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  Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 16
February 18, 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 veranda at Prashanti Nilayam. These talks will continue.

ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG:
BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS

“Sai Pearls of Wisdom”
Part Sixteen


February 18th, 2003



OM… OM… OM…

Sai Ram to all of you.

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

We have been covering all the conversations of Bhagavan with students and teachers on the veranda of Prashanti Nilayam and Sai Kulwant Hall that occurred during the year 2001. If I am right, we have finished all the conversations for the year 2002 and we have completed a few months – June, July, November and so on, in 2001.

I really want to thank Bhagavan for making this possible. I never dreamt that this would happen. Many, many English readers have asked me for the English versions of Bhagavan’s conversations, having heard that they were published in the Telugu Sanathana Sarathi. I told them that we would look into the matter. Two and a half years have lapsed, and now it has happened. That is the reason why Swami says, “There is a correct time for things to happen and materialise.” So I congratulate you for being effective instruments in Bhagavan’s Hands and seeing this project through.

December 2001

Sit straight, you should not bend your back

Well, this refers to Dec. 2001. In the afternoon, as usual, Bhagavan walked over -- slowly, gently, majestically, smiling and finally sat in His chair. He looked at one boy sitting in the front. That boy sat with his back bent.

Immediately Swami said to him, “Sit straight! You should not bend your back. Sit straight. Why? The spinal column should facilitate circulation. If you bend like that, it will become a problem. Further, a bent spinal column leads to absence of memory. You young students should not lose your memory. Further, if the spinal column is injured in an accident, it is very serious, and sometimes will even lead to death. So the spinal column is very important and you have got to be very careful about it.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

Talk carefully - a slip of tongue can’t be retrieved

In addition Bhagavan said, “Boys, I saw you talking to each other. I want you to be very cautious when you speak. I want you to talk softly and sweetly. Don’t give scope for any untruth or any chance for criticism, accusation or attributing anything to someone else. No. So be very careful as you talk. And suppose you slip? You can wash your feet, but a slip of the tongue – once you slip, you cannot retrieve it. You cannot take it back. So you should be very careful.”

I am ready to run a race

And then when Swami looked around, His head turning in both directions, He saw an elderly man and said, “Boys, if you look at him, he is My age. See how he is bent, and how his hands and legs are almost swinging like the pendulum of a wall clock? See how he is; look at him. Do I look as old as my age? I don’t. Even now, I am ready to run a race. I have had no ailments or any diseases at any time. I have not applied any ointment. I have not taken any medicine.”

Swami takes the illness of devotees upon Himself

Please underline this next statement by Swami, as it is very important for Sai devotees all over the world:

”But I may look sick when I receive the sickness of a devotee. When I accept or take upon Myself the sickness of My devotee, I look sickly, but it is nothing whatsoever.”

It is in this context, Bhagavan made mention of a devotee named Biddala Kishtappa. He began talking about him. The meaning of biddala is ‘children’. Biddala Kishtappa had so many children, so many.

And Bhagavan started joking, “When Kishtappa went to the canteen with his children, it looked as though the elementary school teacher was going to the classroom along with the school children.”

That is how it looked. And this Kishtappa made his living by weaving; he was a weaver. He wove saris and sold them, from which he earned his livelihood. Then one day this Kishtappa, along with a number of his children, fell seriously sick, and Bhagavan took upon Himself the sickness of that man. Mind you, I am just quoting Bhagavan’s words. Everything written here is right from Bhagavan’s mouth -- nothing is imagination; there is no manipulation. I am telling you this so that you do not question me, so that you don’t doubt my statement. It’s straight from Bhagavan.

So, in order to save Kishtappa and his children, He took upon Himself the serious sickness of Kishtappa and did not take even a spoon of water for fifteen days.

There was one doctor by the name of Patel who gave tablets to Bhagavan as a cure for His sickness and Swami said, “I used to throw them away. I never took any tablets. So I may look sickly, but not because of My sickness. It is because of the sickness of My devotees, which I have taken upon Myself.”

I have never tasted any sweet

And then He also talked about His childhood days, when people thought He was mad and started giving Him medicines.

Bhagavan said, “Whenever anyone came close to me, I kept my mouth closed tightly.”

Here He remarked, “Once I close my mouth tightly, even King Kong cannot open it! It’s impossible.”

And speaking on Himself, He said, “I have never touched nor tasted any sweet, not even a candy. No. I have not tasted any peppermints or biscuits. You know the size of the idly I eat? “

And He said, “ Anil Kumar knows the size of the idly I eat”,

I know because I dined with Swami many times. His idly size is not even the size of the little finger. Even He said, “Very small size.”

The food I take contains not more than 40 calories

And here He remarked, “Somehow I am not very much interested in food. I go to the dining table because I entertain guests. They have to eat. So in order to give them company, I sit there. But I don’t like the food. I feel really disgusted with all the items served there. I am not interested. “

And further He said, “For the work I do, per the calculations of a scientist, I need 2000 calories a day; but the food I take does not contain more than 40 calories. How am I able to work? You see this? The whole ashram is maintained by Me. The entire International Sai Organization is taken care of by Me alone. All the work is managed single-handedly. You are witnessing it.”

That is what Baba said.

Then I said, “Swami, impossible! In our case, it is just the opposite. We have to eat a lot. It is not possible for us to eat like you. No, I am very sorry.”

And then Baba laughed and said, “I told you what I eat. I never told you to eat like Me. You eat in your own way. Don’t worry.”

And finally He said, “After all, I eat a small amount of ragi malt and a little groundnut chutney, whereas this Anil Kumar always wants pickles and hot spicy stuff, South Indian stuff.”

Then I said, “Swami, there at the dining table, my valour and my courage will be on display.”

Everybody joined in hearty laughter and Bhagavan said, “Look at My weight – for the last 60 years, it has been only 108 pounds.”

Like Ashtothara - Ashtothara is a prayer to God containing 108 Names - Swami’s weight is also 108 pounds.

My blood pressure is constant

And further He remarked, “My blood pressure is constant. It is never high or low. It never fluctuates even after a discourse. Usually after a discourse, it should shoot up; but it doesn’t. It is the same.”

Immediately I said, “Swami, those devotees who met You fifty years ago, when they come back, they always remark, ‘Look here, we have grown in age. We are old, but Baba is the same. He is the same and we feel exhausted’.”

And incidentally, I should also bring to your notice another thing that Bhagavan mentioned: “I don’t touch any fruit. I don’t take coconut water.”

Well my friends, can you show any human being on earth who can live like this, with these dietary habits: living on a spoon of ragi malt - without sweets, without fruits, without coconut water, without ice creams, without anything - and working twenty-four hours? Therefore, He is Divine and we are humans.

His body is divine: full of energy

A few years ago, there lived with Swami an elderly man, a saintly person named Swami Karunyananda. Some of you might have met him, Karunyananda, the ochre-robed man.

He always used to tell me, “Never mistake Swami’s body as a human body! No. His body is full of energy. His body is Divine, whereas our body is just human.”

So, never compare our body with His body. They are quite different.

Bhagavan is Doctor of doctors

Then Bhagavan turned to one teacher, an elderly person. He looked at him and said, “Umm. Take B-complex, starting tomorrow. You need B-Complex.”

That’s what Swami said.

The teacher said, “OK Swami, I will take B-complex beginning tomorrow.”

In the meantime, bhajan was about to begin. The doctors started rushing in – the doctors who sit in the front there on the veranda. They started rushing in.

And Swami called one doctor. “Come here. What does this old man need?”

The doctor looked at him and said, “Aaa… Swami, he should have B-complex.”

Smilingly, Baba immediately said, “Look here, did I not say that? He needs B-complex. ”

Bhagavan is the Doctor of doctors.

‘MRS’ after ‘MSc’

The next episode relates to Bhagavan’s conversation regarding students and their examinations.

One student said, “Swami, I will be completing MSc this March. Then what shall I do?”

(My friends, though I said this last time, I repeat it once again: the months I mentioned are referring to the months containing the article covering this matter in the Telugu Sanathana Sarathi. But the actual events occurred at other times, because the Sanathana Sarathi cannot allot all its pages to me. It is able to cover only two or three episodes each issue. Then it is able to cover other incidents in the next issue. That is the sequence. I think you understand my point.)

So this boy said, “Swami, I completed MSc. What shall I do now?“

Swami said, “Do MRS now.”

Nobody understood ‘MRS’.

The boy said, “MRS?”

Swami said, “MRS -- get married. That is what you should do.”

March 2001

Hard work and Divine grace


In the year 2001, towards the month of March I believe, the 10th class students, and 12th class students were facing final examinations. You may know that the 10th class and 12th class students here in our school come under the CBSE system – the Central Government system. They compete with students from all over India. And for your information, Swami’s higher secondary students - 10th and 12th class students - all of them, 100 % of them, get above 90%! You can verify this from the records. Along with their hard work, there is Divine Grace. They get their marks and Baba gives His Grace marks, so they naturally get above 90.

In Sai evaluation 90 percent is the passing mark

Then Swami started looking at the boys, “Umm. Some of you may get 80%.”

He was referring to that day’s paper, not the total. That day they had a physics examination. Swami was talking about the percentage of the marks on that paper. They answered the paper in the morning, but the papers had not been sent to Delhi yet. They had not yet been sent to the examiners. The examiners had not corrected them. However, Swami was talking about the marks. See that?

“Umm. In today’s paper, some of you may get above 80, but many will get between 60 and 70. Look here boys, My opinion is that you pass only if you get above 90.”

So, see that? That’s what He said.

“And if you get above 80, it’s tolerable. But less than that, I deem it a failure.” That’s what Swami said.

And He remarked, “If you get 70 percent, that means you committed 30 mistakes. What happened to those 30? Seventy are correct answers and 30 are wrong answers. So I don’t want you to commit so many mistakes.“

That’s what Bhagavan said.

Then He looked at another boy, “Boy, Umm…this morning you didn’t answer one question very well. Your answer to one question was not good; it was not satisfactory. You are a bit confused there.”

The boy was confused and he started shivering.

And then He looked at another boy and said, “Boy, how did you do this morning?“

“Swami, nicely. “

“No, no, no! You think you have done well, but not to the extent you have in mind.“

And then He suddenly called two boys by their names. “You two are going to get above 90 in today’s paper.“

When Swami speaks like that, what should our position be? As I said before, the papers were still to be sent to Delhi. They were still to be dispatched to the examiners. There was still time to evaluate them, but God was giving the marks today. Huh? That is the beauty. And so we started wondering.

Swami said, “Hey boys, though I am here, I look at your answers there. As you are writing in the examination hall, I see your papers there. Being seated here, I know everything.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

Perform the responsibilities

And then some postgraduate students came close to Swami and said, “Bhagavan, we want to stay with You, even after completing our studies. We want to stay with You. We want to serve You. Don’t ask us to leave. Keep us with You.”

They prayed like that.

Then Baba said, “You serve your parents.”

One student replied immediately. “No, Swami, our parents also want us to be here.“

And then one professor, sitting in the front remarked, “Swami, if anyone wants to be with You, he must have Your Divine Grace. It is not possible for everybody to be with You.”

Divine Grace or Divine will

My friends, this is true with everybody. Those of you who have been here over years, those of you who have been here a long time, would agree with me when I say that we are here because of His Grace only. Sometimes we may feel like running away from here -- we cannot!

I am no exception. Sometimes I feel dejected, depressed, frustrated, very tired, exhausted, and start recalling all the comforts I have had, my relatives and all that. So I feel like running away. The next morning, He gives me a half-smile that makes me feel fully satisfied. We don’t know anything; only He knows. So He has got His own method to keep people around Him, dancing. So I call it ‘His Divine Grace’, or we may say ‘His Divine Will’.

If anyone comes and says, “Anil Kumar, you are with Swami”, I say, “No, no, no. I am not with Swami. I am here in spite of me. I am here in spite of me, not because of me. He wanted me to be here. Therefore, I am here.”

Ashram life - I am not able to believe that I have completed 14 years here, because I am a free type of man - moving freely with everybody, smiling and talking, socialising and all that. Is it me or somebody else? So the final statement is that one requires His additional Grace in order to be here near Him. That was the comment by that professor.

You will get my grace if you obey Me

And Bhagavan gave an immediate reply: “You will get My Grace if you obey Me. You will get My Grace if you follow My Command.”

And Bhagavan gave an example: “The water transforms into vapour, settles in as clouds, then comes down in the form of rain.”

Is it not true?

Swami took that metaphor and began to explain: “Divine Grace is the rain. Water becoming vapour is your obedience to Swami, your loyalty to Swami. So this water becoming vapour and settling as a cloud is your obedience, your discipline and your sincerity in following Swami’s words. And the cool rain that comes down is My Grace.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

Then He added, “But…”

This is a word that we should be very careful of. This ‘but’ has everything. Here’s a simple example: “Swami, he’s a good boy. He’s a good boy, but only now and then…” So, in His usual style, Swami said ‘but’ here also.

“What, Swami? But what?”

“There are some clouds with dust -- they don’t make rain. The clouds with water droplets will come down in the form of rain. But the cloud with the smoke and the cloud with the fog will not give any rain. On the other hand, the cloud with water droplets will come to you in the form of rain. The clouds with water droplets are your decisions to follow Swami’s command. Then you will receive the wonderful rain of My Grace.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

Omniscience and omnipresence

Looking at the six hundred students there, He mentioned the names of four students -- Vipin, Sai Charan, Deepak and Vinay. He just mentioned four names. These boys got up. Who are they?

He looked at them and said, “You are the four boys sure to get 100 percent.”

The fellows immediately ran and fell at His Feet and took padanamaskar.

And then He said, “Today’s physics paper was easy. I know. Most of you got questions that were very well known to you”.

When Swami speaks like this about the students, their examination, their marks, calling them by their names, it is not only a revelation of Bhagavan’s omniscience and omnipresence, but it also strengthens our faith in Him, as He is revealing His Divinity to us.

Modern teachers do not know

Next, another episode contains Bhagavan’s references to the teachers. On the day before, He spoke about the students. And in this episode, He preferred to talk about the teachers because, you know, we should get our dose too.

And then He said, “Teachers, you should know how to ask questions in the classroom. You should not confuse the students. You should be careful how much time you give them to answer. A teacher should know what question to ask, how to ask it, and how much time should be given to answer it. But unfortunately, modern teachers don’t know these things.”

And then Bhagavan said, “Look here. See, I call one group of devotees and grant them an interview. I give them time. After that, I call the next group and give them some time. I give them some time, so that they will be able to think about what to pray to Swami. So, I call group after group, giving them some time to think. Similarly, My life is My Message. You should understand it. You should know what to ask and how to give time.”

And He said, “The postgraduate students will have oral examinations, viva voce exams, orals. You’ll have them. Your professors should know how to ask the questions.“

Beautiful, mysterious Divine style

While Swami was speaking, it so happened that some students were sitting behind Him, as it was not possible for everybody to sit facing Him. But the observation and illustration Swami chose to give them regarding sitting in the correct direction is very sharp and very apt. What did He say?

He did not say, “Oh boys, come and sit in front of Me.” He did not say that. If He said that, He would be like anyone of us here. But He is Divine. So He conveys His directions in a beautiful, mysterious, Divine style, you know.

What did He say?

He said, “In the good old days, there lived a scholar and every day this scholar gave a series of talks on the Bhagavad Gita. Usually many people would leave in the middle of the talks -- they wouldn’t stay until the end. But this scholar observed that one man was sitting until the end and shedding tears all through the discourse everyday. The scholar was very happy.”

“On the final day, the scholar called him and said, ‘Although so many people attend my talks, you are the only man who stays until the end. I am very happy, my boy. May I know what it is that interests you so much in the Gita?’ “

“That man spoke, ‘Oh dear sir, all these days I have not heard a single sloka you have explained, no. But you may ask me why I stayed until the end every day. Only one reason: In order to explain the Gita, Lord Krishna, who was the charioteer and sat in the front of the chariot, had to turn His head in the reverse direction to talk to Arjuna, who was standing behind him. There must have been some sprain or catch in Krishna’s neck. That useless fellow Arjuna, why should he trouble Krishna like that? He should have come to the front and listened to Krishna more decently. Why should he make Krishna turn like that? I didn’t like it.’”

Everybody understood. All the boys who were sitting behind immediately came and sat in front of Swami. That is an indirect way, with fun and frolic, of making a suggestion to people.

You should know how to manage

And then He looked at another boy. He is a student of the business management course.

He said, “Hey boy, you had orals this morning, viva voce. You didn’t answer properly. When they asked you one question, you gave so many answers. It is not proper. It’s like a preparation in Tamil Nadu called aviyal. Aviyal is an all-vegetable preparation made into a soup. So your answer is like aviyal, a mixture; it is not a straight answer.”

That boy was really very much shocked. He never expected that Swami would talk to him like that.

And then Bhagavan said, “You should also know how to escape nicely. Suppose people ask you some questions. If you do not know the answers, you should also manage nicely. You should know how to manage the situation.”

“Swami, how do we manage?”

Swami gave one example: “Suppose you have seen a thief going in this direction. After some time, another person comes and asks you, ‘Sir, have you seen the thief going this way?’ How should you answer? You should not say, ‘I have not seen.’ If you say that, you will be lying. If you say, ‘I have seen’, that will put you at risk, as he is a thief. He will finish you off later. He will take care of you next. So, you should find an escape. What is it?”

“‘Sir, those which have seen, cannot speak. That which can tell, has not seen.’ That fellow will get confused and leave.”

What is the meaning? ‘Those that have seen’: it means the eyes have seen him, but the eyes cannot speak. ‘That which can tell’: the mouth and tongue can speak, but cannot see. That’s what was meant.

“When you say like this, the other fellow will think, ‘Let me search for the thief myself instead of trying to understand this answer.’ Therefore, you should also have some logic or knack to get yourself free from inconvenient questions that you cannot answer.”

I am not affected by heat or cold

Last summer - or year before last, I believe - the summer was very, very hot. Swami stayed longer at Prashanti Nilayam. It was the year before last, 2001. He stayed here till the festival of Sri Rama Navami. Swami used to come out here around 2:30 PM, when it was so very hot. (Right now we are all experiencing Prashanti warming up.) So Swami stayed here till summer started.

I said, “Swami, it is very hot”.

Immediately He looked at me and said, “I am not affected by heat or cold. I am not wearing slippers. I am simply walking.”

Though the marble stone was very hot that summer, He just walked on it as usual. That’s what Bhagavan said.

“Even in winter, people may cover with blankets, and wear sweaters and gloves. No, I will not be like that because heat or cold do not affect Me.“

That’s what Bhagavan said.

“Further, I’ve gotten used to this summer, the hot summer. It won’t affect Me.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

The magnetic power of My feet is so high

And please note this point – it is very important for all devotees, in particular:

“The magnetic power of My Feet is very high. The gravitational force of the earth and the high rate of magnetic power in My Feet are drawn so close that sometimes I find it difficult even to walk. The Feet get themselves stuck to the earth sometimes, so I have to pull to walk, because this magnetic power and the gravitation are drawn towards each other. I find it difficult, so it is necessary for me to walk slowly. Most people don’t understand it.”

“And the second reason is this: I allowed this to happen, so that the devotees can have longer darshans. All can see Me. As I move more slowly, all can see Me. This is also to your advantage.”

And Swami said, “This hair is also highly magnetic. If I use some kind of iron brush, immediately the hair gets stuck to the brush because of the magnetic effect.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

We were all wondering -- magnetic power, hair being stuck to the iron brush, Feet being drawn by the earth? Well, these are things that are very amazing, quite unbelievable.

And there came an answer from Swami: “Look here, there is magnetic power in every one of you, not just in Me. There is a generator in everybody. Heat, light - everything is within you. Your memory is your computer. The energy is your generator. There is heat in your body. There is light in your eyes. There is nothing outside which is not there in you already.”

That is what He said.

Daily Practice

And finally, He told the students that they should not talk too much, that they should conserve energy so they would have more memory. He said that they should always join good company, and they should not waste energy. He explained that it is necessary to observe silence for some time, without entertaining useless thoughts, and that they should have minimum contacts. Also, they should not touch each other, because they lose their vibration. That’s what Swami said to all the boys that day, referring to certain things they have to practice in daily life.

Sarangadhara

In another episode, Bhagavan related the story of a person named Sarangadhara. Sarangadhara was the son of a king named Narendra, Raja Raja Narendra. Raja Raja Narendra was very fond of his son, Sarangadhara. But, as ill luck would have it, the father had two wives, and the second wife was very young. That young lady, named Chithrangi, developed a fascination for the boy. The second wife of the father, Chithrangi, was infatuated with this boy, as she herself was very young.

Sarangadhara, the son, said, “It is not proper on your part to be here. You are the second wife of my father. You are equal to my mother. Don’t entertain those ideas.”

He refused, but still that lady persisted and insisted. In those days, messages were sent by pigeons. All messages were tied to the legs of pigeons. They would fly and carry the message in those days. There was no FAX facility, no courier facility or cell phones -- just pigeon communication.

So one day, to collect a message, Sarangadhara had to go to the interior of the palace. Chithrangi took advantage of the situation. Finding that Sarangadhara was in the palace, she bolted the door. She bolted the door from inside, and started crying loudly. And when the king knocked on the door, she opened it and he saw her crying.

Chithrangi told the king, “Here is your son - useless fellow - who wanted to damage me, who wanted to molest me! This is very bad. Nobody could protect me.”

She told these tales against Sarangadhara. The poor father had no other alternative. He was very angry with his son, and ordered his soldiers to cut off his legs and hands immediately. Because he loved his son so much, the king could not bear to see the amputation process happening in front of him. So the king’s order was to be executed after taking the boy to the forest, not in the city.

Then the army chief, who had come into the bedroom, saw below the pillow of the queen’s bed, all these letters. He collected that bunch of letters that were written by Chithrangi to Sarangadhara, conveying her love to him.

Immediately he said to the king, “Oh King, your son is a noble man. He is one of perfect character. It is your second wife who has dishonoured him this way.”

So without delay, the king sent word, withdrawing his earlier order.

Therefore, you need to understand how careful you should be in life. One may be perfect, but yet may get into danger in some way or other, particularly in relation to women. That is what Swami told.

Then He made a remark: “A woman may say, ‘I want a husband like Rama’, but that woman should be like Sita. If you are like Sita, you will have a husband like Rama. But if you are like Surphanaka, who symbolises desire -- a Surphanaka, a monkey, a demon with lust -- how can that lady expect Rama as her husband? No, no, no.”

That’s what Bhagavan said.

Super Specialty Hospital

Then Swami made mention of certain things that happened in the Super Specialty Hospital that day, and how He had insisted a patient be operated upon, who had so many complications – an operation which took about eight hours. The Bhagavad Gita says, “Where there is Krishna, there is success.” Where there is Baba, there is bound to be success. Nothing is impossible in the life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

All people look young near Swami

Swami started asking everybody there, “What is your age? What is your age?” Some of them said, “Seventy, sixty, fifty, forty”, like that. But one common thing is that everyone looked ten to fifteen years younger than their actual age. Please believe me.

I don’t know. Or perhaps instead of saying, “I don’t know”, I should say, “Ask Baba only.” Most of the people here are not young, but they look young. Some students come and tell me - particularly when I wear shirts like this, “Sir, you look young.”

I call that fellow back. “Hey, that is not a compliment. You should say, ‘You are young.’ If you say, ‘You look young’, what does it mean? Are you saying that I am already old, and trying to look young? That is not a compliment.”

So, people look young near Swami. Why? It is because of Swami’s vibrations. There may be some younger boys appointed by Swami to work in this place. But most of those in the daily darshan and bhajans, and most of the people working here are very, very old people. Yes! Go to the bookstall; go to the canteen; go to the Central Trust office, the university and the general hospital. All of them are above seventy. But how are they able to work? At home, I don’t think they would be able to move. But here, they work. It is because of Swami’s Grace.

Long and active life

And then Swami mentioned, “All those that lived near Me had long ‘innings’ in their lives. They lived long and they left this world without any pain.“ ‘Just get me to the next aircraft’ – change, that’s all. Frankfurt to New York, that’s all. No problem at all.

Swami mentioned some people: Poojari Krishtappa, another man named Sheshagiri Rao, and a third man, Surraiya. They all served Swami most sincerely and lived very, very long lives. Yes, above ninety.

And Kasturi also had a long life. One day Swami just asked him to go to the hospital for a check-up. He went there for the check-up and the doctors asked him to take rest for some time.

Swami went there and asked, “How are you, Kasturi?”

“Fine, Swami.”

“If you are fine, then why are you in the hospital?”

“Just for a check-up, Swami, and to take rest.”

Swami returned to the Mandir and asked everything to be ready for the ‘final journey’. By the time all arrangements were made, the soul of Kasturi had left this planet -- what a nice death it was, without any ailment. See that?

And then we have one old man here, Gopal Rao, who is 94 years old; also Dr. Alreja, who is 85, and Dr. Budhwar, who is 90 and still working.

Swami brought Alreja back in to life

Dr. Alreja, well, he had a heart attack in Bombay 30 years ago, when Swami also happened to be there in Bombay. Alreja, because of his heart attack, had already left this world.

Swami went and shook him, “Hey, Alreja! Get up!” And He brought him back to life.

And today, though forty years have lapsed, we still find him quite active, working in the hospital. Until recently, he was walking all the way to the hospital. And he lives on the second floor here, climbing the steps there. So, living in God’s company gives us the needed energy.

A Priest Named Kamavadhani

There was a priest named Kamavadhani -- a great Sanskrit scholar actually, who celebrated one important festival here. He offered all sorts of worship to the idols. Kamavadhani was permitted to have Baba’s darshan in the morning and in the afternoon – the first man to go.

That day, after completing his ritual, he went and had padanamaskar, and he was about to return.

Swami said, “Kamavadhani, you don’t have to come this afternoon. Go and take rest.”

So that day he went home, had a sumptuous meal with curd and other delicious items, as it was a festival day, and then took rest -- and that became an ‘eternal rest’ -- without any problem. Bhagavan mentioned that episode to all of us.

When you know one thing is correct, support it

Bhagavan made mention of one important thing to the students:

“When you know one thing is correct, support it. When you know one thing is wrong, get out of it. Don’t support a man who does something wrong. If anyone commits a mistake, he is a sinner. The other person who supports him is a greater sinner. Therefore, if anyone is correct, support him; and if anyone is wrong, get away from him.”

He made a mention of two characters: Vibhishana of the Ramayana knew well that his brother Ravana was wrong. He left Ravana, so he became great. But in Mahabharata, Bheeshma knew that Kauravas were wrong; yet he did not leave them. He served them till the end. So, according to Bhagavan, Bheeshma, though being a scholar, is inferior to Vibhishana.

And if you are lucky enough, you will be able to hear the Great Message even in your childhood. You don’t have to wait until adolescence, no!

Prahlada heard the teaching while he was still in the womb of his mother. There he received sacred teachings. And because he received sacred teachings right from his childhood, Prahlada of Maha Bhagavata could face all his tests. He could swallow poison easily, could jump into the fire or the ocean, could allow himself to be bitten by scorpions and snakes, and could allow himself to be trampled under the feet of an elephant -- all because he happened to be the recipient of the Divine teachings right from his childhood.

That is what Bhagavan said.

Professor Anil Kumar closed the talk by singing the bhajan,

“Narayan Narayan Jai Jai Govinda hare…….”

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

Jai Bolo Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Ji Ki Jai!

 


Source: http://www.internety.com/saipearls/18.02.2003%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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