He continues to make me feel special

Dear All,

Life took its normal course after the Summer Course in Muddenahalli. 'HE' had made me feel special in his own way by teaching the Lesson of Equanimity. Now I was to experience him in my heart even more (I had promised that I would establish him in my heart only if he made me feel special). But Swami is a tough taskmaster. He not only teaches but also tests whether his children have learnt the lesson properly or not. 

The first test was on its way. As mentioned earlier, I work for a premium chocolate company and we have our own boutique stores in high end locations in Delhi. The store where I work is in one of the best malls in India where the 'who is who' of Delhi come to shop and socialize. The first few days after the summer course were quite normal and my connection with Swami was intact, but as days rolled by, I realized I was being trapped into the materialism around me. My mind was clearly overpowering my heart.  I was no longer seeing my customers as forms of Swami walking in. It had become difficult for me to smile genuinely. Mind was making all kinds of judgments about everyone around. I was telling swami- "Swami how can people wear such clothes, why do they spend so much money on these materialistic things. They are really not  good examples for their children". Everyone's actions suddenly seemed to be fake and unnatural.  I was getting a lot of  negative thoughts and I was giving into it. Mind had completely taken over. I  couldn't appreciate the diversity among the people and I just couldn't relate to the oneness that existed in each one of us. I kept wondering where is my Swami amidst all of this. I thought I should run away from all of this materialistic traps. Equanimity seemed like an alien word to me at that moment. A dear friend of mine who had also come for the Summer Course invited me for a Bhajan session one Thursday. I went and I just had one prayer

"Swami, enough is enough. Please help me get out of this trap. Forgive me for indulging and entertaining those negative thoughts". I was literally pleading and was  hoping that a flower would fall and that would be a sign that Swami had forgiven me. Bhajans got over, Arathi started and there was no sign of the flower falling down. I prayed harder but nothing happened. Well Swami doesn't want to forgive me, I thought. What happened next took me by surprise. Just after the Vibhuti Mantram, my friend  said- "I am sure all of you will agree that Bhajans were not so great today, we were out of shruthi and talam but somehow Swami seemed to be happy. I had placed a flower in the mala and there was no way it would have fallen on its own. May be swami is happy with our bhajans". I then looked at the photo and there was actually a flower which had fallen down. Wow! Swami was responding to my prayers. It was also the first time I lead a bhajan. I had sung Devi Bhavani Maa.... and I could feel Swami in my heart as I sang even though there was no shruthi and talam. After the bhajans I felt as if all my sins were washed away in one moment and I felt totally cleansed. I was on a beautiful high and I was very thankful to Swami.

I was back to work on the next day with a renewed hope and rigor. Everything looked beautiful, people seemed to be nice and I was smiling. I could easily connect with everyone around and I was thoroughly enjoying my work but this high again was not long lasting. I was soon back to my lackadaisical self. Mind was slowly overpowering and I was in the same vicious cycle. This time I completely gave into my mind's diktats. I started revolting against Swami(heart). I was like- "Swami do whatver you want I am giving into my mind's orders". I was gossiping about people, their ways of living, their beliefs and lifestyles. I was pityng them for the poor lives they were leading. There was hatred building up within me and I completely let loose of this feeling. I saw the customers, the general crowd in the mall with those hatred eyes. Obviously my mind was seeing only differences and it was reveling in it. I allowed the mind to thrive and rein over me and I put aside all thoughts of guilt. I even went to an extent of saying that there is nothing called conscience. Mind is our ultimate conscience and satisfying its cravings was the key to happiness.This went on for a few days. The revolt against Swami(heart) was getting bitter but history is replete with examples of how revolutionary steps/actions would never last long. Here I was revolting against God. One day or the other it had to fizzle out. The revolt did subside and it dawned on me that I had been on a roller coaster ride in the past week or so.

There were days when I was completely in tune and there were days when I was tuned out totally. I could no longer take these extremities. The good and bad, the highs and lows were really testing my endurance. I thought I had learnt the lesson of equanimity fairly well after the airport incident but here I was in situations which really tested my equanimity. I didn't know what to do and this time I didn't even bother to pray. I had become numb to everything around me.On one particular morning I broke down listening to Kanakadasa's composition- Toredu Jeevisabahude Hari Ninna Charanagala(Can I stay away from the feet of the Lord). I was crying out to the Lord and it was not out of desperation and guilt but it was just a very natural expression of the self to be one with the divine. As this longingness to be one with the divine continued, deep within I heard a voice and I knew it was the voice of Swami. It said- "Go to facebook on your phone, I have a message for you". I didn't have a second thought on this and I just followed the command. I immediately reached out to the phone and as the page was loading I exactly knew from whom the message would come. To my utter surprise the first post on my page was this person's and there was a long message. I am posting this message below as it is just so that the readers know how the Lord responds in myriad ways and how this message was so apt and directed to me.

"I dedicate this day to putting aside any thought about how I may differ in opinion, belief, or appearance from the people in my family, my world.

Now I focus on what I have in common with all people - our spiritual connection. This is a bond that unites me with every person on Earth. God is the sacred spirit that lives in us and unites us all. When I know this truth and live it in my life, my relationships are ones in which there is mutual reverence, love and caring.

Knowing that I am one in spirit with the people whom I live, work, and share the planet earth prepares me for meaningful, long-lasting relationships. With this understanding, I will always choose to be aware of my spiritual connection with others.

God's spirit unites me with all people in a sacred connection".

The above lines described so aptly what I had to do to get out of the current state of numbness I was in. After reading this message I was neither high nor elated. There was a certain sense of contentment that filled me up and I knew that this message was not for my mind but for my soul. My soul had to be recharged just so that I could go beyond the highs and lows, good and bad and truly be equanimous and in that state of equanimity I just had one thing to- To Love, To Love, To Love.

For days together I continued to experience a complete sense of calmness.Yes there was a shift from numbness to calmness. There were dull moments on some days but I didn’t have to do anything. It came and went away. Happy moments also came and went away. There were highs and lows at work but it didn't affect me. I was just being a witness to it. I was in the state of "BEING" and it felt very different to be in this state. The journey from highs and lows to a state a being numb and then finally to a state of calmness was quite exhilarating. 

One the following thursday I happened to go to a Gurudwara. As I entered the doorsteps of the famous Bangla Saheb Gurudwara, my body, mind and soul was in a state of reverence and gratitude towards the all pervading divine. I knew in the past few days Swami had mended my mind, cleansed my body and had rejuvenated my soul. A certain energy passed from the top of my head to the tip of the toe and the joy I experienced was indescribable. Kirtans were being sung and I sat down listening to it. There was complete silence within me.I would rather say I was in "Sai Lens"(under the watchful lens of Sai). Time stood still and from the depths  of my heart I prayed to Swami."Swami you are giving me such an awesome experience now and I know I am one with you at this moment. I want to be in this state all the time. I cannot be separated from you. I cannot stay without you, away from you. I want to be with you all the time".  The Kirtan that was being sung  got over and the next one started. 

The first line in the next kirtan was- Har Bin Rehna Sake Man Mera(My mind cannot stay away from you oh lord). Tears welled up listening to these lines. Was the Lord acknowledging my prayer?. It definitely seemed like. These lines kept repeating throughout(atleast 30 times) and what was even more surprising was in the entire kirtan I just understood only these lines(being a south indian, Hindi is still a foreign language to me). May be the soul just needed these lines. I was in raptures every time this line was sung and I knew this was bliss and I can now say what it means to experience the all pervading divine.

All I can say is that 'HE' continues to make me feel special and I am experiencing this specialness every moment even as I am writing these lines.

Love&Light

Bharani Prasad M S

PS- Just after writing this article, I happened to watch an interview of Brother Ravikumar(a famous singer from Parthi). He narrates how Swami would always ask him to sing one particular qawwali(he has sung this more than 100 times in the divine presence). The qawwali is

Mohabbat Ki Kami dil mein agar ehsaas hota hai

Zara jhaanko to paoge ke Sai paas hota hai......... Aalaap

Sai Bin Raha Na Jaye(I cannnot live without Sai).....Sai Bin Raha Na Jaye

Bro Ravi Kumar  used to wonder why Swami used to like this qawwali so much. He realized, its because of the deep lesson it has and Swami wanted all of us to learn this lesson. That is whenever we feel that we cannot live without Sai(Sai Bin Raha Na Jaye) and if we are unhappy because there is lack of love in our hearts(Mohabbat Ki Kami dil mein agar ehsaas hota hai), then Zara jhaanko to paoge ke Sai paas hota hai((look within and you will find that Sai is the source of the love). Sai is within our hearts.

Toredu Jeevisabahude Hari Ninna Charangala(Can I stay away from your feet oh lord)

Har Bin Rehna sake Man Mera(Can my mind stay away from you Oh Lord)

Sai Bin Raha na Jaye( I cannot live without you Sai)..

Well this could not have been a co-incidence!

He makes us feel special

Dear All,

This is in continuation of the earlier article I had written which is titled- He is in our Hearts. (http://bharani2game.blogspot.in/2015/04/he-is-in-our-hearts.html). In case you have directly arrived at this page, I suggest you to read the earlier one and then read the below article. It ll help you appreciate the context and also this is a logical conclusion to the earlier article.

"Hey you come to Kodaikanal this time"- these words of Swami kept ringing in my ears every second . As mentioned in the earlier article- I was enjoying my job because it really helped connect with my Swami within. I was also given an opportunity to travel to Singapore to attend an International Conference and Exhibition. I was thrilled and thanked Swami for this wonderful opportunity. Travelling really expands your horizons and it reaffirms the belief in me that- "paths are many but the goal is one". The goal of human happiness is common across all cultures and nations and happiness is pursued in different ways in different parts of the world. Observing this pursuit of happiness has always interested me and Singapore was yet another experience. 

My sister's family was travelling to Kodaikanal from Bangalore on 15th May. I landed in Delhi on 15th morning from Singapore and immediately took the next flight to Bangalore just so that I could travel with my sister's family and reach Kodai by 15th Night. I spent 3 days in Kodaikanal in the divine presence. You must be now looking forward to hear some awesome stories and miracles that happened in Kodaikanal. Yes there were umpteen number of events that reaffirmed our belief that "It cant be anyother than Bhagawan". He made us laugh through his divine humour and HIS love really touched the deepest chords of our hearts and in the 3 days that I was there, I would have teared up atleast half a dozen times. Yet there was a void- a void so deep that it cannot be explained. In spite of a few personal interactions and instructions, I was not happy. Bhagawan had asked me to come to Kodaikanal and there must be some special reason for it. I was constantly looking out for this special moment when Bhagawan would reveal the reason why he called. Throughout the three days that I was there, I used to think- "Oh he is going to call me now and grant me an interview and in that he is going to make me feel special". I was running after him everywhere. At one moment I would be near the lawns where he was walking and the next moment  I would be near the stairs. At the stairs he even remarked- "You were there and now you are here as well". I didnt care,all I wanted was that HE should make me feel special. Finally the trip came to an end and I was confused. My mind was saying- Be thankful to Swami for this golden opportunity, not everyone gets this, but my heart was still not happy.I even shouted at HIM in my own head- "You laid the red carpet for me by personally inviting me to be part of the Kodai trip and yet you are making me feel so miserable.Why are you doing this Swami". I had no other choice but to make  peace with HIM and I came back to Delhi to resume work. It was tough for me to concentrate on work as I was all the time thinking about that missed special moment and I was constantly complaining to HIM how unfair he was to me in Kodai.

Let me do a little detour and tell you what exactly happened in MDH when I had gone there in April. After HIS speech, HE was walking on the carpet and as he spotted me, he said- "Oh you have come, Very Happy". I got up to ask him about Summer Course and he said- "You come for Summer Course". He then went ahead talking to other devotees and on the way back he said- "Hey, you come to Kodaikanal this time". I had not given much importance to the Summer Course part as I was thrilled that he had called me to Kodai.I knew it was going to be very special and I just didnt want to think of anything else, but I was disheartened after the trip. Now sitting in Delhi, I thought- Ok, Swami also said that I should come for summer course, may be this could be the turning point. May be he would make me feel special during the summer course. There was one delegate going for the summer course and I had booked my flight tickets along with him in March as the plan back then was to just attend the summer course. Kodai confirmation only happened in April. I thought for a long time and I made up my mind to go for the Summer Course. Now there was the problem of Leave. I had taken two days leave in April and again in May I had to take two days leave to go to Kodai. I very well knew that another 2-3 days of leave would be outrightly rejected. The only option I had was the emergency sick leave. I kept telling- Swami, I know I am doing something wrong but you asked me to come and I m coming there, that's it. There was also a faint hope that Swami is going to do something to make me feel special. I  convinced myself that I might not be physically sick but spiritually I was definitely sick and I badly needed to meet the Divine Doctor. I term this Sickness of the Soul. 28th May, Thursday evening I left early from office,met my friend at the airport and by late night we reached MDH. The three day Summer Course was very impactful and Swami was present on all the three days morning and evening and he even blessed us with his nectarine divine discourses. I again had a chance to speak to swami and he lovingly recognized me as the boy who has come from Delhi. During one of the evening sessions he made fun of me as well. I was kind of happy but definitely did not feel special. My friend from Delhi who had come as a delegate was on Cloud 9 and kept thanking me every now and then for getting him. He was blissful but I was no where close to it. I must say the Summer Course had an amazing effect on all of us and each of us were geared up to take back swami and establish him firmly in our homes and  hearts and we also pledged to take up service activities in our respective regions. Even with all of this, I was not happy. I told Swami- "I am going to take you back in my heart only if you make me feel special". I was definitely suffering from this 'Make Me Feel Special' disease. In the mean while I messaged my Boss saying that I m not keeping well(headache,fever,etc)and I would be taking Sick Leave. I repeated the same thing on the second day as well. The summer course got over. My friend and I left to the airport to take the late night flight to Delhi on Sunday, the 31st May. I sat in the car with a heavy heart and I again complained to Swami in my head- "This is not fair swami. When is the special moment going to come????".

Well the special moment was in the airport. You must be guessing that swami must have physically manifested in front of me and granted divine darshan and blessings. No No. As I was coming back from the restroom I saw my superboss and the owner(both sai devotees) of our company.They were returning from Parthi after having Swami's darshan. I panicked and immediately went back to the restroom. After a while I came out and started walking towards the Gate and it turned out to be that they were also in the same flight and they had boarded the bus which would take us to the aircraft. My friend and I were the last few passengers and the bus was waiting for us to board. I had no other choice but to get in. My heart started beating at an alarming rate. I just prayed and then jumped into the bus and as I saw them- I just said Sai Ram. My boss was surprised and said- "Hey what are you doing here"??.. I told them the truth that I had gone to MDH for the summer course.They knew that I was a regular at MDH.  I had lied that I was sick and here I was face to face with my Superboss.  I was embarrassed and felt I have let down Bhagawan. I kept repenting for not being truthful and prayed for forgiveness. I reached home late night and just slept. I was hoping against hope that my boss wouldnt have informed my superboss about my sick leave but it turned out to be that he was aware of my absence. I was scared. I called up one of our senior alumni brother and explained the whole situation to him. He told me one thing- "Brother, it is we human beings who define what is right and what is wrong. In the spiritual realm there is nothing called right or wrong. Remember, What god tells you to do is right and what god tells you not to do is wrong and for each individual right and wrong differs". Oh these words were so soothing to my ears.I confessed to him that I was feeling guilty for letting down Bhagawan. He just said there might be a deeper lesson that Swami wants you to learn and that is why swami has orchestrated this event for you.

I thought about it deeply.The owners of the company have a lot of respect for sai students. They had recognized my work in the past few months and had also appreciated the good work done. As said earlier, I was happy and was on a professional high.  Everything seemed rosy and nice. Now all of sudden there is a situation where the trust they had placed in me was broken. They always treated me like an younger brother and obviously they were hurt because of this. I didn't know how to face them. For all you know it might take a long time to build back that trust. I felt miserable thinking about it.I was still fighting with Swami- "Its not fair. Firstly you dont give me that special moment and now you have put me in this situation.Why are you doing this Swami" As I was talking to our alumni brother, a thought came to me- Just a few days back I was all happy. Everything seemed to be in my favour and I thanked Swami for it. Now the situation was different.  Can I still thank Swami for this situation. Can I still be happy and stay connected in the face of adversity. Perhaps there was a deeper lesson unfolding. Can I say that this situation was divinely orchestrated. How else can we explain me having to be in the airport at the same time and also to be in the same flight as my boss's. Deep in my heart I felt Swami has done this for me to learn the Lesson of Equanimity. When I realized it, I just looked at this whole situation as a divine leela and I just smiled at the Divine Doctor/Director.I was called and I went with a smiling face and genuinely apologized to my seniors for overdoing the sickness act.Perhaps this was a special moment that I was looking for. A certain sense of gratitude and peace engulfed my whole being and I very well knew that Bhagawan was smiling at me at that moment.  So What Next----- Well, I will continue to smile at my customers, serve them happily and remain connected to my Swami within. I also have the confidence in me that no matter what the situation is- my connection with Swami would remain intact. 

I am now looking at the whole event this way- Bhagawan's love for me is so much that he wanted me to learn a deeper lesson.The lesson of being calm and tranquil and be connected to him in all situations- good or bad, high or low and this he was ready to teach me at any cost. Swami I dont know how to express my gratitude to you for creating such a "Special Moment" in my life for me to learn the greatest lesson. Thank you for curing me the 'Make Me Feel Special' disease. 

"Swami I promised  that I ll establish you in my heart only if you make me feel special. You Have definitely made me feel special through this special event in my life.  You reaffirmed again through Kodai and Summer Course that you are very much in our hearts and this gives me enough confidence to face any situation in life".

Jai Sai Ram

Regards,

Bharani Prasad

email-bharani2game@gmail.com

Phone- 9910582589

God is in the Small Things

God is in the small things     

Dear All,

A lot has been spoken about the recent incidents that are happening in Muddenahalli. After reading the Kodai transcripts even I was convinced that Swami is very much there and working through all of us. This is a historic moment in the life of an avatar. In the recent discourses swami has categorically said that only 20% of his mission was completed in the physical form and the remaining 80% of his mission would be completed in his Sukshma Rupam in 11 years. 3 years have already passed and we have just 8 years left. Its upto us to decide whether we want to be part of this mission or no.

Now what is HIS mission?

He has said that he is going to establish 30 schools in each and every district of Karnataka(this was the dream of Madiyal Narayan Bhat- founder of Alike and Muddenahalli) and 7 hospitals in 7 years including a free hospital in US. If we think that this is his mission, then we are really mistaken. Someone asked swami recently- "Swami why is it that you are seen only to a select few and not others".He replied- "For 85 years I undertook the task of teaching you all the simple rules of life, some followed but a large majority forgot the message and got stuck to the form. Now I have the supreme task of making sure that each one of you follow my message. If each one of you start following my message then I will manifest in front of you". Wow!!. Swami is really a tough taskmaster. Transforming human beings to divine beings was his primary mission and that is exactly what he is doing now. In this context his message becomes more important. Where do these schools and hospitals fit in in this process of making man a divine being??. Swami has said "I am spending crores of rupees on these institutions not to spread education or heal people, its just to give you all an opportunity to come and light the lamps of love and spread that light to a thousand other lamps. I think the observation I have made in the past few days is that a large section of people have started taking his message seriously and are of the belief "I ll do everything possible from my side to see and experience Swami in front of me"

Even I had the firm conviction to put into practice swami's teaching in my everyday life. But i failed miserably. A building without a strong foundation is nothing but a castle in the air. Now what is the foundation required for us to practice his teachings and not get swayed by the winds of the world. Its HIS LOVE. All of us have been touched by his pure love and whatever changes we have made in ourselves is not because swami asked us to do it but it was in response to his LOVE.

25th and 27th Oct- Premadhaara(Stream of Love) event at Muddenahalli

This was an opportunity to soak in HIS LOVE again. Ever since the Kodai trip Swami has been very actively giving discourses to small groups and even interviews for a select few. On Sept 7th there was an alumni meet of Alike and Muddenahalli where Swami gave his first ever Public Discourse in his subtle form and in that he mentioned that he would talk to the alumni individually if they came in small groups. One such session happened during 18-19th Oct and I heard stories of how everyone who went in came out with tears of joy. I was travelling home for Diwali and also to spend time with my dad as he had been recently hospitalized for a week. I randomly called my brother in law to know what is happening in Muddenahalli. He mentioned about this event and I immediately called and enrolled for the 25-26th event. I had this constant Dharm Sankat- I ll be in Blore for 3 days and if I spend 2 days in Muddenahalli, I would have no time to spend with my dad. But deep within I knew i couldnt miss this event. I prayed to Swami to get me out of this Dharm Sankat.

I reached Muddenahalli early on Sat morning and our day was well planned. We had a series of talks and a documentary about the new schools was played in the end.Afternoon we all reached Prema Deep(Lamp of Love and Swami's residence) and we all waited for Swami to come down. Swami came at around 5pm and sat on the Jhoola and in his signature style asked Yemi Programme(What Programme)??. There was no programme planned and swami signalled Kamathanna to speak. Next to speak was BN Sir. Finally swami gave his discourse which was  in chaste telugu. It was raining heavily and he said- "When it rains, all the water that comes down goes back to the ocean- we see this and also believe it but the ocean water gets evaporated and forms the rain clouds-this no one sees but still we believe it. In the same way Physical body is like the rain water going back to the ocean and Subtle Body is like ocean water getting evaporated to form rain clouds:. Wow!!!!..This was signature swami style. The talk got over and he said he would talk to each on us present there along with the families. In the end he asked us to sing Prema Mudita. Just before retiring for the day he asked- Who is speaking tomorrow??. I instinctively raised my hand and Swami said- "Nuvvu Maathadu(You speak)" .

I immediately called my parents and forced them to come next day. They have never experienced swami before and the only impression that they have is that he  has done great social service. We were in the third batch along with my Brother- In law's family. When we were called up, my heart started beating at an abnormal speed(as it happens usually). We all took padanamaskar and we were seated around swami. It was a 30 min interview and there were 4 families. Swami started talking to each familymember" and when it was my turn he asked-

Me- Swami Dad's health is not keeping well.

Swami- Yes I know, because of of stress. why are you worrying so much about work. I know what is in your mind. You feel that you shouldnt be a burden to your kids. But why are u thinking like that- You have come from a small family, struggled so hard and brought up your kids. Both sons are well settled now. Take your worldly duties lightly. Go to America next year and spend time with your elderson and daughter in law.Involve yourself in satsang and seva. Son and daughter in law are very good. I have given you sons like Rama and Lakshmana- they will take care of you. Dont worry. Now its their turn to do seva. 

This is exactly the reason why my dad was hospitalized a few weeks back and my dad, after listening to swami just didnt have any words to say. As swami was talking my dad had just two words on his lips- "Yes Swami Yes Swami". 

Swami- Your mom cooks very well. She is a rasam specialist(Rasam is one of my fav items among the dishes that my mom makes), but no use, she has not kept even one day for me.

Swami so beautifully sowed the seed of Seva in them and I was so grateful to him. He spoke to me about my career and what I should do and gave beautiful anecdotes from Mahabharata and Ramayana to drive home the point. What was stunning was how he divided his attention to all the families present there and made sure that each one feels special.He gave us vibhuti prasadam and chocolate bars and so lovingly said "Still there are a lot of groups waiting- Go down, I ll come for lunch".I took his blessings for the evening talk and he asked- "What are you going to speak??". I said - "Swami please bless me to speak on your Love". He beautifully replied- "My love can never be explained, it can only be experienced. Talk about your experiences."

What swami did during lunch time was something that I will treasure throughout my life. It was decided that those who had finished interviews will sit for lunch in the second round and those whose interviews were in the afternoon sat first. Swami came down in the lift sat on his chair for a while, tasted a few items and got up to distribute ice creams to each one of them sitting. As he was going round the the lines he was joking, asking names, asking how many puris they had, etc. I was looking at this from the window and kept wondering whether swami would distribute ice creams for the second group as well. The sight of food got me excited and my stomach started making loud noises. A thought rose- How nice it would be to receive  an ice cream from swami himself. As this thought came, Swami came out from the main door and started talking to the serving boys. I was in the second line just looking at swami. You wont believe what swami did. He called me and gave me a cup of ice cream and later on said- "One now and one after lunch". There were atleast ten boys standing around me but why was I chosen for the ice cream. Wow!!.. God is in the small things. All of us treasure the smallest things swami has done and this was one of them that I will treasure all through my life. The love, concern and karuna was all the same. He went to the ladies section and said to a lady- " You are eating now!! Your husband has already eaten, Dont trust him". Everyone sitting around laughed. That moment I felt that the golden days are back. Experiences are the same its just that the location and people are different. A few had the prapthi of experiencing him at the physical form and now he is giving the same chance to a different set of people. We all should be so happy that swami is back again instead of trying to understand where, why, what and how. 

Swami's love is that of a thousand mothers. He had given interviews to families and bachelors from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm and  after that he agreed to come down for the programme and also give the discourse. He again asked Kamathanna to speak and after that he asked me to speak. I shared the  experiences I had with swami when he was physically there and also how he saved my life during the 2012 sports meet. I also said how we are all so lucky to experience swami in this form. It had always been my secret wish to sing in front of swami for swami. The day I got my name enrolled for this programme- I started practicing the bhajan Devi Bhavani Maa....Sai Bhavani Maa... But on that day I was fed with two ice creams by Swami and my voice had cracked but I was very desperate to sing and towards the end of the talk- I prayed to swami to permit me to sing a few lines for him and he so graciously did. I started on a low pitch and it went

Devi Bhavani maa.... Sai bhavani maa

Devi bhavani maa.....Sai Bhavani maa

Daya karo sai maa....Kripa karo sai maa..

After kripa karo sai maa...swami asked me to stop. I was crushed. I dont even remember if I took padanamaskar. I went on a guilt trip. I knew my throat had gone bad but still I had the audacity to sing. I was thinking that swami didnt like my voice. I really felt very bad and went back to my seat. My friends Gautham and Agyea were sitting next to me and both of them said- "Abbey thank god swami asked you to stop. You would have definitely cracked if you had sung the next line which was in a high pitch". Its only then did I realize that Swami asked me to stop not because of my voice but he wanted to avert the embarrassment  if I had taken the high pitch and cracked. How can I ever express my gratitude to this loving act of our lord. 

Friends- Swami is very much there and these small acts are enough proof for me to know that our most compassionate lord is back again with us.The golden days are back. He filled me with so much LOVE that I now feel confident to practice his teachings in my everyday life. I just pray to him to give me the strength to think of him always.

Did I miss something?. You might be wondering how did this all happen, How were the messages being interpreted, who was doing it, what do you mean by swami distributed the ice creams??,etc. I ask the question- How does it matter???????... All that mattered was I was soaked in LOVE for two full days and I feel divinely confident to spread this love to the world. Swami in his discourse asked us only one thing and it was

" Today you are all sitting in Prem Deep(Swami's residence, lamp of love). Having come to Prem Deep, you should light the lamp of love in your hearts. Its not just enough if you light it. A lighted lamp can light a thousand other lamps. Light the lamp of love in a thousand hearts. I will be very happy if you do this" . What a beautiful message!!!

Jai Sai Ram

Regards,

Bharani Prasad

email-bharani2game@gmail.com

He is in our Hearts

Sai Ram,

I had my first 'Subtle Experience' in Oct 2014. I was so enamored by swami's "subtleness" that I made a trip to MDH  in Nov and then again in Dec. During our interaction on 5th Dec, Swami made it very clear that there is no point going  to PSN or MDH again and again if we have not made efforts to experience him in our own hearts. Our visits to holy places is to recharge our batteries so that we experience him wherever we are and in whatever we do. When I asked him how do we experience him in far away Delhi, He said "Go to delhi, have good company.Involve yourself in selfless seva, bhajans and spread the fragrance of love to everyone around". I was charged up to experience him in my heart and promised that I wouldn go back to Parthi/MDH until I feel his presence in my heart . I was back in Delhi and made conscious efforts to attend bhajans whenever  possible and also participated in blanket distribution for the poor. There was absolute joy in sharing our love with the homeless who had nothing but the sky as their roof. I was thrilled and wanted to get involved in more seva activities. Somehow I got busy with work and had very little time to devote for Seva.I was feeling bad that I was not getting enough time for Seva. Exactly about an year back I had met a spiritual master in Vrindavan who told us that Swami would be very happy if we can convert our everyday work into worship. The words "When work becomes worship, then duty becomes god" somehow stuck a deep chord in me. Around the same time , I also heard a discourse where swami says we should never differentiate between 'ourwork' and 'god'swork'. He said everything is God's work and it is the attitude towards work that is more important. Now that I was not getting an opportunity to do 'seva', I thought I should try and convert my work to worship. Coincidentally I was moved out of the head office and was placed in our cafes(I work for a chocolate company and we have our own cafes where we sell chocolates/beverages and food). My work predominantly involved market analysis, understanding our customers and finding ways to delight our customers. I thought this was a great opportunity to share my love and very soon I got involved in the operations part though it was not my main responsilbility. I started making coffee,attending to the guests on table, greeting them, understanding their needs, etc. I imagined that Swami is coming in different forms as customers and it is important to attend to each customer just the way we would have attended to Swami. Now the work became easier and also joyful. I smiled at them wholehertedly, served the food to customers as swami's prasadam and  I had no qualms in cleaning the tables, lifting the used plates, etc. I did this for one whole month and everyday I used to be very satisfied and content. Before going to sleep I would think of how customers would smile back at us when we smiled at them wholeheartedly. Those happy smiles were my everyday reward and my heart danced everytime I recapitulated those smiles. I realized that I could attend to our customers easily as I viewed them to be forms of Swami and obviously there were no judgments/opinions about their looks, dress, accent, etc. I just loved and all I got was love in return. I tried to apply the same logic to my personal life as well. Very soon I made new friends who were very different from me but I could connect with them so easily. My relationship with everyone got better as I was being less judgmental and more accepting. Love was in the air all the time. Everytime my friend/customer/colleagues would compliment me, I would say "Thank you swami, I hope I have made you proud".

I made a presentation of the findings to the management and they all appreciated the efforts and the work done. By swami's grace I also got a new job responsibility and also a pay hike. I just didnt know how to thank swami.The love that I was receiving from everyone- my colleagues/roommate/friends/family was so immense that I used to tear up just thinking of it. I was now sure that these tears of joy were proof that I was experiencing him in my own heart. I was going to bangalore to spend time with family and I thought I should visit MDH and thank him for all the beautiful lessons he made me learn in the past 4 months(most important lesson- I could experience him anywhere, anytime in my heart) I also felt that I am entitled to go to MDH as I had experienced him in my own heart. When I was studying in Parthi, I used to write a lot of letters to swami. In fact every darshan I used to hold a letter. The same thing continued in MDH as well. All the 4 times I have been, I have given letters to swami. Looking back, these letters had only mundane personal pleas. This time I thought I shouldn't ask swami for anything personal. After all he had given me so much without asking. As Bhajans started I was transported to a different world and I was sobbing like a child. I experienced Bliss sitting in Anandam and my heart had only one prayer-"Swami let the love that you have placed in our hearts grow even more and touch more and more lives".I thought of all the wonderful moments in the past 4 months where I could feel HIS presence.  Swami gave his discourse and his message was as old as the hills behind Anandam-"Practice selfless love to experience god". He want on to say "I came down as an avatar to instill hope and faith in people that god exists. Now I am making you realize that god exists in your own hearts. Prema Sai will make you realize that you are god". Just imagine the thrill when you experience him in your own heart and he reiterates that he is in our hearts. Discourse ended and swami walked towards the devotees.As he was walking I told myself that I wont ask anything personal with swami. He came, looked and said "You have come, Very happy". I was very sure that 'Very happy' was an acknowledgment from Swami for the efforts put in.  I asked him about the Summer Course and sought his blessings to get Delhi Youth. He didnt speak much. Somehow I felt that he should have given more instructions. On the way back I was expecting him to talk on Summer Course but he said "Hey, you come to Kodaikanal this time". My heart skipped a beat and I just couldnt control my tears of joy. I quickly went out to a lonely place and thanked him. Just a few months back, sitting in my gurgaon home I had prayed earnestly to swami to make me part of the Kodai trip in May. But I was in a fix as we  have Summer Course on Indian Culture and Spirituality for Indian Youth in the same month and due to office work I could be part of only one trip  and i decided to to be part of Summer Course(Kodai only I would benefit, through summer course i could help so many other youth to experience Swami). But our lord is so compassionate and sweet. When I was thinking of receiving instructions on getting delhi youth, here he was fulfilling the small desire that I had . It was a clear example of how he is going to take care of all our needs when we are selfless and when we genuinely want to share love with others.

Amidst all the mud slinging that is going on I thought it is important to bring out the messages of love and transformation to the fore.Friends, swami has not gone anywhere. He is very much there in our hearts and he waiting for us to talk to him within our hearts. Prasanthi Nilayam, Muddenahalli or anyother place is just to remind us that we can make our own hearts -Prasanthi Nilayam- an abode of supreme peace.

Wish you all a happy and a joyful inward journey.

PS- One might argue that Swami right from the beginning has been telling us that we are god too. The difference now is that he is actually making us realize that god is in our own hearts and that we are god too. You see there is a difference between telling us and making us realize it.

Regards,

Bharani Prasad,

MBA, 2010-12 batch, SSSIHL

Email-bharani2game@gmail.com