Precious Closeness to Bhagawan - Pt. 5

Continuing the transcription of the talk delivered by Sri B Arvind in the divine presence of Bhagawan Baba on the 29th of July 2005.

 

"Your Time Has Not Yet Come"

There was a convener in Indore named Mr. Mandalay. Every Thursday he would hold bhajans at his house. He noticed that the number of devotees coming for bhajans was increasing and many faces were unfamiliar. So he went to those people and asked them, "Are you new devotees for Bhagavan?" They said, "No. On the railway station there is a Sanyasi who says, 'If you want peace of mind, go to this house on Thursday and you will get it.' Listening to this Mr. Mandalay was surprised. He decided he would go to the railway station and find out for himself. He went there and as he approached the Sanyasi, the Sanyasi told him, "Stop! Don't come near me. If you want to come near me there are two conditions. Condition one: you should not fall at my feet. Condition two: I will fall at your feet."

Listening to this Mr. Mandalay was stunned. Next the Sanyasi said when Bhagavan visited North India He went to the ashram of Swami Shivananda. He said, "I was a disciple of Swami Shivananda. Swami Shivananda was my Mentor, my Guide, my Guru, my Teacher. When Bhagavan came, he ran and prostrated to him and spent one day with Bhagavan. "The next day, we all asked our Guru, 'Who was this lad?' [Swami was very young at that time.] Swami Shivananda proclaimed: "He is the Jagad Guru!" After that the Sanyasi said, "Whenever I meditated in my third eye region I could always see Swami." But he never made any effort to come to Puttaparthi. One day, while traveling to Madras, He saw a photo of Bhagavan and he enquired about Him. Some people told him that Swami is there at Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh. He was overjoyed listening to this. He asked them, "How can I get to Puttaparthi?" They said, "Very simple. Catch a train to Dharmavaram. From there, take a bus to Puttaparthi." He said, "I took a train to Dharmavaram. By the time I reached Dharmavaram it was late at night so I decided to sleep and catch the bus to Puttaparthi the next morning." But he said the next morning "I woke up in a distant cave in the Himalayas." And then I heard a Voice which told me "Bangaru, your time has not yet come. You will have to wait." He said, "Sir, I have not been able to step on to the hallowed land of Puttaparthi, while you visit every now and then. You have had the chance to have Darshan, Sparshan and Sambhashan with Bhagavan Baba. Tell me, should you fall at my feet or should I fall at your feet?" Brothers and sisters, let us never forget what a great opportunity it is just to sit and look at Bhagavan. Sages and saints of yore have prayed for ages and they just get a glimpse. We get Darshan for hours together. It's time that we realize our opportunity. (To be continued) (Source: "Experiences by Devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba)