Dr. Siva Sankara Sai
1989 Prasanthi Nilayam
It was on 16th July 1995. After interviews, Bhagawan came to the Bhajan Hall and started interacting with students. These were the occasions that all students used to eagerly look forward to because those personal interactions with the Lord are eternally etched in our hearts. That day, few devotees from Greece had been invited by Bhagawan to lead the Bhajans. They were all seated in the front rows of the Bhajan hall and were waiting eagerly for Bhagawan’s interactions.
As soon as Swami entered the Bhajan hall, He saw two students talking to each other. He immediately pulled them up. “Bad boys! Why do you unnecessarily talk? You are in the midst of a holy place. Use time effectively to contemplate on God and improve yourselves. Through excessive talking, you waste your energy, time and loss of memory power. See these Greek devotees. They have come all the way from Greece chanting Swami’s name.” He called the leader of the devotees group (his name was George) and asked him to speak to the students. George, who takes care of Swami’s bookstore in Greece told Swami with all devotion, humility and hesitation, that from Bangalore airport to Puttaparthi, they came walking chanting “Om Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Babaya Namah”. They had taken five days to reach Puttaparthi. They slept in temples during the night and walked during the day. All the way they sanctified their time and lives by chanting the Lord’s name. I was sitting nearby, listening and trying to absorb what Swami was driving at. He turned towards me and asked, “Idi mana pillalu chestaraa?” (Will our boys do such noble acts?). He did not want an answer. Saying thus, He just turned and went away into the interview room. He only wanted all of us to know the importance of chanting the holy name and realize the devotion and love of foreigners in implementing what Bhagawan preaches. They get connected to our Lord internally. Swami puns with the word Silence as ‘Sai Lens’ meaning that through the ‘Sai lens of Silence’, we can concentrate our mind and develop spiritual energy just as the lens concentrates the sun’s energy on the focal point.
Whenever I think of this incident, I am overpowered by emotion. How can we now implement this powerful lesson in silence and devotion towards Him? These lessons were true then, now and forever. Whenever, we sit for Bhajans in our towns or in our own houses, can we not practice this? Swami has assured us that wherever his Bhajans are sung, He installs Himself there. So let us remember to practice silence and Namasmaran whenever we go for Satsang or Bhajans so that we remain totally connected to Him during that period.
Brother Shiv Shankar Sai joined the Brindavan college in 1976 for PUC course. Post his PhD from Prashanti Nilayam, he has served as various positions in the Institute’s Physics department Students across decades fondly recall him as a loving & guiding teacher. He was the warden of the Prashanti Nilayam senior boys hostel and currently head of the department of Physics