As I completed my post-graduation from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Anantapur Campus, I did not have any plans about what to do further. I knew for sure that whatever I would plan for myself would be no match to what Swami would have planned for me. 

 In the year 1991 when the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences, Prasanthigram, was under construction, Swami asked one of our lecturers to make a list of Anantapur campus students in order to recruit them for various jobs in the hospital. I came to know that it mainly involved working in the various laboratories of the hospital as technical staff. I was uncomfortable to give my name for the job as I was terrified of blood. My father however told me to leave everything to Swami and go ahead and give my name. He believed that the opportunity of working in Swami’s institution is an opportunity of many lifetimes. With that, my mid was made up and I requested the lecturer to put my name on the list. 

 The next day, the girls in the list were told by Swami to sit separately during Darshan. Out of the many girls in that list, Swami chose 10 girls and to my surprise and disbelief, I was among the chosen ones. We were granted an interview by Swami the next day. He told us that he would be sending us all to Bangalore for training and that we should work hard and also instructed us about how we should conduct ourselves. He then came to each one of us and blessed us. As I was petrified of even looking at blood, I got up on my knees and conveyed the same to Swami. “Don’t worry”, Swami told, “I will take care.”

 We were sent to Bangalore for training. On the first day of our training, the professors divided us 10 girls among the various departments based on our qualification. They looked at my educational profile and allotted me the Department of Medical Records. I was surprised. So, no blood! Swami’s words came back to me. “I will take care.” It is pertinent here to ask a question. Was it because of my fear of blood that Swami allotted the Medical Records? The answer to this to the casual observer may seem ‘Yes’, but after staying around Swami for many years I have understood that Swami does not go along the narrow confines of a person’s likes or dislikes or affections or fears. He does what is the best for the individual, as in my case. So, Swami allotting me the Medical records department for training was the best for me. Had he given me laboratory work, that would have been best for me and then He himself would have taken care of my fear of blood. I must mention here that this fear of blood anyway went away soon after I started working in Swami’s hospital. 

 While we were training, a vehicle would come to pick us up from the Brindavan Ashram where we were staying and drop us at the hospital where we were undergoing training. Swami visited the Brindavan Ashram during our training period, yet we could not have even a single Darshan of Swami as we would go for training before Swami’s morning Darshan and would return after Swami retired for the day in the evening. We expressed our grief through the letters to Swami. One of my friends wrote to Bhagawan in which she said, “Brindavanamadi Govindudu andarivada antaru … kani ikkada andariki mee darshanam istunnaru, kani maku mathrame bhagyam kalagatam ledu”, meaning “In Brindavanam Krishna used to belong to everybody. Here too You are providing Darshan to everybody. We are the ones that are not fortunate (to have Your Darshan).  

 The very next morning, our ferry vehicle did not arrive, and we found out that it had broken down. While outwardly we looked glum, internally, our hearts leapt with the anticipation of having our first Darshan of Swami at Braindavan. Taking our in-charge’s permission, we happily went for Swami’s Darshan in the morning. 

 As Swami’s arrived, we felt so happy for having had our first Darshan of Swami during this trip of His. Swami came up to us and asked with knitted brows, “What you girls are doing here?” “Swami the vehicle broke down,” we all replied. Swami paused for a moment and then said, “I am always with you, every moment taking care of you, but you keep writing poetry that I am granting everybody Darshan and not granting you the opportunity.”  He then blessed us and went to the waiting devotees. We understood that our vehicle breaking down had to be Swami’s way of granting us Darshan. After Darshan we enquired whether our vehicle had been repaired for which we came to know that it had not been. Our mind started anticipating one more Darshan of Swami the next day. Swami had other plans. 

Early next morning, a big surprise was in store for all of us. There was a knock at our door and when we opened the door, in front of us stood Swami’s car and another car, ready to transport us to our training hospital. Swami did not like that we should miss our training sessions, so He sent  His personal car to pick us up! This is the love and care that God showers on His devotees. 

 After the training, I joined the hospital and started serving in the Medical records department as medical records assistant.  Later we were sent to Delhi for a 30-day training. This time also Swami called us for an interview and blessed all of us. He also added “It is going to be pretty cold in Delhi when you visit, hence you may get cold and fever. He then created a lingam and gave it to us and told to perform  abhishekam to it every day and drink that water before we went for training. “You all will not fall sick or get any fever if you drink the teertham,” Swami assured us. We went to Delhi and underwent the training. Every day we all took the teertham as instructed by Swami. It goes without saying none of us fell sick during the entire training period. Even the tiniest problems of ours were taken care by Bhagawan.

More than what formal education could teach us, we learnt from Swami directly. One day one of my colleagues asked Swami a question. “Swami why do we have so much suffering ?” Swami replied, “When you go the ocean you can fill only that much water as the size of the vessel you carry. Similarly, God gives you difficulties only as much as you can bear. But you don’t realize that I keep giving you happiness also. You only keep talking about the difficulties you face. “You should be unaffected by both,” Swami said. 

As we consider the work in the hospital as HIS service, we would work endlessly everyday with great joy, and to our surprise, we never felt tired. At the end of the day we had the same energy as we had when we started the day. During Swami’s Birthday celebrations in 1991, a day after the inauguration of the hospital, we stayed back in the hospital as there was a lot of work to take care of.  Swami, before going to the stadium for the Birthday programme, came to the hospital and blessed us with padanamaskar. We experienced His Love when we realized that Swami had come all the way to bless us ... on His birthday! Like every act of His, this also holds a lesson for us all. When we perform our duty sincerely, as an offering to God, that becomes a sadhana and draws God Himself to you.  

Swami’s Grace on our family has been immense. His Grace manifested in various ways. One day my father developed severe jaundice and was admitted in the hospital. My mother went to Swami’s Darshan to seek Swami’s blessings. Even before she uttered a word, Swami took a bunch of flowers, which had been offered to him by a devotee, and dropped them in her lap. At the same time vibhuti started pouring out of a Swami’s photo kept near my father in the hospital. That vibhuti was given to my father and he recovered soon after. 

I will share another unique experience of my father. As a patient of diabetes, a complication ensued in the later years and he developed oedema of nerves in the eye. He came to the hospital for treatment. At home we prayed that his vision must not be affected due to this problem. The next day, from a Swami’s photograph in my house, amritham started to ooze out from the same eye in which my father had a problem. This was enough assurance for us of His blessings to my father for this eye problem, and even today, after many years of the problem, his vision is perfect. 

Many devotees I have spoken to say that they miss Swami’s physical form and His personal benediction after Mahasamadhi. Let me assure you that in His omnipresent form, Swami is always with us, guiding and guarding us. We need to connect to His love in our hearts. He is the mother of all. He responds to our every call. 

Shanti Prema Dayi Sathya Sai. 

Sairam.