The Temple's Storyమందిరం కథ

Across the world and throughout our country, countless Sai Baba temples have been built, and many more will be constructed in the future. Within those, temples built because Baba himself guided a devotee are rare and very special. The Chelluru Datta Sai Mandiram is one such rare and sacred shrine.

The devotee chosen by Baba to fulfill this divine task was Sri Putta Praveen Kumar of Chelluru (son of Sri Putta Seetaramaiah and Srimati Seetambaram; brother of Srimati Rimmalapudi Padmaja).

A question may arise in our minds: "Why did Baba choose Praveen garu for this noble task?" The answer lies in a phrase often spoken by Baba himself: "Runanubandha" (Karmic Bond). It was solely due to the karmic bond spanning multiple lifetimes that Baba chose Praveen as his instrument for this sacred service.

While studying engineering, Praveen learned about Sai Baba through his friend's sister and brother-in-law. The truth that Baba required no grand displays and had no harsh rules or strict rituals deeply touched Praveen's heart. From that moment on, an intense desire to visit Shirdi grew within him. In 1991, Praveen set out for Shirdi with his friend Bhuvaneshwar, carrying only a small amount of money. Back then, direct bus and train facilities to Shirdi were scarce. Yet, no hardship could stop them from their deep desire for Baba's darshan.

"Even if my devotee is beyond the seven seas, I will draw him to me like a sparrow tied with a thread by its feet. No one can step foot in Shirdi without my command, and no one can leave without my permission." — Sri Sai Satcharitra

Surprisingly, the day after they arrived in Shirdi was Guru Pournima! Baba himself had explained the significance of Guru Pournima to his devotees as a major festival to worship one's Guru. Being in Shirdi on that day, when the Sadguru's grace rains down heavily upon his devotees, was nothing short of Sai Baba's pure mercy. That marked the beginning of Praveen's connection with Baba.

Building a temple in Chelluru was not Praveen's own idea; it was purely Baba's divine will. In 1993, Praveen got a job as a lecturer at GITAM College in Vizag, and he moved there with his mother. They regularly visited a nearby Sai Baba temple in their colony. After about 10 days, Baba appeared in Praveen's dream and asked, "Build me a temple."

Waking up the next morning, Praveen shared this with his mother, saying, "Amma! That old man (Praveen fondly called Baba 'Musalodu' / the old man) is asking me to build him a temple."

His mother replied, "Tell Baba that we don't have the financial capacity to build a temple." But Baba did not let go. He appeared in Praveen's dreams for four consecutive nights, repeatedly asking for a temple. On the fifth day, his mother said, "Alright, son, tell Baba that we cannot build a grand temple, but we will construct a small one and consecrate an idol inside." The Baba temple in their colony in Vizag housed a one-foot-tall idol of Baba brought from Jaipur, and Praveen placed an order for a similar idol.

Following that, Praveen became completely consumed with building the temple, and resigned from his lecturer job. He resolved that "I must build Baba's temple," and returned to his native village, Chelluru.

After returning to Chelluru, Praveen worked day and night searching for a suitable plot of land to build the temple on. Many plots were inspected, but attempts kept failing; some even fell through right at the registration stage. At this point, Seetambaram garu suggested consecrating a small Baba idol in the Chelluru Shiva Temple, and bearing the expenses of daily worship and the priest's salary.

However, the local temple trust declined, stating that Baba was a Muslim and therefore could not be placed in the Shiva temple. But Baba's divine plan was different!

During the search for land, one night, Baba appeared in Praveen's grandfather, Sri Chundru Krishnananda Choudhary's dream and asked, "Why are you searching for land elsewhere? Don't you have your own land?" and showed him their own field. The next morning, his grandfather called Praveen, narrated his dream, and said, "I will write a piece of our land located at the junction of two roads for the temple, build it there." Thus, Baba himself chose the exact land for his mandiram.

To begin construction, there was insufficient money and no external support. Placing his entire trust in Baba, Praveen moved forward. During construction, setting aside food and sleep, Praveen spent three weeks a month in Shirdi and one week in Chelluru to maximize Baba's presence in his life, and to try and bring the essence of Shirdi to Chelluru.

By virtue of past karmic ties, Baba bestowed the honor of sponsoring the main idol upon Praveen's close relatives, Sri Putta Viswanatha Choudhary and his wife. The moment Praveen asked, they joyfully agreed to fund the crafting of the idol.

Praveen was firmly determined to bring the holy fire from Shirdi's Dwarakamai Dhuni, originally lit by Baba's own hands, and establish it at the Chelluru temple. Over a two-day journey, he carefully brought the holy flame to Chelluru, ensuring it always stayed lit. Until the formal consecration, the sacred fire was kept safely in the local Rama Temple before being transferred to light the Dhuni at the Chelluru mandiram.

On June 27, 28, and 29, 1997, the idol consecration of Datta Sai Mandiram was celebrated with great grandeur. As advised by Sivanesan Swami, Baba's idol was consecrated directly over the 11 crore Sai Naamam books. Since that day, four daily Aartis have been performed systematically without fail.

In Baba's own words: "We have all come together due to past karmic bonds (Runanubandha). We must support one another, love each other, and live happily."

"It is not enough for us alone to be Sai devotees; we must share the joy of Sai with everyone around us."

When we treat Baba's temple as our home and Baba as our father, we can all live as one family immersed in the thought of Sai. Once we hand over the reins of our life to our Sadguru, there is no place left for sorrow!

🌸 "I will never let go of the hand of those who come to me with faith and devotion." — Sai's Promise

🌸 Sai Baba, who assured us with "Why fear when I am here?", asks us to remember him in everything we eat or do.