Shri.B.Aravind, alumni of SSSIHL and now working in Radio Sai, Prasanthi Nilayam writes ... My experience: It was as late as 2008 that Swami blessed me with many chances of physical interaction and talk with Him. Before that, for almost 10 years, I have constantly pined for physical attention from Swami. It was during my undergraduate days at Brindavan that I came up with this ‘visualization’ technique, totally by instinct and chance.
What I used to do was this - I would close my eyes and picture myself with Swami. I would speak with Him and also ‘make’ Him speak to me. I mean, I would put words in His mouth. And since it was Him, the words I would put in His mouth would also be of that nature. In this manner, I would close my eyes and converse with my beloved Lord, my best friend. In due course, my imagination and visualization became so powerful that everyday, I would feel as if I had an interaction with Swami. Soon, I stopped pining so much for the ‘physical’ interactions. I had my ‘own, personal Swami’ now! One day, I suddenly had a doubt, “Is this imagination and visualization a hallucination on my part? Am I being spiritual or am I being schizophrenic?” This was a time when Swami, for some reason, was not accepting letters from any student. As I lay down to sleep, I began my conversation with ‘my Swami’. I told Him, “Swami please take my letter tomorrow...” “No! I have been telling that I will not accept letters from students for some time. I cannot take it from you.” “Swami! Please. You must take it. It is very important for me because I want to know that you are for real.” “Of course I am for real... Why do you doubt?” “I don’t know Swami. But please take my letter.” “If I take your letter, then others will feel bad. They will get jealous of you.” “Swami, I shall sit in a corner. Take my letter in a manner such that nobody sees it. Thus, no one will feel bad or get jealous. I shall also be happy and know that you are for real. I promise I will not tell anyone that you took my letter.” “Hmm.. Okay. Lets do that.” I must say that this whole conversation was completely made up in my mind on my own. The next day, something amazing happened. I was in the corner with my letter. Swami indeed came near me. I showed my letter, but He did not accept it. He passed by me and stood next to me, talking to a devotee. I was disappointed and feeling that either Swami had disappointed me or ‘my Swami’ was not real. As I was coming to terms with what was happening, Swami brought His hands behind Him and held His left wrist with His right hand. And then, it happened!! He moved His left hand fingers so gently. But via His fingers, He was asking for my letter!! I slowly took my letter near His fingers. In an instant, He took the letter and then moved on. I was dumbstruck. Great joy erupted in my heart. I was almost trembling with excitement and joy. The students by my side were wondering what happened. ‘Sadly’, I could not not tell them anything for that was my promise to ‘my Swami’. My heart celebrated for I was sure that ‘my Swami’ is real. I had found a way of having Him with me always. Visualizing Swami is a sure way of seeing Swami - what you see with the inner eye is what you will see with your outer eye too Source: aravindb1982 Dear reader. Trust me. Go ahead and visualize your Lord. Put in as many details as possible in your visualization. Live it. relive it. Enjoy it. Know that it is true. Your own experience is just waiting to happen. It is just round the corner. It is not simply that it is said, “Mana Eva Manushyanaam Kaaranam Bandha Mokshayoho” (The mind alone is responsible for one’s bondage or liberation). The Vedas declare, “Antar Bahischa Tat Sarvam Vyapya Narayana Stithaha” (in spirit this means- Whether it is the inner world or the outer world, the Lord is ever present.) If am allowed to use, with slight modification, the famous quote from the Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens: It is the worst of times; it is the best of times. It is the age of foolishness; it is the age of wisdom. It is a season of darkness; it is a season of light. It is the winter of despair, it is the spring of hope. It is a time when everything has changed; it is a time when nothing has changed! The fact that Swami is not with us physically is a great opportunity for each one of us to discover our personal Swami within. And believe me, He is as real as real can be.
