Letters from India - Part 2

37. Immersed in His Game & Another Weddding - June & July 1991

Happily Immersed in His Game

June 27, 1991

Prasanthi Nilayam

Dear Parents,

We arrived back safely in Prasanthi Nilayam on 25 June along with Swami. I came in a taxi with Vidya, whom I had been staying with in Whitefield.

Venkamma is fine and in good health. Currently her sister Parvatamma is in the hospital with breathing troubles (someone said she had heart attack but it’s not confirmed). Her daughter came for a few days then went again. Swami said, “I’ll look after her, won't I? So you can go back.” Swami visited her in the hospital once. Venkamma went twice to see her.

Monsoon has arrived here so it is raining almost daily. Wet, but not muddy and smelly like in Whitefield!

With God’s Grace, I registered without any problem at all, and they gave me the shed - new and improved shed! They’ve put FANS and SCREENS in all the foreigner sheds, which makes them very pleasant indeed! The price is also enhanced from Rs 2 a day; now it’s Rs 5 a day.

Naturally the Lahiri dream has come true and I'm again in the “householders” way of life – all day busy with house duties and Venkamma! Last night she played her precious Telugu board game for the first time since she left. I don’t like games and couldn’t help yawning but it was so cute how she loved playing – she kept making comments joyfully “Ah! I killed you!” “Ugh – why did such a bad number come to me?” “Go, go!” etc.

I often find parallels between Venkamma and Swami – He also pretends He is happily immersed in His game! Yesterday when He came for Darshan He kept smiling at all the familiar faces. For one lady who had problems He said, “Ohhh, pooor thing,” in a teasing way! It reminded me of one time when someone complained of their eyesight in Darshan lines and Swami looked disapproving and said, “What is there in THIS world to see?” Sometimes He is not compassionate but is clearly disapproving if we complain, then it makes us ashamed! He knows what He’s doing - what is best.

By the way, all devotees have been registered without any problems.

Now I don’t think there are any bed bugs in the house, they all completely disappeared after we put the “bug bomb” that you so kindly sent. But there are still probably literally billions of huge cockroaches. I see no hope in removing them, as Venkamma has much stored stuff including books in cardboard boxes (cockroaches love them), also the kitchen has much stored stainless still cooking vessels - all this Venkamma is saving as wedding gifts for her grandchildren’s marriages (two married, four to go over the next 10 years!).

Many, maybe 100 a day, coming-and-going people come to Venkamma daily to invite her to a family wedding, complain about their husbands 2nd wife, or demand she gets their child admission in Swami’s school (these are just recent examples). This keeps her busy. She usually keeps it short by giving them vibhuti & kum-kum prasad and telling them to go. Often she gets them permission to sit in front row for Darshan, in hope that Swami will settle all their problems. Like this she has a really heavy daily schedule in Prasanthi Nilayam. She is again cooking for Swami daily, and going to bhajan twice a day.

They said two or more rapes happened to foreigners at the meditation tree. They had a special meeting to warn no foreigner to go there alone, and never when it is dark. I think it happened when Swami was still in Whitefield.

The brand new shocking rule is that all new owners (people who have recently given donations of $6,000 or $7,000) must pay Rs 25 every single day! This is after they bought a room! Not only that, but no one can stay alone and they are stuffing three or four donors per room! Well I like the shed and I'm certainly glad I never gave a lot of money for room ownership, as it would just be a waste now!

Yes, times are changing, here also one either learns vairagyam or leaves in delusion! God is here, it’s where the most galata (upheaval) is, and it’s where I must be. Jai Sai Ram!

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.

Love,

Divya

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Another Wedding Performed by Swami

July 17, 1991

Prasanthi Nilayam

Dear Parents,

Here all is fine. Swami decamped without notice (an expression here!) and went away to Whitefield for two days (16-18 July). When He left He said no one should follow because He would be back soon. No one knows the true reasons of Him going, there might have been many: 1. Hospital meeting 2. To see Parvatamma 3. To see hospital training students 4. To see hospital doctor who’s not well.

As for the big hospital, some confusion seems to have cropped up because some big organization people (Sai people) reportedly tried to fundraise for it, a taboo in Sai land. There was also question of misuse of funds. They say Swami went to Whitefield to do some things to control the funds and make them clear on how not to ask for money. Around here, they say that they’ve run out of money now! Poor God, with such a huge organization (with some demons at the head) in the Kali Yuga, how to control?

As for me, I'm fine. I had a terrible flu (then sinus troubles) for five days before and five days after we arrived here (25 May). Then Venkamma got a bad cold and after a few days, I started to get one again, so I combated it with antibiotics. For five days I took the pills and had bad side effects of total body exhaustion and overwhelming nausea. Happily it combated the cold, though, and I'm back to normal again.

Venkamma’s sister Parvatamma has not been so lucky, though. She had a heart attack, became incontinent, and got water in her lungs, with horrible cough. Swami sent her to Whitefield. They got the water out of lungs but she’s not eating, so Swami put her in a Whitefield nursing home and told her to get strength then come. This entire time poor doctor Sunandamma is with Parvatamma, the same doc who was with Venkamma the whole time she was sick. Poor Parvatamma.

Anyway, Swami is giving Darshan as usual.

July 4th was a really nice Darshan day for me. In the morning I was on the aisle at Darshan. He saw me nicely, made vibhuti for a relative (whose wedding was the last I’ve been to, three years ago), then threw the vibhuti dust in my face! I considered it a sign, since I was asked (rather begged) to attend a wedding that day.

So, I went (with Padma, Kasturi’s daughter). I sat on the aisle in the small village wedding hall. Swami stared at me coming. He was there about 20 minutes, made the wedding chain (mangalasutra), took pictures, and was really, really compassionate (the groom’s parents had both died and only the elderly Prasanthi Nilayam resident grandparents were there to perform it). Afterwards Swami left brushing by me. I had namaskar and He gave a nice long look. Evening Darshan I also had 1st row and a stare. Then, #1 line into the bhajan hall! (Nowadays only old students and VIPs are inside, and at the very back, one single line of us fits in). So, nice Darshan day!

Here it’s been mostly cloudy skies and rain two or three times a week. But usually not really heavy rains.

Well, I learned all about FAX machines from Vidyamma. There are NO Faxes in Puttaparthi, banks or anywhere else - not even in Anantapur. Only in Bangalore at the big hotels. It cost about $5 just for receiving a FAX from anyone! (“service fee”). To send a FAX, it cost $30 for us here.

Here the atmosphere continues to be dullified and most people are kept from a blissful existence by the thick veil of maya, compliments of the Avatar! Venkamma recently got a Telugu time-table calendar and mumbles, “Yes, definitely a BAD year!” Perhaps Swami is doing some group-karma house-cleaning, so to speak. Hopefully afterwards will be overwhelming blessings! Hope – hope!

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.

Love,

Divya