Volume 18 - Issue 03
March 2020
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Posted on: Mar 31, 2020

 

Sai Karuna in the Times of Corona

Stirring Stories from Nepal


The mountain-nation of Nepal which has seven of the world’s eight largest peaks including The Everest in her elevating landscape, also is home to two powerful shrines, Lord Muktinath and Lord Pashupatinath. While the former is dedicated to Lord Narayana, the latter is a must-visit shrine for devotees of Lord Shiva. 

Besides these there are many shaktipeeths (places charged with the power of the Divine Mother) and several temples dedicated to various Gods and Goddesses. Love for the Divine therefore is thick in the air of this pious land. 

Powered by Gayathri Chanting

When the Corona malaise started making news in early January 2020, all the Sai devotees of this sacred country started praying for the welfare of their nation and all humanity. 

They started dedicated sessions of Gayatri Mantra chanting before every bhajan session in every single Sai centre.

Interestingly, even though Nepal is a tiny nation (ranked 48th in terms of size in the world) it has - hold your breath - 225 Sai centres! The highest in the Sai world outside India. Consequently it has the largest number of Sai devotees in any country if you leave out India.

Such huge concourse of devoted hearts has been doing the Gayatri Sadhana for several months now. 

 

Perhaps it is the power of these sacred vibrations which has protected and in fact safeguarded this tourist-friendly country from the corona catastrophe. The healthcare facilities in this nation, which became a secular federal republic with its own constitution only in 2015, is far from anything impressive. If corona strikes hard here, the country could collapse.

But as on Mar 28, 2020 only two confirmed cases of corona virus have been reported. This is really noteworthy given that Nepal shares over 1400 kms of border with China on one side and on the other side touches the Indian states of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Sikkim in a span of 1690 kms.

Sri Lanka, which is half the size of Nepal, has 102 cases of covid, India has more than 900 but Nepal with just 2 cases has truly been shielded by a mystical force. 

The Gayatri Mantra chanting by the Sai devotees, young and old, continues now with more vigour than ever before in this nation to save not just Nepal but the entire earth.



Shops May Be Locked But Hearts are Open

Even as this namasmarana sadhana goes on, the Sai devotees of Nepal are constantly looking for opportunities to help their distressed brothers and sisters. 

In the third week of March 2020, the Nepal Government as a precautionary measure announced a total lockdown of the nation. Schools, shops, offices and industries came to a standstill.

Given that nearly 30% of Nepal lives on US$ 2-3 per day, this has severely affected the daily wage earners of this poor country. With no income, many such workers are struggling to keep their flesh and bone together.

Unable to see the plight of 12 such families who were in dire need of food to survive, a few Sai Young Adults talked to the police and had a few shops opened to buy rice, pulses, beans, etc. They also picked up blankets and clothes. 

What was heart wrenching was the fallen face of a lactating mother with a two-day old baby on her lap. The youth bought essential food supplements for this mother and child.

Having collected the items, they now needed a vehicle to transport and deliver them. With the streets empty and all services shut down, they wondered how they were to achieve this task. Suddenly a cycle rickshaw appeared. It seemed like it literally ‘appeared’ as this was nowhere to be seen in the vicinity a few seconds before. 

Not only did this rickshaw man transport the packets promptly but also refused to accept any compensation! 

 

When those impoverished families received the packets, instantly tears streamed down their eyes. It was like someone was infusing life into their dead souls. 

Indeed they were as good as dead for society, but not for God and His messengers of Love.

 

One should see the joy in their faces as the mother immediately made a make-shift stove with stones and wood and eagerly started cooking. They couldn’t wait an extra second, their bodies had already gone through hell.

Needless to say, the eyes of the Sai Youth were wet too. Wet with happiness and wet with gratitude to Swami for blessing them with such a life-giving experience.

The Sai Youth of course were well protected with masks and other gear and followed the social distancing norms prescribed by the government.

The homeless are the worst lot in Nepal. They cannot even beg. Now no one cares for the dogs in the streets, monkeys in the temples and so on.

Nepal devotees are doing their bit to help all beings to tide through these tough times.

The need for succour, help and support in this developing nation is huge and the Sai devotees of Nepal even in these times, when everyone is worried about their own safety and wellbeing, are stretching themselves to add a few smiles and save a few lives. As they do, they feel His protective grace and all empowering love.

In these times when social distancing is the norm, going out and serving the needy may not always be advisable. Nevertheless, if our heart goes out for those who are in pain and trauma, the Lord will definitely show us any number of ways to heal the world. If we have the zeal, He will take care of the solution, end to end. It would be a win-win-win situation for all - the giver, the receiver and for Mother Earth.


- Radio Sai Team

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