Unfolding of the Divine punishment
God is often seen as a Mighty Judge,
sitting high above mankind, branding and separating
people as good and bad; as noble souls and sinners. How
very wrong this idea is! In fact, every part of the
statement is incorrect. To begin with, God is not a
judge. When you judge someone, you cannot love him/her.
When God loves everyone equally, how can we ever
criticize Him of judging? Every moment of Swami’s life
is filled with pure Love. Where is the time and space
for Him to judge then? The next part of the statement
about Him branding and separating people is also false.
He always exhorts us to be united - to see unity in the
apparent diversity. Finally, the way God views ‘noble
souls’ and ‘sinners’ is totally different from the way
we view them. For God, every saint has a past and every
sinner, a future!
Therefore, when we speak of God’s
‘punishment’, we have to understand the context
properly. For instance, while the Government of India
decided that the apt punishment for a murderer was a
noose around his neck, Swami decided that the perfect
punishment would be a rosary instead of the noose. And
this is because Swami believes in finishing off the
murderous tendencies rather than the murderer. That was
the life story of Kalpagiri. So, when Swami says that
both ‘good’ and ‘bad’ done in the Divine Presence come
back to you a hundredfold, He speaks not about reward
and punishment the way we understand them, but of
balance and harmony.
Vijay had no doubt destroyed a picture of
Swami. And no doubt he had to ‘pay’ a hundredfold to set
that right. But it would be totally wrong to consider
that as ‘punishment’ the way we understand it. The way
Swami made him pay back a hundredfold was so beautiful
and uplifting.
{This is the final part of a story which has a lot of background. To enjoy it completely, please read it only after reading the first two parts which are at the links given below.
PART 1: Destroyed in seconds but rebuilt over years - Part 1
PART 2:
Destroyed in seconds but rebuilt over years - Part 2 }
{This is the final part of a story which has a lot of background. To enjoy it completely, please read it only after reading the first two parts which are at the links given below.
PART 1: Destroyed in seconds but rebuilt over years - Part 1
PART 2:
Destroyed in seconds but rebuilt over years - Part 2 }
“You destroyed an image of Me. Now you
will have to make a hundred images for Me. That will be
your punishment; that will be your redemption.”
So beautiful isn’t it? The way God
‘punishes’ us ensures that it helps us attain the
ultimate goal of life at the earliest. His ‘punishment’
too is an act of supreme compassion and grace. That was
what an overwhelmed Vijay discovered on his journey of a
hundred ‘payback images’. Speak to him today and he will
say that he wishes he could pay back a thousandfold! One
of the earliest among his sketches was of Sri.N.Kasturi.
An unforgettable sketching spree
 |
| The picture of Sri.N.Kasturi on the Radiosai site which Vijay used as a reference to make his sketch. |
“If you make the background a little
darker, then Kasturi will stand out. You also need to
shade a few age lines to get a better picture.”
Vijay just nodded in wonder. Swami then
asked,
“Did you meet Kasturi's daughter? She is
in Prasanthi Nilayam...”
Taking the cue, Vijay went in search of
her after the
darshan
session. He located the house and explained to Mrs.Padma
Kasturi the reason for his visit. She was thrilled that
Swami had remembered her and she regaled Vijay with
wonderful stories, travelling down memory lane. Vijay
was charged with overflowing love for Swami.
The next time, during
darshan
Swami told him,
“Do you know that the Rajmata of Jamnagar
(also known as Rajmata of Nawanagar) too has her house
inside Prasanthi Nilayam?”
Vijay was quickly learning this divine
game. He rushed to her house and found her grandson,
Mr.Indreshwar there. He requested the grandson (an
alumnus of the SSSIHL) to lend him a picture of the
Rajmata. Sketching through the night, he managed to
present Swami with the Rajmata’s picture during
darshan
the next day. Swami seemed pleased. He took the sketch
along with Him to His residence after the
bhajans.
The next day, Swami made a thrilling revelation to
Vijay,
“Yesterday, I was discussing with the
Rajmata about you. I showed her the sketch you made and
presented it to her. She was very happy.”
The statement was thrilling because the
Rajmata had left the physical plane, years ago!
Apart from taking cues from Swami, Vijay
also began to sharpen his intuition. He made a sketch of
Smt.Easwaramma, the
dehamata
(bodily mother) of Swami. When he showed it to Swami, He
proclaimed that she was an ardent devotee. He gave back
the sketch to Vijay and added,
“Karnam Subbamma was like a second
mother. She always welcomed my devotees with great love.
She cooked for all of them as well.”
Vijay needed no more prodding. That night
was dedicated to sketching Karnam Subbamma. The next
day, he offered both the sketches to Swami and, this
time, Swami accepted them.
The second semester just flew by and the
third semester of Vijay’s MBA life began. He was
enjoying every bit of it because his hundredfold
‘payback’ was still on! Following his intuition, Vijay
made a sketch of the affable Prof. Anil Kumar. Swami
glanced at the sketch during the
darshan
and almost burst out smiling. He was so happy and that
thrilled Vijay beyond measure. He knew for sure that
Swami would accept that sketch. That is exactly what
happened as Swami came to the dais. He called Vijay and
asked,
 |
| Swami accepts the sketches of Karnam Subbamma and Easwaramma |
“Who is this? Is it Anil Kumar?”
Vijay nodded. Swami then sent word for
the professor. Completely unaware of what was happening,
Anil Kumar sir came rushing to Swami. With a sweet
smile, Swami asked,
“Idi
choosava nuvvu?(Have
you seen this?)”
He then displayed the sketch to everyone
in the hall. There was almost an applause and that
showed the popularity of the professor. Swami then spoke
for almost ten minutes with him before gifting the
sketch.
But it was not as if all the sketches
were received with great fanfare and joy. When Vijay
drew
Dr.John Hislop, Swami frowned and said,
.JPG) |
| Vijay feels fulfilled seeing the joy on Swami's face which reflects on Prof.Anil Kumar's face also. |
 |
| Sketch of Dr. John Hislop which Swami said didn't resemble him at all! |
“Who is this? This is not Hislop. Hislop
never looked like this!”
But even that reaction was joyous for
Vijay. It did not matter to him that Swami criticised
his sketch. He just enjoyed the interactions - praise
and criticism were treated equally. That was how, even
without his knowledge, Swami conferred on him the gift
of equanimity. This equanimity coupled with tremendous
persistence gave Vijay the strength to create sketches
of all the faculty members in the MBA department of the
Institute. He offered them to Swami on 21st August, the
‘MBA formation Day’ or ‘MBA Day’. Swami saw through
dozens of sketches and blessed them all. He said,
“My blessings are there. Give it to all
of them.”
One day, Swami told him,
 |
| Showing Swami the picture of one of the MBA teachers, Mr.Sairam |
“Tomorrow Indulal Shah is coming here.”
Vijay knew why Swami was telling that to
him. It was not as if he was some important member of
the trust or he was an administrator. He was a sketch
artist and Swami had just given him his next assignment.
The next day, as Swami got into the car,
Vijay offered the sketch to Swami. Sri. Indulal Shah was
seated nearby and Swami beckoned to him. Handing the
sketch over, He said,
“This boy here, Ravi, made that.”
Vijay wanted to tell Swami that ‘Ravi’
was not his name. But he decided against it and kept
quiet.
 |
| Swami presents the sketch to Sri.Indulal Shah while introducing Vijay as 'Ravi'. |
“Where is the other one?”
Vijay understood and swung into action.
The next day, as Swami passed by him during
darshan,
he popped up with two sketches. He had added the sketch
of the former Vice Chancellor, Sri.S.V.Giri, who was
walking on the other side of Swami. Now Swami accepted
both! He presented it to the respective subjects and
said,
“See, Ravi made these paintings.”
Vijay thought,
“If Swami wants to remember me as ‘Ravi’,
so be it. How does it matter if he remembers me as
‘Ravi’ or ‘Vijay’ or even ‘monkey’ for that matter? As
long as he remembers me, it is enough.”
That was when he received a revelation
about the Ravi name. It happened towards the fag end of
his student days after he had completed and offered
scores of sketches. It came as a pleasant surprise to
him.
 |
| Both, Sri.K.Chakravarthi and Sri.S.V.Giri, are all smiles seeing the sketches made by Vijay aka 'Ravi'. |
The Divine Icing on top of the cake
The acting warden of the hostel,
Dr.Nageshwar Rao, summoned Vijay to his room one day. He
asked him,
“Would you be ready to forfeit your
vacation? ...Because Swami would like to take you along
with Him to Kodaikanal...”
Vijay could not believe that such a
question even needed to be asked. He nodded with great
delight. That is all the confirmation that the warden
wanted. Within a few days, Vijay was on the flight with
Swami, headed towards Madurai and Kodaikanal.
(Prof.G.Venkataraman has written a
detailed 7-part story of this beautiful Kodai trip. You
can read it at
The Kodai Festival 2009.)
 |
| A slightly blurry image of Swami presenting Prof.G.Venkataraman with one of Vijay's sketches. |
At Kodaikanal, Vijay made a sketch of Lord Dattatreya. In the sketch, he replaced the four faces of the Dattatreya with Swami faces. On that day, Swami delivered an informal discourse to the students. He said (the gist is given below)
“People talk about worshiping God not
realizing that God is one. God is not having any one
form because all forms are His. Nobody knows exactly how
Rama or Krishna looked like. Their forms are all based
on
Ravi Verma
paintings.”
Then, turning towards the students, Swami
asked,
“Where is Ravi Verma? Ravi...?”
A light bulb glowed inside Vijay’s head
and he rushed ahead.
“Ah! There you are Ravi...”
It was certainly not a ‘mistake’ that
Swami called him as ‘Ravi’. Vijay felt so blessed.
He had with him the sketch of Dattatreya
and he showed that to Swami. Immediately, Swami sent
word for Ratanlal Aunty.
 |
| Holding the sketch of Dattatreya visualised with Swami's faces. |
 |
|
The picture that
the Polaroid camera ejected when Swami promised to reveal who He was. |
“I shall show you who I am.”
When one of the students took a picture
of Swami with a Polaroid camera, the result was
mindblowing. The photo showed Swami as Lord Dattatreya!
So, it was not surprising that Swami
summoned Ratanlal Aunty and showed her the sketch. He
then introduced Ratanlal Aunty and Vijay to each other.
Vijay’s jaw dropped in amazement when Swami introduced
him,
“This is Ravi. He makes excellent
drawings. He has three pencils with which he creates his
art. And he does it late in the night in the music
college building.”
Tears welled in Vijay’s eyes as he
realized that Swami had been with him during every
moment of his efforts. Swami made a final
‘sketch-request’.
“Make a sketch of her”, He said, pointing
to Ratanlal Aunty.
 |
| Ratanlal Aunty is gifted with a sketch. |
“See, I introduced you to this boy. He
has made this. Isn’t it wonderful?”
Aunty accepted the sketch joyously. She
now realized why Vijay had approached her the other day
and asked whether he could take a picture of her - he
had wanted a reference image for his sketch.
Redemption
Vijay’s punishment was complete. Or so it
seemed because Swami told him to join a job after the
Kodaikanal trip.
“But Swami, I want to be with You. I
shall do an MPhil and a PhD perhaps”, Vijay said based
on the advice given to him by Prof.G.Venkatraman.
“Nothing doing. No need to do MPhil. You
go out and do a job.”
Having enjoyed paying back his
‘hundredfold punishment’, Vijay was not prepared for
this ‘real punishment’.
“Swami please...”
“No”, Swami cut him firmly, “things here
will change in two years.”
That was April 2009.
Today, when Vijay looks back at that
statement, his heart throbs madly.
“Swami knew that I was so attached to the
form that I wouldn’t be able to take it when He left the
physical in 2011. So, much before that itself, He
prepared me by sending me away. At that time, Him
telling me to take up a job seemed like a cruel
punishment. But today, I know that whatever He did, He
did it for my good only.”
Vijay definitely paid back a hundredfold
for the act of destroying one picture of the Lord. But
the infinite compassion of the Lord is such that his
punishment in itself became his redemption. His
punishment gave him memories for a lifetime. God never
‘punishes’ us in the way we humans comprehend. His
‘punishment’ too is a bounty of love, grace and
compassion. What else is God other than these? Call it
His blessing or His punishment, it is always Love and
Love alone.
It is with this perspective that we
should look at what Swami said in
His discourse on Guru Poornima in 2001.
“Actually, one should never seek pardon
for the mistake committed. One should be prepared to
undergo the punishment. Only then can one be free from
defects. When a person commits a serious offence, he is
put in jail. He is released only after he undergoes
punishment for the required period. Likewise, if you
want redemption, you should atone for your sins and be
prepared to face punishment for your mistakes. You
should exercise control over the senses and see that you
do not repeat your mistakes.”
Dear Swami, when I know that you are the ‘punisher’, what do I have to fear. Bring it on - a thousandfold if need be. I know it will only be a shower of Love.
