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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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