Question & Answer session between the youth and Dada held on July 23, 2004.

     This youth meet being a part of Dada's 86 th birthday celebration programme was special. The Mission hall wore a colourful decor. A sea of youth from all walks of life was present, their colors vibrant and enthusiasm infectious.

     The performance of Seema Ramchandani with her team was the icing on the cake. Dada's entry into the hall charged the atmosphere further. Dada greeted one and all in his humble way and thanked the Bridge Builders for organising the programme.

    Dada welcomed Seema and her group and praised them for singing melodious bhajans and songs.

     Then began the question and answer session. A young girl innocently asked Dada if he could hear her prayers. Dada's humble response was that she should be praying to his Guru ( Sadhu Vaswani ) and not to him. He consoled the perplexed girl by assuring her that he would convey her prayers to his Guru.

     When asked to differentiate between the Guru and God, Dada said that there is no difference between a Saint, a Guru and God. The man who realizes God is entitled to call himself the Guru. The Guru is the visible God. Dada gave the example of the ice cube floating on water. That part of the ice cube visible above the surface of water is the Guru and the submerged part of the ice cube is God.

     Can self realization be attained without a Guru ? Dada answered in the affirmative and said that the Guru is within us to be searched by us.

     Can we afford to procrastinate? Do we really have that much time? According to Dada tomorrow never comes. Nobody has seen the morrow. Tomorrow becomes today when it arrives. Never procrastinate. However, put evil off to tomorrow but do the good deeds today.

     Answering the question as to how we can be unselfish Dada quoted the following ways :

• Seek association with an unselfish person. Their love and compassion will flow into you.
• Read the biographies of great people.
• Keep praying to god.
• Do one good deed every day.

     The next part of the programme was termed “Unknown Moments”. It was so termed to get the views of those who had been closely associated with Dada about him. Mrs. Hira Adhyankar (a student of Dada and ex-professor – St. Mira's College), Dr. Thorat (Dada's personal doctor), Ms. Sheela Bhojwani (student of Dada) and Mr. Dasi Budhrani (a close devotee) were the ones who spoke about their moments with Dada. All were unanimous in their view that Dada was the most humble person who they had come across in their lives. He was their Guru and he had touched their lives in a way nobody else had been able to. Their experiences with Dada were very touchy.

     Finally when Dada was asked about his vision about the Mission 10 years from now, Dada's prompt reply was “ The past is a cancelled cheque. The future is a Promissory Note. The present is the only cash in Hand. Use it wisely and well”. Therefore live in the present and tomorrow will take care of itself.

    The gala evening ended with Dada cutting his birthday cake and sharing it with those present. The entire crowd joined Seema and her group in singing songs wishing Dada many more birthdays.

The next youth meet will be held on November 20, 2004.