Sathya Sai Newsletter

Leela-Lesson in Detachment
The following experience
occurred during a month-long
visit to Prasanthi Nilayam in
2012. It started out with one of the dhobis
(laundry workers) who station themselves
outside the North 1 accommodations building.
I had given her a long dress to clean three days
previously, and she still hadn’t returned it. I had
been asking for the return of the dress for the
previous two days, but she kept telling me she
didn’t have it. So, I went upstairs and declared,
“Swami, everything is yours. I surrender the
dress!”
Then I went to get ready to go out, but my
darshan purse, the small purse of the size they
allow into Sai Kulwant Hall, containing a few
rupees, canteen tickets, tissues, and my room
keys, had disappeared. I knew it had been in
the room the night before, because after I came
back to the room for the evening I had taken
out the prasad (food distributed at the end of
devotions in the Hall) from it and put it on the
table, along with the purse, and hadn’t touched
the purse since then.
I went to the table and, sure enough, the
prasad was right where I had left it, but the purse
was mysteriously gone. I went to work searching
for the purse, but it was nowhere to be found.
I am a champion searcher; everyone in my
family comes to me in our home in New York
when they have lost something in the house. I
knew that the purse was in the room and that I
should be able to find it easily, given the limited
space of the room.
Somehow the whole situation reminded
me of Swami’s incarnation as Krishna and how
he used to pull pranks on the gopis (cowherd
maiden devotees). I just knew this was what was
happening with my purse.
I said out loud, “Swami, please give me my
purse back!”
Instantly I heard the sound of something
dropping. I looked down at my feet, and there
was the purse I had been looking for, which
most certainly had not been on the floor while
I was searching the room previously.
Swami had been mischievous, just like
Krishna, but also with a serious intent. I
thanked Swami for the return of the purse and
left for the morning prayer session with the
lesson that when you tell Swami you surrender
everything to him, you better be prepared for
him to test just how surrendered you are.
The next day as I was leaving the building,
the dhobi came up to me with a sheepish grin
on her face and handed me the missing dress.
Contemplating Swami’s leela (divine sport),
I had been able to shed all attachments and
emotions pertaining to the dress and the dhobi.
Upon truly surrendering the situation to God,
there was no longer any reason for the dress to
remain “missing.”
—A Devotee
36 Sathya Sai Newsletter, USA