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Talk by Bozzanis
October 2001
Fwded from: B. Kasturi
Sai Ram! Recently, the Bozzanis, long time devotees of Swami and
leaders in our region, had a discussion with the Young Adults.
The following is a summary for their talk.
On Sunday, Oct 28, nine young adults had the pleasure of listening
to Mr. and Mrs. Bozzani as they shared their experiences and
interpretations of Swami's teachings at the Tustin Sathya Sai Book
Center. Adding to the blissful atmosphere were the room's
vibrations from weekly chanting of 108 Gayathri. With Swami's
voice playing faintly in the background (Sai Baba, Embodiment of
Love CD), we listened attentively to our guest speakers.
Mrs. Bozzani began by explaining how she prefers to let Swami
choose the stories to share and speak through her on occasions
like this. No matter how much we prepare something, in the end,
Swami's words come through. And so they did. As questions popped
up in our minds, many of them were immediately answered through
the stories that were shared.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Bozzani continued on to cover the following
topics: Discipline, practicing Swami's teachings, and balance of
law and love. On discipline, Mr. Bozzani shared a funny experience
of his on how significant it is to be mindful of our thoughts. On
a visit to Prashanti Nilyam, Mr. Bozzani had the delight of going
on a scenic drive with Swami. As they were driving, he began to
think, "This is so beautiful. When Barbara passes away, I'll
definitely move here and stay here." Just as he thought this, he
felt a sharp swat on the back of his ear. Swami had just snapped
His handkerchief on Mr. Bozzani's ear and he knew exactly why! As
Mrs. Bozzani heard the story being narrated again, she turned to
Swami's picture and sweetly said, "Thank you, Swami!".
On discipline of attire, both our speakers had experiences with
Swami where they appeared in attire other than what Swami had
expected. At a Sai function in Bangalore, Swami looked at Mr.
Bozzani up and down,to make it very clear that it is very
important what you choose to wear. On another occasion, the
Bozzanis were in Ooty when Swami gave Mrs. Bozzani a saree.
However, Mrs. Bozzani did not wear it the next day,which
displeased Swami. The lesson that she learned was that whatever
God gives us we must always appreciate the gift as everything He
gives is His grace, and is always ?good for us.? Our speakers
expressed that even when we are here in the US, it is very
important to wear respectable attire especially in public meetings
such as the First Sunday meetings at Ebell. Also, the boys should
make every effort to wear white at all Sai events as it symbolizes
discipline and purity. Swami's expectations of His
devotees in Puttaparthi sets a standard for how we should behave
here. Otherwise, we are saying that Swami is wasting His time with
the guidelines in Parthi.
On practicing Swami's teachings,
Mr. Bozzani stated how all the teachings come down to the basics
such as "Love all, Serve all" and "Help ever, Hurt never". In an
interview, Swami explained how all He wants is love from us. But
then Swami went on further to say that He also wanted gratitude.
Not through thank you letters or saying thank you. But through
practice of His
teachings. To choose at minimum one teaching of His and put it
into practice in this lifetime is showing gratitude. Mrs. Bozzani
also shared a story from Kodaikanal when they were guests in
Swami's home there. In the morning, Swami peeked out of the
curtain at the devotees waiting for darshan and said, "Look at
that. I cannot waste my power on them if they don't practice my
teachings!". Mrs. Bozzani shared with us the power and energy she
felt as Swami said these words. She still remembers how
overwhelmed she felt. Lastly, Mr. Bozzani talked about how
critical it is to balance law with love. On one occasion, Mr.
Bozzani had taken some concerns about his son to Swami. Swami
proceeded to ask Mr. Bozzani what he was doing when he was his
son's age and to be understanding. Mr. Bozzani also went on to
address some of our questions by saying that we should never
disobey our parents or elders. But it is possible to have open
discussions and open our hearts and their hearts with love. "Duty
without love is deplorable. Duty with love is desirable. Love
without duty is divine!".
We ended our session with 2 songs and many thank yous to our
speakers for taking the time out of their busy schedule to spend
with us. They were our guest speakers and yet they played host to
us at the book center welcoming us there and providing us with
refreshments at the end. Our thanks to Vasanthi Hegde and Bob
Daniele also for helping us setup, providing the refreshments, and
answering our endless questions! The young adults that attended
were very appreciative
including one who attended on her birthday. What a beautiful
birthday present from Swami! We hope that we can have the
opportunity of having both Mr. and Mrs. Bozzani speak to us again!
Jai Sai Ram!
Source:
http://www.geocities.com/saicenter_us/snl/snl_112801 |