Swami has time and again stressed ‘Why Fear When I am Here’. I have heard it many times but never understood its profundity and significance until I experienced problems myself.

I had joined Sri Sathya Sai Higher secondary school for my intermediate in 2006 then went on to pursue my B.Com (Hons) in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning from 2008 – 2011. I was confident that I will get an MBA seat in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, but my world came crashing down when I came to know I was rejected. I never anticipated this and never even pondered upon other options.

I spent many sleepless nights pondering upon over it but nothing occurred to me. As a practice for my MBA entrance test in SSSIHL I had given CAT and MAT entrance tests. Based on my MAT results, I was getting many calls from different universities from Pune and Mumbai. However, I couldn’t think of pursuing an MBA from any other university other than SSSIHL.

Around 2009-2010 I had asked Swami, what  I should do after my B.Com (Hons). His voice was so feeble that I couldn’t hear clearly what He said. I heard Him saying “Do M_A”. I tried asking Him again and again, but I couldn’t understand what He said. This was going on many times and there was a huge beeline of birthday boys behind me. So, I only asked for His pada namaskar and went back to my place. I felt Swami was either asking me to complete my MBA or MA.

Now, I felt Swami has betrayed me by telling me that I need to pursue an MBA or MA. But I did not understand that there are some more degrees that start with M and end with A and Swami might have wanted me to pursue one of them.

During this time, my uncle and aunt who were staying in Bangalore came to Mumbai for an operation. He asked me, “why don’t you pursue MCA?” It struck me MCA also starts with M and ends with A. I took it as Swami’s instruction and plunged into this new adventure. However, every institute I called up stipulated that I should have had maths during my intermediate, which I didn’t. I was then feeling like a drowning person who had suddenly come across a boat only to discover it had holes in it.

My uncle, who had completed his civil engineering and was working in a reputed IT firm in Bangalore, felt there must be another way to do MCA even if I did not have a maths background. He asked me to come to Bangalore and work in a firm so that I would gain some work experience during which we would figure a way for MCA. My uncle had forwarded my resume to a training institute where I was supposed to go for an interview. I was selected. After about three months I came to know Swami’s work at the backstage. It happened that my uncle’s name and the name of the Director of the company (in which he worked) were the same and the training institute thought that the mail has come from the Director of that company. After being inducted in a reputed BPO firm, I started pursuing my MCA from IGNOU which only wanted maths either in my intermediate or in my undergrad.

In 2015, I had a dream where I was sitting in a room near a desktop with my whites. I inferred that Swami was asking me to pursue my post Grad in SSSIHL. I thought I should apply for an MBA again.

One day, I had a very bad experience in my workplace and had totally lost my mind. I had a small chair in my room and considered it as Swami’s chair. I spoke angrily to Swami, imagining Him on the chair. This went on for an hour or so. I emptied my mind and felt quite light after which I fell asleep. I had a dream that day. Swami was coming in a golf car from His residence. He passed through the ladies’ side then he passed through the gents’ side. After reaching the end He takes a right turn. He was seeing everyone and was blessing everyone with a smile. I was sitting near the old student block with another brother. We were having the application form in our hands with a pen. He came to us and stopped and He stretched Himself. We both went near Swami and showed our application forms to Him. He said, “You write the exam, I WILL TAKE CARE”. I woke up with a jolt. I was drenched with sweat. I started crying.

Finally, I gave my entrance exam at our Institute, cleared the tests, the GD and the interview. I was a student again. By Swami’s grace, I completed my MBA with flying colours by 2018 and secured a job in IT domain. I fully concentrated on my MCA now and cleared that as well. I understood what Swami said, Do M_A after B.com(Hons). I had asked only for one degree but He ensured that I got qualified to pursue two. Hasn’t Swami said, “I always qualify the called”?

Abhishek Ganapathy High school Grade 11 & 12, B.Com (Hons) in Brindavan, 2006 – 2011, MBA, 2016-18, Prasanthi Nilayam. He is currently a Senior IT Executive in Tata Trusts, Mumbai.