It was one of those hot summer days in 1974 in Brindavan. Swami had finished giving darshan & returned to His bungalow at 10:00 a.m. At around 10:45 a.m., a group of villagers from North India came to Brindavan. They were extremely poor. They had come in a run-down bus wearing very simple clothes. Many of them were in rags; but somehow they managed the fare to go around South India on a pilgrimage. They had absolutely no idea about darshan timings. When they arrived they learnt to their dismay that the darshan was over & next one would be only in the evening. Their itinerary was so packed that they would not be able to stay till the evening. As the sevadal was explaining, they started crying that they wouldn’t be able to see Swami.
Suddenly the inside gates of Swami’s bungalow opened & Swami came out! He was walking swiftly. I was keenly watching this from the college building. In those days, students had one special privilege. This was of offering Swami chappals to wear whenever He went out in the hot sun or when He had to tread on thorny, uneven surfaces. Realising that it was very hot, I ran inside to get a pair of slippers for Swami. I ran towards Swami & kept it in front of Him. Swami glared at me, turned away & proceeded to give darshan. I thought perhaps I had obstructed Swami & this act of mine resulted in Swami getting upset & turning down the slippers.
Swami went straight to those villagers, whose tears of despondency were transformed into tears of bliss. Swami enquired about their native place & very sweetly asked them to sit in rows. Then Swami walked amidst them & they took Padanamaskar. Swami was not satisfied. He called two boys & told them to get sweets from inside. Swami distributed the sweets Himself, but He was not satisfied. He ordered the boys to get photos & distributed them to all. He even distributed Vibhuti to them. 25 mins later, He returned very satisfied.
Swami says that He can wipe away tears (kanneeru tappinchu), also bring tears (kanneeru teppinchu) to your eyes. Swami while walking back, saw me crestfallen & very lovingly called me & said, “Bangaru! Did you notice, the poor people didn’t have slippers. How could I wear them when I went into their midst?” That is the love of our Lord.
Dr T Ravi Kumar, Warden Brindavan Campus.*
