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Let us now find out what Swami
Himself has to say about Darshan on various occasions:
Later it may be difficult to
approach Me and ask Me. For, people are coming towards Me in full,
unending streams, and you may have to have My Darshan from miles away!
There are those who may never see
Me in the concrete form. They have, all the same, reached Me through a
friend, a book, or a photograph. To each of these, if they yearn deeply, I
give My Darshan inwardly. These too I love as deeply, for they have begun
to see themselves as being beyond their body, as Divine Souls. This is the
advancement towards Self-Realisation.
After My Darshan, always find a
quiet corner, where you may enter into the stillness and receive the
completion of My Blessings. As I pass you, My Energy goes from Me into
you. If, immediately after Darshan, you start talking, the precious Energy
gifted to you gets dissipated and returns to Me unused. Be assured that
whatever My eyes see, becomes vitalised and transmuted. You are being
changed day by day - never underestimate what is being accomplished by the
act of My Darshan.
My
walking amongst you is a gift yearned for by the gods of the Highest
Heavens; but here you are receiving this Grace without much effort. Be
grateful for what you are getting. The Blessings you receive would express
themselves in due course, when the time comes. But also remember: To whom
much is given, from him much also would be demanded!
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Darshan – The Gift Supreme
- Acknowledgement- Online Source:Radio Sai Org. - Eighty
years have gone by since Swami chose to descend and at least six decades
since He made Darshan – the divine act of going to the masses and
conferring them peace, joy and untold blessings - a part of His daily
routine. It is a routine which He has followed actively and assiduously
day after day, month after month, year after year, decade after decade.
Darshan is the single divine routine through
which the bond between the devotee and the Lord is established. Every
devotee yearns for that moment each and everyday He spends in His physical
presence in His Ashram, be it in Prashanthi Nilayam, Brindavan, Kodai
Kanal, Chennai or Mumbai.
Darshan is overwhelming! You would have
seen Him just this morning but you want to see Him again in the afternoon,
you would have enjoyed His presence yesterday but you want it today also
and wish you could get it everyday.
His Love and Grace – Universal and Irresistible!
Never in the annals of history has a sea of humanity
waited with bated breadth for the glimpse of a single person for hours in
silence and prayer. Never before has it been recorded that one person,
with His presence could initiate miracles galore, make the sorrow of the
populace vanish in a trice and force a gathering to willingly forget
itself and transport each one of them to the highest realms of ecstasy.
Never before has any person commanded such love and adoration from an
assembly of people with myriad professions and varied age groups, of
assorted backgrounds and mixed cultures. How very powerful is the wand of
the love that the Lord waves! How irresistible is His grace!
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Yes, it is compulsive, enticing and more importantly
spiritually reinvigorating – the divine attraction is simply overpowering!
They come from every corner of the globe and from every
strata of Society. One may be rich and another poor, one may be a king and
another may be a pauper but all distinctions vanish before God. Everyone
is His child. In a temple or a church, one must go to the sanctum to have
His Darshan but here in His Home, He comes down to us, where we
are seated, with a smile that transports everyone to the very heavens.
Darshan is not just Swami coming to us…So many incredible things
happen, things that become treasured memories for a lifetime!
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Distance is no barrier, time is no
hindrance, power, position or wealth are no criterion when it comes to
His Grace. However disintegrated the personalities of individuals may
be, when they come to His Lotus Feet they assemble in unison. He is
like a divine goldsmith who melts the small metal pieces of our
individual egos into one beautiful resplendent ornament and in His
company we shine brilliantly.
“Each one of you has to be saved….”- Baba
In puncturing our egos, breaking the
barriers of our hearts and removing the narrowness of our minds, He is
ever relentless and as determined as ever. He said on one occasion,
“Each one of you has to be saved,
and will be saved. I shall not give you up, even if you keep
afar. I shall not forsake even those who deny Me, I have come
for all. Those who stray away will also be drawn near and
saved; do not doubt this, I shall beckon them and bless them."
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Do we need any clearer intimation than
this about His Grace and His Divinity?
To the students of a medical college, Swami once said, |
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The Yesteryears…Golden Moments
The old-time devotees go into divine
raptures when they recollect the nostalgic memories of those wonderful
days when there was an Arch in Prashanti Nilayam, where the Sai
Kulwant Hall now stands. Yes, it was somewhat uncomfortable,
especially when sitting on sizzling sand under a blazing Sun,
vulnerable to the rain and the wind, but who bothered? Did not time
stand still as He gently walked by, smiling, blessing and waving?
His one look, one glance is sufficient
to change the course of our lives for the better, for good. People
clamour for the chance to touch His Feet, to have their children
named, or initiated into spiritual disciplines according to scriptural
rules by Him, to receive some token of His Grace, and to lay before
Him, their mental and physical illness so that He may render them
whole. His Grace grants 'colour to the painter, notes to the composer,
voice to the singer, strength to the athlete, endurance to the
climber, and bliss to the Yogis'.
The old-timers who have seen the Lord
sitting blissfully under the blessed banyan tree in the Brindavan of
the 80’s and early 90’s - the “Sai Ram” shed as they used to call it –
will not miss a single opportunity to narrate how the setting and the
scene was so wonderful and captivating…a bewitching Lord at the front,
an enchanting Krishna idol behind Him, birds chirping and joining in
during bhajan sessions, the banyan tree so lively and full of glee
being Baba’s tree spreading its copious branches and leaves to make a
natural roof over every devotee. God, man and nature had become one!
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An Open Invitation to One and All
Baba has an open invitation for everybody to seize the
chance of His Grace and save themselves with alacrity.
"By seizing this chance, you can elevate
yourself step by step, steadily. A stomach ache or a fever, some
loss or grief brings you to Prashanti Nilayam. You start liking this
place and its atmosphere, the Omkara, the Bhajan, the calm quiet
that prevails. You see Me and observe My movements, words and
actions; you leave with hope and courage, confidence and strength
with a Bhajan book and a picture, perhaps.
Before long you forget the ache or fever, for
it has either disappeared or lost its acerbity; you have developed a
new ache - for Prashanti, (Unshaken Peace) for Darshan, Sparsan,
Sambhashan, for Japam, Dhyanam (spiritual practices) and
Sakshathkaram (Realisation). Follow My instructions and become
soldiers in My Army; I shall lead you on to victory," Baba said
on one occasion years ago.
The Golden Books of Our Lives…
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Each one who moves to His presence with hope and
confidence, has a story to tell, each one more fascinating and
reassuring than the other. Each one has in his heart a book of
experience with letters written in gold. Baba, even when physically
present at Prashanti Nilayam or Brindavan, arouses ardour and
yearning, awakens curiosity and interest, stimulates thirst and
restlessness, assures comfort and cure and alerts and admonishes in
dreams and through visions.
"For a four-lettered degree, you spend the best
part of your life; for attaining the Degree of Degrees, namely God’s
Grace, can you not spend at least five minutes a day, contemplating
silently on the mystery and majesty of God, which is evident in the
construction, the functioning, and the disintegration of every atom
and cell?"
It is up to us to seize this opportunity. Swami says,
“Make Me your Charioteer!" All we have to do is to surrender the
reins of our lives to Him and He, the divine charioteer, will smoothly
and safely take us to our goal. There should not any worry, any doubt.
He is our Divine Insurance. His Grace is our only true property which
will be with us at all times and at all places, here and hereafter.
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Acknowledgement- Online Source:Radio Sai Org.
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