An addiction called God - experiences of Navaneeth Kumar_ Part 2

Pleasure is an interval between pains (and vice versa)

The February of 2008 began in quite an eventful and wonderful fashion for Navaneeth. It seemed as though God had arranged a bumper bonanza for him. Everyday, Navaneeth would speak at length with his two ‘friends’ at the shed, trying to convince them to come into the bhajan hall for morning bhajans. He told them that seeing Swami during bhajans was an altogether different experience. However, inertia prevented his friends from rushing for bhajan hall seats after morning darshan.

On the 5th of February, Navaneeth had the blessed opportunity to take padanamaskar as Swami moved through the hall during bhajans. With great joy and enthusiasm, he described the joy that coursed through him to his shed-mates. (One of the friends was an outpatient at the SSSIHMS and the other was in Parthi for a fortnight of seva  and sadhana.) The next day, the same story repeated and the day after that too, it happened again. Now, the two friends were spurred into giving up breakfast to go into the bhajan hall for the bhajans. Thus, Navaneeth again proved to be a true friend, guiding people ‘closer’ to God. Swami seemed to be rewarding him for that as for the fourth day in a row, Navaneeth enjoyed a padanamaskar. He was in seventh heaven (or any other higher heaven that exists).

Bhagawan Baba often stresses that pleasure is an interval between pains. When one enjoys a pleasure, one can be sure that some pain lies ahead and when one is in pain, one can be sure that brighter days lie ahead. No one is exempt from this - even the one who is seeking God. It appears as though the world is designed this way to help man develop equanimity and the thirst to seek a way out of this endless cycle. When the seeking is done intensely, like Siddartha did, one indeed finds a way out of this endless cycle, like the Buddha did.

{This is actually the second part of a very interesting story. In case you have come here directly, you are advised to read the first part and then continue. The 1st part is located at the link below:

An addiction called God - experiences of Navaneeth Kumar_ Part 1 }

As Navaneeth was discussing his ascent to the seventh heaven, one of his friends asked, pointing to his face,

“What is this boil?”

Navaneeth tenderly touched a boil on his face.

“There is one more here...”

“... and another here...”

“This is definitely chickenpox...”

He was taken to the General Hospital and the doctor there gave him the requisite medicines and a topical gel for regular application. Navaneeth called and told his mother about his affliction and she wanted him to return home immediately. Navaneeth shared his two fears with her:

1. There was the risk of him infecting others during his journey.
2. There was the risk of his father getting to know that he was no longer attending nursing college.

Navaneeth reassured his mother that he would be well taken care of because he was with Swami. The mother was not fully satisfied but she reminded herself to have faith.

An addiction called God - experiences of Navaneeth Kumar_Part 1

"Of all the insanities that harass man, God-madness is the least harmful, the most beneficial.  The world has suffered untold damage due to its "mad" rulers and "mad" guides; however, nothing but harmony, peace, brotherliness and love have come out of the 'God-madness' of man!”

- Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Prasanthi Nilayam, MahaSivarathri 1955

The earliest memory Navaneeth Kumar has of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is as a 4-year old child in 1990. His mother had brought him along with her for darshan at Prasanthi Nilayam. He had been patiently sitting by her side waiting for ‘Swami’ to come. His mother was gently whispering things in his ears,

“He is God... Pray to Him... When he comes close, take this letter, go to Him and offer it... Life will be set after that... Sit silent till then... “

Soon, the orange-robed form of Baba was in the darshan hall. As He came close, Navaneeth’s mother gave him the letter and a pat on the back. Like an adrenaline-loaded Olympic runner who receives a baton in a relay race, Navaneeth clutched the letter in his hand and rushed towards Swami. It appeared as if Swami was gently gliding towards Navaneeth who was running madly towards Him. His mother had told him to be careful of volunteers who would enforce discipline and pull him back to his seat. As he reached his goal and came face to face with Swami, the little boy was struck dumb. He was overwhelmed at the huge halo of black hair and the majestic presence of the ‘person’ in front of him. He stood transfixed for a while and Swami gently passed by him. Navaneeth then returned to his mother, the letter still clutched in his hand.

That was it for the next 15 years or so. As Navaneeth got into school and pursued academics (which he was the least fond of), Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba became his God no doubt, but He was not more than a venerated photograph at home. Though a born Hindu, Navaneeth was more keen about another religion that is opium to the teenaged masses in India - cricket! He loved the game ever since he was a 5-year old and he developed into an all-rounder, bowling and batting well against seniors double or triple his age. Cricket is what Navaneeth remembers most about his childhood and teenage years.

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

Granting padanamaskar to all the people who had worked for the Hadshi trip. Swami was very happy that the
Jadhav brothers were largehearted enough to think of everyone getting a chance with Swami.

We were told that Swami was on His way to inaugurate the new guest house nearby. As Swami was granting the namaskar to the family members, we were all so engrossed in witnessing it. The news of the guest house visit came as a surprise to all of us. We did not have the slightest idea as to where the guest house was. We quickly got into the bus and in that hurry, none of us wore footwear. This is nothing new with God. It is said that in the Dwapara age, the cowherd girls and boys of Brindavan forgot whatever they were doing and rushed to Krishna. Though we might not boast of such devotion, we certainly rushed to Swami in the same hurry. And that was because in the heart of our hearts, we knew that He was our sole refuge. Thus, we forgot our ‘soles’ refuge and sat barefooted in the bus that followed Swami’s car into the hills.

(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 7 is located at the link given below in case you missed that.

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

Part 8 continues below)

The guest house as it is seen from a distance from where we had to walk, alighting our bus.

As we moved in the convoy, Swami's car took a detour into the mango groves. Mr. Shivajirao Jadhav had expressed a desire that Bhagavan should see the plantations and the Lord had graciously consented. The trail now became very narrow and there was no way that our bus could enter that route. So we alighted and began to jog behind the car. Our soles hurt as the path was strewn with chipped stones and soon we were left way behind Swami’s car. The kilometre long winding route appeared like miles for us.

It was only after we reached the guest house that we did realize that this building was actually only a few hundred meters away from the Residence! We had followed Swami on His circuitous route! We felt we were so dull-witted nevertheless I remembered Swami's quote, "Of all the craziness that afflict man, God-madness is the least harmful and the most beneficial."

A memorable capture during the Vijayabhojanam, details of which are coming up ahead!