|
Mother Sai, our Saviour
Ramani Sambhara
Atlanta, Georgia USA
Arriving in
Puttaparthi was one of the happiest moments of my life. Even
though I had previously been to Parthi several times, this trip
meant so much more. It's hard to explain my unbelievable
experiences in Parthi. How do I explain the feelings of knowing
that we had an appointment with God, yet unsure if the appointment
was still on? How do I express the feelings of sitting in front of
the Lord of the Universe, and hear Him talk to us like a
normal
human being? It was inexplicable happiness, as though the world
suddenly came into focus. Swamy had blessed our family by
performing the 'Upanayanam' for our two sons, Vivek and Deepak.
Tears kept running down my cheeks and the bliss I experienced was
so intense and complete that I cannot find words to express my
feelings. It was like I just got out of a whirlwind that has been
spinning me around for years and, I found myself pinching myself…
wondering if it was all just a dream. An impossible dream… that
came true in a larger way than I allowed myself to believe
possible and yet, I knew would happen. Now there is a tendency for
most people to explain feelings of happiness or unhappiness in
terms of the external events of their lives. They explain
happiness by pointing to the positives and unhappiness by pointing
to the negatives. The implication is that events determine whether
or not they are happy. I was no different and of course was on the
ninth cloud during this trip as I was given so much attention from
our beloved Bhagwan.
On our return to
Atlanta, we continued to float in this blissful state when Swamy
decided to give us a major test of faith. Swamy says,
"Difficulties alone can toughen your character and make your faith
firm. When you hang a picture on the wall, you test the firmness
of the nail to determine whether it is firm enough to bear the
weight of the picture. In the same manner, in order to prevent the
picture of God (His image in your mind and heart) from falling and
being shattered to bits, the NAIL (i.e. God's Name) driven in to
the wall of the heart has to be tested by shaking it, to ascertain
whether it is firm and steady". Swamy wanted to find out whether
our faith in HIM was unshakeable.
On March 10, 2002, a
major fire broke out in the apartment building where we lived. The
fire started out around 12.45 p.m. and spread quickly, destroying
many apartments and leaving several families homeless. The fire
began on the ground floor and eventually overtook the third floor
where we lived. However the good thing about it was no one was
injured, but the fire destroyed most of our material possessions.
We became homeless in matter of seconds. Even though I am a
trained social worker by profession, I was always under the
impression that to become homeless one must be poor or have
alcohol or drug problems. It never occurred to me that becoming
involved in a fire or flood or tornado or other natural disasters
could also be the reason for becoming homeless, and these natural
disasters do not distinguish between the rich or the poor. So here
we were out on the street watching in utter disbelief as our
apartment came crumbling down. While viewing this horrible scene
the only thing that was going through my mind was "What will
happen to the saree and clothes that Swamy recently gave us?" My
husband on the other hand was worried about the passports and all
our I.D's. Very soon the building management came and asked all
the residents to gather in the main office building, about living
arrangements for the next few days. Families whose apartments were
not heavily damaged were escorted into the apartments to retrieve
valuables. However, we were not one of them. Our apartment was
totally gutted, and therefore we were advised that it was
dangerous to even attempt to enter the premises. I was devastated
and felt my whole world shatter right in front of my eyes. This
feeling was in total contrast to what I had felt when I was
basking in the attention given to me by of our beloved Bhagawan.
A group of 6 members
from the Sathya Sai Atlanta center stayed with us through out this
difficult day. The building management was now pressurizing us to
make a decision on whether we wanted to move into a hotel or find
family members. Our Sai family immediately came to the rescue and
made the decision. We were whisked away to Ram and Mala's home. My
family continued to be in a state of shock and just could not
believe that such a traumatic event should happen to us. It is
common that emotions can run amok during stressful moments, I
could not stop crying at the loss. My husband however was a pillar
of strength. He had so much faith in our Bhagawan that he kept
reminding me that Swamy was beside us every minute and HE would
take care of everything. He even had a dream the same night where
Swamy came and told him that HE would not put us through the
hassle of getting new I.D's.
After that Swamy not
only took care of our I.D's, but also the things that had a great
deal of sentimental value. We were able to salvage some of the
most important things, like the clothes that Swamy gave us (they
were in the same condition as on the day they were given) many
pictures of Swamy (A huge picture that Swamy had signed was still
in the tube, untouched by the fire or water) all my Sai books,
cassettes, videos of Sai discourses and many other things. Most
importantly, our Canadian Passports and documents kept in plastic
folder sitting on the bed were untouched by the fire, although the
bed burned down to ashes. If this is not HIS grace what else could
explain this miracle? I was really happy, and could not stop
thanking Swamy for his kindness and love. After that everything
happened like a sweet dream. Swamy showed us a brand new town home
in close proximity to my husband's workplace and son's school.
Here we regained our material belongings and our physical
strength. The difference now is that we have everything brand new-
but no attachment to these material possessions. Seven months
later Swamy decided to move us into our own home, (on November
23rd 2002) where we reside today. This was Swamy's birthday gift
to us. We moved into this home on Bhagawan's 78th birthday.
Throughout this experience we were encouraged by Bhagawan to
reflect constantly upon the insignificance of material assets and
their impermanence.
On February 23rd
2003 my husband was granted an interview with Swamy. In the
interview Swamy reminded my husband of the power of "Gayathri
Manthra", and how it actually protected us. Swamy clearly
indicated that HE saved us not only from this fire but also from a
car accident that took place about 12 years ago at which time we
were not yet in Swamy's fold. It is important to know that Swamy
takes care of everyone whether one is Swamy's devotee or not. HE
confirmed that HE has always been with us every moment of our
lives, in all three interviews during August 2003. Swamy
emphasized the immense powers of the Gayathri manthra, which is
truly amazing. Gayathri means, "That which saves, when repeated".
Swamy had once said "The Samskara of
Upanayanam is beneficial not only to
the boys who were initiated, but, for every one of you, who
witnessed it and drew inspiration from it." Repeating the Gayathri
and constantly remembering to surrender to our beloved Bhagawan
has definitely helped us to recognize that we are looking at a
spiritual achievement - and one worth aspiring for. In conclusion
I want to remind each one of us who reads this of what Swamy has
always asked us to ponder about:
Happy
moments, praise God.
Difficult moments, seek God.
Quiet moments, worship God.
Painful moments, trust God.
Every moment, thank God.
(Mrs. Ramani
Sambhara is the wife of Dr. Prakash Sambhara, DVM PhD, an
Associate Professor, Emory University and a visiting faculty at
the BioSciences department of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Higher Learning, Prasanthi Nilayam)
Source:
Radio Sai
E-Magazine, January 1, 2004
http://media.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/01Jan01/05_MOMENTS_MEMORIES/memories.htm
|