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

For all readers:

(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Also explore the 60-odd 'previous articles' listed month-wise on the top right here. Another blog which I maintain with more than 230 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".)

Accepting God's Presents and Presence

My sour-sweet story continues

Swami was slated to take off for Delhi on the 9th of April.  The one week before that turned to be a sour-sweet one for me. 

(Dear reader, in case you are reading directly from here, I would request you to take a few minutes off, read the first part and then come back here to enjoy the story completely. The first part is located at the link below
Living in the Present: Sure way to avoid sorrow )

Well, am sure that Swami had planned things to be sweet for me because that is His Will always. But my petty mind in its preoccupation with the past and future soured those very same sweet things. Let me elucidate it with one more diary entry, the 4th of April this time.

I finally managed to be with my dear Swami on board the aircraft bound to Delhi. But the lessons
I imbibed from the 'wait' are invaluable.

Swami came after 5:15 for darshan. He read through a lot of letters as He sat for the bhajans on stage. He went into the interview room for about 20 minutes. He came out and a few bhajans later, received Aarthi. A large-sized, colour-clothed and moustached man came for the "elder-rose" chance. (For those that might not know: Swami had blessed all the permanent volunteers doing service in the Ashram for more than 5 years with the chance to offer a rose to Him during Aarthi everyday. Based on seniority, these turns were being taken.) I took a picture as Swami blessed him. Swami then asked for prasadam. When the vibhuti basket was given to Him, Swami said that He wanted the edible prasadam. Soon, even as Samastha Lokaha chant went on, trays filled with little ‘Munch’ chocolates were brought. Swami blessed the trays. He also took one chocolate and kept in His hand. As the prasadam distributors were dispatched, He looked at me and threw the chocolate to me. I went ahead and picked up the chocolate. Then, through the railings, I put my hand and took padanamaskar. I felt so happy and He was watching me lovingly all the while I was taking the namaskar.

Now that was such a thrilling evening. I had so much joy flooding the heart. I almost floated to the studio - my feet seemed to be in the air. I sat in the comfort of my chamber, put on the air-conditioner and decided to ‘munch’ on the sweet gift that the Lord had gifted me with so much love. Anybody in my place would have continued to be in a blissful heaven but not me!

Even as I unwrapped the chocolate, thoughts of all such ‘chances’ that I would be missing by not being on the Delhi-Simla trip flooded me. And so, instead of being cheerful, I now became wistful. The ‘chance’ that Swami had bestowed on me a few minutes before only seemed to enhance my sadness because I was feeling that I would be missing all that in the near future.

Planning for joy

I had already decided that I would not be ‘asking’ Swami directly to take me. The letter regarding my inclusion had not been accepted. I did not know what else I could do. Interestingly, almost every day, Swami gave me a little chance - a smile, a word, a touch - but I did not even record those in my personal diary because I was too busy rueing the loss of a trip with Him! I was in desperate need to cheer myself. And so, I began to plan a trip.

The Maha Kumbh Mela was to happen at Haridwar in the month of April. Touted as the largest pilgrimage on earth, this Kumbh Mela would be a gathering of about 100 million people and I felt that it would be an apt substitute for traveling with Swami. Added to this was the fact that Haridwar is quite close to Delhi. I inwardly told Swami,

“Swami, you are not taking me with you. But I too shall be enjoying a spiritual vacation. I may not spend time with your physical frame but I shall be part of the historical Kumbh Mela which none of the Delhi-Simla trip candidates can be!”

That brought a smile on my face and I busied myself in the bookings and travel arrangements. My parents in Mumbai also booked their tickets to Delhi from where we would all be proceeding to Haridwar.

All these plans came to nought in the next darshan session itself when Swami made enquiries about the trip from several people. I received my smile and padanamaskar, but this time, I did not even enjoy the momentary happiness! Without my knowledge, my obsession with the future was eroding and killing away the joy that was available in abundance in the present.

Days passed thus till it was the 7th of April. All the ‘selected ones’ had been called for a final briefing by Giri sir. My two colleagues from the studio too went to attend that meeting after lunch. I locked myself in my room in the studio. Though I had made many plans to ‘enjoy’ the next 10 days, I was feeling miserable and lonely. All my ‘planning’ for joy seemed to be in vain.

A revelation

It was a few minutes past 2pm when my cellphone began to ring. It was from my colleague, CG, who had made it for the trip. I was in no mood to pick his call.

“He may be calling me to seek some help because he has very little time left to get ready for the trip...”, I said to myself in a mocking tone.

When the phone kept ringing, I could not help but pick it up.

“Sairam...”

“Aravind!! Can you come out of the studio?” It was CG’s excited voice.

“For what?”

“Just come out for a minute man...”

“Errr... I am sort of busy...”

“Nothing doing! Just come out. This is urgent.”

I wiped the melancholic look off my face, unlocked my room door and walked out of the studio. CG and Sai Krishna (aka Bond) came running to me with gleeful grins pasted across their faces. The words I heard stunned me into silence.

“Hey! YOU ARE ON THE TRIP MAN!”

“Me? But how... I mean... that’s great... but...”, I continued to stammer in disbelief.

“You won’t believe it. After the meeting concluded, Giri sir said that all this while, he had forgotten to call one student - Anand. We were all wondering who this Anand was when he clarified that it was ‘photographer’ Anand.”

I had been part of a Radio satsangh series in which my name was Anand. Ever since then, Giri sir had always called me Anand.

“We confirmed whether it was you and Giri sir told us to inform you that you should be ready and set for the trip!”, completed CG excitedly.

Cloud nine

In an instant, all my sorrow vanished. I was back to my best spirits. This had been a startling turn of events for me and I just could not believe what had happened. Now my mind was a whirlpool of all the things that had to be done. I started off with canceling the Kumbh Mela plan. I told my parents to keep their tickets, land at Delhi and stay on there for daily darshan. Then, I went to my room to pick the white clothes needed for the trip. I was so happy that, even now, as I type this, I feel a surge of joy welling up within me. You can only imagine how powerful that joy was.

Was it a coincidence that I was once again living in the present and I was in joyful times again?

That evening, as Swami arrived for darshan, my heart was pouring out gratitude. When ‘good’ things happen, we are thankful to God. We are convinced that He is planning everything for the best. If only we could retain the same faith when something ‘bad’ happens too! But when it comes to ‘bad’ things, we immediately start questioning God’s wisdom and pray for ‘succour’. When God is the most powerful and most loving along with being the most wise, is it not logical that even the ‘bad’ things that He does for us are also actually good?

When Swami was passing by me, I gently touched His lotus feet, like I used to do daily. However, today, there were extra feelings of love and gratitude in my heart. My eyes were closed as I poured heartfelt thanks to Him for ‘including’ me in the trip. I felt a hand gently fall on my shoulder. Thrilled at this benediction from Swami, a tear almost formed in my eye. I opened my eyes to look at the possibly love-exuding face of my Lord who had tapped me on my shoulder.

To my consternation, I saw that it was not Swami’s hand - it was Giri sir’s! He was walking behind Swami’s wheel-seat. Swami had proceeded ahead and he had tapped my shoulder. Quickly wiping my tear, I looked at him questioningly. He asked me,

“You have been informed right? You are on-board the trip. You know it?”

I smiled nodded in assurance to him. He knew that it had slipped his mind to inform me and, so, he was making doubly sure that the ‘mistake’ was not repeated.

I was happy at this added confirmation that in another day’s time, I too would be in the clouds with my Swami, flying towards the Indian capital city.

Two significant lessons

Looking back at this episode which marked the beginning of an unforgettable trip, two lessons stand out. The first one obviously is about living in the present. Many times later in life too, I have seen how dwelling on either the past or future is the root cause of all sorrows, frustrations and depression. Living in the present, in the NOW, is very powerful and redeeming. This too has been concretised in me via examples like my colleague, Raghuram Bhat, who is happy and smiling in spite of having everything to complain about in life!

The second lesson hit me as I walked back to my studio room after darshan on the 7th April 2010. Llooking at it from Swami’s perspective, there was no need to console me or accept my letter because I was ‘selected’ for the trip. Swami must have ‘wondered’ why I was writing such letters when I was already ‘on’ for the trip. Of course He knows everything, but from a practical angle He must’ve pondered,

“Why is this boy so sad and upset? I don’t understand... I have already granted all he needs.”

God always gives us all we need - without fail or delay, even before we ask for it. But then, we confuse our wants with needs and feel sad. That is precisely why Swami, in His 9-point code of conduct, included the practice of ‘Ceiling on Desires’. That will probably be the subject of another article! :)

After granting the vision of the Cosmic Form on the battlefield of Kurukshetra amidst the narration of the Bhagawad Gita, Lord Krishna told Arjuna,

“Make no mistake Arjuna, thinking that you are killing the Kauravas. I have already killed them (in time). Now, you just have to be my instrument and do your duty sincerely.”

God does everything and remains as though He does nothing while we do nothing and assume that we do everything. Whatever happens in life, it should be my sadhana to accept it with the wisdom that all that needs to be done has been done by the Lord. My efforts should be to get this acceptance and, via that, live in the present always, maintaining my equanimity.

But, is it really true that God is the ‘doer’ of everything? Well, I do not wish to get into a debate because while one line of thought says God is the Doer of everything, another line of thought says that God is the Eternal Witness. As long as we stick to any one line of thought and not conveniently (actually inconveniently) shift between the two as per our life situations, we are fine. From that perspective, God indeed is the doer of everything. All is well for all is in His hands. Let us live in the present, have equanimity and enjoy peace.

Samastha Lokaha Sukhino Bhavantu - May all the beings in all world be happy.


If you liked reading this, you might also like:

1. How Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba helped make my career choice

2. When selflessness disguises itself as selfishness

3. The Bourne Identity - "Who am I"

4. Sachin Tendulkar and Sathya Sai - the story of the little master and his 'little' Master

For all readers:

(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Another blog which I maintain with more than 200 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com You may visit that at your leisure. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".

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