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Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 9
January 8, 2003
Professor Anil Kumar has presented this talk as an extra satsang.
He has selected important messages Baba has imparted to the
students gathered around Him during the afternoon sessions on the
verandah at Prashanti Nilayam. These talks will continue.
ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG:
BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS
“Sai Pearls of Wisdom”
Part Nine
January 8th, 2003
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram!
SEPTEMBER 10th, 2002
Sai, the Centre of our Trust
So far, by Bhagavan’s Grace, we have completed eight parts of “Sai
Pearls of Wisdom.” And now, I want to share with you certain
special and important events that occurred in September 2002.
One such event was the anniversary of the Sri Sathya Sai Central
Trust. A big function was organised on September 10th, 2002. It
was really a big day, and many things were brought to light that
deserve our attention. To think about these points will also
strengthen our faith in Swami. It is with this view in mind that I
want to share them with you.
The function was held on Vinayaka Chathurthi Day. You know,
Vinayaka Chathurthi? It is the birthday of Vinayaka, otherwise
known as Ganesha, which we celebrate during the month of
September. Bhagavan gave His Discourse that morning on Lord
Vinayaka and the significance behind the worship of Vinayaka. All
that was said during the morning session. You probably have read
about it in ‘Sanathana Sarathi’. So, it does not require any
repetition, much less my comment.
But the evening function -- the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust
function -- does deserve our attention. The whole function was
organised by students of Sri Sathya Sai University, who work for
the Central Trust. There are 100 former students, alumni of Sri
Sathya Sai University, working with us in different places. All of
them organised the function, and it was a really grand celebration
indeed.
The Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust has completed thirty years. So,
they thought that was an appropriate reason to organise a function
to commemorate the event. They displayed a big sign with the
words: ‘Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust in Service of Humanity’. ‘In
Service of Humanity’ -- that is important. That has been the theme
of the Central Trust since it’s inception.
And there were two more beautiful, multi-coloured banners that
day, one on either side of the dais. One banner carried the words:
‘Sai, the Source of our Growth’. This was a very good title
indeed, because Sai is the Source of any growth. If the Central
Trust has reached this level today, rendering service to all
humanity in such a magnificent way -- what is the Source? Sai is
the Source. So, befittingly, they had hung one banner proclaiming,
‘Sai, the Source of our Growth’.
On the other side of the dais, they had placed another colourful
banner displaying the words: ‘Sai, the Centre of our Trust’. It is
not simply ‘Central Trust’. It is not simply a charitable trust.
It said, ‘the Centre of our Trust’, which is also meaningful. Sai
should be the centre of our trust. But unfortunately, our centre
of trust is altogether different. Many of us put our trust in
money, positions, influence, that’s all. God was never the centre
of our trust, and that’s why we are confused. So, these two
banners alone, one on either side of the dais, conveyed an ample
message to everyone who witnessed that day’s function.
First, the meeting began with an M.Com student named Ramakrishna,
who works for the Central Trust. He welcomed Bhagavan Baba, the
devotees and the main participants of the event. Who were the
chief participants? Some elders: One was Sri P. Rama Mohan Rao,
Chairman of Prashanti Nilayam Township. The second distinguished
guest was Sri K. Charkravarthi, the Secretary of the Central
Trust. And the third guest of honour was N. Charanjivi Rao. These
three represented the Central Trust -- elderly persons,
experienced, distinguished personalities, who have grown with the
Trust. The other participants were former students at the
University, who are now working for the Central Trust.
“Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Poorna Avatar”
The first speaker was Sri Rama Mohan Rao, Chairman of Sri Sathya
Sai Township, Prashanti Nilayam. He is an 83-year-old man, very
lean and tall, a simple, humble man; an old-timer with unwavering
faith in Bhagavan. He was in a different department before he
moved to Prashanthi Nilayam. He has been rendering service to
Bhagavan for the last 40 years, without ever applying for even one
day of casual leave, working for Bhagavan day-in and day-out.
He made some very interesting remarks, which will be of immense
interest to all of us: “Rama was an Incarnation. Krishna was an
Incarnation. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is a Poorna Avatar -- an
Avatar Incarnation in totality, fully.” That’s what he said.
And the next points he mentioned were from his own experiences. It
seems he was suffering from bronchitis and Bhagavan cured him. He
also mentioned that his wife once fell unconscious for three days.
Everybody had given up hope for her survival. Then Bhagavan gave
her vibhuthi and brought her back to life.
He also mentioned another miracle. It seems his wife lost the gold
chain Bhagavan had given her. Where she lost it, she forgot. But
one day, when she was crying, Swami materialised the same chain
out of the sand in front of her. This was really a matter of
surprise to everybody.
He also said that the life of his daughter was saved when she had
smallpox, and that she didn’t even have a single scar on her face.
Above all, his brother-in-law, a diabetic, was also cured at a
time when the doctors said an operation was most necessary. But,
without undergoing the operation, Swami cured him of his ailment.
With tears in his eyes, full of joy and gratitude to Bhagavan, he
mentioned these miracles, one after another. His talk touched the
hearts of everyone.
“I may be new to you, but you are not new to Me”
The second speaker happened to be Sri Charkravarthi, Secretary of
Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust. Charkravarthi had served as a
Collector earlier. He also served as Secretary of Finance,
Commercial Tax Commissioner, and occupied several positions in the
government before coming to Bhagavan.
For Bhagavan, he served as the Registrar of Sri Sathya Sai
University for thirteen years, and was also associated with the
Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project in three important
districts: Anantapur, Mahaboobnagar and Medak, in the State of
Andhra Pradesh. He is a very experienced person and he made these
remarks in his talk:
It seems when he first reached Prashanti Nilayam, Swami told him
one point: “I may be new to you, but you are not new to Me. I have
known you for several lives. I know you thoroughly.” For a ‘class
one’ officer to hear this statement -- that Bhagavan had known him
since long before, though this was their first meeting -- was
really a shock. That’s what he said.
Thinking of his position as the Registrar of Sri Sathya Sai
University, he said, “It is unbelievable how Bhagavan remembers
the names of all the students, their marks in all of their
subjects, their parents and their families. And how Bhagavan
guided the whole University in framing the syllabus and
introducing courses. This was something very amazing.”
And further he added, “The Sri Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project,
which was introduced in this Anantapur District, needed pipes from
all over the country. One or two factories could not supply the
needed pipes. The pipes had to be requisitioned from many places
-- Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Calcutta, Trichy and so on -- so many
places. Also, thirty-five excavators were used in this drinking
water project.” That’s what he said. It was quite amazing.
“God is with me, and I am with God”
Then N. Charanjivi Rao also spoke that day. He said that he was so
happy watching the children who had been admitted to the Primary
School (many years ago) leave the University, after getting a PhD.
A child joins in the first class, and comes out of the University
with a PhD degree! This is really extraordinary, and really so
beautiful.
Charanjivi Rao is 82 years old. He was an engineer and a builder
before coming to Swami. He had his first darshan of Bhagavan in
the year 1958 and he came to the strong conviction that Baba is
God -- then, now and forever.
He said, “I always have the feeling that God is with me, and that
I am with God. These two feelings, these two convictions, will
make me do any amount of work for any length of time, however
strenuous, difficult or tiresome it is. Because God is with me and
I am with God, there will be no difficulty in accomplishing the
assignments and the tasks given from time-to-time.” Further,
Charanjivi Rao mentioned that selfless service with the spirit of
Love is absolutely necessary for every devotee.
He also recalled his experiences when Bhagavan sent him to the
State of Gujarat. You must have heard about the unprecedented
earthquake that happened there, resulting in the loss of thousands
of lives, cattle, and a huge loss of wealth -- hundreds of crores
of rupees. It was very tragic.
Swami sent Charanjivi Rao to do relief work along with a few
associates. Charanjivi Rao recalled a touching scene in Gujarat
where the villagers were so happy and grateful to Bhagavan, Who
had sent them provisions in their hour-of-need. They were
extremely happy about how Bhagavan cared for them after they had
suffered the worst catastrophe that can happen to mankind.
The Divine Mission
Later, former students of the University presented a unique
discussion where they spoke briefly about one aspect of each of
the projects undertaken by the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust.
The first speaker was Srinivasan, an MBA graduate. He said, “This
Sathya Sai Central Trust, and our association and involvement in
the Central Trust, is a journey of Love.” That’s how he put it.
He was followed by two other young men: Satish, MSc, and Arun
Kumar, B.Tech and MBA. They served as commentators or ‘Masters of
Ceremony’ for the session that day.
Arun Kumar said, “Bhagavan’s mission was very clearly stated by
Bhagavan Himself in His letter to His brother long ago. His
brother, Seshama Raju, doubted Him, thinking that He was under the
influence of some evil spirit. Baba wrote a letter clarifying all
his doubts and indicating His Mission.”
I won’t read the whole thing in Telugu, because you wouldn’t
understand it. I shall give you the English version for your
benefit. The first aspect of His Mission is to protect and confer
bliss on all mankind. He is determined to do this.
The second point: He has taken a vow. What is that vow? To bring
back those people who have gone astray from the right path, and to
set them right. This is His second vow or point of the Divine
Mission.
The third point of the Divine Mission is to come to the rescue of
the poor and the needy, to be a refuge to the forlorn, and to help
them – a point that is dear to Him, and very much to His taste.
The fourth aspect of the Divine Mission: The greatness of this
Avatar lies in coming to the rescue of, and in extending
protection to, those people who sincerely worship and adore Him in
a prompt and disciplined way.
The fifth aspect of the Divine Mission is this: To see that we all
cultivate a devotion that is unruffled by the bumps, jumps and
jolts of life. We should not be agitated. We should develop a
balanced state of mind and remain in equanimity. That is the
definition of devotion, according to Baba. So, these are the five
aspects of the Divine Mission mentioned by Bhagavan in His letter
to His brother.
Three Promises to Easwaramma
Then Arun Kumar mentioned that Bhagavan gave three promises to His
mother, Easwaramma: Easwaramma wanted a well in Prashanti Nilayam
so that the villagers wouldn’t have to walk miles and miles just
for a pot full of water. Bhagavan fulfilled her wish. Back in
those days, there was a very big well near the Ganesha Gate. The
old-timers will remember it. And today, there is more than a well!
There is the Water Project, bringing drinking water to the
Anantapur, Mahaboobnagar and Medak Districts. And now the Sathya
Sai Drinking Water Supply scheme has been extended to Madras, in
the State of Tamil Nadu!
The second wish His mother had was for a primary school. She
wanted an elementary school for the local villagers, because the
children had to walk long distances to go to school. So Bhagavan
started the first school, Easwaramma High School. Now that has
grown into the Sri Sathya Sai University, which has won a great
reputation as a highly prestigious, academic institution. The
University Grants Commission acclaims it as ‘number one’!
His mother’s third wish was for a primary health care centre to
attend to the minimum health requirements of the villagers. So,
Swami started a primary health care centre in the ashram. Now that
has also grown into the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital!
As though this was not enough, He has also constructed a second
Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality Hospital in Bangalore.
My friends, this shows the evolutionary process. It shows the
Divine progress and advancement -- how the Divine Mission is
marching forward in all its grandeur and majesty, without any
obstacles, because the Divine Will is inscrutable and
unparalleled. The Divine Will will manifest, beyond a doubt.
That’s what we find.
Confidence in the Self
Next, we heard from another young man, Dr. Sainath, MSc and PhD
degree-holder. He quoted Bhagavan, “Secular knowledge is necessary
for our living. Spiritual knowledge is necessary for our
liberation.”
Dr. Sainath was also mighty happy to share with the assembled
audience that the Sri Sathya Sai University is now at the top
(considered to be the best) of all Indian universities.
And then he made reference to two or three students. One student,
who passed his MBA, appeared for a job interview. The interview
members asked him one question: “What has Baba given you?”
He said, “He has given me Self-confidence. He has given me
Self-confidence, not merely a degree.”
My friends, because I know that you are already well informed in
Sai literature, I don’t think we have to go too deeply into this
subject. I think a few sentences should be enough regarding
Self-confidence.
Self-confidence is not physical, not intellectual, not social, not
psychological and not political. Confidence in the Self is
Self-confidence. Self is the supreme; Self is Consciousness. So,
confidence in that supreme Consciousness is Self-confidence. It
has nothing to do with the body, mind or intellect.
Dr. Sainath also spoke about one of our old students, who is
living in France. This student was honoured and specially
felicitated not only because of his academic excellence, but also
because of his sterling character. We were very happy to hear
about this. Sathya Sai University offers free education, making no
compromise as far as standards are concerned.
Then he gave an example of Swami’s way of shaping devotees. You
must have heard of tyre factories? They manufacture tyres for
lorries, tractors and cars, etc. Before these tyres are sent out
to the market, they are put through different tests. They are
tested on how well they can travel along all sorts of Indian
roads. Well, I don’t need to tell you about Indian roads!
(Laughter) Also, the approach roads to some villages, well, better
I not speak about them. Are they roads or pits? Are they roads or
simply full of gravel? Well, it’s better I not speak about them.
The tyres are tested in these situations to see to how they
perform. Similarly, Baba prepares us like those tyres are
prepared. He shapes us to be ‘ready to roll’ on any hopeless road
of life, so that we are prepared to meet any kind of challenge.
Thus, we don’t need to get depressed for any reason.
Finally he concluded by saying, “It is not Sri Sathya Sai
Institute of Higher Learning. It is Sri Sathya Sai Institute of
Highest Learning!”
“Your Prayers melted My Heart”
Then another young man named Prashant, MBA, spoke. He narrated
some of his experiences. I chose these speakers and their speeches
because these experiences will be of most interest to you.
While he was doing the final year of his MBA, this young man,
Prashant, had an accident. During examination time, he fractured
his hand. As per the University rules, when anyone has an
accident, he can call for a scribe to write on his behalf. The
student can dictate and the scribe will write for him. However,
the scribe cannot be a student of the same class and the same
subject. (Laughter) The scribe can write on behalf of the person;
that is the strict rule. So, this boy, with a bandage on his hand,
went to Swami and requested permission to have a scribe write on
his behalf at examination time.
Swami said, “Nothing doing. No! I want you to write by yourself. I
don’t want you to employ anybody.”
So, he wrote the entire examination himself and he scored higher
marks that semester than any of his earlier semesters. As he said,
“That is the Will of Sai.”
And when he came to Swami after the results were posted, Bhagavan
said, “Your prayers melted My heart. I conferred My Grace, which
made you to perform so well, so well.”
The young man ended his talk by singing a song. He is a regular
singer in the Mandir every evening during bhajans. Here is the
substance of his song:
O God, my heart melts when I sing Thy Glory.
O God, You have lit up the Light of Wisdom in my heart with Your
Love.
O God, in my life here and hereafter, You are everything to me.
58,000 Cardiology Patients Treated
Then we had another speaker from the hospital. This student has an
MSc in bioscience and an MBA also. He mentioned that 58,000
patients have been treated by the Sri Sathya Sai Super Speciality
Hospital Cardiology Department so far -- 58,000! In addition,
about 1,500 people have come for valve replacements. And in the
Urology Department, 18,000 patients have been treated. He
mentioned these statistics and then talked about some of the
experiences of certain patients.
There is a village very close to Prashanti Nilayam called
Bukkapatnam. A teacher from there, who is a heart patient, needed
an injection. It was very costly -- 50,000 rupees!
Swami said, “Come what may, we should save the life of any man who
comes to us.”
And so, the doctors gave him the injection. And, after two days,
he was operated upon. Some people came and asked him, “How are
you, sir?” He said, “I am ready for lunch now!” (Laughter)
The man who should have left this world was ready for lunch! That
is the grace of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
A Christian from Kerala came to the hospital. He was a heart
patient who was to be operated upon. He had full faith that Baba
and Christ are one, but his wife had no faith. It always happens
that one of the two (in a couple) lacks faith in Swami. It always
happens, and I am no exception!
So, Swami appeared in his wife’s dream. Not the man’s dream,
because this man already had faith, so he did not need to dream of
Baba. Thus, Baba appeared in the wife’s dream and said that He was
the Cosmic Christ. This dream happened in the early hours of the
morning. It is a convention in India to believe that whatever we
dream in the early hours of the morning is true or that it will
come true. That is the tradition.
So, this lady now had total faith in Baba. Her husband was
operated on and he recovered. Now both of them have been visiting
Prashanti Nilayam repeatedly. They do service here in Prashanti
Nilayam. They must have visited here 16 times at least. That’s
what he mentioned.
And in his talk, Ravi Mariwala from the hospital gave another
illustration. He talked about a patient from Nepal. Before this
man came here, he had sold his house and all his belongings to pay
for treatment somewhere else. Yet, he was not cured there. He was
not all right. So, what happened? He came to Swami because he
could not afford any more treatment. After coming here, he was
operated on successfully and today he is doing his job in a normal
way, as he did before.
A husband and wife came for treatment from Jabalpur. The husband
was suffering from heart disease, while the wife had stones in her
kidneys. Both of them had health problems. They were given free
treatment here, and today they are hale and healthy. That was the
gist of Mariwala‘s talk.
“Does He ever get tired?”
Towards the end, another gentleman, Nirajacharya, BTech, MBA
spoke. He said that the Sathya Sai Drinking Water Project is
supplying water to ten lakhs of people in Anantapur District. Huge
tanks have been built and today, even private residences have
taps. Hitherto, the people were walking miles and miles to fetch
water. Today they have taps in their residences.
And he made this statement: “Does Bhagavan really know what
tiredness is? Does He ever get tired? Because we see Him working
and working and working. We see Him giving and giving and giving.
No time to stand and stare, not even a moment to rest. He goes on
serving all of humanity.”
The last speaker happened to be Srinivas, MSc, and another good
singer. You have probably heard his songs here daily at bhajans.
He talked about the Ganges. You must have heard of this holy river
in India.
“Oh Bhagavan, you have brought the Ganges to Anantapur, which is
hundreds of miles from this place. You really made it happen!”
“What a Love You have! What a Love!”
Swami’s mission is not for publicity or for exhibition. These
things are the proof of His Divinity, nothing more than that.
Srinivas also mentioned an instance of a lady whose four children
were in an orphanage. Then her husband died, and she was left with
no one.
That lady came to Srinivas and asked, “Will I get an opportunity
to come close to Swami, to fulfil my only desire? I want to call
Him, ‘Dear Father’. He is my Father, my dear Father. I want to
call Him, ‘Father’. Will I get an opportunity to address Him like
that?”
That was what he mentioned. Then, being a singer, he sang a
beautiful song. He has a melodious voice. This is the meaning of
the song that he sang:
O Sai, our God,
You are the personification of Love and Compassion.
O God Sai,
You are the refuge of the forlorn.
O God, when there are none to love me,
When my heart is so heavy,
When I don’t have anywhere to go,
When everything is dark all around,
You are my Mother, You are my Father, You are my God,
Who extends the Divine Hand of Love to us,
O God, my dear Sai.
That is the meaning of the song. He sang another song, which is
also meaningful:
O God Sai,
You have come down to this earth.
You made this a paradise.
You have come down to earth as an Incarnation,
To make man himself God.
What a Love You have!
What a Love You have!
There was thunderous applause all around in response to this
meaningful song. I wanted to share these things with you as the
first part of today’s session.
MONTH OF SEPTEMBER, 2002
“God is with you”
You must have heard of a boy named Prahlada from that great epic,
‘Bhagavatham’. The boy Prahlada was a great devotee, but his
father was against God. His father was a king who controlled the
whole universe -- a mighty man, who wanted his son to be his
successor. He sent his little boy to teachers for his studies. But
his son refused to learn anything under these teachers.
Instead, Prahlada sang the Glory of God. This was much to the
dislike of his father, who was fed up with him. But the king
didn’t give up. He tried many things to change him. He had him put
in fire, thrown from mountaintops and thrown into the ocean. He
made elephants trample him and snakes bite him. And he also made
Prahlada drink poison. But, nothing happened to the boy, because
he was always singing the Glory of God.
Bhagavan mentioned that episode and how powerful God is -- that
nothing can happen to man, whatever it may be, under any
circumstances. God will not allow His devotees to collapse or to
die. He is always there behind them.
Then I said, “Swami, is God present in such a subtle form? Is God
present everywhere from microcosm to macrocosm, from an atom to
the whole universe?”
Baba said, “Yes. That’s exactly what I mean in My discourses when
I say that God is with you, in you, above you, below you and
around you. That’s what I mean.”
Then I asked, “Swami, is there anybody with that awareness? Is
there anybody with the awareness that God is everywhere? Easy to
say, but are there people like that?”
Bhagavan said, “Yes, why not? There are many people.”
Then He also added, “If there weren’t any such people here in the
world, the sun wouldn’t shine; there would be no moonlight; and no
wind would blow. The whole world would be different. Yes, there
are people who have the awareness of Divinity pervading
everything.”
Then, “Swami?” I asked another question: “Swami, why aren’t we
able to understand this Truth? God is everywhere, all pervading
everywhere. Why am I not able to understand this Truth? Why?”
Bhagavan said, “It’s illusion. Illusion is responsible. What is
illusion? Illusion is mistaken identity. Illusion is
super-imposition. Illusion is to think a thing is real when it is
non-existent. So, that which is unreal seems real due to illusion.
That which is illusion makes you believe in that which is not.”
That’s what Bhagavan said. Am I clear?
And then, “This thought of illusion will follow you like a shadow
till the end of your life. Suppose one evening you find something
on the path in front of you. You think it is a snake, and you try
to get it away from you. By switching on the torchlight, you
notice that it is not a snake at all, only a rope. When you
observe carefully, you will see that it is not a snake but a rope.
What happened here? There was no snake in the beginning and no
snake later. The snake did not come and the snake did not leave.
It was a rope all along. It was only the man mistaking the rope
for a snake. That is what illusion is.”
So, what happened? Fear when he thought it was a snake.
Fearlessness when he knew it was a rope. So, what is it that came
and then left? It was fear that came and fear that left. The snake
did not come and the snake did not leave. There was no snake at
all. It was a rope from the beginning. It was only fear that came,
because of mistaken identity. This is what is called illusion.
So, to get out of this illusion, we should pray to God, Madhava.
‘Ma’ + ‘dhava’. ‘Ma’ stands for Maya or illusion and ‘dhava’ means
Master. So, God is the Master of illusion. He can see to it that
we are not victims of illusion. There is no point in approaching
this man or that man. God will help us get out of this illusion.
That’s what Bhagavan said. Do you see?
“Oh Swami, if God removes my illusion, isn’t God affected by that
illusion? Why am I affected by delusion? Why isn’t God? When I
touch the fire, my hand gets burnt. When You touch fire, the same
thing should happen? Don’t You think so? So, when I am victimised
by Maya or illusion, then why isn’t God?”
Baba, being all-merciful, could initially excuse my foolish
question. He came out with this answer:
“It is the cat that carries the kitten with its teeth from place
to place. The teeth of the cat will not kill the young kittens,
but the same teeth of the cat will kill the rat immediately. They
are the same teeth. In the one case, they will not kill. In the
other case, they will kill. Similarly, God helps to remove your
illusion, but He is not affected by the illusion.”
Reaction, Reflection and Resound
Swami also mentioned that this whole world is nothing but
reaction, reflection and resound. Whatever we do, it will come
back to us. That is certain. The consequences are inescapable. The
results are inescapable. They will come back to us as reaction,
reflection and resound.
He gave an example of an illiterate shepherd boy. The shepherd
took all the sheep to a nearby mountainous area. While the sheep
were grazing, this boy started singing. To his surprise, he heard
another person also singing the same song he was singing. He
stopped, and the other fellow also stopped. He started, and the
other fellow also started. He changed to another song, and that
other fellow also did the same. He was very angry. So, he returned
home and complained to his mother.
“Mother, there is a stupid person there in the forest. Whatever I
do, he does the same. Whatever song I sing, he sings it too. If I
start a new song, he also sings it. I am very angry.”
His mother said, “There is nobody else there, my son. Don’t worry,
I’ll come along with you tomorrow.”
The mother followed her son the next day. He started singing. And
again, the other voice also started singing.
His mother said, “There’s no other person. Because it is a valley,
the sound has come back to you as a resound. It is a resound
(echo), that’s all. Nobody else is singing there.” That’s the
example Bhagavan gave.
Similarly, we should know that God is with us, and that everything
we are facing is nothing but reaction, reflection and resound --
nothing new, nothing new.
“Everything is the reaction, and everything is a reflection of the
inner being.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
The Greatest Act of Charity
One senior professor asked this question, “Swami, of all the
charities, which is greatest?”
Though that question had no relevance to what was being discussed,
Swami tolerated it because of the professor’s age. If I were to
put such a question in the midst of that maya, illusion – well, I
know the reaction, reflection and resound that would come back to
me! (Laughter) So, a senior man asked the question, “What is the
highest, biggest act of charity?”
Swami said, “Food distribution. Feeding others is the biggest act
of charity.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
There was still more time left before the instrumental music would
start, which precedes bhajans. I wanted to make the best use of
this time, so I asked another question: “Swami, in charity, the
giver is superior and the receiver is inferior. Am I right?”
Swami said, “You are completely wrong. Why? The giver is never the
greater because the giver, a rich man, may not be rich tomorrow.
Money comes and goes. How can you say the giver is greater No, no!
You should not think that way. In fact, in this world, no one is
superior to anybody. All are equal.”
“I know all of you -- I remember everyone”
In the meantime, Bhagavan started giving compassionate looks to a
boy. I saw His eyes getting wet. He called the boy to come close
and hugged him.
“What are you studying, my boy?”
That boy said, “Swami, twelfth class.”
Then Swami said, “This boy came to Me in Brindavan when he was
five years old. I gave him a place in our school. That day he
received a telegram, informing him of the demise of his mother.
Since that day, I have been taking care of this boy. He is now in
the twelfth class. His brother is studying medicine. His sister is
in Anantapur.”
He went on explaining about the boy. And then He said, “Do you
know why I am telling you about this boy? You boys think that I am
not talking to you. You boys think that I am not noticing you. But
remember, I know all of you. I remember everyone. I see everyone,
but I don’t necessarily speak to you.”
OM…OM…OM…
Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti
Source:
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/08.01.2003%20(E)%20central.htm
© Anil Kumar Kamaraju 2004 - Here
reproduced for personal use of the devotees for the purpose of
seva.
Anil Kumar website:
http://www.internety.com/anilkhome/ -
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/
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