowd follows Swami and I see what must have been the contents of a whole bucket of Red roses fly through the air and land on Swami’s car and bounce off … people ran onto the road immediately to get a Rose!

Some people stop and smile, you know, that unique smile which portrays bliss? Love explodes out of people when they are like that, the eyes and the smile tell it all! The eager crowd runs after Swami’s entourage, and we follow with the camera in the air…

The Seva Dal opened the Ganesh Gate after Swami passed by, and the road is nigh impassable. I thread my way through the crowd and stand on tip-toe, Swami is up there past the Bus Station, nearly at the top of the Hill. I ain’t gonna catch Him, I thought to myself. I take a few photos at the Ganesh Gate:

There is a magnificent Billboard with Swami right at the Bus Station. As you go under the arch and crest the hill and get your first glance of Prashanti Nilayam Township, this is what you see:

I thought I’d take a photo of the Bus Station frontage, whilst I was passing by:

I turned and took a few photos looking down Main Road, Prashanti Nilayam:

As I walk up over the crest, the Vidya Giri Arch is seen:

Vidya Giri, I think, means the place where the wealth of education lies, I emphasise the think. (My Sanskrit is not that sharp these days… )

Under the Arch and take a photo of the other side:

That’s the Sarva Dharma Archway, the entrance to Prashanti Nilayam Township. You’ll see a lot more of those angels in the Darshan Hall.

So walking down the slight grade towards the entryway to Chaitanya Jyothi Museum, I encounter a suprise, walking very quickly…

Sathya Gita was out for a morning walk. I run backwards a bit to get another photo; my, my, Sathya Gita is walking so quickly, I have to turn and run forwards for quite a bit to get my photo:

Well, well, well, what a surprise. I had seen Sai Gita many times, and had not expected to see Sathya Gita!

And, more! They turned at the archway, and came back!

Sweet little thing; some ladies walking in the other direction reached out and Gita swung a trunk to touch their hands!

Now then, where is the Lord? Well, the crowd said it all:

Somewhere behind that gate!!!

Wait, wait, wait, counsels the Lord.

We waited. And waited. Auto rickshaws came and went; coconut sellers did a roaring trade. Devotees roll up and join the crowd. Fellow selling puri’s interests the crowd.

I see Sara Pavan depart via the other gate in his car, and a light bulb goes off. Aha! Take cover off the camera and get ready. Sure enough, the gate opens and I spy in my viewfinder,

The crowd spill out onto the road, my photo opportunity is lost, and I have to run backwards to get a photo… running backwards, so excuse the camera shake …

Run backwards a bit more and the scudding clouds clear and the sun, the blessed sun comes out!!!

And that is the best I can do on the return journey of the Lord, back to the Ashram! Waaaaaaahhhh!!!!!

And the crowd run, run, run, after the Lord Sai Baba. I run, too. Run and hold the camera up…

Footslogging it, I notice the entourage has well and truly put on a bit of speed as they approach the arch, and nearly stop, for something, I did not see… and I put the camera up high in the air, only to take a photo of the road!!! Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!! That’s the end of my chasing, I decided.

Pass the entrance to the General Hospital, there is a large crowd there, having taken the darshan of Sathya Sai:

And here, you can see the white roof of the lead car, its about level with the Ganesh Gate, and all those people are getting the darshan of the Lord, right there. Look at that crowd behind Swami’s escort cars …

Sai Ram from a sunny Prashanti Nilayam.

We were having a discussion in the Western Canteen during lunch yesterday, and the subject of darshan came up, and people told their favourite darshan stories. I suppose all of us have our favourite darshan stories which we tell again and again. The human story is nothing but the story of God. But now, God is actually here in a human form with superhuman powers, to lead us to the paths of blessedness. Swami uses a metaphor, just as a bird flying over the ocean sooner or later has to find a ships mast to rest, so too, sooner or later, we have to find the path to peace. (more…)

Excuse my tardy posting. A developing cold in the head and five handkerchiefs later, we surface…

I had quite a surprise when I entered the Western Canteen for lunch yesterday. There were only about 30 people eating lunch there, and morning darshan was quite sparsely populated this morning. The Christmas crowds have all but gone and the only large group remaining is that group from Maharashtra-Goa, and a large contingent from South Africa. A group of Australians from New South Wales arrived Monday, all in their green and gold scarves. But the ashram is quiet. Walking through the ashram yesterday morning, it was a very pleasant experience to not have to thread your way through the thousands and thousands. Doubtless that will all change this coming weekend… (more…)

It was the turn of the Ladies of Maharasthra-Goa this evening. When I arrived at the darshan hall there were many banners hanging in the centre of the darshan hall, and there were groups of men and ladies seated in the centre area where students normally sit. Chanting was going on in the mandiram, and the darshan hall was filled with waiting devotees; silence prevailed. (more…)

Morning bhajans commenced with a vibrant Jai, Jai, Jai, Jai, Ganapati Deva, which made for a jaunty start to the bhajans. It was very nearly felt to be over when the crowd suddenly hustled up and lo, Swami was on the way! Well, they get up and run, bunch up, the students all rush across, and yea, the Lord doth enter the darshan hall! (more…)

The ashram was serene after the morning events. The darshan hall was mighty stuffy, mind you. Almost immediately, there were loooooooooooooong queues at the Indian Canteen and the North Indian canteen. I gave them the go-by and went to the Western Canteen, where there was huge crowd, some even sitting on the floor by the nativity scene. (Jesus-Isa-on-the-Lotus is seated adjacent the vibhuti bowl at the moment)… (more…)

The darshan hall was crowded this evening. Looking up towards the garage, that area is completely filled by old students; they go in and fill the mandir, so the bhajans were led by old students this evening. (more…)

Turn to God with Love for God; that is the signature in my mind as I walk to darshan this morning. Sat at the “side” with East Prashanti behind me. That walkway there, it’s odd you know. Sometimes the women are five, six deep there … I don’t know why they don’t go to the ladies side and take a seat in the darshan hall. Families arriving, new arrivals plop their bags there and await the arrival of Swami; then of course, some men decide it might be good to prop there and have a look. Sometimes it gets very crowded in that walkway, never mind after darshan when the crowds pour out of Sai Kulwant Hall. (more…)

It started as a normal morning wait in the darshan hall; Swami came early, around 8.35 and men ran everywhere. So we just sat there and awaited Swami’s arrival ( I was right up the front in that “triangle” area and about ten feet from the veranda; Swami crossed the front of the women’s side and came straight up to the mandir. When this happened, the students on the veranda all ran into the mandir, and I noticed men run out to the side to the “mandiram queue” to get into the mandir for bhajans. So they were all queued up to go in, and Swami was on the veranda for a while, then he went into the mandir, came out and went into the interview room. (more…)

I keep on getting this feeling of change, here in Prashanti Nilayam.

Gone are the days of getting up at 5am and taking lines, and waiting to enter the darshan hall. The men’s lines go in at 7AM to a vast, empty darshan hall; some people throw their cushions down and go to breakfast in the Canteen and come back around 8.45; others just take a seat at the front and close their eyes. (more…)

Christmas afternoon in Prashanti Nilayam; 

Hmm, I decided to enter the darshan hall by the top gate, and I was going to wander down to the back of the hall; an old Seva Dal pointed to me to go and sit somewhere at the front; I said, “No, I am going down the back” , and he said “No, you go and sit there only”.   (more…)