Bhagawan Uvaacha showcases unforgettable words spoken by the Lord to alumni –words whose majesty shines through the mists of time and
memory!

Always respect elders
In my college days I was once sitting in the bhajan mandir awaitingSwami’s arrival. I sat among the front rows when Bhagavan came in. I waited patiently holding a letter in my hands, till Swami finally gestured to me to come forward. As I made my way toward Swami, I accidentally scraped the knees of the temple pujari with my feet. This slight transgression did not escape Swami’s notice. While taking my letter Swami said “You must show proper respect towards elders. If your feet touch Swami I will not mind, however you must be very respectful with elders. Keep this in mind always.” The incident left a deep impression in my heart and since then I have always tried my best to follow this command. Years had passed since. Following my graduation from the Institute, I began work with a company in Bangalore. This company had a cab drop facility at night, which at the time wasn’t very streamlined. Colleagues from the office would vent their anger on the driver even though he was merely fulfilling instructions. I was the last person on my route to get dropped, and that allowed me time to enquire about his well being and speak few kind words to him. This went on for a long time and became a daily routine. On my last day in the company, I mentioned to the cab driver that it was my last day. What followed is something that is deeply etched in my memory. He said “Sir, there is something which I always wanted to tell you. I do not know why, but whenever I speak to you I feel joyful. You always spoke kindly to me and it gave me lot of peace when you were around in the cab. I will miss you and your kind words a lot.” On reflection I realized that all other colleagues who used the cab used to abuse the driver and behave in a way that was disrespectful to him. Swami’s loving words came back to me in a flash at that moment and I was overjoyed on realizing that Swami’s words were the source of happiness for both the cab driver and I.

The Greatest Effort
Life in the hostel was the best lesson in self reliance. I entered Bhagawan’s fold in my 11th class in the year 1998. Coming from a family where men never helped in any of the household chores, it was difficult for me to adjust to the fact that that students needed to help in tasks such as serving food, sweeping the room etc. However, in spite of my best efforts, I could not avoid having to sweep the room in my first week itself. After the task, which seemed herculean, I was exhausted. Looking at Swami’s photo in the room, I couldn’t help thinking silently; tongue-in-cheek “This is my great effort in Your hostel!” The same afternoon during darshan Swami spoke to me for the first time in my student life. After some general questions, He created vibhuti, poured it into my hand and remarked “This is for your great effort!” These loving words struck me like a thunderbolt because these were the same words that I had used to address Swami’s photo in the hostel. It dawned on me then as to how foolish was I to complain; after all I was blessed with the greatest boon of witnessing every act of God as He walked on earth. The concern the master and the creator showed towards even the tiniest feelings of His students was something that only has to be experienced.

Lift yourself to experience God
Swami once happened to come in His car to the hill view stadium. After completing a round, we saw His car coming to a halt just near the rear entrance of the hostel. With anticipation, we waited to see if His car would turn and take the route into the hostel. Strangely Swami’s car just waited there – none of us could guess why. After this brief halt, to our disappointment Swami’s car turned away and the divine visit was not to be. The purpose of this short halt did not remain a mystery for long. In the afternoon Swami enquired about a particular boy in the hostel. The warden started summoning boys to where Swami sat, but none of them was the student Swami was looking for. He then mentioned that the boy was a student in the music college. There was a music college boy sitting right next to me and I prodded him to go on upto Swami. As soon as he got up, Swami’s face lit up with recognition and He beckoned him to come up front. We were wonderstruck, after all – what was so special about this boy that Swami Himself had to search for him? What we heard from Swami that moment was something none of us could have anticipated. Swami asked the boy “Today morning weren’t you sitting near the window of your room with a bad headache? You thought how nice it would be if Swami were to come right there. However you did not to lift yourself and look outside the window – I was right there outside the hostel looking at you!” Swami had conveyed a profound truth in such a casual and simple way! God is there always waiting, man only needs to lift himself – if he puts that effort then he could experience God.

Faith is most important
It was the year 2004, during the second year of my post graduation. One morning word reached me that I was to speak the same evening in Swami’s presence. Not just that, Swami had also particularly sent instructions regarding the contents of the speech. Not that I am nervous speaker, however the circumstances made me fairly nervous. Even though it was not my first speech in Bhagawan’s presence I was torn apart by doubts as to whether I would be able to do justice to the faith Bhagawan reposed in me. I went to Lord Ganesha’s idol in the institute and broke down in tears. Finally, resigning myself to fate, I gathered myself and prepared a speech as best as I could. The evening finally arrived and just prior to my speech as per custom I offered Swami a rose. Swami gave me a very angry look. He said “Nammakam Ledu! Nenu matladutunnanu” (You don’t have faith! I will speak.) I still don’t remember the details of how I delivered the speech, or what I spoke. The only thing I was conscious of was the large round of applause following almost every sentence in that speech. The speech was a success and Swami in a ‘token’ of appreciation blessed me with a gold chain. But deep in my heart I knew as to who really deserved all the appreciation and accolades. This incident left a profound mark on my thinking. As long as you hold the onus of doership, you would be burdened with the anticipation of the result. Place the burden in God’s hands and watch His will flowing through you and performing myriad miracles of faith and love.