Baba As I Saw Him Friday, June 28th, 2013 Swami said, “You are Mine and I Am yours. You belong to this place. You are not from the U.K. You are from Me. God is not working for you, He is working with you.” He then said, “die the mind!” and with a wave of His hand, materialised a diamond watch for me. As He put it on my wrist, He said, “Every time you see this watch, remember, I Am the Time Master.” Read on as Ajit Popat reminisces precious, priceless moments with His Lord! …from Sanathana Sarathi, June 2013. If you wish to see Me, come to Me.” This was the divine call I received in a dream one fine morning in August 1983. I could not resist the call and made my way, for the first time, to Prasanthi Nilayam the very next day.
Love at First Sight That first Darshan, I fell in love with Him. I came, I saw and was conquered by Him. I have lost count of the number of visits I have made to this divine place in the last 30 years. I went whenever I felt the divine pull which was so loving and yet so insistent. Each time I returned, the experience was unique and intimate. I stayed in Puttaparthi for three days on that occasion and before returning to London, I had the privilege of meeting Prof. Kasturi at his residence. I still remember what he said to me that day: “Swami is the Master of time. Remember this, throughout your life.” I have remembered those words and I have continued to come to the Lotus Feet whenever He willed. I love Him. I have no other way of expressing my feelings for Him. I cannot put it more simply or plainly. I love Him with all my heart. Become Like Me In December 1989, a young Englishman decided to take a group of U.K. devotees to Prasanthi Nilayam. I joined the group with my wife and daughter. Christmas at Prasanthi Nilayam, then as is now, was colourful, exciting and full of divine joy. During darshan on the morning of 21st December, Swami said the magic word ‘go’ which we all had been longing to hear. This was the indication for us to go into the interview room. Inside the room, He encouraged us to ask spiritual questions. I could not resist, and asked, “You are always in supreme bliss. You have no concept of pain. How then can You experience my pain?” He simply smiled and asked, “Do you really want Me to experience your pain?” I responded, “yes!” “Then become like Me, pure and selfless. Oil will not mix with water; water will mix with water,” He said. You are Mine; I Am yours In December 1990, He willed that I should come to the Lotus Feet as the leader of a U.K. group. After the Christmas celebrations, He lovingly called us for a group interview. During the interview, He looked into my eyes very intently and said, “Do My work.” I said, “I will.” That’s it. I found a new meaning to my life. I got the first real job of my life, and all these years later, I am still doing it. No retirement for me! I was over the moon with my new-found love and new job. Swami said, “You are Mine and I Am yours. You belong to this place. You are not from the U.K. You are from Me. God is not working for you, He is working with you.” He then said, “die the mind!” and with a wave of His hand, materialised a diamond watch for me. As He put it on my wrist, He said, “Every time you see this watch, remember, I Am the time master.” Another time, He materialised for me a ring with two heart-shaped diamonds, saying, “Our relationship is Heart to heart. That’s the Truth.” The divine romance continues to this day. Very lovingly, He made me realise that working with and for God is not easy and yet it is so simple. Become selfless, and serving God is the easiest thing in the world. First Charter Flight – 70th Birthday of Bhagawan In 1994, in a group interview, I prayed for permission to bring the first charter flight of devotees from the U.K. for His 70th Birthday. He simply smiled and said, “You come. I will bring them.” In those days, there were no mobile telephones and no internet and I had no idea where to start to organise the charter flight. “I will bring them.” That is what He had said and that is what He did. He took complete charge as events manager and travel agent (!). He blessed various devotees in the U.K. in dreams, asking them to come. He ensured the flight was full and that all arrangements were taken care of. He granted permission for the flight to land at Sri Sathya Sai Airport. Our Beloved Bhagawan arranged everything for the group in the midst of all that was happening, with all the VVIPS and hundreds of thousands devotees around. He allowed us to sing Bhajans in the Mandir, and on His Birthday, He cut the birthday cake we had brought from the U.K. On 24th November, He blessed the group with Padanamaskar. On the day of our departure, He asked, “Are you happy?” I said, “Yes, Swami, very happy!” Later, He explained the inner meaning of the word ‘happy’. “H – be holy; A – be aware; P – be patient; P – be peaceful; Y – be a yogi. Then you will be always happy. I Am your mother, always ready to teach you.” The divine adventure of charter flights still continues. The last one was in October 2011. Every trip helps me learn new lessons. As long as you live, you learn, and as long as you learn, you live. Ceiling on Desires Once He asked me to shut the inner interview room door. I stretched myself, applied full force and shut the door. He at once reacted and said, “Puppet, why so much force? Excessive force is violence. Do not treat this as a door; it is nothing but consciousness. Remember, energy, food, money and time are God. You must learn to respect them.” He never missed a chance to teach and guide me. Talking about ceiling on desires, He once said, “When you see a thing with a view to buy it, ask yourself, ‘Do I need it?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ ask again, ‘Can I afford it?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ ask again, ‘Can I live without it?’ If the answer is ‘yes,’ do not buy it.” Do you Love all? Once, during an interview, He asked me, “What is the way to God?” Remembering His own quotation, I promptly replied, “Love All, Serve All.” He smiled and said, “Do you love all? Do you serve all?” Before I could say a word, He said, “You love only those whom you like. Your love is conditional, whereas My love is unconditional.” Where is God? On another occasion in a group interview, He asked me, “Puppet, where is God?” I said, “He is everywhere.” “How do you know?” I replied, “I know it.” My Beloved Lord at once said, “No no; first feel it, then know it. Experience it and then realise it. Simply knowing is not enough.” See God in Action One afternoon, Swami came to me during Darshan and asked, “Do you want to see God in action?” I replied in the affirmative. “Tomorrow morning, Grama Seva will commence; go with the boys, you will see God in action.” That was the very first Grama Seva. Out of love and immense grace, He has allowed me to participate in it every year ever since. Puppet Shows The divine romance took a very meaningful turn when once in Trayee Brindavan, He asked me to speak on Sai Kutir (Swami’s abode in the U.K.). “You simply stand and see that you do not fall. The rest I will do.” He not only did everything at all times but also ensured that I did not fall. “Allow Me to hold you and you will not fall. Those who walk with God always reach their destination,” He said emphatically. Do not Give them too much Time Blessing me to be at His Lotus Feet, once when I had come with a group of 430 people, He said, “Keep them busy; do not give too much time. You are here for Sadhana. Every moment is golden. Live fully and enjoy the divine play. Be a good example. Be simple. Do not leave this room with doubts. If at all, you need to doubt, doubt the doubt.” Once, directly looking into my eyes, He said, “Do not use Me as a paper weight. Here is a multi-million facet diamond. Do not seek things from Me which the world can give. Seek only those things which the world cannot give. And what are those things? Peace and Supreme Bliss.” Last Interview – 15th January 2011 Despite being unwell physically, after evening Arati, He blessed me to be at His Divine Lotus Feet in Yajur Mandir. He showered immense love on me which only He can do because He is the purest of pure and totally selfless. Taking liberty, I said, “All Your grace, all Your divine blessings, and the most wonderful time that I have experienced at Your Lotus Feet has become part of me.” My Beloved Lord at once corrected me and said, “It has not become part of you; it has become you!” Rubbing my hand, He said, “Puppet, what has to happen, will happen. What needs to be done, must be done.” It was as though He was giving me a hint about what was to come to pass on 24th April 2011. By His grace, He made me realise on 24th April 2011 that what had to happen had happened, as a result of His Divine Will. Now, it is up to me to do what needs to be done. The million dollar question is: What needs to be done? I pondered the question for a long time and at last found the answer. Did He not tell me on 21st December 1989 in the very first interview? “Become like Me – pure, selfless and full of unconditional love.” Well, that needs to be done. It has to be done before what is to happen will happen, one day by His Will, when this puppet will meet his loving Puppeteer. II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II sourced: http://www.theprasanthireporter.org/2013/06/baba-as-i-saw-him/ Odyssey Extraordinaire ..... Reliving Baba's visit to Badrinath, June 1961 - Photos Flipbook http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_11/01JUN13/badri-trip-sathya-sai-baba-1961/badri_trip_sathya_sai_baba_1961.html Eminent Scientist, Professor G. Venkataraman, Talks about Sathya Sai Baba’s Divine Life HOUSTON: The Sri Sathya Sai Centers of Houston organized a special talk by Dr. G Venkataraman, an eminent scientist, recipient of the C.V. Raman Centenary Award, the Padma Shri award from the Government of India, author of numerous books and articles, and the current head of Radio Sai Global Harmony. Over 300 people attended the one and a half hour talk at the beautifully decorated Durga Bari Temple Auditorium on Sunday, June 23. The main theme of Dr. Venkataraman’s presentation was how Sathya Sai Baba worked tirelessly throughout His life in restoring Dharma (righteousness) and conferring joy and bliss to all who came to Him. Dr. Venkataraman interspersed his talk with over 200 slides comprising of early and recent pictures of Sathya Sai Baba’s institutions along with Sai Baba’s message to humanity. Dr. G Venkataraman There were three aspects to Dr. Venkataraman’s talk. The first aspect of the talk was based on the fact that Sai Baba was bliss personified, and He gave ananda (joy) to his devotees. Dr. Venkataraman described how Sai Baba traveled far and wide in India and in Africa to confer joy to his devotees. Sai Baba lived like a mortal, but his every action had the fragrance of Atma Bhava (Divine Feelings). He was the personification of pure, unselfish Love. The second aspect of Dr. Venkataraman’s talk was about Sai Baba’s service projects and of the incredible institutions that He built. Sai Baba worked tirelessly to provide free schools, universities, and hospitals for the common man. Sai Baba took on a massive drinking water project that even the Government could not undertake. The project provided free water that benefited over a million people in 31 districts. To fund this project, He even mortgaged his Ashram (residential campus) in Southern India. Such was Sai Baba’s love for humanity. During the havoc created by the Orissa earthquake, Sai Baba constructed 1000 houses for the people affected by this disaster. Sai Baba also gave a lot of attention to his students, encouraging and motivating them to lead a spiritual life. The third aspect of the talk was about Sai Baba’s message to Humanity. Sai Baba implored Man to see God in every person and to realize the Atma (divinity) within. Dr. Venkataraman quoted noted physicist Victor Weisskopf who once said: “[Scientific] knowledge without compassion is inhuman while compassion without knowledge is ineffective.” Dr. Venkataraman said that in Sai Baba’s institutions, there is a special emphasis to impart education blending knowledge and compassion. He spoke about how Sai Baba believed that our lives should exist on the two pillars of “Compassion” and “Knowledge”. These two pillars should rest on a foundation of “Righteousness” with a “Ceiling on Desires”. Man should then lead a life based on Sai Baba’s principle of Love All Serve All. Dr. Venkataraman said that based on Sai Baba’s teachings, we should come together to form team Dharma (Right Action), and carry on Sai Baba’s task of Dharmasthapana (establishment of Righteousness) through Prema (love) and Ahimsa (non-violence). The talk concluded with an interesting question and answer session. The talk commenced with melodious devotional group singing including songs in Sanskrit, Hindi, Spanish, and English. The inspiring evening ended with the distribution of (sanctified) snacks (Mahaprasad) for all assembled. Houston area Sai devotees meet at two locations in North and South parts of the town on Sundays from 3:00pm – 5:30pm. They engage in weekly activities that include community service, Sai Spiritual Education classes for children, meditation, study circle, and devotional group singing. For further information, visit http://www.saicenterofhouston.org/. sourced: http://www.indoamerican-news.com/?p=18103 Eminent Scientist to Speak on Inner Transformation by Leading a Divine Life HOUSTON: The Sathya Sai centers of Houston (http://www.sathyasai.org/) are hosting a talk by Dr. G. Venkataraman, an eminent scientist and current head of Radio Sai Global Harmony, on Sunday, June 23 at the Sur Auditorium of Durga Bari Temple, located at 13944 Schiller Rd, in Houston, TX 77082 from 4:00 pm to 6:30 pm. His talk will address many of the spiritual imperatives for today’s society, as established by the teachings of Sathya Sai Baba. During the talk, Professor Venkataraman will also be sharing many of his direct experiences with Sathya Sai Baba, resulting from decades of personal interaction with Him. The event is free and open to the public. Sathya Sai Baba, who left his physical form on April 24 2011, was a highly revered spiritual teacher whose life and universal message have inspired millions of people around the world to lead constructive and virtuous lives through inner transformation. His core teachings are; to love and serve all, the underlying unity of all faiths, and unwavering practice of the five fundamental Human Values inherent in us all: Love, Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, and Non-Violence. The understanding and practice of these principles ultimately helps man realize his innate divine nature. Dr. G Venkataraman is a former Vice-Chancellor of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. He served at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre in Mumbai and the Indira Gandhi Atomic Research Centre. He was the Founder Director of ANURAG, a unit of the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization. He is the recipient of the Sri C. V. Raman Centenary Award, the Indira Gandhi Award, and the prestigious Padma Shri Award from the Government of India. For further information about the event, please call 832-215-8675 or 832-687-6766 and RSVP at http://profgv.sairegion10.org/. sourced: http://www.indoamerican-news.com/?p=17887 Latest Videos Update 1993 Sep 24. Phyllis Krystal 1996 Feb 18. Darshan and Discourse. -- When my arms cannot reach people who are close to my heart, I always hug them with my prayers -- --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "saimsg" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
