Wednesday, 1 January 2014

Sachin Tendulkar and Sathya Sai - the story of the little master and his 'little' Master [ Continuation from last month’s issue]




By Aravind Balasubramanya



Source : http://aravindb1982.hubpages.com/hub/Sachin-Tendulkar-and-Sathya-Sai-the-story-of-the-little-master-and-his-little-Master
   



When the Lord enters one’s life, all successes - spiritual and worldly alike - seem to come by too. And that is what seemed to happen in Sachin’s career too. The year 1998 proved to be the most successful year in Sachin’s entire ODI career spanning nearly 24 years when he made 1894 runs with the help of 9 centuries (in a single calendar year), a world record to date. He also made it a point to visit Swami and have His darshan whenever an opportunity presented itself. It was during one such visit to Swami’s ashram in Whitefield, Bengaluru, that he was blessed with an interview. After the interview, he spent a few minutes in the office of Sri B.N.Narasimhamoorthy, the then warden of the Brindavan campus of the Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning. What he revealed there, during a short chat was simply amazing.

“Swami knows a lot about cricket”, Sachin said, “He told me something that will remain etched in my mind.”
Naturally, the warden’s curiosity was aroused. Sachin revealed that Swami had told him that he was getting out unnecessarily because of his anger which led him to ‘go after’ a particular bowler. Swami advised him not to concentrate on the bowler but concentrate instead on the ball alone. That seemed like a whiff of fresh and fragrant air for Sachin and the world knows



how meticulously he went about demolishing and demoralising opposition teams around the world with much greater consistency and perseverance after that.
In fact, the great Erapalli Anantharao Srinivas Prasanna noticed this change in Sachin’s batting as he observed:
 In the early years, especially around the mid 90s, I had this feeling you could play around on his ego and get him out. He believed he could attack bowlers at any time and anyone who could bowl maidens to him stood a good chance. Things are of course different now...
It seemed as if Sachin learn’t more about the game of cricket and the game of life every time he visited his Guru. And he visited Him in times of plenty and times of need alike. When he was unable to visit Him, he carried Him in his heart and his cricket kit. As another Indian cricketing great, VVS Laxman revealed,
“Sachin always carries a picture of Swami in his kit for each and every match. He also at times makes an altar and lights an oil lamp for Swami. At times, myself, Rahul (Dravid) and Sachin talk and discuss about Swami. Many youngsters too listen in awe and respect at such times. In fact, some of them also get a desire to have Swami’s darshan.”
One such occasion when the desire of the entire team got fulfilled was on the 23rd of November, 2005, during the 80th Birthday celebrations of Bhagawan Baba. The entire Indian national cricket squad made a “surprise” visit to Puttaparthi and wished Swami on His birthday. This was a moment when Sachin joyously held the mike and spoke a few words of love, reverence and prayer to Swami. The 2 lakh strong audience in the stadium was thrilled. The whole team sat on the floor of the stage throughout the morning session which concluded with Bhagawan’s memorable discourse in which He emphasized on the divinity imminent in every being. Therefore, He said, one must always help the other and saturate oneself with love towards everything and everyone.

What happened after Swami left the stadium and as the cricketers were filing out from the dais is something that is unforgettable for me.
A huge crowd gathered behind the Shanti Vedika, the main dais, to catch a glimpse of its dear Sachin Tendulkar. The adoration he received was such that there was hardly any space for even a person to stand. I stood far and looked somewhat jealously at my classmate ChandraBhanuwho, by virtue of being part of the guest-serving team, was right behind Sachin. His revelation of the happenings were stunning.
“I simply cannot forget what happened as I was on stage taking care of the prasadam distribution. Swami had given laddus to the whole cricket team including Sachin and he held on to it like a precious possession. The Superintendent of Police (SP) of Anantapur was in charge of team security. In his over-eagerness to clear the swelling crowd and maybe impress Sachin, he almost was beating and pushing people out of the way. As the team walked on, Sachin stopped, came to the SP and said - ‘Sir, thank you for your concern. But Babaji just told us to love all and not hurt any one. Please do not hit those who love me that too in front of me! Just allow our cars to come and, I am sure, the people will themselves make way.’
Sachin was already putting into practice the discourse that all the others had apparently only heard and applauded!”
Sachin came down the steps and saw that an old lady was almost getting crushed in the crowd. He broke the security cordon, rushed out to her, extracted her from the crowd and, much to my thrill and tears, fell at her feet seeking blessings! The old lady gently patted his cheeks and her eyes brimmed with tears. No word dropped from her lips and it was obvious that her heart was full. Now, that is what makes Sachin a God of cricket - his sporting nature extends much beyond the playing field.

A constant visitor
Sachin has a very special place in his heart for his Swami. That is what made Him visit Swami amidst his frenetic schedule too. When India had to play West Indies in an international ODI match, Sachin pulled out time to visit and pay homage to Swami who was in Chennai to attend the Chennai Citizen’s Conclave and conduct the 10-day Athi Rudra Mahayajna. He offered six cricket balls and a bouquet of flowers to Swami. Swami smiled and blessed him with a touch on his forehead.

Offering a bouquet to his Guru.
Source: Radiosai
Swami too was in definite touch with the little master as another cricketer, Sadanand Vishwanath, reveals in CricketCounty:
"I visited South Africa with the Karavalli Cricket Clinic in 1997, around the time when the Indian team were there for a tour. During the Cape Town Test, Anil Kumble had given me about 20 passes for the game. We watched the proceedings on a day when Mohammad Azharuddin and Sachin smashed hundreds. Interestingly, I had given him Satya Sai Baba of Putaparthi’s vibhooti the previous day in the hotel. Sai Baba had personally given it to me and I feel fortunate to have them passed it on to Sachin."
I am sure that Sachin didn’t have the slightest idea about such visits coming to an end so soon. And that was the reason for his unabashed outburst on the 24th of April, 2011 - because like millions others, he felt it was the day of ‘departure’ of his Guru. It was not long before he realized the truth - again like million others - that 24th April was actually a day of arrival of his Guru. It was a day when Swami had moved from the physical to the omnipresent; from the Yajur Mandir to the Hriday Mandir (temple of the heart). And today, Swami visits Sachin regularly! As a teary Sachin told Times Of India on the 13th of May, 2011,
“Baba might not be present physically, but I still connects with him in my dreams. That’s where I draw strength from. He will always be with me.”

Under the peepal tree where Baba had delivered a discourse in 1973, Sachin's year of birth.
His connection with Baba is vibrant. That was visible during his visit to a peepul tree in Jaipur. Amidst the busy IPL schedule, Sachin took time out from an ad shoot to visit the tree under which Swami had delivered a discourse in 1973 during His North India trip. As Sachin went near the tree, he became silent and quietly sat near the tree for a long time, deeply engrossed in thoughts.
I am not in touch with Sachin Tendulkar but I am convinced beyond doubt that Swami is an integral part of his life. His absolutely clean and wonderful behavioural record on and off the field show what a wonderful human being he is. It is no wonder that such a beautiful human being was blessed with this opportunity by Swami.
Today, as he gets ready to play his final international cricket match, a lot of hype and hoopla has been generated around the nation. People everywhere scream,
“There never was nor will there ever be a Sachin again.”
In the deep recesses of his heart, Sachin reconnects with his Guru. It was with pure conviction that he hears it say,
There ever was and there ever will be Sai Baba again for He IS always with me.

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