A Message From Baba

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No matter where you go always do your duty as you see it, and know that I will be there inside you guiding you every step of the way.

In the years to come you will experience me in many different manifestations of my own.  You are my very own, dearer than dear to me.  I will protect you like the eyelids protect the eyes.  You already have me and I have you.  I will never leave you and you can never leave me.  From this point on do not hanker after anything.  Do your duty with unwavering love, seeing all as God.  Be patient.  In time evrything will be given unto you.

Be happy. There is no need to worry about anything.  Whatever is experienced, whatever happens, know that this Avatar willed it so.

There is no force on Earth which can delay for an instant the mission for which this Avatar has come.  You are all sacred souls and you will have your parts to play in the unfolding drama of the new Golden Age, which is coming.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Nothing

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Bear all and do nothing

Hear all and say nothing

Give all and take nothing

Serve all and be nothing.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The above quote from Sri Sathya Sai Baba is highly symbolic and goes way beyond the surface.  In this article I would like to humbly offer my own translation of Swami’s wonderful words.

“Bear all and do nothing” simply means to accept everything as it is, in the knowledge that all is in Divine and perfect order at any given time; “all” being God’s will.  When we detach from the ego we are able to do this, embracing both pleasure and pain with equal equanimity.

“Hear all and say nothing” All is God and God is All.  Therefore maintain silence and hear the voice of God, the inner voice of Love; for silence is the language of the spiritual seeker, and it is only in the silence that we can hear the voice of God.

“Give all and take nothing” Give of yourself to others wanting nothing in return.  There is nothing we can take anyway, because there is nothing in this earthly life that we can own, except our love which was given to us by God before time began.

“Serve all and be nothing”  This is very, very powerful indeed.  Following on from the last statement, the easiest way to serve God is to serve our fellow humans, because God dwells within the hearts of all.  Baba tells us that the easiest and most effective way to enlightenment is Karma Yoga, which quite simply means to serve others, completely without thoughts of self, wanting nothing in return.  When we give our love selflessly we are taking a step closer to God, and when we do that, God takes manifold steps towards us, filling us with Divine love in the process.  This ultimately will lead to Self-realization.

The symbolism doesn’t quite end there.  The word “nothing” itself has an extremely deeper meaning here than would appear on the surface.  We were all once “nothing” until we became ideas within the super-conscious mind of God.  We then became particles of “nothing” until God willed us into form.  So life is a journey from the formless, into form and then back to the formless; or “nothing”.

We can conclude by saying that this seemingly simple quote from our beloved Sai is actually a mini-instruction manual on how to achieve Self-realization and Oneness with the Divine.  If we bear all, hear all, give all and serve all, we will achieve “nothing”.  Nothing being the uncreated state of pure bliss.  Sai Ram.

Hell-Fire And Damnation

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I’ve been meaning to write an article on this subject for some time now. The reason being that the ancient scriptures of all the world’s major religions were written in the language and style of the era, and as such, have been misinterpreted by religious leaders and followers for centuries.  It’s because of this misinterpretation that many people who would otherwise have been interested in finding out more about the religion of their birth, or religion in general, have been put off and avoid anything to do with religion at all costs.  This is exactly what happened to me (but I’m actually glad of that because if religion hadn’t repelled me I would never have discovered my spiritual pathway).  But for the record, I was born “Church of England”, and therefore, having had no experience of any other religions when I was younger, I will be writing this article from the perspective of a “reluctant” Christian.

We didn’t go to church in our family, unless someone got married, although my mother expressed religious beliefs on occasion.  But I say “reluctant” Christian because, whether I liked it or not, I was a Christian by birth.  I was born in a predominantly Christian country, and that was the religion that was taught in school.  In many ways I was lucky to have had a father who wild horses would not have been able to drag into church at any cost, so I was not made to attend Sunday school or anything similar.  The only downside with having a completely non-religious father was that I didn’t have any spiritual guidance at all.  But I wouldn’t change anything because I found my pathway in the end, and I have no doubts whatsoever, that every minute detail fell into place in accordance with the Divine plan.  So, by now you must be wondering where this article is going?  Well, it’s like this, I felt that it would be a good thing to share some of the things that put me off religion, because I’m sure many feel the same way, and also to endeavour to give clarity to some of the misinterpretations.

What I really didn’t like was the use of words such as “sinners”, “repent”, “renounce” (sins), “righteousness”, and having to “burn in Hell” if I didn’t behave myself.  I also took exception (even today but in a nice calm way) to the Christian God who is “angry”, “jealous” and “vengeful” and who will have the audacity to judge me come “judgement day”, even though he seems to be quite immature and spoilt himself, and in no position to judge others.  Because apparently, not loving him in the way he demands to be loved, is the reason he gets angry, vengeful and jealous.  Love with conditions!  How pathetic and egoistic is that?

I feel that the word “sin” has been brutalised over the millennia and is now only a shadow of its former self.  A more accurate word to use would be “imperfection”.  You see, we all have imperfections; this is the reason we incarnate into flesh, in order to work on unresolved issues and karma from previous births, and ultimately get to the point where we don’t have to incarnate any more.  It stands to reason that we are bound to have imperfections, otherwise what would be the point of human birth?  So in the ancient scriptures the word “sin” referred to any action that was not in line with our soul pathway and purpose.  Those religious fundamentalists who say we are all born sinners, actually mean that we are born with certain unresolved issues that we need to work on and ultimately overcome.  They have simply not understood their own scriptures properly.

Next I’d like to deal with the word “repent”.  This is actually an easy one.  Originally, repenting meant “to follow an inner pathway that would lead to Self-realization; thus giving up the delusion that the bliss we all crave could be found outside of ourselves.”  If we didn’t repent (look to the God within, instead of following the cravings of our desires in the “world”), and if we didn’t stop sinning (engaging in acts not in line with our soul purpose), then we would remain chained to the cycle of birth and death.  Jesus said “the kingdom of Heaven is within you”, and he wasn’t joking.  So, in a nutshell, when we repent we seek the Heaven within, and give up the sin, which keeps us tied us to the “Hell” of continued human birth.  The true meaning of “Hell” is to be the constant slave of the mind that plays its tricks and causes us to stress and worry over nothing.  This state is only consistent with life on Earth, therefore by realizing the “Self” within, we free ourselves from the constant treadmill of birth and death.

To “renounce” sin is simply to cease from engaging in actions not conducive to our spiritual pathway, and “righteousness” simply means to engage in “right activity”; positive activity that is in line with our soul purpose, for example, being of selfless service to others.  I much prefer the Sanskrit word “dharma”, which means “right action”.  I believe that the confusion arises because the ancient scriptures are very symbolic in meaning and go much deeper than the surface, and over the course of time, religious leaders and followers have tended to take words such as “sin” and “repent” at surface value; hence we end up with hell-fire and damnation.

Of course another huge problem is that people tend to follow religion as a matter of blind faith; having a series of beliefs, held mainly through fear, and never realising these beliefs as truth by their own life experiences.  When people live their lives in accordance with their fears, instead of following the loving light that guides them from within, it can ultimately only lead to misery.  I believe a simple way of knowing if a particular religion or way of living is right for you is to give it the heart test.  If it conjures up a lovely feeling inside of you then it is right for you.  If makes you fear or feel uncomfortable then it isn’t.

Sai Humour 7

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It seems like a while since I’ve written an article on Sai humour, so here I am with part seven of this most intriguing of subjects.  On this occasion I’m going to share two gems concerning the American devotee, Dr John Hislop and a personal experience that happened no more than a few hours before writing this post.  Dr John Hislop was one of Swami’s closest devotees for many years until he departed this Earth in August 1995.

In 1973 Hislop accompanied Baba and some students on a trip to Bandipur forest where they spent Shivarathri.  It was during this trip Baba performed one of his most famous miracles ever, materializing a crucifix for Hislop.  When Baba performed this miracle the crucifix took a second or two to materialize instead of the usual nano second.  This prompted Swami to issue a tongue-in-cheek apology for it taking so long, adding that the reason for the delay was because the crucifix was made from some of the actual wood from the cross on which Jesus was crucified 2000 years ago.  The scientist in Hislop prompted him to get it checked out on returning to the US.  He gave it to a friend who was an expert in this particular field, and he confirmed that the wood was indeed around 2000 years old.  Six months later Hislop returned to India and he could not hide his embarrassment when Baba, with a cheeky grin on his face, said to him “so, you didn’t believe the wood was 2000 years old until you got it tested”.

On another occasion Baba materialized a ring for Hislop with an enamel picture of himself on it.  After some time the enamel developed some cracks, and not wanting to wear a broken image of Swami on his finger, he tied a piece of string through the ring and wore it around his neck.  When Baba asked him why he was wearing the ring around his neck Hislop replied “it’s my talisman Swami, as long as it’s on my body it reminds me to think of you whenever I’m in need of your care and protection”.  Some time passed and Hislop had a miraculous escape from death.  He was travelling in a taxi from Whitefield to Bangalore when a car was approaching at speed in the opposite direction.  The road was not wide enough for manouvering and Hislop, in terror, closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable impact.  After a few seconds he opened them again and was shocked to find that he was still travelling in the taxi with a clear road ahead.  He could not figure out how the driver had managed to avoid a collision, and he was still in a state of shock when he arrived at his hotel.  When Baba saw him the next morning, with a hint of sarcasm and a twinkle in his eye, he said “when you were in such a grave situation yesterday you didn’t think of me did you”.  But Baba’s love is boundless and he gave Hislop another ring.

This next example is so funny to me, because Baba used his humour to convey a message to me via someone else’s dream.  I find it so funny because it is very personal and very, very apt.  Somone who is very dear to me told me this morning that Baba had come to her in a dream and that she had been face to face with him.  Now Swami always said that when we dream of him it is not a dream but a visitation.  I explained this to my dear friend who has only come to know of Sri Sathya Sai Baba in the last few months.  She said that in the dream Baba asked her “do you know me?”.  She replied, “Yes, I know you through Richard Holmes”, to which Baba replied, “ahhh the foreigner”.

At first I just thought to myself that it was typical Baba and that it was one of his amusing quips.  But, I should have known better.  Swami never does or says anything just for the sake of it, and nothing that he ever does can be described as “typical”.  A couple of hours later the penny dropped, the light bulb in my head came on and I knew exactly what he meant when he referred to me as “the foreigner”.  It was extremely appropriate to my circumstances and his way of letting me know that he was aware of everything.  To me it was just wonderful to know that he blessed a very dear soul with his presence and at the same time delivered a personal message to me.  Oooooh that’s why I love him so!

A Wonderful Paradox

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One of the great things about the universe is that it has been created as a paradox.  Everywhere we look there are examples of this and I’m going to share with you such an example here; a truly wonderful example.

The philosophy of Stoicism has come in for a lot of criticism over the centuries because it is viewed (wrongly) as the philosophy of doom and gloom merchants; people who are constantly agonising over pain and death etc.  But if you look at Stoicism it is exactly the opposite.  It was apparent to me very quickly that the principles of Stoicism are the exact same principles that form the basis of all the worlds major religions.  That there is an individual in-dwelling spirit within the human physical body which is a part of the One Universal Spirit, that all of nature is interconnected with that self-same Universal Spirit and that each of us as individuals are responsible for our own lives; and that it’s not our circumstances that determine whether we are happy or not, it’s the way we deal with them.

One of the early Stoicist philosophers was the Greek Epictetus who was born into slavery.  He was moved to Rome by his master but later moved back to Greece after being granted his freedom.  Marcus Aurelius, one of only five Roman Emperors ever to have been considered “good”, also became a great philosopher who based his work on the teachings of Epictetus.  What a truly wonderful paradox, that Marcus Aurelius, a rich and powerful Roman Emperor who became a world-renowned and revered philosopher, was influenced by, and based his philosophy on, the work of Epictetus; a man who was born into slavery.  You really couldn’t make it up, and this inspiring and heart warming story truly and aptly illustrates the wonder of paradox.

Elephants Are Human Too

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It is probably the greatest love story in the history of the planet; The Avatar, Sri Sathya Sai Baba and Sai Gheeta the elephant.  Years ago a tiny elephant was crying out in the bush, all alone and afraid.  Some miles away in the village of Puttaparthi a “young” Avatar in the shape of Baba heard the infant’s cry and went to its rescue.  The elephant was so small that Baba was able to pick it up and put it in the back of a Land Rover; and so was born, the greatest love story ever.  Swami called the elephant “Sai Gheeta” and the two were together until May 2007 when Sai Gheeta departed this earth.  The elephant absolutely loved Baba beyond words and would get very agitated if ever he had to go away.  On one occasion Sai Gheeta kicked up such a fuss when he sensed Baba was leaving the ashram that Baba actually abandoned his engagement.

I remember watching a video that aptly demonstrated the pure and unconditional love that existed between Avatar and elephant.  Baba, in pristine orange robe, was petting Sai Gheeta who had a lot of saliva coming from his mouth.  Swami’s upper robe became drenched with elephant saliva but he simply carried on petting his loving devotee and didn’t even bat an eyelid.

After Sai Gheeta left his body Swami acquired another elephant, a female this time, who we were told was called “San Gheeta”.  During my first visit to Puttaparthi it did not even occur to me to find out where the elephant was kept and go and pay my respects; in fact, during my first visit in October 2009 I did not even realise that Sai Gheeta was no longer in his body.  However, during my second visit in February 2010 my then girlfriend, Ciara, mentioned Baba’s elephant and said we should find out where it’s kept and go and have a look.  We established that the elephant compound was up the road from the ashram, past The Hill View Stadium and on the other side of the road; approximately three-quarters of a mile away.  So, towards the end of our stay we decided to pay the elephant a visit.  We did a recce and found the compound and also found out the time when San Gheeta would be let out for her daily exercise.

The time came to go and visit the elephant compound, but as we set out we had no idea that Baba was to shower us in his blessings and grace beyond our wildest dreams.  The designated time for San Gheeta to appear was 4.00 p.m., but, as anyone who has visited India will be able to tell you, this is 4.00 p.m. Indian time.  What this means basically is that it could be anytime.  But we arrived outside the compound gate and waited patiently.  A seva dal arrived soon after and he confirmed that 4.00 p.m. was indeed the time for San Gheeta’s exercise.  As you can imagine 4.00 p.m. came and went and there was no sign of San Gheeta.  We looked through the wrought iron gate for any sign of activity, but there did not seem to be anything going on.  I should also point out that you are not normally allowed inside the compound.

All of a sudden, out of the blue, a seva dal came and unlocked the gate and ushered us inside (along with another man with a small child).  We couldn’t believe our luck!  As we entered the compound the Samadhi (tomb or resting place) of Sai Gheeta was on the right.  We were ushered a bit further on and then around to the left was San Gheeta with her mahout (keeper).  At first we did not like what we saw.  The elephant had chains around her feet and appeared to be in distress.  But we came to the conclusion that she was quite boisterous and would need to be restrained at times; she would also have been excited knowing that it was time for her exercise.  She was obviously very young, but absolutely huge.  The mahout unfastened the chains and guided her out of her little compound within the compound.

Ciara had a camera with her and the seva dals said we could take as many photos as we liked, and we took full advantage of this (see pic below).  She was absolutely beautiful.  Her eyes were just like human eyes, only much bigger, and she was gurgling just like a baby.  But what was really amazing was that she was SMILING.  Yes, San Gheeta was smiling; and her smile looked so human.  She just stood there while we petted her; it was such a fantastic experience and we knew that it had been engineered by Swami.  It was soon time to take the elephant out for her exercise and we followed as the mahout guided her to the compound gate.  Once outside she was guided right, down along the main road through Puttaparthi.  It was quite amusing really because she was just plodding along, looking so happy with this grin on her beautiful face, but because she was so huge we had to almost jog to keep up.  There was a video facility on Ciara’s camera that allowed five minutes recording time, so I recorded a five-minute video of proceedings.  Outside the compound we were joined by a Russian lady with her child who tried to feed San Gheeta bananas as she thundered along the road.  We then turned left into The Hill View Stadium, which sadly, meant that our amazing experience with the most beautiful of creatures was over; it all seemed to happen so quickly.  In the photo below, San Gheeta can be seen exiting the Samadhi of Sai Gheeta.  We were told that she likes to go into the samadhi as if she is making a spiritual connection with her departed “brother”, and this is exactly what she did on her way out of the compound.

Ciara and I split up soon after returning to England so I no longer have access to that video.  But I often think about the time we spent in the company of San Gheeta, all because of the loving grace of Sri Sathya Sai Baba.  I will never forget her eyes, her gurgling sounds and her wonderful smile. Who says elephants aren’t human!

One Who Thinks Rationally

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Have you ever wondered why, that in spiritual texts and scriptures the word “man” is always used to describe the human race, with no mention of “woman”?  Also, have you ever wondered why there is a tendency to always describe something that could either be male or female in the masculine; as though one half of the human race is being completely ignored?

Well, I have often wondered why this is so, and simply put it down to the fact that in the old days there was some very archaic ideas as to the role of women in society, and therefore anything and everything that could be either male or female was described as being male as a matter of course.  Well, things certainly seem to have evolved in that way, for example, God is always deemed to be male, but believe it or not, that’s not how it was actually meant when the ancient scriptures were originally written.

In his book, The Yoga of Jesus, Paramahansa Yogananda gives a wonderful explanation of how the word “man” came to be used as a generalisation.  He explains that the use of “man” in more modern-day translations of spiritual scriptures came from the Sanskrit word manas, meaning “one who thinks rationally”, and I would like to offer my own humble interpretation of why this word would have been used.  The term “one who thinks rationally” applies to any human soul who has taken birth into flesh.  The reason being that “rational thinking” only applies here within the earthly dimension; the realm of the relative.  As humans we rationalize everything, we apply logic to everything; everything must be “hot or cold”, “sweet or sour”, “up or down”, “in or out”.  We always think in terms of “I am happy” or “I am sad”, “I am feeling pleasure” or “I am feeling pain”.  Everything has to have a label and everything belongs in its own box, therefore the term “one who thinks rationally” applies to any individualised being of spirit who has incarnated into the realm of rational thinking.  In our Divine form we are neither male nor female, yet we are both, so manus does not refer to male or female but rather to any individual soul.

Yogananda went on to say that it made things so complicated having to differentiate between male and female all the time, that in the end, the word “man” was adopted as a generalisation.  And that, my friends, is why, that in this modern age, where women are much more appreciated and have careers of their own and positions of power in society, spiritual texts and scriptures can appear to be so sexist and outdated.

A New Year’s Blessing

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I’ve never been a great lover of New Year’s Eve and tend to just hibernate until it’s all over.  This year was no different, but at 00:45 a.m., just 45 minutes into 2012 I decided to start the year with a meditation; and what a wonderful meditation it was.  I lit some candles and got comfortable; very quickly blocking out the sound of fireworks from outside.  It wasn’t long before I was enfolded in the most amazing celestial presence.  It was like being covered in candy floss but without the stickiness; the energy was so soft and gentle.  My celestial friend sat next to me and held my hand as I opened my heart and shared my hopes and fears for the coming months.

I have to say that this kind of thing is not uncommon, in fact it’s quite a regular occurrence, and I also have to say that sometimes I do forget just how lucky I really am.  I have experiences on a regular basis that many will only ever dream about, and these experiences are as natural to me as switching on a light or making a cup of tea.

As if I wasn’t blessed enough at the onset of 2012, later in the day I made the trip to Bath to attend New Year bhajans with my friends in the Bath Sai Baba Group.  We had a wonderful shared lunch followed by devotional singing; it really was a lovely afternoon.

Yes I am a very, very lucky man indeed and I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to God for all the blessings I have received over the years, all the blessings I continue to receive today and the many blessings I will receive in the future….. and to you dear reader I would like to wish you a 2012 of peace, health, happiness and golden opportunities.

May God be with you always.

The Divine Teaser Part Two

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In part two of The Divine Teaser I would like to share with you a little story that relates to my second visit to Prasanthi Nilayam, in February 2010.  As in part one, this event happened on my last day and it is also a prime example of Sai humour.

I went with a companion on my second visit, my then girlfriend, Ciara.  We decided to stay the first night in a good hotel and then see about accommodation on the ashram or find a simple apartment.  A significant thing also was that when we planned our trip we did not realise that it would coincide with Maha Shivaratri; one of the busiest festival times of the year.  The ashram had been unbelievably busy during my first visit, which coincided with Diwali and Gujarati New Year, but this time the volume of people was just unreal.  Because Ciara had a stomach condition, that meant she was in a great deal of pain for most of our stay, we ended up just staying in a very basic apartment for the duration.  Once the festival was under way we didn’t have much choice anyway because it would have been nigh-on impossible to find an alternative, what with the sheer numbers of people in the village.  I’d known before we set off that this trip was about her and not me.  I knew in my heart that Swami was calling Ciara; I also knew that he was aware of her stomach pains and that the harsh conditions of the ashram would have been too much for her to cope with.

Our apartment was down a side street but opposite a shop that sold T-shirts.  The motifs on the T-shirts were machined on the premises and the noise from the sewing machine was deafening.  As a result we did not sleep that well during the whole of our stay, but we kind of got used to it as the days passed.

Because of the volume of people in Puttaparthi (and on the ashram itself), I didn’t even bother to go through the business of laying my cushion down early in the hope of getting a place in the first line; I was just content to sit anywhere in Sai Kulwant Hall, and quite often I just sat at the back.  However, by the time we reached the last day of our stay Shivaratri was over, the crowds subsided and I decided that I was going to have one last go at getting as close as I could to Sri Sathya Sai Baba.  I knew that it would not only be my last darshan of the trip, but my last darshan ever, because Swami had already let me know that I would not be returning to Puttaparthi.  Baba has a way of letting you know things on an inner level, in the same way that he calls the millions and millions of devotees to the ashram; it’s just something that you know; words and physical presence are not necessary.

So, come mid-morning I lay my cushion down in the line to reserve my place and then went off about my business.  Early-ish afternoon I returned and took my place with my cushion along with the other hopefuls, and waited for the comedy capers to begin.  For the benefit of anyone reading this who has never been to Prasanthi Nilayam for the darshan of Sri Sathya Sai Baba I shall briefly explain the process of “the lines”.  Once morning darshan has finished you are allowed to go and place your cushion down in a designated area in order to reserve your place in the queue for evening darshan.  Once your cushion has been placed you can disappear until mid afternoon (but in the meantime hope that nobody steals your cushion and/or your place in the queue).  Once the first line of cushions stretches back up the hill until it can’t go any further, another queue is formed next to it.  At around 2:00 to 2:30 p.m. the queues are moved down alongside Sai Kulwant Hall.  This is where the fun begins because you get people who have not been queueing trying to sneak in and this can develop into pushing and shoving.  The two lines are then formed into four lines alongside the hall.  At some point the four people at the head of each line are invited to draw a token out of a bag, and whichever line draws token number one gets to go into the hall first, thus getting the chance to sit right at the front and get close to Baba.  Running is supposed to be strictly forbidden in such a sacred place, but as soon as people get inside they go tearing down to the front as though their lives depend on it.

I couldn’t believe my luck when the line I was in drew token number one.  Now before I go any further I will just say this.  Anyone who has had experience of Swami will know that he quite often plays Divine games (leelas), not only that, he sometimes gives us our own personal leela.  So, there I was in the line that drew token number one; things just couldn’t get any better, I was going to see my loving Lord’s Divine form one more time before leaving.  I got into the hall and sure enough people started running towards the front.  I tried my hardest to be disciplined but the trouble is, because of the runners, even though you may be in line one, if everyone runs past you and takes up all the spaces on the front row, then you wont get your prime spot.  So, seeing what was happening I convinced myself that Swami wouldn’t mind and I broke out into a trot.  However, because of other people’s selfishness I did not get my place in the front row.  But I still got a great position in row two directly opposite where Baba comes out.  There was two people sitting in front of me but I was sitting directly in the middle of their two sets of shoulders so I had a really good view; I was very excited and thanked Swami for getting me this spot.  As I have mentioned in previous posts it had got to the stage where Baba very rarely came out for morning darshan anymore, but you could bet your shirt on him coming out for evening darshan.

So I sat in my prime position, the Vedas were chanted and the bhajans were sung.  The time was getting on, so “anytime now” I thought to myself; I would see that orange robe in the distance and my heart would explode with love and my eyes would fill with tears of joy.  Then I would watch in anticipation as Baba came closer and closer to where I was sitting and I would get a really good glimpse of him.  “You never know”, I thought, “I might even get that all elusive eye contact.”  The bhajans went on and on, “yes, anytime now”, I thought again; and on and on they went.  Then I noticed something that I must admit, I found rather amusing.  There was an older Indian man sitting near me who kept looking around as though he was trying to attract the attention of anyone who would entertain him.  As he looked around with a very indignant look on his face he kept pointing at his watch, as if to say “what time does he call this”.  Then he would point and gesticulate with his hands as if miming “just who does he think he is, keeping us waiting like this”.  Then to my amazement ararthi* was called and the man got up and walked off in a huff.  The realization then dawned on me that Baba was having a bit of amusement in the way that only Baba can.

Every now and then Swami used to remind us that we were becoming far too attached to his physical form, and this was one such occasion.  I also felt that this was his way of telling me that I shouldn’t take things for granted.  I must admit that I was a bit disappointed that my dear Swami never came out, knowing that I wouldn’t see his physical form again, but I also saw the funny side and had a good old chuckle to myself.  In truth the whole thing was just one of Swami’s leelas.  There I was running (I’m ashamed to admit it) in Sai Kulwant Hall because I was scared of losing my place in the front row, but the reality is that we only ever sit where Swami puts us.  We all think that we are in control but all the time the Divine puppet master is having his play.  I have no room for complaint anyway because dear Baba had already blessed us beyond our wildest dreams before this incident occurred, and that will be the subject of a future blog post.

As long as I remain on this Earth I will never forget the sight of that man pointing at his watch and complaining that Sri Sathya Sai Baba was keeping us waiting; absolutely priceless.

*Arathi, aarthi or aarti (from the Sanskrit term Aaraatrik) is the ritual performed at the end of every darshan, in which the flame from wicks soaked in camphor is offered to the Divine. Aartis also refers to the song which is sung as darshan comes to a close.

The Divine Teaser

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There were times when dear loving Swami could be such a teaser, and I’m going to share two of my own personal experiences with you here.

The first one took place on the last day of my first visit to Prasanthi Nilayam back in October 2009.  It had been quite an eventful first visit, experiencing life on the ashram and Baba’s leelas, and I’d decided that on the last night I was going to treat myself to a comfortable hotel room.  Even the most expensive hotels in Puttaparthi are very cheap by UK standards so I booked myself into the Sai Towers Hotel, just opposite one of the main gates to the ashram.  The good thing was that it was a 24 hour reservation, meaning that because I arrived at around 7.00 p.m. I had the room until 7:00 p.m. the next day.  Also, for the previous two or three days there had been rumours circulating that Swami would be leaving the ashram to inaugurate a new ashram in Pune.  Where Swami is concerned you can never pay much attention to any rumours that may be flying around, however, this is one rumour that turned out to be true.  On the final day of my visit Baba was indeed off to Pune.

Even though my room was very comfortable I did not sleep that well and I arose quite early.  At some stage I heard chanting coming from the ashram.  I didn’t think anything of it at first but then I realised that it was only about 07:00 a.m. and the Vedic chanting on the ashram does not usually start until 08:00 a.m.  In my naive innocence I presumed that there was an earlier than normal darshan because Baba was going away for a few days.  This was not the case however and I can only presume that the chanting was to honour “God in human form” and to see him on his way.  For some reason I decided to head downstairs.  I say “for some reason” because there was no logical reason for me doing so.  It was still early and I didn’t feel like breakfast at that precise moment, but nonetheless I found myself heading down the stairs.

When I reached the ground floor I noticed that there was people lining the street.  For a moment I wondered what was going on; and then the realisation hit me.  I ventured outside to a hive of activity, and within a few moments of me being out there, Baba’s car swung out of the gate and turned to head right past me.  I couldn’t believe it, my loving Lord engineered my own personal “car darshan” for me on my last morning in Puttaparthi.  As the car went past with Swami’s tiny figure in the back seat I was screaming and pleading in my head for him to make eye contact with me.  But did he do it?  No, of course not; he teased and tantalized me with a view of his Divine human form, he engineered my own personal darshan with precision timing, but he wasn’t going to make eye contact with me.  Ever the Divine teaser, it was as though Baba handed me a bag of sweets, let me eat some and then took them back before I could get to my favourites.  But what he did do was suffuse my heart with his love, and what a feeling it was; my heart just melted.  I felt so blessed that Swami did that for me, and to this day, when I look back on that event I always have a little chuckle to myself at how he manages to tease us until we are on the verge of bursting.  I’m sure there are millions of devotees all over the world who have similar stories to tell.

Watch this space for part two.