From 'Atheism' To Surrender… - By Rohit Chhabra

“Sai Baba often said that – let His man (devotee) be at any distance, a thousand kos away from Him, he will be drawn to Shirdi, like a sparrow, with a thread tied to its feet.”

- Shri Sai Satcharita, Chapter XXVIII

Like the innumerable sparrows, I am also one of those fortunate ones whom the Lord pulled into His fold. In the year 2010, a college friend forced me to apply for the MBA programme at Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. Being a Life-sciences graduate, I was least interested in MBA and being an atheist, Puttaparthi was the last place I would have preferred to come for further studies. But Swami had different plans for me.

May 12, 2010 was the day we reached Puttaparthi to appear for the MBA entrance examination. The summer heat and the humility of people around were something I was unable to digest. The place seemed to be unreal to me. The doubting Thomas was not able to accept that there could be a walking ‘God’, still living on earth. But I was fortunate enough to see Him on May 12, 2010. The first Darshan was a completely different feeling. I folded my hands and bowed in front of Him unknowingly. Later when my friend asked me, I could not accept my actions due to my arrogance. But that was a turning point in my life. I had no explanation to my actions.

The Ganesh Mandir at the entrance of Prasanthi Nilayam

The next day was the written entrance test. My friend woke me up at 3.30 am, both of us got ready and came to the Ganesha gate for doing Pradakshina (circumambulation). For me, these rituals were of little relevance. However, I was just following my friend as per my mother’s instructions. “When in Rome, do as the (best) Romans do,” was my Mantra. After 108 Pradakshinas, my legs were paining a lot and I was cursing my friend!

We came to the Prasanthi Nilayam campus to write the entrance exam and fortunately I sat in the I MBA class for the test. My regular habit of newspaper reading and problem-solving helped me finish the papers quickly. I was least bothered about passing the exam as I had no interest to join the MBA course. That day I did not go for Darshans. I knew that results would be out sometime during Darshan. Hence, I went for a walk towards the South Indian Canteen. I received the shock of my life when I saw the results displayed outside the canteen. I had cleared the entrance test! I was even more upset as my friend had not cleared the entrance test. But he seemed to be doubly happy to see my name!

The next day onward, till the day I was in Puttaparthi that week, every day he would wake me at 3.30 am and take me for Pradakshinas around Lord Ganesha. May 14th was the Group Discussion and May 15th the Personal Interview, the final of the three layered entrance exam process for the MBA course. We left Puttaparthi on May 16th presuming that I would never come back again to this place. Little did I know that soon things would change forever.

May 19th evening, I was preparing for the M.Sc. written test for the Jawaharlal Nehru University. My friend called me to inform that the MBA results at SSSIHL were out and I had been selected. Before the Group Discussion, the Senior Administrators of the University had stated that if we continue for the Group Discussions and Personal Interview, we must join for MBA when selected as there are limited seats and we should not deprive somebody else of this chance. Hence, I left the M.Sc. dreams and got ready to join the MBA programme. On hindsight, I am very happy that I did not miss the opportunity of a lifetime.

He Teaches By Personal Example…

Each day of the years that I spent at Prasanthi Nilayam was a learning in itself. I was no early riser but there was something which could easily pull me out of bed early in the morning for Suprabhatam. Being weak in Sanskrit, I would not understand a single word of the Suprabhatam as well as the Vedam being chanted in Mandir. 

One day, Swami came for Darshan at around 5.15 pm and very few students were seated in Sai Kulwant Hall that time. He came and sat on the dais and indicated Sri Veda Narayana to chant the Devi Suktam. Everybody present there, except me, were chanting the Suktam with full vigour. I was just observing Swami and I could see that Swami was Himself chanting Devi Suktam. That day I decided that I would learn Vedam chanting and the Suprabhatam.

The first question was – from where do I get the text for the Suprabhatam and the Vedam? A classmate came by with the Mantra Pushpam book for the Vedam classes. And the Vandana book by the Hostel Publications gave the Suprabhatam with its meaning. Initially, I was hesitant to buy the Vandana book. Little did I know that I would be working on the formatting of its seventh enlarged edition in 2012. 

I wrote the Suprabhatam on a piece of paper and kept it with myself. Every day morning, I would carry that paper with myself for the Suprabhatam sessions and chant the Suprabhatam by referring to the text. I also joined the Vedam group and learnt chanting of Sri Rudram – Namakam and Chamakam. The guiding force behind my learning the Suprabhatam and Vedam was Swami chanting the Vedam. I would have never learnt a single word, had I not seen Swami’s involvement for reinforcing the ancient Vedic culture among His students. His single action made me yearn to learn Sanskrit Shlokas for my betterment.

A Holistic Development…

Our hostel provides us with various unique opportunities to bring forth our talents. One such opportunity is the Self-Reliance Departments. Our hostel has a very meaningful tagline – “Sri Sathya Sai Hostel – A Place where each lives for the other and all live for God”. Being new to the system and an introvert by nature, I was confused as to which Self-Reliance Department I should join. My lack of awareness became a boon for me. One day very casually, I met Dr. Shashank Shah (who was at that time heading the Sai Publications Department) and asked him which book should I read to know more about Swami’s Life and Message. He suggested quite a few good books to me. I was very impressed by his knowledge about Swami and His Mission. Hesitatingly, I asked him whether I could join him in Sai Publications and he accepted me very lovingly. I think Swami had a larger plan behind this. My father being a proprietor of a printing business, I had basic knowledge about formatting of word documents. My father had trained me well to have an eye-for-detail with respect to content. There started another beautiful chapter of my life – my association with His literature and the Hostel Publications Division.

The Sai Publications Team with Dr. Shashank Shah, Coordinator and the Warden - Prof. Siva Sankara Sai (Rohit standing on the extreme left)

Along with all the other activities of Hostel, Institute and Mandir; I loved the Self Reliance Department work the most. In the Mandir, I was involved with Prasadam distribution and in hostel with Sai Publications. The year 2010 was a year with many activities planned in each of the departments. In Mandir, there would be a programme almost every alternate day and Prasadam had to be distributed to each and every devotee inside the Sai Kulwant Hall. Work would go on even after Darshans. 

There were several batches of Seva Dal who would be provided with special Prasadam for their services during the 85th Birthday of Swami. One such evening, we were distributing Vibhuti, Kumkum (vermillion) and Prasadam to the Seva Dal. A young lad in his teens touched my feet before he accepted Prasadam from me. I was taken aback. His response was, “You are equal to Swami giving us Prasadam”. I had no words to explain my situation. I never knew what it was to be ‘Swami’s student’! I always believed (and even today I believe) that I was fortunate enough to be ‘His University’s student’ but I am not yet ‘His student’.

In Sai Publications as well as in Prasadam distribution, we would need to move books/Prasadam from one place to another. We would form a long chain and shift the books/Prasadam taking Swami’s name or singing His glory in the form of Bhajans. It was as if we were the Gopalas of Vrindavan remembering their Krishna while performing everyday simple chores. Luckily for me, it made me physically strong and fit too. And not to mention His grace always poured in plenty on all of us. We would learn how to manage and maintain stock in both the departments and it was no less than a practical training of Operations Management lessons we learnt in the MBA classes.

On the occasion of Swami’s 85th Birthday, we had planned to bring out a book every month from Sai Publications. The result – we offered 10 books to Swami in the two semesters of 2010-2011. I was lucky enough to be part of several of those books in direct and indirect ways. The training at the Self Reliance Departments has been of great help to me both personally as well as professionally. The first and foremost learning was working in a group. If given an option, I would have always preferred to work alone. But due to the culture at Prasanthi Nilayam, we always worked in a group. Today, at my work place I do not find any issue working in a group. We used to divide the work based on the individual’s choice and capabilities and cohesively achieve our collective objectives. There were times when we would disagree and discuss on various issues, but at the end of the discussion, we would come out with the best solution which was acceptable to all.

In my association with Sai Publications, over the four years at the Institute and further, I learnt several things. I got to know about Swami’s illustrious life-sojourn in this Avatar when I had to finish the formatting of the two volumes of ‘Sri Sathya Sai Digvijiyam’. The two volumes were over 500 pages of rich information about Swami’s physical sojourn across different parts of India. 

I learnt about various lesser-known facts related to Swami’s life and His Mission. When I would sit and do the formatting of any volume of ‘My Dear Students’, I would come to know about the message our Lord has given His students and the world youth at large. 

Whenever someone would say that we students are lucky to be studying in His University, I would feel proud but at the same time remind myself that I am not His student until and unless I follow Him in letter and spirit.

The fourth volume of the ‘My Dear Students’ has a very interesting memory associated with it. It was during the Navaratri of 2010. We were sitting in the veranda along with the books for seeking Swami’s blessings on October 9, 2010. We thought – “What better time to have His blessings than during the days when He is worshipped as an embodiment of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati.” This volume had 18 Discourses, the last one being a Discourse given by Swami in January 1983 in the Prasanthi Nilayam Campus Auditorium on the four Mahavakyas from the four Vedas. We were thinking whether to include this Discourse as it was quite ‘heavy’ in terms of content and whether students would be able to relate to it. Finally, we decided to include it as the last one in this volume. When Swami called us in the veranda, He went through the table of contents of the book and straight went to the last discourse. As we opened the page, He put His finger on each of those four Mahavakyas while Shashank brother repeated each of those four Divine aphorisms along with Swami. This was nothing less than the Divine initiation on the highest path of Self-enquiry as prescribed in the Vedas, which He wants each of His students to commence while at the Institute.

Rohit Chhabra (right) offering a rose to Sri Sathya Sai after receiving blessings for 'My Dear Students Volume 4'

Surrender and Sacrifice

Being in the MBA programme, we would often refer to the discourses which Swami had given to the MBA students and staff right from the programme’s inception in 1986. In my second year of MBA, I had the privilege to work on the revised and enlarged edition of the ‘Man Management’ book, which is a compilation of these Discourses by Swami. 

It so happened that towards the end of the third semester examinations, the final version of the enlarged edition had to go for print as we had planned for a Birthday release. As per the Murphy’s Law, things happen the way they have to happen. The editing and finalisation of the book exceeded our timelines and our exams started. After finishing my studies for the next day’s exam, I took Swami’s name and started the final formatting of the book. It took Shashank brother and myself the whole night to complete it and finally we sent the book to the printer towards the end of Suprabhatam. Without an ounce of sleep, I continued with the day, wrote my exam and post-lunch went to sleep for a good 12 hours. Moments like these taught me two things – one, go overboard whenever we have a deadline to meet; and two, just trust Him and surrender to Him. He will take care of everything. Not to mention, the book came out well in time and I had secured good marks in my exams too!

Sri Sathya Sai releasing part 1 of the 'Students with Sai: Conversations' series on December 2, 2010

Another beautiful memory is that of the ‘Students With Sai: Conversations’ series. I was blessed to work on the second and third volumes of this series. And while going through each page, I could just not stop smiling. These conversations between Swami, students and staff members is a treasure house of beautiful moments which the earlier batches had spent with our dear Lord. On innumerable occasions I would hold my stomach and keep laughing till tears trickled down my eyes. Swami would so lovingly interact like a friend with the students, keep a very lively environment and yet give them important messages at the same time. These treasures have been compiled for humanity, thanks to the entire team of dedicated people at Sai Publications.

Sanctify Our Stay

We at Sai Publications call ourselves as the ‘Messengers of the Lord’ as our work gives us an opportunity to spread our Lord’s Message to the world and even benefit ourselves through greater clarity. I have been a recipient of immense Divine love, grace and blessings due to my association with this beautiful Mission. Being from a (so-called) non-devotee background, my work at Sai Publications helped me gel with the surroundings. The learning which I gathered in my short journey at Prasanthi Nilayam will help me throughout my life – professionally, personally as well as spiritually. Whenever in doubt, I refer to His words and I get an answer to all my questions. The time spent reading about Him through Sai Publications is much more than what I would have ever devoted otherwise. This was one of the most beautiful ways to sanctify my stay at His Hostel.

I cannot claim that I have understood His Mission completely, but I am really thankful to Swami for this beautiful opportunity and blessing. Today, not only me, but my entire family has its faith restored in the Almighty, that no matter however rough the situation may be, He is there to take care of us. With confidence in myself, I have the faith that there is nothing difficult with His support. The lessons learnt at His Divine Lotus Feet give me an added advantage in my professional journey. I try to work in a detached manner, just give my best efforts, and leave the results to Him. We are not the doers, we are mere spectators of the Divine Play unfolding before our eyes every single day of our lives. 

I would conclude with a beautiful Prayer which our Lord has gifted us…

The bird with you, the wing with Me;

The foot with you, the way with Me;

The eye with you, the form with Me;

The thing with you, the dream with Me;

The world with you, the heaven with Me;

So are we free, so are we bound;

So we begin and so we end;

You in Me and I in You.

- Rohit Chhabra

Student (2010-2014), Department of Management Studies

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Prasanthi Nilayam Campus

Source: Sai Nandana 2015 (90th Birthday Offering)