|
Realizing Supreme Beatitude
by Sunil Gavaskar
Every devotee of Bhagavan Baba has his own connection with Him and
the beauty is that in spite of so many millions trying to connect
with Bhagavan, He has time for all. Most of them have had some
experience of Bhagavan's Divinity. Not only is the experience a
very personal one and very, very dear, but there is also the
feeling that since it does not concern anyone else, the others may
not be interested in hearing or knowing about it. But 75th
Birthday Celebrations of Bhagavan is a joyous occasion and it is
the joy of sharing that prompts me to write this piece. I will try
and write to the best of my ability knowing fully well that no one
can really do full justice to writing about Bhagavan.
Swami's Vision to my Mother
Since the day my mother got the vision of Bhagavan, my family has
been a Sai devotee. Like any middle class family, we too believe
in God and participate in all the festivals which are celebrated
in the year. We have a small Mandir where idols of various Hindu
gods are kept and prayers offered there daily by the family
members.
However in 1970, things changed suddenly. My mother was in the
kitchen and there she saw a vision of Swami on the wall. She was
restless and wanted a picture of the vision, and so she
immediately rushed out of the house and went to the newspaper
vendor at the corner of the street who also kept pictures of
various Hindu gods. She looked at the pictures one by one but
could not find the picture of the vision that had appeared in
front of her. She went further down to see if any other shop had
the picture she was looking for. There was none, so she came back
to the first one and requested him to have a look again, and lo
and behold, there was a picture of Bhagavan with His hand raised
in blessing exactly as she had the vision of. The newspaper vendor
refused to take any payment saying that since he had not ordered
the picture and had no idea how it got there, he would not accept
any payment.
That photograph was put up in my bedroom, so that every morning
when I woke up, my first glimpse was of Bhagavan. That photo could
also be seen by any visitor to the house particularly if the
bedroom door was open and I do believe that it was after seeing
that picture of Bhagavan that my late father-in-law decided that
his daughter's hand could be entrusted in mine. And when he passed
away in May this year, his last action was to fold his hands in
prayer to Bhagavan and his last words were "Sai Ram".
Miracle of Vibhuti
I remember one incident very clearly. We were in Australia and in
one of the tour matches, I slipped and tore a thigh muscle. In
those days, the Indian team did not carry their own
physiotherapist. So, we had to ask the local state team's
physiotherapist to have a look at the injury. He examined me and
announced that since I had a torn muscle, it would take about
three weeks of therapy and one more week of training before I
would be able to play again. With the First Test Match due to
start in just over a week's time, this simply was a blow that was
too much.
As soon as this news reached my family, they sent me packets of
Swami's Vibhuti through some media persons who were coming for the
coverage of the Test series. These arrived just about three days
before the start of the First Test. I was taking physiotherapy
regularly but the improvement had been marginal. I could barely
put weight on my leg to walk.
However after I started applying Vibhuti, there was marked
improvement and on the eve of the Test Match, I requested the team
management not to rule me out but to have a fitness test on the
morning of the Test Match. From barely being able to put weight on
my leg, I was able to walk comfortably in just two days. But there
was a stiff soreness that was worrying.
On the morning of the match, I applied Vibhuti to the leg and went
to the ground. This was going to be my first attempt to try and
run in about eight days' time. Even as I stepped on to the ground
to give my fitness trial, I realised that the stiffness was almost
gone. At the Queensland Cricket Ground in those days, you had to
descend a few steps to the ground and it was these few steps which
were painful previously and I had to step down gingerly. But on
this day, I felt confident enough getting down these steps
normally and not the one step at a time as on the previous couple
of days. I took a light jog around the ground and with every
stride I could feel the soreness going away. Though I did not do
anything silly a quick dash or sprint, I felt confident enough to
play in the Test and so informed the management who accepted it
and included me in the playing eleven. It was unbelievable. Nobody
including me had given myself a chance of playing the Second Test,
leave alone the First Test and here I was, thanks to the Vibhuti,
playing in the First Test Match.
In the Presence of the Supreme Being
About a year later, I was in Chennai (Madras then) and heard that
Swami was going to be in the city. It was here that I had my first
Darshan of Bhagavan. My counterpart in the West Indies team, Alwin
Kallicharan was also keen to have Swami's Darshan. Fortunately in
those days, there used to be a rest day in the Test Matches and we
were taken for Swami's Darshan.
Nothing had prepared me for that experience. I had seen plenty of
Swami's photographs but seeing Swami in person for the first time
is an unforgettable experience. When Swami glided in, there was a
glow around His face and His smile was so beautiful that it
immediately brought smiles on everybody's faces. Both Kalli and I
were standing together and automatically our hands folded in
Namaskar as we saw Bhagavan. That first sight of Bhagavan was the
most humbling experience of my life. It made me realise that there
was a superior being, the Supreme Authority. He was standing in
human form and sending these happy vibrations to all who had come
there! It was the kind of happiness that even a century or a
victory for the side could not bring about. It just made one's
heart feel lighter. I have been lucky to experience it time and
again since then and I consider myself blessed to do so.
That day both Kalli and I were hoping that Swami would bless us
just a little bit more than the other, for the Test Match was
evenly poised. Of course, Swami when He gave us an audience did
not take sides, but the Indian team also had another Sai devotee
in G.R. Viswanath and it was Vishy who took us to victory the next
day.
Grace Unbounded
Later on, both Kalli and I had the rare privilege, honour and good
fortune to be the masters of ceremonies for Swami's 70th Birthday
Celebrations. How that came about is a story in itself. I received
the invitation card for the celebrations of Swami's 70th Birthday
more than a month earlier. When I went through the celebrations
planned and the VIPs that were due to come to Puttaparthi starting
from the President of India and the Prime Minister to other
cabinet ministers, I thought to myself that with all the security
for them there would be no way to get even a glimpse of Swami. But
I said to myself that if Swami wants me to be there for His
Birthday, then somehow I would be there in Puttaparthi.
Just two days before the Birthday, I got a call with the words
"Indian, how are you? What are you doing in Mumbai? Why aren't you
in Puttaparthi?" It was Alwin Kallicharan who was already in
Puttaparthi. we always called each other 'Indian' which is how
people of Indian origin call each other in the West Indies. I
explained to him that I was beginning to shoot for a new TV serial
for the forthcoming 1996 World Cup and so would not be able to
come to Prashanthi Nilayam. I had fixed those dates for shooting,
so that my mind would concentrate on the shooting of the serial
and I would not feel the pangs of missing Swami's Birthday
Celebrations. Kalli informed me that they were trying to organize
air transport for me and would let me know about it the next day.
When he called to tell me that a charter had been arranged, I
could not believe it and my joy knew no bounds. After all, I was
going to be present at my beloved Swami's Birthday Celebrations.
When I landed there, I was told that I was to be the master of
ceremonies, something which I had never done before in my life.
But with Swami present, I was sure that He would help me not to
forget my lines.
A few years later, I was privileged to arrange the players for the
Unity Cup Cricket Match. Swami has always said, "Life is a game.
Play it.". Bhagavan wanted to show that there could be unity among
different countries, cultures and communities through sports. So,
the Unity Cup was played with players from all over the world
including Pakistan.
Several senior retired players were honoured and had the good
fortune to be blessed by Bhagavan. Who can forget Bhagavan patting
Sachin Tendulkar on the back and telling him, "I am with you!"
What a season Sachin had after that as he virtually
single-handedly demolished World Champion Australia with his
batting that seemed to be of a totally different dimension after
that pat from Bhagavan!
Devotees who have had Swami's Darshan even from afar know how it
becomes a craving and if Swami even glances at you fleetingly, you
feel an incredible joy that cannot be described in words.
Swami is eternal. We are blessed to have Bhagavan with us and we
must strive to join Him in serving humanity and helping the poor
and the downtrodden. we can do it in our way, quietly and without
fanfare. We can start by promising that every day we will do at
least one good deed.
Sunil Gavaskar
Former Captain Indian Cricket Team; has made/broken
several records in Cricket; an ardent devotee of Bhagawan.
|
