In plain words
Your support and protection, Your affection, Your loving care. Your nearness is what I want,’ so thinking, she asked Him, ‘Grant me hardships alone, always.’ Truly, only because they suffered in the forest sufferings no one should suffer, only because they ate food no one should eat, only because they lived on roots and tubers, were my sons plunged into many hardships. In those hardships You were always, every moment, with them, beside them, at home with them, and You kept protecting them. If I want You near me, You must grant me hardships alone.
Here is a lovely episode from the story of Sathya Sai; who does not know it? Every year summer classes used to be held in Bangalore. The students were growing in number, so to give them modern facilities fit for them we began work to build a new hostel. That year I took all the students and went to Ooty. The summer classes went off well in Ooty, comfortably and conveniently in every way. Next day everyone was to come back to Bangalore. I told the students: ‘Boys, you have come to Ooty after all. You have eyes to see, have you not! You should go and see all the places round about. Go once and see how wonderful God's creation looks, and come back,’ I said, and sent them off. ‘We don't want to. Swami must come too,’ they said. Our students are very stubborn, but out of Prema alone they said, ‘Swami, You must come too.’ I talked them round. ‘My dear ones! If I come, all the people will crowd round. There you will have no comfort at all. You will not even be able to see the sights. Go yourselves, and come back,’ I said. But students have a kind of selfishness. ‘Swami must come too, or else we won't go,’ they said, and sat down; ‘All right, go,’ I said, and the buses were all arranged; there is a place in Ooty called ‘Doddabetta’. It stands 8000 feet high. Since it is the highest place in Ooty, I said, ‘All of you go to Doddabetta and come back’; ‘Arē, Swami must come, we must take photos all over there,’ this and that. That is how the tastes of students these days are.