Kumar was a student in Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning in the 1980s. And at that time, he faced probably the greatest tragedy of his life - the untimely death of his mother. What happened next is simply jaw-dropping and heart-touching. See Kumar's own words below from the blog at
aravindb1982.blogspot.com/201...
"When I went into the living room, I could see almost all the famous doctors of Puttaparthi inside. I turned and on my left and saw my Amma (Mother) lying on the bed - straight chested, eyes closed and arms on the side. On the right I could see Dr. Chari, Dr. Alreja, Dr. Shantamma and several others. There was an ECG machine plugged in and it was bleeping weakly. I was totally flummoxed and speechless. Dr. Chari came up to me, put his hand on my shoulder, took me to the front room and said
“Your mother’s pulse rate is dropping every minute. We are doing everything that we can from a medical angle but she is not responding at all. At this rate, we might see another 20 or 25 minutes of life for her. I feel you should go to mandir, sit in the front and inform Swami about this situation. He is the only one who can save her.”
For the first time in my life, I had the feeling of a ton of bricks falling upon me. These words of the doctor left me bewildered and motionless. I asked him,
“Sir, will you also sit in the front and try talking to Swami?”
“Yes, I will try my best”, he nodded.
I looked at my dad. He was in tears. Being the only son without any siblings, I suddenly felt more responsible in terms of emotional expression. I told my father,
“Dad, do not worry. I will try to talk to Swami. Swami is the only refuge we have.”"