DORMANT DELHI'S
APPOINTMENT WITH DIVINITY
DELHI’S APPOINTMENT WITH DIVINITY- Part I
Swami landed in Delhi airport on the morning of 11th March 1999 around 9.A.M. and was off to Rai’s Residence.
Delhi’s crowd got a taste of Swami for the first time. There was unprecedented security all over. I left my home for crowd control duty at 4.25 A.M both on March 11th ( for a sort of rehearsal, because Swami was giving Public Darshan only in the evening and also at the same time on March 12th). My son Vijay ( Those who do not know about him please read my true narrative in Sanathana Sarathi of April 98) also accompanied me. I am a small fry here among the ocean of VIPS & VVIPS. Still I tried my best to collect information and anecdotes to give first hand/ verified and confirmed news/reports of what went around here all these days. You know there are always more rumours than truth. Hence I took an oath to be careful and truthful before reporting any thing . I had duty outside the venue of Rai School where Swami was scheduled to visit first after leaving Rai's Residence. One interesting thing that happened on March 11, the day of Swami’s arrival in Delhi was, the organisers had announced 4.45 P.M. as the scheduled time of Swami's arrival at the Rai School for the Public Darshan. People had lined up for the darshan even before 1 P.M. to enter the school tent from 2 P.M. onwards. There was some initial confusion about entry modes. But after everything settled down, people were allowed inside from 2. PM. When at about 3.45 P.M. more and more people started arriving , Swami suddenly arrived! So we had to stop further entries into the Rai School.
I have tried to get as much info as possible (all reliable and verified) on our Lord 's visit to this hitherto sleeping city. The discourses are ultimately going to come out from Prasanthi in an official capacity. I was therefore content to be staying outside the venues and collecting details about finer and diviner moments of Swami’s stay.
For the morning darshans at Rai School and JLN stadium on the 12th March the crowds were not as much as anticipated. This could be because of the Board Exam of the 12 th standard ( Chemistry). Big crowds were expected for 12th afternoon and 13th morning and evening.
The inauguration of this Sri Sathya Sai International Centre was done at the scheduled time of 9 to 10.30 A.M. followed by a Discourse by Swami. Vajpayee, Advani and several other political bigwigs as well as wigless bigs attended. There was unprecedented security arrangement all over. In the evening there was a discourse at the Sai Centre where maximum of 5 to 6 hundred could be seated. Admission was by VVIP invitation. Delhi wore a festive look with banners, posters etc reading "Love All, Serve All, Help Ever, Hurt Never" “Welcome to Sri Sathya Sai Baba" etc. etc.
There was a rumour that Swami would give an address to a joint session of Parliaments But remember, rumour always walks with a gold plated iron walking stick but Truth always limps with a rusted but a real gold walking stick! However in due course of time, both sticks reveal their true calibre. How could Swami give any speech to joint session of Parliaments ? It was against the Government protocol(although anything and everything is possible with Swami around). Of course in March 12th speech at the time of inauguration of the Sai International Centre , Sri Vajpayee did reveal his happiness on Swami's current visit. There was however no political importance to it. Vajpayee was Swami's devotee for a long period. He even mentioned jokingly during his lecture that when Swami visited Delhi 18 years before, he was then just a Foreign Minister but now during Swami's visit he had been promoted in ranks (as Prime Minister) Swami had assured both Vajpayee and Vinay Rai that henceforth He would visit Delhi every year. He also assured there would not be any war. Shri Anil Kumar had come from Prasanthi and he would be making available the discourse to all in due time.
There was unprecedented rush during the evening darshan at the Rai School and the Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium, in contrast to the morning darshans (I have a true and strange happening to report about the morning darshan of March 12 and the evening one of 11th at the Rai School- at least I feel the Divine Hand of Baba behind it though I do not call it a miracle, it was nothing short of a miracle, it revealed Baba's love for the downtrodden!) All the three nearby parks were filled with cars. After the darshan was over, it took several hours for the people to disperse.
March 11/12, 1999
DELHI’S APPOINTMENT WITH DIVINITY-Part II
I had mentioned about some strange happenings in the afternoon darshan of 11th and the morning darshan of 12th. Here is what I have actually observed and known and report truthfully the happenings without any adulteration. The Delhi organisers of Swami’s visit had printed nearly a million passes for different darshan timings and places and have distributed them freely to various people through the seva dals and volunteers . Only the pass holders were allowed to have the darshan! Swami was scheduled to arrive at 4.45 P.M. on the evening of 11th at the Rai School, from Rai Residence. The Delhi people taking the passes as a guarantee of seat and entry started coming at their own timings. Those who had come earlier than 3.40 P.M. were all inside seated while those who started arriving after 3.45 P.M. after Swami’s arrival, were naturally denied entry after that. And sevaks like me who were stationed outside to control the entry points and regulate the crowd, had a very tough time in convincing the people why despite the issue of passes they could not get in. Even though there was sufficient space inside the Rai School Tent people could not be accommodated because they were late. Earlier, many of the slum dwellers who live in a cluster of hutment adjacent to the Rai School could not gain entry into the school for Baba’s darshan because they did not hold passes. Swamy stayed for just around 10 minutes on that evening and then went to JLN Stadium and thereafter left for the day back to Rai residence
For the next day morning darshan, there was no crowd at all and the organisers were very upset. ( I am repeating, I am telling you the truth) . They got hold of some volunteers working outside and asked them to remove their scarves and identity cards and told them to sit inside along with the public. Still the emptiness of the hall was very visible. Then they requested the very same slum dwellers who could not gain entry the previous evening for want of passes, to come inside and sit with the public. In spite of all these “efforts” there was not much crowd as such. I will tell you something about these slum dwellers. These are the people who make and sell malas (garlands) to the Shirdi Baba Devotees who visit the Shirdi Baba Temple just in front of the Rai School! I leave the rest to my Sai Sisters and brothers to comprehend. The later outcome however was that the privileges given to the pass holders were withdrawn and all were asked to come for the darshan with or without passes.
I have compiled whatever exciting news that came my way, after authenticating them . Delhi was bathing in Divinity. The crowds were growing in geometric proportion and were virtually becoming uncontrollable. People unable to gain entry started sobbing. On the morning of March 13th, from 4 A.M. itself people started pouring in. By 7.00 A.M the Rai School was brimming with people and in spite of our closing the entry people did manage to gain entry and stood in the ground opposite the school. The school had a seating capacity of 15 to 20 thousand and the crowd actually swelled to double its capacity besides the people who assembled outside. Virtually the CGO complex and the temple area were all resembling like heaven (Do not ask me where have I seen Heaven?). Prasanthi had replicated itself in Delhi
For the 13th March evening darshan at Rai school, scheduled at 4.45P.M. people had started coming into the hall right from 11. 30 A.M. because of the disappointment many had to face in the morning. They waited and waited and at one time, some of the people got up to leave and were persuaded to wait. Swami at last came at about 5.40 P.M. and moved around in His inimitable Divine style and was off in just 10minutes to the stadium where He spent just 5 minutes so as to keep up His time for the Bal Vikas programme in the Sai Centre where Advani and several other VVIPs were also present. From there He was off to another place also. All these days strangely He never took to seat while the bhajan was in progress unlike in Prasanthi! When I phoned up the mobile team at 9. P.M. He was still on the move! When I learnt there was a move afoot to have Swami’s “Padha Namaskars” for the seva dals and volunteers I prayed to Swami thus:
“Swami! Your body is after all human. You cure others of their bodily and mental ills. Should You not take care of Your this human body? You are not using any divine power to preserve Your body in tact? I request You to not to bother Your body with the “Padha Namaskar” of the 10000 volunteers. I am getting Your vision in me whenever I close my eyes. Swami Please… Please.. take care of the health of Your body. I will not be disappointed at all if I do not get the Padha Namaskar.”
At last my patiently working outside the Rai School for the last 3 days controlling crowd did pay rich divine divends. I had close moments with Swami along with my son Vijay, though not in privacy. Swami also conversed with me recognising us. Though he could not bless many thousands of other volunteers and sevadals I am sure He was in a hurry to leave for Bombay and that was why He at last went up the stage and blessed all with both His Hands
At 10.25 A.M. Swami entered the Rai school and within few minutes He spoke kindly to the area Police Inspector who did an excellent job all the four days along with his Assistant (woman police official) and many other constables and before any one could realise what was happening He materialised a ring and put it on his finger. The crowd went up in cheers. He then just picked up a doctor in the medical team and asked him in Hindi " what are you doing" He said in Hindi " I am doing seva?" .Swami said "What seva you are doing. You are only eating and drinking If you do not have patience, wherefrom will you get patients How will you do seva to patients?" People were all just stunned. Swami's tone was quite serious and He was not joking! Then He gave pada namaskars to a limited few volunteers ( both ladies and gents) He left us around 11.20 A.M. and later I got the message from the airport that His flight had left at around 1.15 P.M. He must have reached Bombay by around 3.00 P.M. to bathe Bombay in Divinity ( Which was already immersed in His Divinity)
Before going to the JLN Stadium on the 14h for delivering His Divine Discourse Swami visited the canteen put up by the Punjab Sathya Sai Organisation and their volunteers ( nearly 1100 of them had come) and blessed them all They had done invaluable service to all the volunteers who were posted on duty in and around the Stadium
I just could not believe that Swami had left Delhi. I am still feeling His presence. I am narrating below some finer moments of His Divine Stay in Delhi which, one will not get in any news paper.(of course authenticated ones)
March 13, 1999
Swami stretching His human body to astronomical limits?
Right from day one I observed Swami closely when He was travelling in the car and got it confirmed from others who attended His public darshan (including my wife and son). He looked really tired and very grim. Most of the time He had been with the Delhi politicians only. Obviously He was meaning business. He had often said Delhi was the stomach (capital) of the body (nation). “If the stomach is okay then only the nation will be alright. If the politicians are good then only the governance of the country will be good.” Even the PM had observed on the day of the inauguration of the Sai Centre that let Swami’s placing of his feet on the soil of Delhi bring about a cleansing of the polluted Delhi. So Swami wanted to clean up the politicians first in order to cleanse the “body” so as to set right the whole nation. That explained why He was spending most of His time with the politicians!
Final moments of proximity to Divinity
Divine Moments, touching scenes, Lessons to Learn &c Part –A
Discipline, honesty and reward:
On the 12th evening there was a big line of ladies for Swami’s Darshan outside the Rai School. At any point of time there were more ladies than gents and yet the organisers had provided equal space for both inside the tent. A foreign lady ( by her accent I thought she was an Italian) clad in light saffron coloured sari standing in the queue came out of the line and asked me to guide her to a toilet. The toilet was quite far from the place and I guided her to the location. She took some time to come back and the line had already moved very much ahead and naturally she lost her position in the line. Disciplined as she was, she just went again to the starting point and joined the queue. However by the time she reached the entry point of ladies the inside hall was full and all the ladies were being turned out.
When I saw her coming back I knew what had happened. I felt very grieved, mentally prayed to Swami for forgiveness , took her inside with me despite her declining any sort of special favours and did manage to get her seated near the front row with the help of another seva dal. While returning she profusely thanked me, for she was able to have Bhagawan’s darshan in closeness to her heart’s content. I requested her to thank Swami. Well who am I to be thanked?!
Here is an interesting episode. On the 13th morning again there was a big queue of ladies. The Seva dals were permitted to enter through the barricaded points with a view to speed up their approach to their duty spots. The only way to recognise the sevadals/volunteers was through their identity cards and scarves. Many seva dals were not used to tough Prasanthi standards and came late and by the time long queues had come up already. The sevadals who came late used the barricaded points to gain entry into the tent for their assigned duties. They of course came in for severe criticism by the ladies who have been standing in the line long before. Many were holding their scarves in hand and rushing up.
One middle aged lady entered through the barricade and I asked her if she was a seva dal. She said yes and showed the scarf. Something struck in my mind and I asked her to produce her identity card. She said she lost the card somewhere. I was not convinced somehow and upon probing further she became nervous and came out with the truth. She got the scarf from the road (inadvertently dropped by some seva dal) and noticing that it appeared to have “ some special privileges” she wanted to have a try with it. ( well the scarf was not the Alladin’s magic ring to work with every one!). By the time a police constable posted near by , watching the whole episode, intervened and took the lady with him. I requested him not to harass the lady but just to leave her outside the venue of activity which he did.
People have been telling Baba would be performing great miracles during His visit to and stay in Delhi etc. etc. To all of them I want to say that The greatest miracle of Baba as you all know is His Love as He often says. Therefore His miracles of Love have already been performed in innumerable places . He has planted the seed of Love in the barren lands of Delhi and Lots of people have started feeling His Divine Love already. His producing of ring etc. therefore, was not that important.
Divine Moments,touching scenes,Lessons to Learn &c Part-B
Even those very close to Swami (or those who think they are very close because of their physical nearness) are unable to predict what Swami will do next or where He will move towards.
On the 13th, after the morning darshan was over in the Rai School, He was scheduled to go to Jawahar Lal Nehru Stadium for public Darshan. But He just detoured via the canteen. He entered through the ladies wing of the canteen and came out of the gents’ wing, blessing every body present there, the food and everything. He tasted even the water being served there.
There was an young man who was working all the time distributing water to all the volunteers inside the canteen, who just before the arrival of Swami in the canteen, handed over his charge to some other boy and went out to receive his sister who arrived from Lucknow. And during his absence Swami had arrived at the canteen, shook hands with the substitute who was serving water and had gone after which this young man arrived.
He was naturally distressed to learn what happened but being a very good chap and a sincere devotee of Swami, he never revealed his disappointment. Well what do we know about Divinity ‘s intentions?
Swami acting like a School Principal:
I had already mentioned how during the special darshan and Padha Namaskar on the morning of 14th March 1999 Swami randomly picked up a doctor and chided him.
Here is another anecdote which took place immediately after that. Swami just pointed a finger to a seva dal and spoke to him sternly, in Hindi, exactly like a Principal who admonished an erring student, “ What seva are you doing? You are lazy, lazy…..”
This was just like a father speaking to a son or a class teacher or a school principal trying to show his concern for his son/student. There was deep love and concern even in that “scolding”
Let us not think He is not aware of our “most secret” movements and actions. He is our conscience. Let us not cheat our conscience.
Can any one predict Divinity’s movements?
Divine Moments,touching scenes,Lessons to Learn &c Part– C
Attachments, can we give them up?
On the 14th morning, Swami gave a short discourse in the stadium before He went to the Rai school for His final moments before departure to Bombay. In this only discourse which He gave at the stadium ( the rest two He gave at the Sai Centre and only few of the public and mostly politicians attended) He had stressed as usual on “Love”. “Service to Humanity”, “detachments” etc.
After Swami left the Rai School, when all had dispersed, I went along with my wife and son to the stadium parking to take my scooter. Almost all the people had already left. As soon as I entered the parking lot, a lady seva dal came running to me. She was uncontrollably sobbing. I really got a fright. May be something serious has happened with this lady. In between her sobs this is what she narrated. “She could not find her Maruti 800 car in the parking and obviously it must have been stolen. And I being the only “volunteer” left there must feel my responsibility and retrieve her vehicle!” All conversation took place in Hindi I am giving the English translation.
I just took the liberty of advising her “ Bahenji, I will definitely help. First of all stop your crying. After all it is a car you have lost and even that is covered by insurance . If you can not get the vehicle you will be compensated by the Insurance co. You are a “ Sai Seva Dal” You have just come out having listened to the Divine Discourse of Swami in which He has stressed on “detachment”. And here you are grieving so much on the loss of a car.” Well however much my wife and I tried to console her she was not to be consoled. So I went about business on hand.
So our entire family fanned out to different parking lots ultimately to return disappointed. The car could not be found out. The lady started weeping more and more. I really did not know what to do. As an ultimate recourse I only prayed to Swami. Then something dawned on me. I asked the lady where was her husband. She said he too was a seva dal but posted in the Rai school. When I asked her if he too had a key for the car, she replied in the affirmative. Then it dawned on me. He must have heard the announcment in the Rai school and must have removed the car without informing his wife. My hunch proved to be right.!
Well my dear Sai Sisters and Brothers! Whatever lessons you want to draw from this, you may draw. I am amazed at the way, things have happened during Swami’s visit to Delhi.
Divine Moments, touching scenes,Lessons to Learn &c Part– D
Evidence of germination of the seeds of Love planted in barren lands of Delhi
A day after Swami had left Delhi, on the afternoon of 15th March 1999, I was coming from Connaught place on my scooter. I was all the while thinking about Swami only. How He had virtually stormed into the Dormant Delhi and like a flash had gone, having planted his seeds of Love in the barren lands of Delhi. etc. etc. I had to turn left on the Parliament street just after the Patel Chowk. In most of the roads in Delhi, there is no stop signal for the left turn. However, the traffic police have been introducing this at every point recently/slowly. I just turned left on the Parliament street without noticing the Red –stop signal prohibiting left-turn and just landed up in the waiting net of the traffic police-team. You know, this is the time of Financial year ending (March 31). The police are very zealous about collecting the maximum revenue before the financial year end. Here I was like a goat before the altar getting ready to shell out the fine (Just because I was thinking about My Swami, otherwise I would have noticed the Red light and stopped!)As the Asst sub-inspector was about to write down the registration details of my vehicle and finish challaning( making charge slip) formalities, a traffic Police jeep stopped nearby and a sub-inspector peeped out. He recognised me as one who worked in tandem with the Police, controlling the crowd during the days of Swami’s stay in Delhi. He immediately instructed the Asst sub inspector on duty there, not to charge slip (challan) me and requested me to go saying “Sai Ram!”. I also said “Sai Ram!” All the other policemen present there also said “Sai Ram”. I have stayed in Delhi for the last 30 years and I have never come across a policeman who chanted ever”Sai Ram”. And Here were a group of them chorusing “Sai Ram! What a Divine experience and What to say of Sai Leela! However much one speaks of Sai Leelas, neither the narrator nor the listener is exhausted. On March 19th, 1999 evening, I attended a gathering where one Mrs. Usha Bhatnagar shared her divine experiences when Bhagawan visited her house during His Delhi visit. In fact Swami made number of unscheduled visits while in Delhi. He visited the Kalkaji Sai School. Visited the house of Justice Bhagawati, Modi, Rajesh Khanna (not the film star) besides many other politicians. Who can say about the Divine intentions and detours!
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V. Krishnan, New Delhi
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