Chapter 18: Memories...

Addendum:

 

I wish to add the following as addendum after the flow of writing has ceased. I make special mention of these as they are tiny bit of immense Love and cooperation during yagna and ‘Swamy and me’ showcased.

1. Young Douglas is a Bal Vikas student from Malaysia. I think saying ‘ Balvikas’ student itself conveys a lot. While Mama would have his meals, Douglas would go and ask Mama, invariably every day, “when will you put sacred thread to me?”  Mama and others would smile at this young aspiring Brahmachari. On the Concluding day, after, enshrining the Lingam and other events, Badari brings Douglas and in to the presence of all other Yagna acharyas, Mama, elders and in the immediate Presence of Swamy  in the prayer hall. He makes Douglas sit at the near the Lingam, and under the instructions and supervision of Mama, and the watchful and Loving Glances of Swamy, starts the Upanayanam ceremony of Doulas.
   
   Badari poured water into his timy palms and says “ tell Keshavaya swaha, drink , tell narayana swaha…” which Douglas did in his cute English accent. A yognopaveetham was made and was taken to Swamy for blessing. The Blessed Yagnopaveetham was handed to Douglas’ parents, who fulfilled their child’s wish.
   
   
   Douglas was then initiated into Gayathri Manthra. It was so joyous moment for all of us. Rare is such a blessing of getting Upanayanam and Initiation on an auspicious day immediately after Ati Rudra Maha Yagna, that too in the Presence of Swamy! He knows whom to give what, when.    

 2.      During the Yagna celebration, there was a lot of back stage and off show work if I can put it that way.  The volume of the work was large and there were no designated Sevadals.  We ritwiks after participating in yagna, got quickly freshened up and re-assembled in the Yagashaala for cleaning of the Yagnagundas and redecorating for the next session, cleaning of the pathras, the floor, painting designs on the floor with rice flour in the traditional way, hanging buntings, replacing the withered leaves and flowers with fresh ones, piling up of logs, etc. Thanks to Dr. Sathya’s experience and guiding efforts of Sudhakar, his keen attention for perfection, every session was splendid.  

1. After cleaning of the Yagashaala and Dinner, we would wash our vesthis help each other in squeezing them, flappering them and giggling to the mist and hang them to dry. It was all such brotherly Love and association, so strongly formed between us – so be strangers…if not for our mother Sai, how could we ever have such feeling of Sahodara so soon?!
2. Serving and eating lunch was another part we enjoyed most. We would serve to all the panthis (rows seated for dining) and would ourselves be the last ones to dine. Mama and rest of the Yagna-acharyas would invariably be the last guests to arrive for dinner/ Lunch after finishing their personal saadhana etc. We would get the excusive privilege of Dining with Gurus. Specially with Mama, who has been a recipient of Swami’s Love. Saha Panthi Bhojanam with them was a matter of pride of us. We would just have to initiate as discussion with a questin and Mama would share His experiences with Swamy. And the discussions would last as long as 12:00 AM. We would often be subjects of ridicule for delaying Mama’s sleep. His hands would dry up, as he shared his experiences with Swamy, but not a sigh or expression of discomfort was ever expressed by him. I wish to share as much as possible the pearls of Love to the extent I remember.

1. Swamy called me to His residence and told me that there are two lingams in the inner hall, for performing the yagana and one should be chosen. He asked me to select one.  I said Swamy you command and I will do accordingly. He insisted, saying, you are the chief priest and you should make your choice. I went inside and there were two lingams placed. One was a White Marble lingam and the other was a Marakata lingam. I chose the white one. Swamy asked me to bring the chosen lingam. Swamy was sitting in His chair, and asked me to place the lingam in His lap. I carefully put the lingam in His Lap.  After a moment He asked me to take the Lingam. As I lifted the Lingam it was heavier than earlier, and I asked Swamy, “Swamy the lingam is heavier”.  Swamy’s expression at that moment is unforgettable.  Swamy appeared like Rudra, His expression was stern, furious, and said “ IT IS LIKE THAT”. I was taken aback at the sudden and unexpected change in His countenance. From Loving and friendly, to Heroic masculinity of Rudra.
2. It was the day before the commencement of the Yagna. We were all getting Yagna gundas and other things ready. At 11:30 PM there were ripples of the Divine Arrival with Swamy at the Center. Swamy made a surprise visit to the Sai Kulwanth Hall, to supervise the arrangements for the Yagna. He glided upto the center and alighting from His chair car, stood and majestically supervised the entire Yagashaala.  He suggested many significant corrections, of which we were completely unaware of. He suggested beautification of the Yagashaala, height and dimensions of Yagna gundas etc.  His omniscience was evident as He pointed to errors in a particular gunda that He physically never saw before, without actually looking at it. All that was a leela to spend some time with us and bless us. Swamy spent almost an hour withus and before retireing said “ I have given you sufficient advise. You procees on these lines” and retired for Yajur Mandir
3. On once occasion Swamy asked me “How old are you?”  I was 55 years old then and I replied “ Swamy 55 years old”.  Swamy asked “do you know how old am I?” I kept quiet. He replied “I am 90 years old”.  (this was in 2006)
4. Swamy would talk to me in Kannada, and He talks beautiful English too. I asked “ Swamy you speak English so beautifully, why do you need a translator? Who don’t you speak in English?”, to which He proudly  replied “Telugu is my mother tongue”.
5. During a discourse, one day Swamy materialized a Lingam and blessed me with it.  A thought crossed my mind, it would have been convenient if He gave me a small lingam so that I could always wear it .  Next day, I was performing puja, there was Kolahalam on His arrival, and He was asking for me. I was a bit afraid, thinking Swamy is asking for me, because I might have committed some mistake. As I went near Him, He materialized a long golden chain, with a small beautiful spatika lingam hanging at the center of it. It was so lovely and beautiful, and can only be a Divine product. He called me close and placed the chain around my neck and blessed me profusely.  I never expressed my desire to Him or to anyone for that matter.  He knew it, for He is the indweller of Hearts. He is aware of our deepest desires and darkest secrets.

6. For the Praanapratistha ceremony, I chose two muhurthams. One at Six in the morning and the other at eight o clock, the six o clock one being  more appropriate for the ceremony.  The organizers and Yajur Mandir officials said that six would be too early for Swamy to arrive and suggested me to prefer the eight o clock one.  Later that day Swamy arrived for Darshan and enquired about the next day’s proceedings. I told Him about the two muhuthams. He asked which one I preferred. I said the six o clock one was more auspicious. He said “ I would come and bless the event” . It was early next morning and the day’s session started.  As the events proceeded the auspicious time for Pranapratisha approached. It was few minutes for the ceremony to begin, and the Darshan music filled the air announcing the Divine Arrival. Swamy arrived in His car, came straight to the Lingam, alighted from His car. Vinay Kumar held Bhagavan’s Hand as He came closer to the Lingam. It was exactly the muhurtham time and He arrived in His inimitable Divine style. He participated and performed Praanapatistha to the Lingam. His face radiated Divine effulgence and a sense of deep satisfaction and a peculiar look as cosmic energy transfer was taking place between Swamy and the Lingam. After the pranapratistha, He waved His hand, and materialized a small Golded Naamam with a Red stone in the center and placed it on the Lingam, just below the sandal and vermillion mark, that symbolized the third eye of Shiva.  He profusely blessed and Super charged the Lingam. He vitalized and brought the Lingam to life, which henceforth would be the Deity Lord Sayeeshwara. After Praanapratistha He instructed us to proceed with the rituals and proceeded to Yajur Mandir.
7. During those days, Swamy talking to Mama said, and Mama recalls it very emotionally
   “You have little bit of ego. Why don’t you let it go?” Mama says, God only out of His Love only can give such an advice.
8. Another day during the dinner session, mama told us that there was no doubt that all of us were divinely chosen and it was not by chance, but only Divine will.  He told how Swamy took personal interest and care into even the minutest of details. Swamy instructed me to prepare the list of Ritwiks for ARMY, which I did obediently. I prepared a list and took it to Swamy. He glanced through the list and pointed which names were to be deleted from the list. He would point His finger on the name and say “ Remove this name. Remove this name”. After that He got medical examination of all the ritwiks performed to check if they could take such strain. During Darshan He instructed the Dean of the Hospital to personally conduct the medical checkup of the ritwiks. Few of them did not have enough physical strength and thus were dropped. Thus the final list was made. When the finalist was taken to Swamy, He blessed it and was satisfied and was happy about it.  

He was particular about the color of the angavastrams to be given to the Ritwiks, the contents if the deekshvastrams kit, the items on the menu for the ritwiks, which chutney to be served on which day, which sweet to be prepared on each day and things alike.  He was advised caution of the effects of food on ritwiks. It was a great lesson of Hospitality and caretaking , planning from God who is playing the Host of the great event. Nothing escaped His attention and watchful gaze. He would notice so many minute details in a casual glance, something we humans can possibly ever do, yet He was so Humane about it!

Now I understood, where from the Hospitality got “That” flavor… it was His presence and motivations that made all this possible, nay, it was He Himself conferring all that upon us invisibly.

9. He would call and ask the significance of various rituals that were being performed.  Not that He doesn’t know, the Veda Purusha Himself, but to freshen our memory and be extra caution and aware that Ari Rudra maha Yagna was being performed in the Presence of Rudra Himself. 
10. After poornahuti celebration, it is said that a rain is a sign of acceptance of the offerings. That day had absolutely clear August Prasanthi sky, bright no silver traces to spot. Just after the poornahuti. Swamy blessed the assembly by performing Yagna Prokshana personally. Swamy physically took the strain of blessing the entire assembly for their Joy. I was holding the silver vessel containing the sacred waters. I got exhausted and not He who was actually strenuously sprinkling the waters. How to record the fortune of the people who gathered there. Swamy was supporting His Right Hand with His Left Hand and continued to bless His devotees. After Swamy blessed the entire assembly, it started to rain! It rained rained for a few minutes and stopped on the Divine bidding as His devotees standing outside were getting drenched.  
11. After the conclusion of the yagna, He instructed all of us to assemble in the prayer hall. He arrived in His incomparable style. He sent away the boys and security personnel and everyone else. It was the ritwiks, myself and Swamy. He spent the entire forenoon with us, which each one of us recalls as the indelible forenoon of our lives.  Swamy spoke to each and everyone of us individually. He enquired about several personal things that were apparently unknown to Him and gave suggestions. It was a one – to – ONE session. He touched their lives, the Divine touch that transmutes into ‘Bangaru’. It was a pure Love session, and one common thing everyone would say is Swamy spoke to us with lots of Love. He was so down to earth ( the literal meaning of Avathar!). He permitted them to place their hands on His lap as we do while talking to our Mothers, to touch and intensely feel His soft palms, to closely look at His face and just feel His presence.
    
    One of the ritwiks wished to offer Swamy a Panchi. I discouraged him. Now this was outside the mandir and Swamy would never know about it.
    
    Swamy came close to this particular ritwik, I was also with Swamy. Swamy said “ vadu istanantunnadu kada, vadi santosham kosam ivvani”. It was a concrete evidence of His Love manifesting in the form of omniscience and acceptance of offering of love, with love.

Epilogue:

After reading and feeling the blessings, I believe I need not spend any more words to convey the Joy we all were conferred upon. It goes without saying that there is a huge shift in our levels of consciousness levels of understanding. For sure we are better organizers of our self and of events like of this scale now. Every time I was in the Yagashaala, I used to feel that something powerful and cosmic is taking place. The vibrations and energy generated were spreading throughout the universe. Only He knows what has transpired and the effects of this Yagna, for He is the One, for whose preethi all this was performed, and Who is the Divine motivator, the Great Performer and Acceptor of all the prayers and the Great Bestower of Boons.

One incident I recall – on the evening of the first day of the Yagna, we observed that the central path between the Yagna Gundas, which was reserved as Pavithra Paadam, the sacred path for Swamy to walk amidst us got intensely heated up, that it was burning hot to walk over it. There was no reason to explain why and how only that portion got heated up, without any physical contact for heat conduction and heat evolution, leaving the adjacent areas around the Yagna Gunda cool! We interpreted that He walked on that path, as a result of which the Energy Surge caused the strip of floor to get heated up.

We were more than a hundred people assembled in the Ashramam. Not on a single issue was there an argument or dispute, or expression of discomfort which very normally could occur in small family gatherings or functions. Perfect harmony prevailed. It appeared we were in some kind of a protective cocoon, invulnerable. There were no fevers, and other health related issues, given the fact that it was a completely foreign land, new atmosphere, food and water environment.

The pace and the way the events proceeded, be it supply of food and puja requirements, huge lotuses, fire woods, tins of Ghee, in a foreign land, all prove the organizers were truly instruments in the Divine Hands.

The trip was totally taken care of, by Swamy. Not a rupee or Baht was taken from the ritwiks, on the contrary, Dakshina was offered to all of us. We could have spent money, a lot of it, but could we ever get an experience like this? We could buy comforts, but not the Love that was showered on us. We could never buy the feeling of Oneness, and the hospitality and care. We could have bought food, but not the delicious and sumptuous Prasadam served with Love. We could have bought air tickets and foreign trips, not the company of Sai devotees, on a pilgrimage. We could have Loved Him and felt His presence, but I wonder, could it be so for 24x7 for eleven days, with such intensity, collectively, passionately with fellow Sai devotees.

Could we on earth spend a day totally immersed in His thoughts words and deeds, away from Cell phones, Television and Internet? We did it for Eleven Days!

There are so many blessings that were conferred upon us. We could possibly count the stars in the sky, measure the volume of waters in sea, but numbers would fall short if we started to count His boons. All this are about the tangible blessings, what about the veiled fruits of the Kalpatharu?

To count His leelas, and to describe Him and His Love are but for our satisfaction, ( nay, could we ever get ‘satisfied’?!). In reality He is beyond all description. His is the Will that prevails. He is the doer, the witness, the prayer, the acceptor of prayer, and the result of the Prayer.

We are His reflections, acting in our appointed way for His joy.  We play, we sing,  we do everything for Him, whether we know it or not, whether we accept it or not.

This work, also is composed for Him. He is Akshara.

Sayiparameshwara preethyartham, Sayi parameshwara Charanaaravindarpanamastu.

Samastha Loka Sukhino Bhavanthu.