Sai, My Love and Light: Nashville, TN
It has been 45 years since Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba unexpectedly entered my life at age 19 in Perak, Malaysia. My upbringing was secular and mostly interfaith. Baba’s inspiring teachings oriented me to the mainstream traditions and rituals of Hinduism, while the display of divine manifestations and sacred miracles that transpired continuously in my family home for over a year in 1980, transformed my psyche into appreciating the mystical nature of spirituality.
Satsang study circles and bhajans brought unknown joy to my heart and soul. Sai literature, along with the writings and remarkable experiences of devotees across the globe, revealed the practical side of divinity to me. In time, I matured through Baba’s teachings, realizing that this material life is fluid, ethereal, and temporary. I also recognized that the invisible world is as real as the visible one. Baba’s slogan: “Love all, Serve all; Help ever, Hurt never,” made sense to my mind and resonated with my heart. Baba’s emblem of all of the major faiths in the world brought me great solace, since I knew intuitively that humanity as a species, is one family. As I travel around the globe for various commitments, I never feel threatened by anyone or anything, subconsciously sensing His divine protection.
It always astounds me to think that Baba chose to identify and locate my family–living in an isolated, rural, rubber plantation in Malaysia–so far from India where He resided–and that He would continue to shower infinite sacred blessings upon us all these years. Upon reflection, the personal transformation I have undergone by being in Sai’s fold is to become aware that every detail of my life and lessons for this life is orchestrated by Bhagavan Himself. I know this for sure, as He has demonstrated it to me through many visible manifestations, miracles, dreams, intuition, and through many incidents in my life by the following:
1. Accruing an identity as a Hindu born in the diaspora and becoming a practicing Hindu with the blessings of a Guru who promises to be with me, to protect me, to answer me, to give me strength, to provide for me, to give me peace, and to always love me. Embracing these promises of Baba has transformed me into a self-confident professional on a mission to contribute to society until my last breath. I know that my duty is to do what I deem possible, and to let Baba handle what is not in my control.
2. Acquiring a scholarly level of academic and spiritual knowledge without the prerequisite financial means or the opportunity of access. The unfolding of these conditions transpired like clockwork throughout my life, guiding me to be in the right place, at the right time, and with the right people. Baba arranged for me to serve professionally in academic service-learning and civic engagement, as well as international development outreach to help families alleviate poverty. I retired in 2017 with an award that stated: “YOU have set ablaze a torch of service that will never lose its flame.” As a devotee, there is no better achievement than to be utilized as an instrument in His mission.
3. Accelerating my spiritual growth through the five pilgrimage trips I have made to India to date, as well as through continually encountering His manifestations and miracles in various countries. These experiences have profoundly transformed my disposition, stabilizing it in a trajectory of onward and inward.
Dr. Mani Sangaran Hull served two terms as the President of the Nashville Sai Center. She is currently the President of Global Education Services, Inc., based in Nashville, TN, USA, with a mission to provide access to higher education for first-generation international students. Email: drmanihull@globaleducationservices.com