From my first days as a student, I had the good sense to realize that the life of the Avatar must be captured and in my own small way I did what I was able to – recording His discourses and taking His pictures. In those days I used a manual zoom camera (Canon AE-1 Program with 75-210mm zoom) and am ever grateful to my parents and elder brothers for unconditionally supporting me with cameras, film, tape recorders, and cassette tapes. In the early 1980s it was not easy getting all these and maintaining them in India but that is where Swami encouraged me directly and through my family. I would say that all those of us students who had the opportunity and His permission took on this role seriously of capturing the life of the Avatar. One of the important lessons Swami taught to students and lecturers, is to always be ready, especially for the call from the Divine. Accordingly, when taking photographs in His presence, one must always be ready to take photos of the event, of Swami, individual pictures of Swami, and of students with Swami. In the 1980-90 period, we had 35mm film cameras with 36 exposures per roll. Unlike digital cameras nowadays with large memory cards allowing you to take hundreds or thousands of pictures, with film rolls we needed to be deliberate and frugal and allow for time to wind the completed roll back into the film canister and to load a new roll

Because of this I always had two cameras (the second a Canon EOS 650), multiple lenses (zoom and wide angle), at least 10 rolls of film (360 shots), and batteries for the flash. All of this with the intention of not wasting the precious time of the Yugaavatar. On one occasion in Brindavan, around 1989 when I was a Lecturer there, the final year students had prayed to Swami to take photographs with Him, and seeing their yearning, Swami agreed. As lecturers and elder brothers, we had prepped the students earlier in the day, in case He agreed to the coveted photos, to quickly assemble in a line for photos and to not waste the time of the Lord. On that day there were hundreds of devotees waiting for Darshan in the Sairam shed and when Swami graciously agreed for individual photos with the graduating students. All the students did marvelously by forming a neat line and waiting for Swami. Swami then called me forward and asked where we on the lawns of Brindavan should be for taking the pictures. Now, this is not a simple question – when the Lord asks, who am I to speak or suggest a location. I deferred to Swami and prayed to Him for the spot. He then “admonished” me and said that I was the photographer and therefore should suggest a good spot.

By His grace I had the good sense to say that Swami knows everything and that He should guide. Swami then smiled, and approvingly, and proceeded to pick the best spot from a lighting and scenic perspective! As I started to take the pictures of the students who came forward one by one to stand beside Swami and move, I made sure to keep both cameras loaded and ready and made sure to switch to the next camera as the film got over in one of the cameras. The students were efficient and disciplined in their posing quickly and moving on to give the chance to the next student. As this went on for a few minutes, Swami suddenly said to stop and seemingly very seriously asked if we all noticed what was going on. We were all afraid that someone had transgressed to waste His precious time, or had displeased Swami in some way. Swami then explained in His loving and simple way the eternal truth, that Divinity is the constant and just as the students are coming standing next to Swami and then going, so is the material world and those in it are just coming and going! What a lesson while taking photos on the lawns of Brindavan! Divinity is permanent, everything comes & goes.

The nearness and dearness, that we yearn for, was achieved by the deer in Brindavan. One evening, after giving darshan at the Sai Ram shed, Swami came back to Trayee and made His way to the deer cage. It was always a sight to see Swami with the deer – the yearning of the deer and the love of Swami on them. The deer would normally be spread out grazing in various parts of the large enclosed area, and even when the attender came with food, they would not come running the way they did for Swami! On this day, Swami entered the cage, and I also slipped in to take pictures with my zoom lens from afar, lest I disturb Swami with the deer. What a sight to behold – the deer running from all directions to Swami, skidding in the loose dirt and stopping just at His feet! Swami would then so lovingly feed the deer with cut apples that the deer would take so enthusiastically from Swami, but not from the attender with the same enthusiasm. The deer had found the Source and did not want to lose the precious chance of being with Him and being fed by Him!

The Near and Dear Swami

In His graciousness, Swami gave me the opportunity to “capture” Him through photos. This gave me the golden opportunity to see the informal facet of Swami where He was casual and so loving. In Ooty we saw Swami staying partially hidden behind the curtain, lovingly watching the Ooty school children chat vedas. Swami stayed like this without revealing Himself so that the children were not disturbed. Later, the interactions Swami had with the children was a sight to see!

One of the things I realized early on was that Swami was the Divine photographer. I was just there to get the opportunity and enjoy the bliss that the Lord gives! Though I was carrying the camera and pressing the shutter button, without His will and His grace none of the photos would come out right. There were days when you could go through a whole roll of film and not get one good picture. On other days, like when He waited for me to press the shutter button, that one picture would be heavenly and be seared in your heart! In a literal sense, Swami was also a Divine photographer par excellence! It was in 1988, and I was a Lecturer in Brindavan at the time. In April of 1988, Swami took a batch of MBA students, some lecturers from Puttaparthi, and from Brindavan to Ooty and Kodaikanal for a month-long trip. It was literally a heavenly experience, and fantastic photo opportunities – of Swami and with Swami! One morning, Swami took students to a devotee’s house on the hillside for photos. It was perfect – a pleasant and sunny day with the Lord in the hills! Swami found a fabulous spot for photographs, at the edge of the garden wall overlooking the hills and valley below. After taking individual pictures with everyone, Swami started casually strolling in the rose garden.

It was quiet, but for the noisy 35mm SLR cameras with motor drives that a few of us were using to take pictures of Him. Swami looked at us and waved His hand and said how noisy we were. Then Swami then said he would show how He took pictures! He waved His hand in front of a yellow rose and materialized a 3D hologram of that very same Rose! It was a sight to see the creator in creation, and then the Creator capturing that creation in the palm of His Hand!

(The author is the grandson of late Br. Sri Ghandikota Subrahmanya Sastry garu (renowned Vedic scholar) and son of late Sri Ghandikota V. SubbaRao (retired senior United Nations official). He was born and brought up in USA, and had the privilege of joining Swami’s college at Prasanthi Nilayam in 1981, completing his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in commerce. After receiving the gold medal for best all-round student from Swami in 1985, he served as a lecturer in Commerce from 1986 to 1992 at the Brindavan campus of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. Currently, a Senior Director at S&P Global Market Intelligence in New York, USA.)