His Methodology

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us from accidents and disasters. It is this irresistible love that breathes new

life into our being through just one look, one glance or one word and we are

never the same again! Ask any devotee who has been touched by His love and he

will say, “It is an experience that I cannot ever convey through spoken

words…it is such an emotional and uniting experience…it is like a child uniting

with his mother… after years of toil and turmoil.”It can be expressed only

through the universal language of tears….tears of joy, tears of a

never-before-felt happiness, tears teeming with emotion and deep love!

His Love…Spontaneous and Selfless Swami’s love always has been universal and

spontaneous with no barriers. The spontaneity with which He goes out to serve

the downtrodden, the eagerness with which He reaches out to speak to someone in

need, the joy with which He smiles with a person with physical disabilities, arm

in arm (the blind cannot see, but they can surely feel His love, isn’t it?), the

undiluted bliss with which He talks to the orphans and distributes clothes and

sweets besides constructing a school and a home for them (they have now become

God’s own children), the sweet innocence coupled with a bewitching smile with

which He talks to a tiny-tot….all these are just a few, very few, instances of

what His love is made up of. His Love…So Pristine

and Pure, Childlike It is said that in the innocent and innocuous face of a

child you can see the face of God. And how true it is! Even the reverse of this

is so true. If you look at the face of God, you can see the clean and

crystalline countenance of a small child. And why will it not be? For, there is

so much likeness between the two. Let’s just think, why are kids so lovable?

Hmm ...Because they are so innocent. Because they are so pure. Because they

have no grudge against anybody. Because they are so simple. Because they know

no manipulation. Because they do not know what is ego. Because they love

everybody. Because

they play and frolic with anybody, showing no distinction. Because they know no

hatred or greed. Because they only know to receive love and return love. Their

mind is guileless and their heart, stainless. They can only spread happiness

and joy all around. And if you ponder for a while, you will agree that it is

the same with God too. One day many years ago, Swami distributed ice-cream to

the boys. The brand name was JOY ice-cream, and it was gifted by a devotee who

owned the company. While boys were enjoying the ice-cream, Baba went round as

usual, asking the boys how they liked the ice-cream. And then suddenly He asked

a boy, "Boy what do you think God is like?" The boy was taken aback. He was

fully immersed in enjoying ice-cream, and God was, at least at that moment, far

from his mind! Swami asked another boy the same question, and he too blinked.

After drawing a blank response a few more times, Swami smiled and slowly said,

"God is SWEET like ice-cream!" The boys became attentive. Swami continued,

"God is SOFT like ice-cream!" By now, the boys had stopped eating, while Swami

went on, "God is COOL like ice-cream!" And then the punch line: "He gives

JOY like ice-cream!" What a delightful play on words! Truly, His love

is as universal as the child’s. His heart is as pristine, His looks as serene,

His nature as gentle, His words as simple and His smile, as exciting and as

thrilling! [We have dealt with this childlike aspect of our Beloved Lord Sai

in great detail in the cover story of our issue on Aug 1st 2004. You can go

here to read that again.] The Testimony of an Aura Expert If we ask

ourselves what is so special about Swami’s love? And then look deep within

ourselves….we will know it is essentially His selflessness, His love is as

selfless as it can be. While each one of us has experienced it in our hearts

and minds this love… so pure and so arresting, Frank Baranowski has proved it

scientifically for the whole world. Professor Frank Baranowski, a psychologist

and regression therapist from the University of Arizona, specializes in

research on auras (the energy pattern surrounding the human body) and this is

what he recounts on seeing Swami many years ago in Brindavan, Baba’s Ashram in

Bangalore. He says, “I have always been able to see the human aura, that

is, the energy pattern which

surrounds a person. The auras around average people extend as much as three to

five feet. Auras are composed of every imaginable colour and these colours

change as a person's emotional, physical and mental states change. In general,

whenever the colour blue is evident in a person's aura, it is an indication of

deep spirituality; green is a healing color; yellow indicates high

intelligence; and red means anger or frustration. The colour pink, which is

rarely seen, typifies a person capable of selfless love, this was the colour

that Sathya Sai Baba had around Him. The aura around Sathya Sai Baba went

beyond the building against which He stood; this energy field reached thirty or

forty feet in all directions. Never having seen any aura like this before, my

first reaction was to look for fluorescent lights, which may have been shining

on Him. But as I watched, the beautiful pink energy pattern moved as He moved,

there was no doubt, this was His aura…. …As He walked among them, the beautiful

pink colour in His aura permeated the violent red colours in the crowd. His

selfless love transcended their fears and worries….you have to meet this man to

understand His gifts. He gives of himself to thousands of people from all around

the world who await his blessings. I was not brought up in any belief,

though I am a Christian by birth and a Roman Catholic. The scientific community

in my country finds it difficult to accept God. ‘It is not scientific,’ they

assert. The aura that Swami projects is not that of a man…. Two days ago, right

outside this hall, I looked into His eyes. They had a glow in them. It was

clear to me that I had looked into the face of Divinity. If ever I can use the

phrase, 'I have seen Love walking on two feet', it is here." The living

embodiment of all love and grace, our beloved Sai is giving away so much

positive energy every time He comes out for Darshan, whether we ask for it or

not, whether we deserve it or not. In His infinite compassion, He overlooks our

deficiencies, our shortcomings. What does He ask in return for all this grace?

Ask the devotees who had had the opportunity to speak to Him and they will tell

you how so many times they have asked Swami if they can do anything for Him and

He would invariably

say - “You just be good, be happy. I do not want anything else.” This is love

for love’s sake, isn’t it? It is a Love that is truly genuine and utterly

selfless, selflessness forms the nadir and the zenith of this love.

His Grand Service

Projects It is this penchant for serving mankind selflessly that prompted Baba

to open Super Specialty Hospitals in Puttaparthi and Bangalore which offer free

medical care to the poorest of the poor. What you offer to the needy should be

what you would offer to your own son or daughter, Swami has always insisted.

And true to His message Swami’s hospitals offer the best treatment possible

with the latest technology, equipments, et al for no charge whatsoever. Aiding

the treatment, of course, is His Divine Grace. The Sri Sathya Sai

Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Puttaparthi (left) and Bangalore (right)

When Swami decided to offer pure drinking water to all dry and arid areas of

Anantapur in March 1995, one million people in more than 700 villages who used

to travel miles for a pot of water everyday, now had water at their doorstep!

And that in just nine months! It was at a cost of US$ 70 million. The Prime

Minister of India, who inaugurated the project, said, "Anantapur has now become

‘Anandpur’" (meaning, the city of joy!). What is more heart warming is that

without a second thought Swami extended this project to another 300 villages in

Medak and Mahabubnagar district when villagers from those areas expressed their

wish. And more recently in 2002 the people of the city of Chennai were blessed

when Swami, quite unexpectedly, announced the drinking water project for the

city of Chennai, a city in South India well-known for its water-nightmares.

More than US$60 million was spent to reconstruct the Kondaleru-Poondi canal and

once and for all after more than fifty years the water-starved city was free

from water-stress. The saga of selfless service of the Lord is never

ending. Now there is again a free drinking water supply project on for the

upland and water-starved remote areas of East and West Godavari districts of

Andhra Pradesh commemorating His 80th Birthday. Divine Love and Compassion are

not abstract qualities, we know now. They are as real as the Sun and the moon

and reveal themselves magnificently as Selfless Service. Swami often tells us:

“You are not just human. You are in fact Divine.” And it is to help us

discover this latent Divinity in us that He constantly exhorts: “Help ever,

hurt never; Love all, serve all.” The Highest Expression of Selfless Love -

Service Service is the highest expression of selfless love. It is for

ourselves more than for others, Swami has explained to us many times. Many

years ago, when late Dr. Fanibanda asked Bhagavan: “Swami, what is the purpose

of the Seva Organisation?” Swami replied, “Nothing.” The good doctor was

knocked out by this most unexpected reply! Recovering from the shock, Dr.

Fanibanda then hesitantly asked, “Nothing Swami? How could that be? There must

be some reason.” Swami, then smiled and said, “Yes, there is a reason. I

founded this Organisation so that you might improve yourself!” Indeed, and

that is why it is often said: “Do not talk about the service you have done.

Instead, reflect on what service has done to you!” How significant are these

words! A whole new perspective to love and service! “Students Are My

Life” - Baba If there is a community which is singularly fortunate in the

present times, it is the students of Swami’s school and the college,

undoubtedly. For, as Swami has told many times and even very recently during

Dasara celebrations, 2005, “Students are My Life”. Yes, there is nobody more

dear to Him than His students. Just like all great masters of yore, a lion’s

share of His time is always for the young minds and understandably so as they

are the torchbearers of His mission. There will be harmony in the family and

peace in the nation, Swami says, only when the students’ higher nature is

fostered and encouraged to blossom by means of study, prayer and spiritual

practice along with quality secular education. To

instill self-confidence in them and drive them towards self-realisation has been

Swami’s tireless effort right from His childhood. Then it was only a few

classmates for the young Sathya, now it is thousands of students from His

schools and colleges. His enthusiasm remains the same, His perseverance remains

the same, His mission remains the same. Finest Moments of Love…. This incident

happened a few years ago. A student had just joined the Brindavan campus of the

Institute and one morning he is told that Swami has sent something for him.

Surprised, he opens the pack and then completely breaks down. Nobody quite

understood what was happening. The boy had not disclosed to anyone that his

mother had just passed away and everyday the thought of his mother would

devastate him. When he opened the pack and saw a ponds cream there, he

was overwhelmed with Swami’s omniscience and love because it was his mother who

would put cold cream on his lips everyday when he was at home and his Sai

Mother was now there to take care of him and knew everything about him. Another

interesting incident concerns a student from Prashanthi Nilayam campus who was

suffering from asthma. His illness did not allow him to go to the Mandir for

darshan and one evening, feeling very frustrated with himself, he went to the

dining hall of the hostel where there was a big picture of Swami and cried his

heart out to Him. Immediately, there is a call for him from the Mandir and as

soon as he reaches there, Swami calls him to the interview room. Swami tells

him that he should give Him his asthma. What the

boy needs to suffer for the whole year, Swami says, He could suffer it for one

minute. The boy pleads against it because he did not want Swami to suffer even

for a moment. But Swami out of His love absorbs the boy’s asthma into Himself

and the student is cured for ever. Such are the finest moments of love that

weave the special relationship that exists between Swami and students…it is

this purely selfless love of Swami that strikes a chord in their heart, every

student will tell you. His pure love is like the philosopher’s stone. Once

touched by His love, every student is transformed…they are unmade and remade

the way they ought to be. For every student it is these moments of love - a

small interaction, a beautiful smile, a motherly care and concern, a friendly

quip, a divine revelation – all these and more, which are his life’s precious

treasure…his eternal source of strength and inspiration, physical distance from

Swami being no barrier. In the modern world, we have institutions who try to

mould the character of the student at the school level but there is hardly

anyone except Swami who is everyday counseling and correcting the students at

the graduation and post-graduation level, and with tremendous success. So, what

is the key to this success? Undoubtedly it is His pure selflessness. All the

education in Sai’s educational institutions – be it kindergarten courses to

masters degrees and doctoral works – all education is provided absolutely free.

“Be Good. Get a good name for your parents. Get a good name for your country,”

is all Baba would ask from every student leaving the comfort of His Lotus Feet

into the wide world after his education. It is these loving words which become

a constant spring of joy and an eternal mission for every student. One can go on

and on talking about Swami’s love because everything that Swami does always has

love as the inner basis. It is for this reason that Swami says, "To grasp My

Meaning, you have to tear into tatters the doubts and diversions that you now

indulge in and develop divine love. For, the embodiment of love can be known

only through wisdom and pure love…." - Heart2Heart Team Go to the links below

to read the other parts of this cover story (Sharing with Sai Love)

Ram.ChuganiRam ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp

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