What is Dharma :-  A clear understanding, of the aim of the life and ones endeavour to strive for ones own life as well / as for the society, in such a way as to achieve the goal, is called "Dharma". All the creatures in the nature, live according to a Dharma sutra. So every creature in nature leads its own life, helping the others in nature in many ways. But the man who has the ability to think and react, developed selfish ends. Due to Ahankara (ego) and jealousy etc., he could not lead a life on Dharmic lines. In his day to day life, the man is not only immersed in so many worries but also neglects the Dharma sutra m social life. He is under the delusion that he can achieve good through Dharmollangana (trespassing the principles of Dharma). Actually man likes to have a peaceful life and peaceful society in which he is a participant. For the sake of such people, again and again the God incarnates himself in the forms of Mahatmas, to teach Dharma to man and to demonstrate them in practice. In order to practice Dharma we need purity of heart. The association with such Mahatmas will provide them such purity of heart so that they could lead Dharmic life. So scriptures like Bhagavadgeeta command us to resort to such Mahatmas. Without resorting to such Mahatmas the Dharmacharana is not possible. This can be seen in the society around us. But these Mahatmas always teach the Dharma only through practical examples. They will merely tell orally only when we ask for it.

Korrakuti Bujjaiah used to spend most of his time in the presence of Sri Swamy. Once even though he was in the village he did not come for Sri Swamy's darsan and spent all his time in chitchatting. On the eleventh day when he came for Swamy's darsan, showing him to others, Sri Swamy said "Ayya! who is he?" Bujjaiah repented for his conduct. The Sastras advise us to take the darsan of Sadguru once in a day, a fortnight or month or at least once in six months. This advice holds good even after his Mahasamadhi. Sadguru is above the circle of death and birth. So the contact with his devotees continues even after his Mahasamadhi (says Ramana Maharshi) Sri Swamy has promised to be there till the Sun and Moon exist. So the darsan of his samadhi and spending

as much time as possible at the samadhi is quite beneficial to us.

Sri Swamy's sister Mangamma went on fasting on Sivaratri day. Sri Swamy asked her to take food and come  after serving all the people. But she said that she was on fasting because it was a Sivaratri day. "No, No, the food is before us. So finish yourmeal and come", said Sri Swamy. That means as long as we have the intention to eat and hunger, eating food is better than fasting. She took meal as per the directions of Sri Swamy. If our jeevatma suffers with hunger, it amounts to eating food. So Sri Swamy dissuaded her from fasting. Saibaba also did not encourage fasting. If only we can spend our time in thinking about God without any thoughts of food, then alone is fasting useful. Other wise, it will be a false custom;

when we try to control our Karmendriyas by force and the mind running after the objects of our enjoyments (Bhagvadgeeta).

During January 1980 Sri Swamy asked Mataji Tulasamma, to offer him eleven bed sheets. When ever Saibaba wanted to teach some spiritual principles he demanded dakshina. This demand implied the avoidance of bad samskarams by his devotees. Sri Swamy wanted Tulasamma to offer her five internal sense organs and five external organs and the mind which totals eleven organs. These eleven layers enclose Atmagnana and separate us from Atma. By sacrificing these eleven organs he wanted us to reunite us with Atma.

One day Sri Swamy told Korrakuti Bujjaiah"Ayya! you should take care of those who take care of me". So after Sri Swamy's Mahasamadhi he is serving those who had served Sri Swamy. Real Sadguru seva will continue even after the Mahasamadhi of the Sadguru. So our Sastras advised, a naistika bachelor (One who remains a celibate all through his life with great nistha) should always stay with his guru and  when his Guru attains niryana, he should take charge of his Guru's sacred fire in the place of his Guru, and serve it all through his life. Sri Sai followed that principle. Sri Swamy also has done the same thing. Perhaps this might be the reason for Swamyji's referring Sai as his brother. In the same way a worthy disciple should treat all his Guru bandhus (fellow devotees of Sri Swamy) with love and affection. We see Sri Swamy Vivekananda following this principle.

Swamy:- Give me my nine bed sheets.

B.Nagaiah:- Swamy you have only six bed sheets. How can there be nine? Here are your six bed sheets. Please take them.

Swamy:- No, No. Give me my nine bed sheets.

Nagaiah gave three more towels in the place of bed sheets and adjusted the total number (nine).

Swamy:- What are these? You are giving only loin clothes. My bed sheets are very big ones. Aren't they?

B. Nagaiah collected his own bed sheet, Guravaiah's bed sheet and the bed sheet of Rosi Reddy and tallied the count.

Swamy:-Ya. That is all, that is all.

The five elements along with the mind, Buddhi, and Ahamkar (ego) are the eight fold nature and together with the creator of the universe the number nine is arrived at. That means the realisation that taking every thing as Sri Swamy might be the intention of Sri Swamy in our offering him nine bed sheets. Once Swamy mentioned his men as harijans and him self as Madiga. In the same way Akkalkota Swamy says that he is a Kasyapasa gothra Brahmin and at the same time, he used to say that he was a harijan and working with leather was his occupation. The aim of Mahatmas in saying like this is that the present day caste system is meaningless.

At another time he asked Tulasamma to offer six bed sheets in the sacred fire. The Arishadvarga (Six desires) like kama, krodha, moha etc., are the six enemies of man and asked her to bum them to ashes by throwing the "bed sheets"

into the sacred fire.

One day Sri Swamy said to Rosi Reddy "Ayya! I have  brought the crop of all to fruition. See that the thieves do not i steel the crop. It means that Sri Swamy has blessed them all spiritually. They should guard it from the natural internal

enemies (Samskarams).                               

One day Sri Swamy said "Feed the hungry, (but) not the belching."

One day the servants asked "Swamy if you go away what support do we have?"

Swamy:- Where do I go? I will be here till the Sun and Moon exist. Some of his servants did not follow his guide lines or teachings and went on quarreling among themselves. Once Sri Swamy spoke some heart rending words. "Poor stuff, Mundas, Randas. All are taking credits and becoming paupers. Are they earning at least a paise? Sadguru is the support to the creation and for every thing in the universe. They forget this truth and the Sadguru and give place to other thoughts in the mind. Sri Swamy spoke this as the giving up of Pathivrathyam (celibacy). Once Sri Swamy told that he and Jayarama Raju ploughed with six ploughed gorru (an implement to sow seeds) "Jayaramaraju's gorru stuck to Udayagiri hill and stopped. My gorru went on without hindrance. The northern sea water flowed into the southern ^ea"7Here the cultivation with six ploughed gorru means the Sadhana to control the arishadvarga (six enemies, lust, anger, misery, greed, pride, revenge). The union of sea means the experience of "Brahman in every thing.. Jayaramaraju stopped his Sadhana and was caught in the snares of Samsara. This is referred to as stopping his plough.

Raghavareddy was suffering from an incurable disease. The doctors could not cure. He came to Sri Swamy. Sri Swamy did not speak to him. Reddy told Sri Swamy's servants that he will give them a lot of money if his disease is cured. At once Sri Swamy spoke " What is it? When we are giving every body, what is it that he gives us? Really every thing in the creation belongs to Sri Swamy. Forgetting this truth thinking that "I am giving this to others" is ignorance. If we do not recognise this truth, our bhakti will never get stabilised. Then how can Sri Swamy respond to our prayer even when the devotee offers?

Generally, Swamy will not go to anybody's house. In 1978 Swamy stayed in the house of Narasareddy (Kalichedu village) and; lit his sacred fire in the centre of the house and sat there. This is a special feature. On the fourth day he asked to bring a bullock cart to go to Siddalayya hill. After loading all their luggage they asked Swamy to start. But Sri Swamy said that it was not possible to start at that time and asked them to give six rupees to the can driver. He repeated the same for four or five times. They could not understand why they should pay the can fare even though they did not travel in the cart. Usually, the can driver went to the mine and got his wages. But now, on that day he was absent.for his work in the mine. So Sri Swamy must give that wage to him. That was Sri Swamy's idea. Sri Sai said "Do noUake_gratis^Jhe labour of others. We must payjiberallyJhr-aBy-^emca_ffihen \we agreed to make use of them".

This incident explains how minutely Sri Swamy" followed the above principle. Sri Swamy again and again enquired them about the payment of the can fare. Sri Swamy's servants gave him six rupees and asked him to bring his can the next day. But will Sri Swamy leave them unless they pay the cart fare for that day also?

On that day a devotee called Seshadri came for Sri Swamy's darsan from Vidyanagar. It was only then that all the people came to know why Sri Swamy suddenly cancelled his journey on that day. While Seshadri was slaning from Vidyanagar he prayed Sainath to grace his darsan in the form of Sri Venkaiah Swamy. Exactly, at that same time Sri Swamy postponed his journey. So, Sai and Sri Swamy are not different from one another.

Sri Swamy used to take his food mostly with red chilly chatney.   He would drink buttermilk only when it is offered otherwise not. He never commented on the taste of the food nor the cooking of the food. Once they were preparing Sazza Sangati. It was only half boiled. Eventhough it was not properly boiled Sri Swamy asked them to serve it for him. He also asked to serve him the red chilly powder into the Sangati. He relished it with great satisfaction. Food is only for the hunger and not for the taste. This is the main principle in medicine as well as Sadhana; Once Sri Swamy told a devotee who asked for upadesa of a mantra "where is mantra and tantra. Going ahead with discrimination is the only required thing". Sadguru endowed with perfect knowledge, will never do the mantropadesa. Sri Sainath and Sri Ramana Maharshi are the examples. Because, incessant "Sadguru bhakti" is greater than all sadanas and has no hindrance to it.

Sri Swamy's sister Mangamma used to look after Sri Swamy with great affection. She used to keep food for Swamy and wait for Sri Swamy's arrival till midnight. In return Sri Swamy ordered his brothers to give his ponion of propeny to her. They did so. Sri Swamy has practically showed us how one should express his gratitude.

He not only practiced dharma but ordered his close followers to follow it. Korakuli Bujjaiah's younger sister looked after her unmarried brother with great affection. One day Sri Swamy said to Bujjaiah "what I have done to my sister, you too must do to your sister". As Bujjaiah garu remained a life long bachelor, perhaps, Sri Swamy might have asked him to give away his share of propeny to his sister.

When every body paid fifty paise for a shave Sri Swamy used to give two rupees for each shave to the barber. In the same manner he paid double the remuneration to the washer man. Sri Saibaba also gave two rupees to Balanai for each head shave. One day he gave the same amount to a man who brought a ladder for him. In those days the rate of a bag of rice was two rupees. Devotees asked Baba why he has paid | so much of money for such a simple service. Baba advised i "We should pay liberally for any service and we should not i take gratis anybody's service." So it is the principle of | Mahatmas. If people follow this principle there will be economic equality in the society. One day Sri Swamy said | "Ayya ! we must look after the welfare of those who give a i morsel offoodinthenameofVenkaiah". People forget Swamy I after giving him a little food. But this Lord of Dharma will protect them day and night like an eyelid that protects the eyeball.     

One day some ignorant farmers said about Sri Swamy "These are all fake sadhus. Those who do not like to do hard ;

work, put on the garb of a sadhu". One of Sri Swamy's servants tried to argue with them. Sri Swamy reprimanded and said "what is that, they may say so, but real sadhus must receive the comments with patience. If you grow angry with them how can you be a real sadhu". Thus Sri Swamy gave him a mild teaching.

Mopur Dasaiah (native of Penubarthi) said "Swamy! you will be wandering on the hills and forests. I am unable to obtain your darsan frequently. What can I do Swamy!.

Swamy : Oh ! what is there, climb the hill and keep the mirror on the stone and see straight. The distance between you and me will be only three inches". Here the hill means the brain the upper portion of the body. Seeing in a mirror on a stone means the mind will always be engaged in the worldly thoughts. We must keep our brain free from these worldly ideas for a while and concentrate it on Sri Swamy. Then we can see Swamy wherever he may be. In our body, the elevated stone is our brain. Above that there is the yoga centre called sahasraram. In that yoga centre lie the sacred feet of sadguru (says sastras). So, Sri Swamy said that the distance is only three inches. That means Sri Swamy has openly declared that he himself is the sadguru.

Some people are cured of their scorpion bite simply when they came to the presence of Sri Swamy. Some others got relief only when they make certain number of pradakshinas (Circumambulations) to Swamy. Some others got relief on the spot when they simply prayed for Sri Swamy's grace. "What is the cause for this difference of your grace Swamy?" asked some people. "I will be responding according to one's faith" answered Swamy. At another time Sri Swamy assured "There is no dying or living. Even if a person dies and becomes ashes, he should come back to life, if ordained to come".

Sri Swamy used to warn the close servants and the real devotees not to mingle with the worldly minded people. One of his servants served Sri Swamy with great devotion for some time. after some time he showed slackness in the service of Sn Swamy due to greater intimacy and began to move with worldly minded men when ever he got a chance. Previously Sn Swamy did not accept food from the hands of any body except that devotee. But now Sri Swamy denied the food offered by him and asked some other servant to serve him the food. When they asked for the reason Sri Swamy said that he drifted himself towards the worldly minded mob. In the begining whenever his close servant Guravaiah left Sri Swamy for a while, Sri Swamy used to warn him saying "Are you getting into the company of those men?" That means association with worldly minded men is not good for Sadhakas. Men is associated with six enemies and also enchanted by sensuous pleasures. So he is unfit for Sadhana and for association with sadhakas. The cattle and birds do not have these enemies. So according to Sri Swamy all the creatures are divided into only three categories. (1) Sadhakas (2) beasts and birds and (3) men. If a person is continuously in the service of a Sadguru, with or without his knowledge -he will become a Sadhaka. Sadguru's service means seva rendered,'expecting nothing in return. Once some devotees took Avadhuta Pitchemma for pilgrimage along with them. One day one of the devotees asked Mataji Whether it was comfortable for her in the cities like Bombay or in her forest. Then Mataji told with a smile "these natural forests are better than those forests (cities). The wild animals here are far better than the animals there in the cities (Worldly minded men). Except when they are banned by us, they will not harm any body here. But the animals in the cities are not like that. Even though we do not harm them, those animals can not tolerate the well being of others and will always be planning to do some kind of harm to the neighbours. So sadhakas will fall down with the association of worldly minded men. So the sastras warn sadhakas to be away from these worldly minded men. They will give special respect and regard as soon as they see the servants of Sri Swamy. Then there is every danger of getting Ahankara to that servant. In addition to this by the association of worldly minded men, his insessent thinking of his Guru will be deflected and he will fall in the danger of association with the bad instincts.

Masthanaiah was pacified with the thought that Ramanaiah will suffer for insulting him.

The mistakes that we think as trifles are not at all small ones. The seemingly weak dry grass when combined and twined in to a rope can bind an elephant. In the same way our karmas will keep us in bondage. So one day Sri Sainath • said to a devotee that critisizing his fellow man amounts to a pig eating the excreta. Christ once said " we have to go to Hell if we call a man "idiot". The Rishees said this, as the control of ones tongue or the cultivation of soft words. A contemporary of Sainath and a great Mahatma, Sri Tajuddin baba of Nagapur said "You may damage a Kaba or bum a Koran or drink wine or remain in a mandir where an idol is worshipped but you should not hurt the human heart, which is the seventh heaven, the abode of our God. That is why Sri Sainath one day reprimanded his devotee who was criti sizing his friend. Baba compared him with a pig eating the excreta. He also said "if you did like this what benefit do you derive by coming over to Shirdi.

One day Sri Swamy warned to shift his venue and ordered his men to start at once. His servants were not willing to start before lunch at about 12 noon. They told Sri Swamy that they can start after lunch or in the evening. But Sri Swamy -insisted on his decision. All the servants except one or two went out/One of the servants, Barigala Nagaiah thought in his mind " why are these people with Swamy? They do not follow Sri Swamy's advice. When these people are going out, how is it that Swamy is not commanding them strictly? What is this farce?" At once this all knowing Swamyji said "Let them go as they like. There are none to stop.

Great souls only advise us and they do not compel us. If we do not follow their advice, they leave us to our fate. We commit forbidden things and say "Sri Swamy will look after every thing". It is foolish to say so. Really he will be looking at every thing. He will sanction good to good Karma and bad to bad Karma, without any partiality".

Once Shirdi Sai gave seven hundred rupees to a boy to hand over the amount to the next man. But this boy pilfered two hundred rupees and gave only five hundred rupees. Even though Sai knew this pilfering he did not reprimand the boy. When Syama hid the two rupees in the earth, he did not ask him. In the course of time we saw them receiving the results of their actions as per the merits of their work. This is what we say "God rewards us without any partiality. There are so many, who without understanding this principle comment that their Guru did not reprimand his devotees when they are at fault. Through, prolonged experience one should learn to follow scrupulously the orders of God or his Sadguru. But if compelled, the process of mental blossoming will, instead of progressing become topsy turvy. How absurd would it be when a patient advises his doctor the method of the treatment for him!

One day Sri Swamy advised Guraviah " See that Mala, Madiga, Jogi, Jangam do not enter you. Serve the Sadguru with Sampannatvam." Here Mala Madiga etc., are not the castes that are referred to. The reference is to ouj^Jntemal enemies or instincts like greed, anger, pride and thg desire fpr _enioym.eDi_of the sensuous pleasures etc.

The same idea was expressed by Sainath when he said 'There js a low caste fellow in us_WeJnustjlnYg hirn away."

One day Sri Swamy said to Guravaiah "If a sin is committed they will suffer from "Vaddidonda" worms. They will be born in Madiga caste. Even after a number of births they can not come to me." Here the word Madiga is not a reference to the so called Madiga caste. It means that the people will take birth in such a bad condition which are not favourable for Sadhana and elevation of soul. Smt. Kantamma of Anikepalli village used to lend paddy and in return collected more paddy in the name of interest (namu). Once there was a fire accident in her house and she lost a lot of paddy. Only a few bags of paddy were saved by her neighbours. One day when she complained her grief to Sri Swamy, he said "Only the profit is lost. You have saved your principle. Isn't it?"

Once Sai said "0 sait! you go home. The loss will be adjusted in some other business". Sri Swamy's ways of dealing with people also resembles the method of Sri Sainath.

Rosi Reddy the oldest man was in the service of Sri Swamy for a number of years. At present due to old age he could not do hard work like fetching fire wood etc.. One day he wanted to go home leaving the seva of Sri Swamy because some body has spoken some thing ill of him. Sri Swamy called him alone and said "Do you want to gather the scrap leaving the field in fruition? With that, he gave up that idea of leaving Sri Swamy. The immediate presence of Sadguru is the "field in fruition". Living in the colourful world and doing Sadhana is like gathering scrap.

One day his son and son-in-law were coming to take Rosi Reddy to their home for ten days. But at that time Rosi Reddy was unable to move alone due to lack of eye sight. But on that day Sri Swamy ordered him " Go ahead on the way" Rosi Reddy who had unflinching faith in the orders of Sadguru did not care for his old age or his lack of sight. His only aim was to carry out the orders of his Gum. Without informing his colleagues he started alone and walked eight K.M. on a road full of traffic and reached Golagamudi safely. His son and son-in-law reached Golgamudi by bus before his arrival. They enquired for him and went back home with out even meeting him.

If the Omniscient Swamy had not advised him like that Rosi Reddy would have yielded to the sweet words of his son-in-law and son, and would have fallen in the work of "scrap gathering" (Sadhana) at home. Without falling in the whirlpool, staying in the service of Sadguru is indicated by the Swamy in the words "Go ahead on the way " The same truth was told by Christ "I am the way, I am the truth, I am the eternal life." On the other occasion when a devotee asked Swamy "How are we to cross the ocean of Samsara? Sri Swamy gave the reply "What is there? Look straight and go ahead". That means we must tread the path of our Sadguru, doing his service.

The comments made by Sri Rosi Reddy in our dialogue on yet another occasion are note worthy for sadhakas. I (the author) asked him "Why don't you ask Sri Swamy about the place to which you have, to go?

Rosi Reddy:- If we begin to question the order of Sadguru, we will be having a lot of questions and doubts. Even though he explains all the question and doubts we can notgrasp the meaning of his Statements in the right perspective, In addition, there is the danger of understanding it in the wrong way. This is the main trouble with the auditory communication. So.the best method is to surrender at his lotus reel and beg him to guide us on the proper lines, so that we "light obey his orders. He is not an ordinary man like us. His skill m handling things is unimaginable. He can manipulate the things and our hearts in such a beautiful way as to take us to the goal. But, for his full cooperation, we must surrender at his lotus feet whole heartedly and take resort in him as our only saviour, with out depending on our own petty intellectual abilities.

So when I was ordered by Sri Swamy to go on the way I prayed at his lotus feet to guide me in carrying out his order to his utmost satisfaction. This is the only thing that I have done. The rest of the thing was accomplished by the all pervading Swamy. To speak the truth I am not strong enough to walk even eight kilometers distance. In addition I do not have the proper eye sight to move on the traffic road like Nellore. How did I walk? It is just a miracle. I can not explain more than this".

 One day Mopuru Dasaiah asked Sri Swamy "Swamy! is it a fact that a Rushi met you in the forest and wrote some sacred Manthra on your tongue?

Swamy:- "If we see Mysore Maharajah on the way what benefit will be derived? We will get only what we do by our effort". That means unless we carry out Puja, Japa, Meditation, Parayana and Dharma-chintana in our daily lives and attend to the service of Sadgurus, we can not get the grace of Mysore Maharaja that is the Sadguru. We should carry out the above Sadhanas and attain certain state of perfection. Just as a Maharajah invites and appoints only persons of some excellence as poets in his darbar, so also a Gnani will certainly bless us with his grace.

Even though the king is all powerful and independent, he will not invite and reward those who do not attain perfection and specialisation in his subject. So our self effort is essential to get the grace of a Sadguru.

One day a farmer of Kantepalli village collected four rupees from Mallika Venkaiah for bringing one cart load of fire wood from the forest. In addition to this, he extracted from Venkaiah one day's manual labour during the harvest of his fields. One day that farmer came for the darsan of Sri Swamy. Before anybody introduced him to Swamy, Sri Swamy said "Is he that cart man? He is due one hundred and fifty rupees for us. As a penalty he must visit Tirupati and come". Swamy gave this direction on a piece of paper. He went to Tirupati and the said amount was stolen by the thieves. The service enjoyed by us without payment of proper remuneration do not go waste. Those services will have their own returns. Further the servants of Sri Swamy are the property of the Almighty, our lord. So, that debt relates to God. The debt which is not repaid to the Guru or his servants will be made good in the form of certain loses and the recipient of such free sevas will have to atone for in this manner.

Koduru Venkamma lost her husband at the age of fifteen. She was bedridden with grief. Swamy removed her grief with his wonderful spiritual teaching.

Sri Swamy said "Ma ! ...! If a mango is infested with an abscess how much of yield would it give? It will be rotten and wither away. If that fruit withstands the abscess bravely, then that abscess can not do it any harm. That mango will "pen and.yield a good number of fruits. After taking a number of such births as plants that fruit will be born as a man. A man after many births will take the birth of a man with' discrimination. A wise and intelligent person after a number of such births will be born as a devotee. After a number of births as devotees, he will become a righteous ruler of a state. After many such births as a dutiful Rajah, he begins to work for the grace of God. After a number of births he will be in the immediate presence of god. Then our lord, the God, blesses this pious soul through the comer of his eyes. Then God operates the lever under his leg and shows the devotee the puppet show in this colourful and illusory world. Then the soul enters into the Viswathma or the universal soul. So Venkamma thought "till now I have taken a number of births and experienced a lot of pain in every birth. This little pain in this birth is not a big thing." So she decided to live bravely like the mango fruit with an abscess and she was hale and healthy from that time.  This idea is expounded in Geeta in the sloka [7:3]

"Manushyanam sahasreshu, Kaschidyatati siddaye - Yatatamapi siddanam, Kaschinmam vethi tatvatah."

Dasaiah:- How are we to get rid of the ocean of Samsara?

Swamy:- "If greed is lost every thing is lost."

Dasaiah:- Swamy ! there are many people depending j on the ashramam. How are we to survive?

Swamy:- Do you know the owner of all the harvest? It belongs to all.

         Tulasamma:- Swamy ! How are we to understand you and know your real state?

Swamy:- Ma ! Go to Bhadrachalam and open the doors of the temple and see. You will understand it properly.

One day Sri Swamy said:-

Swamy:- Either do hard work or spend your time ^ uttering God's holy name or endure patiently the suffering granted to us by God.

Perhaps, he might have meant that man always remembers God in those jour situations. When we are faced 7 with troubles and problems or suffering on account of serious ill health or having a very bad time struggling in poverty, the evil effects of our misdeeds are spent over and that Karma Sesham is wiped off. And by constant meditation, no addition of fresh karma is credited in our account.

On another day Sri Swamy said "If we do not work properly it will be a loss to our employer. We may earn our  / salary even without hard work. But that income never does any good to us. We incur a heavy loss by this negligence."

Once a crane along with its off springs was living in a nest on a tree in the premises of Poomashramam Golagamudi. One day a hunter was getting his bow, ready to kill that crane. On seeing that, the inmates of the ashramam reprimanded the hunter and asked him to go out. Inspite of their repeated warnings he was trying to shoot it down. At last they brought it to the notice of Sri Swamy. Sri Swamy simply said "The arrow will not hit the crane" Actually when he shot the arrow, it missed the aim and the crane flew away. That hunter who never missed his aim broke his bow and threw it away. From that time onwards he never shot any bird again in his life. There was a transformation in his heart. Sri Swamy's protection is not only for the crane but also to the cruel hunter.

Guravaiah:- Swamy ! tell me a few good words.

Swamy:- Achieve nobility, simplicity and service to a Sadguru. Never go astray from the path of truth and Dharma.

Guravaiah:- How can we get rid of anger?

Swamy:- When we are unaware of the daily sunrise and sunset, then we can obtain control over anger.

On some other day when he repeated the same question Sri Swamy said. "We will submit a petition to the Sun and Moon and it will vanish".

One day Sri Swamy was very weak due to dysentery. The servants requested Sri Swamy to take medicine.

Swamy:- Should we not experience what God had granted us?

One day a crow was crowing continuously on the tree. Guruvaiah hurled a stone at it. Sri Swamy at once reprimanded Guravaiah. "In the presence of Sri Swamy we should not hit even a dog " says Sri Guravaiah. The sastras tell us that we should leam the intricacies of all Dharmas from the Gnanis and other holy saints who are well versed with the rules and rituals of different dharmas. In Kaliyuga, as the people do not follow this principle in our society, the caste system, instead of doing good to people, has become a menace to the country. In the present day society the caste system is thought to be connected with birth only. But really in Bhagavadgeeta the caste system is said to be connected with ones own karma (4:13) Even then the pandits or scholars gave it a wrong interpretation. This can be known by the teachings of "Atmagnanies" or spiritual stalwarts e.g. Shirdi Sai said "In every one of us there is a low caste fellow. We must drive him away." Here the low caste fellow means the ignorance which instigates the six enemies in us. On another occasion he referred them as the thieves in the wada." The body which changes at every birth is called the wada or temporary house. It is not a permanent one.

Sainath's contemporary and his other form, Sri Akkalkota Swamy expressed the same idea. A Brahmin came to Swamy's darsan and due to non availability of water he took his bath in the house of a harijan and completed his sadana etc., and after having darsan of Sri Swamy he sat in the row of the Brahmin's to take his food. One of the servants of Sri Swamy noticed him and drove him away from the dining hall. That poor brahmin felt insulted. When it was the time for the servant to serve biksha to Sri Swamyji, Sri Swamy ordered him to get out of his presence. Further he called for the harijan. He drew seven lines on the ground. Applying vibhuthi on his forehead he ordered him to walk on these lines and speak about his previous seven births while crossing each line. At once that harijan began to narrate his previous births. In the previous birth he was born in different castes and in the seventh birth he was born in a brahmin family. He proved this fact by reciting Vedas when he was ordered by Sri Swamy. Then the Swamy asked him why he got the present birth in the harijan caste. He answered that when he was a brahmin, he resented other caste people and used to sprinkle manthra water on the way to purify it and then only he walked on the way. So by such incessant thinking he got this harijan birth in this life. If people are intolerant towards the people of other caste, thinking that the caste system is based on birth, such people will be bom in the same down trodden families where there is no scope at all for spiritual sadhana. The meaning of Sastras should be known only from spiritual stalwarts. Ignoring this secret if we draw our meaning from the scriptural injunctions and adopt them in the real life we will certainly meet with such pathetic situations in life.

Avadhuta Venkaiah Swamy also used to express the same truth "If you commit a wrong you will be infested by Vaddidonda worms. You will be born in Madiga houses (cobblers). You can not come to me even after a number of births." Here Sri Swamy used the word "Madiga" with reference to the spiritual blindness or ignorance which we are suffering in this birth and which is the result of our bad and sinful deeds of our earlier births. That is why such people fail to recognise and serve such great men as our Swamyji.

Sri Swamy more clearly expressed me same meaning in other situations also. Frequently he used to advice his servants "Take care that Mala and Madiga people do not stay in you." Now and then when people of other castes came for his darsan he used to call them as Brahmins. For example, by birth Vakkamma belongs to Mala caste(Harijan). But Sri Swamy would say "look, a Brahmin woman has come". P. Subbaramaiah (author) was a vysya by caste. Sri Swamy called him as a brahmin. In the same way Allu Bhaskar was a Reddy by caste. He referred him as a brahmin. In Sri Swamy's view people who have great reverence towards Mahatmas and a deep desire for Atmagnana are brahmins. In Vajrasuchi upanishad brahmanatvam is denned in the same words. Not only this, in the scriptures of Dharma it is said like this.