Guest guest Posted January 31, 2008 Report Share Posted January 31, 2008 --- On Thu, 31/1/08, Sai Spiritual Showers Team <noreply wrote:Sai Spiritual Showers Team <noreplySAI SPIRITUAL SHOWERS – ISSUE 23sssprinceksvDate: Thursday, 31 January, 2008, 1:30 AM ....extracted from an article by Shri. Chandra Chud Mukerji in the May/June 1982 issue of the Sanathana Sarathi The village D… was right on the border of India and Bangladesh. The nearest market place - four miles off. A mud track leads us to that place. Bhim Sen's house is on the outskirts of the village. The international border is only 200 feet way! So, residents are tempted to make easy money by resorting to smuggling and even by flash raids across the border. Villagers from Bangladesh too are similarly tempted. Guards and security men are not always vigilant. They too can be tempted to keep their eyes shut. So, everyone was on a money-making spree. Ill-gotten money was spent in gambling dens and taverns of which D… was overfull. Bhim Sen’s maternal uncle gave him a small book in Bengali written by Smt. Sudha Mozumdar on Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Also his Headmaster gave him a copy of "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" in Bengali, saying, "Possibly this person who has taken birth in the South is even greater than my Guru. He is really a great Divine Power." Bhim Sen read the books and every word struck root in his heart. Towards the end of September, Bhim Sen's wife, who was expecting her second child, developed labour pains. She suffered five long days of agony. Nothing could be done to give her relief. Bhim Sen was certain all would be well. For, has not Baba said, "Why fear, when I am here?" But, his elder brother and a few elders of the village rebuked him for his stubborn resignation. They took over command on the fifth day and took her in a bullock cart to the District Hospital thirty miles away. Bhim Sen had to join the party. A team of six doctors examined her. X-ray revealed that the child in the womb had died, and was decomposed. It could be removed only through surgery but the woman was too weak and had developed too many complications, besides septic fever. For three days and nights, Bhim Sen waited, sitting on a bench in the passage outside the ward where his wife lay. At last, he grew desperate. He said to himself, "Bhagawan! I have not committed any sin; I do not speak lies; I do not hurt others; I have never cheated any one. In spite of this, my child is dead, my wife is dying. If she dies, then I shall know that honesty has no value. God is a myth. Then, why should I remain honest? I shall become a criminal like others. I will not return home." He set about planning how to dispose of the corpse, before he took the plunge. The next morning, Bhim Sen was informed that during the night, his wife had given birth to a healthy baby boy! The surgeon in attendance was totally baffled. He said, "Bhim Sen! Our diagnosis was wrong, I must admit! But the X-ray, how could it be wrong? It showed clearly the decomposed body. Also, the position of the baby was such that normal delivery was impossible. The body had to be taken out only through surgery." When Bhim Sen and his wife came into his village, the entire population received them with adoration and acclamation. Everyone knew that it was a miraculous boon conferred by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Bhim Sen decided to go to Bhagawan. He sold a jewel which his wife had and got Rs. 380. A friend gave him a hundred. In the second week of November 1977, he boarded at Howrah the train to Madras, where he imagined Baba to be. The Ticket Collector corrected his ticket and collected the extra charges. Bhim Sen knew only the Cooch Behar dialect but some one came to his rescue always. He alighted at the eastern gate of Prasanthi Nilayam, right in the midst of a surging mass of fifty thousand devotees. It was the Birthday Festival and the 8th All India Conference of Sathya Sai Seva Organisations was on. Poor Bhim Sen was tossed about from one group to another. No one could help him to meet Bhagawan so that he could fall at His feet. 'Baba! I will never be able to come again to your presence. I came here with the hope of talking to you. Now, I find I cannot get the chance of even looking at you," he lamented. Next day, when Bhim Sen was sitting disconsolate at the Eastern Gate, a Seva Dal young man approached him and asked if his name was Bhim Sen. Amazed, Bhim Sen said, "Yes". He was told that Baba had called him. The first sentence Baba spoke to him in the room was, "My son! Why are you afraid? Did I not save your son at the Hospital? What did the doctors say?" Then, Baba told him the story of Sita and her unshakable faith in Rama that finally saved her from Ravana. "Be happy. Go home. Come back after 3 years", He said, when he prostrated before the Lotus Feet. Three years! Three years of Sai's Grace! The villagers who could see Bhim Sen's son growing plump and pretty, installed Baba in their hearts. Bhajan became a regular feature of life. Smuggling, gambling, drinking, fighting and even smoking were given up. A Sathya Sai Seva Samiti was established in 1978 at D... and in 1979 at N.. a few miles away. Bhim Sen - serene and blissful - walked from one Bhajan Mandali to another, covering about ten miles a day. After a two hour Bhajan session in one house, the entire group moves on to another house for another session and thence on to another, until the small hours of the night. Men sing Baba Bhajans at the top of their voice while ploughing the fields, children sing them while playing games. Sai Ram is very much with them, in the paddy fields, in the clusters of green trees, in dust and water, even in the empty stomachs. They sing Suprabhatam and Namavalis in their own tunes and pronounce them with their own twist; but, their voices are choked and their eyes shed tears when they speak of their experiences with Baba. We were in that village on 23rd November. We felt that we were in a Prasanthi Nilayam. Baba is residing there, full hundred percent. We met a young man of 22 who was very much involved in dacoities on both sides of the border. He was a terror in the area. One day, he heard about Baba and a kind-hearted man gave him a small picture of Baba. Soon, he lost interest in robbery. Some devotees have given him a bicycle and a little cash. He purchases vegetables at D… and sells them at the market, 4 miles away. We saw three old ladies who had walked 32 miles to take part in the Bhajans. Such is the depth of their devotion to their God, Sathya Sai. Bhim Sen is their guide and ideal; he is their main inspiration - he and his son. The bonds of love that Sai has forged between men and women of all faiths and all levels of poverty are so strong that the Sai Family is an oasis of contentment and joy. Bhim Sen fell in with a gang of dacoits one night when he was returning from a Bhajan session but they recognised him and let him go. Thieves have experienced, he said, that stealing things from that village brings bad luck. People from beyond the border, irrespective of religion, come over to the village to share the Bhajans and the boon of brotherhood. -- PLEASE DO NOT REPLY TO THIS AUTOMATED MAIL For any comments, suggestions or queries, please write to us at webeditor You are receiving this mail because your email id has been d to "Sai Spiritual Showers" mailing list. You could from this this list here. powered by phplist v 2.10.2, © tincan ltd DELETE button is history. Unlimited mail storage is just a click away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.