Hadshi-Mumbai diaries - Part 7 - A day for group-photo taking and group-photo showing

A special photo-viewing session with Swami at Hadshi

A beautiful solo-photograph that Swami granted at the request of the Jadhav family at Hadshi

Rising up at 5 a.m. is indeed an excellent practice, I discovered on the 30th of October, as I woke up in Hadshi. It is not only spiritually beneficial as the early hours of the Brahma muhurtam are sacred but also practically useful as one gets quality time with oneself with least distractions or interruptions. Waking early seems to unlock a great energy source within which diminishes in intensity the later one rises! It was during the early hours of the morning that I occupied myself with noting down in detail all the happenings of the trip which is responsible for this comprehensive travelogue today.

(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 

The previous part which is Part 6 is located at the link given below in case you missed that.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 6 - Sathya Sai's message at Hadshi

Part 7 continues below)

As soon as I finished my notes after returning from the Mandir I got busy getting ready for the day. The morning ablutions time was also fun. Almost twenty of us would be shaving, brushing and getting ready with a lot of talking and singing going on. A lot of leg pulling and discussing never-before-thought-of angles about the events that had happened during the trip brought cheer and mirth to all. Ravikumar (Ravi bhaiya for me) was present and I felt like how a newcomer in the Indian Cricket team would feel when he would share the dressing room with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar! Ashwath Narayan and Koustubh Pare in the meanwhile would have begun their respective Riyaz (singing practice). The whole area would be reverberating with music and swaras. CG would be practicing the Sitar adding strings to the heavenly atmosphere of music. It was just so beautiful.

Yet again we had a sumptuous breakfast by the poolside. Many took photos with the water in the background and tried to capture memories on a memory chip in a camera! Completing our breakfast, soon we were all seated outside Swami's room awaiting His arrival. We all had come up with a plan for the morning- a plan to spend more time with Swami. Eager to have a few exclusive moments with Bhagavan, we thought arranging a photo viewing session would be a good idea. I was all set with a few selected pictures to show Him on a laptop. Something interesting and nice happened. In a corner of the same hall we noticed a 29-inch plasma TV, which when connected, began to read the photos on file! It was as if Providence had liked our idea! Immediately, the laptop was hooked up to the TV. We now could not wait for His door to open.

Once the door opened and Swami came out, we had Him for ourselves for the next 20 minutes or so.

At about 10:05 a.m., Swami emerged and as He came towards us He asked,

"All of you showered well or did you have only a sponge bath?"

We laughed and replied that we did freshen up ourselves in full. Getting up on my knees, I said, "Swami, we have some photos. If Swami agrees, we can watch them." The Lord graciously consented. Soon He moved to the centre of the hall and was seated facing the TV. And then began a most memorable twenty minute session. Even as I began to scroll through the images, Nishikant, Kaustubh, P. Srinivasan and Ravi Teja began to do padaseva to Swami. CG continued to shoot Video and Ravi Bhaiya thankfully took my camera to capture pictures of the whole scene. Here are a few snippets of the conversation that ensued; even though this is not in order of occurrence, I guess the sequence is not as significant as the event itself.

Initially, there were the photos of the concert on Day 1. Swami asked,

"Who is that?"

“Swami, Kavita Krishnamoorthy, that is Nitin Mukesh and.... (I forgot the third name!)”

Satyajit helped me with the answer, “Sapna Mukherjee”.

As the slideshow progressed, there came a picture of a woman receiving a saree from Swami. Bhagavan asked who she was and when nobody answered, He Himself revealed that she was an elderly devotee who sings and has been coming to Him for long.

Swami looking at the picture of Him blessing Sapne Mukherjee. He gave us all the joy of conversation with Him.

The photos of the crowds during the concert were taken mostly from the gents' side and so the ladies were largely seen in them. Observing this Swami said sweetly, as if in justification for me, "The gents were all seated on this side (same side of the photographer and hence he could not click them) There were many people behind too!"

Swami then saw the pictures of the welcome ceremony to Hadshi. Next on the screen was the photo of the sunrise (about which I have mentioned in the fourth part of this serial).

“Ah! The Moon looks very nice,” He commented.

"Swami, that is the Sun," I said.

(And now is a portion when I was in maya or delusion!)

Swami asked me if that was the Sun, why was everything around dark?

The photo exposure of the camera was according to the Sun’s brightness which is why everything around was dark. Instead of going into the details of the exposure levels in the camera, I simply said, "Swami, its orange in colour! It is the Sun."

Swami looked at me as if to say, "Ok! If you say so…"

In retrospect, I feel I foolishly let go of a wonderful opportunity to learn a lesson that I hope I will practice some day. When Lord Krishna pointed out to an eagle in the sky and said it was a dove, Arjuna agreed. When He surmised that it was a crow, without batting an eyelid Arjuna replied in affirmative again for he knew very well that the Lord can easily turn the eagle into anything He wished. I was in a similar position and rather than saying, "Yes Swami! If you say so..." I made Him say that very same statement. I regret now but with the Lord everything is an opportunity to learn and improve. (By the way, this incident in detail forms the heart of an article on how we often become platform heroes but remain practical zeroes.)

Next was displayed the group photos taken in the Vitthala temple. Seeing this Swami asked, "Who are those elderly people?" Before we could answer, He Himself said,

"They are the mother and father of Jadhav brothers." Then came up a photo of the crowd and I said, "Swami, just like the sunflowers turn to always face the sun, people too move to look at You constantly." 

The incident with Ganesha and the wrongly-held umbrella on the balcony was also depicted in the photos. We then moved to the images shot during the tiffin session at the poolside. There were photos of Swami being reflected in the water. As the wide angle shot of Swami eating amidst the natural settings showed up next I said,

"Swami, this picture has a name." When He looked inquisitively, I said,

"Swami, it is called Prakruthi Paramatma."

Swami's reaction to it was the same like the previous day - He opened His eyes a bit wide and with a mocking smile said, "Abba!" All of us laughed and there was so much happiness all around. It is so easy to comprehend at such times as to why it is said, “Happiness is union with God”.

In the photos taken from the balcony were also pictures of lines of cars climbing up the road to Hadshi. I zoomed in to show Him the number of vehicles as earlier He had mentioned how so many devotees were eagerly arriving for His darshan. When the slideshow was complete, Swami asked,

"That’s all? Is it over?"

I said there were hundreds of photos and we had selected only a few. He then asked,

“Where is that picture of Me you took on the balcony yesterday?"

I was thrilled. I had thought that Swami would never want to see pictures of Himself (And I shoot maximum of Him!). I quickly navigated to the folder and brought that up.

The beautiful Lord amidst beautiful nature. This was the picture that I had got the previous day on
the balcony.

He was happy with it but then said, “All My hair has fallen off.”

All of us chorused,

“No Swami; You have such beautiful hair.”

Swami continued, “I had much more; in Kodaikanal, I lose a lot of hair.”

These interactions were so much on the human level and that, I felt is the reason why the whole humanity identifies with Him - He is so less ‘God’ and so much like any of us as we converse with Him in the physical plane.

The picture of Swami in Orange with the Nature in green and blue skies was wonderful and so I blurted out, “Swami, it looks so nice and wonderful.” Swami said, "Avanni photo theesay vadiki trupti, naaku ledhu (that is joy and satisfaction for the one who has taken the photo, not for me).” Instead of waiting for the nectarous flow, I imprudently said, "Swami, You are ever happy. Only our satisfaction is temporary and it comes and goes." The Lord was silent. After a while, He asked for photos of the Residence and the lake too. I showed Him those too and He seemed happy.

Once we were done, He asked all of us to go down. We did just that. In a short while Swami was with us. He directed us to start moving towards the temple complex and start bhajans on reaching there. It was almost 10:45 a.m. as we reached the stage which had witnessed the concert by Kavitha Subramaniam, Nitin Mukesh and Sapna Mukherjee the previous day. A huge crowd was waiting for Him in the afternoon sun. Most of them had cloth pieces or kerchiefs tied over their heads.

A huge crowd had been patiently singing bhajans, waiting for Swami's arrival at the temple grounds.

Morning session leads up to a visit to Pauna Dam

A loving blessing Abhayahasta at the end of the bhajan session.

Swami arrived at about 11:05 a.m. and as always His drive down was accompanied by a set of students whom our teacher Mr. Gopi had selected to be part of a permanent ‘Security’ team. Swami came on the dais and immediately there was so much energy and enthusiasm in the crowd. In spite of the sun, everyone now forgot the coverings on their heads and seemed to open up their hearts to receive the warmth of His Love and Grace. At about 11:20 a.m., Mr. Shivajirao Jadhav sought Swami’s permission for the Bal Vikas children to lead the session. Bhagavan consented and asked the boys to pause as the little ones started.

They sang about four bhajans in their sweet and innocent voices. Swami concluded the session with one bhajan by the students. For this, He called me. When I walked across to Him, He said, "Tell them to sing Panduranga, Panduranga..." I conveyed the same and that was the final rendering following which was aarthi. Now there was a beautiful breeze and fluffs of Swami's hair swayed as if playing with the wind. The flag atop the Vitthala temple too fluttered in all majesty and glory. Swami raised both His hands in benediction for the crowd that had pined for Him. It was almost 12:00 p.m. when He returned to the Mandir.

The devotees are thrilled and many are moved to tears having Swami's darshan.

We were all waiting for Him. Seeing all of us in a row, Swami moved into the Residence and soon we also followed suit. Another banquet had been arranged and Swami was seated for lunch amidst the elders. The discussion on the table meandered first towards the fruits and other crops grown in the region and then into diet and nutritional value of some of them and many others. Thus it was that mangoes, oranges and jamoon fruits ‘cropped’ up in the divine discussion! As lunch concluded, we learnt that Swami had agreed for the boys to be taken for an outing to the Pauna dam nearby.

At 1:45 p.m., our tour began in a special air conditioned bus loaded with cool drinks and snacks! Those were times of plenty and many of us even refused to take advantage of those bounties! The drive was to take about 45-50 minutes and for most of the time, I dozed only to be shaken by someone who said, "Just look at the scenery outside. You will not get such views again. Get up and shoot." In spite of the comforting embrace of the Goddess of Sleep I opened my eyes and indeed it was a sight worth sacrificing the siesta for! In fact, they were captivating enough to make one forget sleep.

A sweeping view of the Pauna Dam

The huge expanse of water was beautiful even at midday and the shapes of the nearby hills resembled the sacred linga! The road was narrow and winding, and a white Audi car formed the pilot for our bus. We came across groups of mules lugging up loads, herded by women in traditional Maharashtrian attire. By 2:30 p.m., we were at the site and had been granted special permission (courtesy the Jadhavs) to actually go along the dam. It was hot with the sun right above us. But a mere glance at the expanse of freshwater before us which was 210 feet deep ensured that neither the salty sweat nor the burning sun dampened our enthusiasm. The staff manning the dam not only showed us the rooms which housed the valves to open the sluice gates but also gave us a demonstration of its entire management. The bus had been sent to the other end where it would wait for us as we crossed the entire stretch of the dam on foot. The blue-green waters below had a sort of calming and relaxing effect and so we easily accomplished the kilometre long walk. As Swami had directed us against going for boating, by 3:10 p.m. we were all aboard the bus ready to return to Hadshi.

Special photo-shoot session

Once we were back we quickly freshened up and rushed to the Mandir. It was well past 4:00 p.m. We could not go up near Swami's room as He Himself was coming down the lift even as we entered. He saw a few of us and asked,

"Have all the boys returned?"

We replied that some of us had reached the Mandir earlier but all the boys indeed were back. Swami then called Mrs. Ratanlal and asked, "Do you still remember your husband?"

“Swami, I recollect nothing of the past. Of what use is it to think of the past?”

Swami speaks with the venerable and sweet Ratanlal aunty - dedicated in His service since the 1960s.

Swami continued to gently prod the elderly devotee. She had been blessed with service of Swami since the 1960s and Swami had relished the food cooked by her for decades.

“Delhi, Lahore, your husband… you must be remembering them.”

“No Swami! We all have come with nothing and we leave in the same manner. If we think of Swami always, it is enough.”

I could not help but admire the wisdom being exuded by this special devotee of the Lord.  I was touched with the surrender and love of Ratanlal Aunty.  At this point, Mr. V. Srinivasan added,

"Swami always narrates to us the story of Alexander who left the earth empty handed."

Swami now moved to His room next to the dining table. Arrangements were being made for a group photo session of the Jadhav family with Swami. The flower vase in the centre of the hall had been made anew with fresh flowers and Bhagavan too arrived around 4.20 p.m. in the beautiful darshan chair. As the family arranged themselves around Him, the angle of coverage needed expansion. So Satyajit and I moved the massive dining table behind. Once this was done, the photo session began. It was very special for me as Swami was constantly looking into the camera with momentary glances at the video camera that CG held. The family members took pictures with Him in various permutations and combinations.

The immediate Jadhav family. The steps on the right lead to Swami's room above. Swami, however,
made use of the lift (seen as a door beyond the staircase) to move up and down.

Soon the boys followed suit. Again, Phani and I requested Swami and He did agree for a complete-group photo. Actually we were all keen to have individual snaps with Swami. However since He has agreed for photos in groups we quickly formed three small teams - a midway compromise between Swami's and our wish! Bhagavan again lovingly got involved in the seating arrangement around Him. I felt so blessed being His student! In the end, it was only CG and I who had not had a picture with Him and so we both sat by His side with our hands on His feet and a beautiful frame was taken. After that, some more people had this blessed opportunity and then Swami Himself called for Prof. Anil Kumar, Mr. Balaram and Mr. Srinivasan to pose with Him. Finally, at the request of the Jadhav brothers, Swami agreed for a solo photograph. With great joy, I took a few good shots. (Shown as the first photo in this part).

A special photo-op for the photographer and the video-cameraman.

As this session concluded by about 4:40 pm, He began to move out. And there He saw all the other members of the family assembled for His darshan. Also present were the workers, gardeners, cooks, helpers and everyone else who had contributed in the service. Swami now began to move amidst them granting them namaskar and blessings. Here, there were other photographers and videographers, and so, CG and I took a small break. This was such a noble act of Mr. Jadhav; he had ensured that none miss the joy of His physical proximity. Towards the end, I noticed that as Swami would move out of the shade, the evening sun would delightfully light up the divine face. So, I rushed there and clicked the Radiant Face smiling brightly. Moving ahead, Swami got into the car.

The padanamaskar session that Swami granted was because of the large-heartedness of the Jadhav brothers and Swami would give us a message about the same, later.

to be continued in Part 8 which is at the link below:

Hadshi-Mumbai diaries - Part 8 - The Vijayabhojanam or the banquet of victory

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Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 5 - The idols get instilled with life

A view of the impressive crowd on the day of the inauguration

CG and I reached the Vitthala temple situated on the first floor of the temple complex. We knew that this was the central shrine and we saw hundreds who were waiting inside. Surprisingly, there were almost no cameramen there. Thrilled at this, both of us took positions in the sanctum, waiting for Swami to arrive. Five minutes later, we realized how naïve we had been! That area was cameramen-free because Swami was in the floor below us inaugurating the Shirdi Baba temple!

(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)

Swami presses the switch the lights up His own photograph

Both of us rushed down instantly and luckily were able get a few shots of Swami with the Shirdi Sai idol in the sanctum. The two brothers sat by His side and bhajans were on. The Lord serenely glanced at the many members of the Jadhav family who plunged at His feet for namaskar. This moving tableau went on for about five minutes after which Swami began to move down the aisle of the temple towards the back end. There was the famous picture of Him sitting in the Sai Ram shed at Brindavan, Bengaluru engrossed in bhajans. It was a back-lit frame and was situated bang opposite the Shirdi Baba idol. Swami pressed a button and the photo lit up along with the faces of all those around. I recalled what the elder Jadhav brother had told me,

“We wanted to make a shrine for Swami here. But Swami refused. He said that the people in the region loved and worshipped Panduranga. The name of form does not matter to Him because God is one. For the joy of the people, He told us to make this Pandurangakshetra (literally, ‘the field of Panduranga’). But we wanted Swami’s temple also. He converted that into a Shirdi Baba temple. Finally, we just managed to place His photograph there.”

This is so typical of Swami. He never bothers about people seeking Him in the Sathya Sai form. His desire is that everyone seek the ‘Sathya’ that the ‘Sai’ form has come to propagate. So that was how Swami added one more idol to the list of Shirdi Baba idols He has installed.

After this, Swami moved out of the temple and around it towards the lift to take Him to the Vitthala temple which, as mentioned before, was on the first floor. All along the way, devotees craved for a divine touch. The volunteers literally became "wall and tears" and the students too added to the sorrow of the devotees with their mighty cordon. But it must be said in their favour that the crowd was too enthusiastic to be disciplined as they tried to somehow get to His feet. When emotion overpowers, the voice of reason becomes faint. CG and I rushed back to the Vitthala temple via the stairs in front and now, the cameramen were there! Our ‘Bhagawan's guest’ badge helped us to get right back into the sanctum.

Swami is thrilled like a little child when asked to do the 'life-instilling' for the idols 

Swami, the 'string-puller' of the Universe pulls the strings to instill life in the idols

Swami did the "life-instilling ceremony" for the Vitthala and Rakumai idols too. He lit a lamp in the temple in which were standing the aged father and mother of the Jadhavs. This was Swami's first close encounter with them on this trip. Then and there itself they seemed to have won His heart completely. Swami looked at them with a twinkle in His eyes. He was so happy that the children had accorded so much respect and love for their parents. Swami says that if the children serve and take care of their parents, they become automatic recipients of God’s love. The state of Maharashtra also has an ideal for this in the form of Pundalika who won Panduranga’s grace by serving his parents.

Group photos for the Jadhav family members

I was convinced that the joy the parents felt was responsible for the blessings being conferred on the Jadhav brothers and my conviction would be vindicated later during the trip.

Swami now agreed for a family photograph and soon all the priests made way for the family members in the sanctum. Ah! What a heavenly blessing for the family! In the centre were the idols of Panduranga and Rukmini and right in front of them was dear Sai! All around was the family. We took pictures and, having completed my duty, II moved out of the way to the entrance. I exited the sanctum and sat outside, in the temple hall. A moment later, a boy came running to me saying that Swami was looking for ‘His photographer’ as He wanted to grant a photo opportunity exclusively to the parents of the Jadhavs. Overjoyed at the special honour for the parents which had gifted me the opportunity to be called as His photographer, I went back into the sanctum and clicked furiously.

A special photograph for the parents of the Jadhav brothers.

So many people fell at his feet and many more came within breathing distance from Him. Swami then moved down the path that had been strewn with rose petals and came out of the temple. He now was outside, at the top of the huge stairway that the devotees would use to enter the premises. He remained seated there so that the thousands assembled below could see Him and rejoice. The band played a tribute to Him while the songs continued. Swami presently blessed a few books in Marathi and was ‘introduced’ to many VIPs by Mr. Jadhav. Swami then asked for Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma and his son Rahul Sharma to be seated by Him and they felt honoured at this privilege.

Swami shares a light moment with the Santoor maestro, Pandit Shivakumar Sharma

Ten minutes or so later, at about 10:40, Swami moved to the lift and descended. The boys had made a human chain to provide ‘protection’ to the Ultimate Protector and everyone eagerly awaited the 'Descent'. Swami moved down and instead of going into the car, moved to a nearby area on the northern side of the temple complex where the final formalities of a yajnam were to be completed. Swami, the Yajnapurusha of all such sacrifices, attended the Poornahuthi (final offering) and blessed the Yajnashala. I did get good pictures of this event (Being a photographer is a funny experience. People look at the photos and are so happy. But those same also curse and scold when you obstruct their view while taking pictures! Posterity is thrilled at the expense of some in the present. It is like insurance where for a good future you undergo hardships paying premiums!)

A beam of sunlight filtered through as Swami arrived to bless the Yajna

At about 10:50 a.m., Swami started back in the car towards the Residence and in 10 minutes He was inside. Now, He had lunch with the elders and the topics of discussion were mainly centered on the proceedings in the morning. Once the guests were done, Swami looked at all of us seated on the floor and lovingly said, "Boys, go and eat." All the tables were soon occupied.

During this time, the discussion on the table veered towards speeches by the students and Bhagawan asked us as to who among us would speak. I was about to raise my hand when He announced the condition – it must be in Marathi! Almost everyone suggested the name of a senior in our group but Swami wanted someone else. Finally, He settled on Nishikant and asked him to prepare well for his talk in Marathi. So, that was the boys' involvement in the luncheon discussion.

As Swami was returning towards the lift after the lunch, He called out to KVSK Ganesh and said, "Do not only dance; do some work too." And then speaking to Mr. S. V. Giri, Swami said,

“Give this boy some work." Mr. Giri suggested that he could study further. Much to the relief of Ganesh (as he told me later) Swami vehemently disagreed saying,

"He has finished three degrees! How much more should he study? Let him work." Then turning to Ganesh, Swami blessed him.

As He moved up, all of us chanted the food prayer loudly. With that, Swami retired for the morning as we all happily helped ourselves to the elaborate menu.

By 3:15 p.m., refreshed after a nap, we were again waiting for His arrival. We had been told that the evening's snacks would also be served at the poolside along with Swami. In fifteen minutes, Swami was out and as He came near us, He called Ganesh once again and advised him to take up a job. It was evident that this was foremost in His mind. ( It is with great pride and joy that I state here that Ganesh is now my colleague, working at Radiosai Global Harmony studios.) Then He called Jagdish Kanadia too and asked about his brother.

After this Swami enquired about the tiffin to which Satyajit mentioned that it had been arranged near the pool waters. So Swami began His, "Pillalu paandi (Boys leave)” when we told Him, "Swami we had breakfast there. It is wonderful."

Swami: "Oh is it? What did you have?"

One by one all the various items were reeled out and when mention was made of Ragada Patties, He asked, "What is that?" We all tried our own explanations.

I said, "Swami it’s a kind of vada." Satyajit explained that it was a sort of cutlet. Finally Swami seemed to give up trying to understand these mundane things and said, "Let’s go there. Boys, get into the bus."

Then Satyajit added, "Swami, You please can come in the car. Boys will walk; it is very near."

“Where is it?”

“Swami, we can see it from here. Shall we go to the balcony?”

Sensing that Satyajit was trying to cajole Swami to go into the terrace, I got up and quickly told the boys to make a pathway for Swami to move towards the expansive balcony of the building. It is so beautiful when the Divine builds up a drama to confer greater joy. As if He did not know the distance to be traversed! But He wanted to give another beautiful opportunity to all of us and we did not know what it was then. Swami moved towards the other side of the room where the door to the balcony was.

Swami points out that the Ganesha is holding an umbrella in the wrong direction!

Enjoying a high-view from the balcony.

CG and I were already ready there. A gentle breeze was on and the sun shone down upon the balcony. As Swami looked at the southern side, the first thing He noticed was the large number of cars that had been parked. He mentioned how so many people were coming from so to have His darshan. He also saw the temporary shelters that had been erected to feed the devotees (about 20,000 people were fed daily and one sitting could accommodate about 6000 people and all this was served entirely free!).

Swami reached the end of the terrace and began to look at the small statue of a golden Ganesha holding an umbrella. This sunshade was pointing in the eastern direction and since the sun was in the western skies, the beams fell directly on the statue. Swami asked,

"The umbrella is facing the wrong side?"

One of the Jadhavs tried to force it into the ‘proper’ position but it was of no avail. Swami then told them to let it be as it was.

The swimming pool was also visible from here and Swami had a look at it. Beyond the gates one could see the devotees who were enjoying this unexpected darshan. Now He moved ahead and saw the northern view which was full of hills. Swami pointed out and said, "That is a Trikon." Literally translated it meant a triangle or 'having three vertices'. At this point Phaneendra and myself went forward and asked,

"Swami, the spot is so scenic here. Can we take a picture with You?"

Swami agreed and Phani jumped next to Swami. Bhagavan then said,

"All of you come together." And so I took group photos. After taking two, I gave the camera to Satyajit and, with CG, joined the group. In no time, everyone was on the terrace and even those not yet on it were pining for pictures with Swami.

Bhagawan did not disappoint anyone. Starting with the Jadhav brothers and other members of his family, Swami granted photos also to the two little kids of Ratnakar. Swami is so happy when this duo is around and generously showers affection on them. And so He posed proudly and happily with them. Then Ratnakar too came by and he was soon followed by the State President of Maharasthra Mr. Sawant. In between this, I could not resist the temptation of taking a few close-ups of Swami too. He was looking into the camera, and so, even as I took the group photos, I zoomed in and clicked only Swami.

“So beautiful Swami”, I exclaimed and thought that He blushed and smiled.

After everyone had got their priceless moment, Swami moved out of the balcony.

A family photograph which will be cherished forever.

As He came out, I went to Him and showed the picture of Him with the children on the camera screen itself. Swami was positively thrilled. He called out to the kids saying,

“Come and see… your photos are already there!”

When they came, Swami gladly showed them the shot. There was a gleam in His eye. I felt really happy at His unexpected outburst of excitement. A sweet little thing happened here. Swami had seen me sift through the photos of the camera screen by pressing one among the several buttons on the camera. While showing the photos to the kids, He too wanted to sift through the photos. So, He began to press a random button on the camera. That was so sweet and I didn’t feel like telling Him that He is pressing the wrong button. Every time He pressed the button, I ‘secretly’ pressed the right button and the photos shifted seamlessly. I felt happy to have silently ‘helped’ Swami.

The joy I felt there was also accompanied by a realization - the realization that Swami does for me in life what I did for Him with the camera. Swami is the silent worker ensuring success in all my efforts - in whatever field they are. He makes the correct moves, presses the right buttons and gives the me joy as if I have done it myself. I am eternally grateful to this Sathya Sai, the silent worker.

All of us then proceeded down where all the ladies of the group posed with Swami. Now, Satyajit along with this mother posed for a picture. The other women followed suit. At the end, Swami confirmed whether all the pictures had come out well. I was extremely delighted and showed Him the shots; He held the camera and looked intently at the screen. The Lord was satisfied and mentioned that it had come out well. Then He moved out of the Residence and proceeded in His car to the poolside.

Arrival at the poolside. I really wish to be like that pool -
reflecting the Lord within always.

As Swami alighted there, it was a beautiful sight to see His reflection in the still waters - a photographer’s delight! An umbrella was brought for Him and I remembered Kasturi’s words – “Holding sunshade over the sun!” As Swami moved beside the pool, He looked at its clear blue character. Nearing the tables where all the snacks had been arranged, Swami said,

“These are the same boys who serve us inside; they have made all the arrangements here (referring to the Sai Youth from Mumbai).” Through a sliding door and over a ramp, Swami arrived into the balcony. His table had been arranged and as He sat down and gazed at the beautiful greenery around, I told Him,

“Swami this is the union of Prakruthi and Paramatma (Nature and the Supreme Creator)!”

He looked at me with half admiration and half mockery playing in His eyes and exclaimed, “Abba!”

He then told the elders to sit on the chairs that had been arranged and enquired about the whereabouts of the other students too. It was only Swami who always had an eye out for His boys. He would never begin or do anything without ensuring that all of us were present. Soon all the boys came to the balcony and took their seats opposite to Bhagavan, just a few metres away. Swami was now happy and the snack session started. When He was told about the swimming pool, Swami said,

“If I swim, You will not even be able to catch Me; I will quickly reach from one end to the other!”  

The younger Jadhav was sitting next to the Lord and explaining the scenery around. Swami asked if there was no boating in the lake to which he explained that it was not yet available (I won’t be surprised if by now that too is available). CG and I quickly finished the food and got right back into shooting. Oh! It was a photographers' delight! God and Nature together enjoying each other's company!

The beautiful scene of the Purusha and Prakruthi

Once this session concluded, Swami moved out of the huge balcony. There was a hall by the poolside that was now full with the members of the Jadhav family tree - inclusive of the twigs and leaves this time! They had prepared themselves to perform padapooja for Swami. When requested, Bhagawan gladly consented to the Jadhav brothers’ plea to proceed with the ritual. He then moved into the hall where more than 200 were seated. I had not imagined that I would be witnessing a very unique and special padapooja, the likes of which I don’t think has been performed often for Swami. ​

to be continued in Part 6 published at the link given below.

Hadshi Mumbai diaries - Part 6 - Sathya Sai's message at Hadshi

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