Celebrating Swami's 84th Birthday

I woke up on the morning of November 23 with a lightness in my heart. Yes, it's Swami's birthday today! I hastened to send Him my love and birthday wishes and proceeded to arrange the altar. The red and pink roses that we had bought the day before were blooming radiantly in their vase. Mum later joined me and we went about our morning duties singing happily Swami's birthday song that we had heard over the Net. It was as though Swami was physically in the house and we were like two children, laughing and singing His glory!


In the evening, we attended a bhajan at our centre. The altar too had been beautifully decorated with garlands for both Swami's and Shirdi Baba's pictures and for Lord Ganesha. There were also rings of pretty flowers around the statues of Kwan Yin and Lord Buddha and offerings of "mee koo", fruits and more flowers. The bhajan was preceded by a video on Swami's work in India and after the bhajan, one of the devotees' children cut Swami's birthday cake. It was a lovely evening, everyone had worked hard to make it a success - and it was.

Later that evening, as I sat in contemplation, my mind travelled back to the old days when I first heard of Swami. I was told He was a holy man with miraculous powers especially for healing the sick. It was hard to convince me that this man was someone "special" especially after I looked at His photograph. I could not accept a "God" with an Afro hairdo! My mum, who was already on her way to being a devotee, persuaded me to follow her to bhajans. Still my interest was not there. It was only after I was coaxed into learning up a bhajan (Jaya Guru Om Kara) in order to sing at a relative's house bhajan that curiosity got the better of me and I started reading books about Swami. He certainly has a way of doing things if He wants to call us to His fold!



My first trip to India was in 1984 and it was an exciting experience for me. Since then I have been very fortunate in that I have been able to visit Puttaparthi almost every year! A wonderful reward for one who was initially a non-believer!



It would take too long to write about all my experiences. I sincerely hope I am a worthy messenger of Swami's and can continue to uphold His teachings. As I wrote in a previous article on this blog ("Return to the Lotus Feet"), it is not an easy task. There are many obstacles to overcome and many sacrifices to make. But keep trying I will for there is nothing more priceless than the treasure at the end of the rainbow ~ Swami's rainbow, that is.

Jai Sai Ram.