His Inscrutable Ways

With the kind of encouragement and guidance Swami gave me, I started feeling the rhythms of a full-fledged photographer. Swami was gracious to see me established as His photographer. He kindly posed until I took His photos. As the photos were highly impressive and varied poses of Swami, my business started flourishing. During this time I was busy travelling with Swami on His engagements or developing my photos in the city. The owner of my apartment took care of selling the photos. I was thrilled at this experience of taking Swami’s photos and was concentrating on His engagements most of the time, so I did not pay much attention to the business part of my vocation. As I had no expenses other than my self-maintenance, the cost of film, developing charges and traveling charges, I suddenly realized that I was in debt and I suspected I was the victim of embezzlement.

One day, surprisingly, Sri Kutumba Rao, the then administrator of Prasanthi Nilayam, approached me and informed me that Swami wanted to know how much money I had lost. I avoided a direct reply, as I did not want to make it an issue. But Swami, during the next darshan asked me the same question. I observed silence. In the evening, Sri Kutumba Rao visited my apartment and asked the same question, thus I was forced to tell the truth. When he checked my roommate’s belongings he also discovered that many things belonging to the neighbors and which were thought lost, were found in the room. This prompted the dismissal of my apartment owner.

Then one day Swami told me that He had a building outside the ashram, opposite the Puttaparthi Police Station and I could develop it into a photo emporium. I did not like to move away from the mandir [temple] precincts. When I did not respond enthusiastically, Sri Kutumba Rao visited my apartment daily and each time conveyed Swami’s instructions. After repeated pressure, I told him I would rather stop selling photographs, than move away from the ashram compound. Suddenly one day, Sri Kutumba Rao became stern and said, “These are Swami’s instructions, and whatever Swami gives is for our own good.”

On the same day during darshan, Swami came to me and said, “You are telling others that you will always do what Swami wants, but you do not follow Swami’s instructions.” That did the trick. I could not bear such harsh words from my Lord. I went to Sri Kutumba Rao and informed him that I would move into the new location as soon as possible. Sri Kutumba Rao was happy about this. He personally took me to the place and told me that Swami had permitted me to take any portion of the building and develop a good show room to display my photographs.

The building had remained unused for a longtime, and needed a lot of interior work. As nothing to do with Swami has ever been ordinary, I desired to design this showroom in the pattern of those found in large metropolitan cities. It took nearly a month to get all the fixtures arranged.

Then my testing period began. For whatever reason Swami stopped talking to me. This was unexpected, and for the kind of enthusiasm with which I was myself absorbed in everything connected with Swami, it became unbearable. I became despondent and made frantic efforts to communicate with Him—through letters, telegrams, and personal messages through the officials.

When all arrangements in the building were nearing completion, I conveyed my desire through the officials, that Swami should bless me by inaugurating the opening of the showroom. There was no perceptible response from Swami’s side.

On a Thursday, declared auspicious by Swami for all good events, I decided to open the photo shop. At 10 a.m. I opened the doors of Sri Sathya Sai Photo Emporium. Hardly had I opened the two small doors, then a neatly dressed couple got out from a car stopped in front of the shop, and entered my shop. I vaguely remembered having seen the gentle man earlier, but could not exactly identify him. I politely said, “Hello, where do you come from?” His curt reply was, “From Bangalore.”

The couple looked through different photographs and did not show much enthusiasm to buy any. While showing him my collections, it suddenly flashed into my mind that he was Sri Jagannath Shetty, the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. I had seen him on December 8th, when he was a speaker in a seminar organized by the Sri Sathya Sai Organization in Bangalore.

I now approached him with greater ease and told him I remembered him. He acknowledged with a nod. Then I asked him, “How did you know that this was a photo shop?” He replied, “Swami told us!” and walked to his car.

~R. Padmanaban
Source: Spiritual Impressions