Washing His Feet – A Divine Moment
Following is a narration of the experience of Rajen I Ghayal, Anchorperson and Coordinator, Sathya Sai International Organization (SSIO). He had been conducting various relief, recovery (rehabilitation), and transformation service projects for one and a half years in the Tacloban area of the Philippines following the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).
By the grace of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, one of the service activities was a Narayan seva—feeding program—where for six days of the week [except Sundays] we served the temporary shelters and various barangays (local communities) in Tacloban City.
The underprivileged children and adults were usually served healthy vegetarian meals with pure selfless love, a heart-warming smile, and a greeting of “Sai Ram.”
One day, in the first week of May 2015, at about 11 a.m., our Sai home assistant Ms. Leiz Camp spotted an old man with white hair and a beard sitting near the gate in front of the office of our neighbor, the Red Cross.
We served him reverentially, giving him a couple of food boxes and some money. He politely asked for some uncooked rice and we gave them that to him. He left feeling happy. Somehow, I had the desire to give him 50 Philippine pesos but had only 40 pesos in my pocket at the time. While giving him money, I saw a sparkle in his eyes and he lovingly touched my hand, but I did not think much about it.
Next day, at about 11 a.m., he was sitting near the gate in front of our Sai home. Promptly, we gave him food boxes and 50 pesos. Now, I was feeling happy, as my wish had been fulfilled.
The following morning, before I woke up, Swami instructed me in a dream that if he comes again, a third time, to bring him inside the house, wash his feet, and give him whatever I could.
More than 2 weeks elapsed and there was no sign of the old man. We almost gave up. However, in the third week of May at about 7 a.m. as I was opening the Sai home gate, the old man appeared and stood in front of me.
He squatted on the floor near the gate. I went inside the house, brought a box full of food and gave it to him. I remembered Swami’s instructions, so, I holding him by his arm I brought him inside the Sai home and made him sit comfortably on a chair.
Taking a clean maroon tub (1 ft X 2 ft X 6 inches deep) from the kitchen, placing his feet inside it I washed the feet and legs with water and wiped them with a clean towel. I bowed reverentially and offered my pranams [greetings].
He watched the entire process without uttering a single word and gesticulated that he wanted some clothes, pointing toward his worn-out trousers. I went upstairs and brought 2 shirts and 2 pants and placing them in a new laundry bag along with a towel. I gave him the laundry bag and some money. I saw that he was wearing torn slippers, so I also added a relatively new pair of slippers in the bag.
He gestured, pointing toward his left wrist and making a round circle with his right index finger indicating that he wanted a watch. Instinctively, I removed the watch from my left hand and placed it in his palm. He fondled the watch, stretched the band, and put it on his left wrist.
As he was leaving with the food container in his left hand and the laundry bag in the right, our next-door neighbor Jessa, from the Urban Poor Associates, a charitable organization, walked through the Sai home entrance gate.
I requested her to ask him in the local Waray-Waray language if he wanted some rice, too. Before she could do that, we saw that the old man had disappeared. I lamented over the missed opportunity of giving the rice to him.
As soon as I came back inside the Sai home, it struck me that our Lord Sathya Sai Baba had just visited us. Unfortunately, I got lost in the process and failed to recognize the Divine until after He had gone. I was totally overwhelmed by the divine experience and realization. I took the water with which I had washed His feet and sprinkled it on me, in all the rooms, the front porch, and backyard purifying the Sai home environment.
When Leiz came in, I narrated the whole incident to her. Although she just missed him, she was happy that I had a blissful experience. We started our daily duties of preparing the food for Narayan seva, listening to Sai devotional songs.
At about 11 a.m., as we were loading the multi-cab, the old man appeared next to the vehicle. I requested Leiz to give him the food box with rice and mung bean in it. I observed that he was wearing the watch on his left wrist. He accepted the meal box and quietly disappeared.
After loading the food items on the vehicle, we realized that he had slipped away yet again. However, this time I was even more ecstatic as he had come back for the rice and mung, and I thanked Swami profusely for fulfilling my wish. After that we never saw him again.
When we returned from the Narayan seva, Leiz was curious about why a partially blind old man needed a watch. I instinctively answered that Divinity chose a unique way of conveying a very inspiring message to us. Symbolically, the word WATCH stands for watch your Words, Actions, Thoughts, Character, and Heart. We thanked our beloved Sai for this touching message.
The rest of the day was spent in recapitulating the events, absorbing the Divine darshan [presence of holy being] and [reflecting on] the message with gratitude and humility. He came to see us here in Tacloban, Philippines.
With my heart full of love, all I can say is, “Mahal kita Sai Baba” which means, “I love You Sai Baba” in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines.
May our beloved Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba bless us all.
