It's Sunday 25 April 2010. The screen has been drawn and we are waiting for it to be opened again. For when it is we will see Shri Satchithananda Satguru Sainath Maharaj in resplendent glory. We have just witnessed the pranaprathista of the Sai temple at Flushing in Queens, New York otherwise famous for the flushing meadows. The events started at 630 am this morning but icame to learn today that Baba has been worshipped here for the last 16 years. What started as a modest temple in a house has today become a ful fledged temple in the styles of Bangalore's Malleswaram or Indra Nagar. We were here just in time for the completion of the homam and the start of the kumbabishekam. That was followed by the actual opening of the idol on which a grand Abhishekam was performed. The incessant showers of milk through the sieve over the head of Baba was simply breathtaking. Even as the showers of milk poured tears poured down my eyes and I thanked Him for everything he has given me. To be in West Mambalam in Chennai and witness such a grand function would have been one thing but to be in Queens, New York and witness this, to say I am blessed is a gross understatement. I certainly don't know what I have done to deserve this.
Elsewhere, in motherland India, the whole nation would at this time be glued to the IPL final between Mumbai and Chennai but hundreds of Indians in Queens are witnessing LIVE this wonder of wonders. I hae to say the atmosphere is electric. The chant of Om Sai Sri Sai Jai Jai Sai is currently filling the air, just after the Vedas have been flawlessly rendered. Everyone is waiting with Saburi for the scren to be parted and the Maha Mangala Arathi to begin. That I am sure will the cresendo much like the instruments that Rae played at the Chavadi procession.
I can keep going on and on but the last thing I would like is to miss this grand finale so I will sign of now.
Bolo Shri Satchithanand Satguru Sainath Maharaj ki JAI.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Feeling Go(o)d today...
Little things matter. I have read it in the Satcharitra, said it in my previous writings and felt it millions of times in my life. This post is just a reiteration of the same based on the last 24 hours.
I woke up at 7 AM on Wed 17 Mar 2010. Pretty late for a Wednesday morning because, my wife and son always arise after I do and that meant that my son was not going to get his school bus. After the daily morning routines, I had to drop him off at school just before 830. I decided to take a quite ride and went to the medical store down the street to pick up some things. That done, I then stopped at the grocery store for some more. When I got home to my second cup of coffee, it was 915 AM. I had a short conference call from 930 to 10 and that done, I was staring at another rahter mundane day at work. I wasn't feeling too excited about it. I had a one hour before my next conference call and so I switched on the live relay of the IPL I have subscribed to on the internet. It was a Mumbai vs Delhi game and the toss was just on. Gambhir won the toss and invited Mumbai to bat which meant that in less than 25 minutes, Sachin Tendulkar would be batting. I decided to take a quick shower and be back to watch a half hour of the game before I started work for the day in a major way.
Disclaimer: I never watch TV when I am working from home and God knows this is true.
Between the shower and the game obviously lay my short and sweet prayer routine. My shower done, I walked straight up to the puja space in my home, applied vibuthi and sat down in my usual pose to close my eyes and pray. The game had begun and I could hear the commentary from it. Even as I started praying, I heard the noise as Sachin Tendulkar struck his first four. I was tempted to get up right away and go watch the replay of that shot, but sanity prevailed over me that very moment and I stayed eyes closed in prayer. At that moment, I thanked God for the fact he gave me the discipline to stay in prayer rather than seek the enjoyment of watching the game. At the same time, it also struck me how watching Sachin Tendulkar bat is the one thing that gave me more pleasure than anything else in this life and I thanked Baba that my greatest source of enjoyment was this simple pleasure that harmed no one or caused no hurt. The fact that I could also enjoy this with no attachment to how much he scored and that I could forget everything the minute after and move on with life gave me a greater sense of peace. I continued that prayer, eyes closed, mind extremely peaceful and thankful once again to Baba for simple pleasures in life.
A few minutes later, my prayer done and slipped into a comfortable pair of clothes, I settled on the couch next to my cousin to indulge in my greatest pleasure, if only for a matter of 25 minutes. My prayers were answered in the next 60 minutes. Sachin Tendulkar went on to make a delightful 63 in 37 balls and set Mumbai on the course to make 214 in 20 overs and then lead them to a big 98 run win in their second game of the 2010 IPL 20-20 contest. One minute of patience and sincerity and I gained one hour of BLISS. If you think little things don't matter, think again. I also went on to have a very productive day at work, an evening spent well with family and I ended the day feeling very positive and good about myself.
Just before I went to bed, my wife and I planned for today. I had to be at a client's office in New York city this morning at 9 AM and I had work planned in the city the whole day. We were trying to plan on whether I should use the public transport system or drive in my car and we settled on public transport. Working back from 9 AM, I figured out that I had to catch a bus at 6 AM, which meant that I had to leave home at 530 and that in turn meant I had to be up and awake at maybe 4 AM. At that very moment, my wife slipped in a last request before it would be lights out. "I was hoping that you would at least replace flowers in the puja tomorrow. It's Thursday, remember?", she said. For one instant, I was mad at her for throwing in the last minute request. But this was a God thing and it wasn't like I had never done it before. I remember when I had to leave for one of my residence weeks at school last year that I woke up at 300 AM, did the puja and was ready at 5 AM to be gone for a week. "That is not a problem", I said, though not sure in my mind if it was a problem or not. However, I promised her I would take care of it and then set my alarm for 345 AM, before I hit the bed, still pretty confused.
I woke up at 330 AM and after a quick bio-break decided to sleep another 25 mintues. So I reset the alarm for 4 AM and when it did go off, I was up and feeling fresh. I quickly brushed my teeth and even as I was making myself a cup of coffee I was planning the next 90 minutes. I realized I had not completed an important status update for a meeting, I had to shower and shave, I had to replace the flowers for the Gods and then I had to probably iron my clothes. Now that's the problem of working from home. You never go out, so you are never ready at any point. It's always press the shirt just before you wear it. That was a handful. I calmly picked up my cup of coffee and sat down with my computer. It was 415 AM and I decided to quickly send out the status update by 430 AM. So much for my planning skills, it was 445 when I finshed the updates and drained out the coffee from the cup. I switched off the computer (which I usually do as I am walking down the steps to board the taxi...), dropped the coffee cup in the kitched sink and hit the shower. I was out again at 501 AM in front of Swami. There was no way I was going to replace the flowers, iron my clothes and be ready for the taxi at 530. I closed my eyes, prayed to Baba to forgive me for my anger last night and started to remove the old flowers even as I was reciting my routine prayers. I had placed the fresh flowers, lit the lamp and completed my slokas by 515. I completed the shastang namaskar to God and walked into the closet. There was no way I was going to make it by 530.
I noticed that none of my dress shirts were ironed, the only 2 shirts that looked even clean were 2 new shirts that I had once rejected because I felt they were slightly oversized, not a perfect fit. I don't what I was thinking in my mind, but I just decided to try one of those 2 new shirts. I knew that my blue suit was still clean and fresh from my last client visit to San Antonio about 4 weeks ago becuase I had worn it only one day for a few hours. And this shirt would go well with the blue suit. I tried it on and magically indeed, it seemed like a perfect fit today. I smiled at myself, put on my trousers and knotted my tie on. I then picked up my socks and my jacket and on the way out, woke up my wife, letting her know that I was ready to leave and would she kindly see me off and get back to sleep? It was 525 AM. I came straight back to the puja, thanked God and decided to use the extra 4 minutes for another cup of coffee. Wow! Was I a satisfied man? I was beaming with confidence. It only got better when my wife who walked in to the living room saw the puja, thanked me for the flower replacement and said, "Wow, the flowers are the same color as the stripes on your shirt!". "You are looking good, she added.
I left home exactly at 532, the taxi brought me to the bus station and as planned I have been on the 6 AM bus for the last hour and 45 mintues. I have read 3 chapters of Satcharitra, written this piece and remembered fondly the little things that have happened since last morning and felt so good. Somewhere amidst all this, I felt that when I call my wife after I reach New York, she would tell me that she did not actually go back to sleep, that she felt fresh and good and so stayed awake. Guess what? My phone just rang. She stayed awake, got the kitchen in shape for the day, made lunch for my son and is now negotiating with him to go to school. He feels really sick with a cold and he does not want to pass it on to his classmates.
My gut feel is, she will sweet talk him into going 0r maybe, he will sweet talk her into not going. And then sit and watch the IPL game at 1030. All I know is at the end of the day, all will be well.
Glory be to Sai. Peace be to All.
I woke up at 7 AM on Wed 17 Mar 2010. Pretty late for a Wednesday morning because, my wife and son always arise after I do and that meant that my son was not going to get his school bus. After the daily morning routines, I had to drop him off at school just before 830. I decided to take a quite ride and went to the medical store down the street to pick up some things. That done, I then stopped at the grocery store for some more. When I got home to my second cup of coffee, it was 915 AM. I had a short conference call from 930 to 10 and that done, I was staring at another rahter mundane day at work. I wasn't feeling too excited about it. I had a one hour before my next conference call and so I switched on the live relay of the IPL I have subscribed to on the internet. It was a Mumbai vs Delhi game and the toss was just on. Gambhir won the toss and invited Mumbai to bat which meant that in less than 25 minutes, Sachin Tendulkar would be batting. I decided to take a quick shower and be back to watch a half hour of the game before I started work for the day in a major way.
Disclaimer: I never watch TV when I am working from home and God knows this is true.
Between the shower and the game obviously lay my short and sweet prayer routine. My shower done, I walked straight up to the puja space in my home, applied vibuthi and sat down in my usual pose to close my eyes and pray. The game had begun and I could hear the commentary from it. Even as I started praying, I heard the noise as Sachin Tendulkar struck his first four. I was tempted to get up right away and go watch the replay of that shot, but sanity prevailed over me that very moment and I stayed eyes closed in prayer. At that moment, I thanked God for the fact he gave me the discipline to stay in prayer rather than seek the enjoyment of watching the game. At the same time, it also struck me how watching Sachin Tendulkar bat is the one thing that gave me more pleasure than anything else in this life and I thanked Baba that my greatest source of enjoyment was this simple pleasure that harmed no one or caused no hurt. The fact that I could also enjoy this with no attachment to how much he scored and that I could forget everything the minute after and move on with life gave me a greater sense of peace. I continued that prayer, eyes closed, mind extremely peaceful and thankful once again to Baba for simple pleasures in life.
A few minutes later, my prayer done and slipped into a comfortable pair of clothes, I settled on the couch next to my cousin to indulge in my greatest pleasure, if only for a matter of 25 minutes. My prayers were answered in the next 60 minutes. Sachin Tendulkar went on to make a delightful 63 in 37 balls and set Mumbai on the course to make 214 in 20 overs and then lead them to a big 98 run win in their second game of the 2010 IPL 20-20 contest. One minute of patience and sincerity and I gained one hour of BLISS. If you think little things don't matter, think again. I also went on to have a very productive day at work, an evening spent well with family and I ended the day feeling very positive and good about myself.
Just before I went to bed, my wife and I planned for today. I had to be at a client's office in New York city this morning at 9 AM and I had work planned in the city the whole day. We were trying to plan on whether I should use the public transport system or drive in my car and we settled on public transport. Working back from 9 AM, I figured out that I had to catch a bus at 6 AM, which meant that I had to leave home at 530 and that in turn meant I had to be up and awake at maybe 4 AM. At that very moment, my wife slipped in a last request before it would be lights out. "I was hoping that you would at least replace flowers in the puja tomorrow. It's Thursday, remember?", she said. For one instant, I was mad at her for throwing in the last minute request. But this was a God thing and it wasn't like I had never done it before. I remember when I had to leave for one of my residence weeks at school last year that I woke up at 300 AM, did the puja and was ready at 5 AM to be gone for a week. "That is not a problem", I said, though not sure in my mind if it was a problem or not. However, I promised her I would take care of it and then set my alarm for 345 AM, before I hit the bed, still pretty confused.
I woke up at 330 AM and after a quick bio-break decided to sleep another 25 mintues. So I reset the alarm for 4 AM and when it did go off, I was up and feeling fresh. I quickly brushed my teeth and even as I was making myself a cup of coffee I was planning the next 90 minutes. I realized I had not completed an important status update for a meeting, I had to shower and shave, I had to replace the flowers for the Gods and then I had to probably iron my clothes. Now that's the problem of working from home. You never go out, so you are never ready at any point. It's always press the shirt just before you wear it. That was a handful. I calmly picked up my cup of coffee and sat down with my computer. It was 415 AM and I decided to quickly send out the status update by 430 AM. So much for my planning skills, it was 445 when I finshed the updates and drained out the coffee from the cup. I switched off the computer (which I usually do as I am walking down the steps to board the taxi...), dropped the coffee cup in the kitched sink and hit the shower. I was out again at 501 AM in front of Swami. There was no way I was going to replace the flowers, iron my clothes and be ready for the taxi at 530. I closed my eyes, prayed to Baba to forgive me for my anger last night and started to remove the old flowers even as I was reciting my routine prayers. I had placed the fresh flowers, lit the lamp and completed my slokas by 515. I completed the shastang namaskar to God and walked into the closet. There was no way I was going to make it by 530.
I noticed that none of my dress shirts were ironed, the only 2 shirts that looked even clean were 2 new shirts that I had once rejected because I felt they were slightly oversized, not a perfect fit. I don't what I was thinking in my mind, but I just decided to try one of those 2 new shirts. I knew that my blue suit was still clean and fresh from my last client visit to San Antonio about 4 weeks ago becuase I had worn it only one day for a few hours. And this shirt would go well with the blue suit. I tried it on and magically indeed, it seemed like a perfect fit today. I smiled at myself, put on my trousers and knotted my tie on. I then picked up my socks and my jacket and on the way out, woke up my wife, letting her know that I was ready to leave and would she kindly see me off and get back to sleep? It was 525 AM. I came straight back to the puja, thanked God and decided to use the extra 4 minutes for another cup of coffee. Wow! Was I a satisfied man? I was beaming with confidence. It only got better when my wife who walked in to the living room saw the puja, thanked me for the flower replacement and said, "Wow, the flowers are the same color as the stripes on your shirt!". "You are looking good, she added.
I left home exactly at 532, the taxi brought me to the bus station and as planned I have been on the 6 AM bus for the last hour and 45 mintues. I have read 3 chapters of Satcharitra, written this piece and remembered fondly the little things that have happened since last morning and felt so good. Somewhere amidst all this, I felt that when I call my wife after I reach New York, she would tell me that she did not actually go back to sleep, that she felt fresh and good and so stayed awake. Guess what? My phone just rang. She stayed awake, got the kitchen in shape for the day, made lunch for my son and is now negotiating with him to go to school. He feels really sick with a cold and he does not want to pass it on to his classmates.
My gut feel is, she will sweet talk him into going 0r maybe, he will sweet talk her into not going. And then sit and watch the IPL game at 1030. All I know is at the end of the day, all will be well.
Glory be to Sai. Peace be to All.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
He is there!
Yesterday, 2 March 10, he showed me He is there. Only once again. If I did not believe He is there when he performed the money miracle in my life in the June of 2005, and several other times in the last ten years, He showed me again, He is there.
In one moment of selflessness (in a life filled with selfish materialism), I dedicated all my desires at his feet, asked him to accept everything and give me what I deserve. For one moment, instead of thinking of myself, I thought about others and asked him to give those people I love a good day. And He answered. When He did, He made me feel on top of the world. Thank you Baba.
Today, I felt it again. When after 2 months of struggle I decided to stop kicking and screaming and be calm and composed and I only encountered further obstacles, I asked him why this was happening to me? Why was He taking me through this circuitous route to the same place that I orignally wanted to go? His answer to me was two-fold. A) I was not sure what I wanted and B) Whatever I wanted I had to strive hard to get it.
I should have been disappointed. My wife is actually furious. But I am calm instead. I am composed. I feel good inside and I am sitting and writing this piece. I have to thank him for the maturity he has provided me. He has removed all anxiety from my mind and made me feel confident. I have miles to go before I sleep, but I feel confident. He is there.
Baba, be with me and my son and my dear wife. Be with him, whom I think is bad today, only becuase he is inflicting pain on me because he himself is pained. Be with those who worry what will become of their lives because of all their past deeds. Be with those I love and protect them.
Thank you Baba for everything you have given me in this life. Give me the energy to strive harder tomorrow than what I did today. Give me the insight to enjoy every minute of life, accepting that whatever happens, happens for a reason and that is only for my own good.
Glory be to Sai. Peace be to all.
In one moment of selflessness (in a life filled with selfish materialism), I dedicated all my desires at his feet, asked him to accept everything and give me what I deserve. For one moment, instead of thinking of myself, I thought about others and asked him to give those people I love a good day. And He answered. When He did, He made me feel on top of the world. Thank you Baba.
Today, I felt it again. When after 2 months of struggle I decided to stop kicking and screaming and be calm and composed and I only encountered further obstacles, I asked him why this was happening to me? Why was He taking me through this circuitous route to the same place that I orignally wanted to go? His answer to me was two-fold. A) I was not sure what I wanted and B) Whatever I wanted I had to strive hard to get it.
I should have been disappointed. My wife is actually furious. But I am calm instead. I am composed. I feel good inside and I am sitting and writing this piece. I have to thank him for the maturity he has provided me. He has removed all anxiety from my mind and made me feel confident. I have miles to go before I sleep, but I feel confident. He is there.
Baba, be with me and my son and my dear wife. Be with him, whom I think is bad today, only becuase he is inflicting pain on me because he himself is pained. Be with those who worry what will become of their lives because of all their past deeds. Be with those I love and protect them.
Thank you Baba for everything you have given me in this life. Give me the energy to strive harder tomorrow than what I did today. Give me the insight to enjoy every minute of life, accepting that whatever happens, happens for a reason and that is only for my own good.
Glory be to Sai. Peace be to all.
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