Love in action - Grama Seva 2004

[Guest guest]

Prof. Anil Kumar announcing the Grama Seva Plans on Oct 15

Things began moving rapidly. Soon people realized that much had already been

accomplished. God always works silently and most efficiently. Everything was

already in place for the Grama Seva to begin and no one was even aware of it. A

sufficient quantity of laddus had already been prepared for the initial

distribution. All the ingredients for the Prasadam preparation and the clothes

for distribution had already been procured and the infrastructure was well in

place even before the announcement was made!

The faculty and staff of the Institute quickly organised themselves for the

Seva. Steering and planning committees were formed. The boys and the staff from

the Puttaparthi and Brindavan College campuses as well as the Puttaparthi High

School students were divided into 6 groups with an A and a B section in each

group. Thus the A section of all the 6 groups would go for Grama Seva one day,

while the B section would go the following day. This not only provided a day of

rest, but also the boys staying back ensured that the Mandir activities, like

Veda chanting for the Dasara festival, leading the Bhajan singing in Sai

Kulwant Hall, and the afternoon programmes went on simultaneously and were not

affected at all!

Each group going for the Grama Seva had 4 trucks for transportation along with a

tractor for the heavier loads. All the 24 vehicles and 6 tractors were connected

through a mobile communication facility with each other and a 'home base' that

provided updates as well as kept track of the progress of each group. This

helped them anticipate and respond well to emergency situations like shortage

of clothes or Prasadam and respond to vehicle breakdowns. Each vehicle also had

a uniformed policeman to provide security to the convoy, and to have a salutary

effect by his presence and prevent any untoward incidents. In addition there

were 2 SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) used by two of the project coordinators,

assisted by a couple of students, who visited multiple sites between them to

co-ordinate the distribution better. This system of 32 vehicles was the

lifeline that helped the Grama Seva move forward smoothly and efficiently.

The convoy of vehicles loaded and ready to roll

A daily schedule was drawn up outlining the villages to be visited for the day

and allocating each of the 6 groups with the villages to be visited by them

based on the population and the number of houses in each village. An estimate

of the food to be loaded in each vehicle was thus arrived at from these figures

as well as the food for the students doing the distribution. This was rolled up

for all the vehicles to arrive at a "master production plan" for the number of

packets of Prasadam to be distributed each day. Excess food was also loaded for

contingencies and also to distribute to the poor people along the way. A sari

and a dhoti for each household in each village to be visited for the day, also

had to be planned for and loaded properly in each truck.

The Prasadam that was distributed to each person was a food packet of pulihora

or tamarind rice and a laddu, a sweet in the shape of a small ball. The girls

of the Anantapur campus had perhaps the more difficult task. They did most of

the 'behind the scenes' work like the rice packing and the laddu preparation.

The girls came up with a schedule so that they could start by early evening

working through the night in shifts, so that the food packets were ready for

loading into the trucks in the wee morning hours making the vehicle ready for

an 8:30 a.m. departure. They not only toiled through the night but also

attended both the morning and afternoon Darshan and Bhajans in Sai Kulwant

Hall. Theirs was truly a spectacular effort and we salute all of them.

In a day about 12 to 15 villages were covered by the 6 groups and the students

knocked at the doors of 5,000 homes to share Swami's Prasadam and love with the

residents. Thus over 20,000 packets of Prasadam were distributed each day. This

snippet of statistic is provided just to give an insight to the magnitude of

the project, but statistics don't tell the full story. The Grama Seva is

essentially a love story; a story of the compassion of our dear Lord for the

inhabitants of the villages, who depend only on Him.

Trying on the Tee-shirt under His loving gaze

On the morning of the 16th October there was another announcement. Swami said

that tee shirts and caps would be distributed to all the students and staff

members so that they could wear it and go for distribution the next day,

chanting the Sai Gayathri. The packets of tee shirts were brought out and

stacked in a pile in front of the verandah and a shirt was first shown to

Swami. The white coloured tee shirt had the Institute emblem embossed on the

front left side and the words LOVE ALL SERVE ALL on the back of the shirt, in

red. After looking at the shirt Swami called a student and asked him to try the

shirt on. The student immediately put the tee shirt on, over his regular white

shirt. It was a tight fit. Swami asked that a larger size shirt be brought,

personally inspected it to make sure it was now the right size and then gave it

to the student and asked him to put it on. When the shirt fit correctly, Swami

broke

into a broad smile of motherly affection and love. He sat on the verandah for a

long time that day listening to the Veda chanting and looking lovingly at all

the boys who were eager to begin His work the next day.

This is where we are going today

Generally the daily schedule used to follow a more or less set pattern. After

giving Darshan in the morning Swami would come to the verandah and would

generally ask a staff member where they were going for the day. The staff

members would be well prepared to brief Swami with maps and a list of villages

that they intended to visit that day. It was a real sight to see Swami pouring

over the maps along with the staff members and asking relevant questions to

make sure that nothing had been missed out. Swami would then give His Divine

Blessing for the day's distribution. At that point, two students would bring

the food out in buckets to be blessed by Bhagavan and the sanctified food

(Prasadam) was now ready for distribution!

Soon the boys scheduled to go that day, either section A or B, would leave Sai

Kulwant Hall and rush to put on their shoes and collect their hats etc. and

hurry to their designated trucks. The boys remaining in the Mandir would

continue with the Veda chanting so that the Mandir activities were not

interrupted.

Blessing the food for the days distribution

The trucks numbered 1 to 24, the 6 tractors (numbered T1 through T6) and the two

special vans, were lined up in a numerical sequence along the main road of the

Ashram starting from the Gopuram gate and extending up to and beyond Shanti

Bhavan. These trucks had already been loaded by the recently graduated alumni

in the wee hours of the morning and were all ready to go. A quick inventory was

taken to ensure that the truck had been stocked correctly, a quick headcount and

everything was ready to roll.

When everything was accounted for, the coordinator gave the signal and the

convoy started to go out slowly. As each truck reached Sai Kulwant Hall a

resounding chant of 'Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Babaji Ki Jai' rang out, and the

long convoy slowly wound out of the Ashram like a long snake. They did not go

far though. Only up to the Institute Hostel, where they made a 'pit' stop. This

is where they collect goodies for the students (usually biscuits, chips or

potato patties and a fruit) so thoughtfully provided by Mother Sai, and cans of

drinking water. A can of majiga, or spicy buttermilk, one for each truck, is

also loaded, and thus equipped, the convoy moves out bringing Swami's love to

the countryside!

Nagarsankirtan in Puttaparthi on Day

The first two days of the Grama Seva was concentrated around Puttaparthi and the

adjoining villages. October 17th, the day one of the distribution is centered on

Puttaparthi, up to and including the Chitravathi Road. The boys walk up in

Nagarsankeertan up to the village, starting around 10:00 a.m., followed by the

trucks with the food, after the end of the morning's programme of the first day

of the Saptaha Yagna in Sai Kulwant Hall. Puttaparthi is home for most of the

boys so they experience no real problems and the distribution moves fast.

The next day the action moved to the adjoining villages like Brahmanapalli,

Kovillaguttapalli, Gokulam and so on. In the morning, around 8 a.m., the

coordinators asked permission to leave so that they could start and finish the

distribution early. Swami remarks that all the villages are close by so where

is the need to hurry? Only then we realise that it being a Monday, Rahukalam

was from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. We had forgotten, but He had not! At 9:20 a.m.

Swami's blessing is obtained and the boys hurry out eager to get started and

come back in time for Swami's Dasara Discourse in the afternoon.

At each of these villages the roads have been washed clean and welcome banners

strung up. The washed roads are decorated with floral patterns and all the boys

are welcomed as if they were welcoming Swami Himself! The boys are touched. The

planning and coordination has been fine-tuned after 4 years of Grama Seva so

everything proceeds like clockwork without any hiccups. Some of the villages

have a sizeable Muslim population. So more often than not the response to our

"Sai Ram" is a "Salaam Alaikum". The Muslims also eagerly accept Swami's

Prasadam coming as it does during the month of Ramazan, the most holy month for

the Muslims. Truly, Swami's love knows no boundaries. After 2-3 hours almost

everyone is finished, tired from the unaccustomed labour in the Sun, but elated

also at having done His work satisfactorily.

>From now onwards the distribution has to move further afield. The trucks have

now to take the road less travelled, most of the time over dirt tracks, to

reach remote villages and distribute under trying conditions. I decide to

hitch-hike a ride on one of the trucks and accompany the boys so I could take

some photographs and experience the Seva first hand. Please join me on my

journey……

October 19th, I join Group 3 which is distributing to Venkatagaripalli village.

It is a big village with a sizeable population, so half the group (i.e. 2 out

of the 4 trucks) is assigned to this one single village. My truck is mostly

full of Brindavan boys with some Brindavan teachers. We leave a little after 9

a.m., as the village is quite near. We soon take a turn off the main road, on

the diversion to the village. The villagers walking along the dirt track all

say "Sai Ram" to us as we lurch along. The boys all call back "Sai Ram" in

unison. Soon the truck in front of us comes to a stop rather suddenly and we

wonder if we have reached the village. We peer out but no huts are seen. A

teacher gets down hurriedly from the lead truck and is seen negotiating with a

village woman. He buys a basketful of freshly plucked guavas. He must have been

a good negotiator for he gets it relatively cheap at Rs 100.00. All the boys are

happy at the prospect

of eating some garden-fresh guavas.

Being welcomed with bhajans at Venkatagaripalli village

In a few moments we reach the village to a heartwarming sight. The village is

well decorated with buntings and pictures of Bhagavan. The streets have been

nicely cleaned. And all the villagers are waiting to welcome us at the village

entrance and start singing Sai Bhajans as soon as our buses are sighted. The

boys all hop off the bus and join the singing. A couple of teachers in the

meantime go ahead to scout the village and plan the distribution strategy.

After we sing Bhajans for a few minutes, the villagers do Arathi to Bhagavan's

picture in the front of the bus. And now we are ready to start the

distribution.

The village "main road" is rather long and houses and huts are laid out on both

sides. The road is quite narrow and the trucks would not be able to negotiate

it easily. So the thoughtful villagers provide us with a bullock cart to help

us transport the Prasadam packets from the trucks at the village entrance up to

the current distribution point. One of the more enterprising boys hops onto the

cart and takes charge of the bullock cart loading operation.

The boys break up into sub-groups. About 8-10 boys are assigned to a teacher and

the distribution area is well coordinated between the sub-groups so that there

is no duplication or overlap. The 8-10 boys in each group all have different

tasks. 2 boys carry the crate containing rice Prasadam packets. One or two boys

carry the plastic bags of laddus. One boy carries the bundle of dhotis and

another boy carries the bundle of saris. The remaining boys and the teachers

act as Swami's messengers to hand over His Prasadam to the villagers.

The modus operandi of the distribution is quite simple. We knock at a house and

politely say, "Sai Ram" with folded hands. Then we tell the villagers that

Swami from Puttaparthi has sent some Prasadam for them. We ask them for the

number of inmates in each house and hand over the requisite food packets and

laddus to them. Some of them accept it in their hands. Some nip back in to get

a plate and some ladies accept the food in the folds of their sari in the rural

fashion. Quite a few of them touch the food to their eyes in a gesture of

respect to show their thanks at Swami's immense grace. The teacher or

designated elder then hands over the sari and dhoti to the elder in the house.

A small picture of Swami is also given to each household.

A bullock cart pressed into service in Venkatagaripalli village

When the crates of food or stack of clothes is getting low, the boys act as

runners and rush up to the bullock cart which is somewhere along the main road

(so as to be equally accessible to all groups) to get replenishments. It is

demanding work and the boys are soon sweating from the morning sun, but the

distribution is proceeding fairly fast. They get a break when the bullock cart

has to go back to the truck to get additional supplies.

Whenever we come to a fork in the road, the lead group decides to take a path

and posts a lookout to inform the groups following them as to which areas they

are going to cover. A teacher brings up the rear (behind all the groups) to

ensure that no house has been left out.

I am busy taking pictures of the village scene and the distribution but soon

have a sizeable crowd of small kids following me. I now feel like the Pied

Piper of Hamelin, with the kids going wherever I lead. I find out from them

that their village school has closed for the day as we were coming down to

distribute Prasadam, so the whole village wears a festive look. The kids all

clamor for a photograph, so I oblige them. I then ask them to go and wait in

their respective houses to receive the Prasadam when we come to their doorstep.

For most of the students this is their first visit to a village. Some of them

are surprised at the number of people living in such small houses and under

such spartan conditions. But all of them appreciate the villagers' warmth,

their spontaneous simplicity and devotion to Bhagavan.

The village itself is very clean and as is true of all villages in India, is

full of domesticated animals that roam freely everywhere. Goats, sheep, pigs,

cows, hens, stray dogs that growl menacingly and even monkeys, all are well

represented. A goat that has just had a couple day old kids catch the students'

fancy and they cuddle the small little goat kids that can barely stand on their

four legs.

In about a couple of hours all the groups that have spread out to distribute the

food are almost done and we wend our way back to the main entrance of the

village and wait for everyone to join us. After everyone is gathered, the

villagers want to do Arathi and thus show their thanks to Swami. We again

gather around the truck which has a picture of Swami attached to the windshield

and the village elders do Arathi. Slowly we say our good-byes to the villagers

and the two trucks move out. About a kilometre from the village we stop in the

shade of a large tree as we are famished and we tuck into the refreshments and

the buttermilk that has been provided. And of course, the fresh guavas.

On October 20th, I join Group 1, and am assigned to Vehicle number 3 that is

headed to Satarlapalli village, a village at a distance of just over 45 kms as

the crow flies. But the road winds over really difficult terrain so it is

estimated that it could take 2-3 hours to reach.

In the morning the coordinators again ask permission to leave early. Swami says

"Yes" and so we leave around 8:45 a.m. Group 1 consists of Vehicles 1 through 4

and the assigned tractor (T1). Right outside the Ashram, near the Kalyana

Mantapam, Vehicle 1 develops a puncture. It takes a while to get the puncture

fixed, as there was a power failure so we could not get the tire inflated.

Finally around 10:00 a.m. we are ready to roll. We finally realised that we

need to act according to His will and not hurry up so we could be back in time

to listen to the afternoon Discourse.

After about 20 kms, while we are in the rural countryside, we had to wait again

as Vehicle 2 had an accelerator cable ruptured right in the middle of nowhere.

It takes about a half hour but some of the boys manage to repair it with some

makeshift wires that are available. The driver of the truck is amazed at their

versatility.

I am in a truck with High school boys and a couple of their teachers. The young

boys are beginning to feel tired as it is not exactly pleasant travelling in a

pickup truck along bumpy roads. At this one of the teachers suggest we play a

game. My ears immediately perk up. Memories of many journeys done in my youth

come to mind where we played idle games just to "pass the time". I wonder what

kind of games will be played by the boys from the High School, where

God-centered education and character building is given so much premium. I was

not to be disappointed. The teacher announces that it is going to be a memory

game. He said that I will say, "I love Swami". The next boy will add to this,

"I love Swami and Jesus". And so on it goes, with each boy adding His favourite

name of God or a Holy teacher. The trick is to remember the right sequence of

names - if you get the sequence wrong then you are out of the game. What a

revelation!! A game consisting of names of the Gods just to pass the time. Soon

everyone is engrossed, and it becomes quite complex after 8-10 names are added.

And of course, lots of fun. Attention is thus easily diverted from the aching

body and before we know it we are at the crossroads that would takes us the

last kilometre in to Satarlapalli village.

Stopping for refreshments near Satarlapalli village

We wait at the crossroad till all the trucks catch up. It is already 11:30 in

the morning so we decide to partake of some of the goodies that Swami has sent.

That and the glass of buttermilk refresh everyone and all are now keen to start.

While truck 3 goes to Satarlapalli village, the other trucks move on to their

assigned villages 3-4 kms further down the road.

We take a diversion and one kilometre of bone-jarring ride on a goat track

brings us to this remote, isolated village. We pull up and soon the entire

village gathers around the truck. The boys quickly form a line while the group

co-ordinator talks to the village head. We go in a Nagarsankeertan from the

truck up to the Rama temple in the centre of the village. It has been our

experience that no matter how poor and destitute the village is, it still has a

neatly maintained temple in the village square. That is why Swami always says

that the true Bharatiya culture is to be found only in India's villages.

All the village kids join us in the Nagarsankeertan and clap wildly to the

Bhajans in unrestrained excitement that is the province of the young and truly

innocent. The Nagarsankeertan winds its way up to the temple along a very

narrow cobbled pathway, avoiding cow and goat droppings and other such items

strewn all over the road. At the Rama temple we stop and continue singing

Bhajans till it seems all the inhabitants of the village join us. The leader of

our group then announces that we have come from Puttaparthi to distribute

Swami's Prasadam and request everyone to wait in their respective homes and

that we will come and deliver at their doorstep.

Soon we get organized into 4 small groups and the area of distribution for each

group is quickly earmarked after studying the layout of the village. Very soon

the distribution is in full swing and the 4 small groups spread quickly in all

the 4 directions. I have a difficult time tracking down the next group after

finishing taking pictures of one group as they have moved so quickly.

As in the other village I am again surrounded by the kids. These kids are very

friendly and take me to the back of the village and proudly show me their

village well which is full of water. This is welcome as all the wells in the

village which we visited the day before were dry. I take some pictures and the

kids are very happy and delighted, just like a tour guide showing off the Taj

Mahal to some gawking tourists.

Distributing sarees in Satarlapalli village to people from nearby hamlets

Again another two hours of non-stop distribution and we are done. But we find a

number of ladies and gents waiting and clamouring for the Prasadam and clothes

right beside our truck. Enquiries reveal that they are residents of hamlets

that are close to the villag e. As these people are really poor, we seat them

all next to the truck, the 30 odd ladies in front and the 10 or so gents

behind. We take a quick inventory and feel that the Prasadam and the clothes

would suffice but just barely. We give one sari to each lady and a dhoti to a

gentleman, apart from a packet of food and a laddu each. By Swami's grace, the

number of saris is just exactly enough to give to all the women and not one

extra sari is left over! Everyone is wreathed in smiles and very happy to

have received these tangible gifts of Bhagavan's love.

In Kodapaganipalli village

We all board the truck and it is time to leave. A pained and embarrassed silence

follows, similar to what we experience before the imminent departure of our

loved ones at the railway station or an airport. The innocent villagers do not

know how to express their thanks to Swami and stand quietly shuffling their

legs. The young kids stare at us with their large eyes that say it all.

Suddenly on an impulse, I lean out of the truck and extend my hand to the

nearest kid and say "Sai Ram". He immediately takes it and pumps it up and down

vigorously yelling "Sai Ram, Sai Ram" at the top of his voice. All the kids now

join in and want to shake hands. A little physical touch that enables them to

give us a proper send-off. Even the adults hanging shyly in the back, now come

forward and jostle each other in their eagerness to shake hands. By now all the

students are also hanging out of the truck shaking hands with the villagers.

Slowly the truck starts

and we leave the village with about 40 kids running behind us shouting "Sai Ram"

and waving their hands wildly.

Accepting prasdam with reverence in Yerrapalli village

We take the dirt road back and go ahead to join the other trucks in the group

that are 3-4 kms down the road. They are still not done with their distribution

and we wait for about a half-hour for them to finish. We compare notes and find

that they had got all the little children into the village school and had

taught them the Sai Gayathri.

Distributing in a remote house in Cherlopalli village

Soon it is time to go home. We decide to continue ahead and loop back to

Puttaparthi from a small town called Pedapalli, rather than retrace our steps

back the same way we had come. The road is bumpy but motorable the drivers

assure us. We pass through some 3 kms of forest land that is very tranquil and

soon reach the town and are back home at around 3:45 p.m. A quick shower and it

is immediately to the Mandir and I am gratified to find that Swami's Divine

Discourse had not started yet.

Distributing in Kotalapalli village

And the list goes on. Everyday we visit different villages to different

experiences and memories that would last a lifetime. Villages like Cherlopalli,

Chendrayanipalli, Kottalapalli, Buchaiahgaripalli and Venugopalapuram.

Arathi at Cherlopalli village

So many memories flood the mind and will remain in the heart for a lifetime. For

example, when we were the last bus finishing the distribution in Cherlopalli

village and running about 15 minutes behind the others, the villagers ask us to

visit their village temple for Arathi. We decide to oblige and trudge back up

wearily about half a kilometer to the top of the hill and what did we find - a

bigger-than-life size picture of Bhagavan in a temple devoted solely to Swami.

Or on the way to Yerrapalli village, when we stop for snacks under a railway

bridge and all the students climb up the embankment up to the railway line so I

could take their picture. Or the total innocence of the very isolated village of

Venugopalapuram where we taught the little school children the Sai Gayathri; or

the exquisite scenic beauty of Reddivaripalli, that was situated miles in the

interior and surrounded by hills with a deep red soil and

thick green vegetation that gave it a surreal look. Above all, the most lasting

memory would be of the love and reverence that all the villagers showed us,

with no exceptions, as Swami's emissaries.

Climbing up the embankment on the way to Yerrapalli village

On the way back to Parthi, the excess food packets left over were usually

distributed to the people working the fields on both sides of the road. The

sight of the villagers running up to the road, sometimes as much as half a

kilometer, as soon as our truck with its yellow Grama Seva banner is spotted is

a sight that has to be experienced. We always stopped for them and gave them a

Prasadam packet and laddus and receive their blessings and good wishes in turn.

Distributing the excess prasadam in Kotacheruvu

And soon we are done, many days ahead of schedule. Immaculate planning and the

availability of 32 vehicles enable us to finish the distribution in the

targeted mandals (sub-districts) of Puttaparthi, Bukkapatnam and Kottacheruvu -

about 142 villages in all.

The boys are tired but very, very satisfied. It has been a soul elevating

experience for them. Swami always says that service begets humbleness in a man.

And humbleness is perhaps the most important prerequisite on our spiritual path

back to God.

And the villagers! Would just a meal and clothing make a real difference in

their lives? No, but the very thought that the God in Puttaparthi is looking

after them and thinking about them gives them so much hope, nourishment, and

love and meaning that the entire exercise has become one of the most rewarding

lifetime experiences for all. And it is all just because of His love!!

Jai Sai Ram.

Source: Radio Sai E-Magazine, December

2004http://www.radiosai.org/Journals/Vol_02/20Dec01/Pages/06_SaiSeva/SaiSeva.htm

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