There comes a day in the life of every person which he cherishes till his very last breath. For me, this very special day came when I was studying in my X standard. That was the day when I first heard about our beloved Bhagavan. Earlier, my brother had attended a Youth Conference organised by Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations of Mumbai. He later visited Prasanthi Nilayam as a part of our youth group. He had the good fortune of getting a group interview and was immediately won over by Swami’s love.
My brother requested the organisers of the youth camp in Mumbai to organise a camp in our native State, Orissa, too. That is how my special day dawned. The few days that I spent in the camp changed my mindset completely. This was true education for me. The organisers inspired me with their selfless service. They had just returned after serving the people who had been devastated by a cyclone. I learnt that the leader of the group of Seva Dals was a heart patient, but his ailment never came in the way of his service. Several others were well established members of the society. Yet they found enough time to serve others.
During the youth camp I participated in Bhajans for the first time and found the experience uplifting. Another important aspect of the youth camp was village service. I saw before my very eyes a village getting transformed. The organisers of the youth camp taught the villagers basic lessons in hygiene. They themselves took up the task of cleaning the village. They distributed clothes, medicines and food to the needy. The Sathya Sai Youth inspired all the youth in the village. Such was the love shown by them that at the end of the camp when they were leaving, there were tears in every villager’s eyes. All this made me wonder about Bhagavan, who could inspire these people to serve so selflessly. During the youth camp, the members narrated marvellous miracles of Swami, thrilling experiences of His devotees and the profundity of His wonderful teachings. The members spoke so much about Swami, yet they never got tired of talking about Him. Their friendly and loving nature gave me so much of joy that when they left, I felt a void in me. Unknown to me, they had sown a seed, a desire to have Swami’s Darshan and be close to Him.
Later I applied for admission in Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School. However, I missed the chance to join the school, as my application reached late. As they say, “God’s delays are never His denials.” For my further studies, I came to Bangalore where my brother was working. To my joy I found that the members of the Youth wing of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations were active here too! I learnt even more about Swami and met several people who had experienced His love.
I read many books on Swami. Swami’s simple teachings touched my heart. Swami’s teachings of “LOVE ALL, SERVE ALL”, “HELP EVER, HURT NEVER” inspired me. I was touched by Swami’s philosophy of Unity of Religions.
Yet, in spite of so much exposure to Bhagavan, I had not yet had His darshan. As Swami says, “Everything has to wait for the right time.” Finally a day came when His Will took me to Him. I went to Prasanthi Nilayam along with a youth group. We soon went to Poornachandra Auditorium where a drama was being staged. At the end of the drama, Swami came on to the stage. Though I was at the very end of the hall, I could see Swami’s face shining brightly. His serenity calmed my monkey mind. My eyes feasted on the beautiful form of Bhagavan. I saw students in close proximity with Bhagavan. I felt they were having true education as they were living with God. My desire to be His student increased day by day.
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| Brindavan Campus |
I applied and got selected for the undergraduate course in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, and on 31st May, 2003 I stepped into Sri Sathya Sai Hostel at Brindavan. Living in Brindavan is living with God. My true education began at Brindavan, when I sat in Sai Ramesh Hall and had Bhagavan’s Darshan. It continued in Prasanthi Nilayam when we visited that holy place for several festivals.
There are innumerable insights that I have received in this hallowed Institute. The Chancellor of the Universe is the Chancellor of our University. One of our professors very aptly explained, “Swami is our Chancellor for He delights in creating and bestowing chances on all of us - students and teachers.” This Chancellor interacts with the students directly and intimately. He is omniscient yet so loving. As it is beautifully said, “Oh Lord! You made the sun and the moon. You control the entire cosmos. Yet, you love and remember me.”
In 2004, during the series of plays that students staged in front of Bhagavan, our class too got the chance to enact the drama ‘Bhadrachala Ramdas’ in the Divine Presence. In one of the scenes in the drama, Lord Rama along with Lakshmana met King Tanesha to seek the release of Ramadas from jail. In the original script of the play, Tanesha does not recognise Rama or Lakshmana, but on seeing them he exclaims, “Tum log Bahut Khoobsurat Ho” meaning “You both are very beautiful”. However, for some reason, this dialogue was replaced by another line. On the day of the play, when the students who acted the roles of Rama and Tanesha went to offer their obeisance to Bhagavan just before the play began, Swami smilingly said, much to their astonishment, “Tum log Bahut Khoobsurat Ho”! This might have been a casual remark but it is only one of the many ways in which Bhagavan shows His Omniscience. Is he not the Director of the Cosmic Play? No wonder He is very appropriately called, Leela Nataka Sutra Dhari.
In the very same drama, a particular student had initially practised for the role of Ramadas (also known as Gopanna). However at a later stage, this student was substituted by another and former was given a different role. Bhagavan knows everything and appreciates the effort put in by each person. Swami is “Bhava Priya”. At the end of the drama when Swami took photographs with the actors, He saw the student who had originally practised the role of Gopanna and remarked “Duplicate Gopanna!” Bhagavan is an intimate part of every activity we participate in.
Work gets transformed into worship when it is dedicated to God. Lord Narayana declared, “Wherever my name is sung, I manifest there.” Our Sai Narayana has declared, “Wherever my work is done, I manifest there.” Our dear Lord takes up our burdens and solves our problems when we rely on Him. Swami tells us that He is like the Reserve Bank. We can go with small coins to Him and exchange them for a currency note of an equivalent value. The coins are burdensome to carry, while the currency note, which has the same value, is light. Similarly Swami takes over all our burdens and gives us peace and joy. My mother was worried about my sister’s marriage. She had been trying hard to find a suitable groom, but all her efforts had been in vain. She started worrying about this, which in turn took a toll of her health. Whenever I called her up on the telephone, she used to break down. She asked me to pray to Swami for His blessings and guidance. I wrote a letter to Bhagavan which He graciously accepted. We thought that our problems had been solved. However, Swami says, “Test is My taste.” Nothing happened regarding my sister’s marriage and my mother started worrying again. Swami wants us to surrender to Him completely and leave all our troubles to Him. All of us in our family were fervently praying for a quick solution. At that time, Swami appeared in my dream. As soon as I saw Swami in the dream, I rushed to Him and prayed to Him regarding my sister’s marriage. Swami immediately replied, “I have told you that I shall take care. Don’t worry,” and walked away briskly. The next day I called up home and narrated the dream to my mother. She was relieved that Swami had reassured. Needless to say, within a short time after this dream, an alliance was finalized. Swami is indeed our ‘caretaker.’ He takes care of all our cares.
Living with Swami is true education for me. I have learned here that discipline is the backbone of one’s life. Swami says, “In this Institute, discipline is the medium of instruction. Love, service and Sadhana are the first, second and third languages.” Swami is our role model. Swami says, “My life is my message.” All of us should strive to make His message, our life. Let me be a channel, Lord, Through which your love can flow. Where I find darkness, let me bring A warm, hopeful glow.
- Vivek Kumar Thacker
Student (2003-2008), Faculty of Management & Commerce
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning
Prasanthi Nilayam
Currently, Senior Manager, Wipro Consulting Service
Source: Sai Sparshan 2005 (80th Birthday Offering)
Beautiful narration
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