40. Sri Kasturi
A common version in the context of Prema Sai Baba is that allegedly Sri Kasturi (1897-1987) in his next reincarnation will become the mother of Prema Sai Baba. This statement is attributed to Sathya Sai Baba himself, although the authenticity is doubtful.
Who is Sri Kasturi and why is he so important to the Sathya Sai Baba tradition? It is believed that Sri Kasturi first met Sathya Sai Baba in 1948. Then, Sri Kasturi was 51 years old, and Sathya Sai Baba was only 22 years old. In the mid-1950s, Sri Kasturi retired and moved entirely to Puttaparthi.
Sathya Sai Baba offered Sri Kasturi a job at the ashram, which began publishing a monthly magazine called Sanatana Sarathi. Sri Kasturi became the editor of the magazine, which at that time was the main official source of information about the activities of Sathya Sai Baba.
Sri Kasturi is the author of an amazing series of books Sathyam, Shivam, Sundaram, translated into many languages under the title Truth, Compassion, Beauty. This series of books is the most detailed biography of Sathya Sai Baba.
The first part of the book was published in the early 1960s and covered the first 34 years of Sathya Sai Baba’s life. Sri Kasturi collected information for the book from various sources, including Sathya Sai Baba’s father and brother, as well as teachers from the school where Sathya Sai Baba studied as a child.
The second part of the book was published in the late 1960s, and several more volumes of the series were published in the early 1980s. For many years Sri Kasturi was Sathya Sai Baba’s secretary and closest assistant. It is difficult to say if anyone was closer to Sathya Sai Baba than Sri Kasturi. The life of Sri Kasturi is covered with legends, as he was a truly unique person and a great devotee of God.
Let’s return to the story that Sri Kasturi will incarnate as a woman, in the next birth, and become the mother of Prema Sai Baba. How can one verify that Sri Kasturi really reincarnated as the mother of Prema Sai Baba? It is impossible to confirm or refute this prediction.
Is it possible that some of Sathya Sai Baba’s predictions will not come true or have not come true? This is not possible for several reasons. First of all, all predictions are multifaceted, and it is not always possible to interpret them straightforwardly and unambiguously.
The mission of Sai is in constant development. Let’s remember the situation when Sathya Sai Baba materialized a ring with the portrait of Prema Sai Baba and presented it to John Hislop.
In the beginning, the ring only had an approximate image of Prema Sai Baba, and only with time did his face begin to appear. Sathya Sai Baba explained that the form and face of Prema Sai Baba is in the process of being formed.
This means that many other predictions could subsequently change, including the version that Sri Kasturi will be reincarnated as the mother of Prema Sai Baba.