God's plans are the best for us - the story of Siddhartha's enlightenment_ Part 1

A Gratitude Programme in the offing

The students in the final year postgraduate class in the Prasanthi Nilayam campus of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning (SSSIHL) were an excited lot. The day was going to be a very special and memorable one for them. The 16th of March in 2009 had been chosen by destiny for them to express their feelings towards their Chancellor and their Swami, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The ‘Gratitude Programme’ had become an annual opportunity wherein every batch which was passing out (School students from Grade 12, 3rd year Undergraduates and 2nd year Postgraduates) would, via skits, songs and speaking, convey their gratitude to Swami. On His part, Swami would often make this into the most memorable session for all the students. It was therefore natural that Siddhartha’s heart was bursting at the seams with excitement.

However, mixed with that excitement was also a tinge of nervousness regarding his participation in this programme. Every year, the students try to get increasingly innovative in the portrayal of their gratitude to Swami and Siddhartha (aka Sid), with a few of his classmates, had evolved a novel idea.  The plan was to play a game of pass-the-parcel in its classic version in Swami’s presence where a ‘punishment’ lay hidden within each layer of wrapping over a ‘gift’. Each of these punishments would be something interesting which Swami enjoyed seeing. For instance, one of the participants in the game was a mimicry artist and he was ‘fixed’ as the second boy to get ‘punished’ with the task of performing mimicry. Sid had got this idea while seeing an old tape of Swami’s visit to Kodaikanal where Baba had thoroughly enjoyed the game which the students played. But this was not the cause of Sid’s nervousness.

An evening when Swami gave great joy to Sid and Sid gave great joy to Swami...

A particular punishment had been fixed for Sid - to sing the verse which Swami composed as a teenager to market a wonder medicine called Bala Bhaskara. The rationale behind the punishment was twofold - that Sid was a good singer and that the verse seemed very dear to Swami’s heart. To add Swami’s involvement in this, Sid was to act as if he had forgotten a few lines of the verse hoping that Swami would ‘help’ him with the lines. It was a nice and sweet plot to involve Swami but the warden had his own worries,

“See, the plan can backfire if Swami chooses to remain stoic. So, don’t overact. In case you do not get any reaction within a few moments, act as if you have suddenly remembered and complete the verse...”

Sid had agreed to it But secretly, he actually memorised only the first two lines of the verse:

Dorike Dorike Bala Bhaskara, Balan Lara Balaku Lara

PART 1_Destroyed in seconds but rebuilt over years - the love story of Vijaya Sunder with his Swami

An introductory chapter on the Divine Romance

The Indian summer in 2003 was coming to an end  and giving way to a cool spring. But that made no difference to the sultry climate in the city of Chennai in South India. With the sea breeze plucking the beads of perspiration off his face, Vijaya Sunder ran towards his home. His calf muscles ached from the strain of running and his lungs huffed and puffed with exertion.  But he had a broad smile plastered on his face. The results of the state level (Tamil Nadu) grade XII exam had been declared and Vijay had performed exceedingly well. In fact, he had obtained the perfect result, a centum, in his favourite subjects - Physics and Chemistry. He was convinced that he had moved a step closer towards achieving his dream of becoming an engineer.

“Mom! Dad! Look. I am the state-topper in Chemistry and Physics...” screamed Vijay as he entered the home.

“Ah! Praise be to the Lord”, exclaimed the mother as she rushed out from her morning worship to hug her son.

“C’mon Mom! I wrote the exams and you give credit to your God!” Vijay couldn’t suppress the smile as he said that.

“Whatever you may say. Everything happens because of God.”

Yet another story of divine romance  between the Lord and Vijaya Sunder.

Vijay did not say anything to his mother. She was firmly entrenched in her devotion to god. In spite of the tough life she had lead so far, she found things to thank god for. But Vijay was not interested or bothered about god. He just didn’t want to be bothered by him or her or it - whatever God was. His philosophy was very simple - hard work fetches its rewards while the lack of it results in disappointment. He had worked really hard for his academic excellence and it was only natural that his results reflected that.

Vijay now showed the results to his father who did not say a thing. The tears in his eyes said everything - he was proud, happy and grateful. Vijay’s chest swelled in pride.

“Dad! I want to study in the best of engineering colleges and my marks will ensure a ‘merit’ seat for me.”
“Yes my son!” agreed the father and embraced Vijay. He would get ready now to withdraw the special savings he had made for precisely this purpose.

Like anywhere else in the world, to get into the top notch colleges, one either had to be rich in the intelligence department or had to be the child of a parent rich in the finance department. Finances had always been hard to come by for Vijay’s family. Vijay had been a late-born and his father had retired as a cartoonist at the Indian Express when he was barely 11 years old. On retirement, he had got about 4 lakh rupees (about $10,000 then) as his lifetime savings from the Provident Fund. That had been invested into two separate Chit funds, which are basically microfinance organizations. The interest amount was being used to pay Vijay’s fees and the father hoped to use th principal amount to pay for Vijay’s higher studies. The fees for the 4 years of engineering would be as low as ₹1.8 lakhs now since Vijay had secured a ‘merit’ seat. (A seat by ‘Management quota’ had to be bought for about ₹7 lakhs!) This was better than what Vijay’s father had bargained for.

A God-shattering experience

It was Vijay’s father who received the shock first. Chit funds operate in different ways, and there are also many fraudulent tactics practiced by private firms. The basic necessity of conducting a 'Chitty' is a group needy people called subscribers. The foreman—the company or person conducting the chitty—brings these people together and conducts the chitty. He is also the one who has the ‘power’ to commit fraud.

Playing the harmonium for Sai's bhajans - student S.V.Satheesh's experiences_ PART 1

S.V.Satheesh with his dear harmonium during a programme in Brindavan,
Bengaluru.

A long cherished dream gets fulfilled

In the summer of 2002, S.V.Satheesh sat in the tiny room with extreme exhaustion. It was nearly 3 am and the whole night had been one of great effort for him. For almost a week now, he had been recording what could possibly become his first ever musical album. And today, he had just completed recording the last piece. Though he was feeling fatigued, he was also feeling fulfilled! This was a long-cherished dream come true - a dream that had formed in his student days at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning.

Satheesh was ‘just another’ student who got enrolled for BSc in the college at Prasanthi Nilayam in 1992. His bonding with his Swami was almost instantaneous and he decided that he wanted to occupy a special place in His heart - just as He had occupied a special place in his! When he was wondering how should go about achieving his desire, Swami’s statement in several discourses struck him - “God is a lover of music. Lord Narayana told sage Narada that wherever a devotee sings his glory, He will install Himself there.”

And so, with a prayer to play for Him, Satheesh started learning the harmonium, practicing for almost 3-4 hours every day. He had no idea how he would get his first chance to play for Swami, but he just persevered and practiced rigorously. It was the beginning of a life-long saga.

Today, Satheesh has almost mastered several musical instruments - the harmonium, the accordion, the saxophone, the tabla, the mridangam, the violin and the santoor! By virtue of his ability to play the electronic  keyboard, he can surely claim to be able to play another hundred instruments at least - he just has to press the right buttons! It was either the harmonium, accordion or keyboard that he had played throughout his student-life at the Institute. That is why, today he was feeling fulfilled - because he had just completed a music album, playing the Indian santoor!

Satheesh felt an immense surge of gratitude towards his Swami. And in that flow of gratitude, he recollected how he had got his first ever chance to play the harmonium in Swami’s presence.

The wait and the big break

There is a magical thing about diligence that even skill and talent cannot match - longevity. One’s skills and talents may fade away one day but the results of hard work are always here to stay. Satheesh’s persistent practice ensured that he was soon playing the harmonium during the bhajan sessions in the hostel and the college. However, he was constantly aiming for that big break - to play in Swami’s physical presence. But then, there were stalwart harmonium players already - Sailesh sir, Arunesh and Anand Punjabi to name a few. How was he to get his chance? Satheesh waited patiently and worked diligently with faith. After all, faith is believing in what one cannot see which ultimately leads one to see what one believes in!

It was the January of 1993 and the practice for the drama, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, was in full swing. This was the drama that had been presented in Swami’s presence during the previous year’s convocation (22nd November 1992) and Bhagawan wanted the drama to be re-enacted for a Cardiology conference being held in the SSSIHMS in January. S.Ravikumar was playing the lead role in that drama. Well, his experiences with Swami are beautiful and touching and they have been detailed in other blogs. The point is that the drama was almost a musical and thus involved the entire music group. And since the practice sessions (which Swami attended) were in the Institute auditorium, the music group would also be assembled there everyday. This was essential because in the 1990s, there was nothing like background recording and all the dramas in the divine presence went on with live dialogues and live singing!

How God changed my disappointment into appointment (Part 3 of 4 of my career story)

Adapted from Francis Thompson's Hound of Heaven.

This is Part 3 of the story of how Bhagawan Baba helped me make my career choice.

If you have arrived straight here, please take a few minutes to read the first part to ensure continuity and better understanding. Part 1 is posted here.

How Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba helped me make my career choice

Part 2 is posted here.

God's Masterplan works subtly and silently for each of us

This is part 3 now...

Emergency Excuse

The 31st of March, 2007 dawned along with trepidation in my heart. It was the final of my MBA final exams. But the trepidation was not because of the exam. It was in anticipation of what would happen once I was done with my MBA. In the meanwhile, Sai Prakash had assured me that if Swami (Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) asked him about new recruits for Radiosai, he would surely suggest our names (the three of us whom he had met on the lawns during that ‘famous’ shooting star episode). I also got to know that Prof.G.V had told Swami about us; that we would be ideal to be recruited for Radiosai Global Harmony.

This was something that was happening almost for the first time - Swami giving the task of recruiting to somebody else. However, I was sure, the final decision would be made by Swami himself. And apparently, that had not happened as of yet. After writing the exam and exiting the hall, my tension grew. I was lost in thought as to what should be the plan of action. I had exactly 2 more months after which my ‘Student’ badge would lose validity. Before that, I had to get my job or face the prospects of being a ‘waiting boy’.

I met the other two and, soon, the next plan was brewing and ready. We decided to use the ‘emergency’ excuse to get a chance to seek what our hearts yearned from Swami Himself. What exactly is this ‘emergency’ excuse that am referring to?

There is a silent understanding among all the staff and students that if anyone is in any kind of emergency - medical, physical, mental or psychological - he will be given priority to sit in the front in the mandir. This was to ensure that he would be able to get proximity to Swami to share his problems and worries. Thus it was, whether the news was good or bad, the ‘emergency’ cases were given priority as far as seating was concerned.

In 2007, such ‘emergency’ cases were being given an opportunity to sit in the front in the bhajan hall where Swami would arrive for bhajans and be seated just a few feet away from them. The three of us decided to make use of this opportunity to ask Swami himself about our jobs. But there was a small catch. What would be the ‘emergency’ that we would cite in order to sit front? Not having a job was hardly an emergency in a place where students have waited for seven years. It was hardly an emergency on the same day that one has written his final examination! In fact, the University is against the policy of campus-placements. Swami has discouraged it because He wants students to concentrate on just being students while in the Institute. What were we to tell?

That was when we made use of tact. We definitely went ahead and stated that we had an ‘emergency’ and so we wanted to sit in front. When asked about it, we just replied,

“Sir! It is too personal. It is for Swami’s ears only...”

Even as we said that, we waited in bated breath. The explanation was accepted and we were made to sit in the front!

Appointment or Disappointment?

Swami was in the interview room after the darshan rounds in Sai Kulwant Hall. The three of us seated in the bhajan hall hoped that Swami would come in early so that we would have some time before the bhajans to present our case. I kept recollecting Swami’s words to me during that beautiful Ramzan interview when He had assured me that I would always be at puttaparthi. I was heavily banking on those words coming to my aid today.

Swami did not disappoint in terms of coming early into the bhajan hall. He came in at about 4:50pm, when there were ten minutes still left for bhajans to begin. He immediately noticed three ‘non-singers’ in the first row and asked,

“Why are you here?”

“MBA Swami...”, I stammered.

“What about MBA?” He asked.

“Swami, we have completed our MBA degree. Swami promised me that I would be in Parthi. Please give us a job Swami...”

Swami immediately told us to sit down. He sent us back to our places. That was it! We sat and continued to wait. Swami spoke to a few other students and teachers. Soon, it was time for bhajans. As the sounds of the Aumkaar filled the hall, Swami looked at the three of us and motioned us to move. We were blocking His view of the singers!

My heart sank immediately as we moved ahead, closer to His chair so that we didn’t block His view of the singers and the singers’ view of Him. I felt so neglected and dejected. There had been such a build-up for this moment and Swami had treated it like any other thing! What was to happen to us, me especially? There was no way I would get another chance to sit in the front based on the ‘emergency’ excuse because now, everyone knew what my ‘emergency’ was. They would not be able to understand and appreciate why it was an ‘emergency’ for me. How could they when apparently Swami Himself did not understand it? These thoughts formed a whirlpool in my head and I was caught floundering in it.

A matter of perspective

Swami had once told Prof Anil Kumar,

“These devotees keep trying to thrust their letters into my hands. I don’t know why they do that?”

Acting as an advocate for the devotees (which he often did with great success and the great amusement of Swami), Prof. Anil Kumar said,

“Swami, they may be in some emergency situation...”

“Ay!Once they have come to me, what emergency can even come in their life?”, Swami said, indicating that everything was absolutely under His control.

This is the Truth that I often forget and, thus, feel sad and disappointed. For example, in the case above, I was feeling rejected and sad instead of celebrating the fact that Swami had actually called me closer to His chair! How many times do I forget this fact that in times of sorrow, Swami is actually getting me closer to Him? Isn’t that the reason why the mother of the Pandavas, Kunti, prayed to Lord Krishna thus,

“Lord! Fill my life with troubles for those are the times I think of you...”

I was foolish then; I am foolish now. But I do hope to change this trend!

The bhajan concluded and Aarthi began. This was the time that Swami would rise from the chair and walk to the car with support. Strangely, today, He did not rise from His chair at all. He sat there for the complete Aarthi. After that, He sent word for the vice chancellor, Sri.A.V.Gokak. The vice chancellor came into the bhajan hall, to Swami’s chair. What Swami told him in my mother tongue, Kannada, took my breath away (Gokak sir’s mother tongue is also Kannada)

“You see those three boys there? Talk to them and give them jobs.”

That was it - simple and straight. Then He turned to look towards us. He moved His head and blinked His eyes to say that it was done. Then, He got up from the chair and walked to the car. Within minutes, He was gone and we were standing in front of the vice chancellor of the University.

“What did you tell Swami? He told me to give you jobs. Where should I post you boys?”

In my wildest dreams I had not thought that on the 31st of March, the vice chancellor would be asking me where I wanted to work!

“Sir, we requested Swami for jobs. Wherever He places us, we are happy to work...”

He thought for a while and then said,

“When I meet Swami during dinner, I shall seek further clarification. Meet me at my office in the morning.”

“Tomorrow morning, sir?” we asked.

“No! Tomorrow is All Fool’s Day and I don’t want such important communication happening with a sliver of doubt! Meet me on the morning of the 2nd”, he said with his characteristic laugh and nod. Then, he too walked away.

We were simply thrilled. It slowly dawned to me that when Swami told us to move so that we would not block the singers, it was not as if He had cast aside our case files. He had already solved them! And because I didn’t realize that, I felt sad and let down.

The meeting which scheduled a second meeting

On the 1st of April, when I saw the vice-chancellor, I could not contain myself. I walked to him, folded my hands in ‘Sairam’ and asked,

“Sir, could you obtain any clarification?”

He understood my eagerness and anxiety.

“Don’t worry. Meet me tomorrow in my office and all will be well.”

That was all the answer I got. I conveyed it to the other two as well. We were just waiting for the next day.

The University Administrative Block where we had to go and meet the vice-chancellor. 

The 2nd of April found the three of us sitting at the vice chancellor’s office by 9am. I was the first to be called in.

“So, Mr.Aravind”, Gokak sir began,”you have decided to stay and serve here is it?”

“Yes sir. I would consider it an honor to get that opportunity.”

“I sought clarification from Swami. He has advised me to ask you where is it that you would like to work? He wants you to be employed where you will enjoy working.”

I was so touched by Swami’s attention to detail. Though I was waiting here to work somehow or the other for Him, He wanted to find out my preferences. My heart’s desire sprouted.

“Sir, I would love to either teach at the University or enhance my skill and hobby of photography by joining Radiosai.”

“Okay. Which among the two would you prefer?”

“I am equally amenable for both sir. Whatever Swami picks from among the two, I would be delighted to do...”

“Tell me, if you had to vote, which among the two would be 51% and which would be 49%.”

He was trying his best to see which side I had leanings towards.

“Sir, honestly it is 50-50 each. I think I will be equally happy in either.”

“What if there is a need for students at Radiosai? Would you be ready to go and work there?”

I thought that Gokak sir must have been present when Prof.G.V had asked Swami about us. I was happy to note that but I replied,

“Sir, I am ready to do whatever Swami says.”

“Okay. I shall convey the same to Swami and get back to you. You may go. All the best.”

Soon, the other two also finished their interviews with the vice-chancellor. Their interviews too had gone along similar lines. As we three walked down the Vidyagiri Hill from the Administrative Block, we discussed the road ahead.

“Let us sit in the front again. This time, we can say that the vice chancellor has conveyed Swami’s message to us and we have to state our decision to Swami.”

We all agreed on that as we prepared for the second meeting of the day. And we knew that this was the more important meeting!

to be concluded in the fourth part entitled:

How I got my job and career at Radiosai Global Harmony

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