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SAI BABA'S FINAL DAYS - AN EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT, By  Prof. G. VENKATRAMAN

It is not Emptiness but a Super Cosmic Fullness

 - By Prof.G.Venkataraman
"Swami has not gone. He is very much here, there, above, below, around, etc., indeed everywhere..."
 

RECORDED ON APRIL 29, 2011.

OM SRI SAI RAM  - SPECIAL MUSINGS

At that time, everyone was quite hopeful but soon started a roller-coaster ride of sorts. It turns out – so a specialist doctor explained to me – that beyond a certain age, when the heart gets affected, it impacts other organs also, most often, the lungs and the kidneys. If earlier the heart had to be given help from outside, it was now the turn of these two vital organs to receive such assistance. Although it is these two organs that were often in the news, as Dr. Narendra Reddy explained to us during the conversation that I had with him and which was broadcast by Radio Sai, all organs had to be watched carefully. Thus it was that all kinds of experts had to be called in some from within the hospital itself, some from other hospitals in the country, and some even from America. All that ground has been covered and I shall not go through it again. But this much I can say. Medically, the various parameters were sort of holding on with minor fluctuations here and there maybe; however, all this needed strong support from external systems.



Slowly, the organs started showing signs that they might not be able to come back to normal; however, one could not be sure either. After all this was not a just a mortal patient but Swami, and almost everyone including the doctors had the faith that Swami would defy all the medical books and research papers written by man and bounce back. In fact, one day I asked Dr. Safaya, “Doctor, how long would a normal patient and with a body age same as Swami have lasted with this multiple organ problem?” The doctor’s reply was short, “Certainly not this long,” which of course enormously boosted my confidence. I should mention at this point that though from a biological point of view Swami’s body was made up of the five elements just as all living bodies are, there were several exceptional aspects to it that came entirely from Purity rather than Divinity, as Swami Himself once explained to students. For example, not a single hair was grey. During the mid nineties, Swami often complained about loss of hair but also said it would come back. Indeed, it did after some time, though not to its fullest extent as in earlier times. And then there were His eyes. Not once did Swami have to ever wear spectacles, even for reading a piece of paper – not once. But everyone around Him needed at least one pair if not two, one for reading and another for distant vision. Thirdly, not once did Swami need the services of a dentist.



To get back to the main narrative, days passed while medical anxiety slowly began to mount silently. At the same time the confidence that Swami would not leave us also soared. After all, said everyone including myself, “Just look at how many thousands if not millions are praying all over the world! There are Christians praying in Madras. There are Sikhs praying in Delhi, and there are the villagers of Puttaparthi who are praying for their own Swami. Bhagavan has therefore no choice but to sit up, walk away from His bed, freshen up and come out, exactly as He did at the time of the famous Goa appendicitis leela.”



Alas, that was not to be. There is absolutely no doubt that Swami could have done all that and more. However, He chose not to. He had, on many occasions given hints, both privately and even publicly, that He could go anytime He chose to, overriding all His earlier pronouncements. Further, He has explained clearly in many of His Discourses that while the Avatar is an Incarnation of God and comes down with His full compliment of Divine Powers when He manifests as a Poorna Avatar as it was in this case, He would, at the same time, not only respect the Laws of Nature as ordained by Him when it came to His own body, but also bow to Time, of which He was always the Absolute Master. Thus it was that Swami would sometimes get tired, catch a cold, get fever, etc. As He took care to explain, not all His body ailments were due to His taking on the sufferings of others.



Around 7:30 on the morning of April 24, I received a phone call from a close friend who whispered, “Swami is in a critical condition.” However, I was not alarmed since my confidence that Swami would go the very edge and bounce back miraculously had soared to new heights. Twenty minutes later, I got another call. This was from one of the trustees who began. “Sad news. Swami passed away at 7.40 this morning. Now this is what we would like you to do….,” and went on to give me my first assignment in the world where the Light was there but in a passive form, having risen to shine and guide from above. It was a silent signal that the time had finally come for all of us to look for Bhagavan beyond the Form for instructions and guidance, which then had to be followed meticulously. Along the line, we had to work harmoniously with each other, smashing every ego-built barrier. In short, we HAD to become one family, united under God and working for common good. It was not enough to merely chant: “May peace prevail in all the worlds,” etc; it was now our job to make that happen. The examination bell had rung and God our coach as well as teacher had now become the invigilator!



Oh yes, for a while we would all cry and swear we cannot live without Swami and so on. But that has happened before, several times in fact, after Rama, after Krishna and after Shiridi. But soon, we must wake up to our new responsibilities, realising that it is for this test that Swami had been physically preparing us in diverse ways.



Swami Vivekananda is reported to have said, “Death of a near one always makes everybody very philosophical. However, that mood wears off in three days or even less, after which it is business as usual.” That comment applies in the case of the death of an ordinary mortal. The present situation is totally different since there is no question of death. Swami has merely shed the Form to exclusively remain Formless, playing a different and more subtle role. Rising to the occasion, we need to, as Swami Himself had said in many Discourses, “wake up, arise, listen to the call of the Divine Master, and accept our new responsibility.” The world is still out there, offering us more opportunities for service than ever before; all that is needed is to rise to the occasion.



I would like to close this talk with a brief recall of what Swami once said while bringing His Divine Discourse to an end. I do not recall the occasion but I do remember His message because of its depth, power and also for another reason that I shall mention shortly. Swami said in a powerful voice [and this is a paraphrase].



Dear students! When you sing Bhajans here, don’t imagine that they would impact only the people currently assembled here in the Sai Kulwant Hall. True, the sound waves coming from the various loud speakers would be heard only by the devotees here. True those sound waves would also be heard throughout the Ashram. However, besides these sound waves, subtle waves are also generated. You cannot see them and in fact you do not even know about them. They are ripples in the Ocean of Consciousness. Those ripples can travel not only all over this planet but to the very edge of the physical Universe and beyond. They will never dampen nor dissipate but remain for ever. They would penetrate everywhere, including the pillars, the structures and whatever you see around here. Indeed, the vibrations from every Bhajan that you sing would remain embedded in them for ever. Further, every day, there would be fresh additions, as a result of which the intensity of the built-in spiritual vibrations would steadily grow. The more passionately you sing, the greater would be the stored sanctity. The more love you add to your feelings as you sing, the greater would be the enhancement of sanctity. Thus, by having sacred thoughts while seated here and by singing Bhajans with Pure Love in your Heart, each of you can leave behind an invaluable legacy.”





That in brief was what Swami said. All of which reminds me very strongly of what the Headmaster of a school where I was studying in the late forties said one day after morning assembly and prayer. Those words are still ringing in my ears. He said, “Boys, some of you must be wondering why we go through this routine day after day. To some of you, this may even appear meaningless and also a complete waste of time. But here is the reason why we make you come here day after day. While some of you might not, many of the boys that come here do pray and sing sincerely. The subtle vibrations from those prayers and songs remain for ever bound in the walls of this assembly hall, saturating this place with sanctity that increases day by day. By spending some time here every day, you become at least a bit more spiritually purified. Why do you think people go in large numbers to some temples but not to others? That is because thousands of good people and many saints have worshipped in those temples earlier, conferring thereby the subtle fragrance of saanithyam.” By the way, the word saanithyam might be loosely translated as eternal sanctity.



Getting back to our Headmaster, he continued, “When an ordinary person goes to such a temple, that very saanithyam spiritually cleanses that person to a certain extent. That also is the reason why people of this country want to bathe in sacred rivers. These are rivers where innumerable rishis and saints have had a dip, making that river that much sacred. If you and I bathe there, a bit of that sanctity seeps into us, making us better persons.”



Dear Listener! There is a particular reason why I am ending on this note. It you think about it carefully, you would realise that Prashanti Nilayam is THE place that has been the abode of the Avatar of the Age, from the time He moved out of the Paatha Mandiram in 1950. During the six decades that followed, how many Darshans He has given here! How many festivals He has celebrated here! How many plays and dramas He has seen here! And, how many Discourses He has delivered here! Just think of how much Pure and Divine Love He has personally poured out in the process, all those years! Have they all vanished into Time? At the worldly level, they have indeed become memories. But at the subtle and Causal level, the Sai Kulwant Hall is the most Love-charged spot not only on the face of this planet but indeed the entire Universe. For, was this not where the Divine Chancellor, Swami to all of us, showered His Love non-stop, both at the individual and collective level?



The Form would no longer be visible to our eyes. However, if we care to open the eye of our Heart, the Third Eye if you prefer to call it that way, we can have the grandest and the most blissful experience possible. Remember, even the best Steinway piano or the rarest Stradivarius violin cannot produce great music when it is not properly tuned! In other words, if we want to experience Eternity, we can do so only if our Hearts are properly tuned before going into the SKH. If we go in without tuning, all we would see is a physical emptiness that would make us cry instead of feeling uplifted.



Swami has not gone. He is very much here, there, above, below, around, etc., indeed everywhere. However, we need a new vision to see Him. That is the essence of the last part of my talk today.



I think I shall end here. The new situation has, naturally, placed many new responsibilities on us, and I have many more things to say concerning these as also about Swami’s teachings; however, those would have to wait for other occasions.



For now, I would, as always like to conclude by offering this talk at the Lotus Feet of our Beloved Swami.

Thank you for listening, and Jai Sai Ram.

 

|| Samastha Lokaaha Sukhino Bhavanthu ||