IS IT AN INTERVIEW?

December 2, 2008

"Is it an interview? But...wait. An interview will not be for 30 people! And Swami is simply picking up people from everywhere? The only thing common among all of them (other than their Love and devotion to Him of course) was that they were all westerners or shall we say non-Indians."

Swami then went into the Bhajan Hall and the ladies sat, overwhelmed and happy. Swami spoke to a few of them as to where they had come from. Then He said, "Two Russian ladies...they run behind Swami's car always... call them." These two ladies have been so persistent and tireless in their pursuit of God that not only the All-knowing One but almost everyone in Puttaparthi for quite some time knew them! They were immediately brought to His presence and Swami gifted them a smile. He moved up and down the aisle and gave a command, "Call all the foreigners."

As people hurried to put His command into action, He gently moved around the hall bringing tears from many eyes. To those lost in the Love of God (and who is not? Many who have claimed and even paraded themselves as atheists have sobbed and wept in front of Him as children for apparently no reason whatsoever) there seem to be tears always. When they cannot see their Lord, their tears speak of their agony and when they see Him, it is the tears again that speak of the unspeakable joy. Tears! Those salty droplets that carry with them the sweetest of feelings!

Swami's "gopika" who always follows His car!

Another act of overwhelming gratitude

When the Bhajan Hall¢s ladies' side was filled to its capacity, Swami began the distribution. Distribution? Of what? When the Bhagawatha Parayanam begins, it is customary to do Vasthradaanam (distribution of clothes). Boxes of brown silk sarees were opened and lovingly Swami began to distribute these to the ladies who had assembled. As He gave away the sarees, many of the ladies spoke to Him in their native tongues. There was so much that each wanted to tell Him and there seemed to be so little time. To top it all, this opportunity had arrived as a pleasant bolt in the blue and no one seemed prepared with what they wanted to tell Him. And that shows the importance of living every moment of life occupied with those thoughts and feelings that we cherish the most, for at such sudden times, only they surface in the mind and get spoken out by the tongue. Swami's response to the multitude of languages being showered on Him was in a language that all know and understand - that of the heart. His smile seemed to have a magical calming effect on all and His abhayahastha seemed a satisfactory enough answer to all the travails and tribulations of every heart.

Reminescent of the Brindavan days- international 'gopikas' here!

"Did you get a saree?"

There were mothers with their babies, grandmothers who had difficulty standing such that Swami had chairs arranged for them to sit, and young women beginning their journey of Life receiving the gifts of Love from His hands. Swami advised one of the women to eat well and have porridge and milk. To another He enquired whether she was happy and she replied loudly, "Very happy Swami. Very, very, very happy." All the babies inside were blessed and the mothers were so pleased with that. Swami went on this way for about one whole hour and it was only after He had personally distributed sarees to everyone inside (that is at least 250 of them) that He moved back into the interview room. In that one hour, He had spread happiness to various parts of the globe even with His physical frame as the grateful and joyous recipients spread it through word of mouth and the scientific technology of the cell phone and the internet. As Swami moved out of the Bhajan Hall, one of the boys there exclaimed to Him, "Swami, how You shower so much ananda on all!" Swami just seemed to shrug it away for what seems as extraordinary for us is so natural for Him. And it was so apt too. The story of Krishna is sweetest when He performs His divine leelas as a child among the gopikas. Sai Krishna seems to have gopikas from all the nations of the world and what we witnessed before the Bhagawatha Parayanam was the ceaseless flow of love that exists between Sai Krishna and His gopikas, the Lord and His beloved devotees. It was a practical lesson even before the theory class, if we can call it so! Swami then quickly moved to the stage where the Saptaham was to commence. The priests did a brief ceremony and Swami moved across the stage to observe the Idol. After a short introduction in Telugu, Brahmasri Dr. Nagaphani Sharma took the stage with his Bhagavatha narration. Interspersed with songs and poems, the scholar described the glory of Sai in mellifluous Telugu for an hour. The speaker, an orator par excellence, had a mridangam and harmonium supporting him as he spoke and sang. Swami seemed very happy and touched with his rendition. So lost was he in the glories of Sai, that it truly became a Sai Bhagawatha Parayanam. Swami blessed him profusely and patted him while posing for pictures with him. Then as He moved into the car, He raised both His hands in a smiling benediction for all. There were gasps of delight from everyone who saw the beautiful scene. It was 7:30 p.m. when Swami retired into Yajur Mandir.