-
K. Vinod Cartic
It is said that every spiritual Master
puts his devotees through the crucible of test of faith before He blesses them
with His benediction. As Swami says,
these tests play the same role in a devotee’s life that the goldsmith’s
hammering, melting, annealing and shaping do to the gold. Both the processes
result in the emergence of a shining jewel at the end- one that is a valuable
metal, the other an invaluable character. Both processes are no doubt
associated with tribulations and trials from the perspective of the receiver-
but then who better than the Master goldsmith would know how to form a jewel
better. No wonder then that Swami says “Test is to My taste”.
I recall an incident of severe testing
that we underwent during the period of our stay as waiting boys in Parthi. For
those to whom the term is new, waiting is a period after the official
completion of an academic course during which some students would stay back to
be with Swami. For some this would be a period of living and staying in the
Avatar’s presence, for some, it was a period of waiting to get His guidance,
while others wanted to serve Him directly at Prashanthi Nilayam and awaited
work orders from the Master. The reasons for such waiting were in fact as numerous
as the number of waiting students itself. Most often Swami Himself would tell
the students to wait as He would guide them at a suitable time.
