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Temple of Learning
Kodai
The Lord's Mountain Top
 Students
often say that Prasanthinilayam is Swami's Office, Brindavan is
His home, and Kodaikanal (Kodai) is His playground. In a manner of
speaking this is so, particularly where Kodaikanal is concerned,
for it is here that one gets a glimpse of the Sai of the forties,
especially where Divine Leelas are concerned. It all lasts
only for a short time but what extra-ordinary weeks they are for
those blessed to enjoy Divine proximity then!
Kodaikanal is a hill
station in South India. Located at an altitude of about 2500
metres, it is roughly three hundred and fifty kilometres to the
south-west of Madras[Chennai], and close to the ancient temple
cities of Madurai and Palani.
 Typically,
the Kodai trip starts soon after the Institute closes for the
summer. As soon as the party reaches Kodai, everyone is given a
kit with all toilet necessities -paste, brush, shaving cream, the
whole works. Apart from this, a warm sweater. Everything is taken
care of: food and bed. Arrangements are also made for laundry
service. Every other day, there would be a distribution of gifts -
watches, cameras, films, T-shirts, after-shave lotions, pens,
torches, calculators, just about anything one can imagine! One
sunny morning, Swami would suddenly send all the boys [despite
their protests] for a stroll along the Lake Shore, to enjoy a boat
ride, and to do some shopping; naturally, a generous pocket
allowance would also be most thoughtfully provided! Elders in
Swami's party are not exempt. And so on it goes, day after day,
till the dream suddenly ends! People may think that the Kodai trip
is a picnic. But for God, it is a training session, with every
incident packed with lessons. Here are glimpses of some of those
lessons.
 Rama
Navami is the festival that marks the advent of the Lord as Rama.
Many years, the festival occurs when Swami is in Kodai. On such
occasions, the festival becomes a truly memorable day for the
boys. On one such Rama Navami day, Swami materialised the pearl
necklace that Sita gifted to Hanuman at the time of Rama's
Coronation. Rama was distributing various gifts to members in the
assembly but somehow, He seemed to skip Hanuman. Sita was troubled
by this apparent indifference; how could such a loyal one like
Hanuman be overlooked on an occasion like this? So, she whispered
to Rama that Hanuman should not be forgotten. Rama whispered back
that Hanuman was way above material gifts. Sita was not quite
satisfied by this reply; so she took out a pearl necklace that she
was wearing and offered it to Hanuman. While receiving the
necklace, Hanuman gave it a suspicious look. He then placed the
necklace near one of his ears as if to check whether the
individual pearls were emitting some sound. He appeared to examine
every pearl in the necklace, and once in a while, he would bite a
pearl.
 Sita
was shocked by this behaviour. Was Hanuman proving that, after
all, he was a monkey? She demanded an explanation from Hanuman for
what he was doing. With great humility Hanuman replied, "Mother,
for me the Name of Rama is supreme. An object is worthless if it
does not resound with the Name of Rama. Some of these pearls are
not emitting the proper sound and so I am chewing them up." Sita
was neither convinced nor amused and tersely remarked, "Pearls do
not emit sound." Hanuman replied, "Everything that is saturated
with the Rama Principle will always chant the Name of Rama. Let me
demonstrate." So saying, Hanuman plucked a hair from his body and
offered it to Rama. When Sita took it near her ear, she could
clearly hear the chant of Rama's Name! This was the way Hanuman
proved to the world how intense true devotion really is.
After narrating the
story and materialising the necklace, Swami passed it around and
asked the boys to carefully examine it. Sure enough many pearls
had teeth marks! After everyone present there had had a look,
Swami made the necklace disappear!
 Swami
does not need security - after all, He is the One who protects the
whole world. Yet, as a matter of courtesy and protocol, He is
provided security by the Government of the State He is in. So it
is in Kodai also. One year, the Police Officers in charge of
Swami's security in Kodai requested Bhagavan Baba to visit a
particular spot as it was very beautiful. They said that there was
a nice lookout there, and Swami and His boys could have a good
picnic. To please the police, Swami agreed to the outing. A bus
was arranged and on a day when the weather was good, the party
headed for the lookout. The road was bad and the bus not exactly
in the best of condition. So the ride to the picnic spot was quite
rough and bumpy. When after a long and tiring journey the spot was
reached, it was anything but spectacular. The boys were visibly
disappointed but before they could give expression to their
feelings, Swami began lavishly praising the view. He complimented
the Police officers for their idea of this outing, expressed
appreciation about the arrangements made etc. Promptly, the boys
got the cue and they pitched in with their own expression of
thanks and gratitude. On return to the residence, Swami gave the
finishing touch by distributing gifts to the Officers. Later, He
privately told the boys, "These people Love Swami very much. May
be they did not choose the right spot for the visit but Swami is
not concerned with such details. He only looks at the Love. If you
take a worldly view, you will see mistakes, but if you have a
sacred view, then you will see only the Love part - the rest would
get eclipsed." One more lesson!
 Narayana
Seva is a regular feature of every Sai visit to Kodai. One such
Seva was organised on 6th May, 1999, to coincide with Easwaramma
Day. On that day, hundreds of poor people trekked to Sai Sruthi to
receive the blessings of the Lord in the shape of His Divine
darshan, food, and blankets. At the end of the service,
everyone was very happy but somehow, Swami alone seemed lost and
pensive. Suddenly He called for His car, softly whispered some
instruction to aides, and took off, no one knew to where. A couple
of hours later He returned, His face now beaming with joy.
Students gathered around Swami, curiosity writ large on their
faces. Swami noticed it, smiled, and said, "You all want to know
where Swami suddenly disappeared? I shall tell you. This morning
while people were receiving food and blankets, My mind was all the
time on people too old and sick to come here. They needed food,
clothes, and blankets, even more than those who came here. So I
arranged for a jeep to be loaded with all these things, and went
out looking for such people. Sure enough they were there in remote
places, sick, shivering, and starving. I located many such people,
and distributed blankets, etc. They were so happy and seeing them
happy, I too am filled with joy". Yes, the Lord is truly our
shepherd; why should we want?
 Once
in Kodai, the boys and the guests had sat down for lunch. There
was no dining table, and in true South Indian style, everyone was
seated on the floor. Baba was moving around, making kind enquiries
as usual, and supervising the serving. Brahmaarpanam had
not yet been chanted, and people had not started eating. As Swami
was gliding along, a small boy leaned across and wiped the ground
in front of him with his hands. Swami came to that boy and asked,
"Boy, what did you do just now?" The boy replied, "Swami, there
was some dust on the floor, and I wiped it with my hands so that
the place would be clean when you walked." Swami smiled and said,
"Good boy! While doing this service for Swami, your hands have
become dirty. Go and wash your hands before you eat."
Bhagavan did not
stop there. Temporarily setting aside His "luncheon darshan",
[if one might call it that!], He personally took the boy with Him
to a spot where there was a bucket containing water, and assisted
the boy in washing His hands. That is how loving the Lord is!
 Once,
Swami was returning from Kodaikanal to Bangalore. Up there in the
mountains it is always cool but down in the plains the heat is
scorching at midday, especially in the month of May, when Swami
was returning. In many places along the route, devotees had
gathered in groups to have a glimpse of Swami's car as it whizzed
by. Seeing a particularly large group in one spot, Swami asked the
driver to stop the car, and prepared to get down to give
darshan. It was so hot that the asphalt on the road was
literally bubbling in many spots. A devotee in Baba's party
hurriedly produced a pair of sandals. Bhagavan waved the slippers
aside and said, "If these people can wait for Me in the hot Sun
for hours, can I not walk for a few minutes without bothering
about the heat?"
 Swami
softly glided to the place where the devotees were gathered,
ignoring also the carpet laid out for Him to walk on. Behind Him
walked a couple of senior devotees, barefoot of course. They were
obviously finding the road unbearably hot, for they were almost
dancing as they went behind Baba. On reaching the spot where the
devotees were gathered, He went through the full routine - He took
letters, talked to a few, materialised Vibhuti for some, sat on
the chair provided for a couple of minutes, and then received
Aarathi. After that, He gently glided back to His car, with the
devotees escorting once more doing their dance! As Swami was about
to board the car, one of those who walked behind Him said, "Swami,
why did You not walk on the carpet? The road was so hot." Swami
asked, "Was the road very hot?" "Yes Swami, so hot that we could
not walk; in fact I have got blisters as result." So saying, the
devotee showed the blisters. Swami just smiled and replied, "Poor
thing! You found the road hot because you were immersed in
body-consciousness. I did not feel the heat because I was in Bliss
seeing the devotion of these people. I did not get any blisters.
See?" He raised His foot for the devotee to see, and there were no
blisters!
The stories are
endless and so are lessons taught. All of them are only
expressions of His limitless Love for students in particular and
humanity in general. On the whole, Kodai will always be an 'elevating'
experience for one and all!
Source: Radio Sai
E-Magazine, 1st November 2003
http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/05NOV01/TemplesLearning/Kodai.htm
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