Meera from USA says: I am a Sai devotee, very much blessed by BABA. I have posted several blessing experienced major that are almost unbelievable and minor in day to day life. This one is I am posting as I find Abhishek Ji’s experience very similar to mine. I just want to share this in order to offer support to those, who are losing faith in BABA just because they are going through long suffering that make them believe that BABA is not taking care of their issues.
Be truthful in performing your duties for which BABA has sent you here on this earth. Do your part with total devotion to your duties. BABA never expects you to succeed to prove your total devotion. All HE wants you to pay your past KARMAs, build a treasure of good KARMAs in this life and fulfill your part acting what BABA has designed for you in HIS DRAMA.
WE are all given a chance to play a role in this serial, live serial and we have to do our best, don’t you think so? Though we are not going to get awards from film industry or any such competitions that are going on in the TV serial era, WE will be rewarded by BABA’s blessings and you will see those blessings showering on you if you keep your mind open. HE gives you hard time, but at the same time HE stands by you too! And many a times this hard time may not be from HIM, it may be we are paying for past KARMAs! But HE will surely make them less in intensity if we are true to ourselves by living life as per BABA’s teachings! Jai SAI RAM.
Dear Sai Devotee Abhishek Ji, Very touching experience and well narrated too. Your going through tense moments reminds me the very same phase I had gone through! It was about how the corporate world deals with the loyal employees! I had been with this Company in the USA for 10 years! Upon completion of my 10 years how they behaved meanly one can believe only if one has gone through such hardship.
Even though I had given timely “time off” request how I was asked to re-submit my request of leave that I had to go to India for my son’s marriage and needed at least a month leave. Oh, when I think again of those hard times as my husband had gone through bypass surgery a few months before, he did not want to travel all the way to India while my son was not ready to go without Dad accompanying. So I was facing such stress at home front. My hard luck that I had a fracture of my little toe of left foot and had to wear a special shoe to get that fracture heal. With limping walk, I had to prepare for the wedding related things to collect from here, prepare for Visa for all three of us to be able to go India. Full time job left me very little time to do all various tasks. My husband had not even got his USA passport after receiving US citizenship and since I do all such detail paperwork and him being so sick cannot expect any help in any of these tasks.
Well, with all such odd things, we did manage to go to India. My son’s wedding went well. We came back within 21 days honoring my husband’s wish and informed my employer that I am back. My supervisor asked to relax and come back on the date that I had requested on my Time-Off form. (He was being nice for A REASON that I could SEE NOW. You see BABA’s Leela here.
My son’s wife, though from the same city in India where we belong, was employed in Canada and had to still continue working there. So my son made an arrangement with his employer to let him work from Canada. He was a Computer IT programmer than. For that he needed a VPN router. We both went to my store to buy one. And suddenly my name was announced on PA system asking me to go and see the Manager in the office. I was surprised as I was there as a customer only, why I would be wanted to be at the office?
Well, when I entered the office, my immediate supervisor and the new Front End Manager (whom I did not know as she got appointed while I was on LEAVE), were there in the office. As soon as I entered the office, the door was closed. The F.E. Manager told me that I could come back only after seeing the GM. And he is on vacation right now. I had not followed the Company procedure in obtaining Leave for more than a month I am considered voluntarily resigned from my post. I could not believe what she was saying and asked to let me talk to my Operations Manager to whom I had handed over my Time Off request form and the matter will be resolved. She was OFF that day.
It just happened that my son chose the lower priced VPN router out of 2 available and upon reaching home he said mummy, I think this is not going to work for me, I will have to get that other one. So I said ok, anyway I have to see my Operations Manager, I will have it exchanged and will get the other one. The Operations Manager was there the next morning. I asked her to get me the copy that I had submitted to her and she readily went to her office and handed me the 1st Time Off request that my supervisor had told me that he had lost!
There was something fishy going on here! I asked for the 2nd request that had her signature on it (this one did not have her or GM’s signature of approval). She denied having any other request form with her. Strangely enough I could not find that request copy in my file! I suspect now that because of my fracture and walking painfully I was asked to be at the front desk only and I had left my copy under my tool box temporarily and my supervisor should have taken from there to play his game in the future. Because it seems that this was the plan from the beginning as he had asked me to re-submit the leave request and now I was shown the said “lost copy” of my request! And I might have noticed that my paper was missing from my desk at that time, when I left from work on that day.
Now I literally had a panic attack very similar to heart attack. My heart was throbbing hard causing me chest pain, my left arm went numb and I could not even breathe however hard I tried. I gasped for air and asked to call medical help. My Operations Manager was so rude and cruel. She said this is all drama and I don’t need any medical help. I did not have my phone with me. I used Store’s phone to call my family PCP (who is my sister in law’s husband). Being Saturday, he was home and my sister in law came to pick me up knowing I was so sick suddenly and not in a condition to drive by myself. My doctor checked me thoroughly at home only and said nothing to worry, this is just a panic attack that resembles very much to heart attack. This happens in such a shocking situation.
Well, as a next step I took appointment with my GM. He told me the same thing that F.E.manager had said. He said he would still consider taking me back as a cashier/customer service/writer at the Tech department, (of course with a pay cut , my COMPUTER TECHNICIAN title ripped off and my 10 years of service gone to drain, meaning I would not get my hard earned benefits that start after 10 years of service!!) I did not accept that offer. He was rather rude and said, he decides what his employee works where, I am not supposed to tell him where I want to work! If you do not take my offer, then you are no longer my employee and he gave me separation notice then and there!
I went home with a heavy heart. Not getting any clue how to deal with this situation. In this tormented moments of suffering, I was advised to complain to “benefit Department” where one can lodge a complaint for such injustice and the Benefit Dept. would find out what exact is the situation to approve or disapprove the Employer’s decision. Days were passing by and in due course of time I received a teleconference call with that Officer from the Benefit Department, my Operations Manager and myself. The Operations Manager strongly emphasized that I did not follow the Company policy and that’s why I am considered “voluntarily resigned ” from my post. And thus my petition was rejected. I think BABA wanted me to learn how to fight this injustice! I received a letter of petition ” declined ” and was offered a chance for another hearing session in person if I think this is a wrong decision. I did ask for hearing in person.
After that, several times, I was called by my HR to discuss the matter and again the result was like proving I was lying. No one supports my going on leave was known to co-workers and all false supporting evidences were presented in front of me. Prior to the day of hearing session, my HR changing his tone diagonally opposite to what it was until now, told me that he thinks I am right and the GM’s decision was totally wrong. He can offer an option of taking me back with the same position and same benefits that I had incurred. I was surprised how come the table turned! Yet, with BABA standing by me, I got an inspiration to go and check with the Benefit department what should I do in such a case!
As if BABA was there in the form of the Desk Clark, he said since you do not have anything in writing, do come for the Hearing session, If you do not show up, your case will be considered “no show, no complaint” and your case will be dismissed”. I am so very thankful for his guidance. All through this back and forth calls and e-mails and meeting with HR, talking to Legal personnel and even the family members , were of the same discouraging tune that I have no chance in this “Hire and Fire” environment. If your employer does not want to keep you, he can fire for no reason. But my fight was against the INJUSTICE. What I was saying is that if they do not want to keep me and want me to go, say so. But here they are tarnishing my clean loyal service of ten years with false accusation. And I CAN NOT accept that! I had not done anything wrong for which I had to lose my job like this. I don’t care for the job, but I do want to prove my truthfulness.
Who gave me so much strength? BABA only! There was not a single soul supporting me! I am considered a very meek and submissive person all through my life! So from where I was getting this fighting spirit? To my surprise when I and my husband reached to the Benefit Department for the said hearing session, not only my Operations Manager, but even the GM was present. Oh, what if I had not shown up believing my HR officer and thinking that matter is resolved? I am sure after losing my chance here, they would have turned their color!
I took my file, where all my leave request forms that I had on my file for all these years as a proof that I was so meticulous in informing my supervisor for even ONE day off if I had some personal reason for not being available to work, so how come if I had to go out of country for more than a month and that too for such a first ever big family event – my elder son’s marriage, and I would not get approval well in advance from my employer? So my TRUTH spoke so loud with my supporting documents and the officer believed that I must have submitted proper form even though the management from my employer’s side tried to play a dirty trick on me. I was reinstated with respect and keeping all my benefits. I could prove my dignity. After this, even my GM was now very polite, offered any help whenever I face ANY injustice from fellow workers and not to suffer intimidation.
See, how much BABA tested my FAITH in MYSELF? And mind well, I never had sought BABA’s help as such. I don’t think I had pleaded BABA to bring me out of this mess. It was just the inspiration step by step as if guided by BABA. It is now I see that BABA had stood by me inspiring me all through this tough time at the same time giving me hardest time to suffer, like my husband going for accidental damage caused by medical team placing stent , tearing heart’s main artery causing emergency bypass surgery, myself having fracture on my foot, “nay- nay” from my husband to attend my son’s wedding as he did not want to fly by air with his heart condition and go to INDIA, preparation for visa, passport of my husband, packing in detail for wedding event, and up on coming back this job related very heart breaking ordeal! And to add more spices to my problems/sufferings, the Insurance Company would sent me bills in 6 figures that were not approved though I had health Insurance, so I had to fight our those bills too (as if I was home and not at job, only to dig out supporting paperwork to fight our Insurance bills only!).
Dear Sai Devotees, live truthful life the way BABA want us to and rest assured BABA is always there with you, no matter what! Jai Sai RAM.