Footsteps walking with Me

In His Comforting Care

I ended my previous blog (The Swami I grew up with) with a question. Time to find out how many of you guessed it right. What was the mark Swami had blessed me with!!! But before that, I am going to take a little detour from our main story in order to delve deep into the theme of this incident.

The Ten Buddies - A Fable of Friends

Once upon a time... long long ago... there lived a bunch of friends who lived in a village called "Numbers". They lived together in a big cottage with fragrant roses climbing the walls and the garden was a riot of colors with blossoming flowers of every shade. The friends aiding and adding to each other's qualities. Sometimes multiplying the facts or should I say gossips 😉 And sometimes dividing into group. The one thing they never did was subtracting or moving away from each other. But they did have one desire. And that was to become a leader of the group.

The Ten Amigos :-)

One day, an argument broke out among the friends as to who betters the rest.

Number 1 said, "I am Number 1 and I am a hero. this my dear friends is a zero (pointing towards the Zero)".

Number 0 replied, "Oh no no. You don't call me a zero. Me standing next to any of you, makes you a Hero".

Number 2 interrupted them, "I am 2. Two means double but never in trouble. Don't you see. Two friends together is always a pleasure".

In this manner, all the members argued back and forth claiming to be the best. Unable to choose the best among them, they all went to the number wizard for a solution.

The Award goes to...

The wizard in an instant chose number 9 as the best who remained quiet, calm and serene throughout the entire argument. The wizard went onto explain how number 9 is the real hero and took out references from various scriptures to understand the greater significance of number 9.

Number of Brahman

Navarathri - During the autumn festival of the Great Goddess, The Divine mother takes nine form each day. The Navadurga.

Navagraha - According to Indian Astrology, there are Nine celestial bodies and 27 stars.

And the list goes on and on.. The Navarasa.. Navaratna.. Navadhanyam..

The wizard tells the most important aspect of Number 9 through the story of the great avatar, Shirdi Sai Baba. At the time of His Mahasamadhi, Shirdi Sai gave nine coins to Lakshmi bai for the great service she had rendered throughout her life. Baba explained to Lakshmi bai that those were not just 9 coins, but the nine types of devotion, nine facets of the Diamond called Bhakthi. Practicing even one of them can take you to God head.

Even the puranas have described the lives of the great exemplars of the 9 forms of devotion. They are Parikshit for Shravanam, Narada for Kirtanam, Prahlada for Smaranam, Lakshmi for Padsevanam, Prithu for Archanam, Akrura for Vandanam, Hanuman for Dasyam, Arjuna for Sakhyam, and Bali for Atmanivedanam.

Nine Facets of Diamond called "Bhakthi"

At the end, the wizard also explains about the Nine point code of conduct. When questioned by the numbers on who gave this guidelines, the wizard tells that, that was His Master to whom the number 9 is very special. And He is none other than Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba... 😇

Being convinced that infact Number 9 is the best and Sacred, the numbers converged singing in unison the song, “SAI WE ARE NINE… SAI YOU ARE MINE…”

The story ends here..

Drama offered in the Divine Presence
"SAI WE ARE NINE.. SAI YOU ARE MINE"

Expecting the Unexpected..

Now, if you all remember, we would write 108 times the name of the Lord every day praying for our results and this became our daily sadhana. The reward came on the day of my SSLC results. And it happened in a manner I never have imagined. So here it is.. Swami in His infinite grace had blessed me with a "999". I was dumbstruck when I saw my results. My joy knew no bounds.

Immediate reaction from my friends was "Oh Rohini, you missed it by 1 mark.. A 1000 would have been great". But guys would there be a greater blessing than this. That 1 mark made a huge difference.

Nine Nine Nine :)

So much stressed upon the numbers/marks, today I realize only one thing. Just when Shirdi Sai offered Lakshmi bai with the 9 coins explaining about the nine forms of devotion, she asked Baba to grace her with Ananya Bhakthi. Likewise, when my dear Bhagwan chose to bless His little girl with a divine mark, she seeks nothing but His love and love alone.. A Devotion without Deviation..

"For one who worships Me, giving up all his activities unto Me and being devoted to Me without deviation, engaged in devotional service and always meditating upon Me, who has fixed his mind upon Me, O son of Pṛthā, for him I am the swift deliverer from the ocean of birth and death."

A Bond for Lifetimes Sealed in the Very First Darshan..

Though I encountered with several experiences of Sai, I missed His Physical presence. I would long to see Swami and speak with Him.

Day passed by when I had this very beautiful dream. This was the first dream of Swami that I could remember. There was pin drop silence around and I was standing near a staircase in the ground floor of my tuition. All of a sudden, a man taller than me wearing a Kafni was just standing before my eyes. That moment I felt some sort of connection. Later I realized that it was Shirdi Sai himself. It was a clear indication that, "O my dear Child, Here I am. Entering into your life. Get ready for the wondrous miracles you are going to experience from this moment on".

The Staircase where I first met Shirdi Sai

Swami connected with me on that day and I haven't lost the connection since. It's been 15 years now; the bond is growing stronger and stronger with every passing moment. I wake up every morning with the same feeling of connection.

"Do not waste your life in making arrangements,
For they have already been made.
Use that time wisely instead to do prayers,
And seeking Me in all, in every living form.
Only have faith in My arrangements,
And know that I am present
At all times everywhere.
All you have to do is to ask for My help.
I require no time travel.
My presence is certain anywhere,
Where I am sincerely thought of.
In fact, your thought of Me, and My presence
Are instantaneous"