Adventure with the Atma

Today my sister and I went to the Supermarket, the Dollar store and the Thrift shop. I love to just wander around up and down the aisles looking at all the food items in the world. It’s all there, countless kinds of ice cream, cakes, biscuits, cookies, breads, fresh vegetables and colourful fruits. You know, that kind of plenty, those gleaming succulent fruits appear to be spilling right out of Goddess Lakshmi’s arms. It is all very beautiful and can even be purchased with food stamps by the poor….like me. It’s awesome! It’s the Atma, an endless supply of good healthy things to eat.

Grasping my little food stamp card in my hand my sister and I looked for the manager. He looked to be about 12 years old and so very nice with the Atma smiling from his little round face., My sister explained about how I had just returned from practically a lifetime in India and he immediately asked for my pin code. I didn’t have the vaguest idea but my sister suggested my birth year and it turned out to be right. We left with a large bag of shredded cheese and butter. I’ve been using my sister’s butter for a month. Shredded cheese is new to me. It comes in a large bag and you can sprinkle it on everything for added protein. I said to the young lad, “ don’t tell anyone my secret pin code.” He looked alarmed and I admitted that I was just joking.

Next we went next door to the dollar store. Everything in the store is only a dollar. When I was growing up they were called Dime Stores which just shows what’s happening. I bought cans of new potatoes, mixed veggies, tomato sauce and kidney beans for 4 dollars on my food stamp card. I’ll mix them all together add a little shredded cheese and that will be my lunch for 4 or 5 days. Cheaper than the canteen at the ashram. And everyone is so very nice. They greet you like friends, a smile and a nod of the Head. You know they call St. Pete the Sunshine city because the sun is usually shining. Atma is also shining from their faces. I asked Betty about that and she said she hadn’t really noticed all the smiles. I know its really the Atma though. It is the love of God in all those faces because Swami says that love is God.

Then we went to the consignment store or Thrift shop. Over here wealthy people take their clothes to a resale place, sell them and then buy more. Then people who don’t have so much money, buy them. I think people do this with sarees in India too but they would never admit it. I am very transparent!

It’s time for Oprah

I just love the Thrift shop. My niece buys many of her clothes there and she has plenty of money. It’s fun. Before I went to India I just loved buying clothes but in India I wore sarees for 30 years. I wouldn’t even wear Punjabis because I’d heard Swami preferred sarees. I have many many sarees at home. Anyway I bought a skirt and a blouse and my sister said they were nice enough to wear to the ‘Friends of the Library concert tomorrow afternoon. Oh great, another adventure and it will be an atmic adventure too because everything is the Atma, the omnipresent Atma. My sister had to wait in the hot car while I picked out my clothes and she was loosing patience. There was a line at the cashier consisting of two or three ladies buying about ten men’s coats. That took a lot of folding and packing away and I kept glancing out at my poor sister. The lady who was the cashier looked like she was just doing service in the thrift shop. She was so very nice and kept apologizing over and over to everyone for making them wait. One of the ladies looked like she was going to have her baby any minute right there in the store, but she was smiling. Everyone was smiling big Atmic smiles and I enjoyed it. If my sister hadn’t been waiting I would have spoken to the mother to be more, so…probably a good thing Betty was in a hurry.

The biggest change I’ve seen since I’ve been back is the number of African Americans around every where. Well I’ve always liked African Americans and so I just babbled, to the young man waiting on me at the computer store the day after I first arrived. “I am so glad to see you working here. I’ve been gone out of the country a long time but when I was growing up the only black people working were the mothers in the kitchens who were supporting their families. My sister was so embarrassed she walked off. I just get so full of this Atmic love that I babble but now I’m a little more self-contained. I think that means full of my real self.

Anyway on the way home I started thinking about my adventure. Did I find the Atma today? Well, of course I did, in the clerk who asked me for my pin code and in all the bountiful fruits and vegetables and in the pregnant lady and in my poor sister waiting for me in the hot car. All there is is Atma everywhere. My precious programmer said that Atma is colorless but if you mix it with fruit juice it can be very sweet, like all the smiles today.

20TH MAY 2010: News from Prasanthi Om Sai Ram dearest Sai family, As Swami always says PASSING CLOUDS are to be ignored and only then one will experience bliss and peace. This summer in Particular was a very TESTING one even for the locals. Puttaparthi area has been announced drought hit since many years. A farmer has a bumper crop only once in 4 years, The summer mercury level which touched 45 degrees this year, was successfully beared by the Puttaparthians and this PASSING CLOUD was followed by a very cool and windy rain. All of a sudden, the atmosphere has cooled down and the temperature is about 20 degrees now. Many people say, the only COOL thing in Parthi is Swami's darshan. and it is very much true. Swami has been so compassionate and has been blessing us with beautiful darshans. This evening (20th May 2010) Swami blessed the Sai Kulwanth Hall devotees' congregation with His divine darshan just after five as the veda chants were still on. Swami made a full round. He took many letters today. Swami then came on to the dais from the right side of the Ganesha. After coming on to the dais, Swami spent the whole bhajan session listening to the sweet music seated on the dais. Swami slowly took all the letters He collected and started reading them with great attention.When it comes to Swami, there is no need to write Him a letter as He knows every thing. He once said," the letters you give Me are just the photo copy and I already have the original with Me. I take it from you, only for your satisfaction" . Looking at Swami, reading those letters, I thought of those words of the divine and I think reading those letters is just a BAHANA (EXCUSE) for all of us to give an extended darshan. The boy seated to Swami's left was handing over the letters, one at a time, Swami very slowly opened them and read them attentively and after reading, Swami slowly slipped the READ letters to the boy sitting to His right. The bhajans were in full swing and I thought as I am here, watching the DIVINE PLAY, let me count the number of letters He read and this evening Swami read 42 letters in less than 50 minutes that He was seated on the dais. It was just amazing to watch Swami. Many a times, He had a beautiful, ticklish smile while reading, some times, He was more attentive and immersed, some times, He shook His Head, many a times, His index finger was tapping for the bhajan tune and some times, He was looking at the bhajan singing boys, appreciating their music. One thing that I noticed was, the number of letters that Swami read would have been more than 42, if many of the devotees had not put their letters in an envelope. Much of Swami's VALUABLE time was wasted in opening the envelopes. Unlike us, Swami was very careful about the letter inside, while opening the envelope. Probably it would be wise and practically advisable not to give Swami letters sealed in envelopes. This way we would also be saving mother earth by not cutting more trees and saving Swami's time. After Swami finished His reading, He signalled for arathi at 6:20 pm. While arathi was sung, Swami threw 5 vibhuthi packets at the bhajan boys and they very happily picked them and took Padanamaskar before returning to their seats. Over all it was a beautiful darshan and every moment of it was worthwhile and DIVINE.. With pranams at the Lotus Feet of our beloved Lord, R.Satish Naik