Letters from India - Part 2

22. Big Hospital Plans - July 1990

Big Hospital Plans

July 19. 1990

Prasanthi Nilayam

Dear Parents,

Guru Purnima went well. Not sooo many people came, if you ask me. We even kept the room, an event that hasn’t happened to me before on Guru Purnima. Perhaps all are waiting for the Birthday - even Dasara is cancelled this year (boo hoo – no mantras, no vishwa-rupa Darshan, no Divine Black Smoke, boo hooo!).

In the morning of Guru Purnima there was nice music on the verandah by the boys as usual. Swami did many rounds and He looked gentler, pleased with the devotees - a change from the hard, stern-faced Swami. He was sweet, with Krishna-like expressions, raised eyebrows, etc. It even lasted for several days after Guru Purnima.

Evening was talks by others and a discourse. He called us “Embodiments of Love” no less than five times throughout the discourse! Each time I felt He was sending a wave of love, conveying His affection for all us struggling souls.

Because I'm near Venkamma, I hear all the Swami gossip. Now don’t tell anyone. Swami is busy buying tens of thousands of dollars worth of land several miles from Prasanthi Nilayam, to start a huge, modern hospital, best in all of India. Also plans are there to buy acres of land for an airplane runway site!

Daily Swami is going to the Poornachandra. No one knows why, but I do. It’s to sign papers for more & more & more land (his builder Jagarao lives in the Poornachandra in a small side room). Swami has done a wonderful thing, He is employing Venkamma’s son Sankarappa as a go-between to check out & arrange buying the land. For years Swami hasn’t even talked to Venkamma’s son, now He is bringing him close. Venkamma is thrilled! She says attention of God to her son is enough, even if they don’t have job or money.

Well, so-called ‘rainy season’ has arrived: light showers cause devotees to run helter-skelter before Darshan. The eager ones refuse to budge from front row, thus getting completely soaked. When they finally get up, water drains after them as they walk. If rain lessons Swami comes and walks, getting His feet wet. He gives nice, compassionate Darshan, but usually won't come to the water-logged devotees, who have hands wet with water and are eager for padnamaskar!

19 July: All else is well, construction is going on. I’ve moved to the sheds, Home Sweet Home. From the 1st to 2nd Round House is a huge construction site, now all four floors are complete on that side of the building. From Round House 3-5 is an ocean of small rocks and sand (for construction). Cannot walk over it, no place to deter around it. Swami is fine, He’s been coming in for bhajan a lot, sometimes from Ganesh bhajan even.

Venkamma is fine, if not tired from all the work. She sends her blessings.

Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu.

Love,

Divya

____________________

Fine as Usual

31 July 1990

Prasanthi Nilayam

Dear Parents,

So, here everything is fine as usual. Cool winds blowing, Swami is still gentle from Guru Purnima. I had touched His feet twice since then, one a very nice long namaskar.

Venkamma’s grandson Subri's wife (Pushpita) just had a baby boy (21 July, 7:57 AM in some village near Cuddapah, I think). She’s happy and has been giving chocolates out since then, to all. She’s fine except exhausted from the daily routine of rising, early cooking all of Swami’s food (about 3 hours work), then the rest of the day overseeing family business and giving prasad and talking to the never-ending stream of visitors. A life of giving, then up all night with gas trouble, burping away for hours on end, leaving her in pain and out of breath.

Swami’s still giving nice Darshans. He throws candies from birthday plates - a thrill to all that receive! I received for the third time a few days ago. That time, for the first time I caught it in my hand – straight from His hand to mine! Heartening!

I'm in the shed happily. Surprisingly, the office isn’t giving me any problems - in fact, they haven’t even asked me to renew registration in the (dreaded) Public Relations office! I just pay shed rent every 10 days in accommodation office.

I'm cooking everyday. So many advised me to eat brown rice that now I'm spending the extra money to eat more nutritionally. Even a raw salad (even homemade is expensive) now and then.

Love,

Divya