Power of the Gayathri Mantra:This will be published for Bhagawan's 80th Birthday... Singapore....

[Guest guest]

This will be published for Bhagawan's 80th Birthday

Edition of our Bumper Issue of Sai Vahini.

I am sharing it with love.

Loving Sai Ram!

 

--- lalitha perera <lalitha...

 

"lalitha perera" <lalitha...

anandaperera

The Gayathri - Article for Sai Vahini

Publication in Singapore

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 14:34:45 +0800

-SBOI-

 

This is a story based on the power of the

Gayathri Mantra.My grand daughter Gayathri Gotami was born in

September 2003, the year Bhagawan Baba re-called

our whole family to the Sai fold.Our elder twin daughter, Yasodha, was

expecting

her third child after three miscarriages. She was

not her normal, robust self.So my son-in-law, a Consultant Surgeon in

Obstetrics and Gynaecology in London, sent us an SOS. In April of that year,

Singapore was in the throes of the

SARS epidemic and we were having our fair share of anxiety.

Like all parents, my husband and I have always been the safety net for our

three children. It was

decided that I go to England in response to their appeal

for help. My husband and I had been listening regularly to the enchanting,

lilting music and recitation of the

Gayathri mantra. It filled our home with peaceful

vibrations. So we felt our pregnant daughter

ought

to

listen to it. My husband took pains to record it

and

explain the deep meaning behind the four

lines.

That was how the Gayathri Mantra took a firm

foothold

in a Buddhist home in England. My son-in-law is

from

a

staunch Buddhist background. Although he had

heard

and

started reading about Sai Baba, he was not fully

convinced. Nevertheless, the whole family began

to

enjoy the divine cadence of the Mantra. It

played on

the lips of their 9- year-old daughter and 5-

year-

old

son.

 

Near their home in Kingston-upon-Thames is the

Sai

Bhajan centre in a hired Community Hall. A

congregation of about 80 devotees of diverse

race

and

religion meet every Sunday morning for bhajans.

We

were grateful to attend the bhajans there

regularly.

 

Two months later my husband joined us in London

and

immediately set about grooming us to sing

bhajans at

the Centre. The Gayathri Mantra and Bhajans

became

our

regular spiritual diet. Before my husband

returned

to

Singapore, he touched our daughter's stomach and

said,

" You will have a daughter and you must name her

Gayathri!"

This, as he revealed to us, was because he had

earlier dreamt of the name 'Gayathri' spelt out in

a

garland of white flowers.

My daughter rolled her eyes and said that it was

too

powerful a name. Her husband was both taciturn

and

hesitant. Furthermore, they reminded us that

Gayathri

is not a traditional Sinhala, Buddhist name.

They

would

like to name the baby the way the other two

children

were named i.e. by consulting the Buddhist

Astrological Chart in Sri Lanka. Anyway,

everything

seemed blissful and we were contented in family

togetherness. Medical scans soon pointed to the

possibility of a baby girl.

Unknown to us, Baba was setting in motion a

completely

different scenario.

 

The little girl was born in a big pool of water

with

her doctor father and a mid-wife in attendance.

My

daughter had opted for this form of Hydro-birth,

known

for its benefits. It was the easiest delivery

compared

to the other two children. According to her

husband

it

was a text-book case without any complications.

 

Everything was beautiful and the infant girl, so

angelic. Her deep, dark-blue purple eyes

reflected

fathomless divine love for us as she stared

unblinkingly.

 

That week while mother and child were in

hospital,

the

rest of us attended the regular Sunday bhajan,

full

of

joy as we praised and thanked our Bhagawan Baba.

Then,

just as my son-in-law did the Arathi for Baba

the

fire

alarm of the Community Centre, let out a

hideous,

unceasing scream and the whole congregation was

shaken

to bits. It was uncanny as this had never

happened

before.

 

Surely, it did not augur well. However, I left

everything in Baba's Hands consolidating my

faith in

Him.

Was it pure coincidence or an Omen of what was

to

follow?

 

What was to ensue was beyond our wildest dreams.

Doctors discovered that the baby had to udergo

reno-corrective surgery. The problem was that

the

anal

opening was narrow and higher than normal. The

best

time was to

correct it in infancy. It was a relatively

straight

forward operation according to Specialists. The

baby

was only 4

days old then. However, Anaesthetic

complications

even

before surgery, resulted in a punctured lung

endangering her life. Immediately, the operation

was

abandoned. The baby was rushed into ICU (

Intensive

Care Unit ). Then, her other over-worked, tiny

lung

collapsed. Consequently, she was fully paralysed

on

the life-support system. Her heart stopped

beating

twice and she had to be resuscitated.

All that her Surgeon father could do was to look

on

helplessly as his colleagues battled to save his

child.

Father and mother clung to each other for moral

support and wept on each other's shoulders in

sheer

desperation. Sleepless, bleary-eyed, hungry,

they

struggled to keep afloat in the sea of suffering

that

threatened to engulf and consume them.

Only ONE NAME - SAI RAM gave them hope as their

baby

was on the brink of death. They did NOT forget

to

call

on Bhagawan Baba repeatedly. His Lighthouse of

Love

shone profusely amidst the darkness. Our ever

Compassionate Lord lifted the young couple from

their

burning cauldron of pain, boosted their courage

to

stand up and face life. HE was always there. HE

had

never left them for a moment. His Divine Love

was

their spiritual anaesthesia.

 

They never stopped reciting the Gayathri Mantra

begging God to return His child to them as they

took

turns to stand by the crib in the ICU.

 

I was in-charge of their home and the other two

children and kept informed of all these

dramatic

happenings. Each time the phone rang, my pulse

galloped. My heart bled when my son-in-law

described

the bleak scenario and cried,

" Please pray to Baba

Amma. Tell Thaatha ( my husband ) to pray. I

think

we

are losing her. Only Bhagawan can help......."

 

I remember that night my son-in-law drove his

two

other children and me to the hospital to have,

probably, a last look at the baby as she was in

a

critical condition. We recited the Gaythri

Mantra,

non-stop, 108 times through the journey.

 

My daughter, meanwhile, had gained composure and

strength as she surrendered the baby to Baba.

Her

faith in Him did NOT falter. The two other

children

understood the gravity of the situation and

cried in

unison:

" Baba will help! "

" Let's pray to Baba!"

" He is God . He will save our sister."

" Please Baba, don't let her die "

 

As an adult I knew my faith had to be equally

innocent, egoless and unsullied as a child's.

At

home

we recited the Gayatri Manthra morning, noon and

night. We walked in the cold to school, chanting

the

Gayathri Mantra every step we took, till we

reached

the gates. We spent the nights huddled listening

to

bhajans and taking turns to sing.

 

Neighbours of diverse cultures, living down the

road,

rallied forth with a burst of love seldom

displayed

in

our materialistic world. There were many eager

hands

to help. I was over-whelmed by their sincerity,

a

lesson to behold as I hardly witness such a

surge of

 

neighbourliness in Singapore. The devotees of

the

Kingston Bhajan Centre were all alerted to "

Storm

the

Gates" of Heaven and pray for the baby's life.

One devotee taught me to repeat continuously "

Om,

Sri

Sai Sarva Roga Nivaarine Namah" ( Salutations to

the

One Who frees us from all diseases. )

 

It was my eldest grand daughter's birthday - the

last

thing in the minds of the parents who were

keeping

vigil at the hospital. Instead the Irish

Catholic

neighbours and an English Nanny gave her a

simple

birthday party at their house to console her.

The Protestant English, the Iraqi, Chinese and

Hindu

friends all chipped in to alleviate our pain.

 

The pressure of Hospital Admin formality made

the

parents quickly name the baby Visakha, after a

most

pious and ardent devotee and contemporary of the

Lord

Buddha. Visakha had sacrificed her immense

wealth to

propagate Dharma. Meanwhile my husband's uncle

sought

the assistance of a learned astrolger Buddhist

priest

in Sri Lanka for a propitious name. He came up

with

several names, one being Gayathri. We were all

bowled

over. Was it pure coincidence or the Divine Hand

at

Play?

 

As Baby Visakha lay still in ICU, her eyes

closed,

her

tiny chest heaving up and down, her parents, now

convinced, softly

kept calling her the auspicious name Gayathri.

So it

was registered Gayathri Gotami. Slowly the

Miracle

began to unfold. The baby opened her eyes. One

lung

began to function. Then the other. As soon as

she

was

stable she was taken off the ventilator.

 

Gayathri was taken home . When she was a month

old ,

a Thanksgiving Bhajan was held to celebrate our

Love

for

Baba. The operation, which was not carried out

in

the

first instance, was scheduled three months

later.

 

Meanwhile, Gayathri's father had to perform,

twice

daily, anal dilatations at home. This was to ease

her

bowel movements as she was prone to severe

constipation. Such was Gayathri's karma, as she

would

scream out in pain during the procedure. She was

fortunate to have her own personal doctor in her

father.

 

The postponed operation proper was performed

after I

returned

to

Singapore. Initially all went well with this

operation

but a couple of days later the wound became

infected.

This called for yet another operation to put the

Colostomy in place. My son-in-law took a month's

leave

to care for Gayathri and to teach my daughter

how

to

change the Colostomy bag. My daughter recalls

how

she

could see the tiny instestine peeping out from

her

tender stomach. What amazed her parents was that

during the four months Gayathri was on the

Colostomy,

she was a cheerful baby.

 

After the second operation was healed, the

surgeons

reversed the Colostomy in yet another operation.

Gyathri had already become a medical veteran in

the

first year of her life.

 

In an Interview granted to my husband in August

2004,

Bhagawan Baba revealed His Hand. When my husband

humbly thanked Him for saving Gayathri's life,

He

acknowledged His Intervention. He shook His Head

and

declared :

" Two doctors made two mistakes. But Bhagawan

will

look after her! "

My husband was dumbfounded.

Yes, Baba is indeed Omnipresent, Omniscient and

Omnipotent.

 

Gayathri visited us in Singapore in December

2004.

Our miracle Baby had grown stronger, intelligent

and

adorable, her intense eyes shining even brighter

with

Divine Love.

For the first time she met her maternal

grandfather

who gave her the name Gayathri, even before she

was

born.

The family attended our three weekly Sai Bhajan

Centres for Thanksgiving.

 

In March, this year, my daughter's

long-cherished

dream of seeing the LORD in person was granted. I

accompanied her for the Maha Shivarathri

Celebrations

at Puttaparthi.

 

Gayathri turned two in September 2005.

Although

petite, her intellectual ability is beyond her

age.

She is Bhagawan Baba's Gift of Love to us.

Such is the power of the Gayathri Manthra.

 

Sister Lalitha Perera