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Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 2
October 8, 2002
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 Two
October 8th, 2002
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram!
Thanks to Swami for bringing us back together for this evening’s
session. I’ll cover a few more of the conversations had with
Bhagavan on the veranda in this hour that we have at our disposal.
This is a continuation of what I related to you the other day.
September 21st, 2002
The secret of a long life
This happened on the 21st of September, 2002. (I think we will
complete all of the stories of September tonight.)
Swami asked somebody, “Do you know how to live a long life? Do you
know the secret of a long life?”
Who can answer that? Nobody can answer that. “Swami, I don’t
know.”
“It’s very easy.”
“What is it, Swami?”
“Only two things are needed.”
“What are they?”
He said, “One is sacrifice and the other is love or prema.
Sacrifice and love will give you long life. Thyaga or sacrifice is
the medicine, while love is the diet. If we take the medicine
without following the diet, the disease will never be cured. If we
follow the diet without taking the medicine, we are nearer to the
grave. Unless we have the diet and the medicine together, the
disease cannot be cured. So the medicine of sacrifice and the diet
of love — both are necessary to live a long life.” That’s what
Baba said.
At this point, Swami gave an example from the United States —
Rockefeller. Today, in the United States there is the Rockefeller
Foundation. This charity is working all over the United States.
How did this come about? Rockefeller was fabulously rich -- very,
very rich. He had no time to think of anything other than making
money. He reached the stage where he forgot the amount of money he
had because he was so busy.
But Rockefeller fell sick at the age of about 48. And the doctors
said, “Look here, you are not going to survive for more than eight
or ten months. You are not going to live much longer.”
Who said this? His doctors in the United States spoke this.
Doctors in the U.S. are very, very responsible, to the best of my
knowledge, because they will be sued in the courts of law if
anything goes wrong. Then they would have to pay money throughout
their lifetime, oh yes -- so they have to be very responsible.
So those doctors said, “You won’t live very long.”
So Rockefeller started distributing his money to everybody —
educational institutions, medical institutions and many others all
over the United States, with the result that he lived for almost
90 years. A person, who should have left this planet earth 40
years earlier, got an extension of his life. How is that possible?
Because his of sacrifice. That’s what Bhagavan said.
What is required today is for our hearts, which are hard like
stone, to melt. Even stones wither and become ordinary sand with
continuous exposure to rain and heat. Similarly, our hearts of
stone should melt, seeing people’s misery, so we will be prepared
to sacrifice. That is the gist of the conversation we had with
Bhagavan on the 21st of September.
September 17th, 2002
Only a witness This
happened on the 17th of September, 2002. Bhagavan seemed upset
with some fellow — maybe an administrator or a student or a
teacher. In this big organization, there will be disappointments
for Him — ways we might have failed to come up to His
expectations.
So He was a little bit upset and He looked at me and said
seriously, “When something is wrong with the wife, the husband is
responsible. When something is wrong with the children, it is the
mother’s mistake. If anything goes wrong with the students, the
Principal is responsible. If the Principal commits any mistake,
then the Vice-chancellor is responsible.”
All of them are seated there. Immediately the thought came to me,
if the Vice-chancellor commits a mistake, it must be the
Chancellor’s mistake. Who is the Chancellor? Baba! (Laughter) You
know what He said?
Swami immediately said, “If the Vice-chancellor commits any
mistake, it is not the mistake of the Chancellor. (Laughter) Why?
Here the Chancellor is only a witness. He is only a witness -- it
is not His mistake.”
How to control the Mind Then He told one chap, an accounting fellow, “You go, finish your
work and return with all the latest statements within one hour.”
The man left. I was watching the situation.
“Swami?”
“What?”
“You want him to go faster than the wind -- faster than wind?”
“Yes.”
“Oh-ho, Swami. Can he go faster than light? Is it possible?”
“Yes, why not?”
“Oh, I see.”
Then I thought I should be careful. I wanted to turn the mood.
“Swami, is there anything that moves faster than wind and light,
anything in the world? Light moves at the fastest rate, you know
that. Is there anything that moves faster than light?”
Swami said, “Yes, there is one thing.”
“One thing? What is it, Swami?”
“The mind,” He said.
“Swami, how?”
“If you want to go to New York, you are there right now.”
“Even before light can reach there?”
“Light may take time, but the mind is already there. So the mind
moves faster than wind and light”, Bhagavan said.
Then I said, “Swami, with vegamu (vegamu means speed) is mano
vegamu – the speed of the mind -- natural?”
“No, no, it is rogamu. It is disease. The mind that runs fast is
not a natural quality. It is an ailment. It is a disease.”
“Oh, I see, Swami.”
Then I said, Swami, “How do I control the speed of the mind? Can I
do it by yoga?”
And He said, “No, no, no. By following yoga, you will be suffering
from a new disease. Yoga gives you a new disease.”
“How do I control it, Swami? That is my question.”
Then Swami said, “All the methods you people follow, the yoga and
other spiritual practices to control the mind, to reduce the speed
of the mind, appear to give you some temporary, artificial
results. But the results that you get from these are not
cognisable and they are not lasting either. It’s like a millipede
or a centipede that moves forward — backwards, forward, and
backwards -- but stays in the same place.”
So, all of those spiritual practices are slow. They don’t help us
in any way. That’s what Bhagavan said.
“Swami, You said we should control our mind, but that it is not
possible by our spiritual practices. Why should I control my mind
first? By controlling my mind, how can I do my job? I must teach
my class. So how can a person do it? I have to do some marketing.
By controlling the mind, how can I be a businessman?”
And Swami said, “No, no, you are wrong.”
See how nicely He was explaining the subject. Please follow
carefully. This is not simply a dialogue or a drama. A little
explanation of the context is necessary to have complete
understanding of Sai’s way of teaching. Sai sayings, Sai ‘pearls’,
are passed down to us.
Swami said, “One example.”
“What, Swami?”
“The car is proceeding.”
“Mm-hmm.”
“The car is speeding up.”
“Good.”
“When you stop the car, the four tires come to a halt.”
“Yes.”
“Even then, you can switch on the lights and have the
air-conditioned facility inside. You can have your snacks; you can
play and you can talk. You can do all your work inside the car
even though the car is stopped. Understand? Similarly, though the
mind is under check - put under total control - or the speed of
the mind is reduced, you can still do your job. You can do your
activity just as we do while seated inside the car. Am I clear?”
That’s what Bhagavan said that time.
In my mind I was thinking, “Okay Swami, could You just give me one
more example?”
Bhagavan, the Mastermind, the perfect mind, the Divine mind, the
Indweller, the prompter, the leader, the Super mind said this,
“Look here, you are wearing ironed clothes, well washed and
ironed, white clothes.”
“Yes.”
“Suppose you begin to feel, ‘If I wear this white dress and go
outside, it will be spoiled. My dress will become dirty, so I will
not wear it.’ Is that how you think? No. You should wear your
dress, but at the same time see that it does not get dirty. You
should be careful in your movements. Don’t you do that? Similarly,
make use of the mind. Make use of the mind because the mind is
your instrument. The mind is God’s gift. For humanity, the mind is
the cause for bondage or for liberation: ”Manah Eva Manushyanam
Karanam Bandha Mokshayo.” So mind should be under check, but it
should be used properly.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
Next Swami said, “How is the mind today? The mind is running fast,
as if a thousand horses are driving it. That is the speed at which
the mind is running. That’s why we are mentally disturbed, why we
are mentally agitated. We need psychiatrists everyday because the
mind is not under our control. We have forgotten that the mind is
only our instrument. But we identify with the mind and suffer.”
That’s what Bhagavan has said.
“Swami, that was nice. I could understand.”
Bhagavan was in a good mood so I could ask a small question.
“Swami, you said it is necessary to control the mind.”
“Yes.”
“Who is to control the mind? Who is to control my mind?”
Then He said, “First you know that. If you know that, it will be
controlled.”
“Oh-ho.”
“First you know that mind should be controlled. Then you will
understand the controller who has to control it. You will know
this all by yourself. “
“Swami, should I control it?”
Swami said, “What is this ‘I control’? Chi! ‘I’ control the mind.
This ‘I’ is only the name and form. With this ‘I’-ness of name and
form, you cannot control anything because you are bound. You are
chained. You are limited by this ‘I’-ness or ego. So you have to
drop this ‘I’ control -- you have to drop it.”
“Well, Swami, should I drop it? Hmm. If I drop this ‘I’-ness, then
what will remain in me? Where am I, what am I and who am I? When
this ‘I’-ness is gone, what am I?
And Bhagavan said, “When the ‘I’-ness is gone, you are not the
mind; you are not the ego; but you are the Self. You are the
Self.”
“I see. What is the Self, Swami?”
“That is Atma. That is the spirit. That is consciousness. That is
Parameshti.”
We were talking about this yesterday. Parameshti is Divinity. It
is consciousness. It is the Self. It is the spirit. I was very
much frightened to think of dropping this ‘I’-ness because I am
happy with this ‘I’-ness. “I am so-and-so.” Uh huh. “I am this and
that.” Oh-ho, good. I can say what I am!
“But once this ‘I’-ness is gone, well then what will happen? It’s
all emptiness; it’s all a void?”
Then Bhagavan said, “Oh no, no, no, no. It’s only in that
emptiness, in that void, in that nothingness, in that silence, in
that lacuna that you experience the Self. You experience the
consciousness. You experience the spirit, the real, the Atma. That
will control the mind.”
“How, Swami, how?”
Swami said, “Once you go there, this disappears. When a policeman
is there, the thief will run away. Similarly, once the spirit is
there, the mind will say, ’Pah’ (Laughter) and will keep quiet.
When the cat is around, the rats go into their holes totally
terrified, horrified, completely frightened. In a similar way,
once the real spirit or the Self, or consciousness, or Parameshti
or Divinity or the Atma is felt, is experienced, is realized,
there will be no more ‘I’-ness. There will be no more psychology.
There is no more of intellect. There will be nothing whatsoever
because you are that supreme Self.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
The role of the intellect
“Swami, that was good. Now, what is the role of the intellect in
this process? Bhagavan, You are so kind -- You explained what the
Self is, what the Self can do, and the mind and its vagaries, its
whims, its fancies, and the troubles that the mind will create.
Now, what is the role of the intellect?”
Bhagavan said, “The intellect will take you towards the spirit.”
Something like Northwest Airlines or Trans World Airlines -- it
will take you from Chicago to Los Angeles. So similarly, it will
take you from this to that place, from the realm of the mind to
the realm of the spirit -- from the airport gate #1 of Hong Kong
to that New York Kennedy Airport of the spirit.
(Anil Kumar says to the audience, “Not that I’m partial to the
United States but it’s the only country I visited, so I’m giving
these examples. That’s all. Had I also been given the chance to
visit other countries, I would have used examples such as Moscow
and Leningrad enthusiastically. I pray for a chance someday. I
have every hope, you know. I’m not hopeless yet!)
“So, the role of the intellect is to guide you, to take you, to
transport you, to establish communion with the spirit. Up to now,
there has only been communication. No more communication; the
topic should be communion because communication is time-bound.
Communication is limited. Communication is between two. In
communion you become one with the two. So, the role of the
intellect is to establish this connecting link of communion
between the mind and the spirit.”
“Swami, only You can explain things like that.”
I have got this weakness where I cannot control my emotions,
particularly in appreciation. Sometimes when Bhagavan speaks, I
may look odd to the students, or ill- mannered to some of the
devotees, or uncultured to some others. But I am not under my own
control.
“Swami?”
“What?”
“Only You can explain like that.
“Manchadi -- good, good.”
When milk is boiling, some water has to be added, so it calms
down.
I can tell you, my friends, no one can explain these subtle things
in a simple way. Because we went around so many temples, we went
on so many pilgrimages, we heard the talks of so many gurus, now
we are confused, confounded, totally mad and vexed with
spirituality. So that topic has become a ‘God-forsaken’ topic. But
here is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who can explain the most
difficult things in a simple way, certain that we can understand
it. That is the purpose of the Avatar. The purpose of the Avatar
is to make complicated things simple, while the purpose of the
modern man is to make simple things complicated! Modern man
complicates things. The Avatar simplifies things. In such a simple
way, Bhagavan explained this.
September 16th, 2002
The compassion of Bhagavan
Bhagavan’s compassion is so deep that sometimes He goes out of His
way to bless people. He forgets His position and He comes down to
bless His devotees to any extent. Here is an incident narrated by
a student in the Divine presence on the 16th of September.
Bhagavan said that He would see an old lady while He was in
Bombay. This happened some time ago. Bhagavan went all the way to
see this old woman who was seriously ill at the time. Even though
she was lying in her bed, Bhagavan went out of His way to bless
her. To help her take padanamaskar, you won’t believe what He did.
He got a footstool from the drawing room and put His feet on it so
she could take padanamaskar. He placed both of His feet on the
footstool so that she would be able to touch His feet while she
was still lying on the bed. That is the compassion of Bhagavan.
Thereafter, she began to recover and she got well. After some
time, she came to Prashanti Nilayam with her three-year-old
grandson. Bhagavan blessed the grandchild and the grandma. The
student who was telling this story said: “I am the same one who
was blessed by Bhagavan at the age of three, who was carried by my
grandmother.” Then he went on telling more about his grandmother’s
miracle.
Sometime later, his grandmother fell sick once again when she was
in Bangalore. The doctors said she must be operated upon.
She refused, “No, you can’t do it. “
The doctors said, “Why not? You need this emergency operation.”
She said, “Until Bhagavan says it’s alright, I am not going to be
operated upon, okay?”
“How do you plan to contact Swami? You are bedridden. You are here
in Bangalore. How will you do it?”
“No, nothing doing. Contact Bhagavan on the phone.”
Immediately the boy called Bhagavan on the phone and got a reply.
It was Bhagavan’s voice saying, “Don’t worry. Why fear when I am
here? Ask your grandmother to have the operation. I will take care
of her. But give the receiver to her now. I want to talk to her.”
When the phone receiver was given to his grandmother, what
happened? Vibhuthi started coming out of it! (Laughter) This is an
exception. This a miracle I hadn’t heard of before -- vibhuthi
coming out of the phone receiver! That is Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba.
Before I say anything more, I should also let you know that
Bhagavan never speaks to anybody on the phone. There was no phone
connection physically. How could that old lady’s grandson speak to
Him on the phone? He is Divine. Without having to go anywhere,
without having to move to the other room to speak on the phone,
His Will, His thought, His grace must have done it. He called
there in the form of sound, in the form of conversation that could
be heard. He could send vibhuthi too. Her grandson, who is now in
the MBA class, narrated this miracle and all of us were very much
amazed to hear the story.
My friends, Bhagavan’s miracles are meant not merely for amusement
or entertainment, but for enlightenment. Sai miracles are for
enlightenment.
Spirit of sacrifice
What happened, what happened? The boy mentioned another miracle in
the Divine presence of Bhagavan on that same day in the hall. It
seemed that a boy was to come to Prashanti from Bombay, along with
the Youth Wing to give some sort of performance in front of Swami.
Unexpectedly, the boy could not come because he could not get any
more vacation days from his office. To get vacation time in a
private company is difficult. His vacation days were already
exhausted because he had had to attend to a close relation who was
hospitalised in Pune. So he had no vacation days left to come to
Prashanti Nilayam along with the other members of the Bombay Youth
Wing. He was helpless.
At that time another man, a Sai devotee working in the same
office, went to him and said, “I will work on your behalf. I will
work my six-hour duty and I will also do your work for six more
hours. Let’s go to our boss and convince him.”
The boss was very much surprised. Here is a person who was
prepared to work for six hours more in addition to his regular
work. This is what that boy said in the presence of Swami. This is
the spirit of sacrifice. If we submit our wills to Him
unconditionally, this is the art of transformation in the Divine
hands. This was the miracle mentioned by that boy on the 16th of
September.
Bhagavan is the master of the whole universe
The boy concluded his speech by mentioning one other miracle. It
was during a visit by Bhagavan to Bombay. I don’t know how many of
you have visited Dharmakshetra. Most of you have visited Bombay
because all the international flights take off from there --
British Airways or American Airlines, for example. Bhagavan was
there in Bombay. Large crowds came to have His Divine darshan and
to listen to His discourses everyday.
One evening, the whole Dharmakshetra was full of devotees all
round -- a sea of humanity, vast humanity – all heads, that’s all!
Not even an inch of space to move. All heads looked up. It was
very cloudy as it is now, with just a slight drizzle. Bhagavan’s
discourse was still planned. The convenor and the office bearers
of the Sathya Sai Organization of Dharmakshetra started shivering
in their shoes. What will happen to the public? What will happen
to the ladies who came with their children? How can we still have
Bhagavan’s discourse?
Then one gentleman said slowly, “Swami, why can’t we have your
discourse now instead of at five o’clock? Let us have it at four.”
Bhagavan said, “Since the announcement has already been made,
nothing doing. You keep quiet.”
So this man had no choice. He returned. Then what happened? Swami
opened His windows, looked at the sky full of dark clouds and
lightening. It could shower anytime.
And Bhagavan said, “That’s all.”
He waved His hand like this. Believe it or not, within ten minutes
it was clear. Everything - the whole sky was clear without any
clouds. And Bhagavan’s discourse went on as scheduled,
uninterrupted, without any disturbance. This miracle shows that
Bhagavan is the Master of the whole universe. He is the Master of
the five elements. He can control anything. This is what happened.
September 15th, 2002
“The giver is Bhagavan, so I want it.”
I’ll move on now to the 15th of September, 2002. (I am trying to
keep in sequential order.)
While Swami was sitting there that pleasant evening, He looked at
one boy, “Hmm, what class are you studying?”
The boy said, “Swami, the 11th class.”
“Come on.” He came. “Why did you not go home?”
“Swami, why should I go home?”
“Your father met with an accident. Why did you not go home?”
The boy said, “You did not ask me to go home, so I didn’t go.”
Then Swami smiled. “Because of your faith, I can tell you nothing
has happened to him -- just a small little accident. Everything
will be all right. Don’t worry,” Bhagavan said. And then
immediately Swami said, “This afternoon you got the phone call
from your mother telling you there was nothing to worry about.”
“Yes, Swami.”
“Why didn’t you tell Me? I know. I know what your mother told you
on the phone.”
This was a miracle to everybody there. Swami knew what had
happened and He also knew about the phone conversations between
the son and the mother.
Then Swami said, “Boy, you have strong faith. Do you want a chain
from me? Shall I give you a chain?”
He said, “Swami, yes I want a chain.” (Laughter)
“You ask your mother-in-law! She will give you. Why should I give
you? (Laughter) You ask your father. He will get it done for you.”
“No, no, Swami! I don’t want one from my mother-in-law or my
father. Since You are giving, I want to have it. The giver is
Bhagavan, so I want it, Swami.”
“Oh, I see.” He immediately materialized the chain and gave it to
that boy. Everybody was very, very happy.
September 14th, 2002
Self-respect
Now, I will take you to the 14th of September. Bhagavan made this
statement: “Never beg from anybody. Don’t be a beggar. Don’t ask
for anything. Things will come to you. If your thoughts are
selfless, if your motive is selfless, and if your activity is
charged by love, things will come to you. You don’t need to ask
for them. Self-respect has got to be maintained. Self-esteem is
very important.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
Bhagavan said, “Look at Me. I have not asked for anything. I have
not stretched My hand to anybody, but things come on their own.
Why? I am selfless. I am full of Love. If you are also like Me,
everything will be perfect and proper.”
And another thing He said, “Never be after show. Never be after
exhibitionism. Never be after publicity. Never be after vainglory.
Never be after self-aggrandizement. Never be after self-praise.”
My friends, you should excuse me for using so many words. All my
attempts are only a struggle to make myself clear to you.
Then He gave an example. Bhagavan went to Delhi sometime ago.
There, a beautiful car -- car number one, owned by the President
of the country -- was sent to receive Bhagavan at the airport with
the request and prayer that He could use this car wherever He
went. But you know what Bhagavan said? “Nothing doing. This is a
government car. This car belongs to the government. You are the
head of the government. You have no right to loan that car to Me.
I am not going to get into that car.” Instead, He got into a small
Morris, old model car. Why? Self-respect is more important than a
gorgeous car or the latest model car.
It is a lesson for all of us. It is better to stand on our own two
legs than ‘shine with borrowed feathers’ – that was the lesson of
Bhagavan.
Transformation
And then He said, talking to somebody there, “Look here, how many
people are inspired?”
There on the veranda was a boy.
“Anil Kumar, do you know him?”
“Yes Swami, I know him.”
“That boy is an engineer. His younger brother is also an engineer.
And both of them have settled here and are serving Swami. Their
parents are alone now in Bombay. Both the sons are here. But
seeing Swami’s service here, the parents are now taking care of
two orphan children. They have adopted two children. They are
taking care of them now, drawing inspiration from Swami. There is
transformation taking place all over the world.” That’s what
Bhagavan said.
Find happiness in doing
Then He asked the other boys what they were doing for Ganesh
Chaturthi or Vinayaka Chathurti -- the Ganesh Puja. All of you
know about that festival. They said, “Swami, we are doing this or
we are doing that.”
“Oh, very good.” He heard from everybody what they were doing —
the Primary School, the Higher Secondary School, the College, the
University -- everybody.
Finally He said, “Look here, my boys. I find happiness in doing,
not simply hearing, not simply saying. More than saying, more than
hearing, more than declaring -- what you do is more important.
Doing is more important than saying and declaring. My boys, I like
it if you tell Me what you have done. I like if you tell me, ‘This
thing I have done, Swami’ rather than, ‘I am going to do this or
we are planning that.’ That is all declaration. Do it and then
tell me about it.”
This is a lesson for all of us. The planning stage is not for
announcement. There is nothing great about scheming or planning.
Execution of the plan -- action is more important. That is the
lesson that was conveyed that evening.
Then He said, “You must have noticed that on the 3rd day after
Vinayaka Chaturthi, the boys will bring so many idols of Vinayaka
-- chariots from the different institutions. You must have
noticed, didn’t you?”
“Yes, yes.”
They were telling Swami, “Swami, we are bringing this.”
“Uh huh.”
“Swami, we are doing this, we are making this.”
“Very good.”
Bhagavan is an ideal parent also. He is so happy to hear from the
boys about what they are doing -- how they will come here with the
chariots so nicely decorated, with music, dance and all that.
All will have to reach here someday
But what is the message? “You may make any number of things at
your place, but all of them will have to reach here someday or
other.”
Here I want to explain what Swami said. “Someday or the other, all
ratha (ratha means ‘chariot’), all chariots, will have to come
here.” That’s what Swami said.
This statement has a spiritual inner significance for a man of
awareness. All the people may laugh, but Bhagavan’s outer words
are not merely for laughter. What is the message? For your
information, ratha is also the name given to the human body. The
human body is ratha — a chariot that moves. So, “All chariots will
have to reach here someday” means that all people will have to
come here someday. All roads lead to Rome. All rivers merge in the
ocean. So, all of you had to be here! That is what He conveyed.
(Whenever He conveys certain statements like this, I get these
electric shocks.)
“What a statement that is, Swami! Ah, oh, oh!” That is what I
think. When we read literature that has some scriptural
background, we can understand the true spirit behind His
utterances.
September 1st, 2002
God is everywhere
Now we go to the 1st of September: “Boys, how have you fared in
the examination?”
One 10th class boy got up and said, “I have written very well,
Swami.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, Swami, I have written well.”
“No -- you spoiled (answered incorrectly) two questions, right?”
“Yes, Swami.”
“I know that you have spoiled two questions.”
“Swami, I am sorry.”
Then He asked another boy, “How have you done today?”
“Very nicely, Swami.”
“Mhmm. Are you confident? How are your marks today?”
“100 percent.”
“Ah, good. But yesterday in your science subject, you did not do
well.”
“Ah yes, Swami.”
“I know, I know.”
Here is an important statement. Swami said, “Being here I watch
everywhere -- I watch everywhere. Moving here, I talk with My
devotees all over the world. My devotees are present everywhere. I
talk with them.” This only means God is omniscient, omnipotent,
and omnipresent. God is everywhere. It’s a nice statement He made
with depth and profundity, which needs our immediate attention.
Then there was a time when the boys staged a drama in front of
Swami in the College Auditorium. On the previous night, He called
me and said, “You go and see the rehearsals.”
I’ve got this if-you-want-to-call-it weakness, or virtue (if you
want to say that) or emotion (if you so prefer) of talking about
Bhagavan with any number of people. Yes, any number of times I
talk because I want to end my life speaking about Swami only. I
have no other desire, nothing. ‘Swami, please make me an effective
instrument in spreading Your message. In spreading Your mission,
please make me an instrument. I have no other desire.‘
So that day I had an appointment with some Spanish-speaking group
or some group. Since I was talking to them, I could not attend the
rehearsals. But to mark my attendance, I went there because I knew
that Swami would check the next morning. I didn’t want to take a
spiritual risk. So I went there at nine o’clock. They had already
completed two rehearsals by that time. But I said, “Come on boys,
redo it once again. Tomorrow Swami may ask me.” The boys love me
because I am quite free with them. All children come to me. You
see, I love them and they love me.
So I asked them and they said, “We don’t mind doing the rehearsal
once again.”
I advised. “You do this; you do that.” I made some suggestions
because the next day Swami might ask me.
Next morning Swami called a few of the drama boys, “Drama boys,
come on! Did Anil Kumar attend last night’s rehearsal?”
“Swami, he attended.”
“No, he only came at nine o’clock, by which time you had already
completed two rehearsals. He was giving some lecture somewhere. He
is always like that. So he was delayed. Did he give you any
suggestions?”
“Swami, he did.”
“How can he give suggestions? He was never an actor. He never
acted in any drama. How can he give suggestions? It’s all an act,
that’s all. Because he knows that I will check with you.”
(Laughter)
Then He said, “Hey actor, big actor -- come here.” I thought that
He was calling somebody else.
“How did you like the drama?”
“Ah, very nice, Swami.”
“Did you see it?”
“Very nice.”
“You went there at seven o’clock, right?”
“No Swami, I went at nine.”
He said, “I know, I know. Be ready. Later on today I will come and
see the drama.” That’s what Bhagavan said.
Now this is the serious point I want you to know. He called one
boy with a well-built personality — a hefty person.
“Boy, you played the role of Ravana. Ahbah! Character fitness very
good.” (Laughter)
And He called another boy. “You played the role of Hanuman, very
nice. But where is the tail? You don’t have a tail. Hanuman has a
tail.”
Then He called another boy. “Boy, you forgot your dialogues last
night.”
“I know.”
Then He called the music boys. “In song number three, you did not
pronounce properly.” And then He called me and said, “Did you
notice these mistakes?”
“Swami, I know that You are God. You know everything, so I don’t
need to know everything.” (Laughter)
“Hey, hey, smart one! Smart one, huh?” Then He smiled.
Then Swami said, to another boy, “How is your mother?”
And then He called another boy and said, “How is Raman?”
“Raman is my grandfather, Swami.”
“Oh yes, how is he?”
“Swami, he is not fine”
“That’s why I am asking.”
Then I put a question, “Swami, you asked about the children’s
grandfathers too? Oh, You were saying what happened last night in
the rehearsals at the College Auditorium. It is not just
surprising, but shocking.”
Then Swami said, “People know that I know everything. That’s why
they are coming here. People are coming to this place because they
know that I know everybody -- that I know their fathers and
grandfathers too. That’s why they come here. That is Divinity.”
That’s what Bhagavan said.
Then Bhagavan called one gentleman who did his MPhil Degree -
Master of Philosophy. One has to first get the MPhil degree to
enrol for the PhD or Doctoral program. He called him. “On the
MPhil you got an ‘O’ (for outstanding) grade, very good. Come on.”
He gave him prasadam. Then He looked at me. “Do you know that he
did his MPhil?”
“I didn’t know, Swami.”
Then he asked that fellow, “Did you tell me that you were doing
your MPhil?”
“No, Swami.”
“Did you get your results?”
“No, Swami.”
“I’m telling you -- you will get an ‘O’ grade tomorrow evening.”
Believe me, the next morning he got the results, and he got an ‘O’
grade on the MPhil Yes!
This body is a divine magnet
Then Swami mentioned, “Anil Kumar, did you notice that VIP - very
important person?”
If I said I that I noticed the VIP, then He will say, “Why have
you noticed him? You have come to see Me. Why are you looking at
him? “ (Laughter)
If I say I did not notice him, then He will say, “Are you
sleeping?” So what am I to say?
“Swami, I see people, but I don’t know who they are. (Laughter) I
don’t know whether he is a VIP or not. I see people, but I don’t
know them.”
“Oh ho! He is the Prime Minister from Sri Lanka. And he is going
to become President very soon.”
“Oh, Swami.”
Then Swami said, “You know, all big (important) people want to
come here. All big people -- heads of governments, all top people
-- want to be here. But they are waiting for My permission. They
want to be here.”
“Swami, since You have not permitted them to come, how are You
attracting them? Why are they attracted?”
Swami said, “Simple! This body is a Divine magnet. This body is a
Divine magnet that attracts everybody towards it. So all people
want to move to this place.”
Then Swami started recollecting His past, and suddenly He said,
“Anil Kumar, a long time ago I went to Delhi. I was staying with
one of our devotees. There were thousands of cars everywhere.”
“Oh Swami, yes, yes?”
“You know what happened? I received a memorandum — an appeal.”
“From whom, Swami?”
“From all the foreign ambassadors. It said:
‘Dear Beloved Bhagavan,
We have to attend our offices at nine-thirty. Car parking has
become a problem. We are not able to move our cars. We are not
able to reach our offices. We are always blocked, Swami. Will You
please move from here?’ “ (Laughter)
And Swami said, “In response to their prayers, I moved from that
place to another named, Talaktora. Talaktora is the place where
Swami moved in response to the prayers of these officials.
Then Swami said, “You know, I visited Kurukshetra.” In North India
there is a place named Kurukshetra.
“Well Swami, have you been there?”
“Yes, yes. There isn’t any place I haven’t been. I‘ve been
everywhere.”
“Kurukshetra, Swami?”
I ask more and more because I want to get information from God.
“Oh, You went to Kurukshetra?”
If you simply say, “Okay, Swami”, then there ends the matter. But
I want to know more.
Then Swami said, “When I went to Kurukshetra…”
Oh good, Swami, come on, yes? “At Kurukshetra, what happened?”
Then He went on to say. “Oh, it was a very narrow space. People
were everywhere, and cars were everywhere -- very narrow.”
“Swami, how did You manage?”
Do you know what happened? There is one state named Punjab here in
this country. All those who belong to this state are Punjabis.
Punjabis are well-built personalities. Yes, they can easily handle
six people of my stature. They are (eat) wheat people. It seems
that the Punjabis came and lifted Swami’s car (Laughter)! They
lifted the whole car and took Him straight to the dais! The dais
was so big that the car could be placed right on it.
And Swami said, “That was the crowd in those days.” He said that
He stayed in Punjab for fifteen days, giving discourses.
“Do MRS”
With this last story, I will close this evening’s session. Swami
was talking to boys the same day at the close of the day’s
program. He said, “Boy, what are you taking?”
“MSC, Swami.”
“After MSC?”
“Swami, whatever You say.”
“Will you do that?”
“Yes.”
“Do MRS.”
“MRS?”
“Mrs., Mrs. – meaning, get married! You are Mr. So-and-so. After
MSC, get MRS -- get a Mrs.”
“Oh, Swami, oh.”
some training to boys on how to face an interview
Then He said, “Okay boys, you know when you go and appear for an
interview, you should be very smart -- you should be very
intelligent. Do you think that I don’t know how interviews are
conducted? I know.” How informally He talks to the boys! That’s
very interesting.
And He told those boys, “Boys, look here. Forty years ago I gave
some training to boys on how to face an interview.”
“Oh Swami, did You?”
“Yes.”
“Were they selected?”
“They stood first in the interview. I will also give you fellows
training. But you have no common sense. You should be able to give
the correct answers.”
It seemed that one boy came back and said, “Swami, there at the
interview the people asked me a very embarrassing question.”
“What was the question?” Swami asked.
“Tell us how many steps you climbed up to reach this office. How
many steps are there?”
Who would count the number of steps? They are counting their
stars, thinking about whether they will be selected or not.
“I don’t know.”
But Swami said, “’I climbed up the number of steps equal to the
number I will walk down now.’ (Laughter) That’s the correct answer
he should have given.”
And then Swami said, “You know Indian train engines? Some of the
engines back then were still operated by charcoal. Of course, now
we have the latest engines. But in the past, the old types of
engines were charcoal-managed. When that engine goes forward, it
releases smoke from the top -- you must know that. There was one
fellow who faced this question in an interview: ‘When the train is
moving fast, in which direction does the smoke from the engine
chimney move?’ ”
Who would watch it? Swami said, “The answer is simple. What do you
say? You don’t know? As the train moves forward, the smoke will go
backward, very simple. You fellows have MSC and PhD, but all have
empty heads, you know. You have no common sense.” That’s what
Swami said.
It seems a fellow, out of mischief, put this question in an
interview: “Boy, here is an ink bottle in which a snake is
caught.”
Swami went around asking, “An ink bottle -- you know? It has a
narrow neck. A snake is inside. How can it come out? Is it
possible?”
“Swami, I don’t know.”
He answered, “It will come out the same way it got in!” (Laughter)
“So simple! So in order to be selected at interviews, you fellows
should make use of that term, ‘common sense’.”
Thank you very much. Sai Ram for this opportunity to be with you.
I wish you all a happy Dasara beginning tomorrow and let us also
listen to those sacred manthras. We may or may not understand
their meanings. Most of us don’t understand, but the sound has got
its own effect. Suddenly when you hear the lightening and thunder,
don’t you feel the shock? Similarly, the sound has got its own
effect. Manthras are sounds that purify the whole atmosphere,
purify the heart and sanctify the human life. It is difficult to
get all the priests gathered at one place to chant in the Divine
presence. So I’m sure it will be a happy and enjoyable Dasara.
Thank you very much.
Professor Anil Kumar closed his talk by singing the bhajan,
“Jaya Ho Jaya Ho Gopalana”.
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
Thank you very much, Sai Ram!
Source:
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/08.10.2002%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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