CHENNAI: A pall of gloom descended over Sundaram, Sri Sathya Saibaba’s Abode of Peace on Sundaram Salai in R A Puram on Sunday, following the news of the demise of the spiritual leader.
Hundreds of devotees thronged Sundaram Bhagawan in the city to pay their last respects to one of the most popular Indian spiritual gurus.
“I can’t believe that Sai Baba is no more,” Chandra Kumar, a 27-year-old resident of Pudupet, said. A devotee of Sai Baba for about two decades, he rushed to R A Puram soon after the news of the Baba’s death broke.
“I was fortunate to see the Swami (Sai Baba) twice in my lifetime,” Chandra Kumar said breaking down.
Accompanied by their family members, devotees from all walks of life thronged Sundaram with tears swelling in their eyes.
Claiming that he had the darshan of Sri Sathya Sai Baba at least 350 times in the past 40 years, V R Venkatakrishnan, a 52-year-old devotee, said that he never celebrated his birthday and instead, observed Baba’s birthday.
“Every year, I used to visit Puttaparthi on November 23, which happens to be the birthday of Sai Baba. But, this year we will not see him.”
For Sai Sangeetha, the grief of Baba’s demise was unbearable. The 15-year-old girl was born after her parents gave up the decision of aborting her following the preachings of Baba.
“The moment we read a book of Baba, my husband decided not to abort my daughter,” her mother said.
At the prayer hall, devotees sang bhajans with popular verses such as ‘Ishwar Allah Tero Naam’, ‘Yesu Buddha Sai, Mahaveer Sai, Govinda Sai, Gopala Sai’ and ‘Kadirvel Muruga’.