Brindavan - Whitefield

Brindavan in Whitefield, Bangalore, is Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's mandir just as Prasanthi Nilayam is in Puttaparthi. Both are important for us devotees. As somebody said Whitefield is Swami's home and Prasanthi Nilayam is His office. Whitefield is about 15-20 kms from the city and is connected with frequent buses. The Kadugodi bus stand and Whitefield railway station are very close to Brindavan,  on either side of the rail-road gate nearby. Many of the long distance trains stop there. 

We knew one station-master of this station, Mr Radhakrishnan, many years back. He is now no more. His family - wife and 4 sons - are still there. Prasad is an advocate, Narendran is the eldest, Murali is in real estate and engineering. Sai Giridhar was in UK until recently. I gave Murali and Prasad  the job of building a house for us just behind the Kadugodi police station there. They readily agreed and started work. I was regular in payment whenever they asked. Once we went to see the house they built - it had a funny frontage with all drain pipes visible from the front. Anyway, having spent lots of money on it, we allowed them to complete it; for which they took more than 10 years. Still, there was no water. They said that they are bringing Kaveri water shortly. Finally they built a tube well which gave frequent trouble. We built it with lots of dreams of proximity to Brindavan, hearing bhajan from home etc. Nothing worked and we were greatly disappointed, having lost about Rs. 20 lakhs.

No one would come to take the house for rent either. There was no one to occupy that house for years. Finally, we got someone to rent it for a negligible amount - we agreed, in order to have someone to care for that property. He stayed there a few years, and then again there were no occupants there for some time. That was when my friend's son-in-law showed interest in buying it for his brother. The deal clicked at last - that was a real blessing. We got Rs. 29 lakhs for it. It was not the money but the peace of mind we valued.

We have made many many trips to Brindavan over the years. Moreover, Hari had 3 years of his BSc  there. At one time we were present, watching Swami directing where and how a beautiful statue of Venugopalan was to be installed on the open stage. We could spend about an hour with Swami in very close proximity. A rare chance and a true blessing.

The ambience in Brindavan is different from Prasanthi Nilayam. We felt more at home in Prasanthi Nilayam than in Brindavan. Prasanthi Nilayam has all facilities in same place - all three canteens, shopping complex, huge library etc. whereas in Whitefield, one had to go from place to place - canteen was at one end and places to stay were somewhere else. There was no definite place for accommodation in Whitefield in the earlier days. The rooms within Brindavan were limited. We got accommodation there only once. At other times, we got private rooms elsewhere which were not clean - we had to take them because we had no other choice. There was a small factory campus about a kilometre from Brindavan where the houses were empty; the manager being a Sai devotee used to offer the rooms for a small rent. The thing is, the rooms have to be cleaned before we enter. There had been instances of snakes inside rooms as the rooms were not occupied for long. Another thing was, water supply was erratic, but the manager obliges. Main advantage is that it is only walking distance from Brindavan. We stayed there a few times. The negative point is that we would feel lonely there, especially at night. It was only because of these problems that we thought of building a house there - and we failed miserably in that attempt as mentioned above.

In spite of all these disadvantages, once we enter Brindavan, we are in heaven when we see that sprawling tree under which Swami sits and gives darshan. One can see the many happy, anxious faces expecting the arrival of their Saviour. Swami walks slowly in with His close devotees and associates after the large gate is opened,  entering the hall through the ladies' side. One can see the eagerness and anxiety with Bhakthi (devotion) on each one's face, Swami collecting letters from random hands. Then He goes up the stage after making a full round of the hall. After Swami sits on the ornate chair He asks for Bhajan to start. On either side of the large stage there are small rooms where Audio control is arranged. Hari, my son, used to be there while he was studying for his BSc. He somehow seems destined for Swami's audio control. He did the same work for many years.

There was that large sprawling tree under which Swami used to give Darsan - that tree is now no more, and in its place is a large open hall. We all miss that tree very much, with all its nostalgic memories.

Whenever we came to Brindavan, we never missed visiting (my cousin) Baleshettan and family. They shifted from Ulsoor to Banaswadi to a larger house. Their house is currently just beside Banaswadi main bus stand.

One important thing connected to Brindavan is that Amma (Mother) and (her sister) Kochechi got Swami's blessings first from there. Later, they visited Prasanthi Nilayam, too.

Prasanthi Nilayam is THE place for all of us - our favourite place, rather than Brindavan. Prasanthi Nilayam is more frequently visited by us, it is the place where Swami used to be often available for darshan, and as I mentioned above, all facilities are available there in close proximity. Recently, a large conference hall is also coming up.