God grants everything but should never be taken for granted - Amey's experience with his Swami_ Part 2

Flashback... Nostalgia... Beautiful memories...

There come times in life when one is unable to comprehend what more can one do. It was one such time in Amey’s life. Nearly a month had passed since that day when Swami had made the children from the Primary School sing bhajans and more than forty days had passed since he had sung in the Divine Presence. He had been practicing bhajan singing and he had been praying for the opportunity to sing in Swami’s presence. What more could he do? Situations like these, when the flow seems to be at its lowest ebb make one feel helpless. But there is a silver lining even in such dark clouds and that is the consolation that things cannot get any more worse.

Consoling himself that things could only get brighter and better from that point on, Amey went through the daily routine of attending college and presenting himself in the bhajan group in the mandir. Several days passed like this.

(This is actually the second part of a very gripping story. To enjoy it completely, it is recommended that you read Part 1 at the link below and then return here:

God grants everything but should never be taken for granted - Amey's experience with his Swami_ Part 1 )

One evening, as he began to practice a bhajan in his favourite Raaga, Sindhubhairavi, his mind wandered into memory lane, filling him with nostalgia...

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Amey had always been associated with bhajans in Swami's presence. Even as a Primary School kid, he used to play
the tabla, sitting right in the front. 

It had been a cloudy day in Bangalore. The sky grew dark and the afternoon seemed to have donned the robes of twilight. There was an outburst as the heavens opened up and poured water by the tonnes. Amey rushed along with the other Seva Dal members to roll up the carpets that had been spread to cushion the lotus feet of Swami as He walked from Trayee Brindavan to the Sai Ramesh Hall before darshan. In a matter of minutes, it was all rolled up and secure. Ten minutes later, the rains stopped. Once again, everyone plunged into action, rolling out the carpets. A few volunteers picked up brooms and swept away the fallen leaves and twigs. Few others washed off the mud along the path.

Amey too joined the others in readying for Swami's arrival. Then, he brushed away the dirt from himself and straightened out the sleeves of his shirt. He set his hair back in order and got ready to receive Swami. In a few minutes, the doors of Trayee Brindavan opened and out glided the Bhaktajanaposhaka, the Lord of the Universe who is the sustainer of His devotees. As Swami came near the back door of the Sai Ramesh Hall stage, Amey stood in attention, folding his hands.

Swami came near him and stopped. He seemed to be keenly observing something on the floor. Amey followed His gaze and was shocked that He was actually looking at his feet. The devotee gazes at the Lord’s feet. Here was a case in reverse! As Amey looked down at his own feet, he could see that they were dark brown and black from the slush. If only he would have washed his feet like the others...

Swami then looked at him in the eye and made an expression of disappointment. He then gently lifted His robe to reveal His tender and sparklingly clean feet. Amey almost bit his tongue as he realized his mistake. Swami walked on and went for darshan. Immediately Amey rushed to the nearby tap and washed his feet and hands thoroughly. On His return after the darshan, Swami paused once again at Amey. He looked at his feet and then into his eyes. He granted him a beautiful smile and nodded to indicate that He was happy...

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God grants everything but should never be taken for granted - Amey's experience with his Swami_ Part 1

Amey Deshpande was ecstatic as held the piece of paper in his hand. He fondled it reverentially as if it was one of the greatest treasures on earth. As far as he was concerned, at that point in time, it was indeed the greatest treasure on earth. It was his ticket to the feet of his Master, his God - Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The letter intimating him about his selection into MBA (finance) at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (Prasanthi Nilayam) had just arrived and Amey’s joy knew no bounds. This was the moment he had been waiting for many years now.

Regular readers of this blog will be well acquainted with Amey, my dear Sai-brother and neighbour who is currently an assistant professor in the same department where he acquired his MBA degree. I have lived through several of his experiences, thanks to his vivid and detailed narratives and it is a wonder that I have penned down only three of his stories so far. Amey took his ‘baby’ steps into Swami’s heart as early as 1984. After that, he had several memorable experiences in the Sri Sathya Sai Primary School. Life however, was not all rosy and he was abruptly expelled from the school. That was a defining experience in Amey’s life when he learnt that sometimes things go horribly wrong before going right and that sometimes one has to move away from God to move closer to Him!  

While that was the defining experience of his life, his days as an MBA student at Swami’s lotus feet taught him many lessons. One of the most unforgettable ones among those was that God should never be taken for granted.

A beautiful ‘honeymoon’ period as a singer

For all the readers who have not read the other narratives about Amey or have taken out time to click on the links above (yes, thats almost an ad to make you scroll back up, click on those links, read them and then continue from here), this much has to be said that he is an excellent bhajan singer. He was an integral part of the Brindavan Bhajan Group in Bangalore and would sing twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, in Swami’s presence at Whitefield.

The Brindavan Bhajan Group (BBG) consisted only of members of the Seva Dal (the volunteer corps of the Sri Sathya Sai Organization). It was special in the sense that it was the only unit of the Seva Dal that regularly got an opportunity to sing for Swami. That opportunity was almost entirely belonging to the students of the SSSIHL. Among the singers of the BBG, Amey was considered special.

He definitely was one of the best voices. But what made him very special was the attention, love and grace that Swami showered on him. Swami almost seemed to look forward for Amey’s bhajans! On one occasion, Amey had to miss the Thursday morning bhajans in order to write an important ‘Accountancy’ exam at his college. The next Sunday, during the bhajans, Swami came up to him and enquired why he did not attend bhajans the previous session. Amey was stunned that a thing as little as his absence had been noticed and replied,

“Swami, I had to write an accountancy exam...”

“You did not do well in it... You could have as well come for bhajans.”

Amey actually flunked that exam!