Om Namah Ganeshaya
Om Sai Ram
(Como muchos amigos han pedido la traducción de las frases en Telugu utilizadas en el mensaje anterior, estoy reeditando el mensaje, añadiendo traducciones al Inglés siempre que sea necesario)
Mientras que los devotos están aún están elaborando la partida física de Sri Sathya Sai Baba , me pareció que puede ser el momento de recordar algunos de esos momentos mágicos y conversaciones con SAI , que serán atesorados por mí para siempre ...
La primera vez que conocí a Sai Baba fue cuando yo era un niño pequeño, probablemente alrededor de 6-7 años de edad. En ese momento mi padre solía trabajar como DSP en Guntakal en Anantapur y solía visitar regularmente Puttaparty, a veces en misión oficial durante el cumpleaños de Swami y otras celebraciones, y algunas veces de vacaciones.
En una ocasión, todos los miembros de la familia y yo fuimos a Puttaparthy. Esa fue mi primera visita a Puttaparthi. Cuando fuimos para el darshan de Swami, me senté junto a mi padre ... El tiempo de espera para el darshan suele ser bastante largo ... tanto tiempo esperando y en silencio, sin duda hará que cualquier niño se impaciente y yo no era diferente ... Comencé a plantear todo tipo de preguntas a mi papá ... ¿Cuánto tiempo tenemos que esperar? ... ¿A quién estamos esperando? ... ¿Quién es Sai Baba ??..... Mi papá con paciencia trato de responderme .
Después de un tiempo, cuando se dio cuenta que yo estaba muy excitado, y para crear un poco de interés en mí, él dijo ... "¿Qué piensas tu de Sai Baba! ... Él tiene todo tipo de poderes mágicos ! ... Simplemente puede agitar su mano y al instante cualquier cosa que desee puede crear! ... Si quieres , cuando él venga a dar darshan, puedes acercarte y preguntarle, Swami, naaku oka ungaram prasaadinchandi (Swamy, por favor, me regalas un anillo? ), y al verte , él alzará su mano en el aire y va a crear un anillo para ti !!!".
Esta explicación realmente me interesó y me hizo esperar pacientemente sin ningún tipo de preguntas, y mi papá parecía muy feliz de que finalmente me hizo callar ...
Después de algun tiempo más de espera, finalmente vimos a Sai Baba caminando para dar su darshan .... A medida que se acercaba , todo el mundo centraba toda su atención en él, cerrando los ojos y sumergiéndose en la devoción, .. pero inmediatamente me puse en marcha y antes de que nadie se percatara , me levanté y me dirigí directamente a Sai Baba y me pare junto a él esperando a que me mirara, pero no me noto, seguramente porque yo era muy bajito, probablemente llegaba a su cintura y ademas estaba hablando con un devoto en el otro lado.
Después de un tiempo, para atraer su atención hacia mí, comencé a acariciar lentamente sus muslos ... y luego, cuando bajó la mirada hacia mí, ... sin perder un momento, lo mire directamente y le dije , naaku oka ungaram prasaadinchadi! " (Swamy, por favor, me regalas un anillo!). Él parecía muy divertido, por la solicitud inesperada. Él sonrió cariñosamente y me dijo: "Samayam vachchinappudu, neeku thappakunda isthaanu, Bangaaru" (cuando llegue el momento, definitivamente voy a dártelo , Bangaaru ).
Luego regrese y le conté a mi papá y todos se echaron a reír !!... Este incidente se mantuvo como una de las mayores bromas en nuestra familia desde hace varios años ... todo el mundo utiliza el hecho para burlarse de mí diciendo "Veediki asalu mohamaatamanede ledu .... edho mazaak ga adagamante, nijanga velli adigeyatamenaa? "(Este tipo no tiene dudas .... Cuando alguien te dice algo por diversión, inmediatamente va y lo pide ?), pero nunca he entendido realmente la razón por la que se burlaban de mí, en vez de apreciar mi ...pithru-vaakya-paripaalana-... actitud, incluso a esa tierna edad!
Algún tiempo después, mi papá fue trasladado de Guntakal y se puso a trabajar en lo suyo ... y no tuvo la oportunidad de visitar Puttaparthy por unos cuantos años ...
Algún tiempo después, mi papá fue trasladado de Guntakal y se puso a trabajar en lo suyo ... y no tuvo la oportunidad de visitar Puttaparthy por unos cuantos años ...
De vez en cuando cada vez que el tema de Sai Baba solía tocarse en familia, mi pequeña aventura de niño en Puttaparthy solía surgir siempre para la discusión ... Solíamos hacer todo tipo de diversión con el incidente, pero ninguno de nosotros, incluyéndome a mí, nunca pensamos ni por un momento, que quiso decir Sai Baba, con lo que dijo!
La oportunidad de conocer a Sai Baba vino otra vez casi después de dos décadas ... Mi madre fue diagnosticada de piedras en la vesícula biliar. Los médicos estaban divididos en sus opiniones. Algunos dijeron que tiene que someterse a una cirugía, mientras que los otros dijeron que sería demasiado arriesgado teniendo en cuenta su delicado estado de salud habitual. Mis padres estaban en un gran dilema.
La oportunidad de conocer a Sai Baba vino otra vez casi después de dos décadas ... Mi madre fue diagnosticada de piedras en la vesícula biliar. Los médicos estaban divididos en sus opiniones. Algunos dijeron que tiene que someterse a una cirugía, mientras que los otros dijeron que sería demasiado arriesgado teniendo en cuenta su delicado estado de salud habitual. Mis padres estaban en un gran dilema.
Para entonces, mi padre se había retirado desde hace bastante tiempo atrás y el manejo de todas estas cuestiones era un problema para ellos.
Yo estaba en EE.UU. en ese momento. Mientras yo estaba haciendo mis preparativos para volver, por alguna extraña razón, mi madre sintió con fuerza, que seria bueno seguir el consejo de Sai Baba y pedir las bendiciones por su salud ; y mis padres fueron a reunirse con él en Bangalore ya que estaba en Whitefield en esa época .
Pensé que tal vez iban a reunirse con él y volverían en un par de días, y en ese momento no estaría de vuelta en la India, para decidir qué hacer a continuación.
Pero cuando vio a Sai Baba, le dijo, "No te preocupes, no te va a pasar nada, voy a estar en tu cirugía." e incluso hizo los arreglos para su cirugía y se le admitió en el hospital allí .
Esto fue una sorpresa para mí ya que mis padres fueron allí sin ningún tipo de preparación para la cirugía. De inmediato se apresuraron a ir a Bangalore y de alguna manera llegaron allí sólo un día antes de la cirugía. Estaban solos en un hospital y en una ciudad desconocida, mis padres estaban un poco tensos, y mi llegada les dio la ayuda que tanto necesitan.
Mi madre recuperó la mitad de su energía, en el momento en que me vio!
Al día siguiente la cirugía se llevó a cabo y con la gracia de Swami, fue un éxito.
Pensé que por lo menos tomaría unas pocas semanas en recuperarse de esta cirugía, pero para mi sorpresa, volvió a la normalidad dentro de 3 días y estaba perfectamente dispuesta a ir para el darshan de Swami!
Esta vez acompañe a mis padres para el darshan. Cuando Swami vio a mi madre, dijo: "oorike bayapadithive .. Nenu cheppa ledha neekemi kaadhani" (¿Por qué te preocupa innecesariamente. Te dije que nada te pasará .) Y luego nos llamó a la sala de entrevistas.
Era un cuarto pequeño donde una pocas personas que Swami llamó ese día estaban esperando. Cuando Swami entró en la habitación, todo el mundo lo miraba en silencio con devoción, tomó su asiento y miró a su alrededor. En el momento en que me vio en una esquina, él dijo "ven aquí". Me quedé bastante sorprendido. ¿Por qué yo? Pensé. Cuando me acerqué a él, no me preguntó quién era yo, cuál es mi nombre o cualquier pregunta introductoria .
Él me miró como si me conociera todo el tiempo, y luego me preguntó con su voz afectuosa habitual "si yo te doy algo, tú lo vas a tomar?". "Sí", dije, sin pensar mucho.
Luego agitó su mano en un movimiento circular y creo un bonito anillo brillante de esmeralda que luego lo puso en mi dedo.
Yo ya estaba agradecido a él por ayudar a mi madre en un momento tan crucial y con este tratamiento muy especial para mí, me sentí abrumado, y con alegría , ni siquiera cruzó por mi mente que este era la primera vez que me hablaba de nuevo después de mi aventura de la infancia hace dos décadas, y lo que acababa de hacer es precisamente lo que me prometió cuando yo lo conocí cuando era un niño!
Una vez que completo esta actividad, empezó a hablar sobre un tema que no esperaba.
Sobre la demora en mi matrimonio, y expresó un poco de preocupación al respecto. En ese momento, pensé porque Swami hace hincapié en ese tema en particular. Más tarde creó vibuthi y se lo dio a mi madre y nos habló de su salud, la cirugía y varias otras cosas y luego nos despedimos de él.
En un país como la India, allí había alguien que no esperaba ni siquiera una sola rupia a cambio o un ápice de cualquier otro tipo de beneficio de nosotros. Todo lo que le interesaba era sólo ayudar y dar. Él mismo, se ha encargado incluso de los gastos de hospitalización de mi madre!
En un país como la India, allí había alguien que no esperaba ni siquiera una sola rupia a cambio o un ápice de cualquier otro tipo de beneficio de nosotros. Todo lo que le interesaba era sólo ayudar y dar. Él mismo, se ha encargado incluso de los gastos de hospitalización de mi madre!
Más que el dinero que nos ahorramos, lo que realmente importaba más, era el tipo de apoyo moral y la garantía que dio asumiendo la responsabilidad completa de la cirugía y sin problemas , lo que hace que todo parezca como un sueño! Esto sin duda creo un inmenso respeto por él en mi corazón, pero en mi mente aún estaba el enigma relacionado con el "anillo"!
Seguí preguntándome , ¿ Swami ya sabía, que en realidad me iba a dar un anillo, cuando él me hizo esa promesa cuando yo era un niño? Cuando me vio, ahora, ¿todavía me recordaba y también su promesa? ¿Cómo es que el anillo que ha creado es de mi talla? ¿Es realmente posible que otro pueda adivinar el tamaño del anillo con sólo mirar a la cara? ¿O todas estas cosas sólo son coincidencias normales? Si es así, ¿cuál es la probabilidad de una coincidencia?.
Hubo muchas preguntas, pero no hubo una sola respuesta convincente.
Como fue mi primera experiencia con Swami, yo todavía no estaba muy seguro de sus poderes divinos y por lo tanto, llegué a la habitual conclusión "científica", que todo esto son sólo buenas "coincidencias" y no debía tomarlo demasiado en serio!
Bueno, eso es como una mente científica debe pensar, pensé. Pero puede ser que incluso Swami sabía que no estaba del todo convencido de sus capacidades y es por eso que probablemente la próxima vez que llegue a reunirme con él, ha decidido someter a mi mente científica poco convencida , como pequeños "shock" de tratamientos, para que no le pidiera más pruebas de sus habilidades!
Después del incidente anterior, me puse a trabajar en mi trabajo y viajes al extranjero y la oportunidad de conocer a Swami vino otra vez , sólo después de unos 3-4 años.
Después del incidente anterior, me puse a trabajar en mi trabajo y viajes al extranjero y la oportunidad de conocer a Swami vino otra vez , sólo después de unos 3-4 años.
Fui con mis padres a Bangalore, el día que llegamos , yo estaba sentado en el darshan un poco lejos de donde mi hermano estaba sentado , y Swami venía de la dirección de mi hermano. En el momento en que llegó a mi hermano, se detuvo y le preguntó "¿Dónde está tu hermano? "y cuando él señaló hacia la dirección donde estaba sentado, él nos pidió que fuéramos a la sala de entrevistas. Me pregunte, ¿cómo iba a saber que somos hermanos? No nos hemos reunido antes, ni tampoco tiene alguna semejanza reconocible! y lo más importante, ¿cómo iba a saber que he venido en ese día preciso? (Esa fue la primera sorpresa!).
Una vez en la sala de entrevistas, fue casi una repetición de lo que ocurrió la vez anterior ... Cuando Swami entró en la sala de entrevistas y me vio, me pidió que fuera con él y cuando me acerque, me preguntó de una manera afectuosa: "Si yo te doy algo, tu lo tomaras". Le dije "sí" y entonces él movió su mano y creo un anillo de esmeraldas muy agradable para mí y antes de dármelo , bromeó, "incluso un orfebre no puede hacer un anillo de este tamaño perfecto!" y luego, cuando él lo puso en el dedo , ni que decir, que se ajustaba perfectamente! (otra sorpresa!)
Él estaba un poco preocupado por mi retraso del matrimonio. Él dijo que debería casarme pronto. Era una correlación, con las palabras específicas y las frases que me dijo en la ocasión anterior (alrededor de 3-4 años atrás!).
Fue muy sorprendente para mí, cómo era posible que me recuerde entre los millones de devotos e incluso recordar las palabras específicas que me hablaba y también después de tanto tiempo!. Mientras hablaba, él me hablaba de muchas cosas como mi sueldo, mi trabajo en la oficina e incluso algunos otras cosas muy personales, lo cual me pareció único (shock!, shock!, sorpresa!).
Por lo general habla muy poco, pero con cada palabra que está diciendo, se estaba volviendo muy evidente para mí que, simplemente es consciente de cada pequeño detalle de mi vida!
Entonces comenzó a hablar a mis padres que estaban sentados un poco lejos de nosotros. Mientras que mi papá estaba hablando con él acerca de algunos de los temas de la familia, Swami de nuevo nos miro. Sus ojos son muy penetrantes. Es difícil mirar a ellos directamente. Cuando mi padre terminó de hablar, se volvió a mi papá y dijo: "Bangaaram laanti pillalu! Meekinkem kaavaali?" ("Usted tiene hijos de oro. ¿Qué más quieres?") Para mi papá fue una grata sorpresa ese comentario inesperado, y yo, por supuesto estaba en las nubes, al oír un halago viniendo de Swami!
Más tarde, habló sobre la salud de mi madre y luego creó una cadena de oro con un medallón agradable con su imagen en él y lo puso en el cuello diciendo que será un "Raksha" para su salud. Luego habló largamente sobre diversos temas de nuestra familia.
El tipo de amor que se vertía en nosotros y la atención amable que mostraba hacia nosotros, que yo estaba sintiendo, incluso hacia los más cercanos miembros de la familia. Cada palabra que decia estaba empapada de amor y cuidado.
Después de volver a nuestra habitación, yo estaba pensando en esta reunión y pensaba, ¿por qué Swami me dio los dos anillos de esmeraldas , como podría parecer, es un poco raro usar dos anillos de esmeraldas similares ... y pensé que podía ser que hubiera sido bueno si él me hubiese dado en su lugar un anillo de Navarathna , ya que mi hermano solía tener un anillo Navarathna! .... y, obviamente, yo no compartía acerca de estos pensamientos locos con nadie.
Al día siguiente, cuando estábamos sentados para el darshan de Swami llamó a mi papá y a mi de nuevo. Fuimos a la sala de entrevistas, preguntándonos y discutiendo, por qué se nos llama de nuevo. Cuando Swami entró en la sala de entrevistas, se me acercó y me dijo: "Dame el anillo, que yo te di" y se lo di a él. Lo tomó en sus manos y luego me miró con una sonrisa burlona y me preguntó "¿Cuál quieres?" Es entonces que como dude, de alguna manera sabía lo que yo estuve pensando en mi mente ayer y de mi sensación de que habría sido bueno si me hubiese dado un anillo Navarathna ?
Mientras me estaba preguntando eso, él cerró la mano en la que guardaba el anillo de esmeraldas y luego se movió durante un tiempo y la abrió. Ahora bien, había un anillo Navarathna hermoso en lugar del anillo de esmeralda! Luego lo puso en el dedo y con amor me dio unas palmaditas en las mejillas, y en broma y me decía "NAVARATHNAALU!" (Como diciendo, que sólo queria un anillo Navarathna? .. No vas a aceptar cualquier otra cosa?). Esa fue la sorpresa de mi vida !!!!! Con este simple gesto, me demostró fuera de toda duda, que es consciente de cada pensamiento mío, y si lo desea, con un simple movimiento de su mano puede convertir esa idea en una realidad!
Mientras me estaba preguntando eso, él cerró la mano en la que guardaba el anillo de esmeraldas y luego se movió durante un tiempo y la abrió. Ahora bien, había un anillo Navarathna hermoso en lugar del anillo de esmeralda! Luego lo puso en el dedo y con amor me dio unas palmaditas en las mejillas, y en broma y me decía "NAVARATHNAALU!" (Como diciendo, que sólo queria un anillo Navarathna? .. No vas a aceptar cualquier otra cosa?). Esa fue la sorpresa de mi vida !!!!! Con este simple gesto, me demostró fuera de toda duda, que es consciente de cada pensamiento mío, y si lo desea, con un simple movimiento de su mano puede convertir esa idea en una realidad!
Más tarde, mientras hablaba con mi padre acerca de su cirugía de los ojos, Swami sopló aire en sus ojos y le dijo que no se preocupara y que la cirugía será un éxito ... mientras lo decia, que también tocó y miro el cuello de mi padre . Pensé que podia ser que Swami quería darle una cadena, al igual que la que dio a mi madre el otro día . Pero él no hizo nada de eso y después de hablar con nosotros por un tiempo, Swami fue con otros devotos .
Mientras esperaba allí, mi padre poco a poco me susurró al oído "¿por qué Swami miro a mi cuello?". Yo simplemente me encogí de hombros y no dije nada. Aunque pensé que podía ser que Swami quería darle una cadena, no le dije nada, porque sentí , que podría ser un poco molesto pensar que quería que Swami le diera una cadena, pero ha cambiado la decisión más adelante.
Después de un tiempo, cuando los otros devotos se habian ido, fuimos llamados con Swami , estaba de nuevo en un estado de ánimo bromista y esta vez él comenzó a burlarse de mi papá "Meeru Bayata koorchoni mee abbayitho evo-gusa gusalu peduthunattunaaru! .... Swami naa meda dhaggara endhuku choosaaroo aduthunnaaraa animales? " ("Parece que estaban sentados afuera susurrando secretos en los oídos de tu hijo. Que le preguntabas, por qué Swami miro a su cuello?) Y luego me señalo y dijo:" Mee abbaayiki thelusu, nenundhuku choosaano! " (su hijo sabe por qué he mirado en el cuello!) y luego movió su mano y creo una larga cadena Navarathna hermosa y la puso en el cuello de mi padre diciendo: "Ee haaram Kevalam raajulu, mahaarajulu mathrame dharishtaaru, ... idhi meekivvaalani naa sankalpam" ("esta cadena es sólo llevada por los reyes y emperadores. Es mi deseo darte esto ")........
Cuando te encuentras cara a cara con alguien que puede sentarse en cualquier lugar y aún así saber lo que todo el mundo está susurrando en los oídos , la opción simplemente es rendirse a sus pies divinos!
Mientras esperaba allí, mi padre poco a poco me susurró al oído "¿por qué Swami miro a mi cuello?". Yo simplemente me encogí de hombros y no dije nada. Aunque pensé que podía ser que Swami quería darle una cadena, no le dije nada, porque sentí , que podría ser un poco molesto pensar que quería que Swami le diera una cadena, pero ha cambiado la decisión más adelante.
Después de un tiempo, cuando los otros devotos se habian ido, fuimos llamados con Swami , estaba de nuevo en un estado de ánimo bromista y esta vez él comenzó a burlarse de mi papá "Meeru Bayata koorchoni mee abbayitho evo-gusa gusalu peduthunattunaaru! .... Swami naa meda dhaggara endhuku choosaaroo aduthunnaaraa animales? " ("Parece que estaban sentados afuera susurrando secretos en los oídos de tu hijo. Que le preguntabas, por qué Swami miro a su cuello?) Y luego me señalo y dijo:" Mee abbaayiki thelusu, nenundhuku choosaano! " (su hijo sabe por qué he mirado en el cuello!) y luego movió su mano y creo una larga cadena Navarathna hermosa y la puso en el cuello de mi padre diciendo: "Ee haaram Kevalam raajulu, mahaarajulu mathrame dharishtaaru, ... idhi meekivvaalani naa sankalpam" ("esta cadena es sólo llevada por los reyes y emperadores. Es mi deseo darte esto ")........
Cuando te encuentras cara a cara con alguien que puede sentarse en cualquier lugar y aún así saber lo que todo el mundo está susurrando en los oídos , la opción simplemente es rendirse a sus pies divinos!
Él dijo más adelante ", mientras venían aquí, estaban discutiendo , ¿por qué Swami tenía que llamarlos de nuevo, ¿verdad?. Hoy es jueves y un día muy auspicioso y en este día quería darles esto para usted. Por eso te he llamado de nuevo! "Como en ese día, no había muchos devotos, podrían pasar bastante tiempo con Swami, y hablar con él sobre muchas otras cosas .
Esta reunión fue una verdadera revelación para mí. Después de esta experiencia, se hizo claro para mí,que Él es más que consciente de todo lo que está sucediendo en todas partes y en todo el tiempo ! Él no sólo es consciente de lo que hice y lo que estoy haciendo, también es consciente de lo que pensaba y lo que estoy pensando!
De hecho, es toda una sensación de miedo ! Quiero decir, es algo así como darse cuenta de repente que tienes algún tipo de cámaras de vigilancia invisible dentro de tu mente y que alguien por ahí está felizmente viendo todos tus pensamientos!
Al mismo tiempo, es también un sentimiento de seguridad! ... Quiero decir, la próxima vez que quiera decirle algo, yo realmente no necesito ir a él físicamente y decirle. Todo lo que necesito hacer es simplemente sentarme en algún lugar y "pensar", y seguro que el mensaje llegara a él!
Antes sentía, uno debe pensar antes de hacer algo, pero después de este incidente empecé a sentir, hay que "pensar" antes "pensar en algo"! Uno tiene que tener cuidado incluso con sus "pensamientos"! La vida es realmente complicada!
Los favores que ha hecho por nuestra familia son ciertamente incalculable. Incluso si miro sólo el valor material de los favores tales como los gastos de hospital y otros regalos que él nos dio, seguramente se contaran en varios lakhs.
Y si miro lo que le di a él, bueno, es, literalmente, cero! Ni siquiera una rupia! . Para todos aquellas innumerables personas, que han tomado una serie de favores de él y se preguntan cómo pagarle de vuelta, le doy una respuesta simple: "Si de verdad quieres devolver a su favor, ayuda a los pobres . Es la forma correcta de devolver su favor ". No creo que ningún ser humano ordinario hiciera esa declaración.
Todos los que tuvimos la fortuna de interactuar con Swami un par de veces, seguramente se darán cuenta de por qué tantas personas inteligentes , el más rico de los hombres de negocios y los poderosos de los políticos lo adoran como el Dios vivo y vienen como ovejas a Puttaparthi sólo para obtener una mirada de él y tocar sus pies ... y los que tuvieron la oportunidad de conocerlo de cerca, probablemente sienten que todos los incidentes relacionados con él son "cuentos"!
Según lo dicho por Swami a veces, hace todos estos pequeños milagros, sólo para que podamos obtener la suficiente confianza en él y ser atraídos a las cosas más importantes, que son sus enseñanzas. Cualquiera que haya leído las enseñanzas de Swami, minuciosamente seguramente será sorprendido por la autenticidad, precisión y lo más importante la forma simplificada, en la que explica hasta los temas espirituales más complejos. Que es sin duda el más rico tesoro que nos ha dejado.
De hecho, es nuestra mayor fortuna haber nacido en un momento en que Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ha vivido y ser capaz de ver, tocar y hablar una divinidad en forma humana, es probablemente el resultado de la buena fortuna acumulada por nosotros durante varios vidas pasadas.
Saludos
Gunavardhan Raju
NUESTRA VIDA ES SU MESAJE...
OMSAIRAMMM...
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Om Ganeshaya Namah
Om Sai Ram
(Since many members of this forum have asked for English translation for the Telugu sentences used in the earlier message, I am re-posting the below message, adding English translations wherever necessary)
While the devotees are still to come to terms with Sri Sathya Sai Baba leaving his mortal body, I felt it may be the time to retrospect and recollect some of those magical moments and cherished conversations with him which will be treasured by me forever…
The first time I met Sai Baba was when I was a small kid probably around 6-7 years old. At that time my father used to work as D.S.P at Guntakal in Anantapur and used to regularly visit Puttaparthy, sometimes on official duty during Swami's Birthday and other such celebrations and sometimes on vacation. On one such occasion, he took all the family members including me to Puttaparthy. That was my first visit to Puttaparthy. When we went for Swami's darshan, I sat adjacent to my Dad...Waiting time for darshan is usually quite long…such a long waiting time and that too with silence all around will surely make any kid impatient and I was no different…I started posing all kinds of questions to my Dad...How long do we need wait?...Whom are we waiting for?...Who is Sai Baba??.....My Dad was patiently trying to answer me. After a while, when he realized that I was not all that excited, to create a little bit of interest in me, he then said..."What do you think of Sai Baba!...he has all sorts of magical powers!...He can simply wave his hand and just about create anything he wishes!...If you want, when he comes to give darshan, you go and ask him, Swami, naaku oka ungaram prasaadinchandi (Swamy, please present me a ring!), and just watch him, he will wave his hand in the air and will create a ring for you!!!". This explanation truly got me interested and made me patiently wait without any further questions and my Dad seemed quite happy to have finally silenced me…After some more time of waiting, finally we noticed Sai Baba walking down to give darshan....As he started coming close, everyone were focusing all their attention on him, closing their eyes and getting immersed in devotion,..but I immediately got into action and before even anyone noticed, I got up and went straight to Sai Baba and stood adjacent to him waiting for him to look at me but he dint really notice me as I was quite short, probably about his waist-height and he was talking to a devotee on the other side. After a while, to bring his attention to me, I started slowly patting on his thighs…and then when he looked down towards me,…without wasting even a moment I came straight to the point "Swami, naaku oka ungaram prasaadinchadi!!!" (Swamy, please present me a ring!!). He appeared quite amused at that unexpected request. He smiled and affectionately told me "Samayam vachchinappudu, neeku thappakunda isthaanu, Bangaaru" (when the time comes, I'll definitely give you, Bangaaru). I then came back and told my Dad about it and they all burst into laughter!!...This incident remained as one of the biggest joke in our family for several years...everyone used to tease me saying "Veediki asalu mohamaatamanede ledu....edho mazaak ga adagamante, nijanga velli adigeyatamenaa?"(This guy doesn't have anything called hesitation….When someone just tells you for fun, will you straightaway go and ask him like that?) but I never really understood why they made fun of me, instead of appreciating my pithru-vaakya-paripaalana-attitude even at that tender age!!
Sometime later my Dad got transferred from Guntakal and got busy with his job...and we dint got an opportunity to visit Puttaparthy again for quite a few years...Once in a while whenever the topic of Sai Baba used to come in the family, my little adventure as a kid at Puttaparthy used to always come for discussion...We used to make all kinds of fun about that incident but none of us, including me, ever thought even for a moment that, may be Sai Baba actually meant, what he told!!
The opportunity to meet Sai Baba again came almost after two decades...That time my mother was diagnosed for stones in the gall bladder. The doctors were divided in their opinions. Some said she needs to undergo surgery whereas the others said it will be too risky considering her usual delicate health. My parents were in a big dilemma. By then, my Dad had retired quite some time back and handling all these issues alone was quite troublesome for them. I was in U.S at that time. While I was making my preparations to return back, for some strange reason, my mother strongly felt, it will be good to take Sai Baba's advice and blessings regarding her health and my parents went to meet him at Bangalore as he was in Whitefield at that time. I thought maybe they will meet him and come back in a couple of days and by that time even I will be back in India and we can decide what to do next. But when they met Sai Baba, he told her, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you, I'll get your surgery done." and even made arrangements for her surgery and got her admitted in the hospital there. This was quite a bit of surprise to me as we hardly new anyone in Bangalore and my parents dint go there with any kind of preparation for surgery. I immediately rushed to Bangalore and somehow managed to reach there just a day before the surgery. Being alone in a hospital in an unknown city, my parents were quite a bit tensed, and my reaching there on time gave them the much needed relief. My mother regained half her energy, the moment she saw me! Next day the surgery was done and with Swami's grace, it was successful. I thought, it will at least take a few weeks for her to recover from this surgery, but to my surprise she was back to normal within 3 days and was perfectly ready to go for Swami's darshan! This time I accompanied my parents for the darshan. When Swami saw my mother, he said "oorike bayapadithive..Nenu cheppa ledha neekemi kaadhani" (Why were you unnecessarily worried. Dint I tell you nothing will happen to you. ) and then called us to the interview room. It was a small room where a few persons whom Swami called on that day were waiting. When Swami entered the room, everyone were silently watching him in devotion, He took his seat and looked around. The moment he saw me in one corner, he said "come here". I was quite surprised. Why me? I thought. When I went near to him, he did not ask me who was I, what is my name or any such introductory questions. He looked at me as if he knew me all the while, and then asked me in his usual affectionate voice "if I give you something, will you take it?". "Yes", I said, without thinking much. He then waved his hand in a circular motion and created a nice shining emerald ring which he then put it on to my finger. I already had a bundle of gratitude towards him for helping my mother at such a crucial time and with this extra special treatment to me, I was quite overwhelmed with joy and in that happiness, it did not even cross my mind that, this is the very first time he is talking to me again after my childhood adventure, a good two decades ago and what he just did was precisely what he promised me when I first met him as a kid!!! Once he first completed this activity, as if it was long pending task, he then immediately choose to talk on a topic which I least expected. He started talking about the delay in my marriage and expressed quite a bit of concern about it. At that time, we had not even started seriously looking out for matches and I dint really understood, of all the things why Swami is emphasizing so much on this particular issue. He later created vibuthi and gave it to my mother and spoke to us about her health, surgery and various other things and then we took leave from him.
In a country like India where the population of self-proclaimed Baba's is probably only next to that of Software Engineers and where 99.99% of those so called Baba's put-on a saintly-avatar only to innovatively extract some money from the innocent, meeting someone like Sai Baba was an altogether different experience. Here was someone who was not expecting even a single rupee in return or an iota of any other kind of benefit from us. All that he was interested in was only helping and giving. He himself has taken care of even the hospital expenses of my mother!! More than the money we saved, what really mattered the most was the kind of moral support and assurance he gave and his taking complete responsibility of her surgery and smoothly gliding us over that crisis, making everything appear like a dream! This certainly created an immense respect for him in my heart but what my mind was still not able figure out was the puzzle related to the "ring"! I kept on wondering, Did Swami already knew that he is actually going to give me a ring when he made that promise to me when I was a kid? When he saw me now, did he still remember me and his promise? How come the ring he created is perfectly of my size? Is it really possible for someone to guess the ring size by just looking at the face? Or are all these things just plain coincidences? If so, what is the probability of such a coincidence?. There were many such questions but not a single convincing answer. As that was my first such experience with Swami, I was still not quite sure of his divine powers and hence I came to the usual "scientific" conclusion that, may be all these are just good "coincidences" and I shouldn't take it too seriously!! Well, that is how a scientific mind should think, I thought. But may be Swami even knew that I was not yet completely convinced about his abilities and that is why probably the next time I got to meet him, he has decided to subject my unconvincing, scientific mind to a series of little "shock" treatments, so that it won't ask for further evidences of his abilities!!
After the above incident, I got busy with my job and abroad trips and the opportunity to meet Swami again came only after about 3-4 years later. That time I went along with my parents to Bangalore, the day we reached there, I was sitting in the darshan queue a bit far away from where my brother was sitting in the queue, and Swami was coming from the direction where my brother was sitting. The moment he reached my brother, he stopped and asked him "Where is your brother?" and when he pointed towards the direction where I was sitting, he asked us to go to the interview room. I was just wondering, how would he know that we are brothers? Neither we have met him together anytime earlier nor do we have any recognizable resemblances! and more importantly, how would he know that I have come on that precise day? (That was the first shock!). Once we were in the interview room, it was almost a repeat of what happened the previous time…When Swami entered the interview room and saw me, he asked me to come to him and when I went, he asked me in the same affectionate manner "If I give you something, will you take it". I said "yes" and then he waved his hand and created one more nice emerald ring for me and before giving it to me, he joked, "even a goldsmith can't make you a ring of this perfect size!" and then when he put it on my finger, needless to say, it did fit perfectly!! (another shock!) He then immediately came to the point about why probably he would have called me. He was quite a bit concerned about my delaying the marriage. He told I should get married soon. While speaking to me he was even correlating with the specific words and sentences that he said to me on the previous occasion (around 3-4 years back!). It was quite surprising to me how could he remember me amongst the millions of devotees and even remember the specific words he spoke to me and that too after such a long time! (one more shock!) While talking, he was quite casually referring and he himself was telling me about several things like my salary, my work in office and even some other very very personal things, which I thought only I know till then (shock!, shock!, shock!). He generally talks very little, but with every word he is speaking, it was becoming quite evident to me that, he is simply aware of every little detail of my life!! Then he started speaking to my parents who were sitting a bit away from us. While my Dad was talking to him about some of the issues in family, Swami was again looking at us. His eyes are quite piercing. It is difficult to look into them straight. When my Dad finished talking, He turned to my Dad and said " Bangaaram laanti pillalu!! Meekinkem kaavaali??" ("You have children like gold. What more do you want?") My Dad was pleasantly surprised with that unexpected comment, and I was, of course, on cloud nine, hearing such a compliment coming from Swami!! Later he spoke about my mother's health and then created a nice gold chain with a locket having his image on it and put it on her neck saying, it will be a "raksha" for her health. Then he spoke in length on various issues in our family. The kind of love he was showering on us and the kind care he was showing towards us, I was feeling, even the closest family members may not have so much concern. Every word he speaks is drenched in love and care.
After coming back to our room, I was just thinking about this meeting and was feeling, why did Swami give me both emerald rings only, as it might look a little odd to wear two similar emerald rings…I felt may be it would have been good if he had given me one Navarathna ring instead, since my brother used to have a navarathna ring!….and obviously I did not discuss about these crazy thoughts with anyone. Next day, when we were sitting for darshan, Swami called my Dad and me again. We went to the interview room, wondering and discussing why he called us again. When Swami came into the interview room, he came to me and said "Give me that ring, which I gave you" and I gave it to him. He took it into his hand and then looked at me with a teasing smile and asked "Which one do you want?" That is when I started getting the doubt, did he somehow knew even that, which I was thinking in my mind yesterday and about my feeling that it would have been good if he had given me a Navarathna ring intaed of that Emerald one? While I was just wondering like that, he closed his hand in which he kept that emerald ring and then waved it for a while and opened it. Now there was a beautiful Navarathna ring in the place of the Emerald ring!! He then put it on my finger and then lovingly patted on my cheeks, teasing me and saying "NAVARATHNAALU!!" (as if saying, so you want only a Navarathna ring?..won't you accept anything else?). That was the SHOCK of my lifetime!!!!! With this simple gesture he proved to me beyond any doubt that he is simply aware of every little thought of mine and if he wishes, with a simple wave of his hand he can convert that thought into reality!!! Later while speaking to my Dad about his eye surgery, Swami blew air into his eye and told him not to worry and that the surgery will be successful... while saying so, he also touched my Dad's neck and looked at it casually. I thought may be Swami wanted to give him a chain, just like the way he gave to my mother the other day and hence looking at the neck. But he did not do anything like that and after speaking to us for a while, Swami went in with other devotees and we came to some other vacant room. While waiting there, my Dad slowly whispered in my ear "why did Swami look at my neck?". I just simply shrugged my shoulders and said nothing. Though I thought may be Swami wanted to give him a chain, I did not tell that to him because, I felt, he might get a bit upset thinking that Swami wanted to give him a chain but has changed the decision later. After sometime, when the other devotees have left, we were called in. Swami was again in a teasing mood and this time he started teasing my Dad "Meeru Bayata koorchoni mee abbayitho evo gusa-gusalu peduthunattunaaru!!….Swami naa meda dhaggara endhuku choosaaroo ani aduthunnaaraa?" ("It appears you were sitting outside and whispering some secrets in the ears of your son!. you were asking him why did Swami look at your neck?) and then he showed me and said "Mee abbaayiki thelusu, nenundhuku choosaano!!" (your son knows why I have looked at your neck!) and then he waved his hand and created a long beautiful Navarathna chain and put it onto my Dad's neck saying "Ee haaram kevalam raajulu, mahaarajulu mathrame dharishtaaru,…idhi meekivvaalani naa sankalpam" ("this chain in wore only by the kings and emperors. It is my wish to give this to you")........When you come face-to-face with someone who can sit anywhere and still know what everyone is whispering in the ears of the adjacent person and even what that adjacent person may have thought at that time, what options are you really left with other than simply surrendering at his divine feet! He later said "while coming here you people were discussing, why Swami had called you again, right?. Today is Thursday and a very auspicious day and on this day I wanted to give these to you. That's why I have called you again"! As on that day, there weren't many devotees, we could spend quite some time with Swami and speak to him about several other things (May be I'll talk about them, when I get another opportunity).
This meeting was a true eye opener for me. Though even earlier, I heard of several unbelievable incidents about Swami, I still used to have an element of doubt. To hear about something, and to personally experience it yourself are two totally different things! After this experience, it became crystal clear to me that he is simply aware of everything that is happening everywhere and at all the times! He is not only aware of what I did and what I am doing, but is also aware of what I thought and what I am thinking!! It is indeed quite a "scary" feeling!! I mean, it is something like suddenly realizing that, you have some sort of invisible surveillance cameras inside your mind and someone out there is blissfully watching all your thoughts!! At the same time, it is also a feeling of assurance!… I mean, next time I want to tell him something, I don't really need to go to him and tell. All that I need to do is just sit somewhere and "think", and rest be assured that the message would have got delivered to him!
Earlier I used to feel, one should think before doing something, but after this incident I started feeling, one should "think" even before "thinking something"!! One has to be careful even with his "thoughts"!! Life is truly complicated!!
The favors he has done for our family are certainly immeasurable. Even if I look at only the materialistic value of such favors like the hospital expenses and other gifts he gave, it will surely run into several lakhs. And if I look at what we gave back to him, well, it is literally zero! Not even a rupee! We don't find even a Hundi anywhere in Puttaparthy to drop some coins. For all those innumerable people, who have taken several such favors from him and are wondering how to repay him back, he gives a simple answer "If you really want to return back my favors, you go and help the poor out there. That is the correct way of returning my favors!". I don't think any ordinary human being will make such a statement.
Everyone who had the fortune to interact with Swami a couple of times, will surely realize why so many people including the most intelligent of the IAS officers, the richest of the business men and the powerful of the politicians worship him as the living God and flock to Puttaparthi just to get a glance of him and touch his feet…and those who dint had an opportunity to know him closely, will probably feel all those incidents associated with him are just "fairytales"!!
As said by Swami sometimes, he was probably doing all these little miracles, just so that we gain enough confidence in him and get attracted to the more important things, which are his teachings. Anyone who might have read Swami's teachings in a little detail will be surely amazed at the authenticity, accuracy and more importantly the simplified manner in which he explains even the most complex spiritual subjects. That is undoubtedly the richest treasure he has left for us.
It is indeed our greatest fortune to have born in a time when Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has lived and to be able to see, touch, and talk to such a divinity in human form is probably the result of good fortune accumulated by us over several past births.
Regards
Gunavardhan Raju
OUR LIFE IS HIS MESSAGE...
OMSAIRAMMM....
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Esta reunión fue una verdadera revelación para mí. Después de esta experiencia, se hizo claro para mí,que Él es más que consciente de todo lo que está sucediendo en todas partes y en todo el tiempo ! Él no sólo es consciente de lo que hice y lo que estoy haciendo, también es consciente de lo que pensaba y lo que estoy pensando!
De hecho, es toda una sensación de miedo ! Quiero decir, es algo así como darse cuenta de repente que tienes algún tipo de cámaras de vigilancia invisible dentro de tu mente y que alguien por ahí está felizmente viendo todos tus pensamientos!
Al mismo tiempo, es también un sentimiento de seguridad! ... Quiero decir, la próxima vez que quiera decirle algo, yo realmente no necesito ir a él físicamente y decirle. Todo lo que necesito hacer es simplemente sentarme en algún lugar y "pensar", y seguro que el mensaje llegara a él!
Antes sentía, uno debe pensar antes de hacer algo, pero después de este incidente empecé a sentir, hay que "pensar" antes "pensar en algo"! Uno tiene que tener cuidado incluso con sus "pensamientos"! La vida es realmente complicada!
Los favores que ha hecho por nuestra familia son ciertamente incalculable. Incluso si miro sólo el valor material de los favores tales como los gastos de hospital y otros regalos que él nos dio, seguramente se contaran en varios lakhs.
Y si miro lo que le di a él, bueno, es, literalmente, cero! Ni siquiera una rupia! . Para todos aquellas innumerables personas, que han tomado una serie de favores de él y se preguntan cómo pagarle de vuelta, le doy una respuesta simple: "Si de verdad quieres devolver a su favor, ayuda a los pobres . Es la forma correcta de devolver su favor ". No creo que ningún ser humano ordinario hiciera esa declaración.
Todos los que tuvimos la fortuna de interactuar con Swami un par de veces, seguramente se darán cuenta de por qué tantas personas inteligentes , el más rico de los hombres de negocios y los poderosos de los políticos lo adoran como el Dios vivo y vienen como ovejas a Puttaparthi sólo para obtener una mirada de él y tocar sus pies ... y los que tuvieron la oportunidad de conocerlo de cerca, probablemente sienten que todos los incidentes relacionados con él son "cuentos"!
Según lo dicho por Swami a veces, hace todos estos pequeños milagros, sólo para que podamos obtener la suficiente confianza en él y ser atraídos a las cosas más importantes, que son sus enseñanzas. Cualquiera que haya leído las enseñanzas de Swami, minuciosamente seguramente será sorprendido por la autenticidad, precisión y lo más importante la forma simplificada, en la que explica hasta los temas espirituales más complejos. Que es sin duda el más rico tesoro que nos ha dejado.
De hecho, es nuestra mayor fortuna haber nacido en un momento en que Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba ha vivido y ser capaz de ver, tocar y hablar una divinidad en forma humana, es probablemente el resultado de la buena fortuna acumulada por nosotros durante varios vidas pasadas.
Saludos
Gunavardhan Raju
NUESTRA VIDA ES SU MESAJE...
OMSAIRAMMM...
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Om Ganeshaya Namah
Om Sai Ram
(Since many members of this forum have asked for English translation for the Telugu sentences used in the earlier message, I am re-posting the below message, adding English translations wherever necessary)
While the devotees are still to come to terms with Sri Sathya Sai Baba leaving his mortal body, I felt it may be the time to retrospect and recollect some of those magical moments and cherished conversations with him which will be treasured by me forever…
The first time I met Sai Baba was when I was a small kid probably around 6-7 years old. At that time my father used to work as D.S.P at Guntakal in Anantapur and used to regularly visit Puttaparthy, sometimes on official duty during Swami's Birthday and other such celebrations and sometimes on vacation. On one such occasion, he took all the family members including me to Puttaparthy. That was my first visit to Puttaparthy. When we went for Swami's darshan, I sat adjacent to my Dad...Waiting time for darshan is usually quite long…such a long waiting time and that too with silence all around will surely make any kid impatient and I was no different…I started posing all kinds of questions to my Dad...How long do we need wait?...Whom are we waiting for?...Who is Sai Baba??.....My Dad was patiently trying to answer me. After a while, when he realized that I was not all that excited, to create a little bit of interest in me, he then said..."What do you think of Sai Baba!...he has all sorts of magical powers!...He can simply wave his hand and just about create anything he wishes!...If you want, when he comes to give darshan, you go and ask him, Swami, naaku oka ungaram prasaadinchandi (Swamy, please present me a ring!), and just watch him, he will wave his hand in the air and will create a ring for you!!!". This explanation truly got me interested and made me patiently wait without any further questions and my Dad seemed quite happy to have finally silenced me…After some more time of waiting, finally we noticed Sai Baba walking down to give darshan....As he started coming close, everyone were focusing all their attention on him, closing their eyes and getting immersed in devotion,..but I immediately got into action and before even anyone noticed, I got up and went straight to Sai Baba and stood adjacent to him waiting for him to look at me but he dint really notice me as I was quite short, probably about his waist-height and he was talking to a devotee on the other side. After a while, to bring his attention to me, I started slowly patting on his thighs…and then when he looked down towards me,…without wasting even a moment I came straight to the point "Swami, naaku oka ungaram prasaadinchadi!!!" (Swamy, please present me a ring!!). He appeared quite amused at that unexpected request. He smiled and affectionately told me "Samayam vachchinappudu, neeku thappakunda isthaanu, Bangaaru" (when the time comes, I'll definitely give you, Bangaaru). I then came back and told my Dad about it and they all burst into laughter!!...This incident remained as one of the biggest joke in our family for several years...everyone used to tease me saying "Veediki asalu mohamaatamanede ledu....edho mazaak ga adagamante, nijanga velli adigeyatamenaa?"(This guy doesn't have anything called hesitation….When someone just tells you for fun, will you straightaway go and ask him like that?) but I never really understood why they made fun of me, instead of appreciating my pithru-vaakya-paripaalana-attitude even at that tender age!!
Sometime later my Dad got transferred from Guntakal and got busy with his job...and we dint got an opportunity to visit Puttaparthy again for quite a few years...Once in a while whenever the topic of Sai Baba used to come in the family, my little adventure as a kid at Puttaparthy used to always come for discussion...We used to make all kinds of fun about that incident but none of us, including me, ever thought even for a moment that, may be Sai Baba actually meant, what he told!!
The opportunity to meet Sai Baba again came almost after two decades...That time my mother was diagnosed for stones in the gall bladder. The doctors were divided in their opinions. Some said she needs to undergo surgery whereas the others said it will be too risky considering her usual delicate health. My parents were in a big dilemma. By then, my Dad had retired quite some time back and handling all these issues alone was quite troublesome for them. I was in U.S at that time. While I was making my preparations to return back, for some strange reason, my mother strongly felt, it will be good to take Sai Baba's advice and blessings regarding her health and my parents went to meet him at Bangalore as he was in Whitefield at that time. I thought maybe they will meet him and come back in a couple of days and by that time even I will be back in India and we can decide what to do next. But when they met Sai Baba, he told her, "Don't worry, nothing will happen to you, I'll get your surgery done." and even made arrangements for her surgery and got her admitted in the hospital there. This was quite a bit of surprise to me as we hardly new anyone in Bangalore and my parents dint go there with any kind of preparation for surgery. I immediately rushed to Bangalore and somehow managed to reach there just a day before the surgery. Being alone in a hospital in an unknown city, my parents were quite a bit tensed, and my reaching there on time gave them the much needed relief. My mother regained half her energy, the moment she saw me! Next day the surgery was done and with Swami's grace, it was successful. I thought, it will at least take a few weeks for her to recover from this surgery, but to my surprise she was back to normal within 3 days and was perfectly ready to go for Swami's darshan! This time I accompanied my parents for the darshan. When Swami saw my mother, he said "oorike bayapadithive..Nenu cheppa ledha neekemi kaadhani" (Why were you unnecessarily worried. Dint I tell you nothing will happen to you. ) and then called us to the interview room. It was a small room where a few persons whom Swami called on that day were waiting. When Swami entered the room, everyone were silently watching him in devotion, He took his seat and looked around. The moment he saw me in one corner, he said "come here". I was quite surprised. Why me? I thought. When I went near to him, he did not ask me who was I, what is my name or any such introductory questions. He looked at me as if he knew me all the while, and then asked me in his usual affectionate voice "if I give you something, will you take it?". "Yes", I said, without thinking much. He then waved his hand in a circular motion and created a nice shining emerald ring which he then put it on to my finger. I already had a bundle of gratitude towards him for helping my mother at such a crucial time and with this extra special treatment to me, I was quite overwhelmed with joy and in that happiness, it did not even cross my mind that, this is the very first time he is talking to me again after my childhood adventure, a good two decades ago and what he just did was precisely what he promised me when I first met him as a kid!!! Once he first completed this activity, as if it was long pending task, he then immediately choose to talk on a topic which I least expected. He started talking about the delay in my marriage and expressed quite a bit of concern about it. At that time, we had not even started seriously looking out for matches and I dint really understood, of all the things why Swami is emphasizing so much on this particular issue. He later created vibuthi and gave it to my mother and spoke to us about her health, surgery and various other things and then we took leave from him.
In a country like India where the population of self-proclaimed Baba's is probably only next to that of Software Engineers and where 99.99% of those so called Baba's put-on a saintly-avatar only to innovatively extract some money from the innocent, meeting someone like Sai Baba was an altogether different experience. Here was someone who was not expecting even a single rupee in return or an iota of any other kind of benefit from us. All that he was interested in was only helping and giving. He himself has taken care of even the hospital expenses of my mother!! More than the money we saved, what really mattered the most was the kind of moral support and assurance he gave and his taking complete responsibility of her surgery and smoothly gliding us over that crisis, making everything appear like a dream! This certainly created an immense respect for him in my heart but what my mind was still not able figure out was the puzzle related to the "ring"! I kept on wondering, Did Swami already knew that he is actually going to give me a ring when he made that promise to me when I was a kid? When he saw me now, did he still remember me and his promise? How come the ring he created is perfectly of my size? Is it really possible for someone to guess the ring size by just looking at the face? Or are all these things just plain coincidences? If so, what is the probability of such a coincidence?. There were many such questions but not a single convincing answer. As that was my first such experience with Swami, I was still not quite sure of his divine powers and hence I came to the usual "scientific" conclusion that, may be all these are just good "coincidences" and I shouldn't take it too seriously!! Well, that is how a scientific mind should think, I thought. But may be Swami even knew that I was not yet completely convinced about his abilities and that is why probably the next time I got to meet him, he has decided to subject my unconvincing, scientific mind to a series of little "shock" treatments, so that it won't ask for further evidences of his abilities!!
After the above incident, I got busy with my job and abroad trips and the opportunity to meet Swami again came only after about 3-4 years later. That time I went along with my parents to Bangalore, the day we reached there, I was sitting in the darshan queue a bit far away from where my brother was sitting in the queue, and Swami was coming from the direction where my brother was sitting. The moment he reached my brother, he stopped and asked him "Where is your brother?" and when he pointed towards the direction where I was sitting, he asked us to go to the interview room. I was just wondering, how would he know that we are brothers? Neither we have met him together anytime earlier nor do we have any recognizable resemblances! and more importantly, how would he know that I have come on that precise day? (That was the first shock!). Once we were in the interview room, it was almost a repeat of what happened the previous time…When Swami entered the interview room and saw me, he asked me to come to him and when I went, he asked me in the same affectionate manner "If I give you something, will you take it". I said "yes" and then he waved his hand and created one more nice emerald ring for me and before giving it to me, he joked, "even a goldsmith can't make you a ring of this perfect size!" and then when he put it on my finger, needless to say, it did fit perfectly!! (another shock!) He then immediately came to the point about why probably he would have called me. He was quite a bit concerned about my delaying the marriage. He told I should get married soon. While speaking to me he was even correlating with the specific words and sentences that he said to me on the previous occasion (around 3-4 years back!). It was quite surprising to me how could he remember me amongst the millions of devotees and even remember the specific words he spoke to me and that too after such a long time! (one more shock!) While talking, he was quite casually referring and he himself was telling me about several things like my salary, my work in office and even some other very very personal things, which I thought only I know till then (shock!, shock!, shock!). He generally talks very little, but with every word he is speaking, it was becoming quite evident to me that, he is simply aware of every little detail of my life!! Then he started speaking to my parents who were sitting a bit away from us. While my Dad was talking to him about some of the issues in family, Swami was again looking at us. His eyes are quite piercing. It is difficult to look into them straight. When my Dad finished talking, He turned to my Dad and said " Bangaaram laanti pillalu!! Meekinkem kaavaali??" ("You have children like gold. What more do you want?") My Dad was pleasantly surprised with that unexpected comment, and I was, of course, on cloud nine, hearing such a compliment coming from Swami!! Later he spoke about my mother's health and then created a nice gold chain with a locket having his image on it and put it on her neck saying, it will be a "raksha" for her health. Then he spoke in length on various issues in our family. The kind of love he was showering on us and the kind care he was showing towards us, I was feeling, even the closest family members may not have so much concern. Every word he speaks is drenched in love and care.
After coming back to our room, I was just thinking about this meeting and was feeling, why did Swami give me both emerald rings only, as it might look a little odd to wear two similar emerald rings…I felt may be it would have been good if he had given me one Navarathna ring instead, since my brother used to have a navarathna ring!….and obviously I did not discuss about these crazy thoughts with anyone. Next day, when we were sitting for darshan, Swami called my Dad and me again. We went to the interview room, wondering and discussing why he called us again. When Swami came into the interview room, he came to me and said "Give me that ring, which I gave you" and I gave it to him. He took it into his hand and then looked at me with a teasing smile and asked "Which one do you want?" That is when I started getting the doubt, did he somehow knew even that, which I was thinking in my mind yesterday and about my feeling that it would have been good if he had given me a Navarathna ring intaed of that Emerald one? While I was just wondering like that, he closed his hand in which he kept that emerald ring and then waved it for a while and opened it. Now there was a beautiful Navarathna ring in the place of the Emerald ring!! He then put it on my finger and then lovingly patted on my cheeks, teasing me and saying "NAVARATHNAALU!!" (as if saying, so you want only a Navarathna ring?..won't you accept anything else?). That was the SHOCK of my lifetime!!!!! With this simple gesture he proved to me beyond any doubt that he is simply aware of every little thought of mine and if he wishes, with a simple wave of his hand he can convert that thought into reality!!! Later while speaking to my Dad about his eye surgery, Swami blew air into his eye and told him not to worry and that the surgery will be successful... while saying so, he also touched my Dad's neck and looked at it casually. I thought may be Swami wanted to give him a chain, just like the way he gave to my mother the other day and hence looking at the neck. But he did not do anything like that and after speaking to us for a while, Swami went in with other devotees and we came to some other vacant room. While waiting there, my Dad slowly whispered in my ear "why did Swami look at my neck?". I just simply shrugged my shoulders and said nothing. Though I thought may be Swami wanted to give him a chain, I did not tell that to him because, I felt, he might get a bit upset thinking that Swami wanted to give him a chain but has changed the decision later. After sometime, when the other devotees have left, we were called in. Swami was again in a teasing mood and this time he started teasing my Dad "Meeru Bayata koorchoni mee abbayitho evo gusa-gusalu peduthunattunaaru!!….Swami naa meda dhaggara endhuku choosaaroo ani aduthunnaaraa?" ("It appears you were sitting outside and whispering some secrets in the ears of your son!. you were asking him why did Swami look at your neck?) and then he showed me and said "Mee abbaayiki thelusu, nenundhuku choosaano!!" (your son knows why I have looked at your neck!) and then he waved his hand and created a long beautiful Navarathna chain and put it onto my Dad's neck saying "Ee haaram kevalam raajulu, mahaarajulu mathrame dharishtaaru,…idhi meekivvaalani naa sankalpam" ("this chain in wore only by the kings and emperors. It is my wish to give this to you")........When you come face-to-face with someone who can sit anywhere and still know what everyone is whispering in the ears of the adjacent person and even what that adjacent person may have thought at that time, what options are you really left with other than simply surrendering at his divine feet! He later said "while coming here you people were discussing, why Swami had called you again, right?. Today is Thursday and a very auspicious day and on this day I wanted to give these to you. That's why I have called you again"! As on that day, there weren't many devotees, we could spend quite some time with Swami and speak to him about several other things (May be I'll talk about them, when I get another opportunity).
This meeting was a true eye opener for me. Though even earlier, I heard of several unbelievable incidents about Swami, I still used to have an element of doubt. To hear about something, and to personally experience it yourself are two totally different things! After this experience, it became crystal clear to me that he is simply aware of everything that is happening everywhere and at all the times! He is not only aware of what I did and what I am doing, but is also aware of what I thought and what I am thinking!! It is indeed quite a "scary" feeling!! I mean, it is something like suddenly realizing that, you have some sort of invisible surveillance cameras inside your mind and someone out there is blissfully watching all your thoughts!! At the same time, it is also a feeling of assurance!… I mean, next time I want to tell him something, I don't really need to go to him and tell. All that I need to do is just sit somewhere and "think", and rest be assured that the message would have got delivered to him!
Earlier I used to feel, one should think before doing something, but after this incident I started feeling, one should "think" even before "thinking something"!! One has to be careful even with his "thoughts"!! Life is truly complicated!!
The favors he has done for our family are certainly immeasurable. Even if I look at only the materialistic value of such favors like the hospital expenses and other gifts he gave, it will surely run into several lakhs. And if I look at what we gave back to him, well, it is literally zero! Not even a rupee! We don't find even a Hundi anywhere in Puttaparthy to drop some coins. For all those innumerable people, who have taken several such favors from him and are wondering how to repay him back, he gives a simple answer "If you really want to return back my favors, you go and help the poor out there. That is the correct way of returning my favors!". I don't think any ordinary human being will make such a statement.
Everyone who had the fortune to interact with Swami a couple of times, will surely realize why so many people including the most intelligent of the IAS officers, the richest of the business men and the powerful of the politicians worship him as the living God and flock to Puttaparthi just to get a glance of him and touch his feet…and those who dint had an opportunity to know him closely, will probably feel all those incidents associated with him are just "fairytales"!!
As said by Swami sometimes, he was probably doing all these little miracles, just so that we gain enough confidence in him and get attracted to the more important things, which are his teachings. Anyone who might have read Swami's teachings in a little detail will be surely amazed at the authenticity, accuracy and more importantly the simplified manner in which he explains even the most complex spiritual subjects. That is undoubtedly the richest treasure he has left for us.
It is indeed our greatest fortune to have born in a time when Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has lived and to be able to see, touch, and talk to such a divinity in human form is probably the result of good fortune accumulated by us over several past births.
Regards
Gunavardhan Raju
OUR LIFE IS HIS MESSAGE...
OMSAIRAMMM....
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