There was a family called ‘Ratnakara’ in a small village Puttaparthi known for their piety. The head of the family was Kondama Raju, married to Lakshmamma. The couple was blessed with two sons. One of them, Peda Venkama Raju, was married to Eshwaramba or Eshwaramma. This couple had one son and two daughters; then, four miscarriages followed.
A Sanyasi (renunciate), a self-realised, noble, and great person called Venkaavadhootha used to visit the house of Kondama Raju. People who have attained supreme levels of renunciation and non-involvement are known as Avadhutas. One day Venkaavadhootha, discussing spiritual matters with Kondama Raju, all of a sudden became silent. When enquired why he so abruptly stopped talking, he replied, ‘Kondama Raju, Mother Earth is weeping. Did you not hear?‘ Venkaavadhootha went on, ‘Very soon, the Supreme Being Himself will incarnate on earth in human form! You are destined to witness that incarnation!‘

The appointed time had arrived. Prayers of numerous saints requesting God’s reincarnation to uplift Dharma (righteousness) were about to get answered. One day when Eshwaramma was lifting water from the well, she suddenly saw a ball of bluish sparkling light rolling down from the sky. It entered her body, and she lost consciousness. When she regained her senses, she told her mother-in-law what had happened. She advised her not to disclose or discuss a word about it with anyone. Then Eshwaramba became pregnant for the eighteen time. Musical instruments in the house, like mridangam (percussion instrument) and thanpura (a stringed instrument), produced musical sounds of their own accord. People were surprised and also delighted at this extraordinary occurrence, but at the same time, they were confused and concerned. Peda Venkama Raju went all the way to the nearby town of Bukkapatnam to consult astrologers. After carefully going through ancient texts, they enquired whether any lady in the house was pregnant. When the reply was affirmative, the astrologers said, ‘For the pleasure of the child in the womb, celestial musicians are providing entertainment. When divine incarnations are about to take place, such unusual incidents happen!‘ They showed relevant parts of astrological treatises to Peda Venkama Raju in support of their opinion.

On 23rd November 1926 A.D. – an auspicious Monday in the lunar month of Kartika (the month which starts from the day following the festival of lights DEEPAVALI or DIWALI) and the Arudra star, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Saibaba was born in the Ratnakaram family to the pious and blessed couple Eshwaramba and Pedavenkama Raju. Kartika is a very auspicious month for all Hindus, as it is the month when both Lord Shiva and Lord Maha Vishnu are worshipped. Especially Mondays in the month are the favorite days of Lord Shiva, and special worship is performed. The Arudra star is also the star of Lord Shiva. The child was named Sathyanarayana Raju. He was born as the eighth child to Eshwaramma, just like lord Krishna to Devaki. Sathya Sai Baba had a younger brother named Janakiramaiah.
When Eshwaramba was having labour pains, Lakshmamma was attending Sathyanarayana Vratam (worship to lord Sathyanarayana) near the priest’s house. She returned home around 5 AM and gave prasadam to Eshwaramba. Inside the house, musical notes from the instruments spontaneously playing on their own were softly reverberating. At that extraordinary moment, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the divine incarnation, was born. He had a tiny black mole (birthmark) on his left cheek. He also had another mole on his bosom, like the Srivatsa ornament adorning the bosom of Lord Maha Vishnu. On his soles could be discerned the signs of Sankha (the conch) and Chakra (the circular disk), which are signs of divinity. Lakshmamma, Easwaramma’s mother-in-law, placed the newborn baby delicately on palm leaves, as tradition demanded, in the corner of the delivery room. A little later, she noticed a slight movement of the baby’s bedsheets. When she picked up the baby, she found a coiled cobra below the bed, to her dismay! True enough, Puttaparthi had no shortage of snakes. But it was nevertheless quite unusual for a coiled cobra positioning itself in the bed for a newborn baby right in the delivery room. After the flutter caused by its presence cooled down, the snake was looked for but could not be found. There is no doubt that the snake was none other than mythological Adishesha, the divine serpent who serves as a bed for Lord Sri Maha Vishnu in Vaikuntha. This occurrence was the very first demonstration of the divinity of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

Even as a child, his spiritual inclination, contemplative nature, and miracles set him apart from other children of his age. He became known as ‘Guru’ and ‘Brahmajnani’ (knower of Brahman or Godhead) among His peers and others in the village. He also was known as Sathya Narayana Raju or simply Sathyam. At the age of ten, Sri Sathya Sai Baba formed a group of boys from Puttaparthi to sing bhajan songs called Sri Panduranga Bhajan Mandali. This group, dressed in custom-made uniforms and flags in their hands, used to go round the village, street by street, singing bhajans to the accompaniment of cymbals. Infectious diseases like cholera and smallpox used to rage and ravage villages all around Puttaparthi. But in Puttaparthi, residents noticed that everyone was safe, happy, and healthy. They felt that it was solely due to the devotional activity of Sathyam’s Bhajan Mandali. Soon residents of neighbouring villages began inviting the Mandali to come over and perform bhajans. In due course, they too noticed relief from disease and untimely death.

Sathya completed his Higher Elementary school education in Bukkapatnam, about two and a half miles from Puttaparthi. Seshama Raju, the older brother of Sathyam, moved to Kamalapuram in the Cuddapah district. He was keen that his brother, Sathyam, should be given a high school education. So he brought the youngster to Kamalapuram and put him in the local high school. But it so happened that Seshama Raju had to leave the place and go elsewhere to undergo teachers’ training. On completing his teachers’ training course, Seshama Raju was appointed as a Telugu teacher in Uravakonda, and Sathyam was admitted in grade VIII in the high school in Uravakonda. He lived with his brother, Seshama Raju. On 8th March 1940, a momentous event took place in Uravakonda. Sathyam was stung by a giant black scorpion; his body lost sensation, and he sank into unconsciousness. The news spread like wildfire and agitated many people. In that region, a sting of a scorpion often meant death. Sathyam was administered several injections and medicines but to no avail. Slowly, he recovered in a couple of days, got up on his own, and began to move about. However, he seemed to have undergone a total transformation, both mentally and physically. It was as though a spiritual spark dormant in his inner being suddenly had come to life and began to glow. The effulgence of the Supreme Being comes only after the darkest period. The Lord of Shirdi was about to unveil and display in sharp relief the immense body of his spiritual powers through the medium of this boy. Sathyam was often lost in thought; he recited Sanskrit slokas, sang songs, and gave religious discourses. His behaviour was strange and inscrutable. Seshama Raju and his parents were deeply concerned and confused. Sathyam was brought back to Puttaparthi from Uravakonda to make him undergo treatment, thinking an evil spirit possibly possessed him. The treatment was so painful and hurting that the family pleaded with the exorcist to release Sathyam from the treatment.

On 23rd May 1940, Sathyam was sitting in the front entrance of his home in Puttaparthi, materialising sugar candy and flowers and distributing them around. His father became furious at seeing this, thinking his son was bewitched. He took a stick and threatened to beat him if Sathya did not reveal who he, in fact, was. The young Sathya responded calmly and firmly, ‘I am Sai Baba,‘ a reference to Sai Baba of Shirdi. ‘I am of Aapasthamba Soothra and Bharadwajasa Gothra. I have come to rescue all of you, smitten as you are with fear and lack of mental peace. Your ancestor, Venkaavadhootha, prayed to Me to take birth in your family. In response to his prayers, I have incarnated!‘ This was the first time he proclaimed himself to be the reincarnation of Sai Baba of Shirdi. His father, Peda Venkama Raju, was stunned.
On a Thursday, one of the persons gathered around Sathyam asked for some proof that he was Sai Baba. Sathyam asked him whether he did indeed needed proof. Then he called for jasmine flowers. Taking them in his hands, he flung them onto the floor. To the astonishment of everyone, the flowers arranged themselves to read ‘I’m Sai Baba’ in the Telugu script. All doubts melted away.

On 20th October 1940, Sathyam was then in Uravakonda, having resumed his interrupted schooling. He was on his way to school when suddenly, he turned back, returned home, flung his books away, and cried out loudly, ‘I no longer belong to you. Maya (delusion) has left Me. My devotees are eagerly calling Me.‘ On hearing these loud words, his sister-in-law looked out of her kitchen window. She saw a halo of blinding luminescence around Sathyam’s head. ‘I am leaving,‘ he told her, ‘the work I have come here for has to start.‘ As he said these words, his brother, Seshama Raju, and the neighbour, Narayana Sastry, arrived on the scene. On seeing the splendorous halo, Sastry fell at the feet of Sathyam. Seshama Raju stood speechless and motionless. Glorious with the crown of effulgent light, Sathyam walked to a nearby large garden belonging to Anjaneyulu, an Excise Tax Inspector. He sat on a boulder, and several eager devotees sat around him. Sathyam began singing a bhajan song, the first in the vast body of bhajan songs, which are now resounding worldwide! ‘Manase Bhajare Guru Charanam, Dusthara Bhava Sagara Tharanam.‘ A photographer turned up and prepared to photograph him. A small rock standing in front of Sathyam was intruding into the picture, and the cameraman desired it to be removed. Sathyam said, ‘Let it be. Go ahead and take your photograph.‘ When the film was eventually developed and printed, that small stone, to the astonishment of everyone, was recognised as Shirdi Sai Baba’s form.

With his mission started, he moved back to Puttaparthi and stayed there per the promise he gave to his mother. As the number of devotees swelled, a Mandir (temple) was constructed in February 1947, where he began to reside and grant darshan. On 23rd November 1950, Prasanthi Nilayam (The Abode of Supreme Peace) was inaugurated, which remains the central venue for Baba’s darshan and the festival celebrations that take place in his Divine Presence. He established world-class educational institutions in Puttaparthi, Anantapur, and other sites, making high-quality education available from Undergrad to Postgrad to everyone. He also established the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Puttaparthi and Whitefield, Bangalore. He brought world-class medical facilities free of cost to the poor and the needy. The Sathya Sai International Organisation, founded by Sathya Sai Baba, now has a presence in more than 160 countries and its members undertake many service activities that benefit their immediate communities. The mammoth drinking water supply projects and the numerous other service projects conducted by him stand as a testimony to his selfless love and his compassion for humanity.
In 2003, Sai Baba suffered a fractured hip when a student standing on an iron stool slipped, and the boy and stool both fell on him. After that, he gave darshan from a car or portable chair. After 2004, Sai Baba used a wheelchair and began to make fewer public appearances. On 28 March 2011, Sai Baba was admitted to the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital at Prashantigram at Puttaparthi, after experiencing respiration-related problems. After nearly a month of hospitalisation, during which his condition progressively deteriorated, Sai Baba took Maha Samadhi on Easter Sunday, 24 April in 2011 at 7:40 IST, aged 84. Sathya Saibaba’s Maha Samadhi is there in the Sai Kulwanth Hall Prasanthi Nilayam. Sathya Sai Baba remains a living presence, an inspiration, a guide, and most of all, a cherished, endearing, and intimately felt divinity in the hearts of millions who knew Him.