Sathya Dutt
2008 Prasanthi Nilayam

Those were my final days as a student in Swami’s hostel. Days were moving like seconds, and my heart was heavy with a question that was ringing within, “Swami, what I should do, for surely without You, I am nothing and cannot do anything. “Even though I was weighed down by that nagging question, I was actively running every day for Darshan, waiting for an opportunity to get an answer from Him. This quest was to be with our beloved Sai Ma, a feeling that commonly shared by everyone of us while passing out of the portals of the Institute.

As the days passed by, Swami directed a few students to pursue a PhD program, a few to work, a few others to pursue charted Accountancy and so on… But for me, my question remained unanswered after every Darshan. My mother suggested that I ask Swami if it’s fine to go abroad after MBA. However, I was not able to ask this for quite a while. Ugadi 2007, I was sitting in the first line of the third block and got a chance to talk to Swami. I asked Him, “Swami..Videsalakuvellamantara” (May I go overseas?) Swami looked at me, took my letter and moved on.

That day Swami gave a discourse on SarvajithNamaSamvatsaram (2007). He said, “Very soon, the entire world will be united into a single unit. Students should strive to achieve that ideal. The senses are very strong in children. The physical, mental, and spiritual strength in them is of a high order. You have to make proper use of that strength. I expect you not to misuse your senses. Only then can you do great service to the world. It is not enough if you simply go to one temple and do some white washing to its walls. That is not service at all. Every house must be kept clean. You can visit any house that is kept clean.

From today onwards, you must all embark on a mission to bring about a transformation in the villages. It does not mean that the villages are to be transformed into towns and cities. In fact, I don’t like such transformation. First and foremost, the villages are to be kept clean.”

Swami looked at me a couple of times while saying the above phrase.

Deena JanoddharanaSevaye JanardhadhuniSeva

This had struck a chord and the task to be undertaken became clear. As part of a group, I visited Deena Janoddharana Padhakam (DJP) hostel in Puttaparthi and started spending some time there.

During Darshan, I used to sit with them answering their questions and clearing various doubts. Even after taking up a job in Bangalore after MBA, every Sunday we rushed to Parthi, help DJP and visited our own beautiful hostel.

During our convocation, my classmate played Swami’s message in His own voice. “My students after moving out from Parthi, join companies, work hard and bring name to our university. On Sundays, they get up early have curd rice, proceed towards villages, go around doing Nagarasankirtan, visit the houses and serve the villages.”

Again it reverberated in my ears

JanardhadhuniSevaye – GramaSeva

Taking a clue from that, we started visiting to villages Bovipalya andTarabhalli. From then on for two years, almost every Sunday we regularly participated in Grama Seva. We performed Nagarasankirtan, visited houses, conducted medical camps, brought the villagers to hospitals, inducted them into vocational training centers and celebrated festivals such as Sankranthi, Christmas, and other festivals with then. I still vividly remember loud and exuberant procession of the village goddess during VijayaDasami. Two years passed in a blink.

During the Premabandham of 2009, we presented to Swami the SSSVIP report (Tarabhalli village).

His first remarks were, “Gramalakuvelli, intiintikivelli,
vallaavasaralutelusukuni, tadaanugunamugaasevacheyandi.”
(Go to villages, go to every house, understand their needs and accordingly render service.)

Pointing to every photo, Swami and verified about the Seva activity and spoke to us for two to three minutes asking about the village devotees. He blessed us with Padanamaskaram and gave as a golden opportunity to pose for a photo with Him.

Time passed. One day, I was not feeling well and so went to the General Hospital with a Sai brother. While coming out from the doctor’s room, a sister from Tarabhahalli village came to me and enquired whether my health was fine. She shared her concern that I looked very weak. She further told us that all the villagers are doing well and that every month she is brought on her own the patients from Tarabhahalli to the hospital.

April 25, 2011.
Devotees were flooding to Prashanti Nilayam to pay their obeisance to our beloved Swami. It was a tough task controlling devotee lines that day. To our surprise, I spotted youth from Bovipalya – it was their first visit to Parthi. They asked us to give them an opportunity to serve Swami by controlling the lines. With tears I could only say, “First have Darshan. We will meet again.”

The above experiences show us how Swami instills love and a sense of service in all those villagers. These villages reverberate with divinity and are in unison with nature. In this entire process, these innocent villagers bring warmth to our hearts. Rural Balvikas students make us believe to be none other than Sai.

These experiences have thought me the Grama Sevaye Sri Sathya  Sai Ramuni Seva.

Brother Satya Dutt works in an IT firm in Chennai. His stay at Parthi has inspired him to take up various service projects including village development. He is also member of the alumni communication team that helps disseminate information & news across the alumni globally.