Just a chat

Last night after a Krishna Ashtami bhajan session at a devotee's place, I was blessed with a few friends and others whom Jody Cleary introduced and when they all showed interest in my new blog and wanted to listen to my dreams, I got so excited and carried away that I talked more than I listened. But they motivated me more to write about my dreams and as I have many dreams of Baba in my diary from 1972, I would start with those in my future posts.

I am sure I had dreams between 1953 and 1972. But I just cannot recall any. Between 1972 and 1982 I had not documented any dreams. December of 1982, I got myself a diary and started writing them down - just those in which Baba was present. It was Connie Shaw whom I met in the Sai group while in Colorado suggested that I keep a dream diary. Actually she conducted a workshop on dreams at the retreat and talked about recurring themes in our dreams. Then suddenly, I could recall so many frustrating non-spiritual dreams. I shall write them in a separate post. I have vivid dreams many nights. Some are symbolic to me, some reacting to my day to day frustrations, some premonition ones and some are nightmares and I bet some are due to indigestion (hahahaha). I am sure this is the general occurrence with all dreamers. Some dreams, I get the message immediately and with some, I mention to my daughter Gayatri and my daughter-in-law Suhrida. They both are good listeners and try to help me with their comments. When I wake up, I try to repeat the dream in my mind so that I won't forget it. I just cannot wait to share the dream with someone. Sometimes I come across people who are either non-dreamers, non-believers or not-so-good-listeners. Still, I feel the urgency to share my dreams.

Even during my yatras, I had non-spiritual dreams. I may have written about them in my yatra blog. Please visit www.padmainindia.blogspot.com if interested.

Beginning the next post, I will try my best to document my Baba dreams as accurately as possible.

Please feel free to interpret and comment.

The first dream

Ever wondered what, when and where your first dream was? I wondered, but cannot remember. I am trying to go back as far back as I can. The only one I recall is the one from 1953. It was about my sister (immediately older to me) who passed away when I was about 10 months old. That means, I never could have remembered her. She was 4 years old when she died of a scorpion bite. My mother used to mourn her death frequently. That is the background. Anyway, in my dream, I was talking to her. She asked me to tell my mother not to cry for her and that she is happy on The Moon (Chandralokam = world/Land of Moon). I conveyed the message to my mother, who was immensely happy to hear that her daughter reached Chandralokam.

Preface

As I was growing up in Andhra Pradesh a Southern province in India, I did hear about Baba. In the 50's, he came to my native town of Nellore. My family was talking about the visit. I sneaked out and went to Mr. David's house ( the Chemistry lecturer of the local college). From his upstairs terrace we could see the college grounds. His daughter was my school mate. Anyway, it looked like millions of people were gathered in there. Being very short, I could not see Baba from the terrace. I returned home. Later on, when I was in my 11 th grade, my eldest sister who joined the teaching staff of that college in the Botany Department asked me to deliver her one day sick leave note to the principal. I went to his house which was walking distance from our house. He took the letter and asked me to follow him upstairs. There was a huge hall and the walls were covered with black and white photos of Swami. He told me that they have bhajans on Thursday nights and asked me to come and join. All those photos looked very odd to me. He and his wife Dr. Lakshmi had no children of their own. They had two adopted sons and they used to help any and all in need. I nodded my head in reply but never went to the bhajans . And, I never mentioned this to anyone until 1961 at which time, he mailed Vibhuti to my hostel (dorm) address in Tirupathi just before my M. Sc exams and I shared it with all my room mates. (By then, he knew me very well as a student in his college and he was an English professor also). This, at that time was done not because of my devotion to Swami, but out of my respect for the fatherly figure that sent me the sacred ash. Others also felt the same way. Later on, after Mr. Pillai passed away in 1962, I heard that Dr. Lakshmi moved to Puttaparthi and served there as a Doctor.

Then, in 1965, I read an article in the Illustrated weekly of India and it was about Baba with many photos. After reading the article, I declared to my friends "if I ever see this Baba, I am going to ask Him two things". One - to help my younger sister (who was my soulmate) walk like all of us (she had Polio as a baby) and two - why He is allowing my maternal uncle borrow money from all the relatives for his visits to Puttaparthi to see Baba. When I first saw Him in March 1974 .......... OOPS!!! I should write it in a separate post when I come to 1974.

My first dream of Baba - Feb 13, 1972

I was in Parthi standing in the crowd. There was a rope tied from one end of the line to the other, blocking the crowds from pushing into an Abhishekam area. I could hear the chanting of the slokams. The Abhishekam was going on inside a dome or tent like area. Someone told me that Sai Baba was performing it to Lord Shiva. But I heard many voices. I learned that there were many priests inside the tent chanting those Samskrit mantras. Suddenly, a hand comes out of the tent holding a large spoon full of the sacred water from the pooja. I looked around and no one moved. Some in the crowd started pushing me and motioning to me to accept that water. Finally, I yielded and stretched my hand forward and opened my palm. The sacred water was poured into my palm and I drank it.

Note: At that time, I was pregnant with my son Gopal and I think it was Shivaratri night. I had not been to Puttaparthi before 1975 September. I was really blessed. Now when I see my adult son, I feel more blessed having a son like Gopal. Thank you Swami !!

Interview room in Whitefield

By now, Gopal was born and I was in India at Tungabhadradam, Karnataka with my husband's brother's family (This dream setting was in Whitefield Brindavan near Bangalore). I had never been there either. But I heard about it's existence. By now, I had Swami's darsan and I will write about it in my next post.

Here is the dream:

It was an interview room in Whitefield (where Baba used to spend good number of days). Actually, there were two rooms adjacent to each other. I was waiting in one room for Swami to come out of His residence and talk to me. Baba entered. Standing next to me was a Chinese man. I heard Baba talking to him, but I did not understand a word of He was saying. Then, Baba turned towards me and asked "What is your question?" I said " When am I going to join my husband in the USA?" He replied "Soon. In September".

Note: I joined my husband in September 1975, not September 1974. Thanks Swami.

March 1974 - Swami visits local Organizations

Preface: No one on either side of our families were Sai devotees. My brother-in-law was the managing director of Tungabhadra steel products at that time. One of the board of directors was visiting and he was a Sai devotee. So, Swami who was inaugurating a company or a factory in a nearby village was requested to visit and bless this company also.

About 2000 workers of all levels were standing in a circle for Swami's darsan. I stood in the crowd holding my son whose was about 21 months old then. I took a receiving blanket along. I had my two questions ready to ask Baba. About my sister and my uncle (see my previous post). To my right was standing my sister-in-law and next to her a mother and son, our friends. That young man was deaf and dumb by birth. We were trying to push him and keep him in the front for Swami to bless him, cure him. Swami came out along with the senior level people of the company. Swami was diagonally opposite to where we were standing. Appeared to be far away. I felt that He looked at us. Suddenly, I saw the baby in my arms fold his palms (like we do namaste). In a split second, I saw Baba standing in front of us. Gopal had his palms still folded, I think. Swami materialized vibhuti and offered (to who?). I stretched my palm and Baba did not give it to me. He was holding it tight between the fingers of His right hand. I took Gopal's hand and opened his palm. Baba put the Holy ash in Gopal's hand while I supported Gopal's with my open palm. Then Swami rubbed Gopal's forehead and chest area with the ashes still sticking to His fingers and said "Good boy. You are a good boy" in English.

At that moment nothing existed for me. I could see nothing but that delicate palm of Swami. I had no awareness of not only my surroundings, but even myself. Suddenly I woke up. Swami walked past the young man who was being pushed by people to make Baba see him. Then, He stopped in front of a labor worker sitting on the ground with his daughter lying on his lap. Swami bent a little bit and asked him in Kannada (the local language) " moorcha rogava?" (is she epileptic?). He said "yes Swami" and Swami materialized fist full of vibhuti, sprinkled all over her body and said "it is gone. She will be healthy" and walked away.

In the meantime, I carefully poured the Vibhuti from Gopal's palm into mine and then into the corner of the receiving blanket and wanted to tie a knot. But the aggressive crowd grabbed my hand and the receiving blanket and emptied the Vibhuti and threw the small blanket at me and left. Anyway, Swami did not put it directly in my palm because, He meant it for Gopal, not for me.

Later on, in the evening, we went to the other village (Vyasanagiri???) to listen to Swami's lecture.

Note 1: For a very long time, we would ask Gopal "what did Baba say to you?" and would get a kick when he said "goobboy, goobboy". I am sure Swami's touch is still helping Gopal with his life's purpose. Thank you Swami.

After reaching home, I realized that I never remembered to ask my two challenge questions.

Note 2: Rao was in Madison, Wisconsin at that time, working towards his Ph. D. No phone calls in those days. I wrote him a letter describing the incident with Swami. Around the time my letter reached him, I received a letter from him in which he described that he attended a Sai bhajan at the residence of one Diane Doughman and how devoted they were etc. This is how Swami took us into His embrace simultaneously. Later on, I met Diane, a wonderful person. Now Diane is not with Sai group anymore - just a change of mind.

Baba in my dream - August 1976

This was a daytime dream. I was pregnant with my daughter Gayatri and I was anemic. I remember it was a Wednesday afternoon. I don't remember the date. Gopal and I were lying on the living room floor of our apartment in Milwaukee. I was telling him the story of 'The three bears and Goldilocks'. I must have dozed off. Now the dream:

I was in the huge bhajan hall in Puttaparthi. I arrived late and realized that the bhajan was over and everyone had left. I apologized to Swami who was standing right in front of me as I entered the hall. I said " Swami, I am so sorry that I am late and missed the bhajans." He said " you are never late. As long as the two of us are here, you did not miss anything. Come on, sit down here. I want to teach you a slokam". I sat down crossed legged on the floor at His feet. He made me repeat the slokam three times and said "now, say it". "Sorry Baba, I did not get it. I did not remember it" I nervously replied. Baba put his thumb and ring finger on my temples and made me repeat. I woke up suddenly and found myself still talking to Gopal and Gopal was still nodding listening to the story. But, I did not remember the slokam. I remembered the meaning of it though. Rao suggested that if I meditate upon the incident, I may remember it. But I was not into meditation - so I ignored that suggestion.

Epilogue to the dream:

We used to recite thousand names of Lalitha every Friday. My family doctor, who later delivered Gayatri initiated this. Each Friday, she and another friend with her two daughters would come to our house and our session would last from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. That week, after the others left, Dr. Alwa asked me to give her a pen and a paper. Because I was anemic, I thought that she was going to write me a prescription and then wondered who would honor it if it is not on a letter head with her credentials. So, I asked her "Is it a prescription?" She replied "No. Since yesterday, something had been telling me to write this for you. I am not a Sanskrit scholar. There could be errors. But I have to give it to you. I gave her my note book in which I wrote the 1000 names of Lalitha and some Sai bhajans. She wrote the slokam in English. I still have that note book. My husband and I could not identify the source. But because of it's meaning I knew that it was the same one that Swami tried to teach me. We left it at that. The following Friday, when the doctor came again, she had a red hard bound book in her hand. She gave it to me and said "I brought this for you". It was Soundarya Lahari published by the Chinmaya mission. After she left, I opened it randomly and my eyes fell on the third slokam and just could not believe my eyes. I was excited, it was the same slokam. I gave that book to Gayatri. She was born in 1977 and in 1979, when I took up a job with a consulting Engineering firm, Rao sent her to India to be under the care of his brother and sister-in-law. I brought her back in 1980, after we moved to Littleton, Colorado. One day, as she was playing in the family room, I heard her recite the same slokam. Shocked, I asked her how she learned it. She said, the disciples of Kanchi Swami (who camped near Hampi ) taught her the slokam. I immediately, realized, that Swami meant that for Gayatri. Without my prompting, later on, after she finished her undergraduate degree, She started memorizing the whole book. I am still mystified with Baba's ways !!!!

Sivarathri of 1978 - March 7th ??

I was getting things ready to do pooja to Siva. It was in the middle of our living room, not in the pooja room. I set up a Sivalingam on a piece of new cloth. There were all the paraphernalia needed to perform the worship. As I sat down, I remembered that we had parijatha flowers in our garden and got up to bring them. (when I was growing up in Nellore, we did have a huge parijatha tree in our back yard and it was my job to collect the flowers for my grandmother's older sister for pooja). Anyway, i collected the flowers in a large bowl, sat down in front of the altar, took hand full of those delicate, fragrant white flowers in my cupped palms to pour on the lingam. When I raised my head, to my surprise, instead of the Sivalingam, I saw a huge dark man who looked liked Ravana (from Ramayana). For a split second, the thought 'how come, I sat down to worship Siva and instead, this Siva bhakta (devotee of Siva) is here' occurred and he was all smiles. As I raised my cupped hands to pour the flowers on him, I woke up with the sound of shattered glass and that means, I did not worship that form. I got up from my bed looked around the bedroom walls and nothing fell. I walked into the hall way and I saw the 4X6 card board piece with four lines of Swami's quote that had been hanging on the door of the pooja room was now lying on the floor.

Later on, I mentioned this dream to Diane Doughman and she said "it is possible that Baba is warning you 'not to worship the ego, now all your material needs are being fulfilled' . It sounded correct since Ravana is the embodiment of ego, rajasic, even though he was a devotee of Siva. Thank you for the warning Swami.

It is more than 30 years since I have experienced these dreams and I may not be expressing them properly.

September 1st, 1982 Wednessday night?

When we lived in Littleton, CO., the Sai group met in our basement on Sunday afternoons. We had many special moments in that place. Here is the dream:

Baba was standing near His seat with both His hands folded to the front. I did not see the plant that is normally kept at that corner. Also, for some reason I was not sitting at my usual place either. It was Aarati time. I saw Vabiz Ghaswala (a devotee of a long time) motioning to me to offer Aarati. I whispered to her 'I am nervous, Baba is there'. The rest of the people also insisted that I give the Aarati and I had no choice, but be bold. But, I gave it to the picture of Swami and at the end, I realized that Baba was not there.
After that, we went upstairs and saw Baba standing near the coffee maker in the kitchen. I went near Him and requested Him to have lunch with us. He replied that He had quite a few engagements and that He must leave. I begged and told Him that my house was not too far from the center. Then He said that he would be there for lunch.

Thanks Swami !!!

June 19th, 1983 Sunday?

The local Hindu society was holding a meeting and a get together. I joined them, but very late. Dr.s Baliga, Gangadharam and Sagar were there. It was quite noisy. Nobody was paying any attention to the spiritual part of the program. (I always minded this aspect of their meetings in my wakeful moments). I was asked to lead a bhajan. I felt shy, but, when Dr. Baliga insisted, I started singing "Hari Om, Hari Om.... Sai Om...", one of my favorite bhajans. The audience was silent just for about a minute. Then, the usual chattering began. I wanted to stop abruptly, but something inside me said "you are not singing for them". So, I continued and finished the song. Then we all went out. There was some kind of rare exhibition. I was walking among strangers.

I did not know what to make out of this dream !!!

Baba taking over the pain - 1981 or 1982

In this dream, I was in Puttaparthi. But my green checked sofa was there in the dream Swami was lying on the carpet parallel to the sofa. He was holding His hand against His stomach as though in severe pain. I asked someone "why is Baba suffering like that?" She said, He is taking over the pain of someone very close to Padma. "I am Padma. Oh no, I don't contact one of my sisters very much. May be she, her name is Pramada, is sick" I said. That was the end of the dream.
When I woke up, I called my mother in India and asked her how Pramada was doing. She said that everyone was doing good. I did not mention Baba since they did not believe in Him, but, I told her about the dream that someone close to me was sick. My mother said since I was away from all of them, I worry too much.
The next morning, I developed severe stomach pain on the right side. It was increasing every minute. I called Rao at work, he came home and took me to the doctor. The pain was unbearable and I developed high fever also. The doctor said that I should have my apendix removed by surgery. That night I was admitted into a hospital. The children were dropped off at a friend's house of their choice. They gave me the needed medications. Suddenly, there was another (emergency) surgery and the surgeon had to postpone mine.
I probably dozed off. When the medical team came to wheel me off to the surgery, I had no pain, no fever. They checked my appendix area, there was absolutely no problem there. I was sent home. As of today, it is still in tact.
So, who is it that is closest to me? - it was myself. Thanks Swami.

The retreat dream - 1981 or 1982

Our center in Littleton, Colorado planned a mini-retreat. In this dream, Swami came to the retreat. I requested Him to come to my house. He said " I have to take care of something.  I will be back in an hour." The next day, Carol, who was a great organizer of the cooking section narrated a dream of Swami. Her oldest son, who was 19 suffered from seizures. He was mentally challenged also. In the middle of the night, she heard his voice. She went to his room and asked him " Michael, what happened.?" He said that Baba appeared in his dream and told him "Michael, wake up. No more seizures. no more seizures." They both were excited. His seizures were less for a while.
Later on I came to know that the seizures had increased. But the interesting part is Carol's house was exactly one hour drive from the retreat area and my house.

A third dream in 1981 / 1982

Sometimes Baba just appears in the dreams. No conversation.

My husband Rao went to India for a visit in Nov/Dec 0f 1981. His niece was waiting to join her husband in the USA. So, he told me that he might change his plans if neccessary to suit to her dates. Later on, he called and informed me that he is coming with his niece and he would let me know the exact date. I did not hear from him. One day, I dozed off during daytime. The children were playing in the family room. Baba was standing near my sofa in the dream. I woke up, got the children ready, got into the car and drove off to the Stapleton Airport in Denver, Colorado. I can't explain why I did that - only Baba's appearence prompted me do that. I had no idea about Rao's flight details. The only choice I had was to wait at the baggage claim. Gopal and Gayatri were excited about their father's arrival. After waiting for 25 minutes or so, I felt someone was walking behind me like a shadow. I suddenly turned around to see Rao. He was surprised to see us there. He said "how did you know I was coming now?". My reply sounded odd even to my ears. I said "Baba appeared in my dream and I came to the airport". Rao called home as soon as he landed, but we had already left home by then.

This was almost 28 years ago. I may have missed some details. By the way, the day he arrived was the one he chose originally.

Dreams in pair

These dreams were in 1982. One was on a Wednesday night and the second was on the following night which was a Thursday night.
I wrote a letter to Swami about the difficulty we were having in selling our house in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. We had a real estate broker working for us.

Anyway, the Wednesday dream:

The setting was in our prayer room. Two other ladies were there. Baba was sitting facing us. He said in Telugu " Padma, sit here. I want to do some pooja for you. I saw he spread colored rice in a plate. We were about to recite Vishnu Sahasra Naamam. The other two ladies were about to move forward. Swami stopped them by saying "this is only for Padma". With His right forefinger, he wrote in the rice plate.
There was lot of kumkum and turmeric in the pooja.

Thursday night dream:

There was a huge gathering for a meeting. Swami was on the stage. I was sitting on the floor among many women in the audience. Swami had a raw mango in his hand. He was teasing everyone in the gathering as though He was going to through it to them. I also wanted it. But I told myself (in the dream) "yesterday, in the dream, He did special pooja for me. I should not be greedy." Suddenly, He let the mango go off His hand. It came rolling and sneaked under my right knee. Then, to my surprise, I saw four smaller ones instead of one mango. Only one mango came to me. the other rolled away.

The house was sold a few months later. But as of today, I got only one fourth of that money into my hands. I don't want to go into the details as to where the the rest of the money went. It is irrelevent now. But Swami's leelas are remarkable!!!!.

In the white robe

I have never seen Swami  in a white robe during my wakeful hours. In the dream, many of us are waiting outside a room. Swami was inside that room. Now, someone comes to me and says "Swami wants you come inside". I go in. Swami is lying on a large swing (the type used in every home as a swing in the living room in the olden days) in a beautiful white robe. I am all excited to see Baba in a white robe. My son Gopal is already in the room in one corner. I touch the tender, holy feet of Baba and take paada namaskaaram. Now I bring Gopal to my front, touching him by his shoulders. I mumble in Telugu "Swami, this is my son.......". Swami says "vaadunnadey" and then praises him. I was going to ask Swami to bless him and take care of him. But, Swami already responded in the positive. Now I see how much Gopal is blessed. Thanks Swami.

Self centered vs. centered self

I don't remember where I was in this dream. The only two people in the dream are Swami and myself.

I was sobbing and complaing to Baba about my husband Rao. "He is very self-centered Swami. He doesn't get involved in children's activities. He thinks only of himself. He doesn't pay any attention to me or my two children". Swami comments "He is not self-centerd. He is centered self." I did not like the answer. I probably wanted Swami to agree with me and comfort me. Neither happened. I woke up.

Rao and a bhajan

We were in Parthi in this dream. The crowd was big. Swami was randomly selecting singers to lead the bhajans and they were singing. I very much wanted Rao to be selected. The men and women were not sitting separately (which never happens in a sai activity). I physically start pushing Rao from behind to be visible to Baba. Finally Rao yields and gets up. Immediately, Swami waves His hand and says either "No, you should not sing" or "No, not you". We felt humiliated in the dream. Strange, I still don't understand why.

Now it is in 1986 Wednesday, Thursday dreams

Swami was in town. I don't know which town and whose house. But in this dream, Swami is going up the stairs to go to the bedroom in that house. I was climbing right behind Him. Swami's foot slips and he comes one stair down. Then continues climbing again and enters the bed room. I follow Him. But in the room, I see Him sobbing. I am shocked and walk out quietly.

The next dream, on a Thursday night. I see Baba on the stage. I go near Him and I ask Him "Swami, last night in my dream, it was just one step that you slipped. How come you were crying like us, ordinary humans?" Swami with His divine smile says "I wasn't crying because my foot fell one step. I was crying because I try to pull  all of you up and you don't pay attention and go down. I was crying for all of you".

Wow !! What a message !!!

November 1986 Thanks giving weekend

That weekend, we went to Maryland from Pennsylvania to visit a friend of ours. They were Sai devotees then. Thurssday night I see Baba briefly in my dream. I request Him to perform Gopal's sacred thread ceremony and bless him. Swami says "there are no muhurthams (astrologically suitable dates) then".

Actually, we were corresponding with Rao's brother and he in turn with the astrologers in India for good dates.

The next day, which was a Friday, I had another dream. Swami was coming onto the stage from the back of the stage to give a speech or there was going to be a bhajan. I was waiting on the side, like in a 'green room'. I walk towards Swami and I say "Swami, I will not be able to attend the bhajans today. I have to go. But I want to ask you something" He nods His head in approval. I add "Swami, yesterday in my dream you said that there are no muhurthams in March. But the astrologers gave March 5th, 9th and 12th as good choices". Swami says "March 5th and 9th are not good. On 12th, there is no muhurtham at all". I walk away with my hands still folded in reverence.

When we return home, we have a letter from India waiting for us, says exactly what Baba told me in the dream.

Later on we performed the Upanayanam on June 17th, 1987 in Rao's hometown machilipatnam.

June 1st week, 1987 - Whitefield

The school gave permission to Gopal to be absent from school and go to India for his upanayanam. I wrote a letter to the pricipal with my request explaining to him what the ceremony was about. Since his grades and other records about him were excellent, they allowed Gopal to finish his homework etc. before and let him be absent for three weeks. The upanayanam date was set to June 17th. Gayatri, my daughter and I went in April to attend other functions on my side of the family and Gopal and Rao arrived in Chennai on June 4th, I think. We were hearing a variety of news about Swami's where abouts. Some said that He was in Ooty or Kodaikanal all summer. Some said that He returned to Bangalore area. I hired a Taxi from Nellore, my native town and with the help of my nephew Subrahmanyam, we went to the Madras airport and started off towards Bangalore to go to Whitefield. The journey was good till we reached our destination. Then, it started pouring and the Taxi's windshield wipers were not working. When asked, the driver said that since there was no rain in Nelloore area, he disconnected them. Anyway, at one point, we could not go any further and the Taxi stopped. When Rao got out he as excited to see that we were just in front of the gate of Brindavan, Swami's abode in Whitefield. The driver pulled over to a side. The rain turned to a drizzle. Rao went inside the gate and returned quicked to say that there was no accommodation available inside the ashram. A man then walked over to us and said that he could provide a room to sleep with one bed and others sleep on the floor. We agreed that the boys could sleep on the floor and Gayatri and I on the bed and the driver slept in the Taxi. The room was full of dead bed bugs. That was our only choice in a strange town. We took shower and all and went to the nearby canteen for something to eat. There, to our surprise, we met with a couple from our Colorado center. Her name was Gretchen. I forgot his name now. They told us that Swami was giving darsans only two days a week Tuesdays and Thursdays and that too only in the mornings. It was Thursday evening when we got this news. There was no way we could stay until the following Tuesday.
So, that night, I cried hard and begged Swami to give us darsan, because Rao has to return to the USA and he has to go without a darsan. We were planning to go to Parthi for Gurupoornima in July after Rao left.
Now the dream that night. Baba appears. That is it !!!
Everyone was sitting under the huge darsan tree. We also joined them. Suddenly, we saw Swami's robe far away behind another set of gates. I started thanking Swami for answering my prayers and giving this blissful moment to Rao and us. Suddenly, those gates are wide open and we were motined to go near. Everyone starts running. The male and female lines were formed and we all sat on the ground. Swami walks towards us and comes sooo close that I was in ecstasy. Rao was able to take many close up photos of Swami. Swami was all smiles, smiling at His own leelas.
Thanks Swami.

My dream of 1985 and my younger sister Ramamani's of 1987

In my dream, I was in Parthi. Baba was outside the Ashram, supervising some constuction work being done. I walked close to Him and asked Him "Swami, we want to return to India. Would my husband Rao be able to get a job? Swami showed me an electrical outlet and asked "Would he be able to work with these?" I enthusiastically replied "Yes, Swami".  "Then, he will get a job". Rao is an Electrical Engineer, but not working with the outlets. As I was walking away, Swami called me by my name "Padma, come here". When I approached, He asked " You told me sometime ago that someone was sick in your family. How is it now?" Apologising profusely, I said, "Swami, I am so sorry I forgot to thank you for that all these years. It was my sister. She is doing well now Swami. Thanks to you."
The story behind this is : Rama had devoloped breast cancer in 1978 at a very young age. I begged her to go to Parthi and have Swami's darsan. She did not believe in Him, so, she refused to go. I prayed to Swami to cure her. She did not even want to go to Vellore Christian Medical College Hospital for further tests. Rao and I sent her Swami's Vibhuthi in the mail from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She wrote us back saying that she applied the vibhuti on the affected area. But, not because she believed in Baba, but because of respect to her sister and brother-in-law. We were happy she applied it and later, changed her mind and went to Vellore for treatment and got a clean certificate in 1985 after 7 years. So, Swami was reminding me of this incident.
Now my sister's dream. She did not share it with me first. But her tenant leaked it out. So, when I asked her, Rama said "Yes, Baba appeared in my dream and put fragrant Vibhuti in my mouth".
I said "Rama, what a blessing !! If it had happened to me, I would be jumping with joy!!". She calmly said "Padma, I did not pay much importance to it. But the strange thing was I could smell the fragrance of that Vibhuti all day, even at work". I did not know how to convince her about Swami's divinity.
Later on, on her own, she accompanied me and the children to Puttaparthi in 1989 and to Whitefield in May of 1995 . She passed away on Dec 5, 1995.

About (Hare) Krishna Temple in Denver area

In the early eighties, in Denver, the only Temple close to Hinduism was the Iskcon Temple. We were there several times. One day, the noise level of the huge cymbals and the belief expressed by one devotee, a resident there, bothered me. I felt that they very intolerant of other beliefs. I told Rao that I would not want to come back to that Temple agin. Because the meals were free, I saw many non-devotees, Pakistani Muslims going there and abusing their free meal (prasadam) arrangement and I minded that, of course!!!

Anyway, that night Baba came in my dream. He was standing in my living room. He ordered me to follow Him. The next thing I know, both of us are in the Iskcon Temple. No one else was there. We were standing in front of the marble idols of Sri Krishna, Sri Balarama and Subhadra. Swami was standing on my left side. He motioned His hand and asked me to prostrate in front of the idols. I did it and I woke up. Immediately I felt what Swami was trying to tell me. If I called them fanatics, who am I?

When I narrated this dream to Rao, that evening, he took us again to that Temple.

From 1988 thru 1998

It is really strange that I cannot recall a single dream during this period. I did not document any in my diary either. We owned a home and lived in it in Cranbury, NJ during that time. The Sai center was meeting in that basement from 1989 thru 1994. We sold that house in 1998. I remember other dreams, but not Sai dreams. I wonder why????
The next one I remember was in August of 1999 when we bought a Townhome in Marlboro, NJ. After that, I have a few to write in my future posts.

If any of you want to comment, please feel free to so.

Two dreams remembered - but only from the late 80s

Well, as May suggested in the comment on the previous post, I asked Baba and this morning, I remembered two more dreams.
One: I am in Puttaparthi, sitting on a chair along with many women, also sitting on chairs. I overhear them criticizing Swami. I get quite annoyed. I go inside Baba's quarters, to report the matter. But Baba was taking a shower and I talk to him from outside the shower stall. I tell Him about the women in the audience.  He tells me "Don't pay attention to what bad comments others are making about me. You focus on your thoughts. That is enough for you" I walk back and sit on the same chair. I see from there that Baba is wearing a saree. I am surprised !!!

Two: I was visiting my mother and sister in Nellore. The children were with me. I was sleeping on a single cot in the living room.
Now the dream - Baba enters the house from the back door, walks through the dining room, enters the living room and walks out through a side door. He was wearing a saree like thing, a mixture of red and blue colors, very small print all over the saree. I wake up. It was 6 a.m. in the morning.
An hour later, my mother asked me whether I could attend a Sathyanarayana pooja at a neighbor's place on her behalf. They invited the whole family, but mother felt that my other two sisters may not be interested in going (actually my younger sister was a Bank officer and had to go to work). My mother was not comfortable going, being a widow (her belief and her tradition).
I went and at the end of the pooja, the daughter and son-in-law of the family wanted to have a short Sai bhajan. No one nodded 'yes'. Suddenly, the dream flashed in my mind and I said 'yes'. They were so happy that we, strangers to them, joined in their bhajan and even my children were able to lead.
I was very happy to have gotten this opportunity since I was missing the bajans in Nellore.
From that day, a group of young adults would knock at the door and inform me about the daily Bhajan sessions in the neighborhood. I now know why Swami woke me up with that dream. What a boon Swami!!!!

Two memories after the dreams from the previous post

The young adults showed up at our door every evening and took the three of us to the neiboring houses -where ever there was a bhajan. On the following Thursday, no one showed up. I felt bad, not being able to have a bhajan especially on a Thursday. To my surprise, my mother said "you three can sing bhajans. But, I don't have your Baba's photo in my pooja room. Can you put any other picture?". I was so glad that my mother did not mind a bhajan session in their house. I had a wallet size photo of Swami and I set up an Altar on the living room chair. The tenant from upstairs joined us. I saw mother sitting at the far end, clapping her hands. We had wonderful time.
[My mother made a comment about the Sai devoties. These were her exact words, but were in Telugu.
" One good thing about these Sai Bhakta's is, they walk on my street singing devotional songs early in the morning (must be Nagara Sankeertan) and I don't have to step out of my house. They gave me two boxes and asked me to put a fistful of rice in one and a minimum of 10 paise coin in the other everyday. They come and collect nd use them to feed the poor".] Thanks Swami for making her participate in your play.
Anyway, the next time the girls came, they informed me about a Medical camp in a neighboring village. I was tempted to go. They told me that some volunteers were going in a Jeep and they would be more than happy to include me. Early next morning, I got ready and the Jeep was there as promised. To my surprise, I saw a Science teacher from my High school, Manjula sitting in the front seat. She taught my younger sister. We both recognised each other after almost 30 years.

Now about the camp: This was the one and only Medical camp I ever attended. One family, a rich and powerful one of the village sponsored the food for all. It was a nine course meal. The doctors, nurses and the Chief medical officer were all there. Typical to the local arrangements, people did not follow rules, influential people were taken first, Muslim women had their own rules and so on. I was the only unpopular one tying to follow and implement rules. Overall, it was a good experience and I had a good time.