The powerful attraction between goodness and Godliness - a college professor's experience with Sri Sathya Sai PART 3

Dr.Gangadhar Shastry with his Swami for life after a storm...

The calm before the storm

Life had suddenly become a smooth ride for Gangadhar. He was well-settled in Prasanthi Nilayam along with his wife. He had a stable job and, most importantly, had become an apple of the eye to someone that he considered to be the almighty God - his beloved Swami. Like millions of people before and after him, Gangadhar had fallen (nay risen) in love with Bhagawan Baba and felt that becoming a teacher at Swami’s University was the greatest blessing he could have aspired for.

(Dear reader, in case you have come here directly, please follow my advice and read the first two parts so that this grand finale part gives you the greatest joy and thrill. The other two parts are at the links below:

PART 1 : The powerful attraction between goodness and Godliness - a college professor's experience with Sri Sathya Sai PART 1

PART 2 : The powerful attraction between goodness and Godliness - a college professor's experience with Sri Sathya Sai PART 2  )

It was not as if the greatest comforts of life had been bestowed on him. Life continued to have its ups and downs but the knowledge that his Swami was with him, guiding him and guarding him always, ensured that he had a smooth sailing. Out of sheer love and respect for Baba, Gangadhar gave up his long hair and moustache. With a clean shaven face and neatly combed head he began looking ten years younger than his actual age. However, his smoking habit simply refused to let go of him. He had got addicted to the terrible nicotine roll and try as hard as he might, he was simply not able to kick away the habit. Many people had tried advising him against the ills of smoking. This irritated Gangadhar. It was not as if he was unaware of those ills. He was simply not able to kick away the habit. The other people did not seem to understand that problem of his. And so, whenever they came to him with advice, he rebuked and rebuffed them in a trice.

Swami Karunyananda with Swami on top of
Vidyagiri Hill

In fact, on one occasion, he was summoned to the Principal’s office. Swami Karunyananda had come to meet him.

(For those that might be unaware and not have the patience to click on the link above, it must be told that Swami Karunyananda was almost a companion of Baba for more than  two decades. He had first seen Swami in 1936 at Bhadrachalam and came to Him in 1976. He would often be the first to greet Swami in the morning and continued to do this religiously till his death in 1997. In course of His divine discourse on the 8th of October, 1997, Swami showered love and praise for the glorious life that Swami Karunyananda lead before merging into Him on that day. Swami Karunyananda’s Samadhi exists to this day on the banks of river Chitravati.)

Swami Karunyananda approached Gangadhar and asked him,

“Are you the political science lecturer here?”

“Yes sir, I am Gangadhar Shastry.”

“Ah Gangadhar Shastry, can you walk along with me? I need to talk something to you”, said Swami Karunyananda.

Holding sunshade over his 'Sun' - Swami Karunyananda
in Prasanthi Nilayam.

 And as they both began to walk, Swami Karunyananda said,

“See, you should give up this smoking. It is such a terrible habit and you seem blissfully oblivious of the fact. Don’t you feel ashamed to do it even though you are with Swami?”

“May I know who you are sir?” asked Gangadhar in all sincerity

“You don’t know me?” smiled Swami Karunyananda, “I am Swami Karunyananda.”

“So, what do you want me to do if you are some Swami? There is only one orange-robed figure in this place that I respect. I don’t care about any other. And by the way, I do not smoke in college or mandir and what I do in private is none of your business. The money I earn, I spend in a manner of my liking. Please do not interfere into my personal life.”

With that, he walked away leaving Swami Karunyananda gaping in shock.  He knew that he had to give up smoking before Swami lost His patience with him. But how?

The actual storm

March in 1980 arrived like a massive tsunami, consuming many in its wake. A little background about this is in order before the actual description of the storm. The University, in its infancy, was Swami’s bold experiment with education. Well, not exactly an experiment to check His hypothesis for He was quite assured about its success. It was an experiment to prove to the world that education or ‘educare’ as He terms it is all about ‘bringing out from within the individual what is latent’ rather than ‘stuffing the individual with matters from outside’ through rote learning and memorisation. And for this, He needed teachers who shared His vision and passion. It was this ‘need’ that had made Him ‘accept’ Gangadhar in spite of his negatives - Gangadhar burnt with passion to bring a change in the country through the youth and was a strict disciplinarian. He was noble at heart and had now realized that Swami’s method of education was the way to go about in bringing global transformation.

Sadly, the same could not be said about several of the other teachers who had been appointed by the ‘committee’ which Swami had empowered. Many of them, though ‘devotees’, did not turn up to the mandir for darshan sessions while Gangadhar, who started off as a ‘non-devotee’ was as regular as the sunrise and sunset. One day, Swami walked up to Gangadhar and asked,

“Where are all these other teachers?”

“Swami, they must have gone to have tea...”

“You do not want to have tea?”

“No Swami. How can I miss darshan?”

Swami’s eyes opened in rage,

“They are not having tea! You have no idea about the discussions they are holding. The content of those discussions will put to shame any person, let alone a ‘devotee’.”

Gangadhar was silent. He had not seen such righteous anger burn in the divine eyes.

A few days passed and there was a circular that stated that all the teachers would have to gather in the Easwaramma School building for Swami wanted to speak to them. Everyone wondered what it was all about. Even Sri. Kutumba Rao did not seem to know what exactly Swami had in mind. He just knew that Swami was upset over something. Well, in that sense, Omniscience is indeed a difficult thing to live with – when you know the intentions and feelings of everyone. When we get to know about the evil or bad feelings of someone who is associated with us, we are shocked and keep away. How then must be the condition of the Lord who, for more than a year now, had calmly tolerated so many nonsensical happenings which the perpetrators felt that He was unaware about? He had shown great Shraddha and Saburi (faith and perseverance) towards these people and had finally decided that things had gone too far now.

When all the teachers had gathered, Swami began to speak and Gangadhar still remembers with a certain awe and fear, the words He spoke.

“Is not Swami taking care of you and your families in the best way possible? Have I not gifted you with good education and medical facilities for all of you with your near and dear ones? Do I not bless you in abundance during your birthdays and other important days of your life? And yet, this is the way you conduct yourselves??”

The last statement was delivered in such power and ire that everyone was immediately lost in self-introspection. Gangadhar felt so guilty about his smoking habit. He knew it was bad and also knew that he had no moral authority to advise students to have good habits till he himself had given up his bad habits.

Swami now began to thunder,

“Enough is enough. There is a limit for divine tolerance too. You do not realize that it is indeed My gift that you are all able to breathe air. You do not realize God’s bounties and are not able to take advantage of the great blessing being conferred on you. Vinasha Kale Vipareetha Buddhi (the intellect gets clouded and develops destructive tendencies when the end is near). I do not want such teachers in My University. All of you tender your resignations. I have not asked you to come here. Having come of your own volition, you have to stick to ideals. Else you have leave. I gave you a chance to play your roles and sanctify your lives. But don’t seem interested and so you can all get out. I want the resignations in by tomorrow.”

It was evident that Swami could not show His ‘experimental proof’ to the world through bad and faulty ‘instruments’. Everyone, including Gangadhar tendered resignations. Gangadhar was feeling very bad and sad. This had been one of the happiest and most fulfilling years of his life and the whole experience was getting terminated so abruptly.

Would this be the end of Gangadhar's place at the Lotus Feet?

A divine calm after the storm

Since they would be the last few days with his Swami, Gangadhar decided to make optimum use of the available chances. He was very repentant about all the missed chances to give up his only bad habit of smoking. He remembered all the rude and angry things he had spoken to so many people because of the habit. He had tears in his eyes. But what could he do? It was no longer a case of him holding the cigarette - cigarettes were holding him and he was helpless.

As he sat in the mandir portico, heart filled with repentance and great sorrow, Swami came to him. Landing a gently slap on his back, Swami said,

“Gangadhar, smoking does not suit anyone in your family. Your father will die because of it. Your brother will die because of it. So will you if you don’t stop it now. It is enough, give up smoking.”

Now the tears were flowing. Didn’t his Swami understand that it was no longer his choice to smoke? He was so deeply caught in the habit and had no idea on how to escape addiction.

“You will stop smoking okay?”, Swami asked.

“Yes Swami”, answered Gangadhar with all sincerity but the least confidence.

(Swami’s words proved prophetic in a few years after this. Gangadhar’s father, who kicked the habit was spared and had a natural death but later his brother succumbed to cancer. When his brother passed away, he felt very sad for Sr.R.Sitaramiah, his sibling, who could have dominated the world of mathematics had not his career been cut short by the dreaded disease brought on by the terrible addiction to the pipe. In fact, Swami materialized vibhuti for the ailing Sitaramiah and sent it via Gangadhar to the hospital in Hyderabad. Gangadhar’s brother passed away with sorrow that he wasn’t able to follow Swami’s advice.)

What we often don’t realize is that when God gives us a word, He also gives the strength to accomplish it. A remorse-filled and desperate Gangadhar returned home only to realize that magically, his craving for the tobacco-tube was gone! COMPLETELY! When he felt that he would not be able to spend a single day without at least 2 packs of cigarettes, his tears of repentance and Swami’s blessings seemed to have washed away the habit completely. Since that pat on the back from Swami, Gangadhar has not smoked even once again in his life!

Within a day of giving up smoking, Gangadhar had an inspired idea. Though he had tendered his resignation, he would re-apply to the University! Sure enough, within a week, vacancies for all the teaching positions were announced. Swami had told Sri Kutumba Rao and Dr.Bhagawantham that He would personally oversee the selection process this time!

A 'word' from Swami was all that was needed for Gangadhar to give up smoking forever. He now hoped that
he would be able to stay with his Saviour forever.

The attraction between goodness and Godliness

As Gangadhar Shastry sir narrated this part, I had goosebumps. I realized that when the statement is made, “Each teacher in this Institute is chosen by the Divine”, it is literally the case. Each teacher had been personally hand-picked by the Lord.

Following his heart, Gangadhar reapplied for the post of political-science lecturer at the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. And to his greatest joy, Sri Kutumba Rao came to him one day and said,

“I hope you have applied for the lecturer post in our University. Swami told me to advise you so.”

His happiness knew no bounds. He realized that an inspiration from deep within is nothing but Swami’s voice!

The interview dates had been announced and Gangadhar prepared for a much tougher test this time. Swami had given him a second chance and he would not want to make a hash of it. He prepared in right earnest, this time smoke-free and moustache-free. The smoke and moustache leaving him seemed to be symbolic of selfishness and ego leaving him completely. A week later, just before the interview, there was a knock on his door at about 5:30 in the morning. It was Sri.Nityananda Menon, a close companion of Swami.

Gangadhar was pleasantly surprised to see him. NItyananda Menon would not even speak to anyone without Swami having told him to do so.

“Sir, I have come here to tell you that Swami is happy with you. Swami wants me to assure you that you will be with Him.”

Having delivered that statement, Nityananda Menon left.

On the day of the interview, he went to seek Swami’s blessings during darshan. Swami came straight to him and asked,

“Did Nityanand come to your room?”

“Yes Swami.”

“Good. Today is your interview. Don’t worry.”

Swami then walked away.

The only answer Swami sought from him was
whether he was happy!

Gangadhar was soon facing an elite interview panel. Even as the first question was posed by Dr.Jayaram Reddy, Dr.Bhagawantham interjected,

“Mr. Gangadhar Shastry, please do not answer that question. I have specific instructions from Swami to ask you only one question. Can I pose that question now?”

“Yes sir. Please”, said Gangadhar readying himself with the answer - that he was ready for any strict discipline and regimen if it meant that he could continue as a teacher in Swami’s University. But the question simply floored him and filled his eyes with tears.

“Swami asks whether you are happy with us and would like to continue with us?”

Gangadhar could not speak. With tear-filled eyes, he just nodded in reply.

“Swami is very happy with you. You can go. You are appointed.”

And that was the episode after which Gangadhar realized that he was with the most powerful yet most loving force in the Universe. He realized that God would never let go of the good and that made him resolve to never let go of goodness all his life.

Today, with deepest love and sincerest gratitude to Swami, he serves as the joint-director of the Prasanthi Nilayam campus of Swami’s University.

For all readers:

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The messenger ceases to exist once the message is delivered - Sathya Sai's advice on dealing with problems

A visit to a famous shrine

It was to be my second trip to the famous temple of goddess Mookambika at Kollur. My parents and in-laws who had not been there before were quite keen to visit this famous South-Indian shrine. I had been there with my wife during our honeymoon and, frankly speaking, had not been very impressed. Do not get me wrong here. The idol of the goddess and the atmosphere at the sanctum had been wonderful. But, even as I entered the temple, I had been accosted rudely by a person who had asked me to take off my T-shirt before entering the main temple. His tone was not friendly and that made me ‘hate’ to take off my T-shirt though I knew that it was the tradition in many temples that the gents had be bare-bodied on top before entering the sanctum.

And so, when I was asked,

“How is the temple?”

I had replied very casually,

“It is so so. Nothing spectacular about it.”

My mother-in-law tried to prod me into being positive,

“It is not without any reason that thousands throng the temple throughout the year...”

“Thousands?! You must be kidding me. When we visited last time, there were hardly a dozen people.”

“But that was in February - academic examinations time in India - and we visited on a weekday in the mid-afternoon”, reminded my wife.

I refused to budge from my evaluation. The memories of my ego being hurt were enough to make me downgrade the temple’s worth itself.

“Whatever you may say, I really don’t understand what is so fantastic about the temple. It’s okay at best...”

That was the conversation before we got into the jeep that drove us from the magnificent Sai Vishram resort to the Kollur Mookambika temple which was about 35 kms away. (By the way, I must mention that the resort is one of the best-ever. It would have attained 5-star status if not for its firm resolve not to allow alcohol, smoking and meat on its grounds.The management there says that it does not care for the ‘star status’ but for Bhagawan Baba’s values!) Within an hour, we were at the temple. My old grudge returned and so, I took off my T-shirt even before I entered the temple. I had no idea of what I would be facing next.

“Sorry! You are not allowed...”

It was a guard who stopped me rudely. I wondered what on earth was his problem. He would not speak English and I acted as if I didn’t understand the Kannada he spoke. I continued to walk. He stopped me roughly and said,

“Not allowed”, letting the others from my family enter the sanctum. He then pointed to the three-fourths trousers that I was wearing and to a sign that said - Bermuda shorts not allowed inside temple sanctum.

“But these are not Bermuda shorts”, I tried protesting.

“Not allowed”, he repeated again and stopped me from entering. And that was when my heart spoke to me,

“You said that there is nothing special in the temple. It is a so-so shrine. So, the Goddess is stopping you from having her darshan. This security guard is just her messenger.”

I knew that was the Truth.

Messengers come regularly in life

There are several instances in my life, especially with my Master, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, where apparent obstacles have turned out to be messengers from God to me. As long as I see them as obstacles, they irritate and frustrate me. But the moment I see them as messengers and, more importantly, recognise and learn the message they carry, I improve and they vanish! It is indeed true that such a messenger ceases to exist once the message has been delivered. One episode in my life that stands out for its “messenger” qualities took place in 1999, when I was a student of XII grade at the Sri Sathya Sai Higher Secondary School (SSSHSS).

Under the subhead - Background 2 - in the article, The Shivarathri of my life, I have detailed some ‘sad’ incidents that had happened when I was in school. For those that do not wish to go to that article and read up, I present the necessary lines here:

This part of the background is something that I am definitely not proud of. But the need for mentioning it is vital for the story and so I proceed. In the academic year 1999-2000, in XII grade, I got caught in an indiscipline problem. The result of that was me getting banned from participating in an sports and cultural events and competitions for the academic year. That did not hurt me as much as the other punishment that the warden awarded me - no permission slips to take camera to the mandir (Sai Kulwant Hall in Prasanthi Nilayam)! I felt as if my life support was plucked out. Taking pictures of Swami with the camera had become so much a part of my life that I could not think of sustaining without it. And as Shivarathri arrived, I felt that not being allowed to shoot would really become unbearable. I had been eagerly anticipating the Shivarathri with the intention of taking pictures of Lingodbhavam.

The Shivarathri that am speaking about in that paragraph happened in March 2000. But the episode I am speaking about now took place on the 15th of September, 1999, just a fortnight after the mentioned ‘indiscipline’ incident! One can only imagine how much more difficult it would have been for me to get the permission necessary to take my camera to mandir.

Ganesha - the Lord of obstacles

The 13th of September, 1999 was Ganesha Chaturthi. Lord Ganesha is called the ‘lord of obstacles’. Often, people take this to mean that he clears all the obstacles in one’s path. Consider the tusker in the jungle. Wherever he walks, he creates a path, clearing all the bushes, trees and other obstacles. Thus, he is a pathfinder, a trailblazer. But when you accost the same tusker while travelling by road through the Bandipur forest reserve, he becomes an obstacle himself. There is no moving till he walks away from the road. This second aspect is often forgotten by people. Swami reveals in His Ganesh Chaturthi discourse on the 24th of August, 1971,

No worship can succeed unless the heart is pure and the senses are mastered. Ganesa is the God who helps overcome obstacles; but, He will create obstacles when good endeavor is obstructed by bad influences; He will clear the path for the sincere Sadhaka. He is Prasannavadanam, of beneficial looks, when you pray to Him for good ends; but He will not be that, when you seek His help for nefarious stratagems!

As Bhagawan Baba put it, Ganesha also puts obstacles on the path if one’s chosen path is the wrong one! That seemed to precisely be the case here.

For a student in Swami’s school, Ganesh Chaturthi becomes more special because of the unique ‘immersion ceremony’. After 3 days of worship, as per tradition, the clay idols of Lord Ganesha have to be immersed in a lake. In Puttaparthi, where the students take every opportunity to get some interaction with Swami, all the idols from the different hostels are brought in chariots and palanquins to the mandir. Swami often poses for photographs with the children and their respective chariots or palanquins. He then breaks coconuts in front of each of these vehicles of Lord Ganesha before they are flagged off for immersion in the lake. Students sing songs and shout slogans in praise of the Ganesha as they proceed towards the lake. The whole ceremony lasts nearly an hour or more.

The Ganesha immersion ceremony of 1998 had been very memorable for me as I got the chance of spending several minutes in close physical proximity to Swami. But that did not seem to be the case this year as I had been ‘banned’ from all such activities due to my ‘indiscipline problem’! Therefore, as Ganesha Chaturthi arrived, I was enveloped in a pall of gloom, not having anything to look forward too while all my classmates energetically made themselves useful in making a chariot that would carry Lord Ganesha to Lord Sai.

An aerial image of 4 of the 20 odd chariots that wend their way to the Mandir annually during immersion ceremony.

The message

I had been on my best behaviour since that one mistake of my school life at SSSHSS. I had also immersed myself completely in singing bhajans and doing the ritual worship during the 3 days of Ganesh Chaturthi. Even as I did this, I hoped that God would notice my good behaviour, forgive me and give me a chance to shoot photographs in mandir during the Ganesha Immersion day. If not that, I hoped to at least get a chance to accompany my class chariot to the mandir.

As the days passed and the D-Day arrived, there seemed to be no light for me at the end of the tunnel. Suddenly, I was called to the warden’s office regarding some ‘camera’ matter. I hoped for some light. But when I was told specifically by the warden that I should not even dream of carrying a camera to mandir especially during the Ganesha Immersion ceremony, I realized that the light at the end of the tunnel was that of an oncoming train! I was on the verge of tears as I returned to my room. I sat crying in front of Swami’s picture, not knowing what I should do. And then, it struck me!

A realization dawned based on what my inspiring class teacher, ‘Sailesh sir’ had told during a talk. In spite of being a genius in his subject - Physics - and a maestro in playing the harmonium, he had declared,

“I have been brought here by Swami, for Swami. That is most important. People might consider me as a Physics teacher or the in-charge of the bhajan group. But I remind myself that I am here for Swami and nothing else. If getting close to Swami requires me to give up Physics and the harmonium, two things very dear to me, I shall gladly do so because Swami is the MOST IMPORTANT.”

That was the ‘message’ for me. In an instant, I wiped my tears and said,

“Swami, I have joined Your school only to win your love and grace. The chariot procession and my camera are just instruments to achieve them. I shall not forget that and get attached to them.”

And in a Sailesh sir-esque manner, I too declared,

“If getting close to Swami requires me to give up camera and the chance of going with the Ganesha Chaturthi chariot, two things very dear to me, I shall gladly do so because Swami is the MOST IMPORTANT.”

I not only declared it, I meant it in my heart too!

Even as my tears dried up, I was summoned again to the warden’s office. Wondering what it was this time, I went there. Without even uttering a word, the warden wrote a permission slip for me to take the camera to mandir. He merely said,

“Only this one time”, and handed over the chit of paper to me. Even as I returned to my room, I was summoned to my class teacher’s room - Sailesh sir’s room. To my amazement, he told me,

“I know that you have not worked in making the chariot but you have sincerely participated in each and every prayer and bhajan session. So, I feel you should accompany the chariot to the mandir. Here, put on this yellow jacket, tie this ribbon and off you go.”

I could not believe this sudden turn of events! It was as if Ganesha had changed from the maker of obstacles to the breaker of obstacles once the purpose of the obstacle was served. The obstacle seemed to be a ‘messenger’ who dissolved into thin air the minute its ‘message’ was delivered and accepted!

All’s well that ends well

Got a chance to almost bury my face into His
hair as He posed with our chariot. 

And so, I accompanied the class chariot carrying the Ganesha idol to the mandir. Swami came and posed with out group for a photograph and my face was almost buried in His fragrant halo of hair. Immediately after He finished posing with our group, I began to move about with my camera, taking pictures. For almost half an hour, Swami moved around the chariots, blessing the students and breaking coconuts. After that was done, He was flagging the chariots out of the mandir. Destiny had it that I wasn’t with my chariot but right behind Swami as He was flagging it away. I could not move because Swami was right in front of me.

As I knelt there, I began to understand the import of the experience. The whole hall was resounding with different bhajans being sung by student groups at each chariot. Veda chanting was on and victory slogans to Lord Ganesha rented the air. Amidst all these sounds, my heart began to say,

“I love you Swami... I love you Swami...”

The feelings of my heart soon transformed into words from my lips and I began to continuously chant,

“I love you Swami... I love you Swami.”

Though His back was to me, I was sure that Swami would be hearing each and every word that I was saying.

As if in confirmation, as the last few chariots were moving out (there were about 20 of them totally) Swami suddenly threw the handkerchief in His hand, directly into my lap. Immediately, He also turned around, flashed a beautiful smile and told me to keep the handkerchief with me. Then, He moved on. It was simply a confirmation of my priorities. The message had been received and all the ‘problems’ had simply vanished, transforming into blessings galore!

A blurry image that shows how Swami suddenly swiveled around and dropped the handkerchief
on to my lap. I am sitting with a yellow 'jacket' on to Swami's right. 

Therefore, it was not difficult for me to accept this security guard at the Mookambika temple as one such messenger. I looked at my ‘Bermuda’ shorts, stepped back with a smile. I mentally said,

“Dear Goddess! I have been unnecessarily harsh in my criticism of this beautiful shrine. I take back my words. No house of God can ever be so-so because IT IS THE HOUSE OF GOD! I was hasty and stupid and so, I am not being allowed to enter your home. It’s fine. I have realized my mistake.”

It had not been even a second after I finished this mental statement when I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was another security guard. He handed me a shining red, silk dhoti (garment for wrapping the lower part of the body). He said,

“Drape this around yourself and enjoy the Goddess’ darshan.”

I knew it! The message had been received and the messenger had disappeared, transforming himself into a blessing. As I walked into the sanctum, my father exclaimed,

“Oh My God! Red is a dear color for the Goddess. Where on earth did you get this dhoti?”

I just smiled and said truthfully,

“I seem to be very dear to the benevolent Goddess and so she gifted it to me.”

(Just as an aside, speaking of Ganesh Chaturthi, do you know why you should not see the moon on the Ganesha Chaturthi day? Read that story involving Lord Krishna, Lord Ganesha and the Syamantaka jewel here:

Why you should not see the moon on Ganesh Chaturthi - Story of the Syamantaka gem )

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. Another blog which I maintain with more than 200 articles on it is at http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com You may visit that at your leisure. If you wish to be added to my mailing list, please email me via this page with the subject "ADD ME TO MAILING LIST".

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