Surrender to God Is Your Destiny

 

On another day, Bhagavan turned to me and asked, "How did you like My discourse?"

God wanting human comment on His discourse! Well, it is really a matter of fortune, a matter of good luck, to be privileged to comment on the Divine discourse to God Himself.

Well, then I said, "Swami, Your talk was fantastic! All our doubts are dispelled. All our doubts are clarified. It was a beautiful discourse."

Then Bhagavan said, "Hmmm, you want Me to believe that all your doubts are now dispelled? No! Your body is full of doubts, top to toe. They will never be clarified." (Laughter)

Then I said apologetically, "Swami, if my body is full of doubts that can never be clarified, what am I to do? What is my fate? What is my destiny?"

Destiny in Sanskrit is called gathi. I said, "Swami, what is my gathi, what is my destiny, what is my fate? If I'm full of doubts that cannot be clarified, what am I to do?"

Then Bhagavan said, "What? Repeat your question!" (Laughter)

I said, "Swami what is my gathi? What is my fate?"

He said, "Sharanagathi is the solution." (Laughter)

Sharanagathi means, surrender.

"You surrender to Me. Sharanagathi, that is your gathi. That is your destiny."

That's what Bhagavan has said. So my friends, the only gathi or destiny for all of us is Sharanagathi, surrender to God. This is a nice statement that I wanted to share with you.

-- Professor Anil Kumar

I am everywhere

It was a serene evening in the Mandir during the rainy season of 1990. Swami had completed His usual Darshan rounds and had called some devotees for interview. All the students were eagerly waiting for Swami to come out and spend some time with them. They were surprised by the sudden brush of a cool breeze that heralded soothing showers.

It was the time when the Sai Kulwant Hall had not yet been built. To those directly exposed to the scalding rays of the sun, the rain was a welcome relief. To the students it meant a blanket permit to rush forward and occupy the front portico of the Mandir. It was a vantage spot as it gave us the advantage to be very close to the interview room door so that when Swami came out, His gaze in our direction was guaranteed. I was then in my second year of the MBA programme. Along with another brother of mine I was blessed to secure a strategic spot in the front portico. From here we had a clear view of Swami’s throne in the Bhajan Hall.

As the rain persisted without any respite, I began reading a book on Swami’s miracles in Africa. I was particularly drawn to an incident where two of the devotees who were driving a car on an express way at speeds over 110 km/h suddenly met with an accident. Their car was thrown out of the express way and into the bushes. The car was totally smashed and there was no chance that its occupants would survive such a crash. The devotees in the car however had taken the Lord’s Name on their lips at the critical juncture and had escaped unscathed. They were nonplussed and thanked Swami for His Omnipresence. I was quite overwhelmed by this incident and happened to share it with the brother beside me. I couldn’t but help remark – ‘Look Swami is in Africa also’.

Some moments later the interview room door opened. Swami came out and stood on the upper portico of the verandahh in the Mandir. He paused and looked at me and my brother for a few seconds. I looked at Swami with reverence. Suddenly Swami asked the students sitting in front of me to make way. A path was made for Swami in the tightly packed verandahh. Before I could realise Swami walked straight up to me and then paused. Gazing into my eyes He remarked –“Dunnapotha! You are talking in the verandah.”

Then after a small pause He continued, “I am here. I am in Africa. I am everywhere.” Saying this, He walked away with a nonchalant gait. Do I have to say anymore?

By Sri K. Suresh
- A Former Student of Swami’s Institute.

Closer Than Our Mother

 

I would like to share with you a very prized possession from the museum of my recollections, one of the channels of Bhagavan’s Love, of which we students are recipients of. These are at the dear hostel where the entire atmosphere is permeated with brotherly love. Whenever there is a rainfall there is a brother coming up from the dispensary department with a homeopathy pill saying:

“Brother, it has rained. Tomorrow you may catch a cold, you may catch fever, please take this.”

So one day, in that hostel, due to some reason, there was a 2-hour delay in my lunch. In spite of being in that kind of an atmosphere, I was missing that love saturated motherly enquiry as to ‘why you didn’t have your food?’ (“Bhojan Cheyi leydemi? Bhojan cheshnava?”). I was missing that motherly element and with these thoughts, I had a very absent minded lunch session.

Then after a bath, I came to Mandir. Swami came, graced the cushionsimhasana (Throne), there was a nice Darshan, and as He was going back, He turned towards me and said: “Yemi ra, bhojan cheshnava? (Did you have your lunch?”) That is the Divine Mother! He whispered a thundering truth into my ears that He is the Nearest of the Near, the Dearest of the Dear.

By Bharat Kumar S S
- A Former Student of Swami's Institute.

An Electric Experience

 

During the olden days, the decoration in the Mandir would be done by the students during the festive occasions. And on one such occasion, the students were putting up serial bulbs as part of the decoration. And it so happened that they needed to use a live wire to complete this particular task. A part of this live wire was bare, exposed and un-insulated. Somebody had very thoughtfully placed a stool, where the exposed part of the wire lay, so that no harm would occur to any of the students accidentally through an electric shock. But in the hurry that ensued, during the decoration, somebody moved the stool away from its position.

Swami was watching. He saw the stool being moved away and He quietly moved to the area where the exposed bare wire lay and stood with His legs across on both the sides, so that, the exposed part of the wire was right under Him and so that no harm would befall on any of His students.

From there, He continued supervising the work and giving directions. Till the entire decoration was over, Swami stood right there, in that very same place and exact posture, and finally, when the decoration was over, and there was no necessity for this wire, only then did He move away. And it was at this moment that the students too realized what Bhagavan had taken upon Himself to prevent any suffering to His students. The Lord voluntarily takes up the suffering of His devotees.

If a friend or a colleague commits an error, we know how we react in such a situation. But here was the Lord, who did not utter a word, but volunteered to take away the sufferings and avoid the harm to His devotees, saving the mistake of His devotee.

-- Mr. Subhash Subramaniam, a research scholar in Bhagavan’s University

The Charismatic Charioteer

Devotion to God is fundamental to leading a virtuous life. Swami, through His Divine Love and in His own inimitable way, evokes in each of our hearts, this devotion and builds our faith. I would like to share with you, one such instance, when Swami through a simple and appealing example captured the heart of a young boy in an instant, making him a devotee for life!

During an interview, Swami asked our young son to ask Him a question.

The boy said, “Swami, which is your favourite car?”

My heart sank and I thought to myself, “Is this the question to ask Swami? Time with Swami is so precious!”

Swami gave a lovely smile and answered, “Morris Minor” and went on to tell stories of how He used to drive to Madras and how He obtained a license.

“You used to drive it yourself Swami?” Exclaimed the boy, stars in His eyes!

Swami had woven a bit of magic and our son looked at Swami transfixed.

Swami went on to say, “I will give you a big car. Will you take it? You mustn’t say no!”

And the boy, a bit overawed by now, said, “OK!”

Swami then asked, “Will you give me your car?”

Prompt came the answer, “Sure Swami!”

“Shall I drive it?”

And the boy again said, “Sure, Swami.”

Swami then smilingly placed His hand on our son’s heart and said, “Your heart is the car and I am the driver.”

One of the most profound lessons in devotion had been taught by Swami in the simplest possible manner! Swami says, “Have faith in Him” and “Be free from fear, anxiety and agitation. Surrender to God; His Grace can save you. His wisdom can enlighten you. His power can overcome all obstacles. Faith and surrender are the manifestations of devotion.”

-- Mrs. Mallika Srinivasan, CEO of TAFE [Tractors and Farm Equipment]