Young Adults Corner
From 1981 To 1993, Krishna Sai Kumar was a student at Swami’s school and the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. He completed his M.Com. degree in 1993 and is currently apprenticing with Kumbhat & Co C.A.S. in Bangalore, India.
“In addition to the knowledge derived from the sacred texts, one should gain wisdom through experience. Knowledge without personal experience is futile. Wisdom lodged within us will be of no avail if it is static.” ~Baba
When we are very young, we only experience life, we do not analyze it. As we grow older, our intellect begins to gain understanding of these experiences and we begin to integrate the lessons in our lives. We offer this column as an opportunity to young adults to share their experiences, realize how life is the greatest teacher, and show how Swami’s teachings have helped them. We also hope that the process of writing will enable them to integrate these experiences into their daily life.
THE MOMENTS THAT WERE…
Words often fail to convey what the heart wants to. The helpless heart then seeks the assistance of the hand to express itself. Such is the case with my own heart!
Having stayed at Prashanti Nilayam for many years as a student, both in Swami’s university and before that in His school, it is impossible to decide which moments in those years with Swami deserve to be labeled as the most enjoyable. Every moment has been as enjoyable as the other. No wonder words fail to fully convey what the heart feels.
Being a student at Swami’s feet is in itself the greatest experience one can aspire for. Swami devotes 75 percent of His time only to students. Every moment that He spends with the students is a revelation. Every little interaction with Swami leads to a lesson that has to be learnt, a lesson of life. Even a tiny humorous reference to someone contains a deep underlying significance for that individual.
But then, as Swami puts it, “The whole ocean is available to you! How much water you take depends upon the size of the vessel you carry.” It depends upon each individual as to how much he or she imbibes from Swan1i’s teachings. The question to ask is, how open is one’s mind to receiving Swami?
My student days formed a golden period in my life. Swami used to spend many hours with students, teaching someone here, chiding someone there, a humorous reference here and a serious remark there. But at all times, it was only learning for all of us. Through illustrations and examples, Swami would subtly drive home simple truths about living. Simple as they seemed, they had great practical relevance in life.
What I often marveled at was that Swami would interpret the same thing in a different way at different times, and each time its significance would only deepen its relevance to daily life. I can remember such an instance. One evening, Swami had finished with the interviews earlier than usual. There was still some time before bhajans (devotional singing) would begin. Swami came towards us students and beckoned to one of us. This particular boy was a very good speaker and had previously addressed large audiences. Swami asked l1im to talk on ‘manishi’—‘human being’. The talk was in Telegu. Being a good orator and well-informed, the boy spoke at length on the subject, drawing references from the Vedas, the Puranas (Hindu scriptures), other scriptures, and from Swami’s discourses. The talk ended. There was a sound of applause from everyone present in the portico. But Swami remained silent.
His eyes wore that mischievous look that meant the speaker was in for some trouble. Swami asked the boy in Telegu, “What happens when a manishi does not behave like a manishi?” The boy replied that in such an event a manishi becomes a pashu (animal). Swami was not satisfied. He looked around, expecting answers from all of us. There was a commotion, and no one’s answer could be heard clearly, because everyone was talking at the same time. Swami raised His hands and hushed everyone. Then He said, “This is what happens when a human does not behave like a human!” For a moment nothing registered in the mind. Then it struck like a thunderbolt.
Swami said, “I just asked you a question. Instead of replying, you only produced NOISE! The answer to my question lies in the word manishi itself. If manishi means a human being, then reading the same words backwards would lead you to another word, shinima. “What is shinima? It is synonymous with `cinema’ (movie) in the English language. Therefore, if a human being forgets about his or her being a human being, then he becomes a “cinema’—full of noise and commotion. He becomes an object of show, that is as human being only in form and not in practice.”
Never in my wildest dreams could I have stumbled upon such an interpretation. A simple word had been interpreted in an extraordinary way by Swami. He does it even in His actions. There is something new to be learnt each time Swami acts. It could even be daily etiquette—how to eat, how to talk, how to dress, how to walk, and so on. Take this instance when the then Prime Minister of Italy, Mr. Bettino Craxi, was to visit Prashanti Nilayam to take Swami’s blessings. Swami was concerned about each and every detail of the visit. He personally inspected all arrangements, starting with the food, to the pillow cover on the bed in the guest house, and ending with dusting the corners of the guest house ceiling!
Having been a part of the group that looked after the arrangements for the proposed visit, I was baffled at the manner in which Swami personally attended to all the arrangements and to the minutest details. And yet there was no trace of fatigue on His face. He was as fresh as ever. Swami was only trying to ensure that His guest would not have a reason to complain about anything during his stay. Swami was demonstrating in practice the dictum, athithi devo bhava, the guest is God.
It is said that human excellence lies in doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way. Everyone knows that from the day of its origin, an apple has been falling vertically to the ground. But it took a Newton to question why it did not move horizontally. As a result, he propounded the Law of Gravity. After having stayed at Prashanti Nilayam and having observed Swami closely, it seems to me that a slight modification could be made to the above statement: Human excellence lies not in doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way, but in doing ordinary things in the Divine way, that is, Swami’s way.
~Krishna Sai Kumar
