1. In Shiva-Sai-Mahaa-Deva from the February 2006 issue, we presented an article by late Sri G. V. Subba Rao, who masterfully explained to us the Shiva-Shakthi aspect of Bhagavan Baba through various comparisons and parallels between Swami and Shiva.

“When Swami was in His early twenties, a restless youth who was an incorrigible cricket fan, was given the task of attending to Baba. Baba was reeling out cricket scores of a match being played in far away Madras in order to keep the youth happy! Even then, the boy kept asking questions of Swami, particularly about the third eye of Shiva. Swami looked intensely at the young man….”

What happened next?

A. The youth turned mute and just couldn’t talk anymore!
B. A stream of vibhuti shot out from Swami.
C. Swami stood in front of the youth as Shiva with His third eye open!
D. Swami’s features disappeared and the youth could only see Swami’s eyes.

2. In The Vision Of Non-Duality - IV from the February 2006 issue, we shared Swami Vivekananda’s Hymn to Lord Shiva.

The first stanza salutes Shiva thus:

Salutation to Shiva! Whose glory
Is immeasurable, Who resembles sky
In clearness, to Whom are attributed
The phenomena of all creation,
The preservation and dissolution
Of the universe! May the devotion,
The burning devotion of this my life
Attach itself to Him, to Shiva, Who,
While being Lord of all, transcends Himself.

By which name is Lord Shiva crowned with in the second stanza?

A. Mahadeva
B. Sambhashiva
C. Maheshwara
D. Bholanath

3. In The Wonderful Swami I Have Seen from the July 2006 issue, we shared an incident narrated by an ardent devotee Mrs. Geeta Mohanram about the impact of a trip to Swami on her grandfather, Mr. Seshagiri Rao, a devout Shiva follower:

“On one of these trips, my grandfather was asked to go with the ladies; because they couldn’t go by themselves without a male escort on these journeys that were so difficult... So he said: ‘Alright! I will accompany you all but I am not coming to see this young boy! Do you think I am crazy to come and see a sixteen year old, uneducated, non-Brahmin, illiterate person and believe that He is some kind of important person? You people are all crazy! I am not coming to see Him. I believe in my Lord Shiva that I worship everyday. I will drop you off all there and go to my relative's house and spend my time there and that’s about it!’

So they finally convinced him. They arrived there around five-thirty in the evening, and Swami in those days, used to sit on that stone. At that time in the evening while the bhajan was going on, these four people - my grandfather, and my two aunts – arrived, and as they entered the compound of the old Pattam Mandaram, the old mandir; there was Swami, sitting on the rock.

He takes one look at Swami that he had vowed not to - because he was going to go away - he takes one look at Him, two seconds, and bang! He has fainted on the floor !”

What did her grandfather reveal on regaining his consciousness?

A. “All I saw was snakes darting at me and I got scared!”
B. “Swami was not a 16 year old anymore but an old man!”
C. “I saw two Swami’s sitting there instead of one!”
D. “I saw Swami exactly like the Lord Shiva I pray to!”

4. In The Matchless Cosmic Splendour from the July 2006 issue, one of the incidents we shared was of Dr. Ravi Kumar’s experience of the Shiva-Shakti aspect of Swami.

“It was a week after the 70th Birthday…When I went for morning Darshan the next day, I carried a new book with me and continued reading it till Swami came out to give Darshan. After Darshan, Swami went into the interview room with a group of devotees. I was sitting in the prayer hall in the first row near His Throne, enjoying this book.

The narration was of the life of One, who is adored as the son of God – Thirugnana-sambandar. When the child is three years old, one day, he throws a tantrum as the father is going to the temple tank for a bath - the child wants to accompany him. Cajolements and threats are of no avail and finally the father says, ‘If this is the way you behave, then go with me’ and takes him along. Arriving at the tank, he leaves the child on the bank and loathe to leave the child unattended, enters the water with hesitation. Seeing the father has not surfaced for a long time the child began to weep.

Now, at this point the interview room door opened and Swami came into the bhajan hall. I was delighted, and quickly closed the book. Swami went into the bhajan hall and talked to some devotees along the aisle for a long time. As He was returning to the interview room after that, He stopped in front of me and posed a strange question, “…………………………..”

What was the strange question that Swami asked?

A. “Why are you always sleeping?”
B. “Why do you keep reading the same book?”
C. “How many litres of milk do you need?”
D. “When are you going to sing?”

5. In Expressions of Love - II from the February 2006 issue, we shared a narration presented by Mr. O. K. S. Sastry about one of the experiences he had with the other students when they lovingly offered to Swami cards of affection during different festivals and holy occasions.

“Soon the month of February approached, and Shivarathri was round the corner. It is a great occasion, a long awaited festival for the devotees; but for us it was bad news. Bhagavan wanted to celebrate the festival in Puttaparthi. Crestfallen, we resorted to the only medium which can melt His heart…prayer. Yes, we prayed fervently to Bhagavan to take us along with Him. We did not want to miss Him even for a day and could not imagine not being part of the glorious festival and losing out on the incredible blessings from Him during this momentous festival.

The prayers were sincere and the result too was overwhelming. Swami had agreed that we could come to Parthi and not only that; we were going to travel just behind Swami’s car! Our joy knew no bounds, to say the least.

With all the blessings that we were receiving from our sweet Lord, our hearts were filled with only one sentiment that ‘we should be with Him forever and bask in His Love’. We did not want to miss Him even for a moment and we wanted to create a card, which will commune this emotion…this intense feeling to Bhagavan.

So we started wondering… who is so blessed to be with Lord Shiva continuously? Who has the opportunity to gaze at Him at all times everywhere and be with Him?”

Who was the chosen one that the students decided upon?

A. Lord Shiva’s consort Parvathi.
B. Lord Shiva’s son Ganesha.
C. Lord Shiva’s younger son Subramanium.
D. Lord Shiva’s vehicle Nandi.

- Heart2Heart Team