Om Sri Sai Sarva Gnaya Namaha
Dr. Swagat Kumar Gunanidhi Routray, Sri Satya Sai Arts and Science College, Brindavan (1976 – 1980)
Salutations to the Omniscient One!
This story is a rapturous reminiscent of moments spent with the Lord. Naturally, these moments are cherished for a lifetime. This beautiful story is about my mother who came to Swami and became a Bhajan singer. This was momentous for me as it ultimately led to me becoming a Sai Student. Today, I consider my stay with Him to be the most cherished period of my life.
When My Mother Became a Bhajan Singer
It was in the late 1960s. My parents used to visit the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, and on the way back to Cuttack, they would visit Parthi for Swami’s Darshan. During one such Darshan session, Swami came to my mother and asked her to sing Bhajans in the Mandir. He directed Vijaya Auntie to guide her and instructed the late Sri Kutumba Rao to allow her to sing. My mother was surprised as she had no formal training in singing. Swami gave her His assurance by materialising Vibhuti and asked her to start singing. She was one of the first female singers from Odisha who was fortunate to sing in the Mandir in Swami’s presence. Swami would address her as the ‘Odisha lady’ and in Odisha he would tell her, “Kuni Apa” (‘apa’ means sister).
The HMV Gramophone Record company had once approached her to record a few songs as a lead singer. She went to Swami to seek His permission. Swami responded, “Your voice has been given to you for chanting God’s name and not for commercialisation.” She had her answer. Since she had been given the opportunity to sing Bhajans before Swami, she began visiting Parthi more often, and with this, we had the golden chance of getting many family interviews. During the interviews, Swami would put His hand on my shoulder, hug me like a friend, and speak to my parents like a guardian – an elderly family member. During one such interview, Swami asked me what I wanted to study further. I wanted to join the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Looking at my father with a mischievous smile, He said, “Look! Your son wants to become a hero!” I immediately responded, “No Swami. I want to work in Still Photography.” Swami said, “No, Don’t go there…” Immediately, I requested Swami to give me admission in His college. Swami then said that the entries that year were completed and He would consider next year.
His Student
The following year (1976), I had come with a group of students for the summer course from Odisha. I wrote letters to Swami requesting Him to take me in as a Summer Course student and permit me to study at His college. While Swami accepted the letters, there was no reply. After four days of waiting, Swami told Rupak Changkakoti and Dr. Sudarshan (warden), “There is this curly-haired boy from Odisha. Give him the Summer Course badge and ask him to stay in the hostel.” This was how I entered His College.
I used to take part in many activities that pleased Him. Be it Veda chanting, Bhajans, Kitchen Service, Flower decoration (Rangoli) – I made it a point to be active in them. In 1978, the Andhra Pradesh Teachers Conference took place in our college. Before the conference began, Swami instructed a few of us to create an exhibition for the delegates in the Botany lab.
The choice of a caption for the exhibition was challenging. I was then one of the photographers. I initially thought about having a poster with a unique picture of Swami with birds or animals with the caption, “Let us be like the innocent ones in the hand of our Lord.” However, this caption was too long.
Bhagawan was inquiring about the progress and was expected to visit the college. I was nervous as the caption was not yet decided. My ego as a creative person was being shaken and I prayed to Bhagawan for help. Bhagawan used to summon all the boys to the bungalow for regular Bhajans, but on that day, Swami gave a discourse on how to become closer to the Lord. He said, ”All of you want to become nearer to Bhagawan, but only a few want to become dearer to Me. There is coal burning at one and there is another lump of coal some distance away. If the dry coal is kept close to the burning coal then the dry coal will warm up and if one fans that warm coal it will start burning. There is the warmth of sitting close to a fire during winter, but if we were closer, we could get burnt. So if you are trying to be near Bhagawan then you have to learn how to become dear first. If you think that once you are near Bhagawan you will be dear to Him, that is completely wrong. To be dear, you have to follow the instructions of Bhagawan. It is like a penance, which Dhruva and Prahalad have done and thus become dear to the Lord. As coal knows fire and becomes fire, Vedas declare that by knowing Brahman one becomes Brahman.”
That was it! Swami had given me an idea for the caption – BE DEARER NOT NEARER to SAI
The next day, we went to Swami’s bungalow. Swami was waiting for us anticipating to see the poster. When Swami saw the poster, He remarked, “Have faith and confidence in your SELF always. Like Draupadi, have full Samarpan and mere trust or belief. Trust is partial surrender and belief is 90%. There is still an element of doubt. Maintain your faith at all times and develop confidence.” He then changed the caption: BE DEARER NOT NEARER TO EXPERIENCE SAI. He materialised Vibhuti and instructed us to finish the poster. The exhibition was a success. It was appreciated by delegates, guests, devotees and most importantly by Bhagawan. He inaugurated the exhibition and explained to the guests the pictures and the caption on the poster. We had a lot of Ananda seeking His happiness.
Memories from His Bunglow
I used to carry a box camera that fit easily in my pocket instead of the large one allowing me to capture some ‘candid’ pictures of Swami. Bhagawan had received a tiny puppy as a present from a foreigner. The puppy was Goldy. The boys used to stand near the steps heading upstairs to get a glimpse of Swami before He went inside. Goldy used to do ‘Sevadal’ duty not allowing anybody to approach or touch Bhagawan’s feet.
Once after Bhajans, Bhagawan was ascending the steps when Goldy leapt on Him. Bhagawan lovingly grabbed hold of him – I got to capture that moment with my camera. Bhagawan said, “You all may have dogs as pets at home. You take care of them by playing with them, feeding them and bathing them. If you truly adore your pet dog, your pet obeys all of your commands. Similarly, you can follow Me. You all want to be near Me and love Me even though you don’t listen to what I say. If you follow Me, then from a dog you will become God.”
In those days, we were also given the opportunity of carrying breakfast and evening snacks to the bungalow for Swami. One Rakhi Poornima day, it was my turn to take food for Swami. Coincidentally, that year my mother had sent a Rakhi to be given by me to Swami. My joy knew no bounds as I could then give the Rakhi to Swami – our Protector, in person. When I went upstairs to serve snacks and coffee to Swami, I handed over the Rakhi to Him.
He took the packet, opened it slowly and carefully. Speaking in Hindi, He said that Amma made this Rakhi by putting this silver flower on it and that it looked good. He placed the Rakhee on His left hand before returning back to me. He then called Brother Radhakrishnan and asked him to get some photographs. He then took out a black and white photo of my mother sitting in Poornachandra Auditorium, autographed it and asked me to give it to my mother as a return gift.
Shaping My Career
When I was graduating from Brindavan college, Swami asked me about my future plans. I said that I wanted to pursue post graduation in Sanskrit (the intention was to be close to His Lotus Feet). Swami then guided me saying that I have become BAD doing BA and asked if I wanted to become MAD by doing MA. He then told me to do a technical course. He instructed the then Principal of Anantapur Campus, Prof. Hemalata, to contact the Dean Prof. HG Hanumant (a devotee of Bhagawan) of Sir JJ School of Arts, Mumbai. I appeared for the entrance exam and got into the college as per His command.
Twenty-five years later, when in 2019 I got the Excellency Award for Skill Development/ Technical Education from Hon’ble Governor of Odisha, I could attribute all that occurred in my professional career to Bhagawan’s grace and guidance. He knew what the future had in store for me. It is only He who knows our past, present and future. Hence, in gratitude we bow down to His omniscience – Om Sri Sai Sarva Gnaya Namah.
Brother Swagat, worked in the Apparel Training & Design Centre (ATDC) handling Odisha and the North Eastern States. He took VRS and taking up the responsibility of an upcoming Multi Super Specialty Hospital at Bhubaneswar as Director. He was a Member of the Council of Management (COM) at Sri Sathya Sai Trust, Odisha.