There are perhaps very few places in the world which have attained such prominence as Puttaparthy, in Andhra Pradesh, India. The reason is not too difficult to fathom.

In a country where there is no dearth of religious and spiritual leaders, one name is revered by followers around the world. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is worshiped as a "Living God" and his abode Prashanthi Nilayam at Puttapathy, attracts millions of visitors from all over, who come seeking spiritual solace and mental peace.

Bhagwan Sri Sathya sai Baba - A Life dedicated to humanity

Ever since his birth on November-23rd, 1926, Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has been destined for greatness. According to popular legend, his birth was heralded by supernatural occurrences such as musical instruments playing by themselves and a cobra emerging from the house.

Even at every tender age he was marked out as different and special as compared to other children . He turned vegetarian and would keep away from places where animals were killed or tortured. Filled with compassion, whenever a beggar appeared at the door he would beg and plead with his parents to donate grains or food. He banded together a group of children of his age and taught them to sing bhajans that he had composed in praise of the glory of the Lord.

Miracles have been a part of his life since the early and have been the pointers to his divinity. He would relieve ailments that had been pronounced incurable, distribute sweets from an empty bag, pluck various fruits from a tamarind tree (since then known as Kalpavrusksha) etc.

On October 20, 1940, when he was of 14 years old, he left home saying he belonged to the world and it was time to launch his divine mission and dedicated his life to serving mankind. He settled on a rock in the Excise Inspector's bungalow. As the news spread like wildlife, people came from every direction bearing flowers and fruits and singing songs in his praise.

Service to Humanity - His Mission
Bhagwan Sathya Sai Baba's emphasis has been on service to the society, free education, free medical and health services to the poor, rural development for improving the living conditions of die weaker sections of the society are some of his major contributions.

A laudable contribution has been the provision of drinking water to the people in 731 villages in Ananthapur district of Andhra Pradesh by laying 2500 Kms long pipelines, construction of hundreds of reservoirs and overhead tanks at a cost more than Rs.250 crores. Such a massive project was envisaged and completed in less than a year.

Located at a distance of 85 km from Ananthapur and 160 Kms from Bangalore, Puttaparthy has a population of around 8,000 and a favorable climate with temperatures ranging between 25 to 35 degrees centigrade.