It was during year 1996 that Mr Bakshish from Dugri (Guruji's native village in Punjab) took refuge in Guruji's
sharan. His daughter had a damaged ear drum since she had been one year old. Pus used to ooze out of her ears, and she used to suffer from fever and a sore throat. She had been enduring this for the last 12 years.
Bakshish had gone from doctors,
pundits and astrologers and even tried out
babas and saints, but his daughter's condition remained the same.
After trying out all available alternatives, Bakshish decided to go to Guruji. Guruji was in Panchkula, and when Bakshish and his daughter reached there, He was in His
paath (meditation). A devotee conveyed their problem to Guruji and came back with instructions that the distressed father and her daughter should return for Guruji's
darshan the next week. The Bakshis were demoralized. They had travelled from Dugri to Panchkula in about four hours. But, they did not lose their patience and decided to come next week at 6 in the evening.
The next week, Guruji enquired about the purpose of their visit. Bakshish told Him about his daughter's condition and asked for Guruji's grace. Guruji wanted to know which class she was studying in. The distressed father told Him that she was in the eighth class. Guruji responded with a smile and said: "
Kalyan ho gaya, ja aish kar (I have blessed you, be carefree)." The importance of these simple yet very powerful words was not apparent to Bakshish, as it was just his first visit.
Guruji then asked Bakshish if he desired something else as well. The father, with his hands folded, requested Guruji that the only thing he wanted was relief for his daughter from the terrible pain she had been carrying since ages. He along with his daughter sat with the
sangat, had
prasad and
langar. They were taken to the bus stand and put on the last bus that left for Dugri in accordance with Guruji's instructions.
The very next day, Mr Bakshish saw a marked improvement in his daughter. In a few days, her trouble was a thing of the past, gone for ever. The Bakshis became frequenting Guruji's place every weekend. They found that the only cost involved was the bus fare and that too was far less than the doctor's fees.
Called from home to be blessed
The years passed by. Guruji came to Delhi and Bakshish and his daughter started coming to Delhi, too. During one such visit, Guruji asked his devotee about his wife and son - who were still to have Guruji's darshan - and instructed him to send them whenever they could plan a visit. Considering the travel-related difficulties and the requirements back home, Bakshish did not obey Guruji and came with his daughter even on the next trip. Guruji again asked about the other two members of the family. In spite of Guruji's prompting, Bakshish did not bring them to Him. Guruji then gave him an ultimatum: get the son and wife. Bakshish then asked them to plan a visit to Guruji's place at the earliest.
His wife and son managed to come to the sangat. Guruji asked his wife what she was suffering from and she told Him that a severe backache had been with her since over a decade. Medical investigations had indicated a flaw in the backbone, which was nearly impossible to cure medically. But Guruji laughed it off, saying the pain was not due to any medical reasons, but had a psychological origin. Guruji told Bakshish's wife to get her daughter married and her backache would disappear.
Guruji also instructed them to visit the sangat every fortnight. Guruji's light-hearted mention of the backache led to the pain disappearing within a couple of visits. Such are Guruji's powers. The affection He has for each and every member of the sangat, even those near and dear to the sangat, is evident from the fact that He Himself called Bakshish's wife to bless her.
Taking a devotee through the door of death
Bakshish would come for the sangat in Delhi, at least once a month. One day Guruji called him and introduced him to two people sitting close to him. It was pointed out that Bakshish's father was some 85 years of age, yet hail and hearty, his eyesight was perfect and he didn't even suffer from a toothache. Since the conversation was about his father, Bakshish felt emboldened to tell Guruji about an infection his father had on his right leg, infecting the area from the knee to the ankle.
Doctors had not been able to control the infection or lessen the pain. Guruji asked Bakshish to relax and assured him that He would take care of the situation. The great master added that though doctors are not a great help, they also have to earn their living.
As Bakshish was leaving, Guruji gave him a garland placed at His lotus feet by one of His devotees. Bakshish was to dip the garland in water and his father was to bathe with the water thus sanctified. The garland had to be disposed of in the nearest water body. Guruji's instructions were followed to a T. As expected, the leg pain went away immediately.
There was another far more significant effect. Bakshish's father became entranced with Guruji. When offered lunch or dinner, he would tell household members that he had already had Guruji's langar. This told the family that the patriarch was mentally in Guruji's
sharan even though he was physically present with them.
Soon, Bakshish's father expired. He departed from earth calmly and gently in the middle of a conversation with his grandchildren. Even today, Bakshish sees him in his dreams bowing to Guruji!
It is apparent with hindsight that Guruji had taken charge of the father's life in its latter stages and helped him go through the door of death to His own everlasting abode.
A tractor benefits from grace
For a farmer, a tractor is almost like family. So when Bakshish had to make the all-important decision of buying a tractor, he came and asked Guruji which tractor he should buy. Guruji told His devotee that he may buy any one, but not a second-hand machine. Bakshish bought a Swaraj tractor with new accessories. In fact, the trolley which they finally purchased was made of heavy metal and was the first of its kind in their village. Since the tractor can plough fields thrice the size of Bakshish's lands, it is never stretched.
According to Bakshish, the tractor too is under Guruji's protection. An incident bears this out.
Bakshish's son dreamt that some people were trying to stop the tractor as he was driving it. One person sitting on his tractor advised him to stop immediately, as the people might try to snatch the tractor away. The son immediately stopped the tractor. But suddenly Guruji appeared and asked him to proceed. On Guruji's reassurance, he ventured ahead, to find that the crowd parted to allow his tractor to go through it. Bakshish's son told his family members about the dream. They understood it to mean that Guruji had protected the tractor from a mishap.
Bakshish becomes a big farmer
In year 2004-2005, Guruji allowed a few of His devotees to go and visit His village, Dugri. Around 30-35 persons arrived in Dugri and Bakshish served them
lassi (staple Punjabi drink). That night his wife dreamt of Guruji, and He asked her if there was any shortage of ghee or clarified butter. When she said no, Guruji asked her why she had served just lassi to the sangat and kept the butter. She was embarrassed and suddenly woke up. Next morning, she told her family about the dream and they decided not to repeat the mistake (though it was an unintentional one, as the orders were for lassi to be served). On any given opportunity now, they are more than glad to serve the sangat lassi and butter.
Why exactly the Bakshis were asked to serve the sangat the lassi and butter is not clear. Yet, since it is true that one gets what one gives out, then it needs to be noted that Bakshish has now become a big farmer.
Guruji had once prompted him to consolidate his scattered land holdings. Bakshish had then told Guruji that he had been trying to do so for a few years and had asked Guruji if he would be able to consolidate them. Guruji had told him it was high time he made a dedicated effort and he would get the reward. More than happy to have Guruji's blessings with him, Bakshish kept pushing hard, and today he is the owner of a 200-acre farm in Dugri. All plots falling between his properties are in his name.
But, Guruji was not yet done with Bakshish. His devotee suffered from an acidity problem and Guruji gave His blessings to him through a copper tumbler. As Bakshish drank water from it, his acidity soon disappeared.
When Bakshish returned home with that blessed copper tumbler, his son casually remarked that Guruji had given something to each member of the family: his sister and father had been given the copper tumbler, and his mother had been given Guruji's photograph and the tumbler. He was the only one left out. On their very next sangat visit, Guruji called him and gave him a photograph. He was delighted and also surprised at the prompt acknowledgement of his remark.
As the experiences of the Bakshish family show, Guruji's unconditional support protects and helps always.
Bakshish Singh, Guruji's words end 12 years of a child's suffering
July 2007