Divine Anchor Journey with God

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About the Book For decades, countless seekers have travelled to Puttaparthi to the sacred presence of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Avatar of the age, revered by millions. How does the extraordinary grace of such a divine master transform everyday life? Authors Sarojini and Shyam Kanagala, eldest daughter and son-in-law of Prof. Anilkumar Kamaraju (Bhagawan's translator for many years), offer a personal and close glimpse into this question. This personal testament chronicles a profound journey of how ordinary individuals, through devotion and practice, found their hearts purified and their lives fundamentally and miraculously transformed. Through personal anecdotes and life-changing experiences, the authors reveal how Bhagawan helped them to eradicate the ego, cultivate selfless service, and ultimately experience an unshakeable inner peace amidst the vagaries of modern life. This book is testament to the power of unwavering faith and the extraordinary grace that is available to all who seek a connection with their higher self.

About the Authors Sarojini's parents, Prof. Kamaraju Anilkumar and Mrs. Kamaraju Vijayalakshmi, came to Swami in the early 1970s and have been active in the Sai mission ever since. Her father was blessed by Bhagawan to serve as His translator whenever Swami delivered His divine discourses. Shyam's parents, Commander Kanagala Satyanarayana (Indian Navy) and Mrs. Hema Satyanarayana, also came to Swami in the early 1970s and have been His devotees ever since. Sarojini has a Master's in English Literature from Nagarjuna University, Andhra Pradesh. She became a Montessori-certified teacher upon moving to America. She has several years of experience in the field as well as in the Sathya Sai Spiritual Education program. With Bhagawan's permission, blessings, and grace, Sarojini authored "Sai Spandana" a book in Telugu, which was brought out in November 2010. Shyam studied Aeronautical Engineering from Madras Institute of Technology (Bachelors) and from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (Masters). He worked in India for a while before moving to the US, where he obtained a Master's in Computer Science from Texas A&M University at Commerce, Texas, and has since been working in the tech industry. Above and beyond all this, Shyam feels extremely blessed and honored to have been able to join the Sri Sathya Sai Sevadal at Madras and later at Bangalore. After moving to USA, with Bhagawan's grace, he has been active in the Sai Organization in America. With Bhagawan's grace and with beautiful articles contributed by many individuals from the USA, the authors were blessed to compile a book. "United Souls of America for Sai," which was published in November 2010. With Swami's immense grace, the authors wrote and published the book, "Faith, Hope and Love: A Personal journey from i to I, that was brought out for Swami's ninetieth Birthday in the year 2015.

Preface Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba is the personification of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Consciousness-Bliss), the One behind the entire creation, sustenance, and dissolution, who incarnated in human form for the spiritual uplift of humanity. The first time Sarojini was in the divine presence and had the darshan of Baba was in 1972. She was blessed to be in Swami's presence several times subsequently. She felt guided to share her first-hand experiences of all direct and indirect leelas of Bhagawan and thus started jotting them down. On January 4, 1998, when Swami granted our family an interview, she drew close to Him and said, "Swami, I am recording and consolidating all the experiences you showered on us." With His characteristic sweet manner, He responded, "Ah! Bangaru! Are you writing? Write well. Swami will look after everything." and blessed with an abhayahastam(assurance of fearlessness by holding up the palm in a posture of benediction). He is the mover and antaryami (indweller) in all beings. Only He knows how and why things happen the way they occur, and which person is the appropriate tool to perform His task. Over a period of twelve years, from 1998 to 2010, she was able to complete the task that she set out on. Bhagawan never lets down those who place their faith in Him. He comes to their aid like the legendary "Kalpataru' or 'Wish-Fulfilling Tree'. Hearing or talking about the leelas of such an incarnation of love and compassion is always uplifting. It is only His blessing that motivated and inspired this publication in the Telugu.

Foreword I consider it a great privilege to have been asked by Shyam and Sarojini Kanagala to write a foreword to their book "Divine Anchor - Journey with God." I have the great fortune of knowing Sarojini's father Sri. Anil Kumar Garu, one of the most well-known devotees of Swami. I fondly remember the time we both spent in Swami's Divine Presence at Kodaikanal over a month during April 1992. I personally witnessed his absolute surrender to Swami, when he obeyed Swami's command to stay in Kodaikanal, even though he had received a telegram from home about the passing away of someone very dear to him, as he was expected to come home immediately. Such was his devotion and surrender to Swami. His daughter Sarojini and his son-in-law Shyam follow the same tradition of devotion and surrender to Bhagavan, as can be evidenced by the way they aptly end the book with the message "Sainath does not ask for anything from us except two qualities. One is Shraddha (Single-Pointed Focus), and the other is Saburi (Patience). He asks us to have faith, surrender, and perseverance to realize God." As the title suggests God is the only anchor we should depend on in this journey towards Sai, with Sai, in every moment guided by Sai. Every devotee's life is a glimpse into a fraction of "His Story."

Introduction This book is a humble offering at the divine lotus feet of our beloved Lord, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, on the centennial anniversary of His divine advent. It comprises brief backgrounds of our families and our journey in life with Bhagawan. During this journey. Bhagawan has provided direction and stability in difficult times and helped us to evolve to higher awareness with each act of grace or challenge faced. This is not dissimilar to what many experience in their own lives, and hence it is felt that perusal of this book may help others in their own lives. The book speaks to how Bhagawan Baba enters our lives, wins our hearts, whereby our yearning for a higher life increases and we automatically take to spiritual practices along the paths of bhakthi, karma, and jnana. In essence, it is a journey from Chamatkar (Miracle) to Sanskar (Character), to Paropkar (doing good to others), and hopefully ultimately to Sakshatkar (Enlightenment, Coming face to face with one's own reality). The 'Formless Divine', who, out of immense compassion for struggling humanity, took the form of Bhagawan Baba, granted us many opportunities to relate to Him and interact with Him. All of these brought about subtle but permanent changes in outlook, habits, and way of life.