I first heard about Swami when I was a child. All together with my family, we started to believe in Swami since then. Thereafter, I began to understand the significance of love. Accepting the whole world as one nation became my new point of view. To read His teachings and discourses, I had to grow until I was 19-20 years old (now I am about 32-33). I say, “I had to grow” because it was not only biological or physical growth, but most importantly I needed to grow mentally.

 

Then, I started to read His discourses, books and Vahini series. I became vegetarian. I always desired to visit Swami in Prasanthi Nilayam, but I used to live in a city where there was no Sai Centre. Also, I had a fault, of thinking that I still had time. After Baba’s Mahasamadhi, I cried a lot. Seeing this, my father contacted the Sai Centre in Istanbul and told me to go and meet those nice people there. I came to the Sai Centre for only a day, but it was enough to get the needed consolation. After some years, I migrated to Istanbul. I joined the Sai Centre in 2018. Until then I was always alone, chanting mantras, singing Bhajans, doing namasmarana and practicing concentration. After joining the centre, I started to do these sadhanas all together with my fellow Sai followers. With those precious people, I got much more motivation and rapidly, I became more enthusiastic to practice the sadhanas more regularly and more seriously!

I participated in Ati Rudra Yagna in Zagreb, together with my fellow followers from the Sai Centre in Istanbul. That was a precious experience. There was so much energy that I was overwhelmed. After that, I tried to attend Satsang and Bhajan sessions more regularly. Now, I am singing Bhajans, attending Satsangs and talking there, chanting mantras, doing daily meditations and so on. Another charming experience was in Assisi, which I visited with the Sai Youth, recently. I asked a question to myself in St. Mary of the Angels Church. On the same day, in the evening when I was in St. Claire’s Church, I got the answer! It was like, my mind opened and I received the answer. When I came back home, to Istanbul, I told my wife about the question and its answer with details and examples. She was so affected by it that she had tears in her eyes.

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The question was: why do some live like they have received God’s grace, in spite of not doing any sadhana; but some others live as if they are cursed, even if they pray regularly? The answer was harmony. People who live in harmony receive God’s grace. Harmony with what? With everything. For example; harmony of sounds makes a beautiful song. Harmony of buildings makes aesthetics of the city. Harmony of family, yields peace at home. Harmony within a nation, yields brotherly love. Harmony with government, makes a strong country. Harmony with our body, brings about health. Harmony with living or non-living beings, tangible or abstract things, whatever may come… Also, harmony with our destiny. There is a nice statement: “Fate guides the willing, but drags the unwilling.” Accepting things as they are, without trying to change them, and living accordingly showers fortune on those men and women.

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Showing gratitude to God, makes one cultivate the feeling of harmony. For what we sincerely thank God, with that thing we develop harmony. Singing Bhajans together makes us develop harmony among us. What does Swami say? “Unity in diversity.” This is a symbolic statement referring to harmony.

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May God bless all of us and inspire us to live in more harmony and be in harmony with all!