DADA VASWANI'S VISIT TO PUETRO RICO

agrasen

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fw: Revered Dada J.P. Vaswani Yatra to San Juan [SVC]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rukmini Chainani Tue, Apr 27, 2010 at 9:14 PM
To: bhagwanm@comcast.net
Cc: agrasen@gmail.com




----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Devindra Chainani
To: rusuni@yahoo.com
Sent: Tue, April 27, 2010 1:58:53 PM
Subject: FW: Revered Dada J.P. Vaswani Yatra to San Juan [SVC]




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 27 Apr 2010 15:43:22 +0530
Subject: Revered Dada J.P. Vaswani Yatra to San Juan [SVC]
From: pro@sadhuvaswani.org




Dada's arrival in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on 13th April, was greeted by heavy showers, with the sun soon peeping through the clouds to smile on Dada and his group. As it is a tropical island, the climate is extremely unpredictable and volatile. One moment it is hot and humid and the other it is cloudy and windy. There is rain in one part of the island and a few furlongs down, it is bone dry.



Dada is truly enjoying this tryst with Nature. The daily schedule is more or less the same, with a few variations. Every morning Dada goes for his morning walk for 2-3 hours and satsang is conducted in the morning and evening at the residence. He takes his walk sometimes at the edge of the ocean, along the frothy line of the tide. Or else he rests for a while under the shade of a cluster of trees. Often, he walks up to a rock and sits on it, relaxing, unwinding and soaking in the beautiful, natural ambience. Many times he does his work in the open air. On certain occasions Dada is driven in a golf cart, or he even drives it himself, and thoroughly enjoys the experience, with the echoes of his joyful laughter trailing behind.



One day, while resting his gaze on the bounty of Nature, Dada said that we should touch everything with reverence, every leaf, tree, or insect. Loosely translating from a Sindhi saying, Dada said, there lies tremendous wealth behind every blade of grass. We must learn to value and appreciate it. The conducive climate and the natural surroundings of this tropical wonder have made Dada extremely relaxed and rested.



Dada narrated a story based on an incident in the life of Gautama Buddha. Once, he needed to be rowed across to the other shore, and asked the boatman there to help him do so. The boatman said he would only do so if the Buddha had something to give him. The Buddha said that he had nothing, so was unable to pay him. The boatman refused to take him across.



Some time later, the village in which the boatman lived was being decorated and being prepared to welcome some dignitary. When the boatman asked around, he was told that a renowned ascetic was visiting their village, who had to power to bestow 'mukti', salvation on the deserving.



When the boatman went to see this personage, he was astonished to see that it was the same person whom he had refused to row across in his boat a few years ago, due to lack of payment. He was ashamed and could not approach him. But the Buddha, on seeing him, called him towards him, and blessed him abundantly. Thus teaching us that we should not brush aside anybody. We should help all whom we can, for we never know who that individual may turn out to be.



Once when Dada was asked what were the best moments of his life, Dada reminisced about the beautiful time he spent alone with Sadhu Vaswani for a few days. This was in 1931, in Karachi, during the time of the Satyagraha Movement. As Sadhu Vaswani had participated in it, the police had got hold of him and were putting him in jail. Seeing this, Dada slipped in between the crowds and stood beside his Master, so he could be imprisoned along with him, knowing that Sadhu Vaswani would require help with his personal care. It was to have been for 14 days but was reduced to 4, due to political pressure to release Sadhu Vaswani. But those 4 days in jail were heaven for Dada, for he, for the first time, had an opportunity to be alone with his Guru, and serve and assist him in his daily chores, all by himself.



Dada, one day, spoke about the law of gravity, and that how everything on this earth responds to and depends upon this gravitation. He continued that the centre of gravitation of each individual is his character, which is determined by each one's karma. But this character can be modified by one's will power and through the grace of the Guru.



While talking about the unending mercy of the Guru, Dada once narrated the story of a man named Tola, who was a multi-millionaire, but was also an inveterate gambler. In time, he loses everything and is reduced to complete poverty. He has to sleep on the roadside, with no cover to even keep him warm.



One day, a man passing by that way recognised Tola and was amazed to see the sorry state to which such a wealthy man had been reduced. He brought a blanket and covered him with that. The next day, Tola was again filled with the desire to gamble. So, he sold the blanket and gambled away the money. That night the man again found Tola shivering in the cold. He got another blanket and covered him. In this manner, Tola was assailed by the itch to gamble 12 times and 12 times the man brought him a blanket.



On the 13th time Tola questioned himself and wondered at the goodness of the man. It is then that the hidden soul in him was awakened. We too are the same as Tola. We too are consumed by some itch or bad habit. It is only when a special person of God untiringly pours his grace on us that we are transformed.



On Saturday, 17th April, Dada's English talk was well-attended by an overwhelming number of local people. They gamely joined in the kirtan with their clapping and were so engrossed in Dada's talk that they just would not let him end, requesting him to go on. Dada ended up giving a very long discourse, followed by a session on meditation.



Dada spoke on stress which is aggravated by our petty annoyances. But one of the major causes of stress is our constant rushing around, we have no time. Someone from the audience wondered if we had more than 24 hours at our disposal, would life be easier? Dada replied that even if each day comprised of 30 hours, it would not suffice. We should take hold of the time we have at our disposal and make the most of it. We should work towards transcending time and space. One of the ways is to devote a minute from each hour to silence. These 24 minutes of each day will go a long way towards being an effective stress buster.



Dada was asked the question, is it necessary to give up all our desires in order to attain self-realisation? Dada replied in the affirmative, saying that even one single desire cannot be retained if one wants to attain salvation. Just as every fibre of the thread has to be put together to successfully thread the needle, or just as the tiniest piece of wire has to be intact in order to obtain cent percent electricity or there is zero percent transfer of power, similarly every desire has to be eradicated. The best way is to offer everything to the Lord, then there is no desire towards the outcome of the action.



There was another question about the first requirement of spiritual life. Dada answered, it is the purity of life, then all else will flow unto thee. We succumb to temptation easily. But with purity, God's mercy and love will flow through us.



The following incident depicts Dada's caring nature. There is a lady, Yamira, who drives one and a half hours each way, every day, to meet Dada. Dada commended her efforts, but she said Dada has come thousands of miles to meet us, if I drive for a few miles to meet him, it is no big deal. But one day she got delayed and it was around 11 p.m. before she left for home. Dada was extremely concerned, and urged her to call us and let us know when she reached home safely, just like a loving and caring father.



Shivali, the daughter of the host, mentioned that since that age of 6 she has Dada's photograph in her room and over the years has developed a loving relationship with Dada, making her regard him as a role model.



Each devotee of Dada has their own, individual and personal relationship with Dada, and he is able to keep up with each of them.



There are four qualities of a truly evolved soul--

1) In the presence of such a one, the agitation within us subsides and our minds become calm and still, and all our anger dissipates.

2) Such a one is able to perceive and cognize the good in all.

3) Such a soul is a source of light, spreading that brightness and joy wherever he is.

4) He has no thought for his own personal comfort, but only considers the comfort and happiness of others.



As is obvious, such a soul is our beloved Dada who possesses all these four qualities and many more.




-Krishna Kumari



Some video glimpses -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beUdHdJNPJA



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONuIXMeXWFc



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVeGe-KLozw





We request you to kindly share this report with your email distribution lists. Thank you.

--
The PR Office
Sadhu Vaswani Mission
Pune, India
Office:91-20-2605 5640
Board: 91-20-40064447 Ext 252
Email: pro@sadhuvaswani.org
Website: http://www.sadhuvaswani.org/
Follow Rev. Dada on Twitter:
http://twitter.com/dadajpvaswani
Join us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/sadhuvaswani





--------------------------------------------------------------------------------