The Glory of His Divine Darshan - By Ashok Sundaresan

Sri Sathya Sai Darshan at Kodaikanal

Darshan - the moments when our eyes get the blessed opportunity to see the Lord. Somebody said, “Man walking on moon is not so important when God walks on earth.” God, whom the saints and seers described as beyond the perception of the mind and whose glory the Vedas declare as beyond the description of words, walks amidst us. Those few minutes when winds waft the melodious music and eager expectant eyes try to catch a glimpse of the glorious form, the Lord walks amidst us. With measured steps and majestic gait, He gives Darshan. The Lord goes with equally eager eyes to give Darshan to those blessed ones who are waiting for Him. 

People who are sitting there, waiting for Him are of different kinds - some who are waiting under the agony of incurable disease, some who are immersed in round-the-clock business matters and earning millions but finding a vacuum that squeezes their heart, some who have come just for Him, just to see Him, to drink the Beauty with their eyes.

For Him, it is the same routine. It has been years since He started giving Darshan, taking letters, wiping tears, allaying fears, curing the diseased, despondent and desperate. The law of diminishing marginal utility doesn’t exist with respect to Him. He gives every Darshan with same Love, same interest, same concern and same compassion as He did years back. 

He walks towards the gents’ side. He starts taking their letters, which represent their fears, cares, worries and problems, He being the universal recipient of problems and the universal donor of solutions. There sits a man dying due to cancer. The onslaught of the disease has reduced him to a bag of bones. He has lost all hope and is like a raft without a rudder on a stormy sea. The Lord goes near him, gives a smile of assurance and materializes a pinch of ash that will do what advanced radio-therapy cannot. The Lord moves on. There sits a young man, a victim of the ills of the society which has made him doubt the very existence of God. The Lord goes near him, gives him a smile and a pat on his head. The man, for the first time in his life feels what love is. Tears trickle down his cheeks, with his hand held in prayers, he weeps and weeps and lays down his heart at the Lotus feet of the Lord. The Lord moves on. There sits another man with a sarcastic smile across his face and with defying look. The Lord goes near Him, again gives the same smile and moves on. After all, He is the consummate actor who plays the role of the Lord and the role of His own creation who doubts Him.

Then He turns towards the students. The way He walks, the way He talks, everything changes. An air of informality, familiarity and belongingness prevails. With a quip here, a pun there, the Lord moves. He sees a boy sitting with a bandaged hand. The mother in Him, overflowing with love, asks “What happened?”  The boy starts, “Swami, during games ....” Now the stern father in Him takes over. “Careless! Careless! Always in hurry.” To another boy, He gives an understanding smile which says, “I am always with you”. To yet another boy, He gives a penetrating look that reaches the core of his heart, churns it and conveys, “I know what you did. I know, I know”. Somewhere He looks at the distant horizon. With confidence and determination reflected in His eyes, He looks at the dream-world that He wants to establish - a world full of love and fraternity without discord and hatred. He has a vision, and He being the Supreme one, takes the world there. He looks at His students, to whom He wants to give a significant part in His grand mission. He looks at them as the future torch-bearers, who, wherever they are, will be shining ideals and will follow His commands and principles. With that vision, He moves on.

Every Darshan is a revolution - a silent revolution. With every Darshan, the Lord takes the world one step ahead towards Himself. He transforms many hearts, cures many diseases and gives hope to the forlorn and the forsaken. These five minutes which look so simple are crowded with events - significant events which have a bearing on so many lives. But, for us students, who go to Darshan every day, there is a possibility that we may miss the glory and greatness of those five minutes. We can only pray to Him, “Beloved Lord, give us a clear and unclouded mind so that we may discern Your majesty. When You try to mould us into ideal ones, make us respond to it. When You shower Your love on us, give us the proper frame of mind to receive it.”

As Tagore wrote, 

“Where tireless striving stretches its hands towards perfection,

Where the mind is led forward by Thee

Into ever-widening thought and action,

Into that heaven of freedom,

My father, Let my country awake.” 

- Ashok Sundaresan, CA

Student (1993-1995), Dept. of Management Studies

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Prasanthi Nilayam Campus

Currently, Entrepreneur at Tiruchchirappalli, Tamil Nadu

Source: Sai Nandana 1995 (70th Birthday)