Sweet Memories By Sri K.Suresh - A Former Student of Swami's Institute.

[Guest guest]

the sun, the rain was a welcome relief. To the students it meant a blanket

permit to rush forward and occupy the front portico of the Mandir. It was a

vantage spot as it gave us the advantage to be very close to the interview room

door so that when Swami came out, His gaze in our direction was guaranteed. I

was then in my second year of the MBA programme. Along with another brother of

mine I was blessed to secure a strategic spot in the front portico. From here

we had a clear view of Swami’s throne in the Bhajan Hall. As the rain

persisted without any respite, I began reading a book on Swami’s miracles in

Africa. I was particularly drawn to an incident where two of the devotees who

were driving a car on an express way at speeds over 110 km/h suddenly met with

an accident. Their car was thrown out of the express way and into the bushes.

The car was totally smashed and there was no chance that its occupants would

survive such a crash. The

devotees in the car however had taken the Lord’s Name on their lips at the

critical juncture and had escaped unscathed. They were nonplussed and thanked

Swami for His Omnipresence. I was quite overwhelmed by this incident and

happened to share it with the brother beside me. I couldn’t but help remark –

‘Look Swami is in Africa also’. African Avathar Some moments later the

interview room door opened. Swami came out and stood on the upper portico of

the verandahh in the Mandir. He paused and looked at me and my brother for a

few seconds. I looked at Swami with reverence. Suddenly Swami asked the

students sitting in front of me to make way. A path was made for Swami in the

tightly packed

verandahh. Before I could realise Swami walked straight up to me and then

paused. Gazing into my eyes He remarked –“Dunnapotha! You are talking in the

verandah.” Then after a small pause He continued, “I am here. I am in Africa. I

am everywhere.” Saying this, He walked away with a nonchalant gait. Do I have to

say anymore? Six years later while I was in search for a job, a Singapore based

multinational company hired me and sent me on my first assignment to guess

where: West Africa ! It has been six sweet years in Africa. I have been blessed

to get involved in the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation here as an office

bearer. I try to serve the Lord in my own little way, feeling and experiencing

His constant Presence and Guidance. One important truth that we, His students,

must cherish always in our hearts is His Omnipresence. Wherever we

are, we need to conduct ourselves accordingly. Swami is our Inner Soul. He is

always with us, in us and around us. The awareness of this truth suffices to

boost our confidence and help mould our lives in the right direction. Heart to

Heart During my student days at Swami’s Lotus Feet, I learnt a lot through

innumerable such instances. Many times it happened that Swami would refuse to

accept a letter from me and I used to feel completely dejected. On one such

occasion, Swami gave me the ‘cold storage’ treatment by not accepting my letter

for many days at a stretch. One fine day, He suddenly called me and literally

grabbed the letter from my hands. Even without opening the letter, He went on

to reveal its

contents and concluded with a great revelation, ‘I need not go through your

letter to know its contents. The prayer in your heart reaches me

instantaneously, even before you pen down your thoughts.’ To be frank, after

this incident I reduced the ‘written mail’ and instead concentrated on

heartfelt prayers. This is what Swami implies when He exhorts us to develop ‘a

heart to heart relationship’ with Him. I Shall Write Anew On another

occasion, Swami walked up to where I was seated, looked into my eyes and said

‘Faithkaawali raa’ in Telugu, which means – ‘You need Faith’. Putting His hand

on His forehead He went on ‘If you have faith in Me, I shall wipe out your old

Karma and write a new one. But faith is required.’ Swami is Premaswaroopa. Just

pure, unsullied Love on two Feet. He loves

His students so much. His love for us is unfathomable and indescribable. Let me

share a very cherished incident in my life. Baba’s Bangra Boys It was the

time of Swami’s 60th Birthday in the year 1985. A group of 25 boys, which

included me, were selected to perform the Bhangra dance before Swami’s chariot

as it made its way from the Mandir to the Shanti Vedika in the Hill View

Stadium. We had practised more for a stage performance rather than for a

procession in front of Swami’s chariot. But then, Swami’s message came on the

evening of November 22nd that we need to be prepared for the procession the

next day. All of us were too tired because of various activities on 21st and

22nd November. But we had Swami in our hearts. Though we slept very late on

22nd night, all of us got up by 3 a.m. on 23rd morning and managed to reach

Mandir before 3.30 a.m. Even at that time, all the streets of Puttaparthi were

overflowing with devotees moving towards the Mandir. We managed to squeeze

through the crowd. We were tired and by the time we reached Mandir we were

already feeling drowsy. But nevertheless, we started dressing up and were ready

by 6 a.m. for the procession. The procession was scheduled to commence at 7 a.m.

Students Come First Swami had already come out at 6 a.m. He then summoned all

of us, the Bhangra group boys, into the Bhajan Hall. We were quietly dressing

up at the car shed behind the Mandir when we received this message. We rushed

into the Bhajan Hall. Swami then enquired from us whether we

were ready for the procession and we replied in the affirmative. Then Swami said

‘Oh no! You boys did not have anything to eat or drink since morning and you

need to be in the procession for at least one and half hours.’ While everybody

including the VVIPs were waiting for Swami to come out for Darshan, Swami was

inside the Bhajan Hall, catering to the little needs of His little ones. Swami

then sent someone to bring breakfast for us from the canteen and ensured that

we had had our fill. He also went into His room and got apples for us to

partake. All the while Swami was waiting for us to say, “We are ready Swami, we

can start”. At about 7 a.m. when all of us were ready, Swami put on His white

robe and walked up to the chariot and stood on it while the first golden rays

of the rising sun fell on the Divine Lotus Feet. The procession started with us

performing ahead of His chariot. By His Grace everything went on

well. In that huge crowd we were thrown around like puppets. But for Swami’s

Love and Grace in the morning, we could not have performed the dance. That is

the Love of Swami for His students. Students always come first for Him.

Spiritual Practice in Business Such incidents are unlimited. Each one of His

students have baskets-full of such stories to narrate. The underlying theme is

Love, Love and Love alone. Swami loves us so intensely and expects us to share

this love with the people around us in the same way. He wants us to look at the

unifying principle that binds us all. We need to start in our own little way to

practise what Swami says. I would like to state how this has helped me in my

day to day

business. When I deal with my customers I feel that it is the same Swami who is

also in them and that I need to approach them with the right attitude and love

in my heart. This has always given me an upper hand to solve the most difficult

issues which could not be handled by others. When I am at peace, have Swami in

my heart and look at my opponent as a reflection of the same Being, positive

vibes are generated and that gives me a cutting edge. While other preparations

are definitely required for a good negotiation, positive attitude and good

vibes can change the whole negotiating atmosphere. In the corporate world, my

company calls negotiation and wheeling as dealing skills. I am ranked highest

on these skills in my company. But for me the real skill is ‘Love in the

heart’. I end this article here with a small prayer to Swami…… “Dear Lord,

Let our

Hearts overflow with Divine Love for Thee at all times”. - Courtesy:

‘Fragrance’. - Heart2Heart Team (Sharing With Sai Love) Ram.Chugani Ram

ChuganiKobe, Japanrgcjp