A Faith-Lifting Encounter With Swami
Thursday, September 24th, 2020
Closer than the closest He is that man’s prime duty on Earth is to realise the True Truth of Oneness with the Supreme Godhood. Many are the layers of myriad karmic rolls for him that, man while being churned in the treadmill of karma must endeavour to raise his benchmark of faith, finally to achieve his prime goal of Oneness. …An interesting experience of ‘Faith-Lift’ by Ms Nira Sailakshmi Kanagasabai, Malaysia.
I was in Prasanthi Nilayam for the Zone 4 Young Adults Conference. The months preceding this were difficult as I felt disconnected from Swami. I questioned why He would never appear in my dreams or converse with me and I incessantly challenged Him to prove that He was listening. One evening, following an informal satsang in our room, we discussed what object we could not live without. “My phone, I cannot survive without my phone”, I naively remarked.
The next night, I went to the bazaar by rickshaw to purchase some decorations. Twenty minutes into our shopping, my heart sank as I realised I no longer had my phone. Panicking, I began looking for the sister who accompanied me, hoping she had it, and frantically searched the shop. It was gone! It then dawned on us that I must have dropped it in the rickshaw. We waited outside the shop, internally chanting the Gayatri Mantra, but it was unrealistic to expect that the driver would return and that we would recognise each other.
Giving up, we began walking back to the Ashram. I grew anxious about how I would survive the rest of the trip without a phone. Ten minutes later, a rickshaw stopped abruptly beside me. The driver exclaimed “I have been looking for you all this time, where have you been?” as he returned the phone to me. Gleaming with happiness and disbelief, I thanked him profusely and expressed gratitude to Swami!
The lesson was clear – all I will ever need is my Lord Himself. If I could not understand His silence, how would I ever understand His words? I was reminded that the ultimate stage of prayer is when neither the Lord nor the devotee speaks, yet both listen. He has been and continues to witness my conversations and thoughts and waits patiently to receive me.
Did I mention that the conference was themed “Faith Lift”? How lovingly and subtly our Lord strengthens our faith and shows us that no struggle is too trivial to Him.
II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II
Posted in Sai Spiritual Showers |
