Swami’s Visit to Hadshi-Mumbai – Day Four, October 31, 2009

We woke up on the morning of October 31 with mixed feelings. We were sad because our fantastic stay with Swami in the beautiful Hadshi was about to end but at the same time we were happy because we were still with Swami and our trip was not over yet. Once we were ready we headed to the poolside where we had lovely breakfast. And after this, we made our way back to the Mandir and awaited for Bhagavan to arrive. It was now 9 a.m.  

At about 9:25 a.m., Swami emerged from His room. Bhagavan then called Mr. Shivajirao Jadhav and started distributing gifts. Swami personally gave to every boy a box inside which was a multimedia viewing device. Swami even opened one of the boxes and pressed a few buttons of the device. To the elders, He gifted idols of Vitthala-Rakumai too along with the device.

After the elders, Swami presented gifts to all those who had served in the residence along with the State President and others. Swami now asked for sarees to be brought and called for the ladies of the Jadhav household. He gifted these to the wives of the Jadhavs and also to their sister. He asked them, "Where is your mother?" And soon she was brought up in the lift. Swami then presented a saree to her too.

Next, the father was given a separate gift. And after this Bhagavan began to enquire whether each of them had received, and He was satisfied only when they showed the sarees and other gifts in their hands to Him. The distribution was complete by 10:00 a.m. and Swami then moved towards the lift to come down.

As Swami arrived down, all the family members gathered around Him to do aarthi. It was a tearful farewell. One could not make out whether the tears streaming down the eyes of the members of the family were out of joy or sorrow at the impending apparent separation.

Swami was at His consoling best and also promised the Jadhavs that He would soon be back with them and during His next visit He would stay longer. Now, an elaborate lamp was lit to perform aarthi and there was a crowd around Swami with everyone falling at His feet for blessings. And then began our journey to Mumbai.

The convoy consisted of about 20 cars in the beginning. But it soon became evident that many others had planned to follow Swami, and thus the convoy grew, making it possibly even a total of 100 at some point during the journey. The ride was lovely and it is an absolutely great feeling to be part of Swami's convoy.

Once we were within striking distance from Mumbai, we noticed that we were surrounded on all sides by sevadals on motorbikes. The job of providing security to Swami’s vehicle was taken up by them. By 1:50 p.m., we were at Dharmaksetra and there was a welcome with poornakumbham accorded to Swami.

Bhagavan then drove up the hillock to Satya Deep and as soon as the door of His car opened, He asked, "Have the boys come?" I was touched at His concern and said, "Swami some of us have arrived, the others are arriving." His first thought was His students! Then He received the roses and other welcomes accorded to Him and moved straight to the dining hall.

After the lunch session, as Swami moved towards Satyadeep, there were Bal Vikas children who had been waiting for Him for quite a while. Swami accepted a rose from a little girl and then blessing all the children, moved into His residence.

After resting for a while, we were all ready by 5:00 p.m. and made our way to the top of Satyadeep. At about 5:35 p.m., Swami came down and after enquiring about the programme, He got into His car to move to Goregoan where a large assembly had been waiting for Him for hours. 

At 6:15 p.m., we were at the hall, which was packed to its maximum, and in fact, there were many at the gates.  A procession of Veda chanting students led Swami into the hall. A huge carpeted stage had been set up and the famous playback singer, Sonu Nigam and his troupe awaited Swami.

There were easily 60,000 people there and the stage displayed a huge picture of Swami in the abhayahastha pose with the words - The Creator and His Creation. Swami came out of the car and was onto the stage via the ramp. He sat there and faced the audience who were thrilled and filled with devotional fervour. Minutes later, Sonu Nigam came up to Swami with his wife and child and sought His blessings. Swami blessed him and his cute child too. After this, Sonu began his performance. He started with the song “Sai Baba Bolo” from the film ‘Shirdi Ke Sai Baba’.

As Sonu continued to sing, every eye was riveted on Swami and the Lord seemed to turn to the sides to have a look at the devotees everywhere. Soon He moved to all directions and was so happy; the devotees were of course ecstatic. After Sonu’s performance concluded, Swami materialized a ring for the singer. He was all smiles as the Lord slipped the ring into his finger. It was now well past 7 p.m. Mangala aarthi was performed and Swami blessed the swelling congregation. It was 7:15 p.m. as Swami left the hall.

After this, Swami reached Sai Darshan, the home of Mr. Indulal Shah. Like everywhere else, there was a huge crowd that had gathered there too as Swami was welcomed into the compound. Swami moved up to the pooja room through an improvised lift and spent about 15 minutes at the shrine and spoke to the family in private. He then came down via the same lift to move to the dining hall of the house. It was 9 p.m. by the time Swami came out of Mr. Shah’s residence.

There is a small street in that area that has been named after Bhagavan and the name board in concrete stands out in sprightly red, "Sri Sathya Sai Darshan Chowk." Floral decorations surrounded it on all sides. Swami glanced at it before getting into the car.

The drive from there to Dharma Kshetra took about half an hour. After Swami reached, there was a delegation of Sai University alumni who requested Swami to see a small presentation they had made on Dharmakshetra. Swami acceded to their request and blessed them, and finally retired at 10:00 p.m.

Dear reader, how do you like this section? Does it help or inspire you in anyway? Please share your reflections with us by writing to h2h@radiosai.org mentioning your name and country.
Thank you for your time.