Oh Baba , Did you hear my Baba ?

Pranams to the lotus feet of the Lord , Bhagwan Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba. I began listening to these samarpan talks in youtube , given by different alumni's who made great inroads into different fields and are successful in their chosen vocations. It just got me thinking , what was my statusquo with bhagwan during my growing up years and it prompted me to write a poem expressing the same.

Oh Baba, did you hear my baba ,

I was bleating through Life , applying dirt all over me , 

But I was heating up my chant of your name , all around me ,

Was my dirt too bad enough for you to not even come near me and bathe me , 

For I see you have taken others out of their dirt and set them right ,

Was I not in touch with your name ,though not your form , but that off your previous body ?

Were you not happy to see me , walk on your path , 

Why did you let me go astray ,when you were there with me all along ?

I relished the choices I made, however wrong they were , 

But I still remembered your name , wherever I was ,

Was I not good enough for you to be your boy , 

What made you delay to take me out of my dirt and put me up in your hands , 

Or should I ask , was I not done with my Karma to meet you already ,

Here I am , finally in your orbit , only to see you have already built the constellation ,

And assumed your original place , before I got a chance to meet and bask in your glow, 

Oh Baba , did you not hear my baba ...

Constant Integrated Awareness - A Spiritual Cardio

 

One might wonder , how can one stay connected with swami all the time, doing the things we do - Can living with swami be an achievable ethic ? This was a question that came into my being when one old devotee casually remarked one day to me over a conversation of how familial life kept her busy and she was not able to be full time in samithi activities and it got me worried . Does that mean, if I want to be with swami, practice swami way of life, does it mean zero family life ? Swami was quick to pick up this line of thought in me and etched the answer for this over many days of my everyday routine, deeply affirming me that , nothing here can be done without the Sai element in it, whether we apply a label it or not. All are his work. How ? Read on . 

Gyan 1 - Group Bhajan's Effect on Swami

So, I picked up a few pounds , thanks to the lockdown and self acquired lazy habits and I wanted to reverse that , which got me taking to the streets for a good old hour long walk everyday around the neighborhood. Over days, I have chosen a route , designed just for me , in such a way that I get to see people with swami's logos / tiles / portraits / pictures hung in their homes or compound . I also get to see around 5 temples of Lord Ganesh , Devi etc , giving me some good on the go darshans of our deities. I have a habit of feeding our other narayana friends from the animal world. One day, when I had some biscuit crumbs with me, and I didn't want to throw them in vain, I was scouring the roads for some ants. I didn't find one for a long time until I saw a cluster and I was immediately prompted to drop the biscuit pieces on the ant cluster , to find them dash on to the piece giving me such peace. Instantly, a voice in me spelled it out. So this is why swami calls for bhajans , communal prayer. If we pray from the comfort of our homes, he gets to visit us one by one and it might take some time for the Santa sai to drop our gifts. But when we do group prayer, out of love and devotion, he has no chance but to rush to our bhajan meet and unload a barrage of blessings on us . 

Gyan 2 - To be in touch with the Name - even when you don't see a purpose. 

Many times, when my mind used to wander here and there , especially on days when I choose to skip the headphone and walk without music, I used to throw a Sairam here and there , just to be attuned to his naama. Once, I had put in a Sairam into my thought stream, when I was very close to stepping on a slow moving black worm on the road. I again gave out a Thanks Sairam ! . With your mercy, I didn't kill the poor worm, unintentional, but I was still saved from a sin. Often, this happens in the air as well. Sometimes, a "Before Sairam" will push me amazingly away from some hanging worms from trees, especially the ones in green color which are tough to see in thin air and a "Thanks Sairam" will follow suit. 

Gyan 3 - Focus on Swami, Not on How he blesses others

The other day, I was prompted from within to feed some Bhairava Narayanas ( doggies ) and I was left with 2 more biscuits. I usually break them in 2 , to increase number and help it eat easier . Once there were 2 dogs in front of a flat, and I instinctively, threw one half for one dog and I another a bit far to prevent a fight between the two. But the 2nd dog missed the biscuit , so I threw again , this time also it didn't see my intent . Reason - ? It kept watching the  1st dog and where I threw the biscuit for the 1st dog. Often, we find ourselves being disturbed by seeing someone's success or sudden upswing in life, not just in a bad way through jealousy , but also , in a sense of evaluating our own self worth - are we being successful at all, etc . All this nonsense thoughts can be eschewed if we did one simple sadhana. Focus on Swami.  To some, he blesses , to some he tests. He does what he does. Why should we be concerned what goes on with others, when we can solely focus on him and pick up our own blessings that he rolls our way ?

Gyan 4 - Counting our Blessings from his point of view

A similar incident of misplaced attention can be connected to another Swami ideal . One day when I noticed the crows and the Pigeons came to snack at the same time on the neighbor's compound , I decided to throw some wheat for the pigeons and biscuit pieces for the crows , based on their nature and appetite.  The pigeons were obviously attracted to the wheat grains, because that's what they eat - grains. But the crows missed the biscuits I had laid too , as they felt they should also "get" the same grains as pigeons ate and they were more in number. The grains were quickly exhausted and the pigeons now came for the biscuit pieces and started nibbling at the biscuit pieces and soon that was also wiped out. The crows missed an easy treat in front of them because, they didn't see what was there out for them and missed out on their lot completely. Similarly, sometimes , when we see someone in our life being blessed with abundance or a promotion or a praise , and we are simply being ourselves, no movement upwards or downwards,  we tend to think - why nothing for me swami. Am I also not dear to you. Do we really know what swami had done for us truly ? Probably we were to attract some losses or get sick or something and Swami absorbed our karma into him , while it was time for the other person to taste the result of his/her own good karma . Never judge the flavor of blessings that we each get to experience. We should remember to count our blessings , thank him and try to understand from his point of view - we may not even know what he had done for us , but we must not look up to him in disgrace. Rather, we must consistently muster courage and love to always think off ourselves as very dear to him and allow him to do whatever he wants to do with us. 

Gyan 5 - Nirgun Bhrama Sagun Bhrama

I had another startling revelation on the road , which is one of the deepest tenets of advaita philosophy that stunned me in it's simplicity and profundity. Like aforementioned, I tend to look up photos in houses in my route to steal photo darshans of swami as I walk and one day I walked too close to one house who used to hang the portrait of Swami in their 1st floor balcony. I then moved to the left to move farther away from the house to get a glance when it instantly struck me. As long as I longed for the physical form of Swami , I am still far from him. The moment I know he is encompassing me at all times , at all places , at all planes , I lose sight of the physical tangible form of sai and get very close to him in his actual true form - the Formless Jyoti. 

One God - One soul

I hope you enjoyed reading these candid experiences of mine. Truth be told, I even conceived the core idea of this piece in one of my walks. I again intend to circle back to the premise of this work. Living with sai means not just doing bhajans, attending samithi work, being in the organization or doing things under the Sai banner , omitting all our personal life. Living with Sai , is simply we living our Given life, doing the things we are meant to do at our station, practicing the ideals and ethics he has called out and being in touch with him at all times. No need for complications or score checking with other devotees to see how much you are doing etc. There is only one player. It is you. There is only one judge . It is him.  There is only one game and that is your life. Keep playing until the game, the judge and the player all converge unto him !

Loving Sairams to all of you !!!

Oh Sai Rama - A Heartfelt Poem

 

Oh Sai Rama , Let your name be my Sahasranamaa

Let my devotion to you be consistent , 

Whether or Not , Challenges are insistent 

Let my Love for you be my highest Gain , 

Whether or Not , I am tested by biggest Pain , 

Let my Hands forever Hold your feet ,

And Let that be my biggest Treat , 

Let my Legs motion Towards All Things Sai Approved , 

And If not, Let my Intentions to move be Removed ,

Let my Mind hold your sight open or closed ,

And if not, let my eyes never Open or Close ,

Let my Breath inhale the Incense in your Presence, 

And let that be my breath's Essence ,

Let my Sleep be filled with your Dreams ,

And Let that bring me to Blissful tears in Streams  , 

Let my vocal Chords Vibrate on Your Name ,

And Let that alone Reverberate in all my Time Frame ,

Let your Mental awareness be my only Force of Living ,

And if not , let your nearness be my only Source of Living ,

Oh Sai Rama , Let your name be my Sahasranama ,

Oh Sai Rama , Let your name be my Sahasranama,

Oh Sai Rama , Let your name be my Sahasranama

samastha lokah sukhino bhavanthu

A Self-Audit Checklist for Behavioral Performance as a Swami Devotee

The following checklist samples out some of the questions a devotee should ask themselves when they want to assess how well they are doing as a Swami follower. Sometimes, we notice an invisible spiritual ego rising in us, making our bosom swell with the feeling that we are doing many things like Swami counselled us and inflate our pride. In-order to diffuse and deflate any such invalid thoughts, once in a while we need to take such self-audits to keep us grounded. We can also try associating ourselves with other people who we notice, are doing more good deeds than we do, so that we don't feel spiritually pompous. 

1. Do you sing your Bhajans and chant mantras from your heart and not mechanically repeat 

or sing for the sake of doing ?

2. Are you able to be at your polite most behavior with your closed ones when they do

something that normally will make you angry ?

3. Are you able to think of Swami at all times in every work you do ?

4. Are you chanting the Sai Gayathri regularly ?

5. Are you talking sweetly and with all humility , to your parents at all times ?

6. Do you see difference between people of different religions ?

7. Do you thank Swami at least once a day from your heart for the blessings you already have ?

8. Have you forgiven at least one person for the hurt they have done and surrendered the hurt, 

the pain , the anger and regret and all emotion to the feet of Swami ?

9. Do you chant Bhramarpanam everytime before you eat something or atleast think of swami

before you eat/drink something ?

10. Do you talk to people obligingly even though you don’t like what they tell ?

11. Do you chant the Gayathri mantra at least 9 times every day , 3 each morning, noon and 

night ?

12. Are you able to help someone without looking for any benefits of Good Karma in return ?

13. Have you lost any bad habits which you were suffering from , post Swami’s involvement?

14. Do you respect other gurus, religious heads and saints ?

15. Are you able to maintain equilibrium during happy and tough times with belief in swami 

that he is aware of everything and that he will take care of everything completely ?

16. Have you inspired in cultivating good habits by behaving well and not explicitly asking 

them to change their bad habits ?

17. Have you read the Sai Sathcharithra at least once respectfully with faith ?

18. Do you visit temples and offer worship to the Gods once in a while, in an effort to recharge

your energies ?

19. Do you take part in charity for feeding poor people and not merely sending donations as

monetary gifts ?

20. Do you feed animals, birds once in a while to prove that you have understood that swami is

there in animals and birds as well and you realize his omnipresence ?

21. Do you pine for swami like with earnest sincerity and pure love or simply doing things what 

he said mechanically ?’

22. Do you practice proper use money, food , time and water and take all efforts and care to

not waste them at any cost and only use them as required ?

23. Do you chant Rama Nama as much as possible ?

24. Have you gone through any of the Vahini books of Swami and understood the contents ?

25. Do you feel the presence of Swami at every second, talk with him , involve him in everything

you do to show him you understand that he is watching you always ?

26. Do you divert the praise coming your way for the good deeds you do/did towards Swami , 

in word and reality and not claim the credit of having done a sathkarma ?

27. Have you been able to distract yourself when an uncontrollable feeling of physical lust or 

mental jealousy or physical anger overtook you , by some one or something , and immediately 

remind yourself that "all are god, love all serve all , help ever , hurt never" , thereby disabling 

the bad thought immediately or gradually? 

samastha lokah sukhino bhavanthu

Terms of a Sathya Sai Insurance Policy

 

This is to certify that Sri Sathya Sai Insurance has been awarded to the reader of this contract after waiver of the most biggest sins that have been removed by the Insurer , known as Swami from now on under the Divine Karma Leela Act of Eternity. The policy holder will be a required to pay a premium in any of the following agreed upon terms as called out by the Insurer, Swami after taking into account the Sins and Fortunes Score of the policy holder. 

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The policy holder is expected to opt for any of the following modes of payment:

• 24*7 Nama Smarana or 6*6*6*6 Nama Smarana 
• Narayana Seva at regular intervals 
• Bhajan and Seva participation
• Reading SSS Scriptures 
• Watching SSS Devotees experiences and Relearning newer aspects
• Support through financial donations
• 24*7*365 contact with various aspects of Insurer's teachings
• Enrolling in Love-All-Serve-All Program 

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Please note that the terms and conditions , the benefits, risks and deductibles are not transferrable to any other person . If a person wishes to enroll someone else with the insurer, they can submit an application in any of the mediums available , viz : Heart-to-Heart prayer, Bhajan Prayer meet, Letter of Recommendation etc and the Insurer reserves the sole right to accept , reject or postpone the application. Should the application for insuring new client be accepted, information will be privately communicated through available channels such as dreams, physical manifestations or human contact at most unplanned circumstances . Should the application be rejected, the insured should not re-apply unless explicitly communicated to , as the reason for rejection might differ and is known only to the insurer , Swami. If a client is already insured by another Insurer, please think twice before submitting applications as it is not justifiable for the insured to take 2 paths to same destination . Should an application be identified as Postponed, please do not revoke your application, rather wait for the cooling period as communicated by the Insurer. 

Benefits of the Policy :

1. 24*7*365 coverage from all known perils relating to Mind, Body and Athma in dream or waking states at mental physical or spiritual planes . The insurer , Swami , will be in constant touch with the insured provided the insured pays the Bhakthi-Prema premiums as applicable. 
2. In times of trouble, if the Thought-Word-Action score of the insured be high, no need to make a call to the Insurer as the Insurer automatically removes the trouble causing agent and transfers the risk onto themselves. There will be suggestions offered at regular intervals through different channels to protect the insured from future perils that may or may not come. 
3. Full Indemnity will be provided should the peril be identified as a Mandatory Karma Phenomenon and the issuing agent be any of the Nine council ministers headed by Saturn Enterprises . If the performance of the insured is good, measured by efforts taken to not violate the terms and conditions of the Contract of Sri Sathya Sai Insurance Policy , then there is a high chance that the Insurer , Swami may choose to transfer full and complete  Results of Mandatory Karma Phenomenon onto themselves. This is a special clause under the Guru Anugraha -Navagraha Act of Universe. 
4. The insured is expected to have enough supplies of coupons issued by the Insurer, called the UDI Coupons , which can be used for amplifying Blessings and diminishing Sin Score and healing diseases and washing away bad thoughts , actions etc . The quantity of Udi coupon offered is subject to the Discretion of the Insurer, Swami  and it is required that the insured treats these coupons with absolute respect and reverence.   

I , the Insured hereby confirm that I adhere to the full terms and conditions as applicable to my profile as called out by the Insurer, Swami and vow to make the Bhakthi premium payments at regular intervals without lapses and be in constant touch with the Insurer, Swami, who has graciously offered and bestowed upon me this Life Term Policy after analyzing all my scores and has agreed to provide Full Coverage to me and my stakeholders as identified and accepted in the Dependents Section of the contract. .

                                                                                            Approved By ( Insurer )  

 Sri Sathya Sai

Love All Serve All - Sri Sathya Sai Insurance 

A Christmas-Thanksgiving Tribute To Swami

 

Sairam , Dear all !!!  

May more and more Swami thoughts dress you whenever you become naked with worldly stray thoughts. One must underscore that line again and absorb. To be without thoughts of swami is as raw, primitive, deformed and naked one can be. In order to live with dignity, with a strong moral compass, a heart that fearlessly beats for love out of love with no fuel from outside but purely engineered from the inner urge of volcanic love to spring forth tears of gratitude for Swami and his merciful decision , to come and wake us up for post-birth processing towards liberation. We have reached December of this challenging year, a year which has tested all our anchors with the storm of the pandemic situation, many are still struggling to keep themselves afloat. Let us hold hands this moment entreat to the divine, making their case, pleading for all those who need support and to all those who are not asking for it. May all be blessed !

As I was clicking swimming through my youtube feed of swami bhajans, I came across a lilting Sai Bhajan in English celebrating Christmas, a popular "Love is my form.." one. Link : Bhajan URL  . Wah, the music, the way swami sang , the simplicity but directness in the lyrics just suffocated all the evil out off me so much that , the bad thoughts that were living in my mind without rent , have escaped and ran for their lives after listening to an attacking incoming Swami Bhajan. I could literally feel the positive spring in me well up , as the dirt slowly raised from the bottom and swami slowly skimmed off the upcoming dirt. It is for this reason, I sometimes jokingly imagine that, Swami allows some dirt and bad stuff to form and enter in us, just to push us closer towards him.  Otherwise, how will we know, how to keep moving towards him. This life is but one of those journeys towards the Savitur, the Origin and just like we don't feel the rotation of earth when we are inside, unless we face earthquakes to realize, that we have so much happening below us. Sometimes, he takes us through a certain incident , an experience, gets our hands a bit dirty so that he has an excuse to hold our hands and wash it, and drag us closer. Otherwise, how many of us are intelligent enough to request him to pull us closer to him without a trigger ? May be that's why he repeatedly stressed on maintaining equanimity as the Ideal behavior of a Sai Devotee.

The after effect of the Bhajan, got me inspired into writing a poem thanking him and here we are . My hands haphazardly dancing over the keyboard to convey the thoughts as they are coming out one after like a water ride. 

Oh Sai, Thanks for bringing me out as a human , 

So that I can finally appreciate the existence of God, 

Oh Sai, Thanks for making me get a healthy body, 

So that I can use this to execute all my sadhanas towards reaching you , 

Oh Sai, Thanks for making me see , hear and talk , 

So that I can see your Lotus form, hear your voice and sing your bhajans ,

Oh Sai, Thanks for giving me a proper family ,

So that, there is someone around me to take care of me until I was ready to serve you

Oh Sai, Thanks for entering my Consciousness, 

So that, I can recollect why I was born and what I should strive for, 

Oh Sai, Thanks for taking out my fear of Death ,

So that , I understand that the body perishes but the soul would have merged into thou

Oh Sai, Thanks for the Athmic separation from you ,

So that, I can re-enjoy, re-live the Bliss of Merging back into you for Good !!!

Merry Christmas everyone !!! 

All praise to our Lord, Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba !!!

SamasthaLokah Sukhino Bhavanthu !!!

The Invisible Guardian in my life until the Vision

Jai Sai Ram .

Many of us will have an introductory moment in our journey with Swami,  and I am no exception . But, when one day I started connecting the incidents, I was amazed how he has been silently overlooking me in his own special divine way. I am narrating here the various instances in my life how Swami has been in touch with me, without me noticing it .

The Emblem

All through my growing up years back in Mylapore, we had this bureau made of metal , around 5 feet in height in average condition which we used to store clothes. This was something which was given to us by our paternal aunt, whose husband allegedly had been a swami devotee, which I came to know only in 2020 . That uncle had long passed away. That bureau had this all religion circular emblem which we all identify with Swami's call of One religion  [also shown above in this post) . Is that emblem sticker on the bureau not enough for him to watch me grow up when I had no idea about the Avatar ? . The warmer thing to note here is that, thanks to my parents, sister I got tuned to Swami's Shiridi Avatar without reason and somehow his hold on me was established all through my journey up the years in all my good and bad moments.  

The College Connect

Fast forward , high school pretty much had me hooked on to my academics and I scored very high marks and got into a good College. I met this guy, who was from a different department and somehow by swami's inspiration we both started talking when we travelled in the college bus. He used to come up and tell me Swami's experiences and I used to tightly hold on to my then Guru and Overall guardian , Shiridi Sai. Internally I used to think, no one can equal my Baba, this guy is just trying to brainwash me with stuff and somehow I never even spared a moment to take interest in Swami. Now, when I look back, my eyes well up with tears, thinking why Swami didn't drag me by the ear through someone , some random person alteast once to Sundaram , in Mylapore to quell the noise and sculpt the misshapen intellect once and for all. But he alone knows what is best for all of us and I just have to accept that as his own will.  

The Doctor Connect 

I also remember meeting a Doctor Dr .G Sairaman, who used to have a big Smiling Swami portrait as shown above and I have frequented him whenever any of us fell sick including once when I got dengue. The doctor had a calm demeanor about himself and was tall and had a good grip of his medicinal craft. Imagine the odds, when a well gifted doctor was just 10 minutes away from our home  who practiced medicine and was a Sai devotee. The familiarity that swami has been silently sowing in my unsuspecting mind. This is still from my Mylapore days. 

Enter The Telugu & Andhra Connect 

Then came the time of placement when we attended interviews and I had to go to hyderabad for the training period in the company where I got selected.  I stayed with my paternal uncle, who is an ardent Iyyappa devotee, and he had so many portraits. In those 3 months of my stay there, so many good things happened. I developed a beautiful connection with my cousin, who didn't have any comfortable vibe towards me though every summer vacation she used to come all our house for stays and bonding over childlike stuff but we never felt any vibe between us. It was so non-existent.  But in the time I stayed in their place,  now we are so close and it all sounds so crazy how things change between people . My uncle , pretty much leads all the affairs of his house and he had so many photos of all gods in his wall , hung with all old flowers and dried leaves and papers etc . I took interest and devised a plan with my cousin to clean up the entire place . There were 3-4 Swami photos of different sizes and not once did I even register his face or bothered to even look in his eye out of the slightest curiosity. Now in 2020, when I was going through my pictures, I saw his portraits and It all flashed , how he still kept looking out for me when I was in the training period of my very first employment. Also to add here is that,  like Swami often says how he will achieve multiple things with one stroke,  I also learnt telugu language through my self interests and purely his sankalpa. I speak fluent telugu now orally and we all know Swami's mother tongue is Telugu . In one  event in my life, swami made me learn his mother tongue, establish a beautiful bond with my cousin, made me clean up the altar of my uncle which had his photos .

Forgotten Sai Injections

Back to Chennai, I continued to be loyally associated with Shiridi Sai until my USA trip happened. I came back home, started printing out his pictures, making small cards, hanging photos , reclining photo cutouts in absolute relish for seeing him constantly when my eyes caught sight of a Shiridi Sai Cardboard collage which I had done a few years ago in my previous house. If you see this picture, he had convinced me to paste one of his photos in the ALL Shiridi Sai cardboard cutout and through that picture he had been silently monitoring me. In this excitement, I began to raid my old purses, family bags etc to uncover some more pictures buried between old papers and cards . One was Swami beside his Samadhi picture and 2 of the Sai Trinity pictures. I immediately did some crafting work and made them off portrayable quality. 

And Now

All through my life, until he officially onboarded me under his wing, his signature of the Silent Guardian has been there all along . These days, I choke up terribly thinking of my missed opportunity of having not seen in his Sagun form of a body, when I could have massaged his legs, washed his feet and drink that water as holy tirth. But, it all happened for a reason. He alone knows when I was ready enough to receive him. The comfort and consolation for me is that, he cared, is caring and will always care about me and somehow he will makeup for the physical intimacy I missed out with him. Until then, sai love continues.. 

Today is Swami's 95th Birthday Celebrations . May swami Bless us all to make us the ideal devotees who don't get affected by the pair of opposites and maintain singular Devotion and concentration on the Lotus feet of Swamiwaru Bhagwan Baba .

SamasthaLokah Sukhino Bhavanthu