Loving Sai Ram and greetings from Prashanti Nilayam. People like to relax on Sundays and we fully understand this desire. At the same time, we feel that this is also the time when people must take some time off to reflect, especially on matters that affect individuals as well as Society. After all, we cannot be completely cut off from Society, can we? It is to trigger such reflection that we often give unconventional captions to our Sunday pieces; our idea is to order to capture your attention, and that is what we are trying to do this Sunday also! You must surely be wondering what smallpox has got to do with Spirituality; we are coming precisely to that!!
A young person of today, say twenty years old, might have heard of smallpox but might not know much about it. The person probably knows that once a great killer, smallpox is no longer a problem. By contrast, a person say sixty and above, especially from India , would shudder on hearing the word smallpox. Yes, in those days, smallpox was still a big killer in Asia , although it had ceased to be so in Europe . However, in earlier centuries, smallpox was a big killer in Europe too, as you can easily discover by going to the Net.
Smallpox is a deadly disease caused by a virulent and most vicious virus. It spreads easily, especially by contact, and once it strikes, there is hardly any defence. In the days when it was prevalent, most people who were attacked by smallpox died; many lost their eyes, and the small percentage that survived, carried horrible marks on their face for the rest of their lives. When it struck, it came in waves, and thousands perished in cities as well as in villages. By the way, one can read a moving account in Prof. Kasturi’s book LOVING GOD about how smallpox claimed Prof. Kasturi’s father, when he was a small boy.
If things were so horrible barely seventy years ago, then how come this deadly disease has now vanished from the face of the earth? That is an interesting story, with lessons for us. It is all due to the smallpox vaccine. Patiently and with great persistence, governments all over the world pursued a smallpox vaccination program. Kids were vaccinated, and elders too when there was an outbreak of the epidemic. Even in the fifties and sixties, international travel meant that one not only had to have a passport [with of course all the required visas], but also an international Health Certificate. That Certificate, which looked like the passport book, had to carry official stamps to the effect that the bearer had been vaccinated against smallpox with vaccine batch number such and such, inoculated against yellow fever on such and such a date, and so on. Even if one had been vaccinated against smallpox as a kid, where international travel was concerned, one had to have one more vaccination from the UN-WHO approved agency and an entry in the Health Certificate. In fact, when one entered the US , one had to go through health check before immigration check! All that has changed and the total elimination of smallpox has played an important role in this change.
OK, smallpox has been eliminated but what has that got to do with Spirituality? Time to deal with that question. The world today is faced with many serious problems like armed conflicts, genocide, terrorism, global warming, child labour, trafficking of women, AIDS, etc. etc. We know why these problems exist – they all originate, in one manner or the other, from the six deadly viruses, Kama, Krodha (lust, anger) etc., hiding in the dark corners of the human Mind. But man is supposed to be so clever. The question thus arises: “How come he is not able to tackle these problems and wipe them out like he has done in the case of smallpox?”
Many may object and say, “Hey! Wait a minute! Not so fast! These problems you are talking about are due to SIX viruses, not ONE! You know, Kama , Krodha, etc. Even in the field of medicine, there is no vaccine that can take care of many viruses at the same time.” Yes, in the field of medicine, we certainly do not have a medicine that can take care of more than one virus. But in the world of Spirituality, there IS A SINGLE REMEDY that can simultaneously handle the six deadly subtle viruses just mentioned. And that is Pure and Selfless Love!
People may not readily accept this, but that is because they might not have spent time reflecting on that matter. We, however, believe we are correct, because that is what Swami is telling us; obviously, Swami cannot be wrong! So we say: “Please take some time off this Sunday and think about how Pure Love can handle at least one horrible problem staring mankind in the face, terrorism, climate change or whatever. We are sure you will, on deep pondering, find Sai Love CAN solve the problem concerned!” That is the challenge we pose to you this Sunday!
This mail goes out to more than fifteen thousand devotees. Even if one percent write back to us with their analysis and finding, it would mean at least a hundred and fifty responses! How about it? Why don’t you tell the world how exactly Swami’s “vaccine” CAN fix the problems of humanity? Is it not time to really appreciate how powerful Swami’s recipe is?
So this Sunday, we leave you with a question [like a crossword puzzle!], instead of pontificating as usual! Game for our challenge? We eagerly await your responses! And when we get them, we shall share them with the rest of the world!
Good luck and all the best. See you again next Sunday! Jai Sai Ram.
