I received a letter from home. It was from my sister and the contents went thus, “We were very strict with you because we wanted you to grow up in the right way and become a respected individual. Now that you are far away, we do miss you.” My sister and I were very close to each other ever since my mother died when we were very young.
The letter made me homesick. And when, in the evening, there was a soul-stirring bhajan extolling Swami as Sai Ma, I was reminded of my mother and was actually in tears. Soon, I was convulsing hard, with my head bent down I was trying to stem the cascade of sorrow that streamed down my face. A few boys nudged me during the bhajans saying that Swami was looking at me. But I did not believe them. The Trayee Session followed soon after the bhajans. These sessions are close interactive sessions wherein Swami would give discourses and move closely among us, interacting and sharing valuable insights peppered with humor. It was a great opportunity for us to listen and learn both from Swami and as well as from the elders. That evening, I was sitting quite far away from Swami's Jhoola,When Swami came, He looked around, searched among the boys, spotted me and then He asked me to come towards Him. Had I committed a grievous mistake I wondered, as I went up to Him? But when I came closer, Swami pulled me towards Him, held me in a warm, loving embrace, and said, “This boy lost his mother. This boy lost his one mother but I will give him a thousand mothers’ love.” And then, He created a ring for me. I was too overwhelmed, lost in His love, lost for words. And I was wondering how Swami knew my story; He was mentioning so many facts of my life to people nearby. This was the first time He spoke to me. That day, He touched my heart with His love. And I accepted Him as my Mother. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It was a cold winter morning during Darshan in Brindavan, Swami walked by me, stared queerly at my face, and then went on His usual round of darshan among devotees, accepting letters and blessing them. I was perplexed, praying and hoping all the while that I had not upset Swami in any way, in thought, word or deed. As I sat on after darshan, I was a troubled bundle of anxiety. And then I saw my commerce professor running towards me, holding something in his hand. As he came to me, he said, “Swami has sent this for you,” and handed me a Ponds cold cream! Apparently, Swami had noticed that I had dry skin because of the weather, so He sent the cream for me in His boundless concern. Even as I stood there choked for words, I learnt from Swami that day something which I consciously try to apply in my daily life – attention to detail! Swami attended to thousands of devotees that day – collecting letters, conferring blessings, bestowing guidance – and yet He had borne in mind my dry skin and sent the cream! What was a parched epidermis in front of a million other pressing concerns for Swami? But that was the affection of the Divine Mother. Om Sai Ram
