"Taam Agnivarnaam Tapasa Jvalantim
Vairochanim Karmafaleshu Jushtaam||
Durga Devigum Sharan-Maham Prapadye
Sutarasitarase Namah||"
(To the one with the effulgence of the flame, who shines by the power of penance, the one who is consort to the Lord, to whom all actions and the fruits of all actions belong; to Thee I surrender. Oh! Mother Durga. Oh! Mother, who saves us from the ocean of misery, may You protect us. We bow to Thee.)
It is true that whenever we are near Swami, we receive strong waves of energy. Swami watches us always. So we need to make sure that we always perform good deeds. Silence is the golden rule. It is one of the core values of our hostel. According to Swami, it is Silence, which is ‘Sai’s lens’ through which Swami watches us.
There are times when we challenge Swami’s Divinity and have our own doubts. “If You are God, then do this….." I too was a victim of such doubts.
One of my best friends could not afford to study in a good school due to financial constraints and I came to know of this problem. I seized this opportunity to put Swami to test. I very well knew that none of the well-known schools in the area would compromise on their fees and my friend was in no position to afford high fees. Hence, I believed, it was a near impossible situation for Swami to tackle. However, nothing is impossible for the all-powerful Lord.
Within two days’ time, my mother gave me the unbelievable news that the principal of the one of the well-reputed schools of Kerala came to know about his problem through a Sai devotee and was ready to accept him in the school for a concessional fee.
It was then that I realized my foolishness. Swami does not have to prove to each and every ‘Doubting Thomas’ that He is ‘God’. The sun need not prove that it is the ultimate source of light. It is a universal fact. It is up to us whether we want to accept it or not.
I am reminded of another incident. Swami materializes symbols of His grace for those facing difficulties. There was a boy who played the keyboard very well.
Swami had materialized a chain for him in Brindavan. One day, as he was plugging the wire of the keyboard, he was about to get a high voltage shock. However, instinctively, he clasped the chain around his neck and called out, “Swami!" Instead of his suffering the shock, the keyboard blasted into pieces. Swami’s grace had saved him. 
We must start the day with Him, end the day with Him. Every breath, every second is because of His Grace and our life is sanctified by Him. God takes birth from time to time in the world, to lead humanity along the right path. In this Kali Yuga, sinful deeds are increasing. As the sun appears at dawn to dispel the darkness of the night, so has Swami come to put an end to the darkness of sin, ungodliness and sorrow and to lead man to the light of truth, devotion towards God, love for humanity and to make us aware of the oneness of the humanity with God.
Swami never deserts His devotees who have faith in Him. He will steer us safely to the shore of bliss and happiness, enabling us to cross the ocean of Samsara. Having Swami’s Darshan is true contentment and doing Seva to Swami is true happiness. Seeing Him constantly is a feast for the eyes, conversing with Him is like drinking nectar, listening to Him sing is like a shower of bliss.
Swami is omnipresent and omniscient. There are a number of instances, when He has shown us His omnipresence. One night, while the whole family of Venkataramanappa was asleep, his little child got up and crawled towards the small kerosene lamp burning nearby. He toppled the lamp. The bed covers and the sari of Venkataramanappa’s wife caught fire. She felt the heat and got up alarmed. Before she could do anything, she saw someone extinguishing the fire by smothering the flame with His hands. Venkataramanappa had also woken up in the meantime. The next day, they went to Swami. He said, “I put out the Fire last night!"
We all know that Swami is the embodiment of love. This love surpasses the water that the ocean holds, the air that the atmosphere has and the space in which the planets revolve. He is so much concerned about the minute things in our lives that He cannot bear even the smallest of our hardships. As He said, “footsteps of an ant are like thunder in My ears."
It so happened, once my uncle suffered from a high fever and his body developed rashes. Unable to determine his malady, his parents were in utter shock. When His devotee is sick how could He sit quiet? That night Bhagavan came in his dream and informed him about his sickness, of his suffering from chickenpox. The tests next day revealed the truth.
Really, is not our Swami wonderful? He could not stand the suffering of His child and the helplessness of the parents. The heart of butter had to melt. Even though a prayer did not escape his lips, Bhagavan heard his plight.
A very powerful weapon in our hands is Faith in Bhagavan. Bhagavan’s assurance that He is always there with us, in us, around us is amply testified by the innumerable experiences of several people. However, many a time, we feel helpless. This is because we look at all the undesirable things going on in the world around us and feel that we have to fight this 'Adharma' all alone. The moment we feel that, we are alone in this fight, the feeling of pessimism and helplessness dawns on us. Constant awareness of Bhagavan’s presence is the only antidote to such negative feelings. None of us is fighting this battle of life alone.
The best way to be a successful person is to imbibe all the good qualities in our lifetime. We must try to be perfect products of Sai. This will enable us to play our role the right way. Once, an elder brother told me, 'Atmano Mokshartham, Jagat Hitaya Cha.' These two must become the two banks of our river of life. On one side the efforts to seal our spiritual goal and on the other side continuous work for the welfare of humanity. However, with Bhagavan, the latter ensures the former. On one occasion Swami gave us an assurance saying, “You do My work, I will take care of your work." What a fantastic ‘Divine Deal’! Hence I pray that we all have the strength to make the best use of this golden opportunity given to us.
- T.K. Sreenath
Student (2010-2013), Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
Brindavan Campus
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