Features | Experience of the Divinity of Bhagavan by Devotees | Group VI | Ms. M. Aiswarya Lakshmi

Ms. M. Aiswarya Lakshmi, II B.Sc.,
Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning,
Anantapur Campus.

Ms. M. Aiswarya Lakshmi, a student of the second year B.Sc. of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, Anantapur Campus narrates her experiences of the Divinity of Bhagavan in her own words.

'I had an opportunity to hear a fascinating experience from my junior. She was a non-devotee before joining the Institute, but after undergoing a wonderful experience, she became an ardent devotee of Swami.

Every academic year begins with an Orientation Programme for the freshers in the Institute. At the end of these sessions, the students are free to raise doubts of any kind, and these are answered by a panel of teachers. On one such occasion, my junior, a fresher, asked 'how are you able to believe that an ordinary human being is God.' One of the teachers assured her that she would experience the truth during the course of her stay here. Within a week's time, she got an answer to her question.

During that week, she had a fall in the bathroom causing a hipbone dislocation. The doctor advised her to take complete bed rest. Accordingly, she was shifted from the top floor to the sick room on the ground floor. Being a very active girl, she found the confinement extremely distressing. As she was instructed not to walk much, some of us, senior students, offered to take care of her. Every morning, it was my turn to take breakfast for her. She felt obliged to us, and regretted burdening us with tasks that she could not perform.

Even though there was yet another sick girl in the same room, she was uncomfortable, and feeling lonely. According to the doctor's instruction, she was supposed to be sleeping flat on her back, which was very painful. So, she used to turn to the left and sleep. But her inner voice kept prompting her to sleep flat on the bed in order to recover soon. Since her main intention was to get well soon, she tried her best to follow the doctor's advice. But all her efforts failed. She could not remain in that position even for a minute. Everyday, when I took breakfast for her, she, with the innocence of a small child, used to ask me when she would recover. In reply, I would start talking to her about Swami. In fact, I gave her, one of my favourite books - Baba is God - to read.

One night, she struggled to sleep the same way as she used to try everyday - flat on the bed. But even this time was not an exception. She suffered from severe pain and wanted desperately to turn to her left, but was unable to do so. She felt someone arresting her movements, because of which she was not able to turn. In a few minutes, she fell asleep. After sometime, she woke up as she felt thirsty. She got up from bed and walked almost ten feet from her bed towards the table for the water bottle. While drinking water, she suddenly realized that she had managed to walk all alone till the table without even taking any support even of the wall. She found to her amazement that her pain had reduced. She waited eagerly for my arrival in the morning to tell me about this astonishing experience. Listening to her, I thought to myself that, sometimes, even without our taking a single step, God takes a hundred steps towards us. Such is the love which Swami has for us.'

-- Ms. M. Aiswarya Lakshmi

(As extracted from the souvenir Ananta Prematarangini published by the Anantapur Campus of the SSSIHL on the occasion of the 80th Birthday of Bhagavan)