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India lists as the topmost nation in the field of spirituality

   India lists as the topmost nation in the field of spirituality. Great saints, siddhars and sages who are the pioneers in the field of spiritualism have lived in India and there are many such siddhars who are still living today. In spite of all these, India has not been able to achieve as much as desired. Though there has been tremendous progress in technological, medical and other fields, the life of the common man is far from happy. Corruption and easy money have played havoc in public life and morality, honesty and integrity are at a premium. People have become very narrow minded and self centered. Because of all this, though there are many spiritual masters and saints in the country and they try their best for the betterment of the people, they have not been able to succeed much in their endeavour. It is time for the younger generation to think and act wisely and quickly to prevent the decline of this great nation. A nation devoid of spiritualism cannot be called civilized. Progress of such a nation cannot be sustained for a long time. History has taught us many a lesson but we tend to forget the past. Our saints and siddhars have shown the right way to live and let live and emphasized time and again that the greatest happiness is within ourselves. There are many religions, faiths and beliefs. But their preaching is the same. Seek and find divinity and supreme happiness within one's self. The greatest virtue is service to humanity.

   According to Swami, from the year 2002 to 2010 AD, due to spread of spiritualism, there would be good progress in our country. India has all the potential to become a super power. Right leadership is the need of the hour. Right leadership can come only from great men who have broad vision and noble goals in life. In this context, our saints and satpurushas have a great role to play. Their divine zeal coupled with selfless service to humanity at large can help people to come out from the morass of a morally complacent and sedentary life. Saints and siddhars do not confine their mission to a particular country or religion. Their spectre of grace is all pervasive. They undertake tours around the world for the benefit of all people irrespective of political or religious affinity. During such trips and tours the saints come across and interact with spiritual powers in other countries. The interaction of such spiritual powers reinforce their divine missions for the benefit of humanity at large.

   For the same reasons, Swami on being invited has been undertaking trips to the US and middle east countries so that people of these countries benefit by his grace. And there are Indians in these countries who being far away from their culture and heritage, need spiritual guidance. A large number of foreign people also enjoyed the benevolence and blessings of Swami during his visit to these countries. Their interaction with His divinity was beyond description. They witnessed many miracles which the western world cannot fathom. Modern science has limitations. It cannot explain everything.

   During Swami's foreign tour, each day there was a divine experience. But to write about all the miraculous events that took place, an entire book in itself would be required. So, only a few of them have been selected and incorporated here.

   It was way back in the year 1992, when Swami had gone to Bahrain at the invitation of one of his devotees Mrs. Neelu. She took him to the famous Great Mosque which was close to her house. There was no restriction of caste or creed and anyone could enter the holy place but one had to wear the traditional white dress for going inside. Swami casually asked Neelu since she had stayed there for more than twelve years and heard the Koran day in and day out, whether she could chant at least a little bit of the Koran. Neelu replied that she knew only a couple of stanzas. At the entrance, there was a Tamil speaking watchman, who gave them the necessary dress to wear and was watching them. Swami went straight inside and to the astonishment of Neelu and other persons, Swami started chanting the Koran for half an hour without any break. Neelu and all others were totally taken aback witnessing Swami uttering the Koran with such ease. She was delighted and became highly emotional. She realized the divinity in Swami for the first time. After two days, she took Swami to a famous museum. Swami went straight inside to the right place without asking and talking. It looked as if he knew the place very well in advance. Neelu had to run to catch up with him. She was surprised and thrilled. After going inside, Swami asked Neelu to read what was written in a board over there. It said — God strode this way. Neelu could not believe her eyes and she was enthralled by the divine ways of Swami.

   Swami went to US for the first time in May 2000. His main purpose was to show the western world that divine power outscores modern science and technology in terms of human happiness. Most of the westerners try to find happiness away from the materialistic external world. In spite of all their comforts and conveniences, many of them are not at peace. Swami says that only when one starts the search within oneself, one can find permanent bliss. India being a land of spirituality, he would make the foreigners realize that real peace is within oneself and can be obtained through meditation and austerity. When a devotee asked Swami whether he could arrange for his discourse to the people there, Swami refused and said that he did not want to give any discourse since by merely hearing the sermons and lectures, the impact would be only short-lived. According to him, most discourses are just heard and soon forgotten. He said that instead, he would try to make the devotees realize the absolute truth by themselves and through their own experiences. He would make the siddhar peetam in Tambaram a Mecca of spirituality to which all people including foreigners with a spiritual bent of mind would throng in course of time. True to his word, in the first week of November, twelve Russian strangers came to the peetam at Tambaram to see Swami, stayed and thoroughly enjoyed their visit. They stayed for all the important functions and had a blissful stay, filled with divine interactions and encounters with Swami in the peetam. They felt that they were all totally charged spiritually and said that the peace and tranquility and the divine experiences were very rewarding. Their experiences as narrated by one of them is given in the chapter 'Divine Experiences'.

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