Being grateful to Swami is what I have learnt throughout my experiences with Him. I have learnt to rely on Him incessantly regarding everything that I do; being in Swami’s Presence is constant.

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As Swami has said many a time – Seva begins at home. I learnt that when we put all our duties and actions fully on Him to take care of, provided that we do our best, then I know He will take care of the rest. I try to consciously avoid worrying as per Swami’s teaching – as worry is Ego. This is one of the things I have learnt doing Seva.

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Being in His proximity, by that I mean His good company, has been a great learning tool for me. It has taught me to be with Him and see Him in everything; be it things, animals or people.

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From a young age, I was pulled by Swami. With my grandparents being Sai devotees, I always remember staring at Swami’s pictures and feeling calm immediately, no matter what the situation. I treat Him like my best friend since childhood.

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Swami always kept me in His fold. At the age of 5, I began attending EHV Classes every Friday. I remember disliking waking up in the mornings to attend the classes but one thing I enjoyed was listening to Swami’s beautiful stories. And after every class I would feel more peaceful, as if the classes were removing the week’s worries away.

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In 2010 Guru Poornima, I was privileged enough to be part of the children’s choir team from the Middle East and sing for Swami in Puttarparthi. That experience was surreal; I felt it was a dream sitting a few feet from Swami. I could feel His Divine Love and Presence up close, I never wanted this to end.

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The morning Swami attained Mahasamadhi in 2011, I dreamt of Swami sitting on the hospital bed, telling me that He had to leave for somewhere. I could not fully comprehend what He said at the time. He said not to be sad and reassured me that He is always there, everywhere. When I woke up and heard the news, I understood what Swami had meant. Swami’s dream reduced the blow. Though I missed His physical presence, I felt more grateful that Swami had arranged everything to get the chance to see Him physically, one last time, during His last Guru Poornima.

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I have always wanted to do regular service, though at the time I couldn’t find many opportunities. And as with everything, Swami took care of it when I joined the Sai Youth team in 2014. Later that year was the first time I heard about Swami in the subtle form through a book I had read on His discourses. I remember wishing for Him to visit us in Dubai and a few months later my wish was granted. Experiencing Swami in the subtle form in 2015 was such a new phenomenon and from then on, with Swami’s Grace, I got opportunities to be more involved in weekly Seva activities.

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My trip to Malaysia in 2017 for the Asia Pacific Youth meet was a pleasant eye-opener. I had witnessed several different service activities being carried out with so much love and devotion. My experience doing Seva there made me learn to pay attention to even the smallest of details, like attempting to wrap a piece of chocolate without a single crease out of place. Swami likes perfection!

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When Swami recently visited us in Dubai in 2018, Swami had asked me about the dental braces I was wearing. And He perfectly used the opportunity to remind us about the importance of a simple smile. Swami pointed out that the human smile is very precise because only we have that ability.

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Contemplating on my journey of transformation through Seva, I have realised that Swami has lovingly guided me to change my inner self. Seva has brought me to appreciate, and reminded me of, the simple teachings of Swami. To see God everywhere, in everything and in the process to realise that we too are just like Him!