The elephant's discovery
The legend of Gajendra, the elephant king, from the 8th Skanda of the Bhagavatha Purana offers us a very interesting answer to how far God is away from us. The story goes that the bull elephant, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, once entered the waters of a cool lake on Mount Trikuta. A crocodile which lived in the same lake caught him by the leg and began to drag him into the deeper parts of the lake. Gajendra fought with all his might but a crocodile's strength in the water is ten times greater than its strength on land! As Gajendra was dragged in, he began to fight with all his might. Legend goes that the battle went on for a thousand years at the end of which, Gajendra trumpeted in pain and helplessness until he was hoarse.
Then, he remembered his Lord and called out to Maha Vishnu. Instantly, Vishnu arrived on His mount, Garuda, decapitated the crocodile with the Sudarshana Chakra (the discus) and liberated Gajendra.
As long as Gajendra fought on, Vishnu watched on, respecting the elephant-king's choice to use his own strength. But the moment he surrendered, Vishnu was there in a trice. That story teaches us that God is just as far as our call can reach! That was the discovery of a little boy too. Amey Deshpande realized that, no matter what, his God, his Swami is always within earshot of his cries.
Shattered pride
Amey was devoted to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba since his birth as he was born into a family devoted to Swami. He was enrolled into the Bal Vikas classes and he became a role model for all the other children - He would sit straight for hours, chant all the shlokas and mantras, participate in bhajans and play the tabla. Such was the praise heaped on the child by the elders that he sincerely felt that he was several cuts above the rest when it came to discipline if not devotion!
In 1984, as a 5-year old, Amey came on a pilgrimage to Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of supreme peace. Like Amey's understanding of Swami, Prasanthi too was very different back then. The schedule revolved entirely around Swami's routine. The most sought-after times were the Darshan times when Bhagawan would gently walk, nay glide through the seated devotees, ladies on one side and gents on the other. He would speak to a few, take letters from some others and call the lucky ones for an 'interview'. An 'interview' was not a Q&A session though it could be that also. It was a personal interaction between the devotee and Swami in the interview room where healing, transformation, miracles and counselling took place.
Darshan was on the sands in front of the Prasanthi Mandir. Amey's luck at the token system of entry seemed so bad that every day, the line he would sit in would get a bad draw - number 13, 15, 12 and so on - all double-digit numbers! He never got the chance to go into the Darshan grounds early and thus, never could sit in the front lines when Swami arrived. However, one day, his luck seemed to strike gold! His father picked up the draw and their line got the token #1. Father and son were so excited and they rushed inside the Darshan grounds to occupy places in the front rows. Amey was thrilled to say the least.
But his thrill did not last long.
A Seva Dal volunteer came along and told him,
"Sairam! Children are not allowed to sit in the first line. Please get up and go back!"
There had been many cases where, during Darshan, children had rushed towards Swami seeking blessings or offering letters. Worse were cases where the adults would ‘train’ the children to do so because Swami, the volunteers and the devotees would have a ‘soft corner’ for children as far as discipline was concerned. So, as a policy, the Seva Dal volunteers (with Swami’s approval) had created a rule that no child should be seated in the first line. The parent would be in the first line and the child would sit behind him/her.
But Amey had always prided himself on his discipline. He turned to the volunteer and replied,
"I am very disciplined. Don't worry! I will not jump at Swami nor rush to take Padanamaskar unless He permits me."
The volunteer felt that this lad was smart but he wasn't convinced that he would remain disciplined. After all, He was a child!
"You please get up boy. Go back."
"I will not. I will sit here", Amey protested vehemently.
"Who is the parent of this child? Please come here..." the volunteer called out aloud.
Amey's father hoped that his son would cooperate with the volunteer. If he got up from his place, he would lose his vantage seating too! But Amey didn't and the volunteer lost his patience. He called an adult to come and sit in front of Amey. He made Amey get up and go back.
Thus it was that the ultra-disciplined boy from Abu Dhabi was evicted from front lines in Prasanthi mandir for reasons of indiscipline! It was indeed an ironic play by fate. Amey's pride lay shattered and scattered like the grains of sand all over the Darshan grounds. He had tears in his eyes.
The pain of the aftermath
Amey suddenly rose from his seat and began to run. He was shouting aloud,
"THIS IS NOT GOOD! THIS IS NOT SWAMI'S PLACE. YOU ARE NOT SWAMI'S PEOPLE. YOU ARE ALL FALSE DEVOTEES. THIS IS NOT SWAMI'S PLACE..."
Everyone in the Darshan grounds was stunned and the volunteer chased the little boy in a desperate attempt to catch him and bring back peace to the hallowed grounds. Amey's father could bear it no longer. He got up and admitted that it was his son who was creating the nuisance. The volunteer requested him to take his son and go out of the Darshan area. Minutes later, Amey and his father found themselves outside the compound wall. It was a scenario worse that getting token #13 or #15!
After the morning Darshan, when Swami went into the interview room, many devotees got up to go for breakfast. Amey was in no mood to eat breakfast and so was his father. They walked into the empty grounds and sat in the first line again. The volunteer was still there. He walked up to them and said,
"Little boy! Cheer up. Now you can sit here as long as you want. That rule is only for the Darshan sessions."
Amey felt the pinch and pain of salt being rubbed on to his wounds. He felt like screaming at the volunteer but restrained himself. This time, he cried out inwardly, to Swami.
"THIS IS UNFAIR! WHY AM I NOT BLESSED TO GET A FRONT LINE DARSHAN?"
The Lord is only a shout away
There were about a hundred devotees possibly in the Darshan grounds and they were all happy when the interview room door opened and Swami came out earlier than usual. Swami stood on the Mandir portico and, from a distance, kept looking at Amey. A few moments later, He began to walk briskly towards the little boy. Before Amey could realize what was happening, Swami was standing right in front of him!
As Amey stared at the beautiful and magnificent form in front of him, Swami asked in Hindi,
"Kaiko Chillata Hain? ( Why do you shout like that?)"
Amey had no answer to give. He was stammering even in his thoughts.
"Bolo... Kaiko Chillata Hain? (Tell me, why do you scream like that?)"
And then, with all the love exuding from His eyes, He said,
"Padanamaskar lelo (Take namaskar)."
Amey bowed at His feet and touched them tenderly. In a moment, his screams within had been pacified and had been replaced with love and joy. As he rose, Swami turned around and simply walked away, back to the interview room. It became evident to everyone that Swami had come out with the sole objective of granting Padanamaskar to the little boy.
God is just waiting for us to call. The moment we call out to Him, nay, just need Him, we deserve Him and He comes rushing to us. However, He will not respond unless we call out because He has given us the choice or freewill. He will enter our lives only to the extent we want Him to! If we surrender completely, His will becomes our will. If we choose to take charge of our lives, God happily lets us. The funny thing is we take charge of our lives and then, when things go wrong, we look up and ask, "God! Why are you doing this to me?"
If only instead of screaming at the world, we can just call out to God...
The legend of Gajendra, the elephant king, from the 8th Skanda of the Bhagavatha Purana offers us a very interesting answer to how far God is away from us. The story goes that the bull elephant, a devotee of Lord Vishnu, once entered the waters of a cool lake on Mount Trikuta. A crocodile which lived in the same lake caught him by the leg and began to drag him into the deeper parts of the lake. Gajendra fought with all his might but a crocodile's strength in the water is ten times greater than its strength on land! As Gajendra was dragged in, he began to fight with all his might. Legend goes that the battle went on for a thousand years at the end of which, Gajendra trumpeted in pain and helplessness until he was hoarse.
Then, he remembered his Lord and called out to Maha Vishnu. Instantly, Vishnu arrived on His mount, Garuda, decapitated the crocodile with the Sudarshana Chakra (the discus) and liberated Gajendra.
 |
| The moment Gajendra called out to his Lord, Maha Vishnu was there in a trice. |
As long as Gajendra fought on, Vishnu watched on, respecting the elephant-king's choice to use his own strength. But the moment he surrendered, Vishnu was there in a trice. That story teaches us that God is just as far as our call can reach! That was the discovery of a little boy too. Amey Deshpande realized that, no matter what, his God, his Swami is always within earshot of his cries.
Shattered pride
Amey was devoted to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba since his birth as he was born into a family devoted to Swami. He was enrolled into the Bal Vikas classes and he became a role model for all the other children - He would sit straight for hours, chant all the shlokas and mantras, participate in bhajans and play the tabla. Such was the praise heaped on the child by the elders that he sincerely felt that he was several cuts above the rest when it came to discipline if not devotion!
In 1984, as a 5-year old, Amey came on a pilgrimage to Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of supreme peace. Like Amey's understanding of Swami, Prasanthi too was very different back then. The schedule revolved entirely around Swami's routine. The most sought-after times were the Darshan times when Bhagawan would gently walk, nay glide through the seated devotees, ladies on one side and gents on the other. He would speak to a few, take letters from some others and call the lucky ones for an 'interview'. An 'interview' was not a Q&A session though it could be that also. It was a personal interaction between the devotee and Swami in the interview room where healing, transformation, miracles and counselling took place.
 |
| The lovely sandy Darshan grounds of the 1980s in Prasanthi Nilayam. Ah! How I long for those days! |
But his thrill did not last long.
A Seva Dal volunteer came along and told him,
"Sairam! Children are not allowed to sit in the first line. Please get up and go back!"
There had been many cases where, during Darshan, children had rushed towards Swami seeking blessings or offering letters. Worse were cases where the adults would ‘train’ the children to do so because Swami, the volunteers and the devotees would have a ‘soft corner’ for children as far as discipline was concerned. So, as a policy, the Seva Dal volunteers (with Swami’s approval) had created a rule that no child should be seated in the first line. The parent would be in the first line and the child would sit behind him/her.
But Amey had always prided himself on his discipline. He turned to the volunteer and replied,
"I am very disciplined. Don't worry! I will not jump at Swami nor rush to take Padanamaskar unless He permits me."
The volunteer felt that this lad was smart but he wasn't convinced that he would remain disciplined. After all, He was a child!
"You please get up boy. Go back."
"I will not. I will sit here", Amey protested vehemently.
"Who is the parent of this child? Please come here..." the volunteer called out aloud.
Amey's father hoped that his son would cooperate with the volunteer. If he got up from his place, he would lose his vantage seating too! But Amey didn't and the volunteer lost his patience. He called an adult to come and sit in front of Amey. He made Amey get up and go back.
Thus it was that the ultra-disciplined boy from Abu Dhabi was evicted from front lines in Prasanthi mandir for reasons of indiscipline! It was indeed an ironic play by fate. Amey's pride lay shattered and scattered like the grains of sand all over the Darshan grounds. He had tears in his eyes.
 |
The pain of the aftermath
Amey suddenly rose from his seat and began to run. He was shouting aloud,
"THIS IS NOT GOOD! THIS IS NOT SWAMI'S PLACE. YOU ARE NOT SWAMI'S PEOPLE. YOU ARE ALL FALSE DEVOTEES. THIS IS NOT SWAMI'S PLACE..."
Everyone in the Darshan grounds was stunned and the volunteer chased the little boy in a desperate attempt to catch him and bring back peace to the hallowed grounds. Amey's father could bear it no longer. He got up and admitted that it was his son who was creating the nuisance. The volunteer requested him to take his son and go out of the Darshan area. Minutes later, Amey and his father found themselves outside the compound wall. It was a scenario worse that getting token #13 or #15!
After the morning Darshan, when Swami went into the interview room, many devotees got up to go for breakfast. Amey was in no mood to eat breakfast and so was his father. They walked into the empty grounds and sat in the first line again. The volunteer was still there. He walked up to them and said,
"Little boy! Cheer up. Now you can sit here as long as you want. That rule is only for the Darshan sessions."
Amey felt the pinch and pain of salt being rubbed on to his wounds. He felt like screaming at the volunteer but restrained himself. This time, he cried out inwardly, to Swami.
"THIS IS UNFAIR! WHY AM I NOT BLESSED TO GET A FRONT LINE DARSHAN?"
The Lord is only a shout away
There were about a hundred devotees possibly in the Darshan grounds and they were all happy when the interview room door opened and Swami came out earlier than usual. Swami stood on the Mandir portico and, from a distance, kept looking at Amey. A few moments later, He began to walk briskly towards the little boy. Before Amey could realize what was happening, Swami was standing right in front of him!
As Amey stared at the beautiful and magnificent form in front of him, Swami asked in Hindi,
"Kaiko Chillata Hain? ( Why do you shout like that?)"
Amey had no answer to give. He was stammering even in his thoughts.
"Bolo... Kaiko Chillata Hain? (Tell me, why do you scream like that?)"
And then, with all the love exuding from His eyes, He said,
"Padanamaskar lelo (Take namaskar)."
 |
| Amey later went on to become a student in the educational institutions of Bhagawan Baba and, as of 2018, he continues to serve at Prasanthi Nilayam in multiple capacities. |
God is just waiting for us to call. The moment we call out to Him, nay, just need Him, we deserve Him and He comes rushing to us. However, He will not respond unless we call out because He has given us the choice or freewill. He will enter our lives only to the extent we want Him to! If we surrender completely, His will becomes our will. If we choose to take charge of our lives, God happily lets us. The funny thing is we take charge of our lives and then, when things go wrong, we look up and ask, "God! Why are you doing this to me?"
If only instead of screaming at the world, we can just call out to God...
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Sairam Aravind, nice narrative of distance between GOD and Devotee with a live experience of Amey. Our Puranas or old scriptures have more examples of those days - thousands of years ago - like the response time taken by Krishna to Draupadi's call of distress, he did not appear as long as Draupadi prayed to Dwaraka vasi but responded immediately when she called out to Hrudaya nivasi. We need to remember that he resides in our hearts as well as everywhere at all times. Thanks once again.
ReplyDeleteThank you Aravind for sharing this interesting and inspiring experience of that little boy. We too must learn a lot as to how we should call to god. Not only when we have a problem but we should always have god in our heart. Please add me to your mail. Sai Ram!
ReplyDeletePlease share your mail id with me. I will add you. Sai Ram
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