Sai went to his Gym in Larkspur along with us on 15 Jul 08 evening .As he was sweating it out in the Gym, Latha and I went for a walk to Larkspur Ferry terminal .The Terminal was a beautiful sight indeed. San Francisco is well connected to its suburbs though the sea route. And Ferry service is available to all office commuters at very convenient times. The Ferries are small ships in which a couple of hundred passengers can sit in air-conditioned comfort. You can even sit and do your office work on your lap tops .The minimum ride is for about half an hour from Larkspur to SFO.
Sai used to take this ferry regularly when he was in Novato. Now he takes a bus service from Sausalito as it takes less time than a Ferry and is more convenient. After the Gym routine, we went to Mill valley downtown to a Drive in restaurant “Jack in the box” and had Stuffed Jalapenos (a kind of Mirchi bhajji) with plenty of cheese stuffed into it. On the way we saw the Omnipresent police in action. A police car followed us, with their flickering blue lights on, and made us halt. Once you see the cops vehicle you have to stop, if you do not want to face any dire consequences which may also result in a shoot out!
The moment the Police officer stopped us,Latha in her anxiety started chanting “Om Sri Sai Ram” as she always does whenever she is afraid that something serious may happen.The officer who came to us was young and very smart. He came to us and asked Sai, courteously “Sir, Do you know as to why I have caught up with you?" And Sai replied "Officer I do not know”. Then he said "You were over speeding. Do you know that the speed limit is 30 mph here?" Sai said “Sir I am sorry, I thought it was 35 mph.” The officer said “I could see that you stopped at Jack in the box, my radar caught you at 41 mph, licence, registration and proof of insurance please ?”
Sai then gave his papers.The Police officer took them and came back after a good ten minutes .As we kept waiting for him to come back, Sai was saying that he could be fined 100 USD for over speeding and in addition to that the ticket given to him would go into his driving records. Fortunately that did not happen. The Police officer came back and told Sai “I am not giving you a ticket for your over speeding so that it does not affect your records .But your Insurance papers are not complete so I am giving you a citation . Sai still has to submit insurance documents for a 10 USD fine
Actually the Insurance renewal is done automatically here but you are expected to keep a printout of the same which Sai had not done. Whew! Did we get away!! Swami really saved us.
Swami says “A true devotee is one whose heart is pure and who chants the Divine Name wholeheartedly at all times. He may involve himself in worldly activities but he should not be attached to them. His mind should be constantly focused on God. Nothing untoward can happen to the devotee whose every cell of his body is filled with the Divine Name of the Lord. No danger can befall him whose very breath is filled with the Divine Name of the Lord.
Make any Name of God as the basis of your life; then you can achieve everything. Name is eternal but form is ephemeral; the form has old age and death. Therefore it is the name that is most important. Therefore chant the Name of God constantly. Other spiritual practices like charity, worship etc are of little use if you do not chant the Divine Name.
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