Letters from India

45. Blessed Christmas in Brindavan - Dec 1985

Blessed Christmas in Brindavan

December 20-26, 1985

Whitefield, Karnataka

Dear Ones,

Blessed Christmas in Brindavan! :-) This was a very special Christmas - He gave so much, so much closeness, so personal! The things He did, He couldn’t have done in Prasanthi Nilayam, it’s just too big there, too many people, too impersonal and strict (disciplined).

In Brindavan, there are many foreigners. I guess it’s because Indians generally don’t follow Sai when He travels, but foreigners do. A few hundred residents of Prasanthi stayed back. So here, maybe 50% (or more) foreigners – whereas there, there’s only a few white faces in a sea of dark skin!

We’re generally more cheery and friendly in our ways (different from the unemotional Indians!), Swami seems to take on some of our personality traits here, so it’s almost like the way He is in the interview room. He’s had a Krishna-gleam in His eyes, ever since He arrived. In Darshan, usually one can get 1st, 2nd or 3rd rows. He gives sweet, sweet smiles; He talks, and takes many letters. But unfortunately only once a day (Darshan).

On Thursdays and Sundays, it’s a feast of bhajans all day. After days of no bhajans, this is very, very welcome! On the 22nd, I stayed all day. Then at the conclusion, at arathi, Sai went into the wedding hall, instead of into His residence. All got up and many left, but a few of us stayed. Turns out, the college boys were to sing bhajans in the hall (usually, every night they sing bhajans to Him, but only inside the house), and they were letting foreigners in! Sai came out then went back to His house, and us foreigners filed in. I got a close-up spot (behind VIP section of course), it was a real family atmosphere feeling, interview-room-like.

Sai came after we were all settled. He sat on His chair – it was at the front of the room, but in front of the stage, not on it, thus on a lower level. This meant many people in the back couldn’t see Him.

The Oms… then the BIG MOMENT – I realized He was holding in His hands, cymbals! PANG! Went my heart! As the Ganesh bhajan started, He started to play the cymbals!! Ahhh! here was Krishna with the flute! The magic of sound, but God creating it, Himself! Can't be described! :-)

For the entire bhajan He played. He had this look of enchantment on His face – how Krishna must’ve looked when He played the flute – a look of knowing that He’s stealing hearts with His music, knowing He’s loved and adored, knowing He’s perfect. A fox-like planning look, like He’s going to capture us like a piedpiper – but knowing He already has us! He gave tons of stare-looks, concentrated looks at me and others, as if leaving no one out. How He played! I felt as if each ‘ting’ was vibrating in my heart, being transformed into Krishna’s playground! What a Darshan, ahh!

How does God play His music? With each line, He did a different beat – as if picking up on the vibration of the line, and the feelings and emotions of all in the room. Sometimes super-fast, sometimes a medium one-beat, sometimes a three-beat, uncountable rhythms! But each He had perfected (of course!). Each went perfectly with the music and sounded melodious. At almost each line of the bhajan, He’d stop; consider (or pretend to), then begin playing a different beat. God “showing off” how perfect He is in playing, even though He never plays the cymbals! Oh, the sly looks He gave so often - sly looks of knowing He was enchanting all of us! Oh Krishna! The Avatar is here, how blessed we are! What a blessed Darshan! A whole thirty minutes of Him playing, Jai Sri Sai Ram!

On the 23rd or 24th us foreigners met to practice Christmas songs and carols. Several small groups formed to sing bhajans on the 24th evening. At the last minute, Rohani (from Malaysia) got the brainstorm to get together a “Kodai Kanal” group to sing “Murali Krishna”, the bhajan we had messed up on in Kodai, when we sang to Swami. SH had written a letter once, right after it happened, asking permission to sing the bhajan again for Him. It’s been an on-going leela-play, waiting for the day to perform it to Him properly. So, old Kodais SH, Barbara, Rohani and I, became a group.