God is content with one's good intent - Sairam's experiences with Sri Sathya Sai - Part 2

God always bestows more than what one needs

The experiences of Sairam with Chayee are so amazing and absorbing that they will be part of a separate story as promised. However, this much can be said here that Sairam indeed made Swami happy with his dedication and, in return, Swami blessed Sairam amply with grace. In fact, one such blessing from Swami taught Sairam an unforgettable lesson.

Swami and all the Chayee boys with Chayee Koh Seng in Chayee's room. Chayee is the person in blue shirt.
Sairam is kneeling to the extreme left in the picture with his hands folded in prostration. 

Pleased with the three ‘Chayee boys’ (as they were called), Swami called them in for a mini interview. He gifted all of them with white Safari suit cloth.

“Here”, He said to the two other boys, “you have big frames and hence you will need 3 meters of cloth each.”

The two boys gratefully received the divine gift and took padanamaskar. When it was Sairam’s turn to receive the cloth, Swami smiled mischievously and gave him a shorter cloth,

“For you, 2.5 meters are sufficient...”

Sairam then bent down to take padanamaskar but he was slightly disappointed. Why did Swami give him less cloth? He was smaller in frame than the other two boys but he wasn’t that small either. Anyway, there was nothing else he could do and so, he received the cloth gratefully. On returning to the hostel, he devised a plan. During the vacation, he would purchase a matching cloth that was necessary to get him a safari suit and then get it stitched. Happy with how he had solved the problem of cloth-scarcity that Swami had created, he slept at night.

The next day, Swami summoned the three boys again. Giving them money, Swami said,

“I want you three to stitch safari suits and wear them tomorrow...”

While the other two boys rejoiced at this bounty and blessing, Sairam was slightly worried. Would he actually be able to stitch a safari suit with the smaller cloth that Swami had given him? Nevertheless, the three of them went to the tailor.

“We need a safari suit each, stitched and ready to wear for tomorrow. Will you be able to do it?”, they asked the tailor.

“ If that is what Swami wants, it shall be done”, he said and took their measurements. Sairam kept a watch on the measurements and noted that he was not much less than the other two in these ‘figures’. He did not tell the tailor about the lesser cloth he had received. The three of them submitted their cloth pieces and left.

(This is Part 2 of an ongoing story. If you haven't red part 1, it is highly recommended that you do so before returning to read the concluding part here.
God is content with one's good intent - Sairam's experiences with Sri Sathya Sai - Part 1 )

The stitching was completed overnight and the next day afternoon, the three were at the shop. The tailor looked at Sairam and began,

“There was a little problem in the cloth quantity sir.”

“I thought so... the safari suit is not ready then?”

“Nothing like that sir... The cloth from the other two boys was little less and I did not know how to complete trousers for them. Thankfully, there was extra cloth in your piece. I borrowed from it and completed theirs too. Hope you don’t mind...”

Sairam was baffled to say the least.

“And, what about my suit? Will you stitch the trouser later?”

“No no sir! Your suit is ready. Its just that there was extra cloth which I used for these two boys. Please don’t mind...”

God is content with one's good intent - Sairam's experiences with Sri Sathya Sai - Part 1

Choosing a college for higher education

“Your results are quite impressive. What are your future plans?”

“Father, I definitely am happy with my results in the 12th class Board exams. But I am still undecided on which college I should seek admission  into. I have shortlisted several terrific ones... Maybe you could help me in choosing an appropriate one...”

“Have you applied for the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning?”

“Sathya Sai Baba’s college? No... Why would I apply there?”

“See Sairam, this college might not seem to be rated highly academically. But let me assure you that getting admission into this college would probably be the best thing that could happen to you in life.”

“But father... do you want me to pursue just a measly Bachelor’s degree in science? I mean... there is so much I could do and achieve...”

“And achieve you will! You will achieve things that will make all of us proud and happy if you join this college.”

Sairam’s face turned glum. He wanted to seek his father’s help in choosing a good college from what he had shortlisted. Instead, his father was vetoing all the colleges and offering a low-quality alternative.

“Father, can we not choose from the colleges I have researched and shortlisted?”

“See son, as a father, it is my duty to show you the right path. That much I can do and I will do. But following that path is left entirely to you. As they say, you can only take the horse upto the water. Drinking is left to the horse...”

The father turned and walked away.

It appeared as if Sairam was in between the horns of a dilemma now. Should he trust his intelligence and research or should he have faith in the wisdom and experience of his father? His heart was set on several colleges with academic excellence. He had envisioned a road ahead towards career glory. But, in reality, Sairam had no doubts in his mind. He had decided his future course of action - to apply for a seat in the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. Never in his life had he disobeyed his father or disrespected his wishes. Though he might have committed mistakes with respect to obeying his father, his intention had always been to be obedient. And there was no changing his intentions.

True Happiness

Within a few weeks, Sairam was walking to his cupboard in his room at the Brindavan hostel. Though it was the summer in 1989, Bangalore was cool. Brindavan was in the outskirts of the city and the environs were definitely very peaceful. The hostel and college schedule however, were not! According to Sairam, life in the hostel was like the life of Pavlov’s dog - interspersed and filled with bells. Needless to say, college life too was filled with bells. The constant ringing in his ears and the tough schedule from 5 a.m. till 10 p.m. daily made Sairam feel that enough was enough.

The brief trip to Puttaparthi towards the end of the first semester seemed to promise some meaning and joy in the otherwise taxing schedule. That was not to be for Sairam! The schedule got more taxing because he had to rise by 4am now and line up for the bathrooms and toilets. The living space got crammed even more as each student had only about 6ft x 2ft area to place his suitcase and lie down. Interactions with Swami were not many, and so, Sairam found no respite. To make matters worse, Swami told the students to stay back in Puttaparthi for the exams too. The discomforts seemed to become more intense because of the added burden of studying for the exams.  The visit to Parthi lasted a week extra after which the students returned to Brindavan via Muddenahalli.

“Amma, I am not going to go back to Brindavan for the second semester.”