Are we the chosen ones?

Once Swami was sitting with the students around Him. Suddenly He asked a strange question. "I am going to give Sai Gita(Swami's pet elephant) to you. Tell me who wants her? Who will take her?"
The boys were taken aback. Everyone wanted to say 'Yes' when Swami asked them something, but this... They thought,"How will I take her home?", "How do I feed an elephant?", and so on. Suddenly one of them said, "Swami, I am ready to take Sai Gita".
Swami, in His immense Love, waved His hand and materialised a small silver elephant and gave it to the boy. I am sure you can imagine the plight of the other students. Would not each of them have regretted not accepting Swami's offer? Regretted that they let their heads think and find obstacles instead of letting their hearts decide? 

This beautiful leela was enacted by Swami, for each one of us. It echoes to the entire Sai fold, "Grab every chance Swami gives you! Else, you might regret it later." But what exactly is this chance? It is every opportunity to get closer to our Lord, every opportunity to make Him happy. Everyday, every moment, we are surrounded by opportunities to help others, to put a smile on a sad face, to do some noble deed. But we hardly realize that they are unique chances for Sai Seva, to make our dear Lord happy, to get one step ahead in our journey towards Him(which is in fact the journey to our true self).

Be ready to realize and accept every opportunity for Seva, to participate in a service activity of the nearby Sai centre, take time out of your busy schedule to stop and help out a collegue at the workplace, spare a few moments so that someone in misery can speak their heart out and confide in you. It is said that man was born with two ears and one mouth so that he talks less and listens more!

If at all we do realize this fact, and decide to do a noble deed, what follows immediately is a train of thoughts, each one finding a new reason as to why it should not be done. The brain is at work then, and not the heart. We are all full of limitations, full of incapacities. Put the heart to work and we realize "After all, who am I doing it for? Doesn't the Loving mother know my limitations?" Yes. Swami knows what we are capable of doing. He knew very well that none of the students are able to take Sai Gita home and feed her. But when we are ready, He will create a Sai Gita that fits into our hands.

So, dear brothers and sisters, the next time you come across an opportunity for Sai Seva, dont think twice. Grab it and leave the rest to the all compassionate Lord of the Universe! Remember, we are THE CHOSEN ONES, The direct messengers of the Avatar! If we dont make a difference in the world, who will???

Let Us thank God for NOT granting all our prayers!

It is said that about fifty years ago, some men from a village adjacent to Puttaparthi visited Baba. With them was a young boy. They told Baba that the boy had suddenly become an orphan due to the unexpected demise of his parents. They had heard of the extraordinarily philanthropic nature of Baba and sought his help for the boy’s education and livelihood.

Baba immediately agreed to bear all his expenses right upto the end of his school education. After a few years, the boy visited Baba and happily announced that he had passed his final school examinations. Bhagawan reciprocated his happiness and was about to move on to the next person in the gathering. But the boy plaintively sought his audience for some more time and prayed that he might be helped to pursue higher education in a college. Baba hesitated for a moment and agreed to his prayer with a smile. After four years the boy returned and announcing his successful graduation, prayed earnestly for help in securing a job of his choice. This prayer was also granted.

Soon he was back and prayed for divine help in marrying a girl who worked as his colleague and who was not evidently interested in linking her fortunes with his. Bhagawan advised him to seek the hand of some other girl. But the boy was adamant and begged for help in marrying the girl of his own choice. That prayer was also granted.

In the succeeding years, his visits became more frequent and his prayers more insistent for a promotion, for the birth of a boy and then of a girl, for the prevention of a transfer, for the cure of the illnesses of the children, for a better residence and so on. The Lord granted all his prayers. But the man now seemed to be less and less happy and peaceful.

At last, obviously in great tension due to problems in office and at home he came to the ashram and when Baba came near him, he fell at His feet like a log and cried out “Oh! Swami! The python of samsara (worldly life) has caught me in its suffocating coils! Please liberate me from its grip.” Baba laughed and looking at him keenly, slowly asked, “My dear boy! Did the python catch you first or you caught its tail first?” How the man must have wished that he had not piled up prayers after prayers in spite of Bhagawan’s hesitations and resistances most of the time!

We allow the ophthalmologist, the dentist, the barber, the physician, the college counselor and a host of others to decide what is best for us but not God! The physician or the psychologist is supposed to know about our bodies and minds better than us, but not God! Restrictions, sacrifices and expenses are okay when advised by doctors. But when God advises similar things, we agree to abide by them to ‘the extent possible’ and seek alibis to make them appear impossible. When the consequences trouble or terrify us, we grumble and blame the cruel hand of fate or of the creator! We will be pleased to teach Him a thing or two about framing the laws governing Life.

However, there are a number of occasions when we do wish that some of our prayers had not been granted! We might have prayed for success in getting a  particular job and got it. But later we wish that our prayer could have been ignored because we realise a better job would have been tried for and obtained, had the first one been denied. Similarly we may feel about the wife or husband or the house we have now. Slowly in the course of our life, we realise that God’s own choices for us are more beneficial and satisfying in the end than our own.

Having said that I am reminded of a clever little girl who used to go with her father to the general stores for getting the provisions for the month. The shopkeeper was a kind man and used to give a handful of cashew nuts or chocolates to the children accompanying his customers. One day he was busy talking to some one on the phone and when the girl’s father was about to leave with the things purchased and paid for, he just placed a tray containing the chocolates in front of the girl and asked her to help herself and resumed his talk on the phone. The girl refused and insisted that “Uncle” himself should give her the chocolates; otherwise, she was not interested in taking them. This surprised and pleased the shopkeeper who took a handful of the chocolates as usual and gave them to her. While returning home the father rebuked her for her insistence and for troubling the shopkeeper and forcing him to interrupt his talk. The girl said, “Daddy, if I had myself taken a handful I would have obtained much less because my hand is small! But uncle’s hand is much bigger and I get more than double the number when he gives his handful!” So, it is with God. What He chooses to give us is more beneficial and useful than what we may choose for ourselves.

So let us thank God for not granting all our prayers! For, what appears like a curse may prove to be a blessing and sorrows may turn out to be sources of great joy. What is required are Sraddha and Saburi to use the words of Shirdi Sai Avatar i.e., faith and patience. Any number of examples to prove this may be given from Sai literature in particular and from spiritual and religious literature in general – but one’s own experience alone can be the best evidence. Let us therefore follow the teachings, do our duties and wait and watch God’s plans for us unfold as we live on. He is eager to satisfy all our good desires but waits for the best time and place and manner in which they can be satisfied, taking into account our deeds in the past and our needs in the future (as the ninety-first and ninety-second names in the one hundred and eight names of Sri Sathya Sai proclaim).

Food for Healthy Body and Mind

These are excerpts taken from a discourse given by Baba at the  Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in July 1996 ( the excerpts are taken from the book Sai Prescriptions, published by the Sri Sathya Sai Health and Education Trust, Sri Sathya Sai General Hospital Hospital in Whitefield, Bangalore).

Food for Healthy Body and Mind

"Right food must essentially contain Sathwic food. It means that the food must not contain mutton, fish, onions and the like. In your hostel, there is of course no mutton and fish! But, onions are used extensively. This is because it does not get spoilt. It also has its advantages. It improves your digestion power.
There is a popular saying in Telugu, "the good done by the onion (ulli) is not done by your own mother (thalli)!'' You must also take care to avoid excess of spice, chilli and salt. May people think that Sathwic food means fruits and milk. These can also be thamasic! For example, eating two bananas is correct. If you eat four bananas, it becomes thamasic. Do not take a cup of thick milk. Comparatively, it is hence said " One cup of wine is better than a cup of milk."Thick milk contains plenty of fat and calcium. It is also liberally laced with glucose. When the blood is saturated with too much of glucose, it turns the residual glucose into acid. The result is that you develop boils. This acid and the blood combines to form stones in the gall bladder. 
Ensure that you take at least seven to eight cups of water daily. Water cleanses your internals. This also ensures that stones do not form inside your kidneys because water goes to the kidneys and constantly keeps it flushed.Eat rice and vegetables well. Green leafy vegetables are the best of the lot. This is because under the skin lies a very light secondary layer, It is this layer that protects the skin. Green leaves strengthen this layer, apart from having other benefits. It is very good for heart patients too because green vegetables are totally free of oils. Vegetables contribute to some extent to the cholesterol. What must you do when you have excess cholesterol? Cholesterol is essential to some extent. The limit prescribed is about 10%. But if it crosses 20% or 30% your nerves and veins will harden like rusted pipes. This consequently thickens the blood making the heart pump less and less blood. The heart pumps the blood and sends it to the lungs which purifies the blood and distributes it to the entire body. When the heart pumps less, more and more cholesterol accumulates there, which is dangerous for the heart. Hence it is advisable to take a white onion daily.
Garlic pills can also be taken daily, a daily intake of one pill after lunch will get rid of the cholesterol problem. Green leafy vegetables and drumsticks are very healthy for the body. Drumsticks are good for the brain. Do not take too much of potatoes.  Potatoes contain 80 % starch that will only make you slightly fat, but also give you very little in terms of health.Tomatoes are also good. The seeds of the tomatoes may be removed and a curry made of the tomato. This is because the seeds of the tomato do not get digested easily. They remain in the digestive canal and gradually become stones, when they combine with glucose. These stones go down to the stomach and remain a mass, giving frequent trouble.
We must also ensure that eating must always be in a limited quantity. You  must be able to get up from your plate with the same ease and lightness  with which you sat down to eat. This is the correct limit. You come quite easily to eat. But when you get up you need a support ! Many people develop a paunch like that.
Proportion is very important as it confers health to the body. Never take meat, cigarettes, or other intoxicants and drugs. Habitual cigarette smokers develop cancer. You can perform this test on smokers. Take a white cloth and put it across the mouth after the person has smoked. You will see bright red dots on the cloth. When the external cloth has itself been so noticeably spoilt, you can well imagine how much destruction it is causing to the veins and lungs. The two fingers that hold the cigarette will develop a yellow colouration. White spots develop on the lips. The skin around the lips turn dark. You must avoid taking curds. It is better to take the two cups of buttermilk. Curds have too much of protein."

Testimony of the Modern Day Masters

One of the greatest Saints of this century was a woman named Anandamoyi Ma. (The name translates as ‘Bliss-permeated Mother.’ According to one of her closest Western devotees, over the years she had often been asked, “Who is this Sathya Sai Baba we keep hearing about?”  But for many years she never gave an answer.  In the last year of her life, however, the question came up again, and this time she gave the following response: “This body will speak on this question only once; don’t ask again.  Sathya Sai Baba is the most powerful incarnation of God ever to come to the Earth.  And there won’t be another at His level for another sixty centuries.”¹

That amazing testimony was recently strengthened for me when I went to one of Anandamoyi Ma’s ashrams in the Himalayas.  When I shared the preceding quote with a Swami there⁷, he said that Anandamoyi Ma had then added, “It’s no wonder you keep hearing about Sai Baba.  He is the Avatar of this Yuga!”  (Avatar means Incarnation of God; a Yuga is an era lasting many thousands of years.)

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Shortly before he left his physical body behind, Paramahansa Yogananda was approached by one of his close American disciples, a woman.  “Master,” she said, “I know you are planning on leaving your body.  You must take me with you!  You are my God!” 

“Nonsense,” replied Yogananda. “God is God; I am your Guru.” 

“But Master, if you leave without me, I will commit suicide!” 

“Enough of that foolishness!  God Himself is now incarnate on Earth, in South India. His name is Sai Baba.  When I leave you are going to live with Him.”  (His prediction proved correct; after Yogananda’s death, that devotee spent the rest of her life at Sai Baba’s ashram.)⁸

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Mata Amritanandamayi (also known as Ammachi), Herself considered to be an incarnation of the Divine Mother, was once asked, “Who is Sai Baba?”  She replied, “Avatar.  Perfect from birth.”⁹

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On the day after Sai Baba’s birth (November 23, 1926), Sri Aurobindo, another great Saint of this century, broke a long period of silence to announce, “Twenty-fourth November, 1926, was the descent of Krishna into the physical.  A power infallible shall lead the thought, in earthly hearts kindle the Immortal’s Fire, even the multitude shall hear the voice!”¹⁰ It seems obvious at this point that his announcement of Krishna’s physical re-embodiment was referring to the birth of Sathya Sai Baba. 

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Mother Krishnabai, the Self-Realized disciple of Swami Ramdas (the great Saint from Kerala), told her devotees, “Sai Baba is an Avatar, a full incarnation of  Krishna.  He is Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva together in one form!” She recommended they spend as much time in His presence as possible.¹¹

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Yogi Ramsuratkumar made it clear on numerous occasions that Sai Baba is an incarnation of God.  He often asked visitors from Baba’s ashram, “You’ve left God to see this beggar?”¹³  (Of course, that “beggar” was himself merged in the all-pervading Consciousness; the beauty of his attainment was matched only by his humility.)

Simple ways to reach God!!!

Prophecies about Swami contained in Suka Naadi by Sage Suka

Naadi means palm leaf manuscripts written by ancient sages. This Naadi was written 5,000 years ago by Sage Shuka. The 100 or so manuscipts, containing prophecies about the background and Advent of Lord Sai Baba, are in the possession of a famous astrologer Dr Shastry.

• He is a great sankalpa siddha (a master of will) and one of great powers, but without any attraction to worldly wealth opr glory.
• All rishis declare he will have the power of ichhamarana prapti (the ability to die at will) and that he is one in the Nirvikalpa Samadhi state, living only for the nurturing of righteousness.
• His mission will be of relieving the distressed and, for this, he will distribute and spread all appropriately.
• He will be born to propagate righteousness and the place where he will live will become a holy land.
• He will be able to assume different forms and be seen in several places simultaneously and to remove difficulties and abstacles to avert danger.
• He will establish an ashram near a place where there are 'vehicles with many wheels and will also re-establish educational institutions of spiritual strenght.
• He will show omniscience in many ways to devotees who, if they surrender to him in full faith, will be given the opportunity of shedding their sins and of finding peace and goodness.
• His glory will spread far and wide and many people will come to him. But all shall not receive his grace due to past actions.
• He is a great brahmachari (celibate) and will help others in establishing righteousness.
• His attitude towards mena dn women will show equality.
• He will be a mother among women.
• He will be an Incarnation of Love (Premaswarupa), Joy (Anandaswarupa) and Wisdom (Jnanaswarupa), but only those who are enlightened will be able to experience him as joy (ananda).
• He can be experienced, but not expressed; as a dumb mute can eat but not speak.
• Total equanimity will be his. He sees the world as a blade of grass. he will not be concerned with public opinion and will do only what is right.
• He will be a representative of SHirdi Sai Baba and will be born as a result of the prayers addressed to Shirdi Sai Baba.
• He will give Samadhi Darshan to Shirdi Sai Devotees; and similarly, after he has flown from this body, Sathya Sai devotees will have Samadhi Darshan at Whitefield which will be venerated as sacred soil.
• His life will be for the good of mankind in the way described by Krishan in the Bhagavad Gita.
• At present unrighteousness has grown to three-fourths proportion. When it increases by one more fourth, that is, when all is unrighteousness, Sri Sathya Sai Baba's full power will come into play and be known in the world.
• At present He displays only one tenth of his real self. After a while, his efforts to save the world will increase tenfold.
• He will show that he alone can control the fury of nature.
• He will also plant a tree in Brindavan, Bangalore, and that place will become a siddhikshetra (a field of energy) and the tree a kalpavrusha (a wish-fulfilling tree).
• Good will accrue to anyone who only sees Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
• His grace will make people overcome their problems, surmount difficulties and guide them towards progress. In a short time, his greatness will spread further and there will be universal worship of Sathya Sai.
• He will show himself in many places simultaneously, though he will actually be in one place, and there will be many divine acts and manifestations.
• He will erect a flag staff of righteousness at a significant time and thereafter righteousness will visibly increase.
• He is tolerant and compassionate of nature and treats everyone equally. He does not hurt feelings or express anger when errors of ignorance are committed.
• Often he speaks in jest, but he speaks Truth.
• When he publicises any aspect of himself or his activities, whjich is not always, he does so at particular times and it is only and always for the growth of righteousness: instilling good ideas of life and creating an atmosphere of goodwill.
• Sri Sathya Sai Baba will prove in the course of time the truth of the saying "Dharma wis protected by the portector."
• This Avatar will have healing powers and the power to cure himself by the sprinkling of water. He will use his healing powers not only for the people of this world, but also for the beings of other worlds, and on a higher plane of existence (devas).
• He also has the power to lengthen life.
• When the Kali Yuga influence grows even more intense, then people will see his true might and will acknowledge that he is the Supreme Power. Then mankind will bow to him as to a great emperor.
• Sainath does everything according to a plan he has.
• He has great purification powers. Merely the sight fo him, or the slightest of word exchanged with him, can purify one.
• Sainatha (Lord Sai) is Mahavishnu Swarupa, a form of Great Vishnu himself.
• It was Kabir Das who returned to earth as Shirdi Sai Baba, who in turn is now Sathya Sai Baba who will also return to earth in another form.
• He will keep an aeroplane airborne for a long time after it runs out of fuel, through his will alone.
• Sathya Sai Baba will always retain a youthful look, age nothwithstanding.

Prayer of Surrender

Why get agitated? Let Me take care of all your business. I shall be the one who will think about them. I am waiting for nothing else than your surrender to Me, and then you do not have to worry any more about anything. Say farewell to all fears and discouragement. You demonstrate that you do not trust Me. On the contrary, you must rely blindly on Me.

To surrender means: To turn your thoughts away from troubles, to turn them away from difficulties you encounter and from all your problems. Leave everything  into My hands saying "Lord, Thy will be done. Thou think of it." That is to say: "Lord I thank you for you have taken everything in your hands, and you will resolve this for my highest good."

Remember that thinking of the consequences of a thing is contrary to surrender. That is to say, when you worry that a situation has not had the desired outcome, you thus demonstrate that you do not believe in My love for you. You will prove that you do not consider your life to be under My control and that nothing escapes Me.

Never think: How is this to end?... What is going to happen? If you give into this temptation, you demonstrate that you do not trust Me. Do you want Me to deal with it...yes or no? Then you must stop being anxious about it! I shall guide you only if you completely surrender to Me and when I must lead you into a different path than the one that you expect, I carry you in My arms.

What seriously upsets you is your reasoning, your worrying, your obsession, your will to provide for yourselves at any price. I can do so many things when the being, as much in his material necessities as in his spritual ones, turns to Me saying: "You think of it." then he closes his eyes and rests quietly. You will receive a lot but only when your prayer will rely fully upon Me. You pray to Me when in pain so that I intervene, but in the way you desire it. You do not rely on Me, but you want Me to adjust your requests.

Don't behave like sick ones who ask a treatment to the doctor, all the time suggesting it to him. Do not do that; but rather, even in sad circumstances, say: "Lord I praise and thank You for this problem, for this necessity. I pray You to arrange things as You please for this terrestrial and temporal life. You know very well what is best for me."

Sometimes you feel that disasters increase instead of diminish. Do not get agitated. Close your eyes and tell me with faith: "Thy will be done. You think of it." And when you speak thus, I accomplish a miracle when necessary. I only think of it when you trust me totally. I always think of you, but I can only help you completely when you rely fully on Me.

—Sathya Sai Baba

Realizing Supreme Beatitude

by Sunil Gavaskar

Every devotee of Bhagavan Baba has his own connection with Him and the beauty is that in spite of so many millions trying to connect with Bhagavan, He has time for all. Most of them have had some experience of Bhagavan's Divinity. Not only is the experience a very personal one and very, very dear, but there is also the feeling that since it does not concern anyone else, the others may not be interested in hearing or knowing about it. But 75th Birthday Celebrations of Bhagavan is a joyous occasion and it is the joy of sharing that prompts me to write this piece. I will try and write to the best of my ability knowing fully well that no one can really do full justice to writing about Bhagavan.

Swami's Vision to my Mother

Since the day my mother got the vision of Bhagavan, my family has been a Sai devotee. Like any middle class family, we too believe in God and participate in all the festivals which are celebrated in the year. We have a small Mandir where idols of various Hindu gods are kept and prayers offered there daily by the family members.

However in 1970, things changed suddenly. My mother was in the kitchen and there she saw a vision of Swami on the wall. She was restless and wanted a picture of the vision, and so she immediately rushed out of the house and went to the newspaper vendor at the corner of the street who also kept pictures of various Hindu gods. She looked at the pictures one by one but could not find the picture of the vision that had appeared in front of her. She went further down to see if any other shop had the picture she was looking for. There was none, so she came back to the first one and requested him to have a look again, and lo and behold, there was a picture of Bhagavan with His hand raised in blessing exactly as she had the vision of. The newspaper vendor refused to take any payment saying that since he had not ordered the picture and had no idea how it got there, he would not accept any payment.

That photograph was put up in my bedroom, so that every morning when I woke up, my first glimpse was of Bhagavan. That photo could also be seen by any visitor to the house particularly if the bedroom door was open and I do believe that it was after seeing that picture of Bhagavan that my late father-in-law decided that his daughter's hand could be entrusted in mine. And when he passed away in May this year, his last action was to fold his hands in prayer to Bhagavan and his last words were "Sai Ram".

Miracle of Vibhuti

I remember one incident very clearly. We were in Australia and in one of the tour matches, I slipped and tore a thigh muscle. In those days, the Indian team did not carry their own physiotherapist. So, we had to ask the local state team's physiotherapist to have a look at the injury. He examined me and announced that since I had a torn muscle, it would take about three weeks of therapy and one more week of training before I would be able to play again. With the First Test Match due to start in just over a week's time, this simply was a blow that was too much.

As soon as this news reached my family, they sent me packets of Swami's Vibhuti through some media persons who were coming for the coverage of the Test series. These arrived just about three days before the start of the First Test. I was taking physiotherapy regularly but the improvement had been marginal. I could barely put weight on my leg to walk.

However after I started applying Vibhuti, there was marked improvement and on the eve of the Test Match, I requested the team management not to rule me out but to have a fitness test on the morning of the Test Match. From barely being able to put weight on my leg, I was able to walk comfortably in just two days. But there was a stiff soreness that was worrying.

On the morning of the match, I applied Vibhuti to the leg and went to the ground. This was going to be my first attempt to try and run in about eight days' time. Even as I stepped on to the ground to give my fitness trial, I realised that the stiffness was almost gone. At the Queensland Cricket Ground in those days, you had to descend a few steps to the ground and it was these few steps which were painful previously and I had to step down gingerly. But on this day, I felt confident enough getting down these steps normally and not the one step at a time as on the previous couple of days. I took a light jog around the ground and with every stride I could feel the soreness going away. Though I did not do anything silly a quick dash or sprint, I felt confident enough to play in the Test and so informed the management who accepted it and included me in the playing eleven. It was unbelievable. Nobody including me had given myself a chance of playing the Second Test, leave alone the First Test and here I was, thanks to the Vibhuti, playing in the First Test Match.

In the Presence of the Supreme Being

About a year later, I was in Chennai (Madras then) and heard that Swami was going to be in the city. It was here that I had my first Darshan of Bhagavan. My counterpart in the West Indies team, Alwin Kallicharan was also keen to have Swami's Darshan. Fortunately in those days, there used to be a rest day in the Test Matches and we were taken for Swami's Darshan.

Nothing had prepared me for that experience. I had seen plenty of Swami's photographs but seeing Swami in person for the first time is an unforgettable experience. When Swami glided in, there was a glow around His face and His smile was so beautiful that it immediately brought smiles on everybody's faces. Both Kalli and I were standing together and automatically our hands folded in Namaskar as we saw Bhagavan. That first sight of Bhagavan was the most humbling experience of my life. It made me realise that there was a superior being, the Supreme Authority. He was standing in human form and sending these happy vibrations to all who had come there! It was the kind of happiness that even a century or a victory for the side could not bring about. It just made one's heart feel lighter. I have been lucky to experience it time and again since then and I consider myself blessed to do so.

That day both Kalli and I were hoping that Swami would bless us just a little bit more than the other, for the Test Match was evenly poised. Of course, Swami when He gave us an audience did not take sides, but the Indian team also had another Sai devotee in G.R. Viswanath and it was Vishy who took us to victory the next day.

Grace Unbounded

Later on, both Kalli and I had the rare privilege, honour and good fortune to be the masters of ceremonies for Swami's 70th Birthday Celebrations. How that came about is a story in itself. I received the invitation card for the celebrations of Swami's 70th Birthday more than a month earlier. When I went through the celebrations planned and the VIPs that were due to come to Puttaparthi starting from the President of India and the Prime Minister to other cabinet ministers, I thought to myself that with all the security for them there would be no way to get even a glimpse of Swami. But I said to myself that if Swami wants me to be there for His Birthday, then somehow I would be there in Puttaparthi.

Just two days before the Birthday, I got a call with the words "Indian, how are you? What are you doing in Mumbai? Why aren't you in Puttaparthi?" It was Alwin Kallicharan who was already in Puttaparthi. we always called each other 'Indian' which is how people of Indian origin call each other in the West Indies. I explained to him that I was beginning to shoot for a new TV serial for the forthcoming 1996 World Cup and so would not be able to come to Prashanthi Nilayam. I had fixed those dates for shooting, so that my mind would concentrate on the shooting of the serial and I would not feel the pangs of missing Swami's Birthday Celebrations. Kalli informed me that they were trying to organize air transport for me and would let me know about it the next day. When he called to tell me that a charter had been arranged, I could not believe it and my joy knew no bounds. After all, I was going to be present at my beloved Swami's Birthday Celebrations. When I landed there, I was told that I was to be the master of ceremonies, something which  I had never done before in my life. But with Swami present, I was sure that He would help me not to forget my lines.

A few years later, I was privileged to arrange the players for the Unity Cup Cricket Match. Swami has always said, "Life is a game. Play it.". Bhagavan wanted to show that there could be unity among different countries, cultures and communities through sports. So, the Unity Cup was played with players from all over the world including Pakistan.

Several senior retired players were honoured and had the good fortune to be blessed by Bhagavan. Who can forget Bhagavan patting Sachin Tendulkar on the back and telling him, "I am with you!" What a season Sachin had after that as he virtually single-handedly demolished World Champion Australia with his batting that seemed to be of a totally different dimension after that pat from Bhagavan!

Devotees who have had Swami's Darshan even from afar know how it becomes a craving and if Swami even glances at you fleetingly, you feel an incredible joy that cannot be described in words.

Swami is eternal. We are blessed to have Bhagavan with us and we must strive to join Him in serving humanity and helping the poor and the downtrodden. we can do it in our way, quietly and without fanfare. We can start by promising that every day we will do at least one good deed.

Sunil Gavaskar
Former Captain Indian Cricket Team; has made/broken several records in Cricket; an ardent devotee of Bhagawan