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Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 29
March 18, 2004
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 29
March 18th, 2004
Summary of the programs
by Sri Sathya Sai Primary School Children
OM…OM…OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
Swami’s teachers in heaven visit Parthi
The Sri Sathya Sai Primary School children arranged a program,
where all the teachers of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba who are in
heaven, come down to earth. They all met at one place and each one
shared his experiences with Baba. Once upon a time, Baba was their
student.
The famous Teachers
All these years, they were in heaven and said that they were very
bored there. They wanted to come back and spend time with their
beloved student, Sathya Sai Baba. They went on exchanging their
impressions, reminiscing about the past, recalling their
experiences with Him during His childhood days, telling about the
three places where he studied - Bukkapatnam, Kamalapuram and
Uravakonda.
As you know, the outstanding famous teachers were Mehboob Khan,
Subbannachari, Thammiraju, Manchiraju and Kondappa. Because Swami
repeatedly mentions these names, they are very very familiar to
Sai devotees. From the beginning, they were convinced of His
Divinity. They knew well that Baba was Bhagavan Himself, while
others could not know. For that reason, we have heard these great
names from Swami a number of times.
The Teachers’ experiences with Swami
As I already said, every teacher had his own experience.
Yesterday, I told you Mehboob Khan’s experience. It was Mehboob
Khan who asked his colleague to let Baba sit down so the teacher
could free himself from the chair to which he got himself stuck.
As a punishment, the teacher asked Baba to stand on a bench. When
Swami stood there, this man could not come out of his chair.
Mehboob Khan said to his colleague, “Tell Him to sit, then you
will be released from the chair.”
Then another teacher, Subbannachari shared his experience with his
colleagues. “How can I forget Sathya? How well He influenced our
family! The experiences we had in His company were innumerable. It
is impossible to forget Him.”
Subbanachari said, “One day I wanted to cane Sai Baba, so I told
Him to spread out His palm. What did I see on His palm? The
picture of Shirdi Sai Baba. I could not cane Him any more. I
experienced Sai Baba’s own Divinity.”
Then it was Thammiraju’s turn, another teacher of Sathya Sai Baba.
He shared his experience.
Thammiraju said, “How can I forget our old days? My son brought
home 20,000 rupees. We lived in a small house in a village. It
would be a problem to see that the money was not stolen.”
Then Thammiraju said, “Believe me, throughout the night, Baba
served as a watchman; thus the money was safe with us. Baba did
everything for our family, and He removed all of our difficulties.
Therefore, I wanted to see Him again, so I have come down from
heaven.”
Divine Will frees classmate from bad habit
Then the teacher Mehboob Khan identified another man from heaven
by the name of Mohinuddeen. Mohinuddeen happened to be a classmate
of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He, too, had passed away a long time back.
When Baba’s teachers made a holiday trip to earth, he wanted to
join them. Now Mehboob Khan asked Mohinuddeen, “Could you share
with us your experiences of Baba? What made you decide to come
here today? We thought that you were comfortable there in heaven!
Why did you come down?”
He said, “No! No! No! Without Sathya, heaven is boring. I, too,
have come down to see Him once again.”
Then Thammiraju and Mehboob Khan, along with other teachers asked
Mohinuddeen, “Would you please tell us how you were influenced by
Baba?”
Mohinuddeen started to speak, “Unfortunately, I became a victim to
drugs, mafia. I got addicted to morphine injections. Without this
morphine injection, I could no longer work. I became a slave to
this bad habit.”
Somebody asked, “Couldn’t you give up this bad habit?”
He said, “I wanted to, but I couldn’t. Without that morphine
injection, I could not be active. I could not discharge my
duties.”
Then someone else said, “All right, there is one Sathya Sai Baba.
He will be able to cure you.”
So, Mohinuddeen came to Sathya Sai Baba. He recognised His old
classmate.
“Oh Sathya, You remember that we were classmates? People say that
You are God and that You will cure any kind of disease. Would you
be able to cure me from this bad habit of taking morphine
injections? I am a morphine addict.“
Baba said, “Don’t worry, I will help you. Just stop taking
morphine from now on.”
He made a promise to Baba that he would not take another morphine
injection.
One day passed. The second day he was feeling pain. That day he
wanted to have another dose of the injection.
At that point, one of his friends came. “Look here, Mohinuddeen, I
have an extra packet of morphine; would you like to have it?”
Mohinuddeen said, “I am sorry. I already made a promise to Baba
that I would not take it. I don’t need it.”
He waited through that day. The next day was even more painful. He
prayed to Baba, “Please cure me from this bad habit. The third
night I had a very nice sleep. After that, I never had any desire
to go to these drugs again.” This is what Mohinuddeen said about
Swami saving him from that bad habit.
“It is Sai energy, the Divine, which will free us from our bad
habits. That’s how I was influenced,” said Mohinuddeen, who was
Baba’s classmate.
Teachers wonderstruck at the Golden Age
Now all the teachers, Thammiraju, Mehboob Khan, Manchiraju, etc.
started looking at the students seated there.
One of the teachers asked a student, “Where do you come from?”
The student got up and said, “Sir, I am from the Philippines.”
Then Thammiraju asked another boy, “Where do you come from?”
“I am from Singapore.”
Subannachari asked another boy, “Where do you come from?”
“I am from Dubai.”
Mehboob Khan asked some other student, “Where are you from?”
“I am from Darjeeling.”
Manchiraju asked another boy, “Where do you come from? “
“I am from the United States of America.”
All the teachers started wondering. After all, our boy Sathya is
attracting students today from all over the world! Isn’t that
fantastic! Isn’t that interesting!
Having called all the boys from all corners of the world, He must
be sitting somewhere. Let us find out where He is. Because we have
come all the way from Heaven to see Him, we should see Him where
He is.
Then Thammi Raju asked one boy from America, “Hey boy, why have
you come here from America? What do you get here?”
That boy, Jeffrey got up and said, “Sir, I have come from America
because I can learn Veda chanting here. It is not possible to
learn it elsewhere. This is a place where I could know something
of Indian culture and practise it to some extent. This is a place
where human values are stressed. Therefore, I have decided and
declare now - what is not found in India is not found anywhere in
the world.”
Then came another question from Mehboob Khan. He asked this boy
Jeffrey from America, “Would you please recite some Veda verses?
Let us hear.”
Freely, this boy started reciting slokas.
All the teachers were wonderstruck. Sathya of those days is a
grown man now, attracting boys from all over the world, making
them chant Veda, which is undreamt of.
Then Mehboob Khan said, “Is this not the Golden Age that Baba was
speaking about long back?”
All the other teachers said, “Yes, this is the Golden Age.”
Paralysis cured
Then a teacher asked one boy, “Boy, what made you come here and
join Swami’s school? You have come here from a far off place, from
thousands of miles. Why are you drawn here? “
The student answered like this, “Sir, I was influenced by my
teacher. My teacher suggested that I have my studies here in
Prasanthi Nilayam. You know, sir, what happened? My teacher’s
husband suffered from a paralytic attack. He went for treatment,
but there was no cure. He had heard of Sathya Sai Baba and he had
heard of the Super Speciality Hospital. However, my teacher’s
husband had no faith in Sathya Sai Baba.
“Somehow, my teacher persuaded him to come to Puttaparthi. He had
the darshan of Baba, but he could not get an interview. Baba gave
him vibuthi and asked him to take it for three months. This man
had no belief in Swami.
“So, Swami appeared to him in the dream: ‘Why don’t you follow My
command? Take this vibuthi for three months; you will be cured of
the paralysis problems.’ So, my teacher’s husbands started taking
small doses of vibuthi. He did this for seventy-one days. On that
day, he was totally cured of the paralytic stroke and its effects.
Therefore, my teacher directed me to come over here.”
Sai Love is wonderful!
Then another teacher asked some other boy, “You are living far
away from your parents. Don’t you miss them?”
The boy said, “No sir, I might be missing one physical mother; but
Swami showers on us the love of a thousand mothers. So, I don’t
miss my mother. Sai’s Love is wonderful!
Patience rewards
Then one of the teachers asked another boy, “Hey boy, how were you
brought here? Could you tell me one incident in your life with
Swami?“
“Yes sir, I will tell you. One of our friends did his MBA (Master
of Business Administration) here. After completing his studies, he
appeared for an interview. There were a number of contestants, and
they were not called for a long time; they were waiting in the
lounge, sitting on the sofa, for a very, very long time. After
three hours, they started calling some people and then stopped
again. This unnecessary waiting irritated everybody and everybody
left. But, my classmate who did his MBA stayed there. At 4:30 p.
m., he got a call, ‘Boy, come here.’ He went inside. The Managing
Director told him, ‘You are appointed now. You go.’”
“Sir, how can you appoint me? You have not interviewed me; you
have not put any questions to me? How did you select me?“
He said, “Boy, your patience is enough of a criterion for
selection. You are a student of Baba’s college where patience,
perseverance and purity have been emphasised, have been stressed.
Because you had the patience to wait until you were called is the
very reason why you are selected for the job.”
Swami cures pimples
Then one of the students said, “Sir, please note that we are from
different places, yet, we all understand that Sathya Sai Baba, God
can transform our lives. The kind of Love that He has showered
upon us is most invaluable. We have had wonderful experiences.”
Another student got up and said, “Sir, let me tell you an
experience. We had one student who had a problem. It happened to
be pimples on his face.
Baba called him and said, “What are they?“
“Swami, pimples.”
“Are they painful?”
”Yes.”
“Don’t worry, I will give you vibuthi.”
“He applied vibuthi and in three days all the pimples were gone.
Today the boy says, ‘My skin is smooth because of Bhagavan’s
vibuthi.’ That made me hold on to Him, cling on to Him till now.”
Swami's Love for His students
And then another boy said, “Sir, we are very happy to tell you
that we stay in the hostel, which is ultra modern, with so many
facilities. The hostel was constructed directly under the
supervision of Baba. It has big halls and fans, and Swami sends
food every day. We have no words to express our thanks to Swami.”
Then another boy said, “Sir, let us tell you how Swami is keen on
minute things. One day Swami came to our hostel. During the
construction process, He saw an iron rod protruding. Seeing this,
He called the engineer, ‘Look here, cut it; do not take any risks.
My boys stay in the hostel; they run for darshan. As they run,
this iron rod may hit them; so cut it immediately.’ That’s the
concern that Baba has for us. He views everything from different
angles and sees to it that we will not be put to trouble in any
way. That’s the Love that Bhagavan has for us.”
Then the teachers were talking among themselves. “What was
Puttaparthi in those days and what is Puttaparthi today? It is
unimaginable -- so many buildings, so much construction -- how
wonderful! It is really fulfilling to have been here this day.”
That is what all the teachers felt.
Swami's University recognised as a 'Center for Excellence'
Now, another student got up and said, “Sir, today the whole
country says that Sathya Sai education is the best form of
education.”
My friends, at this moment, I am conveying the hottest news to
you. I have come straight from the college. I have not even gone
home. You are the first to hear this from me.
The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning is recognised by
the University Grants Commission as a Centre for Excellence. The
University Grants Commission is going to fund research projects
under different schemes. The UGC (University Grants Commission) is
going to sanction thirty crores. That is not a small amount. I
have just come to know this.
The Sathya Sai University is declared as a Centre for Excellence
because, as you know, earlier the National Assessment and
Accreditation Committee (NAAC) judged this university as the best.
Based on that recommendation, the University Grants Commission
declared Sathya Sai University a Centre for Excellence. We are so
happy to hear that news, which I wanted to share with you; it is
the hottest and the latest ‘news’ bulletin.
True Education in Swami's University
Another boy said, “The kind of education we have here is a true
education, where the values from within are brought out. It is not
just the stuffing of information; it is one of transformation.”
Then another student said, “Sir, we are so glad to hear and see
the teachers of our God, Bhagavan. Let me tell you one thing. Here
we have students from all classes of society, coming from rich
families, poor families, all castes, all states and all countries.
This is a centre where the whole of humanity is represented. It is
not meant only for a cross section of society. It is universal in
its approach.”
Another boy said, “Here our character is moulded. Here we are
given the spirit to take ups-and- downs, humiliation, jubilation
and felicitation. They are all received in equipoise; they are all
received in equanimity. We are not elated and we are not
frustrated. The kind of attitude that Baba has developed within us
helps us to take bouquets and brick-bats alike.”
Student mends himself with 'talk less and work more'
Then Mehboob Khan asked the students, “Boys, will any of you tell
me how Baba’s teachings have helped you? Will anyone of you get up
and tell me?”
One student got up and said, “Sir, why not? All teachings of Baba
have helped us. But I will give you one simple example.”
The boy went on telling like this: “I am too talkative. My friends
make fun of me as a ‘chatterbox’ because I talk endlessly. One day
Baba told me, ‘Talk less and work more. If you talk less, your
memory power will increase.’ I was getting very poor marks, but
ever since I started practising Baba’s teachings, that I should
talk less and work more, I began getting 85% and 90% marks in the
examination. I benefited immediately, as soon as I began
practising Baba’s teachings.”
Where is the Teacher's Teacher?
All the teachers had put a volley of questions. Then one said,
“Yes, it is true that you are giving wonderful answers. Who taught
you all this? How could you develop this equanimity? How could you
consider tears of joy and sorrow equal? How can you face struggle
and strife in life at the same time?”
Then all of the boys with folded hands said, “Sir, it is all
because of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Here we have students from all
religions, from all castes.”
Now all the teachers began searching in the audience for Sathya
Sai Baba. They pointed their fingers and all of them turned to
Swami sitting on the chair. “Here He is; here He is!”
My friends, this idea was wonderfully conceived by the students.
The teachers of Baba from heaven came down in search of Him, to
recall their past association and memories. Then they told how
Swami influenced them. In the end, they found Him on the dais.
Everybody liked this program.
That ends the presentation made by students on 5 March 2004.
Second presentation by Primary School Children
Then there was a presentation by the Primary School children last
week on the 14 March 2004. How could they have prepared? How long
did it take and who guided them? We have no answer. All the
children were busy with examinations. When could they write the
script? When could they practise? When did they rehearse? How
could they do it so nicely in front of Swami?
Is this not enough proof to believe that Sathya Sai Baba is the
Inspirer, that Sathya Sai Baba is the Motivator, that Sathya Sai
Baba is the Indweller, that He is the Guide, Producer, Director
and Actor and what not? Therefore, students could present such a
nice program.
Episode of Nachiketa
The Primary School children put on these very interesting
programs. There were several episodes. The first one was the story
of a young boy, by the name of Nachiketa. Nachiketa went to his
father, who was offering all things in charity to many people. He
was just offering in charity to everybody.
Nachiketa said to his father, “Dad, to whom are you going to give
me?” (Laughter)
Out of disgust, his father said, “I will give you to the god of
death, Yama.”
The boy laughed, “Very good; it is a wonderful gift. Let me go
there.”
He goes to Yama, the god of death, who was ready to take him into
his kingdom. There was a dialogue between Yama and Nachiketa.
Nachiketa told him, “Oh lord, teach me the secret of life.”
Yama said, “No!”
“Sir, you must tell me.”
Then Yama said, “Boy, don’t insist on that. Instead, I will grant
you three boons. Ask for them.”
First boon: “Granted!”
Second boon: “Granted!”
Third boon: “Granted!”
He persisted, “Sir, I want to know the secret of life.” Nachiketa
was so insisting, persisting to know the secret of life.
Lord Yama, the god of death, wanted to divert his attention. “Hey
boy, I will give you the whole world; take care of it.”
“No sir, I don’t want it; I want to know the secret of life.”
“I will give you the whole wealth of life.”
“No sir, I want to know the secret of life.”
Nachiketa’s persistence helped him to learn the message of life,
the secret of life, from Yama the god of death.
That was enacted in front of Swami and Swami liked it very much.
A pundit and the boatman
The second episode staged by the Primary School children was this:
All of them sat on the ground; they were acting as if they were a
boat, a rowing boat. In the boat, there was a boatman and a
pundit, a scholar. Children were rowing the boat, and a scholar
and a boatman were in the boat. The boat was speeding ahead.
The scholar asked the boatman, “Hey boatman, what is the current
time?”
He said, “Sir, I have no watch. I do not know the time. I go by
the sunset and the sunrise; that’s all.”
The scholar said, “You have no sense of time! One third of your
life is wasted.” The boatman felt so sorry.
After some time, the pundit asked, “What is the latest news?”
The boatman said, “Sir, I am uneducated; I have no news with me.
It is enough that I earn my daily bread!”
The scholar said, “You don’t know time; you are not educated; you
don’t know how to read and write; two-thirds of your life is
wasted.”
The boat kept speeding ahead.
Then the scholar said, “Hey boy, do you know about God?“
The boatman said, “Sir, I have no time to think of God. I have no
idea.”
“Hey boy, you don’t know God. Your life is fully wasted! The
remaining one-third is also gone.”
The boat continued to speed ahead. Suddenly clouds appeared and it
started to rain. The boat was tossing on the surface of the water.
The boatman said, “Sir, we are in danger. Do you know how to
swim?“ (Laughter)
The scholar said, “I don’t know.”
“Well, your whole life is wasted now, because you are going to
die.” (Laughter) “You have the sense of time; you know the news;
you know everything about God, but you don’t know how to swim, so
you are going to die now.” (Laughter)
The boys enacted this and Swami laughed and laughed just as you
are doing now.
This episode tells us that, unless we know the fundamental
practical things in life, there is no use of book knowledge. There
is no use of all other knowledge, without knowing the art of life,
without knowing the art of survival. This was the first episode.
Adi Shankara and the crocodile
Then they depicted another episode from the life of Adi Shankara.
Adi Shankara decided to be a bachelor, a celibate for life.
Because he was an only son, his mother wanted him to get married
and settle in life. Adi Shankara wanted to find an escape from his
mother’s wish.
One day he went to the river. While he was taking a bath, a
crocodile caught hold of his foot and dragged his body into the
water. Adi Shankara shouted, “Mother, I am going to die; this
crocodile is dragging me into the river.”
The mother started crying, “Oh boy, I never thought that you would
be dying like this and so soon. I never thought there was a
crocodile in this river. How can I help you, my dear son?”
Adi Shankara said, “Amma, mother, you can help me. The crocodile
is telling me that if you don’t insist that I get married, this
crocodile will let me go; it will set me free.”
That mother, out of agony, said, “It is enough if you live. All
right, I grant your wish.”
The crocodile released him and Adi Shankara came out of the river.
The interpretation is that the river is life and the crocodile is
sensual pleasure. Sensual pleasure, the crocodile, drowns the feet
of Adishankara, the seeker and aspirant. Ultimately, the river of
life would have sunk him deeper, with no rescue and recovery.
So he said, “Mother, allow me to be a celibate.” This means,
“Please see that I am free from the worldly chains, worldly
shackles, and worldly bondage.”
When his mother granted the wish, the crocodile let him go. This
means that when we choose spiritual life, the crocodile of sensual
pleasure will not drag us into the water of life.
That was an episode so nicely enacted by the Primary School
children.
Swami and his grandfather
The third episode was that of Baba Himself: One child was lying on
a step.
Swami said, “Anil Kumar, what is he doing?”
“Swami, I find him sleeping on the floor.”
“Hey! Wake him up!”
“Swami, it is a drama; let us see!”
This young fellow was sleeping. While he did, another boy came and
touched the feet of this small boy and did namaskar.
The small boy played the role of Sathya Sai Baba. The other boy
who touched his feet and did namaskar played the role of his
grandfather, Kondama Raju.
Kondama Raju, the grandfather, knew that Sathya Sai Baba was God.
Though Baba had said, “Don’t touch my feet,” Kondama Raju used to
touch His feet in the early hours of the morning. He did this
without the knowledge of society, without the knowledge of the
inmates of the house. That way he would not be seen by anybody and
Baba could not refuse.
When Kondama Raju, Baba’s grandfather, distributed property to all
of his children, he said, “You take all my property, but I will
have as my due share Sathya Sai Baba. He will be with me.” This
episode was enacted in front of Swami.
They also sang nice songs. Swami was thrilled. They could also
recite the Vedas.
So, the presentation by the school children consisted of three
episodes: One of Nachiketa, one of Adi Shankara and one on the
life of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba Himself. The songs were nice,
the dances were excellent and the action was super. With that, the
program concluded.
Latest News
Before I leave you, let me tell you what happened yesterday
morning, which I confirmed with Swami this morning. Then you can
understand how latest you are. (Laughter)
Westerners always want to know the latest; they don’t want to go
by age-old information. They want the latest. That’s why you are
getting what you really deserve.
Swami’s compassion to a student
Yesterday you must have noticed that Swami’s car stopped in front
of some small boys when He left Sai Kulvant Hall to go to another
place before bhajans.
On enquiry, we came to know that Swami had been to an orphanage
where a few children stay. Among them, six were currently
appearing for tenth class public examinations in Kothacheruvu.
Swami went all the way there to bless them.
When He stopped His car as He left Kulvant Hall, He called those
boys, blessed them and said, “Go! Go! I am coming to your place.”
One boy said, “Swami, I am very frightened of the examination. I
am feeling tension right now.”
Swami said, “Don’t worry; you go there; I am coming.”
Having gone there Baba blessed everybody; He gave vibuthi and
said, “One boy said that he is afraid of the examination. Where is
that boy?”
That boy came. Swami looked deep in his eyes and said, “Boy, I
have come for you. Why fear when I am here. Don’t worry; you will
fare well in the examination.” Then He blessed him and He touched
him, the compassionate Lord. Then Swami returned.
I came to know about this this morning. Swami called me and said,
“Anil Kumar, you were not here yesterday afternoon, right!’ “
“Actually, Swami, I was very much here.”
“No! No! No! You are a bluff-master.” (Laughter)
“Swami, I was here. A few boys played the violin for You and You
heard them. Then You said, “Veda chanting again.”
“Aha! Yes!” He said.
I did not want to argue with Him and say, “Swami, why do You say
that I did not come? I came, etc.” I did not want to do that.
Instead of saying, “Swami, I came. Why do You say that I did not
come,” I preferred to put it this way. “Yesterday, there was a
violin program. You heard three songs and the fourth song was
discontinued.” Indirectly, this conveyed that I was very much
there. (Laughter)
I could not say, “Swami, You are wrong!” I did not want to put it
like that, so I put it nicely saying that I was there in an
indirect way.
“Aha! Yes! The music program. One fellow did not play well, so I
stopped him at that point.”
Then I thought that His mood was fine. (Laughter)
So I said, “It seems that yesterday You went to the orphanage and
gave special blessings to one of those boys.”
Swami said, “Yes! Among six of them, one of the boys was shivering
and full of tension, so I went all the way to him and blessed
him.”
“Swami, how compassionate You are!”
“Oh, don’t you know that this morning I also stopped the car and
enquired about him? Know that he did very well in the
examination.”
Baba is our strength! Baba is our hope! Baba instils courage in
every one of us, so we can face the challenges of life, the tests
and the turbulent waves in the ocean of life.
May Baba bless you!
Sai Ram
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/18.03.2004(E)central.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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