It was 1 week before SWAMI's proposed visit to CHENNAI (Several years ago) & I found that I had to make an urgent business trip to CHICAGO just for 1 meeting. In those days, BHAGAVAN was staying in the old Brindavan building in BANGALORE & I had to go & take his permission for the trip.
So when I went to take his permission, BHAGAVAN graciously said, "Yes, you can go & come back. Anyway I'm coming to Chennai only after a few days." I was to leave that night from Chennai. I waited there with my folded hands & SWAMI asked me to stop at a particular place during my return journey & meet a particular person. I said, "Yes SWAMI, I'll do that".
There were no further instructions!!! I was thunderstruck since I was going to travel 1000s of miles to meet a person without knowing why I was going there & what I was supposed to tell him. Anyway I thought BHAGAVAN would sort out everything & flew that night to CHICAGO.
After finishing my official meeting in Chicago, I called this person (Name withheld) whom SWAMI had asked me to meet & said, "I'm coming to your city to see you".
He sounded a bit curt on the phone & said, "Why are you coming?"
I said, "I'll tell you when I get there!" He sounded curt once again but I said, "SAIRAM" & told him that I was coming by such & such flight. It was a 14 hours flight with a stopover for re-fuelling & I simply had no idea why BHAGAVAN had asked me to meet him!!!
I was quite tired when I came out of the customs area & this particular gentleman was waiting for me. He appeared to be very wealthy & quite aristocratic. He said, "SAIRAM" & we went to the parking lot where he had his Rolls Royce parked. There was 'dead silence' during the car trip & we reached his palatial house at about 2.30AM in the morning.
He straight away took me to his drawing room, shut the doors, sat facing me & asked, "Now, why have you come?" I told him, "I came because SWAMI asked me to meet you & I've no other message!!!"
He said, "What man, you've come such a long distance without any message & without knowing why you're supposed to see me. Are you sure or are you hiding something?"
He repeatedly quizzed me & grilled me but I told him that I had absolutely no idea why I was asked to come & see him!!!
Then he relapsed into dead silence & was lost in thought for about 15 minutes!!! Suddenly he bent forward, reached towards his right shoe, withdrew something from his socks & I saw a glinting blue steel revolver!!!
To my shock, he said, "This is a fully loaded revolver & just tonight I was going to shoot myself!!!" Then he told me how he had got into enormous debts in his business & that he just wanted to end his life! He also said, "BHAGAVAN knew what I was going to do & that's probably why he sent you to meet me!!!" I told him that SWAMI was coming to Chennai in a few days & he said he would be there!
Later in Chennai, first SWAMI never looked at him & later when we thought he's not going to see this person at all, suddenly he called him into the interview room & asked me also to come in! Then BHAGAVAN started really to castigate this person & I was feeling very embarrassed to translate some of SWAMI's words!!!
SWAMI then got very angry with me & said, "YOU'RE JUST A LOUD SPEAKER. YOUR ROLE IS TO SAY EXACTLY WHAT I'M TELLING YOU TO SAY. NO EDITING WHATSOEVER." Then I exactly followed SWAMI's instructions & this man started weeping like a baby.
Finally SWAMI in all his mercy said, "Past is past, forget the past. Everything will be alright for you."
This man had a lot of properties that could not be sold due to the crash in the prices that took place at that time. But then buyers came mysteriously from somewhere & he was finally able to raise enough funds to meet all his obligations!!!
BHAGAVAN'S ways are mysterious. How, where & when he would come to protect you, you don't know!!! BHAGAVAN knows the PAST, PRESENT & FUTURE of every devotee under his care & even though this gentleman had not come to BHAGAVAN for quite some time, SWAMI remembered him & saved him!!! "I WILL NOT LET YOU GO" is what SWAMI SAYS.
PS: Excerpts from an interview with Sri V. SRINIVASAN, ALL INDIA PRESIDENT, SRI SATHYA SAI SEVA ORGANIZATIONS broadcast on 6th OCT '02 & on 10th APRIL '03 on RADIO SAI GLOBAL HARMONY.