Source:
http://www.kingdomofsai.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=193
From: a sai
devotee
Date: Wed, 15
Sep 2004 21:30:53 -0700 (PDT)
Here are
details of Asharamji Bapu's visit to Prashanti Nilayam.
Can share it with others.
S S
15-09-2004
Monday and
Tuesday were filled with calm and silence. Swami was inside
the interview room throughout the evening. On Monday it was
a group of devotees. On Tuesday, the famous saint speaker
Sri Asharam Bapu from Gujarat visited Parthi. Swami took him
inside for an interview that went on till Bhajan time.
On 15th
evening again Swami gave an interview to Sant Asharam Bapu
and his team. It was about 5.45 p.m. and all of us were
getting ready for Bhajans. Then came the surprise.
Prasanthinilayam is full of surprises. When we are with
Swami what appeals to us most is His uncertainty! You never
know what comes next. But I think it is this very suspense
that adds spice to our otherwise monotonous life!!
At 5.45 p.m.
suddenly there was some commotion. Brother Nitin came out
onto the stage and arranged a white bucket type chair with a
cushion. We guessed correctly that Swami may ask Sant
Asharam Bapu to come and sit over there. Subsequently a mike
was also arranged in front of the chair. It was clear that
Bhagawan wanted him to talk to the students and devotees.
Meanwhile the son of Sant Asharam Bapu came forward and
checked all the arrangements. Later Sant Asharam Bapu
himself came and stood near the chair waiting for Bhagawan.
A few minutes
later Swami came out of the interview room. He sent word for
one student ? a good Hindi speaker ? Jagadish Chandra of
the II M.Sc.(C) class. Obviously we understood that Swami
wanted him to give a talk in Hindi. Bhagawan came onto the
dais and proceeded towards the sofa. He asked Asharam Bapu
to sit down. But Asharam Bapu waited for Swami to sit on the
sofa and then sat down on his chair. Swami asked the
Vice-Chancellor to introduce the speakers. There were two
speakers preceding Asharam Bapu's talk. The first one was
Sri Sanjay Mahalingam, a research scholar in the School of
Business Management who spoke in English followed by
Jagadish Chandra in Hindi. Both of them spoke for about five
minutes each ? mostly about Bhagawan's infinite Love.
After that
Swami again asked the Vice-Chancellor to request the guest
to speak to the gathering. The mike was arranged in front of
the chair and Sant Asharam Bapu began his talk in Hindi as
he usually does. His voice was very soft. Swami signaled for
the mike to be adjusted properly. That was done. But still
one had to strain to hear his voice. Slowly it became more
audible.
Sant Asharam
Bapu was blissfully sharing his thoughts with all of us. We
could see him smiling and laughing to himself at times. Let
me share with you the highlights of his talk.
He started by
reminding all of us how fortunate we were to be in the
presence of Baba. He said that whereas devotees from far off
lands come here to just have a glimpse of Baba we students
keep having His glimpses every now and then! How lucky we
are.
He then moved
on to explain about how Lord Krishna went to Mathura and met
the woman named Kubja who had a bent back. She was the woman
who carried perfumes for His Highness ? King Kamsa. Lord
Krishna called her Sundari. She wondered whom Krishna was
referring to. But the Lord was referring to her only. For
the Lord everything is beautiful. He sees the inner beauty
and not outer beauty!! Krishna wishes to bless her. God,
before giving His Blessings apparently takes something from
His devotee, something as a token, however small it may be ?
possibly even a Namaskaar. In this case, Lord Krishna asks
her to give Him some perfume and then placing His foot on
her foot He pulls her chin straight up. With this her hump
vanishes and she becomes a normal woman!!
Thus Lord
Krishna went among the Gopalas in Brindavan and gave them so
much joy. Students, He comes amidst all of you too and gives
you so much joy. You all know that!! India is such a great
land. In the ancient years Vasco-de-Gama came here and took
away so many of our riches. Indians gave away shiploads of
gold and silver vessels. Later even brass and copper
treasures were given away. Today we are in a situation that
we are ready to give away even plastic items and waste
papers. But there is one thing that India can never lose,
which will always remain with us and that is the treasure of
the heart. This treasure of the heart is ever available with
we Indians for the whole world to receive!
The Mothers of
India were so great! Take for example the mother of Vinobha
Bhave. She used to feed him with some chapatti and food but
whenever any classmate of Vinobha Bhave came to their house,
she would feed the classmate with hot hot chapattis. This
would happen always. Looking at this Vinobha Bhave asked
her, "Mother, you say that the same God exists in all. We
must treat all in the same manner. Then how is it that you
give me cold, left over food but you treat my classmates so
well serving them hot and fresh chapattis." To this,
Vinobha's mother replied, "Child, what you say is true. I
see God in all and therefore I treat them so nicely. Your
classmate who has come to our house is our guest. I see God
in him. Athiti Devo Bhava. Therefore I treat him with so
much respect. But for me, you are my son. My motherly love
for you attaches me to you and hence I am unable to see God
in you. The day I see God in you, I will treat you also in
the same way!" Such were the noble mothers of Bharath.
Students,
there is a very nice exercise that you all must practice.
Every morning when you get up, visualize Baba's hand in your
hand. Hold His hand tightly and pray, "Baba, Baba please let
my whole day go on very well with Your Grace. Baba Bless
me." Try doing this and see what happens throughout the day.
Then at night, pray to Him and beg pardon for whatever
mistakes you make. Whatever good happens is on account of
His Grace and mistakes occur because of our Vasanas.
The greatest
repentance for mistakes is not doing it again. Once you
commit a mistake and you want to repent for it truly, make
sure that you do not repeat the mistake again. This is the
greatest Prayschitartham.
Students one
last message for you all. Whatever you do not want others to
do unto you, do not do that unto others. You do not want
others to hurt you or cause any suffering to you. Then you
too should not hurt others or cause suffering to others.
Sant Asharam
Bapu ended his talk with Sahana Vavatu and Om Shanti Shanti.
He then looked towards Swami but Swami was closing His eyes.
Therefore, Sant Asharam Bapu called out to Bhagawan to bless
us with His Discourse. His plea could not be heard. Then he
asked one of the students sitting near Swami's chair to
request Swami. The student gathered courage and did so.
Bhagawan smiled and nodded His approval. The Vice-Chancellor
went over to the podium and prayed to Bhagawan to deliver
His Divine Message.
It was 5.50
p.m. when Bhagawan stood up and took His position behind the
mike. What followed in the next twenty minutes was a flow of
Love and Wisdom. The main points in Bhagawan's Discourse
were as follows:
Nata Pamsi Na
Theertanam ???
There are many
noble souls who perform penance, study sacred texts, perform
Japa and Dhyana and go to pilgrim centers. But none of them
were able to attain the Lord without serving noble souls.
Today our
students are very fortunate as they have had the opportunity
of Darshan and Sambhashan of such a noble man. There are
many Bharatiyas who could redeem their lives by the Darshan,
Sparshan and Sambhashan of great and holy men. He (Sant
Asharam Bapu) has come all the way from Gujarat and has
shared his message with the students. His message is very
essential for the students. He has a cool heart! In this
Kali age when devotion and sincerity are disappearing and
atheism and perversion are becoming order of the day, his
teachings are very relevant and important.
However,
merely by Darshan or Sparshan or Sambhashan, our needs
cannot be fructified, our desires cannot be fulfilled. All
the three put together can pacify our hearts.
There are nine
paths of devotion laid down for mankind. Sravanam,
Keertanam, Vishnu Smaranam, Pada Sevanam, Vandanam,
Archanam, Daasyam, Sneham and Atma Nivedanam.
Modern
generation students are highly intelligent. If they use this
intelligence properly, they can redeem their lives. For this
life, spirituality is most important. However, today
students take to the wrong path and indulge in unnecessary
arguments.
Divine Grace
flows only through true Love. Love is God's gift to mankind
and is the royal pathway to reach God! Students should have
faith to tread on this royal roadway and get liberated.
Students, bookish knowledge alone is not enough. It gives
only information. To acquire Divine Grace, textual knowledge
must be converted to practical knowledge. Prema is very
important. Man has achieved so much through Love. He has
been able to win over Mind and Nature through Love. The mind
can never be controlled through bad practices and bad
company. Love grows through spiritual practices. It never
diminishes. What I am referring to is not worldly love but
spiritual Love. Love God as your own Mother and Father. This
Love is ever new and spiritual.
Develop such
Love from dawn to dusk. Consider everyone as yours. The
whole world can become One only by Love. Love is the only
way!
Students, you
all are struggling hard to acquire mere secular knowledge.
But all this is negative. What we need most, is positive!
Divine Love, Peace, Compassion, Forbearance, etc. are
imminent in us. We must foster them by constant practice.
Love alone can transform the mind of man. You all know the
nature of mind. It is so strong and powerful. However, it
can be controlled or conditioned through Love. Students,
direct your Love towards the Divine. So many direct their
love towards information and mere secular knowledge. Can
they attain the Lord? God submits to Love alone, not to
anything else. There is no power higher than Love.
The world is
full of worry. Birth, death, life, childhood, family life,
old age, difficult times, action,?. everything is full of
worry. All these worries can be done away with, by thinking
of God. Today we are not fostering this Love for God. You
may acquire secular knowledge but true education lies in
acquiring that which is eternal.
Many such
elderly, mighty and powerful people have gone around the
world and spread the message of spirituality. All people
should follow their advice that is sourced from the Sastras
and the Upanishads. Their advice and words of wisdom should
be taken as a benchmark.
You may feel
proud of your English language and your communication
skills, but all that is useless if there is no Love. Pride
is ruining man today. It is only Love that can take man to
greater heights. Keep this Love as your true goal. Love may
appear to be simple but there is no power greater than this
Love!!
Bhagawan
concluded His Divine Discourse with the Bhajan ?Prema Mudita
Mana Se Kaho.' It was 6.10 p.m. Swami signaled for Bhajans.
Boys started singing Bhajans. The first one was ?Eswara
Allah Eka Tumhi Ho?.'. Sant Asharam Bapu was enjoying the
Bhajans and he too was singing. Looking at him seated beside
Bhagawan, we felt a strange experience. The Lord Himself and
His powerful instrument next to Him. Sant Asharam Bapu was
smiling and was having a Blissful face and next to him was
the very source of this Bliss!! It indeed was a very lucky
day for all of us.
We always have
Bhagawan ? the Ultimate with us, but when we see His message
being practiced and preached by one among us, it makes us
feel very nice and pumps us with hope that we too can rise
to higher levels!
Prasadam was
distributed to all. Bhagawan got up and moved towards the
Golf Cart and as He went along, He enquired Asharam Bapu
about his return journey. Swami got into the golf cart and
glided away towards the Poornachandra Hall. The sun set on
yet another holy day at the Temple of Peace.
Sairam
Source:
http://guru-charitra.tripod.com/asaramji/asaramji-bapu.htm
Photographs - Divine
Darshan on September 15, 2004
Photos source:
http://www.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Discourse_Photos.htm