Another was Mandrajula Venkataratnam, a washerman by caste.
To him, Baba said, "Both of us are the same in a sense — but while you wash the dirt of a few, I wash the whole world from sin!"
Baba asked Bhaskara Raju, "What can you do for me?"
"I live and die for Baba's cause," he declared.
"I will turn you into nothing!" Baba responded.
The interviews lasted until 4:00 P.M., and then Bhaskara and his brother Ramabhadra Raju enacted their Burra Katha .1 The song-and-dance-narrative depicted Baba's life, and the voice of the lead actor, Parepalli Satyam, was deep and resonant, which pleased Baba.
While the performers were narrating the incident of Hazrat Babajan's kiss, Baba signaled to them to stop and explained, "When you were portraying the incident of Babajan, I again experienced the same as if it occurred at that moment. You reminded me of the early days of my life as Merwan. Now, at this moment, the five Perfect Masters of the age being rested [residing] in me are witnessing your Burra Katha . Carry on with your story."
The inception of this play is interesting.
One night Baba appeared in Ramabhadra Raju's dream and said: "There is still something more for you to do for me."
Ramabhadra could not grasp what it was, but later when visiting Masulipatnam, M. S. R. Sastri suggested that he prepare a Burra Katha on Baba's life and teachings. Taking this to be what Baba had hinted in his dream, Ramabhadra set about composing the play and also training a company.
After the play, Baba reminisced about his early days: his meetings with Babajan, Upasni Maharaj and Sai Baba, the agonies he had passed through, and what each of these Perfect Masters had said about him.
After recounting it, he added, "If you want to exaggerate this, exaggerate it; if you want to say less, say less. But Sai Baba and Maharaj are present here today! They are witnesses to what I have told you!"
Baba embraced the actors and remarked, "Today is Diwali and also Nehru's birthday. I am filled with love to be among my lovers and to have watched this play about my childhood. To keep me happy, love me more and more. I am in every one of you!"
Baba urged the actors, "As you have done here, perform this play at different places, whereby through your love, people may learn about me."
Footnotes
- 1.Burra Katha is a traditional South Indian folk entertainment whose story is conveyed using music, songs and dance.