His Divine Concern
Ashwin Venkateshwaran, alumnus of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning and currently a senior manager in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Whitefield shares how concerned our Divine Lord is about each and every one.
It was around 6:00 p.m. The bhajans [devotional songs] had come to a close, Bhagavan had retired to His room, and most of the boys had left. There was silence all around. The sun was slowly setting in the west. Dark clouds hovered above the earth’s surface. The merry voice of the thrush turned to the plaintive cry of a crow for solace. Everything was dull. It had poured heavily and now the rain had ceased but had left traces of its presence around the area. Crickets chirped in the green mossy undergrowth. The pigeons above were grooming themselves with their beaks, as their feathers had gotten disheveled in the downpour.
A young boy sat silently in the midst of nature’s abundance of beauty and stared at God’s wonderful creation. The synchronization and bountiful coordination of nature filled his mind with awe. The symphony of nature, with its beautiful sounds of love and light, gave place to nothing else in his mind. He was wonderstruck and silent. The person who made the world so beautiful with its wonderful exhibits took care to see that even the lowliest of the snails had a shell to protect itself from the cruel side of its life. He took care to see that even a young squirrel would have enough hair to keep itself warm during the frosty winter in the depths of its cozy home. He looked at the entire universe that He had created with so much love that it bloomed into activity.
His broad vision gave place to the most insignificant of things, and He made sure that even they were happy and were given a comfortable place in His creation. What a wonderful person God must be. The boy then took back his words. The very same God about whom he was thinking was amidst all of them just a few moments ago, talking with them, joking, consoling and loving them all as His own. Oh! What a wonderful person God is!
The Sports Meet in Prasanthi Nilayam [Baba’s residence] was proceeding with great pomp and ceremony. Bhagavan had inaugurated the program and everything was going on well. Bhagavan was on the dais and the students were displaying their talents in the form of various feats of bravery, artistic endeavor, and extreme caliber. Suddenly across the dais flew two white pigeons, one behind the other, as though in a chase. Bhagavan’s eyes darted toward this sight and pointing toward them, Bhagavan said, “The poor little things find it difficult to adjust themselves with the outside world, they were with us for such a long time.” Yes, indeed. They were the very same pigeons that Bhagavan had taken in His hand and released into the sky during the inaugural ceremony.
He cares for the smallest amongst the small and also for the biggest amongst the big. There exist no two [separate] entities for Him all are part of Him. As Bhagavan has said, “I separated Myself from Myself to love Myself. My dear ones, you are My very own self.”
His love is far more pervasive and powerful. It is 100 percent pure and selfless. There are many who say that Bhagavan’s love can be compared to that of 1000 mothers. Why only 1000? Could all the mothers in this world match the love given to us by the one Sai-Maa?
It was a few years ago that some solar heaters had arrived in Prasanthi Nilayam. Bhagavan, out of His immense love for His children, felt that it would be very cold in the morning and so the boys could make use of hot water to have a nice bath. Bhagavan decided to install the hot water system in the primary school and in due course of time in the hostel as well. So the principal was informed and the solar heating system was installed within a short period. They were anticipating Bhagavan’s arrival so that Bhagavan Himself would inaugurate the hot water system. Everything was kept ready and responding to their sincere prayers, Bhagavan obliged. The day was fixed and Bhagavan arrived as usual on time. A tap was connected by a long pipe to the solar heater. All that Bhagavan had to do was to open the tap. A bucket was placed underneath to collect the hot water.
Unfortunately, that tap was a faulty contraption that would throw water in all directions except the direction the water was supposed to flow. When Swami opened the tap, to the horror of all the people standing around, the water splashed all over Bhagavan’s face and robe. Boiling hot water drenched Bhagavan’s robe. There was a stunned silence. No one knew what to do. The principal stood horrified, not knowing what to say. Bhagavan then slowly gave a big beautiful smile and said, “See, I had the first bath.” The atmosphere was filled with a burst of laughter and all tension disappeared.
The small boy came out of his reverie and looked back at nature. It was still extremely beautiful. What a magnanimous personality our Lord has! How beautiful He is! How humble He is! The boy got up and proceeded back to the hostel.
The personality of our Lord is far too great for us to comprehend. Still we have occupied the place as Swami’s students and are kept at such a close proximity to our beloved Bhagavan. All we can pray is to be forever at His lotus feet and be the perfect instruments in His hands.
~Ashwin Venkateshwaran
Source: Sai Nandana 1995 (70th Birthday Issue)
