PROF. ANIL KUMAR’S INSPIRATIONAL TALKS – Part 4

[Guest guest]

PROF. ANIL KUMAR’S INSPIRATIONAL TALKS – Part 4

Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at Prashanthi Nilayam - December 8, 2002

 

College Anniversary is postponed

The invitations for the College Anniversary were ready and sent. Refreshments

were also ready. Students were given badges. All the preparations for the

College Annual Celebration were ready. Collector Chandrayya, an IAS officer,

was to be the chief guest.

Please believe me. This is subject to verification because I'm giving the date

and also the names of the people involved. I'm not here to concoct or fabricate

or imagine. I'm against such silly things. I'm giving you all the details, being

a student of science. Just 24 hours before the Annual College Day, the

Principal, Dr. Isaac, came to me and said, "Anil Kumar, please leave this place

tonight." (Laughter)

I said, "Sir, why do you want me, to go? You said you wouldn’t grant me personal

time-off. You didn’t want to give me personal time-off! Why do you want me to

go?"

He said, "The College Anniversary is postponed."

It was a college of 100 years standing. Now it must be 130 years -- one of the

oldest premier institutions in the State of Andhra Pradesh, managed and

monitored by the Lutheran Church of America. It is a very big college. The

College Anniversary had never been postponed in all of its history.

Our Baba is an excellent manager and a manipulator! (Laughter) He had just got

the Anniversary postponed for one bloke by the name of Anil Kumar!

The Five Of Us

So, I went there, attended the meeting, and everything was checked for my travel

to the United Sates. I met my other colleagues, who were eligible bachelors,

quite handsome, occupying very high positions, coming from medicine and

engineering fields. I was the only non-gazetted government officer with four

children. So, what was to be done?

They were talking among themselves about what they would do in the United

States. Finally, one of them ventured to ask me, "Anil Kumar, would you like to

have a sip of alcohol?"

I said I would like to have any number of sips of coffee, but not alcohol.

Everybody laughed at me and said, "Five of us are going, but only four will be returning."

They thought that once I was over there, I’d be finished (Laughter) They said,

"Do you eat meat or anything like that?"

"No, no, no, I'm a total vegetarian."

Just like that, I became an untouchable among the five of us! (Laughter) A

Godforsaken creature! Nobody was prepared to talk to me or exchange any views

because there was nothing in common.

Once we were there, oh! There were so many things that were served to us! But

there was nothing for me to eat. Though I mentioned that I was a vegetarian,

what is it that they brought for me to eat ? Boiled potatoes made into chutney,

like a paste. (No doubt Anil Kumar means mashed potatoes.)

They said, "This is vegetarian. Why don’t you eat it?"

Ah-re! Potato is no doubt vegetarian, but I don’t eat it that way, made into a

paste or gum like that! So I didn’t relish it, but courtesy made me silent. I

wore a broad smile on my face, "Fine, fine, this much is enough."

But smart people they are, the Rotarians! The USA is a great country of

hospitality. The United States of America is a country where there is the

synthesis of religions. They are ready to invite new ideologies. It is a

country of friendship, where the people are full of smiling faces.

They could understand my diet problem, and at the next session, I had a number

of things like peanuts, cashew nuts, ice crèmes, cakes, biscuits, and so many

such things! While the non-vegetarians had only one or two dishes, I had so

many. (Laughter). I was more energetic than all of them, even without eating

rice.

Pets Were Pestering Me

All right, I was quite fine. But here’s another thing that I should also share

with you, though it is quite embarrassing. I'm not used to pets, like dogs and

cats -- no. At the residence of every American, to my surprise, I noticed these

pets, these dogs and cats, everywhere. I used to check to see if my room were

dog-free or cat-free. (Laughter) Only then would I go into the room!

Unfortunately, at 11 o’clock in the night, I heard some sound -- "Purr, purr" --

like that. (Laughter) What happened? Immediately I got up. I noticed one cat

under my cot. (Laughter) I shouted to my American friend. He came in

immediately. "Anil Kumar, what happened?"

"Ah-re, what is this cat? Please take it out!"

"No, no, Anil Kumar! It is a Burmese cat -- so sweet!"

I said, "No! Burmese or Chinese, I don’t want it here! (Laughter) Please take it

out. I can't sleep!"

That was the only problem I had.

I also remember in New Albany something happened. A gentleman introduced me to

his sons. "Oh, Mr. Anil Kumar, here is David and Nelson." All that was fine.

Finally he said, "Caesar, come along!"

I thought Caesar was a third son. Caesar was the name of their dog, and he was

my size (Laughter) and ready to climb up on me like an expert in

mountaineering! I am not Mount Everest -- to be climbed upon! I was very much

afraid.

This man said, "Say hello, Anil Kumar! Caesar is very friendly!"

"Sir, I'm not friendly. Please!" (Laughter)

As my legs were trembling, well, the dog came closer and closer, and then started touching me.

"Sir, would you like me alive or not? Please take it away!"

That was my problem, and I didn’t know what to do. I was about to move to the

next place -- some other residence. Instead of being curious about the family

with whom I was supposed to live, I was curious about the pets there (Laughter)

because the pets were pestering me! Well, I had no alternative.

So, helplessly I told the gentleman, "This is my problem."

Then they started taking care of their pets and made me quite comfortable -- such kind, nice people.

Singing Baba’s Bhajans

Then one day, while speeding along in the car, I was just singing Baba’s bhajans

and the American thought something was happening to me. He said, "What’s wrong

with you?" (Laughter)

Well, I said, "Nothing is wrong with me. I'm quite hale and healthy, and I hope

to live for a couple more years! But the thing is, I'm humming Indian Bhajan

songs -- Indian hymns or prayer songs."

The American said, "Would you do it at my residence this evening?"

I had been waiting for that opportunity! I said that I would be happy to and

would also give them the English translation to the songs. But only on one

condition -- they should invite their friends also. They should not restrict

this to only their family."

He said, "OK. Why not?"

Every day they invited their family and friends in the neighborhood to come. The

result was that 30 or 40 attended the Rotary meetings and 300 or 400 attended my

evening Bhajan programs! (Laughter) Since that day, I became more and more

popular. I was the ‘most wanted’ person – ‘most wanted’ in a desirable way.

Interviewed by The TV People

The TV people and news reporters also interviewed us. My other Indian friends

were in search of good cameras and other things. I did not have any kind of

desire like that. I had a deep feeling that Swami had sent me and that I should

speak about Him everywhere. That was my only mission. I had no other desire.

"How Is It You Don’t Eat Beef In India?"

Some questions were put to us like this: "Why is it that you don’t eat beef in India?"

Well, I could not answer straightaway because there were five of us seated in

the television studio. One man said, "We don’t eat beef. Cows are sacred."

Then they asked another man, "Why are you eating beef here?" (Laughter)

They were all very intelligent fellows. The third fellow said, "Indian cows are

sacred, not other cows!" (Laughter)

Then I raised my hand and said, "Sir, I’ll give you the answer. That was just a

kind of joke -- thatAmerican cows are not sacred, no. Cows are sacred, revered

like a mother. There are many we revere like a mother. One is the Motherland,

Desha Matha. Another is Mother Earth, Bhu Matha. The third one is Go Matha, the

cow, as mother. A fourth is the Scripture, Veda Matha. These four are respected,

adored and worshipped like the

mother. That’s all."

"Oh, that seems to be sensible," someone said.

"How Is It There Aren’t divorces In India?"

Then they asked another question: "How is it that there are no divorces in

India? How is it that you live with the same person throughout your lifetime,

even though you don’t agree?"

One man, by the name of Raj Kumar, was newly married. He was working in the

Union Corporation. He gave the answer: "Why marry a number of times? You have

to sit in front of a fire and smoke for long hours! (Laughter) We don’t want

that tedious process to happen again and again!" (Laughter)

Another man said, "Marriage is an expensive process. Why pay for it more than

once? We don’t want to."

They all enjoyed these jokes. I said, "Sir, there is an answer. Marriage is only

an institution. Marriage is only a vehicle. Marriage is only a transport to move

from one end to the other end, to move from one shore to the other -- the shore

of life on earth to the shore of life thereafter. I travel by car, but I don’t

live in the car. I go across the bridge, but I don’t stay there on the bridge

my whole life. So, marriage is an institution -- like a bridge, like a boat,

like a ship -- taking you from the shore of this life to the life thereafter,

to Eternity and Immortality."

That seemed to have been satisfactory to them.

"How Is It there Is A God Who Wants Human Hair?"

There was another question, "How is it that there is a god in your country who

wants human hair?" They meant Lord Venkateswara of Tirupati.

Another person laughed and said, "God can grow hair by Himself! Why does He want your hair?"

A very pertinent question! Bhagawan spoke about this a long time ago. The answer

is simple and straight.

Bhagawan said, "Hair symbolizes animality or the bestial temperament, the

thamasic quality, the darkness of ignorance. When you remove your hair, when

you offer your hair, you make an attempt to be free from the thamasic quality

of dullness, of ignorance, of darkness, or ignorance of the Self. That’s why

the hair is offered."

"Secondly, if anyone stands in front of the mirror just combing his hair,

everyone thinks that he is a film star -- most handsome, though the next person

tells him, ‘You are not.’ It is very different if one is ugly when standing in

front of the mirror. So once you offer your hair, there is no more decoration,

no more attempt to look handsome. ‘I disfigure myself.’ This is

self-effacement. There is nothing like projection. This is the symbolic

_expression of offering hair to God."

This made some sense to them. Somehow we came out of that television program and

all of them seemed to have been satisfied with the answers. So, we began to

disperse back to our destinations.

A Bag Of Pickles

The others, being rich, wanted to stop on the way back and visit London,

Amsterdam, and other places with the extra money in their pockets. Since I was

a teacher, I did not carry anything at that moment.

I was to visit a close relation there. My father-in-law gave me a big bag of

Andhra pickles, hot stuff, to be handed over to her. (Laughter) I was carrying

this bag for one month -- a horrible burden! The American brothers were good

to me. The sisters over there didn’t allow me to carry anything. They carried

all the things for me. It must have been a headache for them to carry this big

package of Andhra pickles, such hot stuff. It will help you to land on the moon

straightaway -- straightaway, with no expenditure! (Laughter) One mango pickle,

one piece is enough -- you can try this afternoon! (Laughter) Of course, you

should write your will in advance!

(Laughter)

So, I was carrying these pickles all along. But how was I to reach my relatives?

When all my friends had dispersed, the Rotary governor, someone named Clark who

lived in New Albany, came and said, "Anil Kumar, what are your plans now?"

I said, "I have no plans except to go home."

He said, "What is this bag?"

"That bag is full of pickles, which I have to hand over to my relations."

"Where are they?"

I gave their address.

"How do you plan to go?"

International Sai Service

Should I say that I didn’t have enough dollars to get there? Or should I tell

them, ‘You fund my trip’? I didn’t say anything.

"I don’t think I have sufficient time to go there. I’ll just bring the pickles back."

Then he said, "No, no, your tickets and visa will enable you to stay here for

some more time. Why do you want to leave like that? No! We’ll see that you get

to see your relations there."

They were staying in Hamden, Virginia. Immediately they made all the flight

reservations. My other friends were traveling by the Greyhound bus service.

Being sent by Sai International, Inter-continental Sai service, I could fly all

the way on Northwest Airlines, without a single paisa (penny) in my pocket,

through the courtesy of Rotary International, unasked and unsolicited.

They also telephoned my relations and told them that Anil Kumar had taught them

many things about India, Indian philosophy and culture, and that they wanted to

visit that country some day. They said that it had been an honour to have me

there. They asked my relations to please be there at the airport half an hour

before my arrival time to receive me. Then they put down the receiver.

(Laughter)

By the time I landed there, my relations were waiting for me as if they were

receiving Clinton or Bush! (Laughter) That is the dignity and the position one

has with Sai’s Grace, which has impressed me very much.

TO BE CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers –‘’

/

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