Rare Spiritual Treasure: "Divine Games of Bala Sai" by V.R. Krishna Kumar
Excerpts shared for educational and spiritual purposes with reverence to the author. This project is a non-profit initiative, offered as a labor of love and selfless service.
Dharma Paripalakudu
THE PROTECTOR OF DHARMA
Though gossip was very interesting to everyone, misunderstanding
cannot yield happiness. It would not be easy for everyone to create
misunderstanding. Any mistake on the part of the player, he would surely be in
trouble and end up with a lot of beating. The master of this art was none other
than Saint Narada, the son of Brahma. Many people, in this period of Kali, may
have played this role, but, unsuccessfully: they would have fallen in their own
pit. It may have been easy to start, but very difficult to complete it
successfully. It may be very delightful for those who witness it, but the
people involved could never be at ease. The one who planned it would surely be
pinned down.
Great Saints like Narada, had played such games
in plenty, for the welfare of the world. Our Bala Sai was a Master in this Art
and had enacted many divine games for the welfare of the people. We may have
heard of many great thieves, but our sweet Lord could be considered as the
biggest thief! All those who have not heard about this shall come to know about
this, now! The play would depend on what role Swami would play, and whom He
would involve and enroll in His play. Having taken the human form, He would behave
like an ordinary human. What the humans enjoyed, He would also fully enjoy with
them. Some people may have thought that the outcome of great mischief would
always end up with something bad, but, here, the outcome was really great. If
Swami wanted to teach a lesson to someone, He would not aim at them directly, that,
too, in the full view of the public. He would select some old devotees to
participate in His game and keep them ready. For some big tasks, He would
select Sakammagaru to play the role, and for lesser things, Savitramma,
Konamma, Seshagiritata, and people like me, at random. He would select those He
liked most, but would ensure that they were taken to bearable levels, only.
Just like a cool breeze after a huge storm, laughter was assured, after the
climax of His game.
We had read in the Bhagawatham, that Lord
Krishna's mischief was immense and without any limits. Well, can we call this a
mere mischief? No! These were His Leelas, divine play that came out of His
heart full of love and did not harm anyone. Lord Krishna displayed so much to
the Gopikas, as they were the very forms of love. When they came to Yashoda and
complained about young Krishna, they took delight in watching her trying to
control naughty Krishna. Actually, they wanted His mischief to continue all the
while, so that they could derive more delight. It was not without some reason
they went to Yashoda with their baseless complaints. It was a pretext for them
to see their bundle of mischief, Krishna. They seemed to be in fury, due to His
deeds; but once they saw that delightful, lovely face, they melted like ice. In
the same way, though Swami would get angry with us, in front of so many people,
the way He would console us later was beyond description. Even if you would
explain about this, no one would believe it. Sometimes we would not understand
for whom He had played the game-how He would change within moments; taking sides,
depending on the situation, can never be imagined. When Swami spoke about
Leelas, hours would pass by like minutes, immersing all in bliss. Many of these
have been mentioned by my sister Kumaramma.
There would be a certain age limit for doing
mischief, and it would look only till that age, say up to 16 or 20. After that
age, it would look like something strange. Without mischief, that period would
be pale and tasteless. Sometimes, when Swami was in good moods, He would answer
to any number of doubts, beautifully. What He spoke in those days was the very
essence of life! Once, I summoned all my courage to ask Him why He would get so
angry at times. Swami said, "You
buffalo! This is not anger; this is My excess love. This is All fun, play, and divine deeds”. By
seeing all this, people who came there would forget about their troubles, and
derive happiness. Many a time, people came to the Old Mandir with sorrow and
misery up to the brim; at such times, it would not be appropriate to impart
knowledge in a serious manner. Instead, the right mixture of some play and
mischief worked like a wonder medicine on them, and they would get some peace
of mind. Thus humour played an important role then and granted relief to
thousands of people. Besides humour, every act of His imparted many morals. All
these would replace sorrow with peace of mind, efficiently; and even
after six decades when think of these incidents, we derive the same pleasure,
to this day.
The people at the Old Mandir were like one big
family. There would be no family without some misunderstanding in the whole
world. Just like tasty foods, sweet and hot, life should be a mixture of
worries and happiness. In this small Kingdom, Swami was like the King and also
like the farmer who would plough. When dive into the ocean of life, you would
get pearls, and also face some poisonous animals. I was taught by Swami to hold
onto the pearls, and avoid the animals. To accomplish anything in life, some hurdles
had to be crossed, and with Swami as the Guru, you would surely win the game. Shall
we now enter the arena of Swami's games?
MISSING BUTTER
In those days, Sakammagaru was fully involved in the service to Swami
and had permanently settled at Puttaparthi. She was the rich owner of coffee
estates in Coorg, in the state of Karnataka. She had good manners and had much
respect for the elders. Besides worldly knowledge, she was treading in the path
of spirituality, with devotion and determination. She was fluent in Kannada and
English, but knew very little Telugu. Swami was her life. She was very
particular about discipline and cleanliness. She was gentle and would hardly
lose her temper. Though she was very rich, she was humble. She used to treat servants
and workers, as her own family members.
Once, she had mixed butter and sugar for Swami.
In the Dwapara era this was most cherished by Lord Krishna, the delight of the
Gopikas. Seeing this, I imagined that our Bala Krishna would remember His
earlier Avatar and run away to His old abode Repalle! The followers of Lord
Vishnu would call this mixture as 'Navaneetham', and believed that it was very
much liked by Him. Thus, when He descended as Lord Krishna naturally it became
His delicacy. Sakammagaru requested Nagamaniamma to preserve this safely, and
she did the needful.
After we had our meals she asked Nagamainamm to bring
the small bowl of butter. Though it was kept safely, she could not find it at
that place and started crying. Swami pretended not to know anything and chided
her that she should have done something great. Seeing Sakammagaru approach, she
started crying even more, with the fear of her wrath. When she did ask for the
bowl, Nagamaniamm's crying reached a high pitch, and said, "Alas! I had
kept it safely, but it is missing now! This, must be Swami's work. He must have
hidden it somewhere"! Like this, she pulled naughty Bala Sai into the ring.
Sakammagaru fumed, “Today is Gokulastami, so I had prepared it with much
dedication to offer it to Swami, and you have spoilt all my good efforts, on
this auspicious occasion”. When Sakammagaru's temper raged like fire, our cool
Swami intervened, “Oh that bowl! It
must be there, only; how can it be missing?” When He signalled to me, I
realised that it was only His game, and it was my chance to play a role. I went
in and brought the same bowl from the same place where it had gone missing.
Seeing the bowl in my hand, Nagamaniamma lost her temper and caught hold of my
ear, "All are thieves, but why should I become the target"? Like this
I was blamed for the missing bowl. She would not let go of my ear, in spite of
me pleading innocent. Before everything went out of control, Swami grabbed the
bowl and finished the butter and said that He liked it very much. Swami enjoyed
such cat and mouse games and had the great pleasure of making the devotees cry and
get embroiled in a tussle. Though He provoked and made some weep, everything
ended up with laughter. We would enjoy talking about His divine play of His,
for days and months. These were simple games of His, and we would eagerly wait
for the next one to start. Just wait and see how this game continued.
A sea change took place after this. She let go of
my ear, grabbed the empty bowl from Swami's hand and targeted Him, "What,
Swami! You have not left anything for us, as Prasad"? Can you imagine how
things change in moments? Swami grabbed the empty bowl and showed it to
Sakammagaru, "You see
for yourself! This lady is in the habit of always blaming Me"! When we
peeped, there was still some butter in the bowl, and all were rendered
speechless. During such times, what one can do but fall at His feet and pray like
this, "O great dramatist! O great actor! Your play is par excellence and
can never be understood by any'! He removed a small portion of the butter and
fed it to Sakammagaru and asked her distribute the balance to the others.
Seeing so many people over there, she was in a dilemma, wondering how it could
suffice! Looking at her being hesitant, Swami said, "What do you
think? Is it your property? Give it
to everyone, nicely! She obeyed His command and everyone was served. This
was how, our Sai Krishna celebrated Gokulastami that was unforgettable. We had
the opportunity to see so many such miracles. Anything touched by Him became nectarine
and beyond limits. We were blessed with such things, from morning to night. In
those days, He fed us with a small bowl, and now from huge vessels, food rises
like mountains and reaches the doorsteps, of thousands of families. Our Sai Annapoorneshwari,
the embodiment of plentiful food, had hardly changed. How can there be any
scarcity in His presence?
Similar things happened at the Chitravathi sands,
and the things that came out, could never be assessed. Besides beads, pendants,
idols, Geetha books, rudrakshas, and rare items, eatables also came out. Even a
small sweet that came out of the sands, as it was being distributed, would just
multiply and satiate all without any shortage. There was no necessity for cooking
vessels or plates. Whenever we· asked Swami from where it came, His answer was
just 'Sai Stores'. Whenever He did such things, He would immerse everyone in
astonishment. When He is the Creator, what is there in this world He cannot do?
Though He looked like a small boy, the things He did were so great and
mind-boggling! It was indispensable for anyone to wonder if this was a dream or
the truth. Really, what we saw can never be assessed, and our births were
sanctified beyond any refute. During the era of Dwapara, the Gopikas and the Gopas,
went to the banks of River Yamuna, to play and dance with Bala Krishna. For us,
the banks of the Chitrawathi were no less than the banks of the Yamuna, as we
also played, sang, swam and danced. When Chitravathi was in calm, gents would have
a good swim with Swami, in the flowing tranquil waters. Sometimes, Swami would
not come out of the waters for a long time. When we got agitated and shouted
for Him, He would appear from behind and surprise us. Such mystic and unimaginable
play was in plenty. All such incidents were sung, in song form, and Swami had
taught us how to compose and sing. We have recorded some of these songs and the
CDs, and these can be obtained from my sister Kumaramma. Well, wherever we
went; that small box of pan had to be ready in my hands, any delay or
shortage in serving Swami, I just had it!
