Sathya Sai Baba: My Glory lies not in millions who flock to me but in stopping ...
A Sai university alumnus who I know very well, shared with me an utterance of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba (Swami) in Kodaikanal in 1999. He is not sure whether he heard it directly but can distinctly remember his colleague (another Sai university alumnus who was with him in that Kodaikanal trip, and who is also known to me) confirming the utterance.
I decided to share the utterance on my blog (actually I feel it is my duty to do so), as I fully trust the Sai university alumnus who conveyed this to me, to be as accurate as he can. Note that around 16 years have passed since 1999. Here's what he wrote me in the context of a mail conversation (which he was OK with publicly sharing, and which he confirmed as an utterance of Swami as given above):
... a statement that Swami had remarked, almost in passing, during our stay in Kodai
came rushing to my mind. Swami had said, "My glory does not lie in the millions that flock to Me, but in My Will (or some such equivalent word in Telugu) in stopping the billions from coming here!!!"
--- end extract of Sai university alumnus mail ---
Whether one believes that Swami made the above statement or not, or whether one believes in the statement or not, I think the one thing most, if not all, Sathya Sai devotees will agree is that all who were able to enjoy darshan (sight), sparshan (touch) and sambhashan (spoken interaction/discourse) of/with Shiva-Shakti Swarupa, Kali Yuga Avatar, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, are extremely fortunate people. And that it was a great good fortune has become very, very clear to people like me, in the years after He gave up His physical form.
I mean, if, by some great miracle, Swami in physical form is back with us, I would drop everything and rush like a crazy guy to have His darshan. Many of us (including me) took His darshan for granted in the years He was with us in physical form. It took His Mahasamadhi for many of us, especially those living in Puttaparthi like me, to know how much He, in physical form, meant to us.
I tend to believe the above statement of Swami. I think He only allowed those who, for some reason or the other, deserved or were destined to have His darshan, sparshan and sambhashan, to do so. I mean, you had to earn it in some way, whether the earning was something one had done in this lifetime, or in many lifetimes earlier. [Of course, senior devotees state that it is the good deeds (punya) of many, many births that led us to Swami. I tried Google search to see whether Swami Himself had said that in a public discourse but did not get suitable results.]
What one did with that great and splendid opportunity of darshan, sparshan and sambhashan of/with Bhagavan varied amongst people. Some, it seemed to me, were focused on spiritual benefit, some on a mix of spiritual and material benefit, and some seemed to focus mainly on the material benefit. But what I have noted is that many of those who focused on the material benefit were also very, very grateful to Swami for the material benefits provided and loved Him for that. Perhaps their love for and gratitude to Swami was more than some who claimed to be above material gain but had some spiritual pride about their association with Bhagavan not involving material gain. The latter may have lost out somewhat on the loving heart-to-heart relationship with Bhagavan.
I decided to share the utterance on my blog (actually I feel it is my duty to do so), as I fully trust the Sai university alumnus who conveyed this to me, to be as accurate as he can. Note that around 16 years have passed since 1999. Here's what he wrote me in the context of a mail conversation (which he was OK with publicly sharing, and which he confirmed as an utterance of Swami as given above):
... a statement that Swami had remarked, almost in passing, during our stay in Kodai
came rushing to my mind. Swami had said, "My glory does not lie in the millions that flock to Me, but in My Will (or some such equivalent word in Telugu) in stopping the billions from coming here!!!"
--- end extract of Sai university alumnus mail ---
Whether one believes that Swami made the above statement or not, or whether one believes in the statement or not, I think the one thing most, if not all, Sathya Sai devotees will agree is that all who were able to enjoy darshan (sight), sparshan (touch) and sambhashan (spoken interaction/discourse) of/with Shiva-Shakti Swarupa, Kali Yuga Avatar, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, are extremely fortunate people. And that it was a great good fortune has become very, very clear to people like me, in the years after He gave up His physical form.
I mean, if, by some great miracle, Swami in physical form is back with us, I would drop everything and rush like a crazy guy to have His darshan. Many of us (including me) took His darshan for granted in the years He was with us in physical form. It took His Mahasamadhi for many of us, especially those living in Puttaparthi like me, to know how much He, in physical form, meant to us.
I tend to believe the above statement of Swami. I think He only allowed those who, for some reason or the other, deserved or were destined to have His darshan, sparshan and sambhashan, to do so. I mean, you had to earn it in some way, whether the earning was something one had done in this lifetime, or in many lifetimes earlier. [Of course, senior devotees state that it is the good deeds (punya) of many, many births that led us to Swami. I tried Google search to see whether Swami Himself had said that in a public discourse but did not get suitable results.]
What one did with that great and splendid opportunity of darshan, sparshan and sambhashan of/with Bhagavan varied amongst people. Some, it seemed to me, were focused on spiritual benefit, some on a mix of spiritual and material benefit, and some seemed to focus mainly on the material benefit. But what I have noted is that many of those who focused on the material benefit were also very, very grateful to Swami for the material benefits provided and loved Him for that. Perhaps their love for and gratitude to Swami was more than some who claimed to be above material gain but had some spiritual pride about their association with Bhagavan not involving material gain. The latter may have lost out somewhat on the loving heart-to-heart relationship with Bhagavan.
Just awesome and is totally believable. How much should he love us for Him to pave the way (by avoiding billions) for us to have had this wonderful physical interaction. To receive God's Grace is one thing, to experience Him behind the scenes as He showers His Grace to us takes His Love and its expression to a different level. To have experienced it is not a sign that we are privileged but a sign that He considers us worthy of higher responsibilities!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment, Shankar Ramaswamy.
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