As I sit alone in a rather pensive mood, attempting a mental resume of my student life at His Lotus Feet, the thought overawes me that, in fact, seven precious summers have passed since I entered the portals of this paradise. It is unbelievable... for was it not only yesterday that I joined Bhagawan's college? Verily one forgets to keep track of time when one is living with Eternity Itself.
The thought gives me joy with a tinge of sorrow, for when I try to peep into the inner recesses of my heart to find the glow of His Love, I at once discover that He has been unfailing in His bountiful love for me. Inspite of knowing that He is the way and the goal for all of us without Whom our lives would not bear any meaning or taste, we fail to understand His Love.
On a number of occasions, He has reminded us to realise the DIVINITY in Him and not to be deluded by external appearances. Through parables and examples, jokes and stories He has been constantly trying to drive home that TRUTH in all of us.
One such golden moment came in my life on a bright morning. The Day was the 7th of November 1984. All of us were eagerly awaiting Swami's Darshan. As He came out, He picked up four boys and I was one of the fortunate four. Swami directed us to go to the anteroom in the Mandir apparently to clean and tidy up the room.
After going round the devotees and granting them the much-coveted darshan, Swami came straight into the room, where we were engaged in cleaning the place. We all stood in front of Him with folded hands. Swami in His characteristic and Divine way proceeded to grant us one of the rarest moments of our lives.
Swami pointed to a deerskin which was rolled and kept on a rack, and addressed one of the boys, "Take this deer skin to the Himalayas and do Tapasya there?" For a moment the boy was nonplussed. "Did He really mean it? Is Swami telling seriously or is it meant to be a pleasant joke?" There was silence for a few seconds, while Swami waited for an answer from us. Swami looked at me and asked, "Is it good to do Tapasya in the Himalayas?" I promptly said, "Yes Swami." But this answer did not satisfy Him. He Himself said, "Do you not realise that the RESULT of all Tapasya is Here?" and pointed at Himself.
He thus gave us a glimpse of His Divinity and showed that there is no need to do Tapasya in the Himalayas when the object of all such endeavours was right in front of us in flesh and blood. He continued, "Whenever I give darshan to those who are engaged in penance in the Himalayas, even for a few seconds, they feel extremely blissful for having attained that Vision Of God. And they regard it as a great experience. But you all are having My darshan every morning and evening, yet, you never realise the value of it."
He gave further a beautiful illustration. "Whenever people desire to see an elephant they go to the forest. And by chance, if they see even the tail of an elephant whose body might have been hidden among the bushes and shrubs, they feel immense joy at having seen an elephant. In your case, there is an elephant (Sai Geeta) in front of your hostel. But you do not pine to see her, because she is a familiar sight."
We must realise the value of His Divine Darshan from these examples. Since we are blessed with the opportunity to be near Him, we should make the best use of each and every moment of our life here. Sometimes, we may be confused by delusion and despair. In those weak moments, we must pray to Swami for His benign grace so that we may always feel His presence within us.
