Once a disciple of a Holy Man was very sick. The Holy Man said to him, “You fast for 48 days.” The people around were thinking, “How can the Holy Man do this? We thought He was kind, but He is telling this sick man to go hungry for 48 days!”

    However, the disciple had faith in the Holy Man and listened to Him. He fasted for 48 days. The fast left the man very thin and weak. When the fast was over, the Holy Man took a cup of warm milk with honey with a little butter on top. Then He went to that disciple and said, “Open your mouth.” The disciple was very hungry and thought, “Finally I'm going to eat something!” However, the Holy Man held the cup to his lip and said, “Don't drink. This is your test.” Though the disciple was dying to drink the sweet-smelling milk, he obeyed and did not drink.

    Some of those who were watching all this had faith in the Holy Man and felt that whatever he tells the disciple will be good for the disciple, and waited to see what happens next. However, others gave up on the Holy Man and left, thinking that He was really cruel.

    For several minutes, the man kept his mouth open and the Holy Man held the cup of milk to his lip. After about a half an hour, a tapeworm came out of the disciple’s mouth. This worm had lived in the disciple’s stomach and used to eat whatever the disciple ate. That is why whatever the disciple ate had no effect on him, and he was weak and sick for years. Now that the disciple had not eaten anything for 48 days, the tapeworm was also starving. To everyone's surprise, the tapeworm came out, attracted by the smell of the milk. The Holy Man killed the worm. Then He said to the disciple, “Now you can drink and eat.”

   From that day on, the disciple, who had faithfully followed the Holy Man’s instructions, enjoyed all-round health and also progressed close to God.

Positive changes at ‘Abhinav Vidya Mandir’, a school in Borivali, India, after including the Sanatan’s programs in the school’s activities

    The ‘Abhinav Institute’ first came in contact with the Sanatan organization in July 2000. The Abhinav institute organized a lecture on ‘Morals and Values’ for its students’ and parents on behalf of the Sanatan. Later, various activities were held by The Sanatan organization at the institute, for example, Lectures, chanting sessions, satsangs, self-defense workshops, workshops for parents about interacting with their children. The school further offered The Sanatan organization their venue free of charge for the Sanatan’s activities.

     In this and the next few Issues we will see various experiences shared by staff, parents, students and seekers with regards to the changes in the school after coming in contact with The Sanatan organization.

Experiencing the presence of Saint Ramdas Swami

    Our school children were practicing for an inter-school recitation competition. For this, they were memorizing the Holy verses, ‘Manache Shloka’ (composed by a 17th century Saint, Saint Ramdas Swami). As suggested by the Sanatan organization, the children prayed before their practice sessions and expressed gratitude to God after the practice sessions. Due to their sincere prayers and gratitude, I felt as if Saint Ramdas Swami was actually present during those sessions.

    When the children presented their piece at the competition, a beautiful fragrance spread through out the auditorium. The atmosphere was filled with Bliss and spiritual energy. By God’s grace, our school got the unique opportunity to present this piece to various public and private schools in Mumbai. I would also like to express gratitude to the Guru for inspiring me and giving me the opportunity to write this spiritual experience.