Illusion or Maya - Is this true or is that true?

The Janaka story

There is a famous story of the wise king Janaka which is simply the perfect recipe to understand the illusory nature of the world. In the Sanathana Dharma (the Eternal Way of Life - which has been carelessly translated as ‘Hinduism’), there is a special term to denote this illusory and temporary nature of the world - Maya. The impact of Maya is tremendous; in fact it is the cause for everything that we see, hear and feel in the physical world. To understand what is Maya better, I would direct the reader to the introductory paragraph in the story of the squirrel helping Lord Rama and to that occasion when Maya made me negate my own Master (Guru), Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The story of Janaka is yet another lovely illustration.

One fine day, as Emperor Janaka sat on the throne in his palace, enjoying a dance by a bevy of beautiful damsels, he dozed off! Seeing this, the courtiers and dancers wondered what they should do. Lacking the temerity to wake him up or disturb him, they all slowly slipped away to their respective rooms, leaving the king alone in the massive hall. In the meanwhile, the emperor had a dream.

He dreamt that rival kings had joined forces and invaded his dominion and captured his capital and that, to save himself from them he ran into a forest. Fleeing from his foes, he had no food for days together. He was too exhausted to move. But, hunger dragged him on. When he came to the outskirts of a tribal village, he saw a man washing his plate after taking food; he shouted to him asking for a few particles. The man gave him a small morsel, but, as bad luck would have it, a crow flew in at that moment and snatched it away! In that pathetic plight, he began to scream in agony. And suddenly, he woke up!

Even as he opened his eyes, he saw that he was surrounded by his queen, his maids and personal attendants. They were awaiting his slightest indication so that they could rush to serve him. He saw large trays and bowls of the choicest fruits. His cook too was in a corner, and he would surely whip up mouth-watering delicacies at the slightest wish of the emperor. But Janaka was in a daze. He looked at his queen and asked,

“Is this real or is that real?”

Being of squirrel service to the Lord - Arun Kharidehal's experience

When Lord Rama removed His garb of Maya for a moment

Hanuman, the mighty, had returned from his adventure in Lanka and confirmed to his Lord Rama that Sita had indeed been kept prisoner in Ravana's island nation. It did not take much time for the Lord to decide on the next course of action. But, as always, He consults with his brother Lakshmana and with the chiefs of the vanara and bear forces, Sugriva and Jambavan respectively.

The collective decision is that a plea be made to the Ocean God so that He may give way for Rama's armies to get to Lanka from the tip of the Indian sub-continent.  And so, Rama prepares to worship and seek the blessings of the ocean. Really? Does Rama, the Lord incarnate, need to do that? He doesn’t but He too becomes an actor when He descends on the world stage. As an actor, He too puts on Maya.

Maya or delusion is inextricably intertwined with the world or creation. While it is not the subject of this article to delve on what Maya is, this much can certainly be stated that overcoming this Maya is what God-realization/nirvana/liberation/fulfilment of the soul is all about. Since Maya is the nature of the dual world, it is said that even God, when He/She descends to earth, comes wrapped in Maya. A practical meaning of Maya can be derived from a beautiful statement of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba,

"Man knows little but he acts as though he knows everything; God knows everything but He acts as though He knows little."

Maya is that which makes man behave all-wise and that which makes God behave all-ignorant. However there is a difference here - while Maya controls man, God controls Maya. God allows Maya to seem as if it is in control so that man can feel kinship with Him. That kinship then grows into devotion which finally leads to the realization of oneness with the Creator. Then, there is no more Maya because there is just One! And so, blessed are those moments in History when the devotee is humble and when the Lord is majestic because these are moments when the veil of Maya has been parted.

The Ocean God humbly submits to lord Rama

One such moment occurs when the ocean does not seem to relent. Rama picks up his bow and announces,

“With a single arrow, I shall dry up this entire ocean.”

The Rama that the monkey and bear hordes see now is a totally different one from what they had seen a few moments before. This is Rama, the supreme divinity, bearing the brilliance of the sun when the covering clouds have been blown away. All are in awe and are completely convinced that once the arrow leaves the Kodanda, Rama’s mighty bow, the ocean will be a thing of the past. It is precisely at this moment that the Ocean-God appears and prays to Rama,

“Oh Lord! Please do not get upset with me. I am just following the rules that you have assigned for my existence. Please cross over me by building a bridge. I shall help support that bridge to the best of my ability.”

Rama seems to calm down and He agrees that it is a good idea. But now, His army is charged up. They have got a glimpse of Rama’s capability and they are sure that with His grace, a bridge can easily be built! When God clears the veil of Maya, it is to enthuse the devotees and grant them faith by clearing doubts. That is precisely what Krishna did on the battlefield of Kurukshetra when He granted a doubting Arjuna the Vishwa Viraata Swaroopa.

Participating in the Maya with awareness

Living with God is true education it is said. That was the education that Arun Kharidehal was blessed with for several years of his life when he got the chance to serve his God, his Swami,  Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He would spend almost his entire day with Swami almost be among the privileged few who would almost live with Him in the name of security! During those few years, he had ample opportunities to witness both - Maya and it’s parting. The few moments when Swami decided to tear the veil and reveal His true identity were enough to keep Arun on his toes always. He kept reminding himself of the Being in whose presence he was spending each day.

“This is not an ordinary presence; it is an omnipresence”, he told himself regularly.

Such awareness helped him enjoy and be part of his Lord’s Maya as well.

Hadshi-Mumbai diaries - Part 7 - A day for group-photo taking and group-photo showing

A special photo-viewing session with Swami at Hadshi

A beautiful solo-photograph that Swami granted at the request of the Jadhav family at Hadshi

Rising up at 5 a.m. is indeed an excellent practice, I discovered on the 30th of October, as I woke up in Hadshi. It is not only spiritually beneficial as the early hours of the Brahma muhurtam are sacred but also practically useful as one gets quality time with oneself with least distractions or interruptions. Waking early seems to unlock a great energy source within which diminishes in intensity the later one rises! It was during the early hours of the morning that I occupied myself with noting down in detail all the happenings of the trip which is responsible for this comprehensive travelogue today.

(Dear reader,

If you have come directly to this post, I would like to egg you on to enjoy the full story with its history. Link to part 1 is given below and the link to the next part will be at the end of each previous part. Thank you.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 1 - The Blessing Materializes 

The previous part which is Part 6 is located at the link given below in case you missed that.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 6 - Sathya Sai's message at Hadshi

Part 7 continues below)

As soon as I finished my notes after returning from the Mandir I got busy getting ready for the day. The morning ablutions time was also fun. Almost twenty of us would be shaving, brushing and getting ready with a lot of talking and singing going on. A lot of leg pulling and discussing never-before-thought-of angles about the events that had happened during the trip brought cheer and mirth to all. Ravikumar (Ravi bhaiya for me) was present and I felt like how a newcomer in the Indian Cricket team would feel when he would share the dressing room with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar! Ashwath Narayan and Koustubh Pare in the meanwhile would have begun their respective Riyaz (singing practice). The whole area would be reverberating with music and swaras. CG would be practicing the Sitar adding strings to the heavenly atmosphere of music. It was just so beautiful.

Yet again we had a sumptuous breakfast by the poolside. Many took photos with the water in the background and tried to capture memories on a memory chip in a camera! Completing our breakfast, soon we were all seated outside Swami's room awaiting His arrival. We all had come up with a plan for the morning- a plan to spend more time with Swami. Eager to have a few exclusive moments with Bhagavan, we thought arranging a photo viewing session would be a good idea. I was all set with a few selected pictures to show Him on a laptop. Something interesting and nice happened. In a corner of the same hall we noticed a 29-inch plasma TV, which when connected, began to read the photos on file! It was as if Providence had liked our idea! Immediately, the laptop was hooked up to the TV. We now could not wait for His door to open.

Once the door opened and Swami came out, we had Him for ourselves for the next 20 minutes or so.

At about 10:05 a.m., Swami emerged and as He came towards us He asked,

"All of you showered well or did you have only a sponge bath?"

We laughed and replied that we did freshen up ourselves in full. Getting up on my knees, I said, "Swami, we have some photos. If Swami agrees, we can watch them." The Lord graciously consented. Soon He moved to the centre of the hall and was seated facing the TV. And then began a most memorable twenty minute session. Even as I began to scroll through the images, Nishikant, Kaustubh, P. Srinivasan and Ravi Teja began to do padaseva to Swami. CG continued to shoot Video and Ravi Bhaiya thankfully took my camera to capture pictures of the whole scene. Here are a few snippets of the conversation that ensued; even though this is not in order of occurrence, I guess the sequence is not as significant as the event itself.

Initially, there were the photos of the concert on Day 1. Swami asked,

"Who is that?"

“Swami, Kavita Krishnamoorthy, that is Nitin Mukesh and.... (I forgot the third name!)”

Satyajit helped me with the answer, “Sapna Mukherjee”.

As the slideshow progressed, there came a picture of a woman receiving a saree from Swami. Bhagavan asked who she was and when nobody answered, He Himself revealed that she was an elderly devotee who sings and has been coming to Him for long.

Swami looking at the picture of Him blessing Sapne Mukherjee. He gave us all the joy of conversation with Him.

The photos of the crowds during the concert were taken mostly from the gents' side and so the ladies were largely seen in them. Observing this Swami said sweetly, as if in justification for me, "The gents were all seated on this side (same side of the photographer and hence he could not click them) There were many people behind too!"

Swami then saw the pictures of the welcome ceremony to Hadshi. Next on the screen was the photo of the sunrise (about which I have mentioned in the fourth part of this serial).

“Ah! The Moon looks very nice,” He commented.

"Swami, that is the Sun," I said.

(And now is a portion when I was in maya or delusion!)

Swami asked me if that was the Sun, why was everything around dark?

The photo exposure of the camera was according to the Sun’s brightness which is why everything around was dark. Instead of going into the details of the exposure levels in the camera, I simply said, "Swami, its orange in colour! It is the Sun."

Swami looked at me as if to say, "Ok! If you say so…"

In retrospect, I feel I foolishly let go of a wonderful opportunity to learn a lesson that I hope I will practice some day. When Lord Krishna pointed out to an eagle in the sky and said it was a dove, Arjuna agreed. When He surmised that it was a crow, without batting an eyelid Arjuna replied in affirmative again for he knew very well that the Lord can easily turn the eagle into anything He wished. I was in a similar position and rather than saying, "Yes Swami! If you say so..." I made Him say that very same statement. I regret now but with the Lord everything is an opportunity to learn and improve. (By the way, this incident in detail forms the heart of an article on how we often become platform heroes but remain practical zeroes.)

Next was displayed the group photos taken in the Vitthala temple. Seeing this Swami asked, "Who are those elderly people?" Before we could answer, He Himself said,

"They are the mother and father of Jadhav brothers." Then came up a photo of the crowd and I said, "Swami, just like the sunflowers turn to always face the sun, people too move to look at You constantly." 

The incident with Ganesha and the wrongly-held umbrella on the balcony was also depicted in the photos. We then moved to the images shot during the tiffin session at the poolside. There were photos of Swami being reflected in the water. As the wide angle shot of Swami eating amidst the natural settings showed up next I said,

"Swami, this picture has a name." When He looked inquisitively, I said,

"Swami, it is called Prakruthi Paramatma."

Swami's reaction to it was the same like the previous day - He opened His eyes a bit wide and with a mocking smile said, "Abba!" All of us laughed and there was so much happiness all around. It is so easy to comprehend at such times as to why it is said, “Happiness is union with God”.

In the photos taken from the balcony were also pictures of lines of cars climbing up the road to Hadshi. I zoomed in to show Him the number of vehicles as earlier He had mentioned how so many devotees were eagerly arriving for His darshan. When the slideshow was complete, Swami asked,

"That’s all? Is it over?"

I said there were hundreds of photos and we had selected only a few. He then asked,

“Where is that picture of Me you took on the balcony yesterday?"

I was thrilled. I had thought that Swami would never want to see pictures of Himself (And I shoot maximum of Him!). I quickly navigated to the folder and brought that up.

The beautiful Lord amidst beautiful nature. This was the picture that I had got the previous day on
the balcony.

He was happy with it but then said, “All My hair has fallen off.”

All of us chorused,

“No Swami; You have such beautiful hair.”

Swami continued, “I had much more; in Kodaikanal, I lose a lot of hair.”

These interactions were so much on the human level and that, I felt is the reason why the whole humanity identifies with Him - He is so less ‘God’ and so much like any of us as we converse with Him in the physical plane.

The picture of Swami in Orange with the Nature in green and blue skies was wonderful and so I blurted out, “Swami, it looks so nice and wonderful.” Swami said, "Avanni photo theesay vadiki trupti, naaku ledhu (that is joy and satisfaction for the one who has taken the photo, not for me).” Instead of waiting for the nectarous flow, I imprudently said, "Swami, You are ever happy. Only our satisfaction is temporary and it comes and goes." The Lord was silent. After a while, He asked for photos of the Residence and the lake too. I showed Him those too and He seemed happy.

Once we were done, He asked all of us to go down. We did just that. In a short while Swami was with us. He directed us to start moving towards the temple complex and start bhajans on reaching there. It was almost 10:45 a.m. as we reached the stage which had witnessed the concert by Kavitha Subramaniam, Nitin Mukesh and Sapna Mukherjee the previous day. A huge crowd was waiting for Him in the afternoon sun. Most of them had cloth pieces or kerchiefs tied over their heads.

A huge crowd had been patiently singing bhajans, waiting for Swami's arrival at the temple grounds.

Morning session leads up to a visit to Pauna Dam

A loving blessing Abhayahasta at the end of the bhajan session.

Swami arrived at about 11:05 a.m. and as always His drive down was accompanied by a set of students whom our teacher Mr. Gopi had selected to be part of a permanent ‘Security’ team. Swami came on the dais and immediately there was so much energy and enthusiasm in the crowd. In spite of the sun, everyone now forgot the coverings on their heads and seemed to open up their hearts to receive the warmth of His Love and Grace. At about 11:20 a.m., Mr. Shivajirao Jadhav sought Swami’s permission for the Bal Vikas children to lead the session. Bhagavan consented and asked the boys to pause as the little ones started.

They sang about four bhajans in their sweet and innocent voices. Swami concluded the session with one bhajan by the students. For this, He called me. When I walked across to Him, He said, "Tell them to sing Panduranga, Panduranga..." I conveyed the same and that was the final rendering following which was aarthi. Now there was a beautiful breeze and fluffs of Swami's hair swayed as if playing with the wind. The flag atop the Vitthala temple too fluttered in all majesty and glory. Swami raised both His hands in benediction for the crowd that had pined for Him. It was almost 12:00 p.m. when He returned to the Mandir.

The devotees are thrilled and many are moved to tears having Swami's darshan.

We were all waiting for Him. Seeing all of us in a row, Swami moved into the Residence and soon we also followed suit. Another banquet had been arranged and Swami was seated for lunch amidst the elders. The discussion on the table meandered first towards the fruits and other crops grown in the region and then into diet and nutritional value of some of them and many others. Thus it was that mangoes, oranges and jamoon fruits ‘cropped’ up in the divine discussion! As lunch concluded, we learnt that Swami had agreed for the boys to be taken for an outing to the Pauna dam nearby.

At 1:45 p.m., our tour began in a special air conditioned bus loaded with cool drinks and snacks! Those were times of plenty and many of us even refused to take advantage of those bounties! The drive was to take about 45-50 minutes and for most of the time, I dozed only to be shaken by someone who said, "Just look at the scenery outside. You will not get such views again. Get up and shoot." In spite of the comforting embrace of the Goddess of Sleep I opened my eyes and indeed it was a sight worth sacrificing the siesta for! In fact, they were captivating enough to make one forget sleep.

A sweeping view of the Pauna Dam

The huge expanse of water was beautiful even at midday and the shapes of the nearby hills resembled the sacred linga! The road was narrow and winding, and a white Audi car formed the pilot for our bus. We came across groups of mules lugging up loads, herded by women in traditional Maharashtrian attire. By 2:30 p.m., we were at the site and had been granted special permission (courtesy the Jadhavs) to actually go along the dam. It was hot with the sun right above us. But a mere glance at the expanse of freshwater before us which was 210 feet deep ensured that neither the salty sweat nor the burning sun dampened our enthusiasm. The staff manning the dam not only showed us the rooms which housed the valves to open the sluice gates but also gave us a demonstration of its entire management. The bus had been sent to the other end where it would wait for us as we crossed the entire stretch of the dam on foot. The blue-green waters below had a sort of calming and relaxing effect and so we easily accomplished the kilometre long walk. As Swami had directed us against going for boating, by 3:10 p.m. we were all aboard the bus ready to return to Hadshi.

Special photo-shoot session

Once we were back we quickly freshened up and rushed to the Mandir. It was well past 4:00 p.m. We could not go up near Swami's room as He Himself was coming down the lift even as we entered. He saw a few of us and asked,

"Have all the boys returned?"

We replied that some of us had reached the Mandir earlier but all the boys indeed were back. Swami then called Mrs. Ratanlal and asked, "Do you still remember your husband?"

“Swami, I recollect nothing of the past. Of what use is it to think of the past?”

Swami speaks with the venerable and sweet Ratanlal aunty - dedicated in His service since the 1960s.

Swami continued to gently prod the elderly devotee. She had been blessed with service of Swami since the 1960s and Swami had relished the food cooked by her for decades.

“Delhi, Lahore, your husband… you must be remembering them.”

“No Swami! We all have come with nothing and we leave in the same manner. If we think of Swami always, it is enough.”

I could not help but admire the wisdom being exuded by this special devotee of the Lord.  I was touched with the surrender and love of Ratanlal Aunty.  At this point, Mr. V. Srinivasan added,

"Swami always narrates to us the story of Alexander who left the earth empty handed."

Swami now moved to His room next to the dining table. Arrangements were being made for a group photo session of the Jadhav family with Swami. The flower vase in the centre of the hall had been made anew with fresh flowers and Bhagavan too arrived around 4.20 p.m. in the beautiful darshan chair. As the family arranged themselves around Him, the angle of coverage needed expansion. So Satyajit and I moved the massive dining table behind. Once this was done, the photo session began. It was very special for me as Swami was constantly looking into the camera with momentary glances at the video camera that CG held. The family members took pictures with Him in various permutations and combinations.

The immediate Jadhav family. The steps on the right lead to Swami's room above. Swami, however,
made use of the lift (seen as a door beyond the staircase) to move up and down.

Soon the boys followed suit. Again, Phani and I requested Swami and He did agree for a complete-group photo. Actually we were all keen to have individual snaps with Swami. However since He has agreed for photos in groups we quickly formed three small teams - a midway compromise between Swami's and our wish! Bhagavan again lovingly got involved in the seating arrangement around Him. I felt so blessed being His student! In the end, it was only CG and I who had not had a picture with Him and so we both sat by His side with our hands on His feet and a beautiful frame was taken. After that, some more people had this blessed opportunity and then Swami Himself called for Prof. Anil Kumar, Mr. Balaram and Mr. Srinivasan to pose with Him. Finally, at the request of the Jadhav brothers, Swami agreed for a solo photograph. With great joy, I took a few good shots. (Shown as the first photo in this part).

A special photo-op for the photographer and the video-cameraman.

As this session concluded by about 4:40 pm, He began to move out. And there He saw all the other members of the family assembled for His darshan. Also present were the workers, gardeners, cooks, helpers and everyone else who had contributed in the service. Swami now began to move amidst them granting them namaskar and blessings. Here, there were other photographers and videographers, and so, CG and I took a small break. This was such a noble act of Mr. Jadhav; he had ensured that none miss the joy of His physical proximity. Towards the end, I noticed that as Swami would move out of the shade, the evening sun would delightfully light up the divine face. So, I rushed there and clicked the Radiant Face smiling brightly. Moving ahead, Swami got into the car.

The padanamaskar session that Swami granted was because of the large-heartedness of the Jadhav brothers and Swami would give us a message about the same, later.

to be continued in Part 8 which is at the link below:

Hadshi-Mumbai diaries - Part 8 - The Vijayabhojanam or the banquet of victory

For all readers:

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Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 4 - A shrine is born

A musical evening

Swami blesses Mr.Subrata Roy (above) and Mr.Shivraj Patil (below).

Swami had gone to His room after the evening tiffin session on the first day of our stay at Hadshi. Within a few minutes, He came down. It was about 5:50 p.m. and there were a few VIP guests who had come to meet Him. Notable among them were Mr. Shivraj Patil and Mr. Subrata Roy, the Managing "Worker" (as he calls himself) and Chairman of the Sahara Parivar, a multi-business conglomerate.

(Dear reader,

If you have come directly to this post, I would like to egg you on to enjoy the full story with its history.

Link to part 1 is given below and the link to the next part will be at the end of each previous part. Thank you.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 1 - The Blessing Materializes)

It is pertinent here that I mention another ‘faulty’ line of thinking that devotees and critics alike adopt with Swami. I am drawn into this here because apparently, Mr. Subrata Roy has got himself into some legal tangles. The question that people ask is this:

How can Swami bless someone who is not good/unethical/unrighteous and so on?

I say that this is a faulty line of thinking because we seem to be partial in the application of this line of thinking. We are convinced that God is only for the ‘Good’ and not for the ‘Bad’. (i put those words in quotes only to indicate that they are good and bad in our perspective. One man’s freedom-fighter is another man’s terrorist!) God’s love is for all though He always encourages the good over bad. And that is because good is definitely a greater reality than bad. But that does not mean that God deserts the ‘bad’. If He deserts the ‘bad’ then He is no God at all. The hypocrisy lies in the fact that we consider ourselves as ‘good’. God alone knows how many skeletons we have in our cupboards! And so, I feel, rather than spend time in wondering why certain people receive God’s blessings, we should focus on ourselves being good and persevering with it. After this little detour, I move back to the narrative.

Blessing them all, Swami moved out of the Mandir. As He came down, the bands and people in costumes lined the entire way. The temple had been lit and presented a beautiful sight. Bhajans were in progress, and as Swami approached the huge stage that had been set up for Him, songs in Marathi were sung. The bhajan singers were the likes of Kunal Ganjawalla and Raviraj Nasery; the former being a very popular name in the Indian music industry! The students followed Swami’s car. I ran up the stage to take pictures.

There was a swell of a crowd on the evening of the 28th of October as Swami came on stage and moved all around,
granting Darshan. 

As Swami alighted from His car, the first thing He did was to tell Nishikant, who was at the lead of all boys, to go up the stage. And so all the students moved up and took positions behind Swami's chair. Bhagavan took a quick round of the dais so that the thousands gathered could have His darshan.

When Swami was interacting with all of us and was 'inside', Swami was so human; He was like one among us and we too freely moved about Him. There was this intimacy with Swami, which sometimes bordered on the casual from our side. However, once outside, amidst the devotees, a strange, effulgence emanated from His face. I just watched in awe at the way this radiance transferred from Him to the faces of all the devotees assembled including myself! I was overwrought with wonder. "This is God. Don't ever forget that," I told myself.

Swami was now in the centre of the massive stage, listening to the songs of the singers who were seated below. The artists due to perform in the evening were also seated below. After a few songs, permission was sought to invite them on stage and Swami agreed.

The performers for the evening seek Divine blessings. Kavita Krishnamoorthy's daughter too was present. 

The musicians for the day were Nitin Mukesh, Kavita Subramaniam (Kavita Krishnamoorthy, as she is popularly known) and Sapna Mukherjee. They bowed to Swami and began their renditions. Nitin Mukesh, as he sang, held on dearly to the rose that had been blessed by Swami. He started the session with a Ganesh bhajan, Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Jai Ganesh Deva. The artists had decided to sing in turns, in rotation.

The crowd was overjoyed, for they were having Bhagavan’s darshan. A huge video-mixing console had been set up and there were moving cameras everywhere. The arrangements were more than elaborate and devotional songs filled the ambience in this beautiful setting. About nine songs later, Swami blessed the performers with sarees, shawls and white safari pieces. He asked Nitin Mukesh to come to Puttaparthi as well and perform.

It was a captivating night scene as Aarthi was performed to Swami at Hadshi, on the grand stage.

The flow of devotion to which we had to become 'walls'!

Aarthi was now offered, and as Swami moved down the ramp to the car, hundreds dived for an opportunity to touch His lotus feet.

Swami then drove back to the Residence. All of us had a good chance of a close darshan as we lined up on the way from the car till the main door of the Mandir. We were actually doing “Security Duty”. As we formed a tight cordon around Swami’s car, I remembered how noticing the devotees’ plight, Swami had once played with the term ‘volunteer’ as ‘wall-and-tear’! I was myself becoming one such wall, eliciting tears of separation from the devotee.

“But they are also tears of pining”, I consoled myself. Soon the Lord was in the Mandir.

God is the '1' that gives value to all the 0s that follow

The next moment, the aroma of freshly cooked food wafted into our nostrils. Swami had dinner with the elders and then He called out, "Ay boys! Go and sit at the tables."

As He was on His way back, the inimitable Prof. Anil Kumar complimented the food saying that the quality of mango pickles (avakai) and gongura were unmatched! Swami was so happy and they had their little private chat. Then the All India President (AIP) of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations, Mr. V. Srinivasan, asked Swami whether the boys should go for morning walks as was the practice when Swami takes the boys to Kodaikanal. Bhagavan said that there was no need to do so. Entering the lift, Swami retired for the day.

We heartily dined and then returned to our rooms. It was a heavy meal and so Sudhindran, Anand and I went for a walk in the night. The temple was being prepared for inauguration the next day, and the whole area had been beautifully lit. The night air was cool.

An experience that we all felt throughout this trip was that of "oneness with God". Let me elaborate: All of us received the same love, reverence and devotion that Swami receives from the people. And all this was because we had on us the badge that proclaimed, ‘Bhagavan's Guest’. People would rejoice whenever they saw us because that, for them, was a sure indication that Swami was coming. In fact, even in our nightly stroll, we encountered a few people who asked us if Swami was coming down for darshan at that time! Living with God is not only a great privilege, but also a great responsibility. The adoring eyes can soon turn critical if we do not conduct ourselves as befitting the divine tag. That was a lesson that seared itself across my consciousness that night.

However, it was not long before I could also see what our true status was. A security guard just brushed me aside and said that I had no permission to enter the gate that would lead me back to our quarters. I was in my T-shirt and track pants and had forgotten to carry my badge. I was shocked and did not know what to do. The very next instant, the security personnel’s behaviour, metamorphosed into one of humility and love when Anand flashed his badge and stood by me saying, “He is Swami’s student. Let him in!” Wow! It is Swami and Swami alone who means everything to everyone. Else, all of us are nothing! We rise in the eyes of the world, only because of our association and proximity with the Lord. Without Swami, we were insignificant nothings. This incident only demonstrated to me the axiom – “With God, we are heroes. Without Him, we are zeroes.”

The Ultimate Hero_ who does everything and acts as though He does nothing!

As we returned to the rooms, Sai Krishna came running to me and said that five of us would be privileged to sleep just outside Swami's door in the Mandir. That too was part of the security duty. Would I like to be one of them? It was a rhetorical question for me as I hurried and picked up my pillows and bed sheets to go towards the Mandir.

Gopi Sir who was shepherding us, enquired from all of us whether any of us snored at night.

“I don’t want any of you disturbing BHagawan with your ‘sound’ sleep!” he remarked. I remembered that my parents and sister had told me that I snore on some occasions. I just hid that truth and prayed to Swami that he control my body physiology so that I don’t lose this chance.

“Dear Swami, I have been given this body to get closer to you. Let me not do anything with it that takes me away from you - snoring included”, I prayed.

We were given beds and soon all of us lay down. A washroom next door was open for us to use and I really felt like a king as I saw the size of that room! My God, it was bigger than many living rooms that I had seen so far! When I returned, I thanked Swami for the many beautiful moments of the day, and bid a happy good bye to the first day of this lovely trip.

Sunrise - the beginning of the D day

Sunrise at Hadshi, silhouetting the Residence.

The sunrise at Hadshi is so beautiful. Sunrises have always fascinated me more than sunsets simply because I like the concept of ‘rising’ more than ‘setting’! Rising seems like birth while setting seems like death. However, the Truth of life is that there can be no sunrise without a sunset. And the faster I realize it, the better.

Since our rooms were on the western side of the Mandir, as the sun rose it presented a beautiful silhouette of the Residence. I was actually clueless when Harish told me, "Go up and shoot the sunrise!" Hurriedly I ran up and searched in vain in the western skies.

“Oh! Maybe this is another of Harish’s practical jokes”, I thought, and was about take the stairs down when suddenly my eyes fell on the gorgeous sunrise and I stood transfixed! I had foolishly been looking in the wrong direction! The sun was a big ball and looked so handsome and juicy. No wonder Lord Hanuman mistook it for a ripe fruit and lunged at the Sun God! The sun was that stunning orange that is so dear to anyone who knows Swami.

“This is almost like morning darshan”, I said to myself and did take a few good snaps. These photos would be playing a lovely part in an interaction we had with Swami later on.

The first view of the poolside breakfast area. The balcony is beyond
the glass doors and windows behind the breakfast counter.

Admiring the sunrise, I came down to ground realities of morning ablutions. We were all ready and received instructions to head to the poolside for breakfast. The others in the party consisted of mainly elders who stayed at a guesthouse, 100 metres from the Mandir on the eastern side. And there, adjoining the guest house, was a lovely swimming pool. It was really tempting when I realized that I had even carried my swimming shorts to Hadshi. But then, I realized there was no way I could jump in for a swim during a trip of this nature. I therefore drowned my ‘dripping’ desires.

The cool blue waters were an ethereal sight indeed!

At the poolside, the classic blue of the water was cooling and refreshing even to look at. There were other interesting exhibits too like a statue of a boy drawing water from a hot spring (wherein dry ice was used to create the steam effect), an antique lantern, and so on.

Even more impressive and inviting was another display - of dosas, vadas, upma, bread, toasts, juices, Maharashtrian poha, cornflakes in many flavours and the choicest of teas and coffees! The breakfast spread was sumptuous and the dining tables had been neatly arranged in a 3m x 50m balcony that afforded a breathtaking view of the hills and lake nearby! Everything that the eye could see from there belonged to the Jadhavs and it was a remarkable real estate holding to say the least. For the first time many boys requested for pictures of them eating in such a spot of natural splendour! I did oblige but till the moment the groans in my stomach allowed me too! The term breakfast was actually not appropriate, for we were not 'breaking' a 'fast' of any type! If anything we were all overworking our delighted Vaishvanaras!

Imagine breakfasting here, in the lap of nature, with sweeping views of hills and trees. 

Ganesha temple inauguration

By 8:30 a.m. we were all back at the Residence. Bravely we went upstairs and waited there for Swami to emerge. We knew this would be our complete private time with Swami as there was no one else except us at that hour. At about 9:15 the door opened and as soon as Swami saw us His eyes opened up wide as He exclaimed, "Ikkada unnara (You are all here)!”

And then He came towards us and said, "Paandi, paandi (Move, Move)”.

He wanted us to leave quickly. I wondered what the hurry was all about and as my mind was racing, my body was not! Swami saw this and called out, "Ae photographer...." He left the rest unsaid and my body immediately joined my mind in the race. Swami then told something to Jagadish which I am sure he has recorded in his personal diary. Hopefully someday I will be able to peek into it!

So we all rushed down and out to the darshan grounds. The "out" part did not pertain to CG and me as we stayed back to shoot in the Residence itself. Swami came out of the Residence and saw the family of Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma who had come to pay their respects. Bhagawan then came on the upper porch from where the maestro's family could easily take padanamaskar. I did take good snaps of those moments.  But once Swami saw us, He said, "Pillalu paandi (Boys go)!” That was message enough and both of us immediately went down to the temples that awaited inauguration at the divine hands.

Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and his family seek Swami's blessings. 

The temple complex looked beautiful like a bride awaiting her groom. Fountains squirted lending a cool feeling to the entire atmosphere which was lit up brightly by the sprightly sun. The Ganesha temple was at the entrance and there were fountains behind which had been laced with detergent, so they foamed and looked icy. After gathering a few pictures of this picturesque setting with its reflection in the water, CG and I entered the shrine of Lord Ganesha.

A mere glance sufficed to realize why Swami was so insistent that we go before Him. The complex was packed and I sighted at least ten photographers and video cameramen in the premises. Swami's car was like a dam that held back surging floods behind it and once His vehicle was inside, the temple was almost washed away by the masses flooding in! There was a Sarvadharma Stoopa standing opposite to the sanctum sanctorum - only it was a stout variant of the one at Prashanthi Nilayam. Swami alighted from the car near the Stoopa and was flanked by a security perimeter consisting of security guards and the boys. Through the ramp He entered the small sanctorum. Fortunately, I managed to squeeze inside.

Swami lights the lamps and then, the eternal 'string-puller' pulls the string to do the life-instilling ceremony.

Shivajirao Jadhav, as commanded by Swami puts the neckalace
around his wife's neck.

The Pranaprathishta (the life-instilling ceremony after which the idol is considered as a Living God) in these parts of India is done in a different way compared to the South. A bundle of red and yellow coloured strings were tied at the base of the statue. Swami was handed the other end and He tugged at them. With that, the idols were now alive, charged into divine potency by the divine hands. Swami also lit the lamps in the temple. The Ganesha idol made of marble looked different. The sculpting styles in different regions in India shape the idols differently. This idol was so unlike the others I had seen in life so far; nevertheless it was beautiful. Swami was given a document which He went through quickly. He also blessed a pair of padukas with His sanctifying touch. Then when nobody expected, He materialized a beautiful golden necklace laced and studded with stones. Giving it to Shivajirao Jadhav, He asked him to place it around his wife's neck. Once that was done, Swami moved out.

A close up of the necklace that Swami created for Mr. Jadhav's wife.

Having understood the importance of being early at the scene of action from the experience at the Ganesha temple, CG and I ran out towards the next temple - the main shrine at Pandurangakshetra. Meanwhile, fireworks went off in the skies signaling to the gathered thousands that the Pranaprathistha (installation) at the Ganesha temple was complete.

to be continued in Part 5 at the following link:

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 5 - The idols get instilled with life

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