Swamiji guides in meditation

It is said that meditation is a process that is helpful in focussing the mind and ultimately becoming one with God. Me and meditation are very far from each other since i am basically restless and cannot sit in one place for more than 20 minutes. A funny story i recall is worth sharing with you. I had signed up for a meditation and yoga class in Chennai since it was nominally priced and recommended by a colleague. The class commenced in the evenings from 5-7 and the first hour went in yoga and the second in meditation. Within one week the class was introduced to techniques of meditating on the different chakras or energy centres. First day we meditated on the point between the eyebrows, then the top of the head, second day on the heart and third day at the base of the spinal cord. I was hoping that at the end of the week i would be experiencing the flow of the kundalini from bottom of the back to top of my head as described in many books. But actually nothing happened at all due to two reasons. 

Meditation requires years of practice to experience even a small change. This is due to the fact that we become so set in our ways of thinking that to change our basic qualities takes a long time. The second reason which i thought was the real problem were -the mosquitoes. Our class was located right next to the Buckingham Canal which was once a happy gurgling  river but today a sewage discharge outflow ( similar to other rivers in India). By 6  the mosquitoes moved from their home, the canal to seek fresh sources of food namely my class members. As i sat with my eyes closed in meditation whether i felt energy rising or not i felt a hundred stings on my exposed hands and feet. The more i tried to focus on nothingness the more my mind started complaining about the pinpricks.  Maybe the teachers thought it would be a true test of concentration. However i failed miserably. Meditation came to be associated with mosquito bites. I would close my eyes and start counting the number of bites from head to toe. The Kundalini was working in a very different way. At one point i could not take it any more and requested that the organization use mosquito repellants. I had definitely not signed up for this component of the program and this was not disclosed either at the beginning. Thanks to my recommendation which required little thinking, the administrators started using repellants and the program quality improved. My faith in this process was shaken. I did not continue these techniques any further. Swamiji has also issued a clear warning to students against practicing Kundalini Yoga. This was a very important reason for discontinuation.

Once i came to USA i went through a difficult period of being alone at home, an unsuccessful job search process over a year and experienced great restlessnes. At this point meditation became a necessity. I sat on the floor and closed my eyes. Then i prayed to Swamiji as follows: ' Swamiji, i dont know how to meditate. Can you please guide me in meditation?' I kept praying for a while and closed my eyes repeating my prayer. As i did this i saw Swamiji appear in my mental frame sitting next to me. My mind could have generated this image too. He was sitting to my left and asked me to stretch out my hand. As i did this Swamiji held my hand in his and made me repeat Sai naam after him. My otherwise restless mind was instantly drawn into the chanting and after a while all thoughts ceased and i experienced great peace. When i came out of meditation i felt immensely refreshed. I went on to pray to Swamiji to bless me with even more of such peace. To my surprise a wave of peace swept over me and for one whole week i did not feel any restlessness at all. My mind was calm, uncomplaining, relaxed and enjoying the simple pleasures of life. I felt joy when the birds sang, flowers bloomed and relished food. It was simply unbelievable. 

Isnt it amazing? I am new to all this and as i described initially , am incapable of doing anything like meditation, yoga etc. But due to my Guru, his kindness, his grace the impossible becomes possible

Radhakrishna Swamiji helps secure an internship

I arrived in USA in 2006 to study at a prestigious institution. The process of getting admission and necessary documents was totally facilitated by Shri Radhakrishna Swamiji and Sai Baba only. As part of my course I was required to complete a certain period of time as internship with a recognized firm. Although I had been applying for more than 3 months I had not received any positive response from any firm. With the deadline for starting internships coming close I was absolutely worried about not finding any.

I was particularly keen to join one firm more than the others. So even before launching any efforts for filing applications I started praying to Shri Radhakrishna Swamiji everyday to help me land an internship with that particular firm. I would do three pradakshinas praying to Swamiji for help. While I was making efforts to get this internship it was no easy task. A minimum of 5000 applications were received every year for this prestigious internship and only a handful were selected. While there was a period when none of my efforts were paying off following prayer those very same closed doors opened again. By the grace of Swamiji I got contacts who helped me present my application to the persons who took the decision to recruit. I wrote to numerous recruiting officers and forwarded my CV. Still there was no positive response from any of them.

With only a few more days for end of semester there was no internship in sight. I grew desperate at times yet my faith in Swamiji kept me sane and hopeful. I did not stop praying. I felt the power of Swamiji’s grace was stronger than any human recommendation. If Swamiji really thought I should get an internship he would definitely help. With this unshakeable faith I kept applying to other companies and gave quite a few interviews.

I almost gave up the idea of finding any internship when I suddenly received a call from the same firm I was keen to work with. They said they were interested in conducting a telephonic interview. I did my best at the interview. The interviewer said they were not too sure what the outcome would be. Within a few days they wrote to me saying they were willing to offer me the internship. I was thrilled beyond words.

It was unbelievable that I was getting to work with my dream firm and it took me quite a while to digest the joy and reality of all these events. I knew deep down that it was Swamiji’s grace that had worked through people, time and resistance to grant me that which I had been praying for, for more than 6 months. I definitely owed it to the people who helped me along the way as well but Swamiji was the force who moved their hearts in my favor. I had promised Swamiji that in case I got the internship I would let the whole world know that it was earned through him and my efforts had little or no role at all. I am keeping my word today and share with you all this act of divine grace and compassion on the part of Shri Radhakrishna Swamiji.