Letters from India

52. Beautiful Darshan in Ooty - May 1986

Beautiful Darshan in Ooty

May 8, 1986

Ooty, Tamil Nadu

Dear Family.

Sai Ram! Hope you are all fine and healthy and happy, full of love and Grace of the Lord. I am very well and happy. This letter I’ll write like a diary.

April 28 (in Brindavan): Swami took someone’s letter beside me, and talked to the person. Very beautiful Darshan. In the late morning, He had all His schoolboys gather on the steps of His residence, and he gave them a discourse. All we could see from the Darshan tree was a blotch of orange - and only half a blotch at that. :-) He talked for awhile (He had been sitting on a chair placed on the steps) then He got up and pushed the chair behind Him, and stood talking!

He had, get this, given all the boys Rs 500 to go to Bangalore for lunch the day before. Now, He was telling them, “Oh, some of you had Western food, it was very expensive, you could’ve gotten it for much less in My canteen!” He was teasing them like this. :-) Sai’s a real father to these boys.

May 2nd: When He came, He was wearing a dark, dark robe, almost red. It literally shined and gave out rays, like the sun! He looked like the Sun itself, coming to give Darshan.

May 3rd: 5:30 AM: Swami leaves for Brindavan on His way to – surprise! – Ooty! No Parthi for Easwaramma Day!

Devotee bus was leaving. Should I go? Should I stay?? All along I was saying, “No! I won't go. I don’t want Ooty.” But my heart was pulling me so strongly. My mind was saying, “No!” Why was my heart like this? It wasn’t me – it was deep within. It must be Swami. So I came! :-) What to do?!

The amazing thing is, it turned out He had planted the same pull in many hearts – almost all of us (i.e., most foreigners and Indians who could) came! Those with no money, those who had been here for years and had never been to Ooty and had no desire to, those who had said for months (like me) that they weren’t going to come… all came. Money came to those with little, everything fell into place. Knew it was right that I came, I was following my heart.

We left 10:30 AM and arrived in Ooty 9 PM. It was a wonderful ride with all devotes. Mysore was on the way so we made a quick visit to the Srirangapatnam temple – where vibhuti and amrita comes.

Ooty is a very popular tourist spot, and we arrived in peak season. But we did secure a dorm for the night – at the cheap rate of Rs 20.

May 4th: We all went for Darshan in the morning – all 35 of us – to find that Swami hadn’t arrived yet! He was expected sometime after noon, they said. So, we consoled ourselves (many had arrived the day before, via taxis, buses, etc.) and went off in search of accommodation (the dorm was booked for the next day). Mad dash all over town, most places were too expensive (the cheapest places – dumps – were Rs 60 to Rs 70 a night) or were full. Finally I found a box (literally) with attached clean bathroom. Four of us packed in, it came to Rs 25 each. Ugh! A day spent in talk of money and hotels, uck, uck, yuk!

At noon I returned to the Darshan grounds (Swami’s primary school in Ooty, were He stays). The word came He might arrive at 8 PM. I resolved to stay until He came!

At 3 PM there were bhajans inside, this is normal on Sundays when Swami isn’t in Ooty.

At 4:35 PM Swami arrived! The car drove up to the front door and parked. A small crowd of us were waiting, sitting as if for Darshan, maybe 75 people, men and woman. Swami got out of the car and walked a few steps towards us, so we could all see Him. He put His hands together in front of Him, and gave a pleased, coy smile as He looked to all who were there. Like He was saying, “Ah! It has all gone according to plan - My Divine Will has triumphed! All are here.” We all smiled – all who thought they’d never come! – knowing what He meant by the smile. :-) Affirmation that our hearts were right, were Him. Then He went inside.