SRI SATHYA SAI HRUDAYA NIVASI - By Srinivasan [2]

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SRI SATHYA SAI HRUDAYA NIVASI [2]

(Indweller of Hearts)

By Bombay Srinivasan

CHAPTER – 6

Sai shows the spiritual Path

In the first place I wish to reproduce hereunder, the words of my dedication for

this Book in the form a memoriam

Sri Shankara Mani, also popularly known as V.S. Mani is no more with us now,

having attained His Lotus Feet recently. I happened to be born as his youngest

brother.

He was with me all along in our journey towards the Sai Path. A very modern

young man, holding very high Executive positions, gradually glided into the

spiritual pursuit. Needless to say, it was Sai who took him into His merciful

fold and then placed him under the care of a Powerful yogi, Dhyani Maharaj

Madhusudan Dasji, who initiated both of us into Siddha Yoga (Kundalini Yoga)

through Shakti Path Deeksha. Our Guruji also helped us to instill in us deeper

faith in the Divine incarnation of Bhagawan Sri Sai Baba.

Like me, my beloved brother was also the recipient of Sai Grace many times. I

had identified myself with him in some of the narrations.

With Sai’s grace, I dedicate this effort of mine, to the memory of my brother

late Shankara Mani (V.S. Mani) - V. Srinivasan

In the introductory remarks on the dedication of this book, I had referred to my

eldest brother late Sri V.S. Mani. Both of us were employed for a while in a

same firm in Bombay. This offered us lot of opportunities to discuss many

matters, during our spare time. After the entry of Sai into our life, the name

of Bhagawan Sri Sai Baba became a permanent topic. With our limited, nay, small

minds we ventured to rationalize critically, the mystic miracles of Baba, as was

being widely known to the world. When I recall these stupidities, I feel how

grievously we had erred trying to fathom the depth of the limitless, which was

nothing but an exercise in futility. Yet those were the initial days of our

advent into Sai era.

Even before we came to know of Baba, a friend of my brother had given a small

photograph of Bhagawan Baba and spoke much about the powers of Baba. My brother

accepted it very casually. He put it inside a book, and never thought about it

for many months.

Long after that he happened to visit New Delhi and stay there for about a couple

of months in connection with office work. During this period he was steadily

loosing the hearing faculty and had very difficult time when discussing

anything with somebody. This hampered his normal activities. Through a very

influential friend, he was taken to a specialist doctor, where he was put into

lot of tests. The diagnosis was that he had a problem of jammed windpipe near

his neck area and it was medically impossible for surgical correction. He was

further advised to accept the situation and get used to the set back. Only “God

can help you”, said the doctor.

While coming out of the Hospital area, the good friend told him, “Why not pray

to your new found God, Sri Sathya Sai Baba, and request Him to cure you?” My

brother had no other option and replied that that is exactly what he intended

to do. Once in the parking area, they were opening the doors of the car and

were about to get inside. At that time, a gentleman introducing himself as an

assistant of the Specialist Doctor, informed that the Doctor had forgotten to

tell you something and that the had to come to tell some remedial measures

which my brother could try. “Take as much air as possible into your lungs and

hold it there. Close your both ears and nose tightly with your hands and try to

flush in the air through the inner part of the system and this pressure

generated inside may open up the jammed wind pipe. Please try.”

Back in the hotel, while putting the books on a table, the photograph of Baba,

kept inside many days back fell down on the carpeted floor. My brother picked

it up and thought for a while. The doctor’s casual advice while taking leave

and also the unexpected visit of a gentleman in the parking area, all came in a

flash in his mind. “Why not then sincerely pray to Sri Sai Baba and pray for His

blessings” thought my brother. He picked up the photo from the floor, placed it

reverently on the table, and went for a quick bath. With wet clothes, he prayed

to Swami and requested Him to cure him of the deafness. At this moment, he again

recalled the advice given by a gentleman in the parking area, and undertook the

exercise as suggested by him. During his third attempt to build up pressure

inside his lungs and windpipe area, he could feel a sudden opening and was

frightened by the big

sounds echoing in his ears. He could hear again and that too, to such an extent

that it caused pain in his eardrums. He could not even bear the sound of the

fan rotating on the ceiling and the sound of the cars moving around outside. On

that day, he had to plug his ears with a piece of cotton. He lived a normal life

from thereon for a further period of over 30 years with clear hearing faculty.

The return of my brother from Delhi after the miraculous cure coincided with the

Divine visit of Bhagawan Baba to Bombay. With this first experience of His Grace

in our family, we went to Worli for Darshan with increased faith and devotion.

>From this period onwards, our life style completely changed. We discarded the

stylish way of life and without any pomp and show. We learned to live a simple

and spiritual way of living. We got introduced to many Sai devotees and we were

only happy to avoid the old company of fashionable. It was our endeavor to adopt

spirituality in our day-to-day activities. We started reading many Sai

literature ad took keen interest in following His teachings in right

earnestness. Perhaps this single pointed devotion and our desire for

spirituality moved Lord Sai to set a path for us. It seems that He willed that

he should place us for further care with an enlightened personality. Things

started moving in the right directions.

There were couple of known devotees with whom we happened to discuss spiritual

matters. We were always having matters to be clarified, which prompted us to

seek guidance from the devotees who seemed to be more spiritualized persons.

These persons informed us that they are practicing yoga having been initiated

by a Siddha Yogi, Dhyani Maharaj Madhusudhan Dasji. My brother started

attending meditation sessions in their house, though Guruji was not physically

available there. We were told that Guruji stayed in His Ashram in a remote

village called “Bandhwad”, in Banaskantha District of Gujarat State. It is so

remote that it used to take at least a week for a letter to reach there by

post. He used to visit

10pt">Bombay once in a while.

Dhyani Maharaj Madhusudhan Dasji was a Siddha yogi and he initiates only those

who are spiritually ripe and receptive to yogic marg. The method of this yoga

is awakening of Kundalini by Shakti Path, whereby transmitting His yogic powers

to the disciple. The yoga is known as Siddha Yoga or Laya Yoga.

We attended the Dyan Center and joined the group meditation. On the first day

itself, we experienced the awakening of Kundalini, losing body consciousness.

My brother told me that during the period of meditation he could see many

saints appearing one by one and blessing him. To have such experiences on the

first day itself is very remarkable and that too without Guruji in presence and

before formal initiation by His Shakti path Deeksha. He had various curious

thought in his mind. “Who is this Guruji, and why these are all happening to

me? Does He know me and do I deserve for such a

Grace of a Yogi?” Next coup [le of days we were in blissful mood and more and more eager to practice

Meditation

We also longed to have Darshan of this Guruji. The Dyan center was at the

residence of Dr. Pathak in the locality of Prarthana Samaj in Bombay. On the

third day when we went as usual for meditation, Dr. Pathak informed us that he

had received a letter from Guruji, and that there was a message in it for us

also. Guruji had mentioned that he was happy to know that we are attending

meditation regularly and we are having many experiences during meditations.

“Let them not have much curiosity how these are all happening to us or whether

they deserve it at all. They should only know that these experiences are due to

the Grace of their new found Ishta

Devatha”.

I understood later on that Grace of Sai works even without our being aware of

it. When once He accepts you and takes you into His fold, He then chooses the

path best suitable for you. He Himself guides you and in case of necessity,

places you under the care of an able guide. Within a very short period we could

find complete change in our attitude towards our life and willingly and

thankfully accepted the spiritual path as shown by Sai.

This was only the beginning of a long journey on the path. There were

innumerable instances of His Grace during the next 3 decades. The following

chapters will illustrate His mercy, His love, and His all-pervading Divinity

that enveloped my life.

CHAPTER –7

Vision at Thrayambaka

There are some devotees who had experienced His Grace, much before they had come

into the fold of Sai. They came to know of this, much later on being revealed by

Swami Himself, or through by some other methods. One of the Ashtothara Archana

mantras of Bhagawan Baba mentions as “Kaalaatheethaya Namaha”. It means that ‘I

worship the one who is beyond the ‘Kala’ i.e. time’. He is bound by time and

space; He is eternal and omnipresent. Without our being even aware of it, for

reasons best known to Him only, He extends His Grace to you. He is so loving

and merciful and His divine loves binds you for ever with the Divinity.

I too, had such an experience, which is unforgettable. This happened even before

I came to know of the Advent of Sai, the second coming. Till then, I knew Sai of

Shirdi only. It was the beginning of the year 1965, when I visited Shirdi with

my wife for the first time. I felt truly blessed and experienced peace after

worshipping at the Samadhi.

>From there we proceeded to a nearby pilgrim center, Nasik which is on the banks

of river Godavari. The other side of the bank is called “PANCHAVADI’. Our

scriptures say that Lord Sri Rama stayed here with His consort Sita and brother

Lakshmana during their sojourn to the forest. Sri Rama had paid oblations to His

departed father King Dasaratha at the banks of Godavari at Panchavadi.

It was from this place that Ravana had taken away mother Sita. It is a great

pilgrim center. We had holy bath in Godavari river and visited various places

of interest near there. We were staying at Shankara Mutt. Somebody from the

Mutt informed that this Holy Godavari River is originating from a placed called

“Thrayambaka” which was about 25 kilo meters away from

10pt">Nasik, and suggested that we should visit this Holy place also. He

explained that Adi Shankara Himself had installed a powerful Jyothir Linga in a

temple there, and the Deity is called Lord Thrayambakeswara. It means that it

embodiment of all the three amsaas of divinity viz., Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva,

in a single piece of Lingam. We accepted his suggestion and visited the place.

We reached Thrayambakam at the fag end of the day and the sun was about to set.

It was a small village and there was not much crowd, only about a dozen or so

pilgrims inside the temple. We entered the sanctum of the temple and were

looking inside the place where the deity is installed. I could find the base of

the lingam but no lingam was in the usual shape there. We could only see a

cavity. Water was continuously oozing out of the cavity and the pundits were

cleaning very often with cloth. It was amazing that no lingam was found, even

though it was claimed that Adi Shankara had installed it. While I was thus

standing there in utter confusion of mind, an elderly man called me from

behind. He looked very pious with tuft in his head and wearing a neat white

Dhothi like a pundit; but looked very serene.

He talked to us in Tamil, which is our language. Initially he enquired wherefrom

we had come etc. Later on, he took interest in us and explained about the

importance of the Holy place in detail. When I enquired where is the Holy

Lingam, he told us that there is not one but three small lingams placed in the

sides of the cavity of the base, which are not visible from outside. The three

lingams represent Brahma, Vishnu, and Lord Shiva, exactly as was explained to

us at Panchavadi Shankara Mutt. In those primitive old days, Adi Shankara had

traveled all the way from a remote village in Kerala to this place where Holy

River Godavari originates and installed this Jyothi lingam. I wondered how this

was possible without any means of transport. Moreover, He has installed 8 such

lingams in various parts of

10pt">India within his short span of 32 years. We heard all these from this

pious man and in the end, we prostrated before him. He blessed us that by next

year we should come again with a newborn child. He then moved away.

Within a few minutes, we searched for him and went up to the nearest bus stop

and he could not be seen. We wished to have his contact address in Bombay so

that we could meet him again when we return. But he had just vanished.

Here, I wish to mention one other factor. Since I could not get accommodation in

Bombay, I had left my wife at our village in Kerala and she was forced to stay

there for over three years. Ultimately by Grace of God we got a temporary

accommodation and settled our family in a Bombay Suburb named ‘Goregoan’.

However, for the next three years we did not have the pleasure of having a

child. Due to some medical grounds the doctors had said she might not conceive

again. This is the situation when we visited, Shirdi, Nasik and Thrayambakam.

Shortly after our return to Bombay my wife conceived and we got a baby boy. The

boy was born at her native place in Kerala, which had earlier been described in

detail. Soon after her arrival with the child, we went to our Gurui, Dhyani

Maharaj Sri Madhusudhan Dasji who was in the residence of His disciple Dr.

Pathak at Prarthana Samaj. He took the child in his hands and fondled him.

While giving back the child, he mentioned that we had got the child due to the

Grace of Sai whom we had started worshipping recently. “You need not worry

about the boy since Sai will Himself look after the child, protect him, guide

him and help him in all his endeavor in his life”. Then we knew that the pious

man whom we met at the sanctum of Thrayambakam

must be Sai Himself, whom we did not know during those days.

I had already enjoyed the bliss of Darshan of Bhagawan Baba for the first time,

had an extraordinary experience. Yet, I asked a foolish question to our Guruji.

“Guruji, excuse me, but who is this Sai Baba? Is he a magician, a saint, or what

else? He is reportedly showing lot f miracles and are they all genuine?” Guruji

admonished me and cautioned me not to utter such words. “Sai is Poorna Avatar

and you should worship Him for all the rest of your life. In fact, it is He who

had sent you to me!” I apologized for my bad thoughts and enquiry and prayed to

Bhagawan Baba also, to forgive me.

>From that day onwards, all these years, it is only Sai and Sai only in my life

and every breath of mine also vibrates with the name of Sai. I try to be very

very alert not to forget Him not even for a moment. He on His part continued to

look after me, guide me and hold me close to Him ever after!

CHAPTER-8

“You should not cry hereafter”

I got married quite early in age, when I was working in a Government department

in the south. Due to low salary and limited scope for building up a future

career, I resigned the job and moved to Bombay. All my brothers were settled

there and I hoped that I would not have any problem there. But the one big

problem of availability of accommodation in Bombay was completed overlooked by

me. The houses of my brothers were too small and could just accommodate me with

great difficulty; there was no room for setting up a family. Nobody rents out

house due to the fear that tenants would not vacate. Or they take a huge sum as

one payment

without receipt, which is known as pakidi. Or you should purchase your own flat,

which I could not afford. As such I could not bring my wife to Bombay for the

next three years.

After prolonged wait I could secure some living space on a nominal rent in a

suburb called Goregoan. It was an asbestos roofed tenement built by the

Government for the sake of hutment dwellers. The original allottee, a Sikh, had

died and his family had gone to their native place. I occupied the house and

immediately my wife joined me. The locality was very bad and the inhabitants

were slum dwellers. Somehow, my wife who is of very understanding nature

adjusted to the situation and tried to bring about a happy home. We lived there

for four years.

My income was very meager. It was only while we were in this house that we got

our first son (as I had narrated earlier).

My wife was at her native place in Kerala, during the days when I started

hearing about the advent of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and had my first

Darshan. I was in the happiest mood, now that I got inhaled the initial

delights of the Living God and also benefited from His Grace by the birth of a

boy. I felt eager to share so much with my wife on her arrival in Bombay with

the child. But when she reached Bombay it became a different story. She entered

the house with the child in hand and proceeded to the place where normally we

kept the pictures of various gods and goddesses, to offer her

Namaskarams.

She looked with curiosity at the photograph of Bhagawan Baba occupying a place

with the other deities. She enquired about the identity of the man in the

photo, who, to her looked like a “villain in the films”. She asked me to remove

it from its place so that she could offer her Namaskar, to the other deities. I

tried to put her wise about the various experiences of mine and that of my

brother in regaining hearing capacity. I told her, of the belief in the

devotees, that Bhagawan Baba is a reincarnation of God in this Kali Yuga. I

also brought up before her the visionary pictures of my first Darshan of Swami,

my prayers to Him and the evolving faith and devotion in me on Swami. I thought

that I conv9inced her. But till she gained her chance of Darshan and

experiences, it was not going to be that easy for her to accept Baba.

Since then, it continued to be days of arguments in the house, the object of

controversy being Baba Himself. In the end she would start crying and even

accusing Swami for all the sufferings in life. If He is really God, she would

ask, ‘Why are we placed in abject poverty? Why are we forced to live in such a

dirty locality? Why not He bless us at least with a house in our own name in a

better place?” We had also suffered humiliation since the house we occupied was

unauthorized and the inspecting authorities subjected us to considerable

inconveniences. So the question from wife though appeared simple and naïve,

emerging from the heart, failed to elicit any proper and adequate response from

me.

I tried to get her around, by telling that it was with the Blessings of Bhagawan

Baba that we got this child. He would definitely do something for us. I further

advised her ‘not to cry hereafter’, but start praying to Him with full

devotion. I had developed full faith in Baba and if she also developed such a

faith, it would prove very beneficial.

I hope that she would adjust to this situation. It is Swami Himself who instills

faith and confidence and it is he himself who takes further steps to fulfill the

faith of an innocent devotee. I prayed to Him to give peace and solace to my

wife and take her into His fold. Within a short period, Swami convinced us that

He had heard our prayers.

Maharashtra Government were constructing and allotting dwellings for industrial

workers and poorer sections in various places. I had long time back applied for

an allotment in a colony built in the neighboring suburban city, Thane. There

were about 200 single room flats offered by the housing board for which over

lakh applications for allotment had poured in. With the passage of tine, I had

even forgotten about it. Within a couple of months of my wife’s return to

Bombay with the child, I received by mail an intimation from the Housing Board

that I had been allotted a house at Vartak Nagar, Thane. Yes, we got a nice

little flat, of our own, in the second floor on a very meager rent, which was

being subsidized by the Government. Those who got allotments as our neighbors

were all excellent God loving people. My wife liked the place. She started

developing faith

in Swami and was eager to have His Darshan.

Swami, after fulfilling a desire of my wife with a house, happened to visit

Bombay again, within a short period after the earlier visit. This time the

Darshan was arranged in the compound of a bungalow in the East side of Andheri.

We had to travel a long way by different modes of transport to reach the place.

When we ultimately reached the place, it was too late. We were not aware of

the timings of Darshan and the arrangements. We found that the compound was

almost empty barring a few volunteer devotees. We came to know that Darshan was

already over in the morning at about 8.00 AM.

10pt">, and there would not be any Darshan in the evening since Swami was to

attend another programme at King Circle, near Matunga. We felt disappointed.

This time, it was my wife, who asked me to repose confidence in Baba! “Swami

would definitely know that we had come and we were sure to get His Darshan!”

Her newfound faith was not misplaced.

We were sitting under a tree in the compound. Swami suddenly made His appearance

in the doorstep. Before I could thing anything, my wife jumped, and a trice, was

near Swami. She kept the child on His Lotus Feet, and caught hold of the

‘charan’ (Lotus Feet). Placing her head on His Divine Feet, she was crying

profusely. I joined her and offered Namaskar to Swami. Baba, in His infinite

love and mercy, allowed her to weep for a while and then gently called out to

her. When she looked up, Swami glanced at her loving and told her in Tamil,

“You should not cry hereafter” (Note: Readers may remember that these were the

exact words which I had uttered earlier to my wife). With our attention on the

wonderful charming face of Bhagawan, He smiled at us again, blessed us and

moved inside the house.

We continued to stand there in a dazed condition, until the volunteers rushed to

push us out. According to them, we should not have come after Darshan was over

and caused inconvenience to Swami. Lest our newfound Bliss might be spoiled, we

moved out of the compound with the child. This child is His gift and we felt

happy to place him on is Lotus Feet. Now it is up to Him to take care of the

child for the rest of his life. We felt confident then and there, that he would

not let us down.

And we got proof of this. Very shortly, before the child was one year old, he

had an attack of diphtheria. Till late on that fateful night, we were not aware

of the seriousness of the disease. This new colony, had been developed in a far

new location from the city, and was a good 6 kilometers away from Thane and

there was no hospital or clinic in our vicinity. It was raining very heavily.

The child was running high fever and he was unable to take any milk. He was not

even able to swallow his saliva and it was continuously coming out of his mouth.

We got panicky. There was a family from the south living in the colony and we

took the child to their house not knowing what to do. We could only pray. It

was late in the night and still raining. We had no money whatsoever with us. My

wife was inside their house and I was standing in the verandah though getting

wet in

the rain.

When we really feel that we are helpless, the helping hand of Swami reaches out.

I could not believe my own eyes. I found a scooter coming in front of the house

and a man covered with a raincoat stepped down. He was a doctor from Thane City

civil hospital. Indeed he was God sent, at the crucial time! I rushed to him and

explained the situation saying that my child was unwell and it seemed that

something was seriously wrong with him. The doctor immediately attended on my

child, diagnosed it to be a case of diphtheria, and advised immediate

hospitalization. It was a very serious case, needing constant medical

attention. I explained

to the doctor of my helpless situation without any money with me not even for

hiring a vehicle at this hour, leave alone medical expenses. He looked at me

straight on my face for a while. In fact we were totally strangers. He advised

me not to worry any more. He administered some medicines, for temporary relief

and said he would come back immediately as he had to go to the city to get the

necessary medicines. He spent his own money for purchasing the injections and

other medicines. He said he would stay the whole night with us since medicines

had to be administered periodically and the progress of the child had to

monitored.

With loving care of the kind doctor, the child crossed the danger mark before

dawn. The doctor took leave, promising to visit us again during the morning

hours. He visited twice again the next day.

Our faith in Swami helped us in our helpless situation. We could only surrender

and pray to Him. He had heard our prayers and sent a Doctor to us at the time

of crisis, a doctor with a heart to spare his own money and time and who stayed

throughout the night. This is the story of the child begotten by His Grace and

protected by His mercy.

Our pilgrimage in the Divine Path had just begun. Years and years of sweet

experiences of His Divine Love, were to follow and flow into our life!

CHAPTER – 9

The significance of Seva

“Thana” which had since been named “Thane” is suburban city some 30 kilometers

away form Bombay. As I had already mentioned, this is the same suburb, in

which, thanks to the Grace of Sai, I came to secure a residential

accommodation.

On the eastern side of the Railway line, a holy spiritual center has come up by

the name “ANANDA ASHRA”. Ms. Tara Devi, now reverently called ‘Mataji’ is the

head of this Ashram. Earlier she was living in the same colony where we had our

accommodation, i.e. at Vatak Nagar on the western side. We just knew her as Ms.

Tara. She was living with her parents and brothers who were my very close

friends. She was quite young and was in the marriageable age. However, her life

style got totally transformed after her first visit to Prashanthi Nilayam. She

developed extreme devotion and love towards Swami and lost all interest in the

mundane world affairs. All the time ‘Sai’ filled her mind and spirit.

Gradually, around her, a small Satsang began to emerge and she came to be known

as ‘Mataji’ in the area. She organized a Sai Bhajan Group and encouraged those

who came to

her to participate in Namasankirtan.

Wit gathering and increasing visitors, she did not wish to disturb her family

members, because of her Satsang activities. The inevitable happened. She left

her home behind and totally dedicated herself to the devotees. Some Good

Samaritan from Thane east provided her a small Ashram place, for accommodating

her and facilitating the spiritual activities. This Ashram has become very

popular. Sai Bhajans are conducted twice a day and various spiritual activities

are also going on. The Ashram is also running a secondary school providing fee

education.

In the early years due to close proximity to Mataji, ample opportunities were

available for us to engage in personal discussions with her on various

spiritual matters, especially on the philosophy of Sai. My wife and myself had

innumerable divine experiences with her.

As for 0ur own development of devotion to Swami, we had accepted Him as another

deity and started worshipping Him reverently along with the other Gods. We were

no doubt aware that a mere worship is a ritualistic fashion would not suffice

and would not yield results. Mataji Tara Devi advised us that we should try to

understand and adopt the teachings of Swami in the conduct of our life. The

very day-to-day activities should conform to His spiritual teachings, and the

worship should be a way of life itself. In short worship should consist of

continuous process of living as per His teachings rather than ritualistic fixed

time sitting before the deity in the Pooja Room. We cannot expect to gain the

Grace of Swami simply by the usual Pooja rituals, like the ones, which we offer

to the other Gods, Shri Rama, Shri

Krishna, and others. We were reminded of Swami teachings, “The Hands that serve

the needy is much holier than the lips that offer prayers daily” We also tried

to understand the principle of universality of divinity which dwells in all the

creation and this divinity is nothing but the Atma, in each one of us. If we

can appreciate this principle, then we would come to experience that divinity

as enshrined in all even 9n the poor and needy and who are less fortunate than

us. The supreme offer to God is the sparing and sharing of the time and

resources for and with these less fortunate brethren, sisters, sons, and

daughters. Had not swami propounded “Manava Seva is Madhava Seva”.

We were made wise by Mataji’s teachings of Swami during those days when we used

to get much time for personal discussions. I started to attend the programmes

of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organizations in our city. The organization offered

excellent opportunities for the devotees to get together and engage in Seva

activities as a group so that the time and the resources could be put to the

best use. Our main aim had been to spread the message of Sai to the weaker

sections of the society and try to instill in them a spiritually oriented

thinking and living styles. Without a spiritual base no Seva can result in

bliss, says Swami. Bhagawan is also very keen that the beneficiaries should

also be exposed and enthused to adopt spiritual practices, which is the

ultimate aim of Seva. We enjoyed ourselves in the Seva activities and in the

company of

newfound Satsang of Sai devotees.

An important soul-awakening programme, related to the Seva to the jail inmates.

The authorities of the Thane Central jail gave us permission to conduct Sai

Bhajans inside the jail once a month. The convicts in the jail serving their

terms were persuaded to attend the Bhajan sessions. Within a short period, many

of them started enjoying the Bhajans. Later, They began to take so much interest

that they started keeping Baba’s picture, providing garlands and making all

other necessary arrangements. In course of time, some of them even learnt a few

songs and took initiative to lead the Bhajans. A tremendous change of heart had

come about in the jail inmates. Many of them developed devotion towards Swami.

Some of them quietly asked us, whether it would be possible for them to have

Baba’s Darshan. We could only respond telling them that they should pray to Him

and He would definitely

make it possible.

Those were the years when Swami used to visit Dharmakshetra in Bombay, almost

very year. During one of His visits, Swami had planned a programme to a distant

suburb in Bombay, which was beyond Thane. We put forward the request of the Jail

inmates to the leaders of Sai Seva Organizations in Bombay and about their

eagerness to have Swami’s Darshan. In fact, we were jot very much aware of the

serious implications of our proposals. Anyway it was decided to submit the

request to Swami on His arrival in Bombay.

Yes, Lord Shri Krishna was born I a “Kaaragraha”, a jail. But here, we, the

devotees, had the audacity to think about inviting our dear Swami into the

jail. We only thought that Swami, ever loving and willing to encourage us in

our Seva activities, would accede to our prayers. Nothing could be truer than

this.

Baba while giving Darshan to the devotees in a programme far beyond Thane, gave

an indication of His merciful decision to visit the jail and meet the inmates

who had become His devotees. We had very little time at 0ur disposal. Lacking

any instant telephone connectivity across suburban areas, we had to move

physically to the area and make all the arrangements for the Divine visit.

Invoking His Grace, the small organization in Thane swung into action and tried

to do what best could be done within the shortest possible time. We had to

formally obtain permission from the Jail authorities and then install necessary

public address system and a stage. It was also needed to dress up the inmates

and take them to the Darshan in an orderly manner. We received excellent

support and encouragement from all the people within the jail premises. When

the last lines of the inmates were taking

their seats, Swami entered the jail.

Oh, my dear, it was a sight to see! Our beloved Lord walked along the rows o the

neatly dressed inmates, in their uniforms, blessing them and what not! The faces

of the jail inmates were lit up with devotion. After spending considerable time

with them, and giving them the fulfillment of a lifetime chance of a coveted

Darshan, Swami was back on His vehicle, to get back to Dharmakshetra. And what

jubilation for the Sai sevaks!

This mercy visit of Swami inspired us to get motivated for more and more service

activities with devotion and humility. “If you take the first step towards Me, I

will take ten steps towards you”, says Swami very often. We took a small, but a

first step by initiating Bhajan activity in the jail and He came there in His

physical form! What a Divine mercy and Divine Love~! One has to experience this

Bliss personally to be able to understand even a fraction of divinity!

Swami spoke thus:

“The Japa Mala is very useful for beginners in Sadhana. But as you progress,

Japa must become the very breath of your life, and so the rotation of beads

becomes superfluous and cumbersome exercise. Sarvada Sarva kaleshu, Sarvatra

Hari Keerthanam. Always, at all times, in all places, Hari (the Lord), is

meditated upon. That is he stage to which the Japa Mala should lead you.

CHAPTER –10

The Vision of Aura

“Love is God” is ever the repeated maxim of Swami. The God incarnate Bhagawan

Baba is Himself embodiment of: Love. If only we spend a few minutes in His

Divine presence wit intense love and prayers, in our hearts, we can easily and

positively experience the strong divine love flowing from Him. Swami’s love

envelopes everybody, even in an assembly of over lakhs of devotees, who throng

for His Darshan. One has only to experience this bliss all by himself to

understand what Divine Love is.

The Divine Love pulls multiplying millions of devotees to his very presence. In

Dwapara Yuga, it was the melody of Lord Krishna’s flute which made the devotees

of Brindavan to gravitate towards His presence. The Gopis lost any consciousness

of their body, mind and spirit, dropped their work and other activities. They

were absorbed by the melody. How lucky we are to witness today the reenactment

of the same phenomenon by Sai Krishna at Parthi. The devotees run to catch a

glimpse of Swami even at a murmur of the news that Swami’s car is approaching.

They feel elated and truly blessed by the chance Darshan even of a fleeting

second as the car passes through.

One Swami graced me with a rare chance of following His car from Puttaparthi to

Whitefield. Swami’s tour programme is always unpredictable and un-announced.

Nobody can dare to set the exact timings of such tour programme. On that

blissful day, even though some close persons accompanying Swami received

information of the time of His departure, Swami left Parthi about one and half

earlier. I was fortunate to be provided with the experience of following

Swami’s car. I had been directed to take our place as the fourth car in the

caravan. However, since the other cars did not show up along with Swami’s car,

I made a quick decision and followed Swami’s car as the second one, for quite a

long distance till other cars showed up. I could not really believe the

emotionally surcharged send off given by the devotees, even at such short

notice. From the Gopuram gate onwards up to and far

beyond the gate of Super Specialty Hospital, devotees had lined up in good

strength on both sides of the road. Even the devoted Sai Geetha turned up with

her majestic presence to greet Swami as the car passed by the side of the gates

of her shed. Hundreds of devotees were showering flower petal on the car. I saw

many of them breaking coconuts on the street, in front of the car. Indeed it

looked like a real car festival in our villages when people offer special

poojas in front of the Divine Car, as it passes through the village streets.

Swami’s car was bedecked with the petals offered by devotees.

But the measure of attraction, which the Divinity drew all along the villages

and the agricultural fields, had to be seen to be believed. The villagers were

out n the streets in time for the Divine Darshan. Many agricultural laborers

were seen running towards the approaching caravan of Swami’s car and others on

the road. How did all these villagers and agricultural workers come to know and

that too the time of Swami’s moving presence in their area! It could only be

divinity-induced situation, which foretold the people in the villages the

possibility of the Divine Darshan!

I did not end there. The approach road towards Whitefield from the highways was

also line up with devotees. As the Car neared the gate of Trayee Brindavan, I

could see the crowd getting very thick and the whole compound was filled with

devotes.

Swami had declared several times, that unless He wills it, one couldn’t gain

access to His Divine presences. It may seem that Divine Darshan is obtained

very easily whenever we go to His abode, since Swami walks amongst us, blessing

everybody. But we should also know that we couldn’t take Swami’s Darshan for

granted. Quite often Swami may test or even tease us and Darshan may become

rare at times. We, the devotees, who happen to visit Him very often, may

sometimes feel the pinch of Swami’s testing time. I was also subjected to such

a test by agonizing experience, but only to have a blissful reward in the end!

This was the time when I was employed Bombay. I used to visit Bangalore very

often on official engagements and most of the time Swami would be camping at

Whitefield. I was feeling very happy. During a particular year, I traveled to

Bangalore 4 times during different months. Once we were told that there was no

possibility of Darshan since Swami was unwell??!!. Some said that there was

some injury in Swami’s Lotus feet. After staying for three days I had to return

to

10pt">Bombay without even a single Darshan. During my other visits in that year,

His Darshan eluded me for one reason or other. Either Swami was on some tour or

away on some other engagements and what not. The whole year passed of blank. I

felt very much depressed. UI could only pray and pray. I gained some hope by an

announcement about the proposed Divine visit to Bombay. That brought cheers to

me. I was looking forward for May the 12th, when Swami normally comes to

Dharmakshetra.

I was not the only one; the whole of Bombay was eagerly expecting the arrival

Swami. And Swami did not disappoint anybody. Mercifully He did come as

programmed and stayed on for 4 days. But alas! Swami continued to keep me on

test. I could not make it to His Darshan during all those days. It would seem

funny, but it was the truth. My place of work, i.e. my office was situated very

near to Dharmakshetra, some three kilometers away, on the other side of the

hill. Sitting in my office chair, through the window, I could even have from

that long distance a glimpse of the Divine abode. As ill luck would have it, I

had a couple of outstation visitors to my office as our possible prospective

clients, with whom we had to finalize some deals. Each

day.

On each day of the Divine visit, I was late, and by the time I reached

Dharmakshetra, the devotees would have left the place after Darshan and my wife

would be waiting for me alone over there. What a fate, I used to curse myself.

The Divine visit was reaching the end. And it was time or Swami to leave Bombay

and the only possible chance was the early morning Darshan on the last day

immediately after Nagarsankeerthan. Swami was scheduled to leave after this

Darshan and I could not afford to miss this opportunity.

In those days adequate conveyance facilities were lacking and we had to depend

on public transport systems. Reaching the railway station in Thane situated six

miles from the place of our residence, changing 2 local trains and then catching

a bus service, to join the group of devotees on their way to Dharmakshetra

singing Bhajan songs – Nagarsankeerthan. We reached at the dawn and took

positions at the lower side of the small hill. In the twilight, the lotus

shaped Dharmakshetra looked very beautiful. Slowly Swami emerged from His abode

and moved to the brim of hilltop. There was s “Sthoopi”, the pillar as if the 5

petals on the top, are about to blossom. Underneath it, Swami took His place.

Swami was accepting Aarathi, looking down at the devotees.

Literally I was weeping when my eyes could sight the Divine figure after many

attempts. Tears wee rolling down my cheeks. I dared not to wipe it with my

hands since I was holding both my palms in reverence. At this very moment

something unbelievable was happening. A mild glow became visible to me around

the crowning hair of Swami’s head. I immediately felt that it should be the

Divine AURA about which I had heard several times. Still my mind was not firm

on the genuiness of that vision. Just behind Swami, a glow of rising sun was

appearing and I thought that it could the bright twilight reflected on His

hair. I also thought that my moist eyes could have created an illusion.

When my thoughts thus turned critical to a state of negating the very divine

experience, the Aura was found all over the body of Swami. And when Swami kept

both His hands on the grill provided on the edge from where He was standing,

the iron bars also started glowing by the mere touch of Swami. Now I had no

hesitation whatsoever to accept the Grace of Swami by this rare vision. The

Aarathi was over and when Swami was moving back into Dharmakshetra, the Aura

was also following Him to make it doubly sure about the vision of His Grace!

Thus I had to wait for His Darshan despite my repeated visits and attempts,

ultimately when Swami did make it possible for me to have His Darshan; He did

it in a grand style bestowing His Grace on the final chance I got. I could

never forget this Divine experience of a vision of the mild aura in the colour

of Jasmine flower like white purity!.

Swami blessed me again with a repeat vision after many years, but at ‘Sundaram’

Mandir in Madras. This time also it was during the Darshan after

Nagarsankeerthan. Swami was accepting the Aarathi from the Lotus shaped balcony

at ‘Sundaram’ Mandir when the Aura appeared for full five minutes till He

withdrew into His room.

That day, I realized at ‘Sundaram’ in Madras that Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

had accepted me unto His fold and provided divine protection. I prayed to Him

with all my sincerity and devotion that he should bless me again and again to

spend the rest of my allotted days in the earth, at His Lotus Feet, serving Him

worshipping Him and offering my everything unto Him!

TO BE CONTINUED

With Sai love from Sai brothers

/

Bombay Srinivasan

E-Mail: "Venkatachalam Srinivasan" <vsvasan99 >

Telephone: Mobile: 9382685217

Residence: 044-24837093

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