A story close to my heart

This is a beautiful email I received from Shane Rao, a Sai Youth from Melbourne. As I read through, it made it's way straight to my heart. Read on....and it may find a place in yours too! (reproduced here with Shane's permission)

from: Shane Rao <shane.rao@....>

to:     snarayan<snarayan@...> 

date:  Thu, Oct 3, 2013 at 2:12 PM

subject: The Prophecy

Sai Ram Brother,

My name is Shane Rao, and I am a Sai Youth from Melbourne, Australia. Hope this email finds you well.

I have a story to share with you. In May of 2012, I was admitted to hospital due to a pre-existing medical condition that I have had since birth (Sickle Cell Anemia). Due to this condition, I have to admitted at least once a year for approximately 7-10 days, and also receive on-going monthly treatment.

A Sai Brother called me up, and after enquiring about my health, told of this book, 'Sai, Thy Kingdom Come', and that it was one of the most fascinating books he had read. This particular day I was in much pain, and needed something to focus my mind away from it. So I googled it on my iPad, downloaded the eBook from your website and read it.

Words were inadequate to describe the feelings that arose while reading it. I felt that the entire world should read this book! That evening, I told my parents about it, with much vigor and excitement. They, however, were more relieved that I was feeling better and didn't pay much attention to what I was telling them. 

Months went by, and I got on with life. I had some corrective surgery on my left hip at the end of July 2012, and by September, was back on my feet. During the recovery period, I re-read STKC, and made my own attempts at connecting the dots of Swami's possible return. For me, it wasn't a question of 'if'. For God, nothing is impossible. The Mahasamadhi event in 2011 shook the entire Sai world, and many people's faith were shaken. I felt somewhat sad, but in my heart, I knew that all this was His Divine Drama. Yes, the Lord of the Universe just left His body, and the funeral was seen worldwide on RadioSai. But it's just His body. His message will prevail, His teachings are eternal and we are blessed to be a tiny speck in His Divine Mission. The experience of it all strengthened my connection. Swami was no longer confined to a human form in Parthi. Many around me were saddened, dismayed, even questioned the validity of His Divinity! I stuck to my beliefs, because the question of whether He is God never arose in my mind. I loved Swami then, and I love Swami now. But deep inside, I strongly felt that this chapter wasn't over. Reading STKC reinforced that feeling. 

Fast forward to end of January 2013. Australia held its two-yearly 'Sai National Conference' in Canberra, where Prof. Anil Kumar and others were the special guests. For months I wasn't sure whether I could attend due to health reasons, but in the end, Swami made it happen. I stayed in a hotel with some Sai Youth just outside the main venue. 

Sunday the 27th of January was the second-last day of the Conference. We headed back to our rooms after a long, intense day, and went to bed. That night, I simply could not sleep! The pain in my hip kept me up, and every hour I kept looking at my watch, as we had to get up early to head to the conference venue. I had a chat with Swami telling Him that this pain was getting bad, and that I needed Him to take care of it. Around 4:30 AM, I glanced at my watch again. Then fell asleep, to one of the most amazing dreams/experiences I've had.

 

Picture courtesy - Sai Manoj

The dream

I dreamt that one of the conference guest speakers, myself and about 6-7 other boys, all of us dressed in white, were walking around a large, open area of dry, red land. It seemed to be during the middle of the day, as the sun was almost at its zenith. There were hills all around, with very few trees. The air was quite warm. Each of us had backpacks on, and we were heading somewhere as a group.

Suddenly, one of my group members shouted from behind, "He's here!" Right in front of me, was a steep hill. I immediately dropped my backpack and ran up this little hill. As I reached the top, there, about 500 meters directly ahead of me landed an enormous helicopter, made entirely out of "clouds". Its rotors were slowing down. This 'cloud-copter' was facing my left, with its tail-end facing my right. Its entire body was wispy and completely white, with no mechanical parts that I could see, yet the sounds emanating from it were clearly that of a very large and powerful jet.

The door of this huge cloud-copter opened and some steps were lowered. There was Swami, looking so youthful, standing at the top of the steps. When I saw Him, my entire being was filled with joy, bliss, happiness, wonder, and more, all at once. I felt So happy, I wanted to cry, as if in anguish, yet I also felt a huge sense of relief. It was a mixture of feelings that emanated from deep within the center of my chest. I fell to my knees, and stretched my arms out towards Him. I shouted at the top of my lungs, "The Prophecy has come true!"

Suddenly, my entire body was teleported from that spot to the foot of the cloud-copter almost instantaneously, as if something had grabbed me and brought me closer to Swami. Now I could see everything clearly. On either side of the steps, were Indian soldiers/bodyguards that were armed, all wearing dark uniforms with no identifying logos or symbols. All of them were facing straight ahead.

Swami walked down the steps slowly yet with commanding authority, like He was here 'on a mission'. He looked much younger, as in His 30's or 40's, but Swami did not smile. He did not even look at me. With each step, He surveyed the surrounding land with fierce focus and determination. I stood there watching Him, mesmerized and in awe.

Within seconds, people ran in from everywhere. Thousands upon thousands. It was crazy. The guards all made space around Swami for Him to keep walking. As I was watching this scene, I looked around and saw about 5 more such 'cloud-copters', each some distance away. At each site, each had its own 'Swami', each had its own set of guards, and each had its own group of people running like crazy trying to catch of a glimpse of the Divine...

I awoke suddenly gasping for air, and looked at my watch. It was just after 5:00 AM. I quickly got up and had a glass of water, as my throat felt quite parched. The images of that experience were so vivid and crystal clear. Without wasting time, I got my notepad and wrote down everything. 

When I returned to Melbourne, I noted down your email address and made a mental note to email you of this dream I had. But the time wasn't right. Until this evening. 

I logged on to my YouTube account and saw that Souljourns had uploaded a new video, which interviewed yourself! Immediately I started watching it. My mental note resurfaced, reminding me to email you. 

However, the mind had doubts, and I wasn't sure whether to email you my experience or not. It wasn't until you mentioned in the video about a particular book by Dr. K. Hanumanthappa, "Sri Sathya Sai Baba - A Yugavatar" that it hit me: you mentioned that the author wrote about a dream where he saw armed soldiers guarding Swami etc. My eyes widened and I said to myself, "Ok, I've really got to email him now!" 

To end on a revealing note, I asked Swami, "Swami, I'd really like to read that book that was mentioned in the video!" Imagine my surprise when I walked into our study room, looked on the top shelf to find that exact book staring at me in the face! I cannot recall seeing this book before. The book is brand new, as if it were just bought. 

I'm truly grateful to Swami for using you as His instrument in gifting all of us STKC at a pivotal time in this Yuga's history. No matter what comes to play in the future, Swami willed this book to be written through you brother, because every single thing that has happened up until this point was destined to happen. It's all simply unfolding according to His Divine plan. The timing is perfect. 

I apologize for this lengthy email, and thank you for sharing your thoughts in the Souljourns video. May Swami keep guiding you on this journey. 

Sai Love,
Shane