Jnana and Dhyana also need Bhakti - Ram Mohan's life experience_Part 3

The magazine of God, for God, with God

It was almost instantly that Ram Mohan decided to make everything he did as an expression of his love to Swami. In 1984, he encouraged the students to produce a hostel magazine as an offering to Bhagawan on His Birthday on 23rd November. A number of hand-written articles, hand-drawn sketches and original poems landed up in his room in the weeks leading to the birthday. With the permission of the Controller of Examinations, Prof. Nanjundiah, Ram Mohan got multiple copies made from the University cyclostyle machine. Then, getting all the pages bound, Ram Mohan offered the magazine to Swami for His birthday.

Swami placed the bulky book on His lap and leafed through all its contents. He was visibly happy and He blessed the effort. From then on, there was no looking back for Ram Mohan. He ensured that a copy of the magazine which was released for every major festival - Guru Poornima, Krishna Janmashtami, Dusshera, Christmas etc. - made its way to Bhagawan. After that, a copy of the magazine was also delivered to each and every room in the hostel for the students to read. Swami would go through the magazine and send His feedback on different articles, poems, sketches and paintings. Even when Swami had suffered a fall and a fracture, He went through the magazine, sending feedback via the editor of the Sanathana Sarathi, Sri V.K.Narasimhan. Swami conveyed to Ram Mohan,

“Why has the boy drawn Garuda’s nose so long? Tell him to shorten it...”

Ram Mohan offering the initial version of the hostel magazine, Sai Chandana, to his Swami in the Mandir portico. 

Years later, in 1989, Swami Himself christened the magazine as ‘Chandana’. The next issue onwards, the magazine carried the name ‘Sai Chandana’ in bold letters on the front. Ram Mohan could not think of Chandana without the ‘Sai’ coming first! Thus, not only did Ram Mohan make the hostel magazine a vehicle for his devotion, he made it the carrier of all the students’ love too. In the later years, the magazine grew in size and significance and had multiple editors. Even then, when Swami referred to it, He always fondly remembered Ram Mohan. In fact, going through the 60th Birthday issue, Swami looked at Ram Mohan and told him,

“I know that you only have written all the articles in here.”

That thrilled the devoted heart.

{This is the concluding part of the 3-part story of Ram Mohan. To ensure you get the best of the story, read this part only after reading the first two parts at the links below:
1. How to get devotion and increase it? - Life experience of Ram Mohan Rao - Part 1
2. The easiest way to increase devotion to God - Life experience of Ram Mohan Rao - Part 2 }

Sai Chandana became a passion and obsession with Ram Mohan. He fervently worked for it with the feeling that this magazine of God should record the heartbeats of His students. The contributions were from students as young as 12 years of age right up till the research scholars in their mid twenties. Ram Mohan considered Sai Chandana as a legacy of the present to the future, a gift and treasure trove of Divine Love.

The lines of dedication from the first issue of the hostel magazine (that Swami named as Chandana) says it all.

When the revered Sri Gandikota Subrahmanya Sastry passed away, a list of names was taken to Swami to name his substitute on the board of reviewers of the Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust alongside Prof. Anil Kumar, Sri Ramana Rao and Sri Prahlad. It was possibly as a reward for his purity, patience and perseverance that Swami selected Ram Mohan as a member of the book-review board.

When God waits for the devotee

This attitude of doing everything as an offering to Swami began to pervade Ram Mohan’s ‘translator-abilities’ too. In the 1990s, Swami brought Prof. Anil Kumar from the Brindavan campus of the SSSIHL to its Prasanthi Nilayam campus. That was when Ram Mohan’s opportunities as a translator declined drastically as Prof. Anil Kumar took over that divine task. However, that did not sadden Ram Mohan or dampen his enthusiasm for Swami’s voice and words. He would sit in his spot behind the Ganesha idol in the Mandir portico, recording Bhagawan’s discourse on tape, in his diary and his heart. Then, he would transcribe the entire discourse in his beautiful Telugu handwriting after which, he would add his comments and appreciation of the different points made by Swami in the discourse. Having done that, he would make copies of his work and send the originals to Swami in a sealed envelope!

Worship of the Guru's feet - a meditation on Paadaseva

It was the year 2004 when all the final year postgraduate students of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning gathered in the bhajan hall at Prashanti Nilayam. They had sought an audience with their Guru and God, Bhagawan Baba, to offer their gratitude before leaving the portals of the glorious University. They had also carved, painted and created a ‘gratitude card’ to offer to Swami. On the card was a beautifully carved ship with a heartfelt poem beside it. Swami blessed the card and, pointed at the ship, mentioned,

“Children sing, Baa Baa black sheep. But this Baba is not a black sheep. Baba is a white ship!”

The Avatar comes as a great White Ship to ferry everyone across the ocean of Samsara or worldly existence.

It was a thrill as everyone present realized the import of the statement.  Gurus are often considered as boats who take their disciples across the ocean of samsara or worldly existence. But when the Jagadguru, the Avatar descends, He becomes a ship ferrying everyone across the same ocean. He is like the ark that saves all in the deluge. This was a reinforcement of what Bhagawan had declared when He announced the Avataric Advent:

“Manasa Bhajare Guru Charanam Dusthara Bhava Saagara Tharanam.”

{Oh mind! Meditate on the Feet of the Guru. This can take you across the difficult ocean of existence, birth after birth."}

Worshipping the feet of the Guru is considered as one among the 9 forms of Bhakti or devotion. Getting an opportunity to do Paadaseva to one’s Guru is a blessing that has possibly been earned over several lifetimes. The beautiful thing is this Paadaseva need not be done physically alone. A Manasa Pooja (mental worship) is equally effective and redeeming. Based on real-life experience, here is a meditation on Paadaseva which is sure to delight every Bhakta’s heart. The description is set in the Hrudaya Brindavan (garden of one’s heart) where there is a sanctum of the Guru with a Jhoola (swing) for Him to sit on. Read on slowly and picture the entire scene to enjoy the meditation on your Guru or Swami (Master or Lord).

Drink in the picture of your Guru's lotus feet before you begin the meditation.

A meditation on Paada Seva

Swami walks into the sanctum and stands for a brief while in front of the Jhoola. Every cell in your body seems to tremble with the anticipative excitement. In sharp contrast, Swami is so calm. He gently glides into the ornate swing but that is enough to impart a tiny bit of momentum to the Jhoola. There is absolute silence as everyone waits in bated breath for Him to initiate the session. Swami is in no hurry. Sitting close up front, you are able to hear His rhythmic breathing. It is neither light nor forceful but definitely tranquil. It draws your focus to it without the slightest effort on your part. A serene joy erupts within you and the effect is meditative. You want the feeling to go on forever. You are soaking in every bit of the atmosphere so that you can recreate it at will in the future. At that very moment, He looks you in the eyes. Oh my God! What a feeling. You feel that you are completely exposed but there is no sense of vulnerability. Instead, the most positive of feelings seem to gush out from your heart.

His breathing is interrupted by His words. That is what His words are - an extension of His breath. The statement in the song “Truth is My breath” gains a new dimension in meaning as you realize that His words are Truth and His breath is His words. As the ears are gathering the nectar gushing forth from His mouth, your hands have now begun their quest. They set out towards His lotus feet that are hidden from sight by the saffron silk robe. In the lightest way possible, you gently and gingerly raise the robe a few inches and insert your fingers to touch His feet. However, the fingers encounter something rough on another smooth cloth. It is the golden border of the silk dhoti! You look at His face as your fingers ever so gently raise the dhoti. He continues to speak without the slightest disturbance. You are happy because that is the permission to go ahead with the Paadaseva. A moment later, your fingertips touch His toe tips and an electric current of joy seems to course through your entire frame. Salvation!

You gently massage His big toes between the index fingers and thumbs of your hands. That is how your Paadaseva begins.

The value of Darshan - a lesson learned at Tirupati

East is east, west is west and the twain shall never meet

Ever since I found my God and Master in Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, I have never felt the need or desire to go on any kind of pilgrimage or visit any temple. It is not that I haven’t been to any temple or houses of worship. But, I have never visited them with the intention to ‘propitiate’ any God or deity. For instance, I have visited the Badrinath temple because my Swami has been there. I have been to the temple at Kedarnath because I love being in the Himalayas. I have gone multiple times to Lepakshi (45 kms from Puttaparthi) because of my love for architecture and history. Having gone to these places, I reverentially bow down to the deity knowing that my salutations are reaching Swami. However, I have never been to any temple with the aim of ‘bowing down to the deity’.

Lord Venkateshwara of Tirumala (Tirupati).

Thus it was that I never visited the world famous shrine at Tirumala (Tirupati) though it is less than 225 kms away from Puttaparthi. I did not find any reason to do so (nature, history, architecture etc) and I wasn’t prepared to go there only to ‘offer obeisance’ to Lord Balaji (Lord Venkateshwara). That apart, I also had several reservations against the Tirupati shrine based on what I had heard from people.

1. Stand in line for hours to go and see God.
2. Pay money to buy a ‘darshan ticket’ and have a quicker darshan route.
3. Get pushed away right in front of the sanctum by temple authorities trying to speed up the lines.
4. Pay to buy Prasadam.
   

The fact that Tirupati is the richest temple in the world based on donations it receives added to my hesitation to go there. (Somehow there is a bias that lots of money breeds evil. As our great epic Mahabharata shows, money and power are not the root causes for evil; the greed for money and power are. And there is a big difference in owning money/power and being greedy for money/power.)

That apart, whenever I thought of Tirupati, I was reminded of the incident wherein Sri N Kasturi (Swami’s biographer) wanted to visit Tirupati because it was his family deity. Swami had asked him then,

“Why Kasturi? Don’t you have the faith that the prayers you have placed at my feet have also reached the feet of Lord Venkateshwara?”

So, whenever my wife Pooja broached the subject of going to Tirupati, I would hardly evince any interest. After my daughter Bhakti was born, Pooja wanted to make a visit to Tirupati and I had simply asked,

“Why? Isn’t seeking Swami’s blessings in Prasanthi Nilayam enough?”

She had her reasons and I had mine but the twain would never meet.

The passport to Tirupati

We decided to apply for a passport for Bhakti. Having filled everything online, we found out that the nearest PSK (Passport Seva Kendra) for Puttaparthi was (yeah, you guessed it right), Tirupati!

“We will have to go to Tirupati for Bhakti’s passport. We should have darshan”, Pooja said.

I agreed. I felt that it would be arrogance on my part and an insult to Lord Venkateshwara if I went to Tirupati and didn’t have darshan in the temple at Tirumala.

“But we will stay there only for a day. Let us not forget that we are going for Bhakti’s passport.”

I wanted my Swami to know that I was fiercely loyal. I was going to Tirupati only because of the passport. The darshan was just incidental.

Pooja told me that she would be booking the ‘300 Rs ticket’ because it would be very difficult to have darshan along with Bhakti in the general queue.She did not want me to argue about it and I wisely kept quiet. I told Swami in my heart,

“Swami, I am not booking any tickets. My wife is doing of her own volition. I am loyal to you alone!”

The passport appointment was made, darshan tickets booked and hotel rooms reserved. We drove to Tirupati on Sunday, 12th March 2017.

Welcome delight

Beauty and divinity radiate from Lord Venkateshwara. This picture was taken in
the Shanti Vedika, Sri Sathya Sai Hill View Stadium during the
Sahasra Poorna Chandra Darshanam (completion of  seeing thousand full moons
in one's life) of Bhagawan Baba. 

It was around 5:30 pm when we reached a place called Sreenivasa Mangapuram, 12 kms away from Tirupati. We drove into the temple compound, parked the car and went in for darshan. Just before we entered the temple, we witnessed a little procession of the Utsava Moorthis, the processional idols. Seeing the Arati, we walked into the main shrine. There were about 40-50 people standing in a queue and so, within 15 minutes, we were face to face with an exquisitely beautiful idol of Lord Balaji. I was overwhelmed with the beauty and divinity that seemed to radiate all around. I had Bhakti in my arms but I could feel Bhakti in my heart too!

It was only later that I got to know, Srinivasa Mangapuram is no ordinary temple. The deity here  is replica of Tirumala deity, larger in fact. It is one of the 5 most important temples of Tirupati. It was a stroke of great good luck that we did not face any crowds. I was grateful to Swami for the beautiful experience. It had softened me a bit.

We checked into a comfortable hotel room for the night. It was going to be a big day tomorrow with visits scheduled to the passport office and to the Tirumala shrine.

The best gift a parent can seek for a child - Bhakti (devotion)

December 15, 2015

The day turned out to be a landmark one in this lifetime of mine. Poetically speaking, it was the day when a soul in the heavens above decided that Pooja (my wife) and I would be the appropriate beings as its parents in its earthly sojourn. Prosaically speaking, it was the day when I became father to a baby girl. But however prosaically you may state that, the experience is always poetic! I felt a thrill like never before and my first sounds were similar to the ones that the baby made -

“Oooooooo...Awwwwwwww”.

The innocence, detachment and purity with which the baby seemed to look at everyone around reminded me so strongly of my dear Swami.  So, the first thing I felt like doing, even before carrying the baby or cuddling her, was to gently touch the lotus feet. Ah! How soft they were and so similar to Swami’s. It was indescribable divine joy.

The baby is the easiest and closest that anyone can come to experiencing the Divine. With a baby, you become like a baby!

As parents, you want to give your child the best things in life. But what is the best thing in life? Both Pooja and I felt that the greatest gift we had received from our parents (and grandparents too in Pooja’s case) was ‘Love For God’. Having love for Swami is the greatest treasure, a bounteous blessing and the most intelligent investment that a parent can gift a child. And so, ever since we had come to know about the baby, all of us at home had the same prayer,

“Swami, let this child be one that will love you with all it’s heart...”

What’s in a name? Everything

Even as the baby grew from a single cell into an embryo, we began discussions on the choice of a name. The name is a very important part of life. It will possibly be the most-heard word for the being and therefore, it is vital that it be something inspirational and aspirational. No wonder that all societies in the world spend considerable time and effort in naming a new-born.

Our plan was to make a list of boy and girl names and then choose the most appealing one. Though we started like that, somewhere along the line the plan got changed into me naming the baby if it was a girl and Pooja naming it if it was a boy. Thus I began focusing on girl names. My pick was “Vibhuti”. Having sought vibhuti, the holy ash from Swami all my student life, I felt it was a perfect name because, more than anything else, it symbolised Swami’s prasadam (a gift blessed by God).

I had this feeling that Pooja was carrying a boy. That is when I discovered that ‘Vibhuti’ is a unisex name! Irrespective of the gender of the baby, ‘Vibhuti’ could be used. One day, I asked Pooja,

“What do you think about the name ‘Vibhuti’?”

She was silent.

“You like it? Or you don’t like it?”

“See, Vibhuti is a unisex name...”

“Exactly my point! If we agree on it, then we needn’t search further...”

She wasn’t in conformity. She wanted a female name for a girl or a male name for a boy. Unisex names didn’t appeal to her.

“We have decided na that if its a girl it's your choice and it's my choice if it's a boy?”

I agreed though I was feeling defeated because of my gut feeling that we were going to have a boy. In that case, Pooja would win the naming rights. Pooja was smiling with a gleam of victory. Intuitively, she also felt that she was carrying a boy and knew that she had already won in the ‘naming choice’.

Achieving Work-Life balance through the Ultimate Experience - experience of Prof. H.J.Bhagia Part 2

Summer Course 1990 - unexpected bounty

Bhagia sir seemed to be growing more and more disinterested and detached from the ‘mundane’ daily activities which he performed on auto-pilot. His whole being seemed to burn in eager expectation for the eternal Ultimate Experience alone. The summer of 1990 arrived and, as was the practice, Swami shifted from the Puttaparthi ashram of Prasanthi Nilayam to the Bangalore ashram of Brindavan. (The devotees would find it very hot and exhausting, sitting for darshan in the hot Parthi summer. To provide respite for them, Swami would shift to Bangalore which would be cooler on account of its greater geographical altitude.)

{This is actually the second part of a beautiful and message-filled story. To enjoy it in its entirety and immensity, it is recommended that the reader completes Part 1 from the link given below and then proceeds with this Part 2.

Achieving Work-Life balance through the Ultimate Experience - experience of Prof. H.J.Bhagia Part 1}

While Swami went to Brindavan in March, Bhagia sir followed in April after the academic year had concluded. There were some industrial visits and field trips in Bangalore that the MBA students had to undertake as part of the course and Bhagia sir accompanied them. It was during this summer that Swami decided to resurrect a special course that had been discontinued for more than a decade now - the Summer Course in Indian Culture and Spirituality. This course had been Swami’s initiative in the early seventies with an objective to expose students of the University to the rich cultural and spiritual heritage of Bharath.

(The course continues on an annual basis to this day. It is always a memorable experience for participants, especially newly admitted students. It orients new students into Bhagawan Baba’s educational philosophy and gives them deep first hand insights into how they can directly benefit from this unique institution. This prepares them well to make the best of the rare opportunities that lie ahead of them.)

Bhagia sir has been blessed with the Ultimate Experience which shows that true happiness lies only in Union with God.

What thrilled Bhagia sir was the subject that Bhagawan Baba took up for the Summer Showers in Brindavan, 1990. It dealt entirely with the why, how and what of Self-Enquiry with Swami unravelling the mystery in stages. Swami dilated in great detail about the mind, the senses, the ego, the Gunas and the Atma. It was definitely a big boon for any aspirant seeking the Ultimate Experience in life.

(The summer course of 1990 is so monumental that it has been taken up for detailed discussion in the Radiosai series entitled Shravanam Mananam Nidhidhyasanam. Bhagia sir too was invited as a guest during one of the discussions which was first aired on 28th May 2014 - a discussion on the discourse that Bhagawan delivered on 30th May 1990. The whole series can be obtained via the Radiosai Audio Search, typing the phrase;

SHRAVANAM_MANANAM_NIDHIDHYASANAM )

Needless to say, Bhagia sir got increasingly inspired as the days passed by. The ‘kick’ came on the last day of the Summer Course. On the 3rd of June, 1990, Swami delivered a lengthy concluding discourse of the Summer Course. He concluded by saying,

“Your entire life must become one continuous meditation.” Bhagia sir’s eyes opened wide as he drank in each and every word from Swami. He internally resolved that spending anything less than 24 hours a day in spiritual pursuit would be unacceptable. Since he had not yet mastered hunger and sleep, it would be physically impossible to spend 24 hours in seeking the Ultimate Experience. But he would definitely spend as much time as possible on that.

An addiction called God - experiences of Navaneeth Kumar_ Part 3

God qualifies the called

The rules by which man judges man and the rules by which God judges man definitely vary. For instance, while man judges man based on the results produced, God judges man based on the efforts put in. While man checks a man’s qualifications before giving him a call, God calls the man who needs Him and then bestows the necessary qualifications on him! That was what Navaneeth realized with goosebumps after he joined the hostel as a student in the Sri Sathya Sai Mirpuri College of Music.

It was the first week of June and Swami was in Brindavan, Bangalore. He was expected to arrive to Puttaparthi somewhere in the middle of the month. Navaneeth was among the senior-most students who had enrolled for the Foundation course. He saw that all his classmates were between 12 and 16 years of age. He was 22. That was when it struck him hard. He clearly remembered reading the statement in the prospectus:

The foundation course in these subjects is for two years and is open to boys of the age group 13-20. The diploma course is of three-year duration and is for boys of the age group 16-23.

How on earth had he secured the seat even though he was ‘overaged’? He also remembered another miracle that had played out during the final interview. Thrilled at ‘doing well’ in the entrance test and excited at the prospects of being a student in Bhagawan Baba’s college, Navaneeth had written a letter of gratitude to Swami. The icing on his cake of excitement was Swami’s acceptance of his letter. The cherry on the icing was the manner of His acceptance. As Swami took the letter from Navaneeth’s hand, their little fingers touched and Navaneeth felt electrified. He looked into Swami’s eyes and felt a warm surge within as Swami bestowed a gentle smile. Ah! Swami was fulfilling every little desire of his. It was in this happy mood that Navaneeth had gone to attend the interview.

The only qualification that the Lord requires from His devotee is that he need Him.

{This is part 3 of a riveting story. Enjoy it fully after completing the first two parts at:

PART 1:

An addiction called God - experiences of Navaneeth Kumar_ Part 1 PART 2:

An addiction called God - experiences of Navaneeth Kumar_ Part 2 }

Among other questions, the Vice Chancellor had asked him,

“Are you a Bal Vikas student?” (The Bal Vikas movement is a unique concept where the child is educated with the goal of inculcating character. This is done via love for God.)

Navaneeth had not attended any Bal Vikas classes and was about to answer the same, but his eyes fell on his application form that the Vice Chancellor had placed before him. To his utter amazement, the tiny box next to the statement, “Have you been a Bal Vikas student?”, had been ticked. He had definitely not ticked it, and so, in response to the VC’s question, Navaneeth just presented an awe-struck face. The question was repeated to him,

“Are you a Bal Vikas student?”

“Er... Yes sir...”, he replied.

Navaneeth recalled that episode and realized that him getting a seat in the Music College would have involved quite some work for Swami. But then, the Lord never considers it as ‘work’. On one occasion when a devotee thanked Swami for the ‘Shrama’ (efforts) He had made for him, Swami replied,

“Bangaroo, idi Shrama Kaadu; Prema” (Dear one, this is not ‘effort’ but ‘love’.)

Days of darshan bliss

Navaneeth waited for Swami to arrive from Brindavan. In the meanwhile, he got reunited with his other love - cricket. Cricket seemed to be the official game in the hostel and he got opportunities to bat and bowl to his heart’s content. It is like a ‘buy one get one free’ offer when one desires for the Lord alone. The desires of the world that the individual nourished previously also get fulfilled automatically.

It was almost July by the time Swami arrived and Navaneeth now began to enjoy darshans. The Sai Kulwant hall felt like home for him because he had spent hours on the end here. He was happiest here and he seemed to know every pillar and tile that constituted the hall. It was but natural that he also knew the vantage points and vital spots to sit for a good darshan.