“I Have Saved Him”

Padma Vibhushan [a distinguished title] Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma’s name is synonymous with ‘Santoor’ [an instrument] for bringing an obscure and almost unknown musical instrument to the center stage of concerts today. He is an ardent devotee of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

I have been very fortunate to receive Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s blessings in life. I have had many experiences of Swami’s omnipresence; Swami’s showering of love like a mother; Swami’s constant protection wherever we are. In the last 35 years I have had innumerable experiences in different parts of the world.

My first ever experience of playing the Santoor in the divine presence of Bhagavan was in 1970 in Mumbai. That evening there were many renowned people like the actor Manoj Kumar, music directors Kalyanji-Anandji and playback singer Mahendra Kapoor [people from the film world of India]. The program was at Dharma-kshetra [the official residence] in Mumbai. After I finished playing, Swami told me, “I like your music; I would like to talk to you; come tomorrow morning.” I was not free the next morning, but before I could say that, Swami suddenly said, “Tomorrow morning you are not free; you come day after tomorrow and bring your wife along with you.” I was amazed that Swami knew all I was thinking.

The next day, I went to Dharmakshetra along with my wife, Manorama. Swami called us inside His room. Bhagavan knew everything about my life and told me so many things, like the problems I was facing, and He also told me what was going to happen in the future. I had never experienced so much love and affection from anybody in my life.

Swami is a vast ocean of love. Suddenly, Swami asked me, “What do you want?” I said, “Swami, I only want Your blessings;” but my wife immediately said, “Swami, give him something.” Swami immediately waved His hand and materialized a white metal ring with His bust in gold. Swami put that ring on my finger and said, “From today, this is your home, and My home is in your heart; you can come to Me any time you want.”

We came out of the room in a daze of joy, unable to believe what we had experienced. Everybody at Dharmakshetra told us that we were very lucky to get Swami’s blessings on that day. Next day Swami left for Puttaparthi and we got busy with our life.

I always wore that ring, wherever I was. After a few months, people started asking me about the ring and what had changed in my life after wearing that ring. Sometimes, I would also think there was no major change in my life. I remember a particular day when I was at my native place in Jammu, sleeping on the terrace of my house. Before going to sleep, I did my usual pranams [salutations] to that ring. Next morning, as was my normal practice, I did pranams to the golden bust of Baba but was shocked to see the bust of Swami missing from the ring. I searched in and around the bed  for the ring but I could not find it anywhere. I was very upset, but suddenly realized that since I doubted anything had changed in my life after wearing that ring, this had happened.

Feeling very bad, I was standing near the wall on the terrace when I suddenly noticed something shining on the parapet. It was actually Baba’s golden bust that was on the ring. I could not figure out how it came off the ring and landed there. With great effort I retrieved it and tried my best to re-fix it on the ring with different kinds of solutions, but it did not work. I kept that ring and Baba’s golden bust in a small silver container, taking it with me wherever I traveled.

One day when I was in Stockholm, Sweden, I saw Swami in a dream, telling me, “Why don’t you wear that ring.” When I got up in the morning, I tried to fix it with the solution I had tried earlier and was surprised that this time it worked. I started wearing Baba’s ring again and was very very happy. I returned to India. In those days Swami used to come to Mumbai once or twice a year. When He came, I got a message that He would like me to go and play for Him.

I was very fortunate to play exclusively for Swami in those days. This was such an occasion. At Dharmakshetra there were a few people sitting with Swami. After I finished playing, Swami asked the people to leave the room. Then my wife, elder son Rohit, and I were alone with Swami. He asked me, “How was your tour of Scandinavia?” I was impatiently waiting to tell Swami what had happened with my ring. I said, “Swami my ring;” but before I could complete my sentence, Swami started saying, “After I gave you this ring people started asking what has changed in your life. You have full faith in Swami, but at times doubts came into your mind, too; that is why that thing happened to the ring. But then Swami came in your dreams and told you to wear that ring; so what is the problem?” That was again an experience for me. Swami is always with us, no matter which part of the world we are in. He knows what we are thinking all the time.

A few years ago, I was in Dubai with my son, Rahul, who also plays the Santoor and has been blessed by Swami. One day, before the concert, we went for a sand safari. There were two cars; in one car my wife, a couple of other people, and I were there. In another car, which was a brand new Land Cruiser, Rahul, along with Tabla [drum] player Ustad Shafaat Ahmeed Khan (who is also a staunch devotee of Swami) and a couple of other people were traveling. Our car was ahead and they were following us.

Somebody in the car got a phone call, and the driver was told to reverse the car and go back. We did not know what had happened. After a while we stopped at a point and saw on the other side of the highway some policemen and an ambulance. A car was lying upside down, totally smashed. This was the same car in which Rahul was traveling, and suddenly we realized why we were called back. My wife became hysterical and tried to jump out of the car to get to the other side of the highway. With great difficulty, we controlled her.

From the condition of the car, it was obvious nobody would have survived. Suddenly, we saw Rahul waving at us from the other side of the car. Later on, we learnt that the Land Cruiser was going at a speed of 130 km. A tire burst and the driver lost control of the vehicle. The car hit the railing on the highway, turned upside down three to four times, and in the process was totally smashed. The occupants in the car were trapped upside down in the car. When this happened, Rahul touched the Baba ring he was wearing and started shouting “Baba, Baba.”

It was a miracle that no vehicle came from the rear for the next few minutes, as if somebody had stopped all traffic. When the police arrived and helped out Rahul, Shafaat and other occupants, they could not believe that all of them were not only alive but had no injuries. We knew that this was Swami’s miracle that had saved everybody’s life.

After we came back to India, we went to Puttaparthi. Rahul and I were sitting on the verandah. Swami came and asked me, “Where is your son?” Rahul was sitting next to me. I said, “Swami, he is here.” Swami again asked “Where is your son?” I thought that perhaps Swami was asking about my elder son, Rohit. So I said, “Swami, Rohit has not come.” Again Swami asked, “Where is son?” And suddenly realization hit me and I uttered these words: “Swami has saved him.” Swami said, “Yes, Yes” and went away.

Next morning, we were called for a personal interview. We were amazed to hear Swami narrating the whole incident. Swami said, “It was a brand new car. Rahul was sitting in the front seat along with the driver and that car was running at a speed of 130 km, and there was a tire burst. Rahul started shouting, ‘Baba, Baba.’ Swami gave the full description of the incident. Then Swami said, “At that particular time some people were sitting with Me, and I told them ‘Shiv Kumar’s son has met with a serious accident’.” They were so scared and enquired, ‘Swami, how’s he?’” Swami told them, ‘I have saved him.’” We were totally overwhelmed after hearing this from Swami. This was another proof that when you pray to Bhagavan, no matter where you are, Bhagavan appears and saves His bhaktas [devotees].

I would like to narrate another incident, which is about Mr. Richard Willis, who lives in Zurich. Richard has spent many years in India, living in the Himalayas with different gurus. He is a very elevated soul. Once, he was in India and told me that he wanted to go to Puttaparthi along with me for Baba’s darshan. He said that even though he was a follower of different gurus, his gurus wanted him to go to Swami because Swami was the only Avatar of His time. I called Mr. Chiranjeeva Rao [Swami’s secretary] and informed him that I was bringing a foreigner, a friend of mine, with me. Mr. Chiranjeeva Rao said, “That is fine.”

It was the month of November and the occasion was Swami’s birthday. Rahul, Shafaat Ahmed Khan, Richard and I—all left home together for Puttaparthi by flight. When we landed, there was a pleasant smile on Richard’s face. I asked Richard, “What happened?” He replied, “When we left home, I felt a certain kind of energy around all of us, and now after landing here it is the same energy that was experienced in Mumbai as we left for Puttaparthi.” It is definitely Swami’s godly energy protecting us.

We went for darshan and sat on the verandah. Swami came, stopped for a while and spoke to me. After the darshan, when we were coming back to our rooms, Richard asked me what Swami was telling me. He said, “ I am asking you this because when Swami came, I did not see Swami the way you saw Him. To me it was just a halo of white energy, which was so soothing, and it moved around; when Swami spoke it was like the sound of the ocean.”

Next day was November 23, Bhagavan’s birthday. We were sitting outside the verandah. As was the practice every year, Swami came and threw laddus (sweet balls) to different devotees. Everybody was waiting for their turn to receive Bhagavan’s prasad (blessed food). Richard was sitting two rows behind me. When Swami left, we started getting up to go to our rooms. Richard was still sitting, eyes closed. I said, “Richard let’s go.” He didn’t respond. A number of times we called him, but he continued sitting in the same position. We had to shake him. He opened his eyes, but he was still in a trance, unable to get up and move. Rahul and I had to help him get up. Then we held him by both arms so that he could walk.

He did not speak at all. We were worried. What had happened to him? With great difficulty we brought him back to his room. With a wave of his hand, he asked us to leave him alone in the room. After four to five hours, he came out. We were so surprised to see him still not talking normally; and in the middle of his forehead there was a long black mark like a trishul (Shiva’s trident). He took some vibhuti and put it on his forehead. He only told me that there was a burning sensation where that mark was present.

Next day, when Richard became normal, he narrated what had happened with him. He said that when Swami threw the laddu toward him, he had eye contact with Swami; and from then on it was as if that laddu came into his hands in slow motion. The moment he got it in his hands, he felt he was holding Swami’s robe. After that it was a journey along with Swami to a different planet. He experienced Swami taking him beyond this world to a different loka (world/plane).

It was at that point in time we had started shaking him and his trance was broken. Richard told us, “You people think that Swami lives in this room and comes out and goes back there, but what I experienced was that Swami lived in a different loka and came here to give darshan to His bhaktas.

This is all Swami’s leela (play), which can never be explained in words even by the greatest philosophers. We are very ^–fortunate that we have been born in this yuga (age), where we can see Bhagavan talking to His devotees and showering His divine grace on everybody.

~Pt. Shiv Kumar Sharma
Source: Sathya Sai—The Eternal Charioteer