Viji

[Guest guest]

Viji will turn 9 the coming Thursday. She prepared a big list of gifts that she

is expecting on that day. But she forgot all about that! She is so excited

today! Why? Because Amma told her last night that Baba is coming to their home

tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

>From that moment, viji became restless. There is as much gala in her heart as

there is in the house. Whole night, she could not get a wink. Every two or

three hours she would rise up and look at the window to see if Sun has already

dawned. Somehow she fell asleep in the early hours of next morning without her

knowledge. And when she suddenly woke up, she saw it was all bright. Her

heartbeat stopped. Ah!!!! It is morning already!!! She felt like crying. Baba

would have come already! She wanted to take head-bath, wear the yellow color

pattu langa and the green jacket. She wanted to give the first Arati to Swami.

She told this to mother already and she said ok.

 

She threw off the blanket, stormed into the kitchen weeping. But none was ready

to listen to her cry there. The men were busy decorating the house while all

the women were involved in making myriad dishes to offer Naivedyam to Swami. A

small hope arose in viji that Swami would not have come yet and no-one would

have given Him Arati yet. Thinking so, she turned around and dahsed against

someone and it was amma!

 

Amma shouted, "Viji! What are you doing here? Go and play outside! God! These

children are intolerable...already I am tensed whether we can complete all the

preparations before Swami arrives.....Susee...where is the Green dal?"

 

Viji got her answer! Swami has not come yet!! She smiled. Happily.

 

She ran into the bathroom and started taking head-bath. She was laughing to

herself because this is the first time she is taking head-bath herself.

Everytime, amma has to force her and pour the kunkudu rasam and bathe her. Viji

would simply sit, most often crying loudly. Today it is a totally new feeling

for her to take head-bath herself.

 

She came out and checked her ward-robe. First, she took out the orange colored

pattu langa. Amma told her Swami wears orange most of the time. Last time, when

He came to anu's house also, He was wearing orange, she remembered. Will He wear

the same today? Don't know...but viji likes yellow pattu langa of all the ones

she has.

 

"Swami knows that I like yellow. Doesn't He? So, He will wear the same today."

she thought. She wore the yellow pattu langa and in the meanwhile pinni (viji's

mother's sister) came over there.

 

"Oh! This little one is still left, I have to decorate her", she said smiling

and came over and dressed Viji with gold paavdaa, bangles and silver anklets.

 

Now, Viji is all ready to give Arati to Swami. "Pinni! now, can I go and give

Arati to Swami?", she asked Pinni with twinkling eyes. Pinni laughed aloud and

said, "Sweetie, Swami is coming only in the evening!", she gave a quick kiss to

Viji and left.

 

"Oh! Till evening, I have to wait!" Viji sighed. Slowly she walked out to the

corridor. A question came to her mind. "Will Swami talk to me? Last time, when

He came to anu's house, anu was ill on bed. It seems she had fever and did not

eat anything the whole day! So, as soon as Swami came, He went straight to her

bed and put morsels of food into her mouth with His own Hand!!!!" And see, the

next day, anu was running all around the houses like a butterfly!!!

 

"Will He do the same to me? I am not ill, then why would He give me food with

His own Hand?", she thought. The very thought despirited her. "Why am I not

ill? huh!", she said this to herself a hundred times.

 

And then suddenly she smiled.

 

"May be if I do not eat anything the whole day, just like anu, He would come to

me and give me food with His Hand!!!!".......Aah! viji could not contain her

joy for getting the splendid idea!

 

And then she ran out to play, laughing to herself. She played and played with

her gang of little devils for two hours and entered back into the house. Tired,

exhausted and hungry, she stepped into the kitchen. Vadas were hot and ready on

the plate. Viji jumped ahead and grabbed one. While she was putting the vada

into her mouth, suddenly her eyes fell on the ring she was wearing, the one

with Swami's tiny photo! She was reminded of her grand plan!

 

"Oh, God! If I eat now, Swami will not give me food with His Hand!"

 

She left the vada on the plate and came back into the hall. Oh, the stomach is

shouting. She is so tired and exhausted. "May be I should not have gone to

play....probably I would not have felt this hungry, if I had not played and

jumped...", she said to herself.

 

Suddenly Amma appeared there from no-where. "viji, go to Subbamma gari house and

bring some flowers from their garden". Even Amma did not remember that viji has

not had her food yet.

 

"Flowers for whom?", viji asked.

 

"Swami, who else? For Padapuja...."

 

Ah! Viji loves the yellow colored roses in Subbamma gari garden so much. Wow!

How wonderful to give them to Swami! She ran out immediately.

 

She collected a hundred flowers counting carefully, all the while imagining the

beautiful flowers on Swami's Feet. She has seen Swami's Feet closely and

touched them also in anu's house. Oh, how soft! Somehow she forgot about the

hunger while collecting flowers. She came back and handed the basket over to

amma.

 

"Who gave you food?", Amma asked viji. Somehow Amma remembered that she has not

seen viji eating.

 

"Mmm.....", viji looked tensedly into amma's eyes. If she tells Amma now that

she has not eaten, definitely she will give her a nice beating and make her

eat.

 

"Why don't you speak? I have lots of work there. Tell me who gave you food?",

Amma spoke in a sharp tone.

 

"Mmmm....Subbamma garu. I ate there....she saw me when I went to pick flowers

and took me inside and gave food". Viji is sweating, she is very scared to lie.

That too with amma! She did not forget yet the last beating she received from

amma when when she lied about the pencil anu gave her.

 

Viji was breathing heavily, and started murmuring "Swami, Swami, Swami", praying

that Amma should not doubt her words about lunch.

 

Amma looked at viji for a moment and left.

 

Viji took a deep breath of relief and went into her bedroom. She sat on her bed

and smiled to Swami's photo, as if thanking Him for saving her from Amma's

anger. But now, her stomach started paining. It is already 3 PM.

 

What to do? What to do? It's becoming tough for her to bear the pain. She tried

standing for sometime and then lying on bed, but nothing worked. The pain only

seemed to increase minute after minute. She started looking at the wall clock.

The hands of the clock seemed to be moving heavily. She somehow spent an hour

looking at the watch every minute.

 

Tears started rolling down her little cheeks. She did not what to do. She looked

at her little tummy and started talking to it. "Oh my dear tummy, please bear

for this one day. I will give you junnu, I will give you vadas and upma and

everything you want tomorrow. Please, if you listen to me now, Swami will come

and give me food with His Hand! Please, please", she started pleading.

 

She started feeling weak and when she touched herself, she felt her body was a

little warm. "Is it fever?" The thought brought joy to her. "Oh then, it would

be perfect. I would be exactly like Anu and Swami will definitely come to

me!!!". She ran outside and started looking for pinni.

 

"Ah, there she is," she ran to her.

 

"Pinni! Here, touch my forehead," she said looking at her.

 

Pinni looked into viji's eyes. They were weak and pale. Worried, she came ahead

and touched viji's forehead with her palm. It was normal.

 

"Nothing. Did you eat properly?" she asked viji and quickly put some junnu into

a plate and gave it to viji.

 

Viji's eyes shone looking at junnu! That's her most favorite dish!! She took it

but then she still remembered the vow. "I will eat sitting in the corridor" she

said and walked outside. She looked around to make sure no-one is watching her.

Then she looked at junnu for one last time, and said to herself, "I would eat

five plates of junnu when Swami gives me in the evening", she smiled and was

about to throw it into the dustbin.

 

Suddenly, she was reminded of Amma's words. "Swami says - Food is God."

 

"That means Swami is food? I am eating Swami daily!!" she laughed, feeling it

funny. But even the laugh was feeble. She did not have energy.

 

She stood for a moment thinking. Kumari, the servant maid's daughter was passing

that way. "Kumari!" viji called out. But the voice was not coming out. People

are shouting all around. Somehow, she walked swiftly and caught her. "Here,

have this junnu!" she gave the plate to her.

 

Kumari was elated. Only during rare festivals, she gets to eat it! Their

family's condition is such that she has to starve sometimes or just drink some

water and sleep! She was overjoyed seeing junnu.

 

She ate all the junnu looking into viji's eyes with so much of gratitude. Viji

also felt very happy seeing her smiles.

 

Then she returned to her bedroom. "What to do to forget this pain?"

 

Again she is reminded of what Amma said : "When you are scared or pained, just

keep on saying SAIRAM SAIRAM SAIRAM"

 

Viji started chanting. "SAIRAM SAIRAM SAIRAM SAIRAM.........." and doing so,

slowly fell asleep, totally exhausted.

 

*****************************************************************************************************

 

"Viji, viji....Swami is coming, wake up!"

 

Viji opened her eyes. She felt her eye-lids were very heavy. Amma could sense

something is wrong with her. "What happened, honey?" she came close and made

viji sit.

 

"Nothing. Did Swami come?", viji said, her eyes shining vehemently.

 

"Yes, He will be in our house in five minutes".

 

Gathering all her energy, viji walked into the toilet and washed her face. Her

walk was staggering but somehow she is trying her best, not to show it.

 

As soon she entered the hall, someone dragged her into the pool of other

children, "Children on this side."

 

And then everyone started Bhajans.

 

Swami has stepped into the house.

 

The moment she saw Him, Viji laughed in mystic joy. Swami was wearing yellow

colored robe!!!!!! Viji laughed and laughed forgetting all the exhaustion. But

no one is there to bother about her joy. But she laughed.

 

Swami came and sat on His chair and people thronged to sit around Him. Viji was

so small, she could not get a clear view of Him. She forgot about her plan, her

vow and her wish that Swami should come to her. She is bewildered and lost among

the running people.

 

The Bhajan session went for one hour and finally it was about to end. The little

viji was not even able to see the stage. She can only see the legs of the people

standing all around her, tall and high. Who is there to care for her? She looked

up at the person standing before her. He is still rising on his feet to see

Swami. Viji pitied herself. A weak smile.

 

The bells started ringing. The Arati has started!!!

 

Viji broke into tears. All her dreams of givng first Arati to Swami went into

air. She started crying but she herself was not able to hear her weeping in the

loud noise all around. Who else can listen? The nadaswaram and dafli were

reverberting in the hall.

 

Suddenly everything stopped.

 

People started moving away. Viji did not know what was happening. She is getting

pushed by all the people around. She moved hither and thither and suddenly found

herself standing freely in the hall. People moved away from her.

 

Swami was standing before her.

 

Viji was stunned. She never saw Swami so closely. Swami held up little viji on

His hand. Viji was just looking at Him with no words.

 

Everyone became silent.

 

"Bangaaroo, why did you not eat anything from morning?", Swami said.

 

Viji started weeping loudly and tocuhed Swami's Face with her little fingers.

She is just 9 years old. What does she know about Bhakti? What does she know

about God and devotion? She was just weeping.

 

Swami looked at viji's mother. "Did you know she did not even touch a single

drop of water from morning?"

 

Amma did not understand anything. She was standing stunned.

 

"I know.", He said, and looked at Viji, "Bangaroo, all the food you eat comes to

Me. If you starve, I also starve. I did not eat anything from morning."

 

Viji was carressing Swami's Face, while her tears twinkled magically in the

light of the Bhajan Hall.

 

The sweet Swami then looked around and asked the people, "Do you know what is Upavaasa?"

 

"Swami! I do Upavaasa every Thursday.", a woman came forward and said.

 

"And she eats 7 dosas instead of the regular rice. That is her Upavaasa", Swami

said and everyone broke into laughter. "It is better you eat the normal amount

of rice than stuffing more dosas.".

 

The hall reverberated with laughter.

 

"Are you wondering how I know the exact number?" He asked the woman.

She was indeed stunned when Swami told her the exact number.

 

"Because knowingly or unknowingly, you said "Brahmaarpanam" before gulping every

dosa and I had to accept each one of them. It is Me who suffers the tiresomeness

when you eat and stuff yourself greedily"

 

People were rolling in laughter holding their stomachs. It was not simple

humour. It was Divine comedy.

 

Swami turned towards viji's mother and asked, "What is viji's favorite dish?"

 

"Swami...."

 

Even before she completed her sentence, He said, "You don't have to tell me. I

am her Mother before you. Bring some junnu", He ordered.

 

Amma ran and brought the plate. Swami sat and put morsel by morsel into viji's

mouth and viji did not know whether she was laughing or crying all the while.

 

Swami looked at the people and asked, "Does anyone of you know what viji was

doing from the morning?"

 

As expected, there was no answer. He Himself continued, "Do you know that viji

did not eat but gave the junnu to Kumari? Did you know that she was chanting My

Name all the while sitting in the bedroom? I know. I know. I only know. Your

Bhakti is exhibition. One little thing you do and you advertise it in public.

That is not love, that is hypocrisy."

 

"All of you think that I arrived in the house one hour back. No, I came here in

the morning itself. I was with viji all through the day. I was giving her

comfort while she was chanting My Name in pain."

 

"I come to you, not when you starve physically, but when you starve of my Love,

long for My Love."

 

Viji did not understand what Swami was saying about Bhakti. She was just looking

into Swami eyes. She was just wondering where all her stomach pain went, the

moment Swami tocuhed her.

 

Swami turned to her and said, "Won't you give Me Arati?"

 

Her love was shining in His eyes.

 

*************************************************************************************************************

Sandesh: Last week, one night, I read the Divine stories of Krishna in Repalle

and the ones in Anyatha Sharanam Nasthi. I was overwhelmed imagining the joy

and bliss of the bhaktas who had the uncomparable fortune of living with Him in

Parthi, Uravakonda in His early days. May be my longing to experience His Love

is not too bad in its intensity, Swami has given me a dream in which I saw a

little girl and Swami's shower of love on her. I wrote whatever I could

remember from the dream in a story form, completing somehow the parts I could

not remember.

 

Have a Divine day, lovers of Sathya Sai.

May His remembrance sustain our interest in life,

JAI SATHYA SAIRAM

[Guest guest]

usj177

Sat Nov 19, 2005 0:35am

Re: Viji

 

Sairam,

Thanks a lot for sharing such a beautiful story.

 

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"Ranganath" <brngupta

Sat Nov 19, 2005 1:18pm

Re: [saibabanews] Re: Viji

 

I DONT think, its just a story - It MIGHT have happened, in the past.

 

While reading, i was thinking/remembering the story of the little

girl, who asked BABA, to give her permanent place, at HIS divine

feet... (ref: Sri Satya Sai Divya Charitra, ch. 52.3, by: Vidya

Raghunath), and, i thought, may be, this is... that girl's incident,

with more detail.

 

Thanks for your patience, in composing this mail, converting your

dream, into words, and, giving us the feeling (both physically, and,

mentally) of being at the venue, with viji, and, swami.

 

Ranganath

 

 

 

 

saibabanews, Sai Sandesh <saisandesh@g...>

wrote:

[Guest guest]

SAI RAM,

Only one thing is coming to my mind,this is MEERA/SURDAS/RADHA-BHAKTI .This is

how i can describe it.Had tears in my eyes with happiness while reading.

 

anju

[Guest guest]

She is so excited today! .....