The Lord’s Abhayahasta

This is a moving incident narrated by Ravi M., former student of Sathya Sai Institute and currently Technical Officer at Super Speciality Hostel, Puttaparthi, during his talk in the Divine Presence of Swami in Brindavan, 2003

One day in 1992, after morning Darshan when we had come to the Hospital and were getting ready for our cases and work, patients were being fed their breakfast, some were being washed or moved, to our utmost surprise Swami arrived unheralded, nobody had come with Him.

We were all caught by surprise; Swami was Himself opening the doors and walking in. Nobody could understand, as normally we know when Bhagavan is coming and there is someone who Bhagavan wants to see. Bhagavan walked with sure strides and came to the operation theatre reception, opening the ICU door Himself and stopped by a lady patient who was lying on one of those beds. There was no one to accompany Bhagavan; it was a shame that we could not open the doors for Bhagavan. Two or three of us students followed Bhagavan, really perplexed, trying to imagine what had brought Bhagavan there?

Swami turned towards that woman and gave her an Abhayahasta (hand raised in benediction and protection). Even the memory of that Abhayahasta really sends a shiver through my body; what a wonderful pose Swami adopted. He had that faraway look in His eyes of understanding, compassion, love and mercy that only He can exude and emanate. I do not know if that lady even knew Swami, but she understood that here was the answer to her misery and sorrow and in the pain she was feeling after her operation, she just managed to bring her two hands together and salute Swami. Swami then looked down and went back. He did not say a word to anybody, got into the car and went back.

I really wanted to find out what had brought Swami there, so I started asking the doctors what was special about her. It was a lesson for all of us that there was absolutely nothing special about this woman. Bhagavan has taken Avatar to relieve pain and tells us; "Anybody who needs me deserves me".

This lady had been admitted in the middle of the night and was carrying a child. The child was suffering from a severe acute condition of mycal Stenosis and could not be saved. The valve in the heart had been totally closed and the child she had been carrying was dead. Now it was a question of a few minutes before which even she would pass away. The doctors had taken an emergency decision to operate on her and then deliver the dead child, at least to save her from a sure death.

In a few seconds she went into a condition called pulmonary oedema and froth and blood started coming out of her mouth. The doctors hurried her into the operating theatre and opened the valve. She was fine and was saved - but lying there in the post operative unit, the pain of two operations racking her body and the psychological pain of having lost her child, she was thinking, as she confided in one of the senior nurses "What is this life? Is it worth living? Is there nobody with whom I can share my sorrow?"

These thoughts had 'reached' Bhagavan. Bhagavan is always open to our sufferings. He is always available, always accessible and always present when we need Him. The suffering of this woman who was probably not even a devotee and did not know Bhagavan, her suffering had called upon Bhagavan and brought Him there. It was a sight to see the Abhayahasta, as if there was a link between them for births and births.

---