Whom the Lord protects, none can harm! The Pandavas are a shining example of this maxim. Their opponents, the land-hungry Kauravas, tried to harm them using various stratagems, but failed every single time. In fact, not only did their strategies fail, they actually led the Pandavas to unforeseen, beneficial outcomes.

As a child, Bhima, the middle of the Pandava brothers, was poisoned and thrown into the river. Much to the disappointment of his foes, however, he was rescued by the King of Serpents, who not only administered an antidote to the poison, but also administered a divine ambrosia that granted Bhima the strength of thousands of elephants.

As they grew younger, the Kaurava brothers arranged for the Pandavas to live in a palace of wax, which to all normal human appearances resembled a regular palace, but was actually made from wax. The same was set on fire, but the Lord arranged for an underground rescue at the last minute and saved the Pandavas’ lives.

As they escaped from the fire, they were mysteriously led to a forest where Bhima met Hidamba and fathered a divinely-powered son who rescued them

during a very serious situation in the war. Furthermore, in their travails they became relatives of
the powerful King Dhrupad who served to a very potent ally in the war against the Kauravas.

When the Pandavas demanded a share of their kingdom, the greedy king Dritrashtra granted them the barren land of Khandava Van (an uninhabited and barren forest). Due to the divine help of Krishna, however, the forest was transformed into a magical kingdom that later came to be known as Indraprastha (the abode of the heavenly king, Indra).

In this manner, Lord Krishna rescued them from every difficulty, every challenge that was thrown their way by their opponents and in the end all of them emerged victorious.

It was their adherence to the code of righteousness, their surrender to God, and God’s grace that enabled them to face all adversities and emerge victorious and safe.

Baba’s unconditional love often finds its expression in the form of miraculous healings and resurrections that are experienced by countless devotees, practically every micro-second of the day—even today. While a small fraction of these healings have been documented in Sai literature and elsewhere, there are literally billions and billions of miracles that will forever remain silently enshrined in the hearts of those who experienced them.

Tumor vanishes

A devotee of Swami was once diagnosed with a serious tumor. Being Swami’s ardent devotee, it was his firm desire to undergo the surgery in Swami’s divine [physical] presence in Puttaparthi. When he visited Swami, he was granted the much sought-after interview. Before the devotee could plead his cause, the Omniscient Lord disclosed every minute detail of the disease and even shed light on the fact that the tumor was to affect the devotee during his younger years, but it was Sai’s grace that had postponed the condition until much later in his life. At this, the devotee firmly held Sai’s feet and sought His refuge. Swami, the naughty Krishna that He is, feigned helplessness and said He would speak to a certain surgeon in the hospital and have the surgery scheduled.

The devotee’s faith was firm, however, and he did not leave Swami’s feet, pleading the Lord to perform the surgery Himself. At his repeated requests, Swami’s butter-soft heart melted and He placed his abhaya hasta (the boon-bestowing hand that grants fearlessness) on the supplicant’s head. He also advised the devotee to avoid sitting on the floor for three consecutive days.

Continuing with his human drama, Baba called the hospital and asked the devotee to meet a doctor and undergo further diagnostic tests before the scheduled surgery. With firm faith in Baba, the devotee went fearlessly and met the doctor as directed by Swami. Much to his surprise, the doctor revealed that there was no trace of tumor in his body. The devotee was pleasantly surprised and when he discussed the case with the doctor, the latter shed light on the fact that when Swami placed His hand on the devotee’s head, the surgery was accomplished by the Divine Surgeon almost instantaneously. It was only then that the devotee realized the significance of Swami’s words—”Do not sit on the floor for three days!”

Hole in the heart sealed instantly

Another devotee, a mother of an infant girl, experienced a similar phenomenon. Her daughter was diagnosed with a heart condition needing immediate surgery. She visited Puttaparthi and wrote her daughter’s condition in the most pitiful manner possible. Her daughter was scheduled to undergo surgery at the hospital in Puttaparthi but there was a significant chance that she could lose her life due to the delicate nature of the operation. She was anxious to the extreme and nervously awaited Swami’s darshan. As she sat in the darshan line, the merciful Lord approached her and quickly took the letter that the helpless mother held out to Him. She was thrilled, no doubt, but her joy was soon transformed into extreme anxiety as Swami took the letter, crumpled it, and threw it out instantly.

She burst into tears inconsolably as helpless onlookers attempted to console her. She lost all hope but had to be by her daughter’s bedside on the day of the surgery. She summoned as much courage as she could and went to the hospital to help her daughter with diagnostic tests that were scheduled on the eve of surgery. The doctors came rushing to her after the scans. Seeing their rush, her heart almost shut down but the smile on the doctors’ faces prevented her from collapsing. The doctors were extremely excited and revealed to her that her daughter’s heart condition had DISSAPPEARED miraculously. She could not understand what had happened but then realized why Swami had thrown away the letter. Swami’s destruction of the letter did not symbolize a bad omen (contrary to what she feared) but was rather a proclamation by the Almighty that no surgery was needed. The overjoyed mother-daughter duo visited Swami the following day and thanked Him from the bottom of their hearts. They are live testimonies to the proclamation that Baba has made on innumerable occasions: “I bear the love of a thousand mothers.”

Cancer is cancelled

Sathyam Shivam Sundaram also has the story of a son-in-law who visited Swami to pray for his ailing mother-in-law. The latter was diagnosed with incurable cancer. Swami materialized a Shiv Lingam with capillaries and instructed him to perform abhishekam and offer the consecrated water to his mother-in-law. He also materialized vibhuti for her. Within a month, the mother-in-law’s cancer simply vanished and she was restored to complete normalcy—no trace of the disease, whatsoever. The healing was beyond human comprehension.

Blind girl’s vision restored

In Shirdi, too, Baba performed (and continues to perform) countless such cures. Just a few years back, a small blind girl visited Baba’s Samadhi and her vision was miraculously restored by the most compassionate Lord of Shirdi in almost one instant.

Epilepsy lapses

A small child was similarly diagnosed with severe epilepsy. The anxious parents brought the child in front of Shirdi Sai. As soon as he saw Baba, he feel unconscious and the parents felt even more concerned. Their fears were soon allayed by Baba who asked them to remain fearless and take the child to their lodgings. Within thirty minutes he came back to normal and remained disease-free ever since.

On other occasions, Baba applied His udi (holy ash) and cured diseases that medical professionals had proclaimed “incurable”.

Resurrections — return from beyond

Not only did Baba cure countless diseases, He also resurrected many devotees from death. In one instance, the devotee’s body had turned blue and was physically beyond recovery. In fact, the dead body had even started decomposing. It was at this point that Baba entered the devotee’s room and commanded him to wake up. Much to everyone’s surprise, he woke up and asked his wife for a cup of coffee.

Back from the grave

In another instance, an elderly lady was declared dead and as her body was being prepared for a burial, Baba appeared on the scene in His astral form and commanded her to wake up.

She literally woke up from her grave and rejuvenated to such an extent that she started spreading Baba’s word to the local folks. Within a few years, she herself achieved enlightenment and became a saint in her own right.

Baba resurrects His own body

Not only did Baba resurrect others, during the Shirdi Sai avatar, Baba resurrected His own body as well. In the late nineteenth century, Shirdi Sainath asked his devotee Mahlasapati to guard his body as he departed from His physical form. For three days the body lay in a lifeless form as devotees mercifully pleaded with the Lord to return.

Much to the surprise of everyone, Baba woke up and resumed His divine role. His disbelievers at the time were certain that Baba had departed but when they witnessed this miracle of miracles, they changed their evil ways and became ardent followers of Baba.

The love of a thousand mothers

Baba’s glory and might transcends the limited realms of science and the mind. What appears to be a miraculous healing or resurrection to us, is just an infinitesimally small fraction of Baba’s divine glory and might.

Our humble prostrations to this most mysterious, enigmatic, and [extremely] merciful Lord of Lords. We are indeed fortunate to be the children of a Divine Mother that bears the love of a thousand human mothers.