Vibhuti manifestations: Sathya Sai keeps up His word and His divine pranks too

The promise kept

I have always worked on the hypothesis that the more I give, the more I shall receive. And every time that I have tried it out, I have seen it to be true. Each successful trial strengthened my faith in the statement and, therefore, I try to give as much as I can, of all that I can. You can call this selfish selflessness if you wish but that is the truth as the Dalai Lama put it - “Be selfish. Be generous.” In that sense, there is no difference between selfishness and selflessness. When one is ‘wisely selfish’ one is automatically selfless because one realizes that the greatest good comes out of being selfless.

Forgive that little detour of mine. What I intended to say was that, even when it came to the matter of me sharing my experiences with my Master and God, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, I followed the same hypothesis. I felt that the more I shared my experiences, the more I would receive experiences. That is one of the reasons why I believe in sharing my spiritual experiences. Briefly, I did see this happening - the more I shared what Swami gave me or spoke to me, the more Swami, as Baba is lovingly called, seemed to give me and speak to me.

(Disclaimer: On the spiritual path, it is each man for himself; or a woman for herself. This is not a general rule but my observations in my experiences.)

Thrilled by this, I began to speak and share more. I received more. And then, all of a sudden, on the 24th of April, 2011, He left the physical. I was devastated. Among the several things that I asked Him and prayed, was this question.

“Swami, now, I shall share even more. I shall do so via the internet on a much larger scale. How will you keep your end of the promise and give me more? Is this the end?”

Today, I place my hand on my heart and say that Swami has kept His end of the promise. Hey! Wait a minute! He never made that promise in the first place. I just thrust my hypothesis on Him. But loving that He is and knowing how much my hypothesis means for me, He chose to make it ‘His promise’ and also ‘keep it up’ without fail.

Several instances after the ‘Mahasamadhi’ (That word refers to Baba’s leaving of the physical. It also represents the space where His earthly remains have been enshrined. come to mind. There are the vibhuti manifestation miracles, the miracles at the Mahasamadhi and so on. Each instance shows a different facet of my beloved Swami. Here, I would like to recount a couple of instances where His beautiful playfulness is seen, even today.

Sankaranthi leela - His divine mischief

The 14th of January every year is celebrated as Sankranthi - a harvest festival which also coincides with the transmigration of the sun from one zodiac to the other. It is the day of the prize distribution for the students of the Sri Sathya Sai institutions. In the evening, the students put up a cultural programme. So, on 14/01/2013, when the prize distribution programme was on, I was in the Sai Kulwant hall in Prasanthi Nilayam, covering the event as a photographer. My cell phone vibrated and I saw that my father was trying to contact me. Since, it is not allowed to use cellphones in the premises (we are allowed to carry them for emergencies, just like the FBI is allowed guns even aboard aircraft!), I walked into a room. My father’s voice was very excited,

”Aravind! Vibhuti (holy ash) has appeared at home!”

“Where?” I asked.

“On the silver Ganesha pendant. It has formed as a small heap on it. The best thing is that the vibhuti is sweet in taste. Both me and Pooja (my wife) tasted it.”

“Wow! Let it be that way. I will come home and have a look at it.”

Needless to say, I rushed home even as the programme concluded. I went straight to the altar, to that little silver plate in which the silver pendant of Ganesha rested. There was not a pinch of vibhuti there. I was disappointed with my father. What was his hurry in clearing up the vibhuti?

“Dad! Why did you clear the vibhuti into a box. I told you to leave it as it is.”

“I did not clear it. Nor did Pooja. It should be there.”

It wasn’t there definitely. Pooja and dad came into the room. They swore that they had tasted it. As proof, my dad also showed me the picture taken a few hours before. Indeed there was vibhuti. 

This was what my dad and my wife saw at 10:30am on the 14th of January 2013.

This is what I saw at 11:30 am on the 14th of January, 2013. 

As it became clear that the vibhuti had disappeared as mysteriously as it appeared, my father rejoiced. For him, this was like two miracles on the same day. I was not happy. I would have been happier with only one miracle instead of two! I kept pouting and complaining to everyone at home for the rest of the day about how unfair Swami had been towards me. The sense of injustice was magnified by the fact that I was doing my duty in the temple while people who sat at home enjoyed a sweet snack!

Even as I went to bed, I kept complaining. The last thought before I slept was,

“Swami, you have been unfair to me.”

The next morning, my first thought too was the same! I continued to grumble and complain. I wanted Swami to feel guilty and so, I did all the morning worship - placing flowers in the altar, lighting lamps and the incense sticks. Having done that, I told a bye to Swami and was leaving for office. As I reached the main door, something stopped me. I felt an irresistible urge to go back to the altar. And as I reached the altar, the sight simply stunned me.

The vibhuti heap that appeared on the morning on the 15th of January, 2013, was similar to the
one on the previous day - only that it had cardamom flavoring!

EXACTLY LIKE THE PREVIOUS DAY (the way I had seen in the photo), there was a little heap of vibhuti on the Ganesha pendant! I quickly took a pinch of it and put it on my tongue. Not only was it sweet, it also had an elaichi (cardamom) flavor! I immediately summoned everyone. As he put the vibhuti on his tongue, dad remarked,

“Swami forgot the elaichi flavoring yesterday. That is why He withdrew the stocks and sent us fresh stock today morning!” We all laughed out aloud. I was simply happy and thrilled.

As I looked into His eyes in the picture, did I see a gleam of mischief in them?

Telegram mischief

Swami, on several occasions has done such mischief - taking away something and then returning it again. One interesting episode was what I read in a Radiosai article about Mr. Joga Rao. It brought out exactly this kind of leela of Swami.

When the document of the Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust was to be registered at Hyderabad in 1972, Baba asked Joga Rao to coordinate all the related work apart from organising Swami’s visit to the city. It was obligatory that the members of the Trust be present at the time of registration. Therefore Joga Rao called up the Rajamata (Queen Mother) of Nawanagar (a princely state in India) who was at Bombay, to come to Hyderabad along with Sri Nani Palkhiwala (the renowned jurist and economist) and Sri Indulal Shah.

The Rajamata conveyed to Joga Rao the same evening by telephone that she would be coming to Hyderabad with Sri Indulal Shah. She also informed him that Palkhiwala who had gone out of station would not be able to make it to Hyderabad. Since Bhagavan had had already retired by that time, Joga Rao could not convey the message to Him.

Col.Joga Rao with Bhagawan Baba. Photo courtesy - www.radiosai.org

When Joga Rao went to the post office next morning along with Sri Prasada Rao, then the State President of Sri Sathya Sai Organisations of Andhra Pradesh, he found a telegram sent by the Rajamata to Bhagavan confirming her arrival. When they met Swami and handed over the telegram to Him, He read it and said,

“Joga Rao, they are not coming!”

Puzzled and bewildered, Joga Rao read the telegram again and again. According to the telegram, what Baba had said was perfectly right! Joga Rao showed the telegram to Prasada Rao. They looked at each other in wonder and could not believe how they had bothe mistaken the telegram when they read it at the post office.

During their lunch with Swami, He laughed and gave them the telegram again. This time, it bore the same words they had read at the post office!

So, the disappearing and appearing is a common leela - done sometimes to words; sometimes to vibhuti!

Vibhuti manifestation in phases

I cannot help but recollect the most recent vibhuti prank, if I may call it so.  During my student days, I got several opportunities to witness the handkerchief mischief of my sweet Lord. And now, vibhuti pranks seem to be the new genre! This happened on the morning of the 24th of July, 2013.

As is my practice, I woke up at 6am and put on the lights in the altar. I wished my Swami a ‘Good Morning’ and I then moved into the bathroom for my morning ablutions. I came to the computer to do some typing when my wife, Pooja, called out to me.

“Come here fast....”

I did go there ‘fast’.

“I just bent down to clear these flowers. When I stood up, this had happened!”

The ‘this’ in her statement referred to the copious amounts of vibhuti that had appeared from two photographs of Swami. I was happy.

As we called my dad to the altar, in the few moments we were not at the altar, a fresh vibhuti shower had taken place! We were simply thrilled.

In joy, we called out to our dear neighbors, the Deshpandes. (Amey, about whom i have written several articles, is the son of Deshpande uncle.) By the time uncle came to the altar, some more vibhuti had manifested. This was simply getting thrilling. I just tapped on a silver container up front (which contains a Shiva linga) and said,

“This is the only container that has not been touched by the vibhuti.”

Even as I said that and all of us walked with uncle to the door, vibhuti had manifested on that silver box too.

I once again looked at Swami’s eyes in the main picture. There was so much of mischief in them. But there was so much of love too pouring from them. I just closed my eyes in gratitude and told Him,

“Swami, you continue to keep your promise! I shall keep up my end of the deal too! I will share this with all.”

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The final Namaskar - the ultimate message of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Prayers galore

The 27th of April 2011 saw poignant scenes - the like of which have never ever been witnessed on the face of this earth. As the Mahasamadhi of an Avatar was witnessed the world over by a number unmatched in human history, tears flowed unbounded. Being in the world at this point in time was such a cleansing experience for the whole atmosphere was washed with tears - pure, selfless, love-filled and grateful. They were sufficient to wipe out all sins committed by all humanity it seemed! A lot has been written about the Mahasamadhi of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba and a lot more will be written for this is ‘His’tory! But here is a little thought I thought I would share.

The amount of prayers that have gone on in the world had been tremendous. The name of Sai filled every conceivable space for it had been enshrined in a billion hearts. Bhajans, service activities and spiritual sadhana of unprecedented proportions pulsated on Mother Earth. At the physical level, the best man and the best machines worked tirelessly day and night at the temple of Healing that He Himself had built. His most dear students constantly were by His side and aware of every breath He was taking. The sheer magnitude of the combined effort of every devotee was enough to bring life into an inert stone! And yet, the Lord took Mahasamadhi.

 

This thought had plagued me when I realized that prayer is not an act of asking God or telling God. It is silent communion with Him. When we either ask or tell God, we make the preposterous and utterly foolish assumption that we know better than Him. Swami often tells us the story of two farmers - one who prayed for rain for his crops, the other who prayed for a dry day so that his daughter’s wedding could go on uninterrupted. Whose prayers should God listen to?

Should He listen to the one who cries more? Or to the one who pines more? Should He give precedence to age or should He give precedence to status and influence?

Of course! He will listen to the one who loves Him truly. And who is that? Naturally, the one who has surrendered to His will. When one has surrendered to His will, is not prayer redundant? Our definition of prayer changes as we realize that the one who is always in sync with the Lord has his prayers answered for he always prays for what the Lord has already willed! This is indeed a very different way of thinking. If my prayer is answered, it is because I was in sync with God; I was in communion with Him. If my prayer has not been answered, I was not in sync with Him; I have to make efforts to be in communion with Him.

It is everyone’s experience that we feel some intuitive urges. And then, these urges just manifest themselves. Let us know that these are instances when we have been in communion with Him. And when these intuitive urges have manifested for me, I have felt the thrill of experiencing Him. I see Him, hear Him and feel Him and He speaks to me! I feel the thrill because I ‘know’ His plan. And I know His plan because I have been able to be in sync with Him for those precious moments.

A part of the greater plan

That is why, when I found some instances in my life where Swami indicated His Mahasamadhi, I felt so relieved. It felt wonderful to ‘know’ that it’s all part of His Masterplan. In the pages of my diary I discovered a dream where months before, He indicated that He would be leaving soon. Just like someone with white hair dyes it, or a person who loses teeth puts dentures, I too covered up my knowledge of the dream and went about my life. And then, Swami gave the most poignant indication!

It happened on the evening of 20th of March. Swami had not been ‘keeping well’ if I may use that term. His darshans were few and spaced between. And yet on this day, He took two darshan rounds. He called all the students who were seated for blessings and poured grains on their head. (About 40 students were blessed that day). He distributed a few sweets and smiled at all present. He even called the tiny tots from Primary school and blessed them. In the words of a very senior singer, “Today Swami seems so hyper active!!” There was rejoicing. And when He received Aarthi, everyone was thrilled with His tapping His hands rhythmically. And then it happened...

As the Samastha Loka chant filled the air, Swami raised His hands. But it was not the familiar Abhayahastha. He had FOLDED HIS PALMS IN SALUTATION!

He seemed to send a beautiful message, “Salute all for God is in all”. The Vedic chant “Sahasra sheersha Purusha” resounded in my heart. ( That hymn says that God has thousand limbs, heads and sense organs symbolic of the fact that God is in all.) In the Bharatiya custom, this is how one takes leave after a visit!

My hairs stand at their end and I have goosebumps when I realize how Swami had indicated the Mahasamadhi. But I did not see! Swami says, “Pashyan Api Na Pashyati Moodho” (You fool! You see and yet do not see!) That was the condition. But I took pictures that day.

And today, just seeing the pictures is so relieving and enthralling for it told me that Swami knows His plans. Even when He was fine and was a week away from being ‘admitted’ to the hospital, Swami had made shown us His decision. And in showing us this decision, He also showed us His expectations. He wants our lives to be His message and one of His final acts of benediction teaches us that we should see Him in all just as He saw Himself in all. We should bow to Him in all just as He bowed to Him in all. we should love all and serve all just as He did.

And in order to share the experience, ins(a)ight and blessings from Swami that day, I post the following five images.  Let us pledge to Him that we will in our lives imbibe His message of pure Love for all. And as a teardrop makes its way down my cheek, a  firm resolve forms in my blood - a resolve to Love Him and see Him in all!

A footnote

As a footnote, I must add that there is a wonderful 'Masterplan' as to how I happened to carry my camera on that day when there was no other camera in sight almost! I will definitely share that story too in due time. It is so marvelous that am in search of a proper occasion to share the same! :)

However, this much I shall say that my intention in clicking the images on that day was to get a 'direct look' blessing photo of Swami. And when Swami did the 'namaskar', my thought was, 

"Oh! Unique images... But no blessing today!"

Even as that thought flashed in my mind, Swami turned to me. He looked deep into my eyes. And soon, a thrill ran down my spine! He gave a 'direct look' blessing pose which got captured. That was direct proof that He knows every single thought that goes on in my mind. My heart rejoiced. He knew that I would be needing that assurance in the days to come. Ah! How loving my Lord is! How He plans everything. God has a plan for us... And that is all we need to know!

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No God, No Miracles; Know God, Know Miracles

An interview to remember

Those of you who have arrived straight over here, it is suggested that you go through the first part of this episode entitled, “God’s grace makes everything possible”, so that further reading of Praveen’s story makes better sense and is more enjoyable!

Photo Credit: Sathyasaiwithstudents.blogspot.in

Having successfully cracked the GRE examinations, the two lads applied for a host of Universities in USA for the course in Hospital Administration. From among the several universities that offered the course, the duo chose the Lomalinda University based on ‘instinct’ and ‘gut feeling’. Then, they happily drove back to Puttaparthi, to their Swami (Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) who awaited them.

They found themselves in the interview room with a few elders after the next darshan session itself. In the interview room, Swami said,

“These boys did not study anything at all. They just went to Bangalore and ate well.”

Praveen had a look of shock on the face. He was sure that he studied quite hard - well maybe not that hard! But he was dead sure that he did not simply ’eat well’ as Swami alleged. So, with a blank face, he tried to shake his head to negate Swami.

“What is your weight? Tell me”, Swami asked.

Praveen recollected that it was about 75 kilograms the last time he had checked. He stated that figure.

“Let me check”, said Swami, going in and fetching a weighing scale!

Praveen stood on it and the scales tipped over 80 kilograms.

“See! What did I say? He just ate well. I had to do all the studies!”

Now that was a statement that Praveen simply could not refute. It was definitely Swami’s grace that had seen him sail through the GRE and had fetched him the miraculous score. The leg-pulling did not cease. A smiling Swami looked at both the lads and asked,

“Now that you have eaten well, can you both together lift at least me off the chair?”

That was a tempting offer! A great chance from Swami. Being able bodied they were sure to be able to raise the puny 108-pounds frame of Baba. They agreed and Swami let them try. With each placing one hand behind His back and the other below (like a chair), the boys tried to lift Swami. But try as hard as they did, Swami did not budge a millimeter. He was simply smiling. After a few moments of intense effort, Swami said,

“It is alright. I shall get up myself.”

Effortlessly, Swami got up from the chair and opened the interview room door. The interview was over!

TOEFL trouble?

Soon, Praveen came to know that there was another test to be taken - the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language). He was worried now. It was not as if he had problems in English. His worry was something totally different. Having spent all his life with microscopes and petri-dishes, Praveen had almost no acquaintance with a computer. (In the 1990s, one could actually get educated without touching a computer! How will the children of today ever believe it?)

But hey! Wait a minute! What has knowledge of the computer got to do with the TOEFL examination?

Nothing actually. However, one of the sections of the test is writing an English essay. And however logical a QWERTY keyboard might seem to regular computer users, it was an absolute mess of letters for Praveen. He had not the slightest idea on how he would be able to type out huge essays on a keyboard. It was too late for him to pick up typing!

And then came another ‘miracle’. The Lomalinda University decided that since the students were post-graduate Masters who had obtained very good scores in the GRE, they must be good in English! And they were simply exempted from the test. So, the selection of Lomalinda University based on ‘gut feeling’ turned out to be a good one! Once again, Praveen simply smiled knowing whose hand was behind all this. When the string-puller for the universe is pulling strings in a divine manner, what can ever go wrong? And so, all one has to do is to make God happy; the rest will simply follow.

A passport without the visa is not of much use

Just when everything seemed set to launch off towards the US, came another hassle that almost every Indian wanting to go to the US faces - the Visa troubles (maybe that will change in times to come).  The next unbelievable sequence of events started happening in Praveen's life. To start with, he had to go to Chennai for the Visa interview.

It was the day before the actual interview and he was trying to get everything in order. Equipped with the documents, self-confidence and faith in Swami, Praveen slept at night. The next day, hell broke loose - in the United States of America!

It was the 11th day in September 2001 and jihadi terrorists rammed aeroplanes into the twin towers of the World Trade Centre in New York! The US Consulate in Chennai shut down for 3 full days and Praveen’s stay in the South Indian city extended. The interview was now scheduled for the 14th and Praveen faced one of the most hostile sessions ever. Since he was not on scholarship, he was questioned about his educational funding. The terms 'Swami', 'God’s grace', 'devotees’ love' and the like had a negative impact on the lady who was almost interrogating Praveen. She simply stamped a big ‘REJECT’ on the Visa and chucked him out of the office.

It was with despair that Praveen returned to Bangalore. He had no clue how he would show his face to Swami. After so much had been done, the trip seemed sabotaged at the last step. The hopes of the two boys too had come crashing down like the twin towers in New York. The devotees of Baba decided to do everything possible. They requested the then chief-minister of Karnataka, Sri. S.M.Krishna and the then vice-president of India, Sri Krishan Kant (both devotees of Swami) to pull a few strings. But all that was to no avail! It was the secretary to the chief minister of the state of Tamil Nadu (where the US Consulate was located) who brought the bad news,

“The US rules are such that once a Visa application is rejected, one cannot re-apply for another 6 months. Though the people at the Consulate are simply amazed at the influence being wielded by these two lads, they simply cannot do anything about it, they say.”

When God steps in

Photo courtesy: sathyasaipath.wordpress.com

Everything seemed lost now and the Tamil Nadu state president for the Sri Sathya Sai Organizations conveyed the ‘bad’ and ‘sad’ news to Swami. In Puttaparthi, Swami simply smiled and sent a message,

“Tell the boys that they will get their visas by 3:00pm.”

Everyone, including the state-president, wondered how this would happen.

A sudden twist of events took place. The US Consulate, on that very same day, 14th of Spetember 2001, was attacked! It was well-covered in several newspapers and the NDTV website screamed "86 arrested in US consulate attack in Chennai". The Consulate requested the government of Tamil Nadu for added protection. Such requests are always give and take. Can you guess what was the reciprocal request from the Tamil Nadu government?

Yes! Accept the Visa applications of Swami’s boys and security will be provided! The people at the US Consulate must have really wondered who this Praveen was! Just as Swami had said, the Visas were approved and Praveen picked up his visa gingerly. The time was exactly 3:00pm!

Both the boys returned to Puttaparthi and all they could do was simply fall at Swami’s feet. Swami seemed surprised. What had He done, He asked! God knows everything but acts as though He knows nothing. Man knows nothing and yet acts as though he knows everything.

Another problem; another divine solution

Finally came the day when the boys had to actually leave for USA. Needless to say, it was quite a tearful one for Praveen. He had simply been overwhelmed by Swami’s love and was just not ready to let go of it for 2 full years.

“But Swami, you said it would be a short trip. I cannot stay without you for two full years!”

“It will not be two years. You will complete it in 1 year”, was Swami’s reply.

At any other time he might have asked, “How Swami?”, but now, Praveen was wise enough to know that nothing is impossible for God.

Swami blessed both the boys and even gifted them with suits to wear in the US!

Praveen wears his new suit and poses alongside his dear Swami before embarking on the journey.

Another problem cropped up now! The ticket to Los Angeles was booked via Singapore. Though the tickets for Singapore-LA leg of the journey had arrived, there were no tickets available for India-Singapore part of the journey! The flight had to be taken to LA because the course had already begun nearly a month before in Lomalinda! But what was to be done?

Pray to the Lord. (Where would we be if not for prayer?)

It was an incredible sequence of events that happened. One devotee from India seeks help from another devotee in Singapore. This devotee in Singapore is a doctor and has a scheduled appointment with the Chairman of Singapore Airlines! Tickets are issued immediately. But how to reach them to India? Here comes the awesome way things were done - the tickets were faxed with a letter explaining the special circumstances. This would let the boys in through the security check at the airport. The actual tickets were sent with the crew of the Singapore Airlines flight which was arriving from Singapore!

It was with gratitude to Swami in his heart that Praveen sat at the window, gazing out at nothing in particular. He was filled with thoughts of the amazing things that had happened to make this flight possible.

A day later, on the 18th of September, Praveen was on American shores. He had to rush immediately to enrol in the University. Amazingly, there was not even the slightest sign of jet lag. He was as fresh as a flower. And when he was asked how he managed not to get fatigued, he replied,

“Know God, Know miracles!”

... to be concluded in the next part entitled

When God gives a task, He also gives the strength to complete it.  

For all readers:

(If you enjoyed this and wish to subscribe to this blog, please go to the right hand side and choose the last 'box' which says subscribe. Also explore the many 'previous articles' listed month-wise on the top right here, in the web version of the blog. Another blog which I maintain with more than 230 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".)