Wednesday, Apr 24 2024  

THE SCOTLAND EXPERIENCE - 14 JULY 2003

Sai ram Uncles, Aunties, Brothers and Sisters.

It’s good to be back once again. I had a wonderful time in Glasgow and there are many things I would like to say and share, but I’ll try within 5 minutes.

The first thing I realized was how universal and common the Sai family is. I felt instant gratification the moment I met devotees there. We hardly required an introduction- it’s like we knew each other for a long time. But I also realized Swami has a grand plan for everyone, and I wasn’t any exception. I was there and not anywhere else, because I had to do His work, and I would meet the right people all the time to make it happen.

There is only one centre in Glasgow, about 30-40 people, very close knit and united with the rest of the Centres in Scotland. We do what all Sai Centres around the world do, but there has to be special mention for the youth, because they are very very active there, not only in spiritual activities, but religious as well. For example, we have fortnightly Hinduism sessions, where we learn not only the basics of Hinduism, but also about advanced concepts. These sessions are open ended with active participation and discussion. I really learnt a lot and perhaps we can consider something similar for ourselves here too.

So what was the Scotland experience about? It was about
i) enquiry
ii) lessons
iii) realization

Frankly, Scotland and Singapore live on different sets of value systems. But Man reaches God eventually, whether he follows the materialistic, non-ideal life or the spiritual one. With the spiritual path, it is faster and direct. But even this is not in our hands, because the Karma of past births dictates our current circumstances. So then one would argue, why do we need to worry? True, we need not worry, but we need to enquire and consistently ask the question ‘why’. We often tend to slip into worry rather than enquiry. There is a lot of difference, because enquiry leads to positive solutions. It is also not enough to sit down at do nothing and leave it to Fate. If so, we would just be like plants, breathing but not living.

There is a concept in Hinduism- Nama Rupa Prapanjam, which means Name, Form and Networking. We all have a body, which is our Form, and we have a Name, which becomes our identity. But what use is the name and form if it knows only itself. Therefore, we constantly need to network, to share, and learn about ourselves.

What kind of lessons are in store? The Sai Centre in Glasgow is slightly different compared to the way we do things here. For example, we have the talks and announcements after bhajans. Silence is not observed after bhajans. There are a lot more things which I found very different, and to an extent unacceptable. But I have learnt spirituality can be experienced differently in different placed by different people. It needs to adapt and evolve amongst us naturally. The culture and history of each place is different and must be respected. I could not even if I wished, have tried to change things at the centre overnight, IF I sincerely believed that I was doing the right thing that is. To put it simply, where there is Love, there is God.

And finally, how do we know we are doing the right thing? Or whether we ought to do the right thing? Well, if you have the Centre’s benefit in mind and not your own personal gain, then all you need to do is to surrender to God, even if for a split second, and leave the result in His hands. But you need to believe that you will be guided. You can have doubts about anything in the world, but never doubt that you will be guided if you do His work with complete surrender. This is the ultimate realization.

Let me close with a quote from Swami
“There is only one God, He is Omnipresent
There is only one race, the race of Mankind
There is only one religion, the religion of Love
There is only one language, the language of the Heart”

Jai Sai Ram

Bro Parag
Young Adult
(Currently in Scotland)