Puttaparthi plunges into grief

Devotees from across the world rush to behold Baba's mortal remains and pay their respects

Puttaparthi plunges into grief

Devotees from across the world rush to behold Baba's mortal remains and pay their respects

The indication of the number of lives that Sri Sathya Baba has touched was evident as people numbering in the thousands flocked to pay their last respects to the godman.

A wave of emotion swept across Puttaparthi following the announcement of the spiritual gurus's passing yesterday. Devotees from across the world thronged the village amidst chants of Sai Ram.
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People from all walks of life made a beeline to pay their last respects to the godman

The grief of devotees from various castes and creed was evident as they headed towards the Prashanti Nilayam where his body was laid for devotees to pay their last respects.

Actors, celebrities, political leaders, global figures and devotees from all walks of life made a beeline for Puttaparthi amidst strong security arrangements by the Ananthpur police.

Amongst the many big names seen at the Sai Kulwant Hall to pay respects were Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa, Tirupati MLA Chiranjeevi, Ex-Chairman of the TTD Adi Keshava Naidu, NTR's wife Lakshmi Parvathi, Andhra Pradesh Governor E S L Narasimhan and Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy.

Baba's body will be on display at Puttaparthi till Tuesday evening, following which the last rites will be performed.

Security has been beefed up for today as ardent devotees Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi and Sachin Tendulkar are expected among others to come arrive to pay their last respects.

Followers are shaken at the loss of their guru and guide, and many were unable to control their emotions and collapsed tearfully before the glass cabinet where their guru's body was laid.

The miracle
Dawa Dzocen, Germany
A writer by profession and a spiritual healer, Dawa shares an inspiring story of her first meeting with the guru. "Both my husband and I had a dream one night that an Indian holy saint was calling us with open arms. He told us to come to Puttaparthi to his ashram.
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At first we didn't discuss it, but on sharing the dream, we discovered that both of us had the very same dream. We knew that it was God telling us to follow the dream," said a teary eyed Dawa.

She added that when she came down to the ashram and shared her religious philosophies with the baba, she learnt a lot about life and its ways.

"I run a spiritual school in Germany and come down to meet Sai Baba. It is a huge personal loss that he isn't in my life anymore. I only hope like the other devotees that he comes back in human form to bless us all," Dawa added.