“As we spent seven days, attending various medical camps, dispensing little bottles of pills, the immensity of the calamity hit home - the long lines of people waiting patiently for medicines to save them from the deadly epidemic that was breaking out in the wake of the rains, the smiles on their faces as they received a few kilos of grains, and their gratitude as they clutched new pieces of clothing. But what struck a chord was the spirit of selfless service with which the Sai volunteers worked – their energy, despite conducting camps day in, day out for two weeks was an inspiration!” This is what Dr. Agarwal, who was there for a week in Mumbai as Swami’s special envoy after the disaster, to serve along with the Sai workers there, had to say.

		“And our Lord Sai watched over them,” Dr. Agarwal continues, “as they doled out pills after pills, bottles after bottles of medicines without bothering about their personal needs, the risk of contracting disease, or whether it was time for them to eat a meal. Their attitude was, ‘Whatever we do is not enough, so keep on working….working harder.’ And so they did, with Swami’s Name constantly on their lips and a silent prayer in their hearts for Him to overlook their human errors and ‘to take care’ and so He did...”

Yes, He did. And in so many beautiful ways. When the city often touted as the Shanghai of India turned into a city of distress and despair, the Sai workers submerged themselves in the ocean of service - the above description is only a drop. They were busy alleviating pain and bringing smiles on the faces of the affected and the anxious. Medical camps were on for days and nights, week after week, simultaneously with other service activities.

Before we give you more thrilling stories of how the Sai workers reached out to every corner of Mumbai, and more interestingly, how our beloved Swami rescued them and guarded them every moment, let’s have a quick look at the city of Mumbai on the 26th of July 2005 – the day the never-at-rest-for-a-second city of India, stumbled and came to a total stand still.

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Part-IV: Sai Seva in Mumbai

The Deluge of Sai Service

Inside this big family was the small but significant Sai family who just like other good-hearted people took every opportunity to serve their fellow brothers and sisters.

Way back in February 1966, Swami had said,

“Life is best spent alleviating pain, assuaging distress, and promoting peace and joy. The service of man is more valuable than what you call ‘service to God’. God has no need of your service. If you please man, you please God. When you serve man, you serve God.”

And the Sai devotees in Mumbai did just that.

Dr. Asha Damodaran who coordinated a lot of service activities, says,

“As soon as the programme of relief work for the deluge affected areas consisting of medical camps, food and clothes distribution was announced at the Navi Mumbai Zone, there was another deluge – a deluge of Sevadal workers wanting to contribute in whichever way they could. There was a sea of people (Sevadals) of all ages, both sexes and from various strata of society at “Sai Prem” our Navi Mumbai center wanting to help in which ever manner they could. In fact, it was disappointing for some not to be included in the medical team. Food packets, clothes and medicines started pouring in. Sevadals were busy without any thought for their own health, comforts or convenience. It was indeed heartening to see all this.”

Offering Food Packets, Offering Love

And so, within two days after the Terrible Tuesday of 26th July, Sai devotees organized themselves into different groups and panned out to every accessible area of Mumbai which needed help and care.

Their focus was first to provide food. Food packets containing mainly rice, pulses, sugar, turmeric, wheat flour and other small items like candles, and a match box, etc. were made.

Food Packing in Progress in Worli...

More than 1,500 food packets were produced and distributed in one day, thanks to 50 Sai volunteers who worked the whole night in “Sai Prem”, New Mumbai, putting together all the items into neat packs.

The food packing area was later shifted to Worli, Old Mumbai, for ease of distribution as it was closer to the affected areas. And here again, 50 Sai workers worked from nine in the morning to twelve in the night for six continuous days, preparing 12,000 food packets.

Dr. Asha, recalling the initial days after the deluge, says,

“Physical ailments like respiratory infections, gastro intestinal infections and of course, skin infections due to feet being immersed in water for hours were common. There was no epidemic of malaria or dengue or leptospirosis at that time. But there was enough emotional distress, people having lost their loved ones, fees kept for the child or money saved for medical treatment, all their possessions having been washed away or water logged. There were some not so poor, who felt embarrassed to seek social help as their every possession had been washed away and they did not have even a change of clothing. A sympathetic ear and a kind word were indeed helpful then along with the food packets, medicines and clothes.”

And the Sai workers did not merely distribute food packets, those packets were, in fact, tokens of love, carefully packed and lovingly presented. From each region of Mumbai a dozen volunteers carried these packets of love and reached out to every shattered slum and every affected small lane of Mumbai to give, nay, offer it to the hungry and the deprived.

Food Packets distribution in progress...

Sai Medical Seva in Time Saves Nine

As important as food was medical attention to the affected people. In the initial days after the deluge, as Dr. Asha mentioned, there were only respiratory and gastro intestinal infections, but the epidemic was germinating. The outbreak of leptospirosis and dengue epidemic was one of the most terrible aftermaths of the tragic Mumbai rains. While leptospirosis was contracted from rat urine in water, dengue was caught from infected mosquitoes.

And here the Sai Organisation of Mumbai played a very proactive role.

To take this head on and prevent the spread of the epidemic, the Sai Organization conducted numerous medical camps spread all over Mumbai. Free medicines and injections were supplied and devotee doctors moved from one place to another with their teams to provide help and treatment.

It is a well-acknowledged fact that the administration of epidemic-preventive injections and medicines like Anti-Typhoid and Tetanus by Sai workers is what prevented the epidemic from taking alarming proportions in many areas of Mumbai.

There were medical camps conducted in Kalamboli, New Panvel, Palshet, Gadeshwar, Shiravali, among several other places. Just to give an instance, here again we have Dr. Asha Damodar, who was very much involved in the camps, giving us insights into the Seva done,

 

“We went deep into the tribal areas of Yermal and Bannechivadi and conducted our camp inside a small hutment with just 4 (one doctor and 3 sevadals) of us. We managed to attend to over 150 patients. This was a really needy place as the nearest primary medical facility was a minimum of one hour walking distance, with broken roads, no transport facility and of course no money to pay the doctor’s fees. There was a lady ill and pregnant, paralyzed below the legs having been beaten by her husband… there were men suffering from high fever and others suffering from loose motions and vomiting. Nobody bothers about these people. But for Swami’s help who could have helped these people in far off places? Needless to say the villagers felt grateful that we thought of them. We developed good rapport with them. As much their poverty hits you, their addiction to alcohol and tobacco saddens you. There is so much to be done in these areas.”

The Sai workers did a lot - not only for the people of these areas but for the entire state of Maharashtra .

In the Navi Mumbai zone alone, more than 2,500 patients were attended to during the first week of August. The number was much more in the Kurla-Kalina region, the most affected area of Mumbai, with 50 doctors working round the clock. The numbers keep adding up when we include all the major zones where Seva was conducted in the entire state of Maharashtra.

Doctors and Sevadals in action during medical,camps...

The Incredible Make-Shift Hospital

Dr. Janaki, a very dedicated devotee doctor, who was the motivational force behind several camps, comments,

“Can you believe it? The whole of Kalina area was submerged with 6ft of water, but in my hospital (Prashanti Medical Centre) in the same area, there was not a drop of water! All the patients were safe and the expensive instruments were just fine! True to its name, it had become an abode of peace. The very next day itself I felt as if Swami is just instructing me to do things. All our volunteers converged and began our series of service activities. We went to the worst affected slum areas distributing emergency medicines, food, clothing and blankets in our ambulance. All our doctors, volunteers and paramedical staff were delighted, to say the least, to see smiles back on the faces of the affected people.

A week passed, and the affected people started having fever and many were dying due to lack of medical facilities. All the hospitals were full. And so, through His inspiration, we hit upon the idea to start an emergency ward. It was not going to be easy; in fact, we were wondering will it come about? It did happen. But it was not because we got some brilliant ideas, but because it was He who arranged everything for us. Unbelievably, in one day, a well equipped mini hospital was ready. It was now open 24 hrs a day and there were doctors, nurses and paramedical staff stretching themselves beyond limits to attend to anybody who came at any time of the day, whatsoever. We also gave many preventive medications like Tetanus and Typhoid vaccines. By His grace, there was no shortage of medicines or dearth of resources.”

So, that was the story of how Dr. Janaki started the new makeshift nursing home in Kadamwadi, in east Santa Cruz area of Mumbai. At least 800 patients were treated in six days from the 17 th to 22 nd August here and more than 650 typhoid injections were administered by Dr. Janaki’s team.

In the make-shift nursing home...

Dr. Agarwal, who saw Dr. Janaki at work, says, “It was a demonstration of our Lord’s most important teaching being put into practice – Love all, Serve all”. If you ask Dr. Janaki she replies, “I am not the doer, it is He.”

Seva Beyond Mumbai

The damage, as we know, was not restricted to Mumbai alone, and Sai Seva too went beyond Mumbai. There were medical camps conducted in Dasgaon. In Mahad Taluka, where 50 people were buried alive and many houses destroyed due to a massive landslide, the Sai workers constructed temporary housing for all the unfortunate people in the Kosabi/Rawalgaon area.

In Sangli-Satara zone which included areas like Sikli, Sanwad, Danwad, Bastewad, Kurundwad, Chitrapur and Rajapur, medical camps and food grain distribution were held for four days from 6th to 9th August, 2005 . Additionally, much relief activity was carried out in Pandharpur.

How the Sai Workers Served

The passion with which the Sai workers served, the kind of areas they visited - the most filthy and dreaded slums - the smile with which they went about doing their work and the way these volunteers were received, was something to be seen to be believed.

It was not for ostentation. It was not for personal glory. It was done with the one aim of serving Sai. The Sai who is within each one in distress.

Swami says,

“Be alert to the call everywhere, at all times; be ready with a smile, a kind word, a useful suggestion, some well-informed help, a pleasant reply. Look for chances to relieve, rescue or resuscitate… Service to society is the primary duty. Concern for the welfare of all is devotion.”

 

For the Sevadals of Mumbai, it was their duty, their devotion and worship. It was very heartening to see Sai workers who were once upon a time slum children now serving the citizens of Mumbai non-stop day and night. These were the children adopted from a slum by a Sai worker years ago and now groomed into respectable citizens. Once upon a time on the receiving end, these workers were now serving the citizens of Mumbai with great sincerity and devotion to Sai.

 

In the words of one service coordinator,

"Our sevaks experienced sheer Divine Presence when food packages were being distributed from door to door, as the people welcomed them as if it was Swami at their doorstep. Truly, when nature hits thousands, God’s Grace saves millions."

When humanity is faced with tragedy, it is God’s opportunity to provide solace and succor. Those who are lucky enough to serve alone know what an exhilarating experience it is to be an instrument of the divine. And those 'helped' always remember the touch of the divine that came to them in their pain and time of acute need.

Ask any Sai worker and he (or she) will tell you - Sai was always with him (or her). In fact, one Sai worker recounts,

“Along with the medicines we gave them Swami’s photo and Vibhuti and asked them to pray fervently and sincerely when in distress. And on our next visit, some villagers reported that the dangerously rising water level receded after they prayed to Swami.”

Indeed, Sai is there everywhere for everybody ready to help. The Sai devotees know it better than anybody else. And every devotee has an account of how Swami saved his/her life and property. Take the case of Mr. Aklekar, for instance.

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Part-V: Sai Comes To The Rescue

Sai - Their Saviour

When Mr. Kumar Aklekar realized that the deluge was endangering his family in Andheri, he rushed home. He sent his children to a place of safety higher up the building, while he and his wife, Sheetal stayed back in their home. As the waters in the flat rose, they moved their television, computers and other valuables to higher floors within the premises. The roads were already flooded. There was more than 5 feet of water. He could see his car submerged. The water had climbed up to nearly three feet inside their flat. He and Sheetal sat on the kitchen platform the whole night praying and reciting "Sai Gayatri" (a Vedic composition on Sai). The water was gushing into their flat. It did not look like the rain would ever stop.

The room had a life size picture of Swami placed three and a half feet above the ground. Sheetal mentioned to Kumar in a frightened tone that the water level should not rise to touch Swami's photograph. The water level started rising further. They were tense and terrified. The water initially rose but then stopped to their utter disbelief. It stopped just three inches below Swami’s life-size photograph, which as we know, was three and a half feet above ground level. This was all the more miraculous as the water rose five feet in their neighbour’s home on the very same floor!

The Aklekars spent the next two days cleaning their home from the residual mud. And to their great surprise and joy on Thursday (the third day after the deluge) Swami assured them of His presence at all times as Amrita (holy nectar) started dripping from His photograph, as if to say, "I am always here, why fear!"

The Stunning Case of Dr. Janaki The case of Dr. Janaki is even more stunning. In her own words, “On the 26 th of July, as I returning home from my clinic, I saw the road in front was flooded. I took a detour and that did not help either. Every road was submerged. I was in the car and saw the water rising in the car inch by inch. At this moment… I felt somebody telling me to get out of the car. I obeyed the divine command instantaneously and I stepped out of the car. And as I had abandoned the car, I saw a gentleman standing right there with an umbrella as though waiting for me! He was kind and took me inside a hall on the first floor of a building. I realized later that it was St Stanishlaus church. When I looked back, my car was nowhere to be seen. In a minute, it had become submerged into the flood. The fathers in the church were very nice and served me with food and drinks. By midnight rains had reduced. I thought of walking back home. As I stepped out, the water was still up to my shoulders. I started walking and it took me 2 hrs to reach home that night. It was as if Swami was holding me in the dark and guiding me all the time.” But the story does not end here, the best part is, as Dr. Janaki says, “When I went to pick up my car which was submerged in water for two whole days and switched on the ignition - hold your breadth - it started! The most miraculous thing I have ever witnessed,” she signs off. Truly, when you do God’s work, God does your work much more efficiently and effectively that you would have ever imagined and looks after every need. Many depended on Swami and cried out for help on that terrible day and everyone has a moving tale – some heart-warming, some inspiring, some stunning, some illumining - to tell. How was Gayatri Saved? Let’s now hear what happened to Gayatri Nambiar, a former Bal Vikas (EHV for children) student of New Mumbai. Currently studying for her Chartered Accountancy final exams, Gayatri had been for an audit at Vashi, in New Mumbai. It had already started raining heavily when she left the office at about 4.30 p.m. for her home at Dadar (central Mumbai). She silently started praying to Swami. It was not going to be easy to reach home safely. Praying and depending on Swami was something that had been inculcated in her since her Bal Vikas days. She went to the bus stop but found no buses running. Her journey home would normally take one and a half hours. But what was she to do now? Caught in this terrible predicament, she could only think of her beloved Lord. The Sai Gayatri was on her lips now. A few minutes passed. A car stopped in front of her. The owner, to her surprise, offered her a lift. The car was going towards her home, she found out. A few others also jumped in taking the kind offer. The roads were pretty bad and Gayatri’s silent chanting became only more vigorous. They traveled for nearly half an hour. After that the car just did not move. In front was a flood and a terrible traffic jam. The car lay stranded on top of a flyover at Ghatkopar. The only option was to walk the rest of the journey. Meanwhile, at home, Sujana, Gayatri's mother, was worried. There was no way of getting in touch with her daughter (Gayatri did not carry a mobile handset). She found out that Gayatri had left the office. Sujana switched on the Sai Gayatri cassette and started praying continuously and incessantly. She started writing in the Nama Likhita book (writing the Lord’s Name with remembrance). Gayatri had to wade through chest high water for nearly four hours. Every moment she cried out for her Lord and felt Swami's calming and protecting presence. All throughout the journey it was as if Swami was with her every moment. On seeing her at home at 8.45 p.m. , her mother broke down. She bowed and thanked Swami profusely. Gayatri knew neither swimming nor was she familiar with the route. The danger was formidable. Ask her today and she will tell you that it was Swami’s Name alone that helped her overcome that perilous journey. In fact she reached home quicker than many others. Her father, who had to travel only half the distance from the same direction, could only return on evening of the next day! There are as many stories of Swami’s protecting hand and His omnipresence as there are stories of destruction and despair. Mr. Pillay’s story is yet another vindicating this premise. God Is Great Mr. S.B.R. Pillay and his family live on the ground floor of Brindaban Society, a residential housing complex at Thane, a Mumbai suburb. They have a small temple for Swami made of wood (3 ft x 3 ft) mounted on top of a storage cabinet. And Baba’s chair was there beside it. In front of this were Padukas (divine sandals) blessed by Swami six years ago. The Padukas were on a steel plate, which was placed on a wooden stand, 3 inches above floor level, and the stand was draped with a thick silk shawl. They were the family’s object of faith and devotion for many years. When the downpour in Thane was at its worst on July 26th, the complex began flooding. Mr. Pillay, like many other Mumbaikars, was stuck in his office that night. He stayed there the next day too. There was no way he could have moved. He managed to reach his wife and daughter by phone, that too with great difficulty. His daughter told him that the flat was flooded. He asked his wife and daughter to save their belongings and move them out of the reach of the flooding waters. One precious item, however, was completely forgotten by the family - Baba’s Padukas. On 27th July (the second day) the surging waters had entered their home by 4.30 p.m. All the hundreds of flats on the ground floor of their complex were flooded. At 5.30 p.m mother and daughter locked the house and went to another Sai devotee’s house on the first floor of a neighbouring apartment. After the telephone conversation with his family, Mr. Pillay suddenly remembered about the Padukas. But there was no way that he could contact his home. No infrastructure in the city worked - electronic or otherwise. He was sad, helpless and crestfallen. He spent a sleepless and tearful night in the office and lamented over his forgetfulness. He could only pray to Baba and ask for His forgiveness. And he did this fervently. He did not want the dirty floodwater to touch the divine sandals at any cost. On 28th morning (the third day), Central Railway begun operating some trains. He rushed home. At 10.30 a.m. with great trepidation he opened the door. The entire room had been flooded up to 8 inches. He could see the water mark on the storage cabinet beside Baba’s chair. But, not a drop of water was on the steel plate on which the Padukas rested! The cloth below was fully wet but the Chandan and Kumkum (turmeric and vermillion marks) on the sandals were intact. Incredibly, the Divine Padukas which were kept 3 inches above the floor were saved from the near foot high water level. He just closed his eyes in disbelief. The Lord had heeded his prayers. Overwhelmed, he did not know how to express his gratitude to his dear Lord. Mr. Pillay, now convinced more than ever of Swami’s protecting love and care, notes, "My Loving Swami seated in our hearts and in our homes is actually the one who runs the show. This I feel is a great lesson in Sai worship for all of us. God is Great – Allah Oh Akbar. Jai Sai Ram!" An Opportunity Unparalleled Mumbaikars were hit by nature, nay, hit by atrocities they knowingly or unknowingly had been committing towards nature which only boomeranged when nature could take it no more. They were confronted with loss and desolation, but at the same time they experienced God’s grace and His benediction. There were lessons to be learnt and parables to be taught. Probably this could be delayed no longer. When sea water hits the rocks on the shore, the rocks only become more polished. The populace of Mumbai, which is as diverse as India’s populace (you will find a part of every state, every region, every religion and every dialect in Mumbai) though shattered, shone with a golden light – the light of solidarity, the light of social unity - which could come about only because Mumbai was twisted, turned and tamed. Just like, as Swami says, pure gold that has to go through the fiercest of fires to dazzle and delight with its jeweled beauty and delicate workmanship. Mumbaikars suffered, true. But there was also the Golden Helping and Guiding Hand of the Lord. As Dr. Asha Damodar, a long time Sai devotee, vouchsafes, “None of the Sai devotees to the best of my knowledge were affected despite having worked in such miserable circumstances and having taken upon themselves such dreaded tasks. They served with amazing zeal and the youth sacrificed their well earned Sunday rest for doing Seva.” The calamity, as somebody said, gave the best possible chance for Mumbaikars to learn the lessons of life and one lesson might be what Swami stated many years ago, “Man is suffering because he cannot rid himself of the greed for sense objects and sense pleasures. He knows that he has to give up whatever he earns and collects, sooner or later; but his attachment waxes instead of waning as the years go by.” Whatever be the pros and cons, gains and pains, of the disaster, most importantly, it gave an amazing opportunity to serve, to care, to love and thereby enjoy. As one doctor put it, “May we get more opportunities where we will be useful to the people and in that manner, please our dear Lord Sai.” - H2H Team We would like to thank the following persons whose inputs and contributions greatly helped in the making of this article: Sri Ramesh Sawant, Sri Mukesh Patel, Sri Sudhir Joshi, Dr. Agarwal, Dr. Mahesh Goklani, Mr. L Ganesh, Dr. Janaki, Dr. Asha Damodar and Sri Darshan Kulkarni.