Tag Archives: Sathya Sai Baba

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.

Christmas With Baba

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On Saturday 17 December 2011 a very special event took place at the Punjabi Community Centre in Swindon, Wiltshire, United Kingdom.  It was a Christmas celebration and carol service organised by the Sri Sathya Sai Service Organisation UK.  Nothing so special about that maybe, except that in the past all the SSSSO UK Christmas celebrations have been on a regional basis.  2011 was the first time it was ever held as a national event, and it was a blessing that it just happened to be held in region 7, which covers the area where I live.  So, it was with great anticipation that I set off on that Saturday morning and drove the 22 miles or so to Swindon Punjabi Centre.

The wonderful stage at the national SSSSO UK Christmas celebration in Swindon 17 December 2011
What never fails to amaze me whenever I attend a Sai event is the amount of sheer hard work and organisation that goes into them.  Every minute detail is covered, and this event was no exception.
Because Christmas is, by and large, a Christian celebration, the organisers enlisted the services of two Christian Ministers to conduct the service AND we were also blessed with a gospel choir who travelled all the way down from Leicester.  The event started with some devotees singing songs based on Christian Taize chanting.  This was followed by the carol service.  There then followed an interval for lunch where we feasted on traditional Western Christmas vegetables and stuffing, washed down with non-alcoholic red and white fizzy wine.  Once again I feel I have to mention the tremendous hard work that was put in by the volunteer chefs and food servers in feeding the hungry hoards.
During the second part of the proceedings we were treated to the singing of the gospel choir, and the hilarious antics of “Santa” who blessed us by making a surprise appearance.  Our wonderful Omnipresent Swami, Sri Sathya Sai Baba made his presence felt throughout the afternoon, and I for one had great difficulty joining in properly with the singing because our Lord constantly filled my heart with his love and my eyes kept filling up with tears.
I also feel that I need to mention here the amazing Patrick (of whom I have spoken in a previous post.  Please click on the link to view this post https://richardfholmes.wordpress.com/2011/09/10/sri-sathya-sai-baba-never-forgets-his-children-part-one/ )  As usual, speaking to Patrick was a great inspiration, but I was also amazed yet again at what he told me.  If you look at the photo of the stage (above) you will notice the white figures.  Well, dear Patrick, noted for his stagecraft skills, was asked at short notice if he could come up with something for the event; and he most certainly did.  This amazing man made those figures, working late at night and early morning because he also has a day job.  With another colleague he set off from Bath very early in the morning whilst most of us were still in dreamland, in order to arrive in good time at The Punjabi Centre so that the stage could be erected.
I know that it is not Sai policy to single out individuals for special praise, and this is why I want to end this post by mentioning once again the incredible work that all the organizers and volunteers put into this event.  As well as the lovely food we were also kept supplied with as much tea, coffee and soft drinks as we needed and there was also the usual sweets and cakes.  The Sri Sathya Sai Book Shop, based in North London, also sent some representatives to set up a makeshift shop.  I personally acquired two wonderful photos taken from Swami’s final darshan and a fantastic book of spiritual quotes taken from the religions of the world.
Dear friends as we get ready to celebrate this very special time of the year and then welcome in 2012, we should bare in mind that for all of us as individual beings of spirit, our own personal Christmas day will be the day we awaken the Christ Consciousness within ourselves.

The Three Day Week

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Don’t ever let anyone tell you that there are seven days in a week; there are, in fact, only three, and of those three only one has any significance.

First lets look at the two pointless days in our three-day week.  There is “yesterday”; which is in the past and cannot in any way be returned to us (not even for all the chocolate in my local shop).  Anyway, when yesterday was here it wasn’t yesterday, it was “TODAY” (can you guess where this little article is going yet?).   Then we have “tomorrow” which will be today when it arrives (guessed yet?).  At the moment “tomorrow” consists of nothing more than a series of jumbled thoughts whizzing around in your mind; indeed, as sure as Tottenham Hotspur have no chance of winning the Premier League some peeps out there will have convinced themselves that tomorrow will bring the end of the world and will be sick with worry right now.

In truth, the only day that really matters is TODAY, because it’s all we have and it represents an opportunity to make a difference.  What will you do with your today, today?

The past is gone and the future is uncertain

When tomorrow comes it is today

Therefore the time is NOW

See good, be good, do good…… Now!

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Just Another Day At The Office For The Birthday Boy

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It seems quite appropriate to be writing this article on this particular day; November 23, the 86th anniversary of Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s descent into flesh.  Devotees all over the world will be celebrating today but I’m going to tell you about an incident that occurred on Saturday 19 November in Cheltenham, when The Sai Organisation UK Region 7 held a regional birthday celebration in honour of our beloved Sai.  I must say that when I first heard it was to be held in Cheltenham this year I was a bit dubious to say the least.  I have never liked Cheltenham; it is a smallish town but very, very busy.  Traffic is quite often gridlocked and the town centre road network is not exactly driver friendly, especially if you don’t know where you are going.  Yes, I still have memories of being lost in Cheltenham on a number of occasions and driving around aimlessly getting more and more frustrated.  But I wasn’t going to let a little thing like that stop me from paying my respects to Swami.

I set off nice and early to take into account that I was, in all likelihood, going to get lost.  Surprise, surprise I reached my destination without any hitch and I arrived at The Cheltenham Hindu Community Centre in plenty of time.  There is always food laid on at these events and it never fails to amaze me just how sumptuous it is.  All of Cheltenham Sai Group worked tremendously hard in organizing the event, but the ladies who prepared the food must take a special pat on the back.  As ever, it was basic vegetarian fayre, but unbelievably good.  The chick pea curry was mouth-watering and the Indian sweets were out of this world.  Lunch was actually the first thing on the agenda before the celebrations started at 2:00 p.m.

The event kicked off with a wonderful little play by the kids from Swindon Sathya Sai Education Group, and there followed a lovely video “Love In Action” that highlighted Swami’s fresh drinking water, hospital and educational projects (unfortunately, the video had to be cut short due to time restrictions).  As the devotional singing and the event in general was drawing to a close an elderly lady in a wheelchair had a cardiac arrest.  Fortunately, there was a couple of GP’s present and also a couple of nurses.  But I found what followed so surreal.

The lady was very quickly lifted from her wheelchair and placed on the floor, where she immediately received CPM from a male nurse.  He moved so fast it was quite unbelievable.  Whilst the doctors and nurses attended to the lady someone called for an ambulance.  A makeshift screen was then formed by a number of other ladies using sheets; this gave a degree of privacy to the patient and helped to maintain her dignity.  Almost simultaneously most of the people not involved started to chant the Gayatri mantra.  I always feel so completely and utterly helpless in these situations but joined in the chanting.  It must have taken the paramedics at least 15 minutes to arrive, and it must have been very strange for them as they entered the hall with so many people chanting whilst a patient was receiving life saving first aid on the floor.

I remember thinking to myself as the drama began to unfold “what a way to go”.  It seemed that Swami had decided to take her, bathed in his Omnipresence, in an environment that she loved amongst other devotees, having just finished celebrating her Lords glory; I was convinced she was gone.  However, after a short time had lapsed we received a signal that the lady was going to be alright, and all those engaged in the chanting instinctively brought it to a close.  The paramedics took the lady to hospital and one of the attending GP’s made an announcement.

The female GP told us that the lady had indeed suffered a cardiac arrest.  She also informed us that the lady had stopped breathing and that she had turned black.  So we can conclude that the elderly lady had indeed “died”.  My friend Satyan from Bath, knowing that I didn’t particularly like driving in Cheltenham, called me later that night to make sure I’d arrived home in one piece.  He’d had a lift from the male nurse who’d performed the CPM.  During the drive back the man told Satyan that the lady would not have survived had they waited for the paramedics, so it just goes to show that it was not the lady’s time to go and Baba, from his cosmic residence, had somehow engineered the whole event as if it was nothing more than a scene from a play.  I have been to many of these functions now and never experienced anything like it before, so the drive home was very strange indeed; with everything swimming around in my head.  Now, five days later, I am still trying to get my head around the events of last Saturday; events that I found very surreal indeed.

Surreal for me maybe, but it was just another day at the office for the birthday boy!

Sai Baba – Avatar & Human Being

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Dear loving Swami was known by devotees the world over for the multitude of miracles that he performed during his 85 years in physical form; miracles such as raising people from the dead (even when the corpse had started to rot), control over the elements and the ability to appear in a multitude of places simultaneously, to name but a few.  But what I personally found most heart warming about Baba was his human side.  Maybe not quite as spectacular in the eyes of the average devotee, but he had this way of showing his human-ness in the most simplistic of ways; ways that really touched the heart.   He always used to say that we should never try to comprehend him because he was quite simply beyond comprehension.  But he also used to say that the reason he walked among us, breathed the same air and ate and spoke just like any other normal human being was so we could relate to him.  So, I suppose it’s for this reason that there was also something incredibly human about Baba.

The late professor Gokak who was very close to Swami for a number of years recalled the time when he accompanied Baba on a trip.  The professor spoke of how Baba had forgotten his razor, saying “so I just gave him mine”.  He also spoke of how easy it was to forget just who Baba really was because sometimes “we would laugh and joke together and in those moments he was simply my friend.”  But one of the most amusing stories I ever heard was when Swami was much younger and he took a party to the Himalayas.  He played snowballs with the group and also enjoyed himself on a sledge.   But during the same trip he visited a cave-dwelling sage and gave him the ultimate blessing by showing him his cosmic form.

I was once blessed with experiencing Swami’s human-ness first hand whilst sitting in darshan during my first trip to Prasanthi Nilayam.  I’d managed to get myself a prime spot directly opposite where Swami used to make his entrance; I couldn’t believe my luck, and what happened next was absolutely amazing.

Sitting just along from me, to my right, was a man.  Behind him was a younger man holding a child.  She was a beautiful little girl and they were obviously all connected.  At one point the younger man passed the little girl to the man in front and he had her on his lap fanning her.  Immediately two Seva Dals approached and told the man that the child would have to be passed back.  This made the Seva Dals look particularly mean, but I didn’t realise it at the time that children were not allowed in the front row.  Apparently there had been various incidents over the years and eventually the ruling was made that children were no longer allowed to sit in the front row.  The man protested long and hard but in the end he had to relent and pass the child back to the younger man.  I also felt for the Seva Dals because on the whole they do a fantastic job, they are all volunteers and it was not the fault of the two Seva Dals in question.  The beautiful thing about this though, is that I was one of only a handful of people who actually saw this story unfold in its entirety, and I feel privileged that Swami engineered this so that I could witness it.

As Baba approached one of the men gave the little girl a letter and they stood her up so that Baba could see.  He has a way of letting his attendants know when to stop and when to start and which direction to wheel him in etc.  The child held the letter out to Baba and he halted and motioned for her to come forward.  He took the letter and she bent down and touched his feet.  He then blessed her and a cheeky grin broke out on his face.  As it did so a huge cheer went up and the section of the crowd that had seen this wonderful event in detail applauded.

It was Swami’s way of letting us know that he knew what had happened with regard to the child not being allowed to sit in the front row; and there is simply no way that he could have seen the earlier incident as he was still in his quarters at the time.  The face of the child’s father was an absolute picture and it was a truly wonderful gesture by Baba.  The unfortunate thing is that because the hall was so packed only those near the front were a party to this amazing event, and only a handful saw the whole event from start to finish.  I am truly privileged to be one of that handful.

Baba must have been about ten feet or so away from me when he called the child forward.  It was fantastic for me seeing Swami face on, and what I found striking was that as he approached he looked absolutely beautiful.  I never thought I would ever describe a man as being beautiful, but Baba was not of this earth.  He looked so tiny in his wheelchair but the power he gave off was absolutely awesome.

It’s now seven months since dear Swami discarded his physical form, and it would be ridiculous to say that his form is not missed by devotees everywhere.  But everyone I speak to says the same thing; since Swami left his body it seems as though he is even more Omnipresent than ever.  His love seems to be even more prominent than it was; if that is at all possible.  I, for example, have lost count of the times since April 24 that he has made his presence felt within my heart and my eyes have filled with tears of joy.  There’s definately something bubbling under, and I can’t wait for it to surface.

 

 

It’s All A Matter Of Perspective

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It’s an amazing thing, perspective; it’s all to do with how we perceive things as individuals.  One man’s success is another man’s failure and what may seem fantastic to one person may be run-of-the-mill to another.  I would like to share with you a personal experience that I believe illustrates this very aptly.

In October 2009 when I went to the ashram, Prasanthi Nilayam (Abode of the Highest Peace), of Sri Sathya Sai Baba for the first time, I met an Australian man named Dave.  ”Aussie Dave” as I called him, was just one of many wonderful characters that I encountered during my two-week stay.  I first spoke to Dave after darshan one evening.  I can’t remember the circumstances, but I do remember having seen him around the ashram and in darshan before then.  He was a big man, but when you spoke to him you realised he had a heart of gold.  After our encounter in the darshan hall I bumped into him a couple more times before he went back to Australia.  There was one particular conversation I had with him that I found both interesting and surprising.  I should point out here that whenever devotees of Baba cross paths it is always, without exception, because Baba has engineered it; and there is always a reason.

I was in awe of many of the people I spoke to during my stay, and Dave was no exception,  because Baba had only come into my life in 2001 and this was the first time I’d received the call.  Dave had been a devotee for many years and had experiences with Swami that I could only ever dream about.  He showed me a ring he was wearing that Baba had materialised for him; he also said that this was his eighth visit to Prasanthi (sometimes he brought his wife but on this occasion he’d travelled alone) and not only had he been granted interviews with Baba as part of a group, but he’d also had a personal interview as well.  I was green with envy, but not in a bad way; I was very happy for him that Swami had showered him with so much grace, but at the same time I was thinking ”I wish I’d had those experiences too”.  He also told me what I thought was quite an amusing story.

On the occasion in question he’d travelled to Prasanthi alone and was lucky enough to have been summoned with some other devotees for a group interview.  He told how Baba had been speaking to him and suddenly left and went into an adjoining room.  Dave said that Swami seemed to take an age before he came back and there had also been crashing sounds coming from the other room; as if filing cabinets were being opened and closed.  He went on to say that Baba suddenly appeared again, threw one of his robes at him and said ”here, give that to your wife”!

Anyway, I digress, back to perspective and the point of this article.  There I was in awe of this man’s experiences with my wonderful Swami, he’d visited the ashram eight times, had group and personal interviews, had a ring that Swami materialised for him and he also had one of Baba’s coveted robes back home in Australia.  It all made my experiences seem so trivial.  After all, apart from the astral experience I had with Baba in December 2006, my encounters with my loving Guru consisted mainly of visitations during dream state.  But, when I shared with Dave my humble exploits with the ”God Man” I was dumbfounded to hear him say ”I’ve never experienced anything like that”.  He was genuinely amazed when I shared my experiences with him.

I’ve always heard devotees say that Baba knows us all inside out and he only ever gives us exactly what we need for our long-term spiritual growth and well-being.  He also only connects with us in ways that we can best relate to him; and I would agree with that 100%.  I often think of that conversation I had with Aussie Dave and still try to get my head around why, a man who’d had such incredible first hand experiences with The Avatar of the age, would be so amazed at mine, which seemed so trivial compared to his.  Having said that, I remain the only person I know who has had an astral experience with Baba.

I know there was a special lesson for me contained within that conversation.  I know also that I am ever so grateful for the experiences that I’ve had with Sri Sathya Sai Baba, even if they don’t seem as spectacular as some other people’s.

But I suppose it’s all just a matter of perspective!

Sai Humour 6

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The Sai Humour series wouldn’t be  complete without mentioning Professor N. Kasturi.  Kasturi was a wonderful man who was close to Baba for many years and was well into his 90’s when he left this Earth.  Kasturi was the editor of the ashram magazine, Sarathana Sarathi, and some-time translator for Swami when he gave discourses; he was also a lecturer in many spiritual topics and I’m going to share with you a few of the great professor’s experiences at the hands of Baba’s sense of humour.

Kasturi once accompanied Baba to Coorge where he was to translate a discourse from Swami’s Telugu dialect into Kannada, which was the regional language.     Coorge is an area that has the highest levels of rainfall in Southern India.  Baba asked Kasturi to address the crowd of around 10,000 people before he gave his discourse.  The good professor, noticing the build-up of rain clouds in the distance, decided to relate a story from The Bhagavad Gita which told how Lord Krishna protected his devotees from torrential rain after Indra, the rain God, retaliated after perceiving that Krishna had insulted him.  Kasturi went on to reassure the crowd that Swami had control over the elements and would not allow them to get soaked.

As Baba was giving his discourse the rain clouds got closer and closer and Kasturi was panicking that the crowd would get wet and that it would make both him and Baba look stupid.  Throughout the discourse he sent out prayers to Baba apologising for being so presumptuous and pleading with him to stop the rain.  All the time the clouds got closer and closer and Kasturi felt more and more awful; not only that, Baba’s discourse went over time which really had poor Kasturi in a panic.  Baba eventually finished by addressing the crowd  thus.  ”This Kasturi, though he gave the story of the rain, does not have faith.  All the time he worried in his mind whether I will be able to stop the rain.  The rain will come now; it will be here in 15 minutes so all of you get home.”

Years ago Kasturi accompanied Baba on a trip to Benares.  He had a desire to receive a mantra from Baba and mentioned this to him.  He then went and bathed in the Ganges and fasted for the remainder of the morning in expectation of having his request granted.  As the day moved into afternoon the mantra was not forthcoming, and Kasturi was so upset at this that he shed tears.  At lunch he found himself seated next to Baba who asked him ”why aren’t you eating”?  Holding back the tears Kasturi said ”the mantra”.  Baba then asked him ”what is the purpose of a mantra?”  ”To get closer to the Lord” Kasturi replied.  Baba looked down at the professor’s arm and then at his own; they were almost touching.  He then smiled sweetly and in his very down to earth way said to Kasturi ”how much closer do you want to get”?

I will end by sharing with you the very amusing story of one of Baba’s pranks.  One evening in 1959 he sent someone to tell Kasturi to report to his room at the mandir.  When the professor arrived at Baba’s quarters Baba said that he needed to take a photo of him because the editor  of a major Hyderabad daily had been in touch wanting to write an article on Kasturi and the ashram magazine.  Baba told Kasturi he had promised this editor a photo of him and that he wanted to take it right away.  He also said that he had acquired a very special camera specifically for this purpose so he should go and get himself ready.  Kasturi rushed back to his quarters, got showered, shaved and put his best clothes on, he then rushed back over to Baba; arriving back in the presence with a huge grin on his face.

Baba got hold of Kasturi’s shoulders and manoeuvred him into the required position.  He then stepped back the appropriate distance and looked through the camera lens.  After complementing Kasturi on his photogenic face Baba shouted ”steady” followed immediately by ”ready”.  Baba then clicked and Kasturi shrieked and jumped back into the corner of the room as a black blotch with a tail shot out of the camera and bounced off his neck.  It turned out to be a trick camera that fired a cotton mouse.  Baba burst out laughing (and so did Kasturi, but only to relieve the tension).

As we know, The Avatar does not play these pranks just for the sake of it; there is always a spiritual lesson to be learned.  He gently reprimanded Kasturi for allowing his ego to be inflated by the story he’d invented about the newspaper editor; saying that the fact he was editor of the ashram magazine was not the kind of news the world was interested in.  Lasting fame is not to be sought through newspapers that turn into waste paper the very next morning, but through service to God.  Kasturi remarked some time later that he left the room a much wiser man.

Sai Humour 5

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I would like to share with you three more amusing littles stories from the Sai Humour series of articles.

In the interview room once Sai Baba asked a devotee ”how do you spell wife”?  Before the man could answer Baba said  ”W.I.F.E, Worry Invited For Ever”.  Then seeing the look of disappointment on the face of the man’s wife he corrected himself and very sweetly said ”Wisdom Invited For Ever”.

A young man with long hair was amongst a number of devotees who had been called for a group interview one day.  After teasing the man for looking like a woman Baba told him to get a haircut.  The man said ”will you cut the first lock Swami”.  Shaking his head in mock horror Baba said ”I am Baba not barber”!

The American Dr John Hislop was blessed with having spent a lot of time with Swami before he left this Earth in 1996.  One day Hislop was invited along with Baba and other devotees to the house of a very well meaning devotee for lunch.  On seeing that there was not going to be enough food to go round Baba said to Hislop ”go to the car and bring the food”.  Hislop, knowing that there was no food in the car went anyway, expecting Baba to have performed one of his miracles.  But even he did not expect the sight that greeted him.  He was astounded to see two angels, complete with wings, standing by the car holding trays of food.  He took the trays and went back in the house with his mouth wide open in amazement.  On seeing the look on his face Baba said ”shut your mouth Hislop, they are always there, it’s just that you do not see them”!

Being Looked After

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I’ve been thinking lately how unbelievably lucky I am.  Having said that, I’m sure it’s true to say that I’ve earned my luck over many lifetimes, but I can’t help thinking how unbelievably lucky I am that the Divine looks after me in the way that he/she does.  Indeed, I am living proof that the phrase ”somebody up there must have been looking down on me” is very apt.  In the earlier stages of this life I got myself into some sticky situations because of my naivety and desperation to ”belong” and later as a soldier stationed in Germany my choice of haunts left something to be desired; but miraculously I always seemed to avoid trouble.  More recently my ignorance of certain matters has left me in extremely vulnerable situations, but again, I remain unscathed.

At the age of 14 I’d got in with the wrong crowd.  I’d had very difficult relationships with my parents (for different reasons) and got sucked into friendships simply out of a desire to be accepted and to belong.  I didn’t understand back then that to simply be me was the only identity I would ever need and went from living one lie to the other.  These friends came and went because they were not true friends, but by the time I was 16 I was hanging out in the West End of London a few nights a week, specifically the soho area.  I had been introduced to the area by one of these friends who was a couple of years older than me and much more worldly-wise.  I took to hanging out in seedy clubs, sometimes not heading back to North London until after 07.00 a.m. or even later.  These clubs were frequented by prostitutes, pimps, drug dealers, thieves and muggers, but somehow I never encountered any serious trouble.  Whenever trouble was brewing something always happened that kept me out of danger.

By the time I joined the army and got stationed in Dortmund in the then West Germany my only true friend was alcohol.  I became like a split personality; on one hand I kept people entertained with my impressions and wit; but that was just a front for my other self, who was quite depressed and withdrawn.  I didn’t like the army because of the hypocrisy and I didn’t like the squaddie mentality of wanting to beat people up after a few drinks; I was a happy drunk (when I wasn’t being depressed).  I was attracted, for some reason, to the seedy side of Dortmund which was ”under the bridge”.  It was a standing joke amongst the lads; and sometimes before descending on ”Der Stadt” we would say to each other ”whatever happens tonight I’m not going under the bridge”.  The bridge in question was a railway bridge in Dortmund City Centre.  All the nice respectable places were before the bridge, but once you went under the bridge it was a real den of iniquity.  The standing joke was that even as we were saying it we knew that after a skin-full of beer we would always end up there.  Quite often I would go down town on my own and go to the pubs under the bridge.  Looking back it was a very dangerous thing to do; British squaddies, after all, were not the most popular species in Dortmund City Centre.  I would go to some real holes on my own, but not once did I ever encounter any trouble.  I could relate several more stories from my teenage and army years as examples of being looked after but it would make this post too long, however, in more recent years there are other examples of how I have constantly been protected and I’d like to finish by sharing two of them with you.  Both of these examples involve cars.

What I know about cars can be written on the back of a postage stamp; to me cars are for driving and nothing else.  Sometimes I check my oil and water, but mainly I just drive my cars and hope for the best.  I bought a second-hand Toyota in 1999, it was a 1992 model with a genuine 28,000 miles on the clock.  I kept the car for nine years and never had one mechanical fault with it.  I only cleaned it a handful of times during that period as well because a car, to me, is simply a means of getting from A to B.  So, during the time I had the Toyota I only had to deal with natural wear and tear, such as buying new tyres occasionally, new wiper blades, a new battery (once) and just general servicing; renew spark plugs etc.

After I’d had the car roughly eight years, someone remarked one day about the good condition that it was apparently in.  I explained how long I’d had it and that I’d had no problems with it.  Then they said to me ”what about the cam belt”.  I didn’t know what the cam belt was and kind of just gave an indifferent reply.  Some time later I was having a similar conversation with a friend and she asked the same question about the cam belt, to which I gave a similar reply.  When she explained to me that the cam belt is very important and that if it snaps you might as well kiss your car goodbye, I thought that maybe I should look into it.  To cut a long story short, the car suddenly started to develop wear and tear problems that were quite major and in the space of a couple on months I had a lot of work done on it that cost a small fortune.  But the mechanic who carried out the repairs said he had never seen anything like it.  He was a nonreligious/spiritual person but even he said ”someone up there must have been looking down on you”.  Apparently you should change your cam belt about every 60,ooo miles.  When I eventually got it changed (it was the original belt from new) it had done over 166,000 miles.  The mechanic said it was a miracle it didn’t snap.  Also the radiator was completely rotten and the brake pads (also the original from new) were apparently right down to the metal.  Yet that car started first time every time, even throughout cold winters.  The brakes always worked perfectly, I never topped up the water once in the nine years I had it and it always ran like a dream.  Eventually, because it had started to cost me so much money I gave it away to the mechanic who had given me such good service over the previous couple of years.

The same mechanic sold me my next car, that I’m still driving; although I haven’t had the same good fortune with this one.  Well, having said that it would depend on your perspective.  It’s not relevant to mention various problems I had with the new car, but an incident in June 2009 is very relevant.  At the time I was working part-time on a site that housed adults with learning disabilities.  I drove onto the site and down to the unit where I was supposed to be working.  Because of the number of cars already taking up spaces I had to park up on a grass verge until staff on the earlier shift had gone home.  I went inside the unit and a few minutes later a colleague came in and asked if he could have a word with me.  He was quite embarrassed to have to tell me that he had reversed into my car with a works vehicle and put a dent in the front off-side wheel arch.  I could see that he felt awful about this, so I just said to him ”don’t worry it’s only a car”.  He promised me faithfully he would get it fixed no matter what and we just left it at that.

However, when I went to move the car into a proper parking space I was puzzled as to why it wouldn’t move.  Another colleague who was standing nearby was looking on and I could see he was trying to tell me something.  I got out of the car to find that both of my front wheels were pointing inwards, and my colleague informed me that it looked as though the front tracking rod had snapped.  This meant the car was undrivable.  It was also very strange because the colleague who reversed into my car was only travelling at about 5 MPH.  It soon became apparent to me why my car had been rendered unroadworthy in such strange circumstances.  My other colleague pointed out that if the tracking rod snapped at such low impact it must have been ready to go at any time.  The realisation then hit me that if it had snapped whilst I was on the motorway or even a major A road, then I would not be in a position to tell the tale.

It’s only since Sri Sathya Sai Baba came into my life in 2001 that I have really noticed that I am most definitely protected by the hand of grace.  I honestly don’t know why the good Lord protects me in this way; I can only assume that there are plans for me that do not involve me leaving this earthly life just yet.

Yes, its great being looked after and I’m so grateful for it.  The Divine certainly does have strange ways of protecting his children; but guess what?  I’m not complaining.