Thousand eyes are watching you;
Thousand ears are hearing you;
So, don’t forget your ABC;
Always Be Careful

With the above instruction from Swami ringing in my ears, I set out from the portals of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning almost three decades earlier seeking to make a mark in the wide world. Life from thereon has been a constant learning experience and more importantly a realization of His Omnipresence constantly.

At a very early stage of my career, I got a bit disillusioned with my job content and the lack of recognition for my efforts on the job front. One such day of feeling low, I noticed a crisp handwritten note on my work table at the office.

There is no limit to where you can go;
Or what you can achieve;
If you don’t mind who gets the credit.

These lines immediately uplifted my mood and confidence, reminding me of Swami’s message on Nishkama Karma. This note disappeared mysteriously.

A few years later I had to travel to Myanmar for a business trip. A casual conversation at the airport provided a contact in Yangon who asked me to reach out in case of any need.   As it turned out all my plans went awry on reaching Yangon and I could hardly make any headway with my agenda even after two days of intense effort.  The turning point was when I reached out to the providential contact as the person concerned proved to be very resourceful and he opened up many doors and vistas with the Industrial and Business Community in Myanmar. On the day of my departure over a leisurely breakfast, I got the answer to why I received such a magnitude of favour. There was Swami smiling at me from the altar of this Person and the Divine Photo was procured during his visit to India a decade earlier, the only time he had ever stepped out of Myanmar.  I understood and bowed in gratitude to Swami. The lesson learnt – My presence shall go before thee…

Somewhere in the Mid 1990s I had an opportunity and to start a new venture with a partner and we both decided to have Swami’s Darshan before signing the Partnership Deed. Swami was at Brindavan around that time and we both chose a mutually convenient date for being there in person. The night earlier while travelling by train to Bangalore for this purpose, I had a vivid dream of Swami wherein He commanded: “Stop, do not proceed further with the Plan. I will give you a job where you can add salt to your food. Take Padanamaskar. I know When to make you talk, what to make you talk, where to make you talk and How to make you talk”.  I obeyed Swamis Command, gave up the idea to go ahead with my venture. As future events unfolded, not heeding the Divine Command would have resulted in a catastrophe. The lesson learnt – Swami is communicating to us all the time and we need to be tuned in to receive the messages.

Once during an international business trip, I was stranded in Paris airport as my baggage was misplaced by the airline’s staff. I was distraught as my entire warm clothing was in that bag and was due to board a connecting flight to the USA within a few hours and it was peak winter month of December. A few moments of heartfelt prayer to Swami and miraculously the bag was retrieved and I could board the flight for my onward journey. To this day it is difficult to understand how in a foreign country, talking to a non-English speaking staff, with a time constraint of two hours to board the onward flight and given the sheer scale and size of the airport, a singular bag could be traced is beyond me. This reminded me of Swami’s words – Wherever you go, you are never too far from me.

In another instance, while driving alone in a rural area near Bangalore, I was surrounded by a mob wielding weapons of all kinds. Their target was a tempo travelling ahead of me and inadvertently I was going to become collateral damage. Just then one of the weapon-wielding miscreants glanced at my windshield and sighted Swamis Photo Sticker there. He immediately created a secure path for my vehicle to pass through in the midst of the rampaging mob and ensured my safe passage. The lesson learnt – Don’t treat God as Picture but treat the Picture as God. These are some of the instances in my life which reinforced the concept of Omnipresence of Swami. This entire creation is but a shoreless ocean of Sai Consciousness. We need to be aware of this and live in His Presence… Omnipresence always.

Venkatesh Prasad BCom, Brindavan, and MBA, Prasanthi Nilayam, 1987 – 1992. Currently an Independent Management Consultant based at Bengaluru, India.