“What is the full form of LLB?”, Bhagawan asked me once. 

In 1976 I had joined the University Law College in Bangalore along with two other students. I had pursued this course more because of His command than my own academic ambitions. I studied B.Sc. in Brindavan College between 1972 and 1975 and didn’t know what I should be doing next. All my other batchmates were joining various PG courses at the Bangalore University. But, I wasn’t sure whether I would get admission in any of those courses. I didn’t want to leave Brindavan. Ending my predicament, Swami told me, “Join law college. Don’t waste time. Time waste is life waste”.

I was happy because it was a three years course; I had to attend college only half a day every day, and I could stay in the Brindavan hostel. It was in this context that Swami asked me about LLB. I cheekily responded saying ‘Love Law of Baba, Swami”. 

Everyone around smiled but Swami said, “Wrong”.

“Law means enforcement. It means imposing, forcing upon someone. My love is not that. My love is My nature. Love lives by giving and forgiving”.

Living with Swami is a spiritual experience of self-transformation. Experiences with Him are interactive, collaborative, and two-way processes that happen over time. The encounters, dialogues, silences and avoidances are happenings where knowledge and meanings are evoked and developed within the person. The engagement is generally smooth and occasionally tense and intense.

In one of the many beautiful messages He had sent to boys, He asked, ”Are you feeling My presence in the very cells of your body?” Such a probing enquiry not only challenges our own commitment but also shows us the goal that we should be aspiring for. 

It has been our own great good fortune to be in His divine presence. Swami always said, this college is only an instrument with which He had drawn all of us. “One reason to bring you here on the pretext of imparting worldly education is that your parents and your own selves have a particular fascination for such an education. While giving one such education on one hand, on the other, is the Sai Sankalpa to fill your hearts and minds with Adhyatmic education.”

One day, after a beautiful discourse, Swami was sitting in the ‘safe room’ and He was generally asking people around Him as to what they understood from the discourse. I happened to be sitting at His Lotus Feet and happily doing the Pada Seva. Suddenly, He looked at me and said “Why aren’t you saying anything? What have you understood?” I folded my hands and said, “Swami, I can’t understand this Atma, Paramatma and spirituality. I am happy with this Swami Seva opportunity”.  

Swami then asked “What is spirituality?” 

When I didn’t answer, He looked at everyone and repeated the question. Then He said, “Spirituality is nothing but indulging in Sat Chintana, Sat Alochana and Sat Karma”. 

As long as one is involved in such practice, one is on the right spiritual path. Don’t get confused with big words and high language. In much simple terms Swami says “Be good, do good and see good. This is the way to God”. The doors of wisdom will open when you keep your mind, words and actions pure.

My learnings at the Lotus feet commenced initially with Swami telling me not to indulge in too much talk or develop unwanted relationships with others around. He often used to advise us, “Your relationship with each other should be confined to Hello Hello… How are you? Goodbye Goodbye!” 

“The first step in Sadhana is self-control” He said. This starts with keeping our focus on the purpose with which we have entered Brindavan. He said,“If it were for degrees, you had enough colleges in your home towns. Why then did your parents send you here?”The only defining factor is that we have the greatest opportunity of being in the Divine presence. 

“If that be the case why then are you diverting your attention towards others and getting distracted.” 

Very emphatically He told us that the one and only everlasting relationship is with Swami and all the others fade away in time. Looking back after nearly four decades, I realised, the one and only constant companion is Bhagawan Himself and all the others were transient.  A person thus engaged with Swami soon realises the spiritual nature of his interactions with Him and begins to reflect and decipher their meaning. The person has to learn, imbibe, and live His teachings. Meaningful spiritual learning has to manifest in the convergence of intellectual development, conversation, and everyday activity – unity of thought, word, and deed – imbued with spiritual intent and goals.

BVS Sagar BSc from Brindavan College, 1972 – 1975. He is based in Hyderabad and has worked in various pharma MNCs before retiring as the VP – Procurement in Pfizer Healthcare (Chennai). He writes articles in Telugu for Sanathana Sarathi.