'Like' us on Facebook

Follow us:

Posted on: Apr 04, 2015

Part 03

A Moment for God is Way More than Its Weight in Gold

On His 48th Birthday Swami said, “If you have a relationship with Me in your heart you will be rewarded. This is a period when God is very gracious.”

It's not that we are great tapasvis (people who have done great penance). When I look back, I see that Swami encouraged every small effort that we put in the right direction.

In November 1990, I received my master's degree and only in June 1991 I was appointed as a lecturer. So there was this interim period when I was free. I had no academic backlog, and so I used to be wherever Swami was. I had that freedom because I was neither a student nor a faculty. In those months, Swami went to Brindavan, so I followed Him. By this time 'Trayee Brindavan' had come up. Students would go off to college and I could stay on in Trayee Brindavan till Swami retired.

One day I thought “Why not spend the whole day taking Swami's name? And I should do it non-stop.” I sincerely did it from morning because I was alone and I had nothing else to do, I had no responsibility or distraction.

In the evening what a beautiful experience I had! It was very simple but this is how Swami conveyed His love in a very beautiful way.

Swami would generally come out of the Trayee Brindavan gate and then go to the Sai Ramesh Hall. I was standing at that gate. The then Head of Border Security Force had come to see Swami. As soon as Bhagawan opened the gate and came down, this VIP offered a bouquet to Swami. Bhagawan blessed him, spoke to him and then started walking towards the hall for darshan with the flowers still in His hand.

Swami now carried the bouquet till where I was. When He came to me He flashed a beautiful smile and placed those flowers in my hand. I knew why the bouquet was gifted to me in such a memorable manner. He did it just to give me the confidence and fill me with joy. He was telling me “Yes, I have received what you have done.”

What's the beauty of the Avatar's existence on this earth? It is that every small good effort, more so a spiritual one, will be rewarded. This has been my constant experience. Swami always instantly responds. That's why living with the Avatar is so beautiful, energising and uplifting. You will see that no act of yours, especially in the spiritual domain, goes waste. We always have this doubt: “I have done so much but nothing is happening.” Such doubts do not come once you have such an experience.

You know that if you have taken even one second off to chant His name, 100 percent it will have its desired effect. Every prayer reaches Him. Every act of sadhana does have an effect on your own growth, however small it may be.

There is a phase which is very critical and as sadhakas (spiritual aspirants) we should understand this. In the physical world when I put an effort I get a result. I study for an exam, I pass and get a degree. For every step or action there is a reaction, which we see instantly. That is why it becomes easy for a youngster to go on that path. But in the spiritual path we may not see the instant response coming; at least we are not aware of it. I don't say the response is not coming; I am sure it comes internally. It is just that we are not pure enough to capture it. And such experiences give us the confidence that not a single act of sadhana ever goes without any beneficial consequence. When we have the Avatar in the physical form, this is the greatest chance we have. It fortifies our faith in spiritual practices and sadhana.

The scriptures say “Even if a person has taken the name of the Lord once, He gets mukti (liberation).” We read many stories which corroborate this. They are all true! If we put that in perspective of what we have experienced near Bhagawan, we realise that every bit of what the puranas say is true. If someone takes the name of the Lord just when he is about to pass away, even Yama's dhootas (messengers) can't touch him. All such stories we read are really true because every act of sadhana has an effect on our growth.

The Ever Watchful One just making it obvious

The True Showman of Our Lives

Swami says, “You take one step and I will take 99 steps.” He is so happy and willing to encourage us in every way. I have seen this so many times and in so many ways in my life. And I would say it is never-ending. There are millions of ways in which He continues to give us guidance. Sometimes He may reprimand us and it makes you feel “Oh my god! What was I doing?”

During the first three-four years of daily Vedam chanting in mandir, that is, from 2003 to 2007, there was no fixed pattern of what we would chant. So I used to have a list of the mantras we know. I would keenly watch Swami's movements to decide which would be an appropriate mantra to chant next. That would depend on whether Swami was likely to sit outside for long or whether there were primary school children or if there were some guests and so on. So the decision was taken then and there depending on all this. All I have to do is indicate this mantra on the paper and Mr. Veda Narayan would start that hymn. I was like a Vedam DJ!

Once it so happened that the primary school children were there and Swami was sitting for a long time. We didn't want Swami to go off. We always wanted Swami to sit and listen to our chanting for as long as that was possible. At the same time if we chant something which the children don't know Swami won't be happy. So after chanting a mantra that we know but they didn't know, I would switch to something they too knew.

The fortune of being guided by Bhagawan during vedam chanting sessions in Sai Kulwant Hall

Once the little children also join, the vedam decibel levels would immediately go up and Swami would get so interested. But the children knew only so many mantras. So I had to intelligently choose the mantras, and that day Swami sat for a long time. Everyone was so happy. Later all the Vedam boys came and said, “What a phenomenal selection! You managed it so beautifully.” I did really feel proud of my vedam chanting management. This feeling that “Wow! I indeed can do a good job of selection” was slowly growing in me.

It was during this period that one afternoon I went to the North Indian Canteen for lunch. A father and son were standing behind me in the queue. The son was telling the father “I am very thrilled today. You will not believe how happy I am! You know, the only mantra I know is Medha Suktam. I was praying, ‘Swami, the next mantra has to be Medha Suktam’ and that is exactly what Swami made happen! It is amazing how He fulfils our tiniest of wishes.”

When I heard this, it hit me like a bolt. I realised, “I think I am selecting. But it is Swami who is doing it. How foolish I have been!” What a beautiful way to convey! He did not tell me directly, but the way the whole conversation happened behind me I instantly knew I am not the doer. I realised that devotees are praying and Swami is just directing my thoughts and making my hand move. This is the beauty of living with Swami. At so many levels we learn daily and these lessons are so profound, and at the same time so enjoyable.

If You Can Relive God Moments, You Can Really Live Those Moments Again

When we ruminate on these more we realise more. When we recapitulate them again and again they become a part of our life. Otherwise we tend to forget these messages which have come out of Swami's unbounded love for us. The more we dwell on them, the more we benefit.

Someone told me this experience. In Kodaikanal Swami once asked, “For a devotee who comes once a year or so, I give him just a passing glance and he is thrilled for the rest of his life or at least for one full year. But I am talking to you (students) day in and day out. Why are you not happy?”

Then Swami explained and said, “It is because of recapitulation. The devotee who has had one experience continues to recapitulate on it so many times that when I give that experience once again he gets fully thrilled; it goes deep within his heart. But unfortunately you are not recapitulating your moments with Swami in this manner.”

Swami made another profound statement after that. This is a beautiful message which all of us should understand all the time. Swami said, “If you relive an experience with Me continuously, I am bound to bless you with that experience again.”

In fact this is how we can draw His grace again and again. In the spiritual path we have shravanam (listening), mananam (recapitulation) and nidhidhyasanam (practice). Mananam is a very critical step. Not only does doing more of mananam translate into action but it also forces God to respond to our mananam.

- -- Dr.

'As I recapitulate every moment I am only more and more overwhelmed by His ever increasing Love' - Dr. K. Anil Kumar

This is exactly what is meant by the Vedic statement “You become what you think.” This way Swami is saying “If you are thinking of Me in this manner, that is, through the most beautiful experience you have had, you are creating it for yourself again.” This is indeed a beautiful way to connect with Him over and over again.

Even if a devotee has had one glance but has recapitulated it, he has probably made most use of that one moment with Swami. We might have got 100 moments with Swami but if we don't relive them we have not yet made use of even 1% of the 100 moments. That is why these opportunities to recapitulate every experience are a blessing. My sincere thanks to Radio Sai for giving me this opportunity and my grateful pranams to Bhagawan for allowing me to live and relive in His glory. Sai Ram!

- Radio Sai Team

 

What are your impressions about this Article? Please let us know by writing in to h2h@radiosai.org or you may leave your thoughts in the comments section. Do not forget to mention your name and country.