Amazing Grace in Africa
By Mr. Jay Ravji Jethwa
Swami handing out Prashad to His African Devotees
Darshan rounds in Africa
Mr. Jay Ravji Jethwa is a barrister and lawyer of the Supreme Court of Victoria and the High Court of Australia. He is also currently the National Vice-President of the United Nations Association of Australia.
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The Light
Shines in Africa
It was indeed a
most fortuitous period for the "Dark Continent
", Africa. For Bhagavan, in His infinite mercy,
had decided to set foot on the very soil that is
regarded as the cradle of civilisation, and
where humankind's ancestry can be traced. This
event took place in July 1968, when Bhagavan
spent two memorable weeks in Uganda, a country
where I was born and raised. Uganda, a very
beautiful and picturesque place once described
by Winston Churchill as the ‘Pearl of Africa’,
is a country which is the source of the River
Nile flowing out of Lake Victoria (the second
largest fresh water lake in the world) which
sustains many millions of people in countries
ranging from Uganda all the way up to Egypt,
where it empties itself in the Mediterranean
Sea. It is indeed the lifeblood of most of
Africa. The Creator was now putting the final
lustre on this pearl by physically going there.
Bhagavan has not
yet stated the reason for this Divine visit to
Uganda. However, there are many conjectures. Did
He go because of the love for His devotees
living there? Did He go there to warn His
devotees of the dangers they were to face in the
coming years at the hands of the ruling military
junta? Did He go there to plant as yet some
unknown seed in Africa, which will blossom at
some time in the future? The answer to these
questions may be all of the above and more.
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Africa,
as a general rule, has been beset by many and varied
problems, ranging from natural disasters such as drought
and famine, to problems, associated with racial and
ethnic disharmony. It appears that some of the latter
problems worsened as most individual countries in the
Continent gained independence from their colonial
masters in the 1960s.
It was
against this backdrop of strife and discontent that
Bhagavan visited the Continent of Africa. It was the
first and only time He had left India for an overseas
visit. It is interesting to note that not long before
His Divine visit to Uganda, Pope Paul VI became the
first ever Pontiff to set foot on the African soil by
also visiting Uganda.
A Childhood
Blighted by Asthma
I was a
very sickly 13 year-old boy in 1968. I had a very severe
form of asthma since I was born. My father had sought
expert medical advice from as far away as the United
Kingdom, all to no avail.
One day
in June 1968, Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, was
abuzz with the news that "Bhagavan" was coming to town
and that His name was Sai Baba. I had neither heard this
name nor seen what He looked like. My Father, Ravji
Kara, and my mother Urmilabhen, had made arrangements to
take myself and stay for the duration of His visit.
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Thousands Flock for Bhagavan’s Darshan
When we
arrived at Dr. Patel's home at about 4 p.m,
thousands of people of all races and colours
had already gathered there. His car was to
arrive at Dr. Patel's home at 6 p.m, but the
motorcade was delayed en route from Nairobi
in Kenya, where His plane had landed from
Bombay .
It was not
until 1.30 a.m. that the motorcade finally
arrived. Bhajans had been going on all
evening at the makeshift hall that had been
erected by Dr. Patel at his residence where
all the people were patiently waiting for
their first encounter with Bhagavan. I was
indeed very fortunate that the car Bhagavan
was traveling in stopped right in front of
me. As He alighted, I took my first ever
glimpse of Him. And what a wonderful sight
it was. He looked majestic in the golden
robe He was wearing. I remember thinking
that He looked quite unusual for an Indian.
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Swami in car
after arriving in Nairobi
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Bhagavan had an immediate impact on my being. Just one
look at Him made me feel completely confident that He
was to "cure" my illness. My very young mind was also
convinced that Bhagavan has come to Africa just for me!
I knew I would never be the same again.
My
illness had been so severe that I cannot ever recall
having slept at night times. I remember my mother having
to wake up at least a dozen times a night to give me
medication for my difficult breathing.
A few
days after His arrival in Kampala , on 7 July to be
precise, without my parent's knowledge, I decided not to
attend school that day, visiting Bhagavan instead to
obtain His Darshan. When I arrived at Dr. Patel's home,
there were already thousands waiting in the streets for
precisely the same reason. I joined the crowds and
waited patiently for Him.
Called to Grace
It
wasn't long before He came out to the delight of all
gathered there. I saw Him materialising vibhuti for some
people, and also witnessed Bhagavan creating a watch for
an African policeman standing at his post at the gates
of Dr. Patel's home. He then approached me where I was
sitting, and summoned me to get up and go to Him. This I
did immediately. What follows is a personal account of
the "miracle" I experienced all those years ago.
Swami handing out Prashad to His African Devotees
Darshan rounds in Africa
As I
approached Him, He asked me, "How is your asthma?" I
remember being very surprised at His knowledge of my
illness. Before I could utter any words in response, He
said, "Go" pointing towards the gates of Dr. Patel's
home. He then walked right past me. Hesitatingly, I
started walking towards the gates. There was a policeman
at the gates (incidentally, the same policeman who had
earlier received the materialised watch) who opened the
gates for me. I entered the compound, and was asked by
the sevadal to sit there until Bhagavan called me into
the interview room.
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The
Healing Touch
It appeared that I
waited for an eternity for Him to beckon me in.
Whilst I was waiting, my young mind was going
through all sorts of questions like: "What if
something happens to me while I am inside?"
"What is this large fuzzy-haired man going to do
to me?" "What am I going to tell Him when I am
inside?", "Am I going to be cured of my
illness?" As all these thoughts were racing in
my head, Bhagavan came out of the small door
leading into the interview room and waved me go
inside. Still quite nervous, I approached Him
and He took me inside holding my hand.
The interview room
was approximately 6m x 6m in size. As He greeted
me in, He started telling me of my asthma, at
the same time, 'acting' very similarly to when I
was having one of my asthma attacks. He then
invited me to enter another very small room that
led out of the larger interview room. This room
was barely big enough for the two of us. I
entered this room first, and Bhagavan 'squeezed'
in after me. We stood facing each other, barely
six inches apart. I must admit that my heartbeat
was now racing, and He must have sensed this, as
He tried to relax me by saying some
pleasantries.
As I looked up to
His face, he opened His right hand palm and
instructed me to
"look, look, look" at it. I did what He
asked, and after about 10 seconds, He said
"touch, touch,
touch." The palm was beautifully soft and
dry. As I looked up to Him again, He asked me to
keep looking at His palm. Within a few seconds,
I witnessed droplets of liquid forming on His
palm, completely filling it up.
He asked me to
remove my shirt, which I did immediately. He
then rubbed the materialised liquid on my chest
until all of it was absorbed into the skin.
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Swami in
the Interview Room
at Dr Patels Home |
I was
asked to put my shirt back on. We both then proceeded to
very gently squeeze out of the small room. As I looked
into His eyes, I experienced the feeling of love that I
don't believe I had ever experienced before. It was a
most wonderful moment of my short life.
He then
gave me a few packets of vibhuthi, said many other
things that I cannot now recall, and patted me on the
back and said: "Go - no more asthma." These few magical
words have always kept ringing in my ears since then. He
led me out of the interview room, letting me undertake
padanamaskaram.
“Mum, no more
asthma!”
I
remember running home after the interview (my home was
merely 15 minutes walk from where Bhagavan was staying).
I greeted my mum with biggest smile shouting:
"Mum, I have just had an interview with Sai Baba and He
said that I will never suffer from asthma again. Mum, I
will never wake you up in the middle of the night to
administer the medication again, and I will never have
to see anther doctor again." I was truly
ecstatic.
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It
has been 34 years almost to the day as I sit
here in Sai Kulwant Hall in Prashanti Nilayam,
writing this short account! – My direct
experience of Bhagavan's spontaneous expression
of Divine Love. My asthma has deserted me
completely. My wife Julie and I, and the rest of
my whole family who all now reside in the United
Kingdom, have been visiting Bhagavan in
Prashanti Nilayam for many years now and we all
constantly experience His Love and Divine
Miracles in our daily lives.
“My
methodology is love” - Swami
Professor N. Kasturi, in his book ‘The Light of
Love’, giving a short account of Bhagavan's
visit to Africa, said that at a question and
answers session held in Kampala at the gathering
of the Rotarians, Lions, lawyers, and doctors,
Bhagavan was asked what the purpose was of His
performing miracles, and whether it was good for
people to know that the laws of nature can be
broken. He replied that He does not perform
miracles. What we call miracles, He said, are
just spontaneous evidences of His Divinity. He
said that He has not acquired the power to
perform these so-called miracles, nor does He
exhibit them for demonstrating His Divinity. The
expression of His love is a nidarsana
or evidences of His Divine Power which induces
one to take to the Godward path. He went on to
say that "I do not set about to 'perform' what
you call 'miracles'; It is My way of doing
things, My way of expressing My love and grace."
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Courtesy: Mathrubhumi’s Sai Jyothi, 2002
Category: Experiences
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