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about him, which made it even more difficult to know what to say or what kind of advice to give. The moment was also exciting as I could see Swami encouraging me to rise above my fears through the strength of his love.
We were 25 minutes from
our destination and I began
to squirm and sweat. What
was I going to say? I asked,
“How many people are there
Swami?” He replied that there
were about a thousand students
and teachers. Luckily, Swami
has given some direction to
speakers. He says to relate
experiences and then to talk about their meaning. He also encourages us to do our duty with full faith in his protection. With these thoughts in mind I nervously said to myself, “Oh, my God! I will have to try leing Swami do it for me. I must have the courage to stand up and offer the act to Swami, and then he will do the act for me.” I had heard that all you have to do is open your mouth and Swami will speak through you. I thought that I would try this approach. Being practical, I decided to have something planned if Swami didn’t appear. I had lile time to prepare, but when the time came, I stood up on rubbery legs; I felt so wobbly that I knew that it could only be Swami’s strength holding me up.
When I opened my mouth, I didn’t feel Swami speak the words for me. I felt that I had to fend for myself. What did come out was Swami’s phrase about being ready to serve (as I was trying to do even while teetering) and being ready to face obstacles and fears while developing the skill to serve well. Swami describes this part of the spiritual path in the words, “Follow the Master, face the devil, fight to the end, and finish the race.” For the next few minutes while speaking I was actually living this aspect of the path.
Students and faculty of the Anantapur campus
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