Anand Ramaswamy
1994 Brindavan

This month marks the completion of 25 years of joining Bhagawan’s institution and 20 years of passing out of the same. Time has flown by. However in retrospect, every single moment has stood still reminding me of the immeasurable happiness and bliss experienced by me as a student of the great institution.

My joining swami’s college happened in the most mysterious of circumstances. I had heard the name Sri SathyaSai Baba, somewhere sometime as a passing whisper. I had no knowledge about Bhagawan, or anything associated with Prasanthi Nilayam or Swami’s mission. I had not even seen Swami’s photograph even once. It would be nothing less than a fairy tale if I were to tell you that I saw Swami’s photo the first time in a bus stand between Dharmavaram and Puttaparthi. This was on the way to Parthi for the 11th standard exams. One of my family friends mentioned about the greatness of the institution and insisted that my dad should take me there for the entrance. We did so more from an excursion point of view and were rather not very serious about the academic process.

I was never very great in academics. I was somewhere in the middle of the class, but lo and behold, I came 3rd in the entrance exams across hundreds of students who wrote the same. Shock of a lifetime! But Swami also did not attempt to repeat such miracles later, I must say.

Thus, I joined Swami’s college. My father was keen that I get back to Bombay after the entrance exams. But it was Swami’s infinite mercy and will that kept me steadfast in my resolve to continue there. The academic year commenced, and it was almost 45 days before the Bombay State Board announced the 10th board results.

Darshan during those days were magical. The Mandir was newly cemented and there was enough and more opportunity to see, touch and experience Swami in the form everyone has known and experienced. I did not enjoy my stay initially and food was terrible as stuff like garlic was a big ‘No No’ for me. But over a period of time, things settled.

It was the first of September 1989 – my birthday. For the last 10 to 15 days I was struggling due to severe fever. It was never receding, and I had become so weak and tired that I had started hallucinating of people from my family in Bombay around my bedside. It was a ritual then to carry chocolates and spices in a tray before Bhagawan during birthdays. He would throw those chocolates to students and would bless the birthday boys. We would get to sit on the first row. I was reluctant as I was badly ill. Somehow, the student brothers got me dressed and I was made to plonk at the first row with the tray in hand. My body was blazing and I so badly wanted to get back and hit the bed. This is when I experience the first miracle of my life. Swami came out for Darshan and walked straight towards me and materialised Vibhuti and gave some in my hand and applied some on my forehead. I had seen random sights of this in the couple of months of being there, but happening in front of me, for me, took my breath away. I just froze. I did not know what to say. Swami asked me where i came from. I coughed out feebly, “Swami, I am from Bombay.” He gestured as if He could not hear. So I repeated again a bit louder, “I am from Bombay Swami.” He, the Creator of the universe, He who created me and everyone and everything around, was asking me where I was from and I was trying to educate the Lord Himself to where I was from!

Swami proceeded towards Darshan. I felt something that I had never ever experienced before in my life. In a couple of minutes, my fever started receding. I could see it coming down my face, my neck, my body. There was a moment when my face was cold, but my neck and below was blazing. In a matter of minutes, I was completely cold and feeling a new sense of newly found vigour. Swami had cured my fever and probably a large illness that was to affect me. In my 5 years I was there and in the 25 years ever since, never ever have I fallen seriously ill. The Cosmic Creator is protecting me by His infinite grace.

Thus began a journey of 5 years (2 years in Parthi and 3 in Brindavan). It would be dim-witted to attempt to describe Swami as languages are insufficient to do any justice. Swami is my life, my mission and my all-pervasive conscience. I cannot imagine what life would have been if Swami had not taken me and my whole family, in His fold.

Today looking back at my student days, I feel that there should definitely be a time machine that can undo time and take us back into the fantastic moments all of us spent at the lotus feet of our dear Lord. I do not think I would ever be able to exhaust everything that I would possibly want to say… but thanks to Vidyullekha, I had taken the 1st and the ‘should-have- done-long-back’ step of penning down a few of my thoughts.

Sai Bhajana bina Sukha Shanthi Nahi!

Brother Anand Ramaswamy works for a large private bank in Mumbai. An instrumentalist since his college days, he continues to be involved through music in the Sai Samithi. He is also involved in seva activities of the samithi