Make the Right Connection
In the MBA program, I had a classmate who had joined the Institute upon his parents’ recommendation. His parents were devotees, but he was new to Swami and the ashram. One evening Swami came by that student, who was sitting in the first row. I was seated next him. Swami asked, “How are you?” The student answered, “Good, Swami”. After a while, Swami asked, “What do you want?” The student did not answer as he was not prepared for that question from Swami. Swami meanwhile asked another boy seated near a floral arrangement on the veranda to bring a flower to Him. That boy got a white jasmine flower and gave it to Swami. Swami kept that flower in the center of His right palm and asked the MBA student, “What is this?” The student answered, “A flower, Swami”.
Then Swami asked, “What do you want this to be?” Again, the student did not have an answer to Swami’s question and remained silent. Getting no reply from the student, Swami closed His palm, blew thrice on it, and opened His palm. The flower had turned into an Aum shaped pendant. Swami gave the pendant to that student. Swami then showed us His hand and said, “This hand can do anything. The whole world is in this hand. People go all over in search of friends. They make connections, and then ask for help from others. You should make your connection with the entire world. Don’t go after the world. Come to Me and you will have the whole world. “That evening, this divine declaration made its way into my mind and heart. I fail miserably when I forget these words. And whenever I make the connection with Him, I get what I want without any extra effort. Over the years, I always strive to remain connected with Him.
Be Strong, Like a Tree Trunk
In the year 1995, I was blessed to be in the interview room during a class interview for the third-year undergraduate students. I had an opportunity to ask Swami a question. I asked Him, “Swami, how can we cultivate total faith in You?” Swami said,
“There is nothing like partial faith. You either have it or you do not have it. One must cultivate steady faith like the tree-trunk which remains stable in spite of any strong wind and not like the leaves which flutter with even the slightest breeze. Trusting Swami when our desires are fulfilled and wavering when not is to become like the unsteady leaves that flutter in the breeze. Cultivate unflinching faith in Swami like the strong tree-trunk.”
Where Are You From?
Swami is the embodiment of love. When He needs to correct someone, He does it in such a loving and subtle manner that the recipient gets a lesson and an experience to treasure. I was blessed to be the recipient of one such lesson, which has become the memory of a lifetime. It was my first year in Swami’s college, about two or three months into the first semester. During this early period, I saw Swami interacting – talking and joking with a few of His students. I was not one of them and I assumed that He really did not care for me. What ignorance! That particular day, my roommate was getting ready for darshan and he asked me to hurry up so that we could sit in the first row. I discouraged him, saying it really did not matter even if we sit in the first row since Swami wouldn’t talk to us. My exact words to him were “Swami is not going to ask us – where are you from? (A question He normally would use to start a conversation with devotees or students). Swami says, “Good company is important, it helps to cultivate good qualities.” My roommate did not have good company in me on that day! I convinced him to go slow with my thoughtless remark. So, we both took our time to get ready for darshan. Swami had a lesson to teach me that day. Though we started late, by Swami’s grace we both got to sit in the first row. And as soon as we sat down, Swami came out of His room, walked straight to where we were sitting and with a twinkle in His eye asked me, “Where are you from?”
The Love of God for the Mother
Swami is the pivot around which my life revolves. I have learnt with humility that Swami touches our lives every day through people and situations. I have experienced His love and guidance through total strangers. Every rough patch, every scar, every poignant cry into an empty sky, every harsh loss, is when Swami shows us, He is the only one with a comforting word, a gentle pat, an avenue of strength, a solution that we could not have dreamed of. Swami’s manifestations in disguise are evocative of His boundless love and constant concern. After my graduation from Parthi, I went to Swami to ask permission to join the prestigious Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to pursue my PhD research. I was supposed to join the following day and Swami said, “No, not now- wait.” I found out that the professor I was supposed to report to for my PhD program was away and would return in a week. My monkey mind started working, I thought I have 11 more darshans where I could easily ask Swami to bless me. I was wrong. I got up 11 times during each of the following darshans, and each time, Swami said “No, wait“. This was a turning point in my life. Studying in IISc was a dream for me but I heeded Swami’s words and did not join the institution. In the following days, I literally followed Swami everywhere He went. Those months near Swami were the most joyful and blissful times of my life and my thoughts were constantly focused on Him. I used to think, if Swami takes my letter, I will go and join IISc but what if Swami says “No, wait?” This went on for six months. Then, one day my mother sent a letter asking me to come back home. I held this letter to Swami. Swami told me to go and stay with my mother and honor my mother’s wishes. I returned home and was able to serve my mother. She passed away after few years. I would not have been able to serve her well had I been at the IISc pursuing my research program. Swami’s inimitable presence in our lives spurs us on to greater efforts to love and serve in our own little ways. Swami is the air we breathe, our muse, our inspiration, our white light in the darkness. Swami is everything to us. Everything. I remain inspired by these words of Swami, “Love seeks no reward. Love is its own reward.” Swami has said, “We are not born from the sky or the earth. We are born from the womb of our mother. It is only a person who wins the love of his mother that can earn the love of God.”
Dear children,
Wish you a happy and peaceful New Year.
