A spirited Sai Youth
from Indore, Madhya Pradesh, Mr.
Vijay Sohni serves as Assistant
Commercial Tax Officer in the
Government of Madhya Pradesh. He
is also the Convenor of the
Indore Sai Samithi and the
Madhya Pradesh State Coordinator
of Prashanthi Service.
Miracles fascinate all of us. When
Bhagavan Baba creates lockets,
chains, rings, etc. it baffles us,
but Swami says these are not
chamatkars (miracles) done to
earn namaskars (respect and
adulation); these are not
pradarshans (exhibitions of
power), but nidarshans
(evidences of My divinity). These
materializations, therefore, are
only gifts of His love, a means to
another fantastic end, which is the
transformation of hearts – the real
and lasting miracle. And the story
of my life is one such fascinating
miracle.
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Shirdi Sai Baba
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Living a Wayward Life
From
my very childhood the members of my
family worshipped Shirdi Sai Baba as
God, but we did not have faith in
Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Actually, on
the contrary, I used derogatory
language when referring to Sai Baba;
I had no love or respect for Him.
This was partly because there was no
place for spirituality in my life
then; mine was completely
materialistic.
Though
I belonged to a Brahmin family (the
priestly class of Hindus), I often
went against the traditional norms,
and indulged in non-vegetarian food,
and occasionally, even shared
alcoholic drinks with friends.
It was
during this period, 1985-86, that I
appeared for the State Civil
Services Examination. And in this, I
indicated my first preference for
the Sales Tax Department (now called
Commercial Tax), for the sole reason
that it was a 'lucrative' department
for 'extra income'. I was duly
selected for the post of Sales Tax
Inspector and was posted in Indore
(the commercial capital of the state
of Madhya Pradesh, India) in 1987.
In no time, I was attracted towards
the evils of the department, and
eventually I got involved in it
quite deeply. I was tutored by my
seniors about the ways of making
'quick money'.
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I returned home
everyday with 'extra cash'
in my pockets; I did not
mind spreading wrong
information or even giving
veiled threats to
businessmen. From 10 in the
morning till 9 in the night,
I was in the market, moving
from one business enterprise
to another; I was annoyed if
any of the shop owners did
not do my bidding. |
I
returned home everyday with 'extra
cash' in my pockets; I did not mind
spreading wrong information or even
giving veiled threats to
businessmen. From 10 in the morning
till 9 in the night, I was in the
market, moving from one business
enterprise to another; I was annoyed
if any of the shop owners did not do
my bidding. "Nobody dare hurt me"
was what I conveyed verbally and
otherwise; my ego was obvious and
demanded compliance from everyone on
my own terms.
During
this time I visited an astrologer
who, on reading my horoscope,
prophesied that a change for the
better will come in my life in
1994-95. My immediate thought was
that I could be posted in a flying
squad (which conducts surprise raids
on suspected offenders) and my
'extra income' would jump
enormously. In 1992, our family was
blessed with the birth of my
daughter, and four years later, I
admitted her in Sri Sathya Sai Vidya
Vihar, purely because it was a
school of repute in my city, Indore.
At the
time of her admission, a close
friend of mine talked highly about
Bhagavan Baba to me. He had just
returned from Puttaparthi and said,
"Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is not
only Shirdi Sai Baba Himself, but
also the reincarnation of Lord
Krishna, Rama and Jesus Christ too!"
I dismissed this idea entirely
initially, but later I thought to
myself, "Whoever this person may be,
I should at least familiarise myself
about Him as my daughter is studying
in a school which bears His name".
And
so, I started going for Sai
bhajans to the house of my
friend. Casually, I started
attending the programmes of the Sai
Centre too. After a while, I do not
know how and why, I developed this
desire to visit Puttaparthi at least
once.
Coming Closer to God
In
October 1995, I traveled to
Puttaparthi alone. The ashram was
abuzz with Dasara celebrations then.
Even during this time, I had no
special respect for Bhagavan Baba,
but maybe I was more open. I sat for
darshan everyday, and for
three days Swami did look at me.
However, on the fourth day, the day
I was scheduled to return, Swami
came and stood right in front of me.
I do
not know what happened to me then; I
suddenly burst into tears like a
child. My hands automatically folded
in obeisance to Him; the next
instant I bent down completely and
touched His lotus Feet. It was such
an elevating experience; He made me
feel so light. I cannot really
describe that experience in words.
After
this first rendezvous with the
Revered One, I was definitely a much
different person. Once I returned to
Indore, I started participating in
the activities of the Sai Samithi
with great enthusiasm. I also
decided that I would join the Sai
Organisation formally as a Sevadal
volunteer and serve at Puttaparthi
whenever there was an opportunity.
And this chance materialised for me
in September 1996.
I do not know what
happened to me then; I
suddenly burst into tears
like a child. My hands
automatically folded in
obeisance to Him; the next
instant I bent down
completely and touched His
lotus feet. It was such an
elevating experience; He
made me feel so light. I
cannot really describe that
experience in words.
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This
second journey to Puttaparthi in
1996 was truly the turning point of
my life. In fact, Swami was giving
me indications of things to come
much before I reached Puttaparthi on
that visit. At about 5 o'clock,
while I was still in the train, Baba
appeared in my dream and asked,
"What
do you want?" I was startled.
I just said, "I only crave for Your
love and blessing." Then He smiled,
and again said,
"This you have anyway, ask for
something else." I had no
other reply; I made the same request
again. After this, Swami disappeared
and I woke up with a start.
It was
the first time I saw Swami in my
dream. I wasn't sure how to
understand this; I conjectured that
I dreamt about Him probably because
I had been thinking about Him. After
reaching Puttaparthi, I immediately
went for darshan. And while
waiting for Swami, I saw a person
next to me reading a Sai book (those
days books were allowed during
darshan time).
I was
inquisitive and asked him if I could
see through the book for a few
seconds. He obliged and when I
opened the book I became still. The
bold inscription on the page I
opened was an excerpt from Swami's
discourse which said,
"I
appear in dreams at My will. If you
think that I appear because of your
thinking, you are mistaken."
Instantly, all doubts about His
mysterious appearance vanished! This
was just the beginning.
On the
morning of September 26, 1996, I
waited in line for His darshan,
and was lucky to get the front
row. When Swami arrived, He
came very near me, and accepted a
letter from a devotee sitting on my
right. I too tried to present my
letter, but He showed both His
hands, which were full with letters,
and gestured as if to say,
"See,
I have no room for your letter".
So, I
withdrew my hand. But in the next
second, to my surprise, I saw Him
collecting a letter from another
devotee sitting on my left! This was
depressing; when I came out of
darshan, I had a bee in my
bonnet. I went into a
self-introspection mode.
On the Path of Self
Introspection
The
voice of my conscience was now
speaking louder than ever; my evil
habit of taking bribes bothered me
terribly. I resolved then and there
that I will not accept anything
unofficial in future, and mentally,
I made this solemn and solid
commitment to Swami. The next day, I
was fortunate again to find myself
in the first line.
This
time too, Swami came straight to me,
but now, He lovingly accepted my
letter without a word. Not only
this, He granted me the chance to
touch His Feet too. I came out of
darshan as if I was in
seventeenth heaven. Joyously I
shared my happiness with a senior
member of our Sai Samithi, who was
also present there, and he explained
to me that by not accepting my
letter on the first day Swami
clearly conveyed that He is not
interested in a corrupt devotee. I
had learnt a vital lesson of my
life, but the Lord did not rest at
this.
Now,
before I started for Puttaparthi on
that occasion, I was to do a market
survey which could have easily
yielded me over a lakh of rupees in
unaccounted income. After I returned
from Swami, my clerk informed me,
with a heavy heart, that my area of
operation has been changed, and the
present one would fetch me much less
income. In other words, my 'extra
cash' had shrunk a great deal.
If I
was my former self, I would have got
wild with my officer. Certainly I
would have picked up a quarrel with
him, and harbored jealousy against
the inspector who had snatched my
money-spinning assignment. But now,
it did not bother me.
When I set out to
the market for my new
assignment, shopkeepers,
like always, came forward
offering me bribes, lest I
might write adversely about
them in my report. But when
I refused, they were
obviously surprised, and
happy too. In my hearts of
hearts, I was so glad and
thanked Swami profusely for
cleaning my life up so
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Putting Everything in His
Hands
When I
set out to the market for my new
assignment, shopkeepers, like
always, came forward offering me
bribes, lest I might write adversely
about them in my report. But when I
refused, they were obviously
surprised, and happy too. In my
hearts of hearts, I was so glad and
thanked Swami profusely for cleaning
my life up so amazingly.
I gave
up drinking and non-vegetarian food
too. My colleagues and officers
could not believe the transformation
they saw in me. Many thought this
would not last and tried to lure me
back to my old ways. "How are you
going to maintain your family with
your limited salary?", "You have a
daughter, remember that! You are
going to need plenty of funds for
her one day…", "Have you gone nuts?"
and so on. They tried to influence
me through many clever arguments and
strategies. But my only answer was,
"All this does not bother me;
everything is Swami's problem."
All
said and done, it was not easy. Once
I stopped taking bribes, my revenue
stream shrunk. To manage the
household expenses with my
inadequate income, we cut down our
desires. Earlier, I changed my dress
twice a day, but now I am happy with
a change once in two days. We
decided to restrict the size of our
family and reduced all avoidable
expenditure.
For
three full years, it was a financial
tight-rope walk. But I was
determined to follow this new path;
it had given me so much peace. I was
sure Swami would help us and He did.
Eventually, my wife was appointed as
a teacher in Sri Sathya Sai Vidya
Vihar with a decent salary. This
solved all our problems. But how
this happened is also interesting.
Dispelling All Doubts
Even
though I became convinced about
Swami's divinity in 1996, my wife
was not. In June 1999, for the first
time I came to Puttaparthi along
with my wife and little daughter.
For my wife, Lord Shiva was God,
none else. And that very night in
Puttaparthi, Swami appeared in her
dream, and she saw that there was a
snake wreathed round His neck, just
like it is with Lord Shiva. This
aroused her faith in Baba; still,
she was not completely doubtless.
What is more
heartening, though, is
that my transformation
has inspired many other
officers to rethink
about their wrong ways.
Today almost everybody
in the office greets me
with 'Sai Ram'! Bhagavan
Baba has transformed my
life, in and out. When I
recollect the prophecy
of the astrologer now, I
understand the true
import of his words.
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On the
second day of our stay in
Puttaparthi, I joined the
darshan lines at 4 a.m., and
when I left the room, I told my wife
to follow a little later, carrying
along Maitreyee, our tiny daughter.
But given her shaky faith in Baba,
she did not take this seriously, and
slept through the morning
darshan. When my 7-year old
Maitreyee woke up at 7 a.m., she
cried incessantly for missing
darshan; she loved Swami
dearly.
Therefore, the next day, she was up
at 4 a.m. and tagged along with me
to see Swami. She was a small girl,
so I could have her with me on the
gents' side. Before Swami arrived
that day, she confided with me that
Baba had appeared in her dream the
previous night and promised her that
He would grant her padnamaskar
at 7 the next morning.
And
so, she sat with eagerness and
expectation. I told her Swami always
keeps His word. And that's exactly
how it unfolded. At 7 a.m sharp
Swami was right in front of us, and
even though she was sitting in the
third row, she just walked up to
Swami fearlessly and the Lord too
blessed her profusely as she touched
His Feet.
Now,
this was a moment of revelation more
for my wife than anybody else. This
sealed her faith in Bhagavan. Soon,
my mother too became a sincere
devotee, and Sai became the sole
inspiration and personal God of our
entire family.
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Eversince the
paradigm shift in his
personality engineered
by Bhagavan,
Mr. Sohni has been
engaged in all service
activities of the Sai
Organisation
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Work Becomes Sadhana
Meanwhile, my office environment saw
a lot of changes; every activity was
now being computerized. This
alteration brought Mr. Hari Ranjan
Rao as the Additional Commissioner
to my department. He was a staunch
Sai devotee right from his childhood
and was happy to entrust me with
many important responsibilities. In
fact, one of the projects was
inaugurated by the then Chief
Minister of Madhya Pradesh in 2003.
And on
that occasion, I was awarded a
certificate of appreciation along
with five other top officers. I know
certainly that all this has been
purely because of His grace. Even
today I continue to work in the
computer section, and recently have
been given a promotion too!
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Sai guided him and
guarded him, always
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Receiving the Divine
gift of His Robe!
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What
is more heartening, though, is that
my transformation has inspired many
other officers to rethink about
their wrong ways. Today almost
everybody in the office greets me
with 'Sai Ram'! Bhagavan Baba has
transformed my life, in and out.
When I recollect the prophecy of the
astrologer now, I understand the
true import of his words. Yes, my
life has undergone a great
metamorphosis. And I do not know how
to thank Swami for the amazing
miracle that He has performed on me!