Power of the Gayathri Mantra:This will be published for Bhagawan's 80th Birthday... Singapore....

[Guest guest]

This will be published for Bhagawan's 80th Birthday

Edition of our Bumper Issue of Sai Vahini.

I am sharing it with love.

Loving Sai Ram!

 

--- lalitha perera <lalitha...

 

"lalitha perera" <lalitha...

anandaperera

The Gayathri - Article for Sai Vahini

Publication in Singapore

Sat, 05 Nov 2005 14:34:45 +0800

-SBOI-

 

This is a story based on the power of the

Gayathri Mantra.My grand daughter Gayathri Gotami was born in

September 2003, the year Bhagawan Baba re-called

our whole family to the Sai fold.Our elder twin daughter, Yasodha,

was expecting her third child after three miscarriages. She was

not her normal, robust self.So my son-in-law, a Consultant Surgeon

in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in London, sent us an SOS. In April

of that year, Singapore was in the throes of the

SARS epidemic and we were having our fair share of anxiety.

Like all parents, my husband and I have always been the safety net

for our three children. It was decided that I go to England in

response to their appeal for help. My husband and I had been

listening regularly to the enchanting, lilting music and recitation

of the Gayathri mantra. It filled our home with peaceful

vibrations. So we felt our pregnant daughter ought to listen to it.

My husband took pains to record it and explain the deep meaning

behind the four lines.

That was how the Gayathri Mantra took a firm foothold

in a Buddhist home in England. My son-in-law is from a

staunch Buddhist background. Although he had heard and

started reading about Sai Baba, he was not fully convinced.

Nevertheless, the whole family began to enjoy the divine cadence of

the Mantra. It played on the lips of their 9- year-old daughter and

5-year-old son.

 

Near their home in Kingston-upon-Thames is the Sai Bhajan centre in

a hired Community Hall. A congregation of about 80 devotees of

diverse race and religion meet every Sunday morning for bhajans.

We were grateful to attend the bhajans there regularly.

 

Two months later my husband joined us in London and immediately set

about grooming us to sing bhajans at the Centre. The Gayathri Mantra

and Bhajans became our regular spiritual diet. Before my husband

returned to Singapore, he touched our daughter's stomach and

said, " You will have a daughter and you must name her Gayathri!"

This, as he revealed to us, was because he had earlier dreamt of the

name 'Gayathri' spelt out in a garland of white flowers.

My daughter rolled her eyes and said that it was too powerful a

name. Her husband was both taciturn and hesitant. Furthermore, they

reminded us that Gayathri is not a traditional Sinhala, Buddhist

name.

They would like to name the baby the way the other two children

were named i.e. by consulting the Buddhist Astrological Chart in Sri

Lanka. Anyway, everything seemed blissful and we were contented in

family togetherness. Medical scans soon pointed to the possibility

of a baby girl.

Unknown to us, Baba was setting in motion a completely

different scenario.

 

The little girl was born in a big pool of water with

her doctor father and a mid-wife in attendance.

My daughter had opted for this form of Hydro-birth, known

for its benefits. It was the easiest delivery compared to the other

two children. According to her husband it was a text-book case

without any complications.

 

Everything was beautiful and the infant girl, so angelic. Her deep,

dark-blue purple eyes reflected fathomless divine love for us as she

stared unblinkingly.

 

That week while mother and child were in hospital,

the rest of us attended the regular Sunday bhajan, full

of joy as we praised and thanked our Bhagawan Baba.

Then, just as my son-in-law did the Arathi for Baba the

fire alarm of the Community Centre, let out a hideous,

unceasing scream and the whole congregation was shaken

to bits. It was uncanny as this had never happened before.

 

Surely, it did not augur well. However, I left everything in Baba's

Hands consolidating my faith in Him.

Was it pure coincidence or an Omen of what was to follow?

 

What was to ensue was beyond our wildest dreams.

Doctors discovered that the baby had to udergo reno-corrective

surgery. The problem was that the anal opening was narrow and higher

than normal. The best time was to correct it in infancy. It was a

relatively straight forward operation according to Specialists. The

baby was only 4 days old then. However, Anaesthetic complications

even before surgery, resulted in a punctured lung endangering her

life. Immediately, the operation was abandoned. The baby was rushed

into ICU ( Intensive Care Unit ). Then, her other over-worked, tiny

lung collapsed. Consequently, she was fully paralysed on

the life-support system. Her heart stopped beating twice and she had

to be resuscitated.

All that her Surgeon father could do was to look on

helplessly as his colleagues battled to save his child.

Father and mother clung to each other for moral support and wept on

each other's shoulders in sheer desperation. Sleepless, bleary-eyed,

hungry, they struggled to keep afloat in the sea of suffering

that threatened to engulf and consume them.

Only ONE NAME - SAI RAM gave them hope as their baby

was on the brink of death. They did NOT forget to call

on Bhagawan Baba repeatedly. His Lighthouse of Love

shone profusely amidst the darkness. Our ever Compassionate Lord

lifted the young couple from their burning cauldron of pain, boosted

their courage to stand up and face life. HE was always there. HE

had never left them for a moment. His Divine Love was

their spiritual anaesthesia.

 

They never stopped reciting the Gayathri Mantra begging God to

return His child to them as they took turns to stand by the crib in

the ICU.

 

I was in-charge of their home and the other two children and kept

informed of all these dramatic happenings. Each time the phone rang,

my pulse galloped. My heart bled when my son-in-law described

the bleak scenario and cried, " Please pray to Baba Amma. Tell

Thaatha ( my husband ) to pray. I think we

are losing her. Only Bhagawan can help......."

 

I remember that night my son-in-law drove his two other children and

me to the hospital to have, probably, a last look at the baby as she

was in a critical condition. We recited the Gaythri Mantra,

non-stop, 108 times through the journey.

 

My daughter, meanwhile, had gained composure and strength as she

surrendered the baby to Baba.

Her faith in Him did NOT falter. The two other children

understood the gravity of the situation and cried in unison:

" Baba will help! "

" Let's pray to Baba!"

" He is God . He will save our sister."

" Please Baba, don't let her die "

 

As an adult I knew my faith had to be equally

innocent, egoless and unsullied as a child's.

At home we recited the Gayatri Manthra morning, noon and

night. We walked in the cold to school, chanting

the Gayathri Mantra every step we took, till we

reached the gates. We spent the nights huddled listening

to bhajans and taking turns to sing.

 

Neighbours of diverse cultures, living down the

road, rallied forth with a burst of love seldom

displayed in our materialistic world. There were many eager

hands to help. I was over-whelmed by their sincerity,

a lesson to behold as I hardly witness such a

surge of neighbourliness in Singapore. The devotees of

the Kingston Bhajan Centre were all alerted to "

Storm the Gates" of Heaven and pray for the baby's life.

One devotee taught me to repeat continuously "

Om, Sri Sai Sarva Roga Nivaarine Namah" ( Salutations to

the One Who frees us from all diseases. )

 

It was my eldest grand daughter's birthday - the

last thing in the minds of the parents who were

keeping vigil at the hospital. Instead the Irish

Catholic neighbours and an English Nanny gave her a

simple birthday party at their house to console her.

The Protestant English, the Iraqi, Chinese and

Hindu friends all chipped in to alleviate our pain.

 

The pressure of Hospital Admin formality made

the parents quickly name the baby Visakha, after a

most pious and ardent devotee and contemporary of the

Lord Buddha. Visakha had sacrificed her immense

wealth to propagate Dharma. Meanwhile my husband's uncle

sought the assistance of a learned astrolger Buddhist

priest in Sri Lanka for a propitious name. He came up

with several names, one being Gayathri. We were all

bowled over. Was it pure coincidence or the Divine Hand

at Play?

 

As Baby Visakha lay still in ICU, her eyes

closed, her tiny chest heaving up and down, her parents, now

convinced, softly kept calling her the auspicious name Gayathri.

So it was registered Gayathri Gotami. Slowly the

Miracle began to unfold. The baby opened her eyes. One

lung began to function. Then the other. As soon as

she was stable she was taken off the ventilator.

 

Gayathri was taken home . When she was a month

old , a Thanksgiving Bhajan was held to celebrate our

Love for Baba. The operation, which was not carried out

in the first instance, was scheduled three months

later.

 

Meanwhile, Gayathri's father had to perform,

twice daily, anal dilatations at home. This was to ease

her bowel movements as she was prone to severe

constipation. Such was Gayathri's karma, as she

would scream out in pain during the procedure. She was

fortunate to have her own personal doctor in her

father.

 

The postponed operation proper was performed

after I returned to Singapore. Initially all went well with this

operation but a couple of days later the wound became

infected.

This called for yet another operation to put the

Colostomy in place. My son-in-law took a month's

leave to care for Gayathri and to teach my daughter

how to change the Colostomy bag. My daughter recalls

how she could see the tiny instestine peeping out from

her tender stomach. What amazed her parents was that

during the four months Gayathri was on the

Colostomy, she was a cheerful baby.

 

After the second operation was healed, the

surgeons reversed the Colostomy in yet another operation.

Gyathri had already become a medical veteran in

the first year of her life.

 

In an Interview granted to my husband in August

2004, Bhagawan Baba revealed His Hand. When my husband

humbly thanked Him for saving Gayathri's life,

He acknowledged His Intervention. He shook His Head

and declared :

" Two doctors made two mistakes. But Bhagawan

will look after her! "

My husband was dumbfounded.

Yes, Baba is indeed Omnipresent, Omniscient and

Omnipotent.

 

Gayathri visited us in Singapore in December

2004.

Our miracle Baby had grown stronger, intelligent

and adorable, her intense eyes shining even brighter

with Divine Love.

For the first time she met her maternal

grandfather who gave her the name Gayathri, even before she

was born.

The family attended our three weekly Sai Bhajan

Centres for Thanksgiving.

 

In March, this year, my daughter's

long-cherished dream of seeing the LORD in person was granted. I

accompanied her for the Maha Shivarathri

Celebrations at Puttaparthi.

 

Gayathri turned two in September 2005.

Although petite, her intellectual ability is beyond her

age.

She is Bhagawan Baba's Gift of Love to us.

Such is the power of the Gayathri Manthra.

 

Sister Lalitha Perera