Y Arvind
Prasanthi Nilayam

I am what I am because He made me so. This, in one sentence is the impact of Bhagawan on my life. He blessed me with education, gave me an identity, provided me a vocation and is continuously directing my life. To be what He wants me to be is the greatest gift of gratitude that I can offer at His Feet.

We are all diamonds – rough and unique – each created with a purpose in His scheme of things. To be aware of this is to know oneself as a part of eternity. For 20 years Bhagawan taught, tested, guided and chiselled me for many roles. He was the caring mother, the correcting father, the ultimate preceptor and my soul’s refuge. One cannot but be truly grateful to such a Master who led by example. He by His very being showed that one is limitless when established in the Spirit. From what Bhagawan taught, I understood spirituality as what we define for ourselves – sourced from the within, the rest is what others define for us. Freudian conditioning, family, society, circumstances, were all figments of the mind not the spirit. I could choose to be what I wanted to be, if I could just tap the resources within.

Two decades ago, as a young confused, disturbed teen I was looking at a future as an Engineer, preparing for competitive tests to enter the premier institutions of the country. There was the fire of youth and the desire to achieve… yet a sense of discontent persisted that this is not everything that life is all about. I came to Him with the desire to be complete, to be a better person. Today we all understand that we did not come to Him – He called us to Himself. He took me in at a time when I felt I needed help most and over time, showed me that He had always been there for me, holding my hand. The ease with which He brushes off our effusion of gratitude for everything that He has done for us was evident in the simple words He used in a conversation with my mother. To the outpouring from the mother’s heart He replied with the sweet words “Chusukunnanu, Chusukuntanu”. (I have taken care and I will take care.)

I once received an email which said, “You are where you are because God wants you there”. There are many instances in the last two score years that have reinforced my faith in His Guiding Hand. We would all have experienced magical moments in our life when things just fell into place at those moments when we looked up at his visage with eyes full of pain and sorrow. Life has its vagaries that foster our evolution, both materially and spiritually. The pace of evolution is unique to each of us. Bhagawan exemplified how to be in the bivouac of life, to adapt, understand, evolve and perform. He stressed on unity at all levels, internal and external. Yet diversity exists. The Sai family is testament to the truth that to accept this diversity is to understand unity. One is still learning, still practicing.

Brother Y Arvind is based out of Bangalore and is currently a senior consultant for health systems research. He is a gifted public speaker, writer, actor, director. He was in the Institute Brass band, trumpet section, and is part of ‘Rhythmic Energy’ an alumni group of musicians band.