Sai Bin Raha Na Jaaye - I have no life without Sai (experiences of S.Ravikumar) Part 3

God's Award: The only singer with the rare distinction of having sung during both, Baba's 60th Birthday and Baba's
85th Birthday. Here, Swami gives Ravi a shield in December 2010.

The qawwali nears completion

Time seems to fly very quickly when one is enjoying oneself. Every time that I have heard Ravi sing this beautiful qawwali, it has always felt too short. I am sure there are many that would have resisted the temptation to seek an encore because of two reasons:

1. It would look so undignified to do so in Swami’s presence.

2. The only way Ravi would do an encore was when Swami asked him to. In fact, the only time Ravi sings the qawwali is also when Swami asks him to.

Thus, every time the qawwali nears completion, one is always left wanting for more. On one occasion however, things took a different turn. I can never forget that day.

( The above photo collage video has as its background audio, the 13-year old Ravi's rendering of the immortal bhajan, "Brahmanda Nayaka Baba." The story behind it is so beautiful and thrilling and to know it, the reader must visit Part 2 of this story. Actually, this 3rd part is best read after completion of the first two parts which are presented in the links below:

1. Sai Bin Raha Na Jaaye - I have no life without Sai (experiences of S.Ravikumar) Part 1

2. Sai Bin Raha Na Jaaye - I have no life without Sai (experiences of S.Ravikumar) Part 2

To enjoy this concluding part better, it is recommended that the reader goes through the beautiful scenes of the above two parts as well.)

It was the 21st of May, 2006. Summer vacations were on and the students who had decided to stay back and not go home were enjoying the wonderful Trayee sessions at Brindavan in Bangalore. When Swami used to be in Brindavan, staff members from the various institutions in Puttaparthi would travel to Bangalore on the Sunday holiday to enjoy a day in His physical presence. May 21st was a Sunday and the staff from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences had come to Brindavan. Among them was Ravikumar too. After the evening bhajan session, all of us went into Trayee Brindavan. Swami arrived and sat on the jhoola (ornate swing). He spoke with a few people seated nearby for a few minutes. As soon as He saw Ravi, He asked,

“How are you Ravi?”

As always, the response was just a smile. Swami turned to a student and asked him to sing a song. As soon as that song was complete, He told Ravi to sing and the mellifluous notes of the qawwali filled the air. The next five minutes passed like a breeze everyone in the hall was devotionally charged. Swami smiled, looked at Ravi and said,

“Sing a high-pitched bhajan now.”

“Krishna.... Krishna... Krishna...” began Ravi and followed it with the bhajan - Madhava Mohana Shyama Gopala.

“Nice, now sing another high-pitched song”, was the divine command.

Ravi responded with the Telugu song, “Namo Sathya Sai Baba.”

Swami now asked him to sing another song, one which everyone could follow and sing. Ravi waited for further clarification on the song which Swami wanted. Swami added instructions,

“The song goes high in pitch and fast in beat.”

Ravi was still silent. All of us began to whisper and mutter, guessing the probable song which Swami was hinting at. Swami then said that it was a qawwali. Sri.B.N.Narasimhamoorthy, the then warden of the Brindavan campus made a guess,

“Sai Ke Darbar Mein?”

“No, not that”, said Swami. Looking at Ravi, He again said,

“Sing...”

Ravi smiled at indicated the pitch of the song to the harmonium player. He sat up straight, closed his eyes and began the song Swami was seeking:

“Mohabbat Ki Kami Dil Mein...”

It was the SAME qawwali that he had sung right at the beginning. So, that was Swami way of asking for an encore. As Ravi hit the high notes of the qawwali, Swami closed His eyes too and lost in a trance! Needless to say, the following was thumping and the whole Brindavan reverberated with the qawwali. Even as he completed the qawwali, Swami got up with a satisfied look. He asked for Arati! The session was over because Swami seemed to have felt that it was ‘complete’!

In the bhajan hall, as Ravi came to the last line of the qawwali, he hoped that Swami would get up and leave. However, Swami did not get up to leave this time. He continued to stay.

Man Mandir Se, Jao Na Sai...

Chain Na Aaye Mohe, Chain Na Aaye.

(Oh Sai! Please do not leave the temple of my heart. Without you, I will be restless, without peace of mind.)

Ravi at once realized that in his song, he was actually asking Swami to stay in the mandir - the mandir of his heart! His thoughts quickly travelled back to the day when Swami had apparently tested him.

Nearness or dearness?

Ravi had got delayed at hospital (where he worked) that day. By the time he reached the mandir, the bhajan had begun. He sat in the last row and sang no bhajans that day. After the Arati, Swami sent for him and asked him,

“Why did you not come for bhajans?”

“Swami, I came. I was late and so I sat behind.”

“So what if you are late? You should have walked up to the front and sat in your place...”

Ravi gave no response. He only smiled and shook his head to indicate that he would not do that.

Swami egged him on saying that it would not be a problem if he came front.

Now here was an opportunity of a lifetime. Swami was saying that no matter what time he arrived, Ravi could royally walk up to the front and sit near Swami. Anybody in his place would have jumped at it and why not? Was it not the Lord Himself making the offer? But Ravi stuck to his stance. He again smiled to Swami and mentally said,

“No Swami, that isn’t right. The bhajan session is always the most important and not me. The song is more important than the singer. The Lord is always the top priority and nobody else.”

Swami had read his thoughts. Though no words had been exchanged, a lot had been communicated. Swami had patted him, smiled and said,

“Good boy.”

Ravi definitely had given up the chance to sit near Him but had grabbed the opportunity to be dear to Him with both hands! And that is another important lesson - strive to be dear to the Lord. To be dear means to follow what He says - to do things the way He would like them to be done even when nobody is watching or even when the Lord permits you to ‘violate’ the norm! And that requires great wisdom, humility and maturity. But if one manages to do that, Swami gifts him/her with the greatest blessing ever - Himself.

A Mother of mothers

The most poignant memory of the qawwali for Ravi however remains the 27th of September, 2004. Having been diagnosed with serious illness, his mother had been bravely battling on the health front. Swami had stood as a strong pillar of support during these troubled times. In fact, Swami had told the legendary Dr. H.S.Bhat to take charge of his mother. Though a Urologist, Dr.Bhat had invoked his numerous contacts and Ravi’s mother was receiving the best possible medical care. A major surgery had been scheduled for the 27th of September, 2004 at the SSSIHMS specially for her (at Swami’s behest).

That evening, as Ravi sat outside the operation theater in the hospital waiting for his mother, Swami had sat on the dais in Kulwant hall waiting for Ravi! In between the bhajans, He even asked about Ravi and was told that he had not yet come to the mandir. As the operation concluded successfully, Ravi rushed to the mandir in joy. He was not sure if he would make it in time for the Arati. He actually just made it in time!

Swami, having received Arati, had just got up to leave. Ravi, as was his practice, walked in from behind and sat in a corner. Sri Nitin Acharya, who was assisting Swami then, saw Ravi from the corner of his eye. He told Swami,

“Swami, Ravi has come.”

Immediately, Swami beckoned to him and Ravi moved up to Him on the dais. Swami enquired as to how the surgery had been and Ravi update Swami with a smile saying that everything was fine by His grace. Swami sat back on the chair and told Ravi to sit in front of him, in the first line of the bhajan group. Looking into his eyes, He made a subtle movement. Ravi closed his eyes and began the qawwali.

Ravi’s heart was filled with gratitude at what his divine mother had done for his earthly mother. He had been so nervous and worried about his mother and Swami had quelled all his worries. At a time when it seemed that everything was wrong, Swami had indeed shown him that He was always by his side. The words flowed out effortlessly,

Sai Bin Raha Na Jaaye.

When he completed the qawwali that day, there was pin drop silence and Swami seemed to be drinking deep into the beauty of that silence. In fact, when the priest rose to give a second Arati (for every session, as a rule, must conclude with Arati), Swami told him to sit down. As though carrying the beautiful vibrations of the qawwali, Swami just retired for the day without speaking a word with anyone else.

“Swami has that special ability - to make you feel that you are the world for Him. I felt it that day and I knew that He was the world for me!” completed Ravi.

The Lord and devotee share a moment through their eyes during the Prema Pravaham programme,
performed during the 85th Birthday Celebrations.

Parting thoughts - ones to treasure

Ravi’s parting statement reminded me of my own experience where I felt that I was the world for Swami. I am sure that each and every one has received an experience like this in some way or the other where Swami has shown him/her that he/she is the world for Him. Isn’t that the reason why we too join in the qawwali, singing aloud,

Sai Bin Raha Na Jaaye

Chain Na Aaye Mohe Chain Na Aaye

Even as the qawwali gathers momentum, the singer climaxes into an Alaap,

“Aaaa....aaaa....”

Isn’t that so natural? When the heart is full, words are few but when the heart overflows, there are no words at all!

Little wonder that Ravi realized the secret of life through the song of his life. The song begins with an apparent mourning,

“Mohabbat Ki Kami Dil Mein” (the absolute lack of love in the heart).

But it concludes with the state of ecstasy where there are no words because the heart is overflowing with His love and grace - Aaaa....aaa....

Sitting in the bhajan hall and singing the qawwali of his life in front of the goal of his life, Ravi realized that he would never ever feel a lacuna in his heart because his Sai was always there. He only had to turn inward and he would see that his Swami is waiting for him there. There was no need for a separate and special darshan session any more - every moment of his life would be a darshan session for Swami.

Is it any surprise that he rarely sings this qawwali any more?

...because he is internally singing it every day of his life.

After his final programme performance in Swami's physical presence, Swami materialized a gold chain for Ravi and
placed it close to his heart. A symbolic gesture indeed.

Wouldn't it be great to learn bhajan singing from this humble devotee of the Lord? Radiosai offers more than 150 bhajans taught by brother Ravikumar in its popular Bhajan Tutor page. Do check it out.

For all readers:

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Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's historic 1976 Ooty discourse - the medallion discourse

A surprise gift

Baba at a devotee's home in Cantonment, Bangalore in
1968. The photo gives an idea of how Swami looked
a few years before this episode occurred.
 Photo credit: S.Balasubramanya

I received an email with the subject line - “Swami’s revelations for the future”. With eagerness, I opened it to find an audio file. I heard it and felt a surge of joy and love welling in my heart. That audio clip had been constituted from 3 different discourses delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The first part was from a landmark discourse that Swami delivered in Ooty, during the summer course there in 1976. The second and third part were from discourses delivered later. As I searched via Google, I found the same audio clip on a few blogs. While they presented the clip, the details provided along with the same were almost sketchy.

That was when I enlisted the help of Dr. T.Ravikumar and Dr. Sundaresan, both serving at the Brindavan campus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. They had been physically present when all the three discourses had been delivered and provided the details. They are thrilling and, as is the case with Swami always, are pregnant with meaning at different levels and planes. (In fact, Dr. Sunderesan stichtched together these three clips based on similarity in content). Hearing the audio clips, one is just lost in wonder, awe, love and gratitude for Swami. Without further ado, let me present the details.

The Ootacamund summer course of 1976

The summer course in Indian Culture and Spirituality had been shifted from its traditional Bangalore venue at Brindavan to the hill-station at Ootacamund (Ooty) in the state of Tamil Nadu because the boys hostel was being built at Brindavan. For those that are unaware of what a Summer Course with Bhagawan Baba is, here is a brief description. It had started off as a study of the Indian scriptures and value systems for a time period ranging from a fortnight to a month for the youth from various parts of India and the world. Swami would take active interest in it and would address the students on a daily basis. The students were also blessed to hear different scholars and erudite speakers. As years passed by, attending a Summer Course was made a special privilege of only the students studying in the various educational institutions started by Swami. The format and schedule remained the same.

It was in a private session with the students, Dr.Bhagawantham and Al Drukker. Al Drukker has recorded his memories of the session in his book. However, the details are not elaborate as his understanding of Telugu was minimal, if not nothing! As Swami gathered the students around him one day, He revealed.

I will now announce what I am going to do in future for this country, India— and for the rest of the world. It will now be shown to you on what I am going to materialize.

(It was at this point that Swami materialized a medallion and showed it to the gathering. The medallion was round with a black onyx base. It had a silver map of India with 18 jewels embedded in it. The map had a 100 Sanskrit verses inscribed on it and Swami said that it had all information about the Avatar. He continued to speak after that.)

Photo credit: www.radiosai.org

What I have materialized contains a map with all the eighteen different components in India. The map also shows where the memorial stupas (pillars) will be which represent the work that is going to be done by Me in pictorial form on this medallion which I have just now materialized. On the medallion the work and the future tasks which I am going to fulfill  is inscribed in Sanskrit.

This Body in which I have come is going to be present for another forty-six years and in those forty-six years, whatever dharmasthapana, whatever work will be done by Me in the country is all written now on the medallion in complete detail. Not only this, but which boy is to be entrusted with the task in which of the states, (his name) is also written on this medallion. If there is anyone who reads this Sanskrit script very well, he can read what is written on this.

At this point, all the students requested Swami Himself to reveal what is on the medallion. As the requests grew louder, Swami said, - “I shall not reveal the future - if you wish, you can read for yourself.” One of the boys took the medallion, and as Dr. Ravikumar revealed, tried to read what was on it. The text was very tiny. He borrowed the spectacles of a friend and tried to read it under the magnification. But all that he could make out was that the lettering was in the Devanagiri script or Sanskrit. Swami continued to speak. As you can hear in the audio file, Swami speaks continuously for several minutes before allowing the translator, Dr. Bhagawantham, to step in. So, the translation given below is not exact sentence by sentence, but the gist.

All the things that are going to happen in time, in the future is present on this.  I shall prepare individuals capable of spreading the Bharatiya culture and spirituality to the whole world. In the case of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, he had to use only one or two persons (for the fulfilment of Ramakrishna’s mission), Vivekananada and Brahmananda, who were sannyasis (renunciants). You don’t need to become sannyasis. In this particular task of Mine, I am going to use you young people in a large measure, as you are, putting you on the right path. I will use you as My instruments for doing all that is intended to be done. Where the instruments will be and what will be their qualities - all that is described here on this materialized item.

In order to show all of you children who have gathered here that you should be good in upholding the ideals of Swami, I have done this. Gradually, I shall tell you everything in a way you understand. You need not worry.

(And then came the most beautiful statements. One can hear Swami pouring out His love and compassion.)

A close up of the materialized medallion

Why do you hanker after this thing (medallion)? Why, when the Person who has produced this is here and He belongs to you and is in your grasp, why do you want to look at what has been produced?  I am here before you - I who have produced this. I belong to you. I will look after you. I will tell you what to do.The way you have to be taken to your goal, transformed and built is all with Swami. Go slowly, don’t be in a haste. What has been described here, what I intend to do…all in the next forty-six years; who I am going to use, and how I am going to use them; how you will all put on the right path, this will all be described by Me to you, item by item, in due course. Don’t be in a haste. Only remember that you should take the determination to do it and you should appreciate the task you are called upon to do. You should determine to take the right path, to follow Me and My task. This is all you have to do.

Swami Himself will do and secure the future of Bharat with Dharma that is more progressed and advanced than the glorious 'olden' days. Whatever happened in the past (regarding Dharma) happened without people properly understanding. But now, you will see it’s glory clearly, the way you see yourself in the mirror. You will get opportunities to see Swami in many forms. Make efforts to protect and preserve this experience. That much is enough.

The rest will be looked after by Me. I belong to you, and I am with you. Why do you think (only) of what I have produced (materialised)?Moreover, in future you will see Me in many different forms which are manifestations of Myself.

- end of the Ooty discourse excerpt. We are eternally grateful to Mr.Nanjunda Kumar for sharing this audio with humanity.

The second part of the discourse on the audio clip

As I stated in the beginning, the audio file has three clips. It should not be mistaken as the same discourse. What follows next is another excerpt from a discourse translated by Prof Nanjundiah to the first batch of MBA, MCom, students ,research scholars and teachers in multi media room in Prasanthi Nilayam campus on 7th Sep.1986.

Swami had, right from the beginning, the plan to implant His Divinity and Divine Power all over the world. For the sake of this, Swami has established educational institutions all over the world. In the name of education I brought all the students here. I will tell you how this Divine power, how these sound waves and electric waves and jyothi (Divine light) power --will function in the future. When Swami is talking in the auditorium, Swami may be seen in mandir. When Swami is seen in the auditorium, He will been seen in the classrooms - that too, when Swami is receiving Aarthi in the temple - actually through this jyothi power. Even in My discourses, when Bharathiya (ancient Indian) culture is being explained, Swami will be just giving you these experiences through experiments.

It is easy to tell. What is essential is that you should experience it. You will all experience this. You will all experience this. You will all enjoy it. You will also distribute it and you will expand your heart. This is the primary goal of our Institute and aim of our Institute.

Stay with that faith, devotion and conviction - Shraddhavan Labhate Jnanam.

The Actual Audio of the discourse with subtitles...

"Everything is in the palm of the hand of the all-knowing
one." Photo credit: S.Balasubramanya

The third part of the discourse on the audio clip

The third discourse clip is being translated by Sri. Sudarshan on the 23rd November, 1980 (55th Birthday). My guess is that the similarity of themes inspired the compiler to stitch these clips together. The contents of the third clip are also very inspiring as you can read for yourself here. (At the end of it, there is a link to download the audio file)

I have also resolved that very soon I will be launching on a massive programme of revitalising our ancient customs, our ancient treasures, our ancient traditions, and all the scriptural truths—about all people and in all lands. You need have no doubt whatsoever that we will be successful. Victory is bound to be ours. We will surely experience the trumpet of victory.  Don’t give yourself to doubt or distress. Don’t get hassled by doubts. We shall be very soon blowing the conch of victory all around. This is a certainty. This is a certainty.

Embodiments of Love!

What the future holds is beyond your sight, beyond your understanding. But I can see what the future is going to be like. A time will come when the whole world will be at My Feet. A time will come when the whole world will rejoice, in having understood My true Divinity, My true Nature. It is a great effort that I am making thereby. At present I am confining Myself; I am not letting not letting My glory spread all over, all of a sudden because the world cannot possibly put up with it (now). But certainly a day will come, when the peoples of the world would recognise what Swami is; His Majesty, His grandeur.

The world will very soon become a big Prashanti Nilayam by itself. They will all come flocking in their lakhs and their millions. Even those who have the golden opportunity of sitting so close to Me understand this truth now. Make the best of the opportunities that are coming your way. Listen to Swami’s words. Live in His love. Experience His bliss which is very much your own. Do not fritter away this golden opportunity for you will not get this later.

The audio file of the above two clips is presented in the link below. Please use any ONE of the links below to download the file.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B51YrGHFxchFQkpfaTROVUw3cVk/edit?usp=sharing

OR 

https://soundcloud.com/user554603133/swamis-revelations-ooty-1976-medallion-discourse

Share the file along! :) God bless us all with love divine. 

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