I have just returned home after nine wonderful days at the ashram of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in Puttaparthi, India. I have lost count of the number of times I have visited India and stayed at Prashanti Nilayam (“The Abode of Peace”). Yet every year my heart and those of my fellow devotees long to be close to Him.
Every visit is a new and exhilarating experience and those who have been there will agree. After months of planning, we pack our bags and set out, our hearts full of joy and anticipation of meeting and seeing our beloved guru. And He never disappoints us. Although personal interviews are few these days, we are content to have His darshan every morning and evening. We tune ourselves to the ashram’s daily schedule and wait patiently to experience His outpour of love.
It is difficult to describe the peace one feels when at the ashram. The accommodation is simple, so is the food; my worries seem to vanish and most of the time I don’t even know what day of the week it is! I particularly enjoy the evenings after darshan when I sit in the garden near the flats lost in the peace and tranquility of the surroundings. There are times when I hate to leave the ashram and return home!
Baba has often said that no one comes to Prashanti Nilayam unless He wills it. I consider myself extremely fortunate indeed! Going to His holy residence should however not be treated like going on a holiday for it would serve little purpose if we just go, look at Him, pray that our desires will be fulfilled and then return home. How often has He stressed in His discourses that He wants “transformation” – the giving up of our unholy qualities like greed, anger, hatred and jealousy. If we are ready to change, He is ready to help us change. In His own words, He is like a kind of smith who repairs broken, leaky, damaged hardware!
His well known maxim “Love all, serve all” says just about everything. He asks that we fill our hearts with love and dedicate our lives to serving the poor and those who suffer and grieve and so need our aid.
As a spiritual aspirant, I must confess my failings are many and each time, I have to tell myself, “Hey, you’ve got to pull up your socks, girl! This is not what Swami wants.” To practise His teachings is not easy as we are more often than not blinded by our own pride and ego. But try we must. Wouldn't it be nice if someone one day came up to you and told you you're beautiful on the inside as well as on the outside?
In closing, here's one of Baba's quotations from the September 2005 issue of Sanathana Sarathi which speaks for itself:
“Life is like a train journey; young children have a long way to go but elders have to alight from the train pretty soon. You must make your journey comfortable and happy. Do not carry heavy, unwanted luggage with you that will make your journey miserable. Do not indulge in fault finding and picking quarrels with others. Do not desire to have the best things for yourself only. Share with others the good things you are given. Anger, hatred and jealousy are the heavy luggage that I ask you to avoid taking with you on the journey.” ~ Baba
I will never be able to find the words to describe His love, His wisdom, His magnificence. For those who want to know more, I recommend that you visit the official Sai website at: www.srisathyasai.org.in/ .
Incidentally, the quotations under “Thought for the Day” that appear in this blog are Baba’s quotations.
May peace be with you all!
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