On the morning of 6
th October 2021, we got a call from my son's class teacher. Registrations of pupils for the Class X CBSE exam were in process, and there was an issue with my son's name, she informed us. His middle name would not be entered since my husband's middle name was not mentioned in any of the school's records. We were surprised that this issue was coming up, because all details related to the Board registration had been sent a year earlier. We told the class teacher that my husband's middle name was present in all documents, but she insisted that we submit an affidavit for the same, attested by a Class I government officer, the very next morning.
The affidavit was ready in no time, but we were tense as we did not know any Class I officer. We looked for one the entire day but with no luck. During my regular evening walk, I kept pleading with Guruji for a solution even as I felt increasingly woeful. Just then a sedan stopped in front of me; I noticed it sported a Government of India sticker. A tall young man stepped out. I immediately asked him if he was a Class I officer and he confirmed it. His name was Mahesh—yes!—and he readily agreed to attest to the affidavit.
Out of the blue, Guruji had sent me the required official. I was awestruck. All the stress of the day went out of the window, thanks to His grace.
But our ordeal did not end. The morning after, the school gave us additional red-tape requests: yet another affidavit attested by the collectorate's office of our area, two ads mentioning the name in the daily newspapers, and a notification in the Gazette of India. The school rejected the affidavit we had prepared and gave us four days to comply with the new demands.
These demands struck us as wildly unreasonable as no name change had occurred. My husband had been known by the same name since his birth. The school could have rectified the error that left out his middle name in their records, but they didn't want to listen. The task was mammoth and there was no way it could be completed in the next four days. After another stressful day, I finally surrendered to Guruji. I did
ardas to Guruji Maharaj: Whatever He wills, we would do it smilingly.
My husband and I decided to go to school again a day later, carrying all documentation we could—certificates and passports, PAN and Aadhaar cards—to convince school authorities that my husband's full name was well documented. Before leaving, we requested Guruji to come with us to the school.
At the school, Guruji's grace made it all possible. The authorities heard us patiently and asked us to give a plain, handwritten application. They made us wait for two hours, but corrected the school records in the end.
Guruji's armour keeps us safe as Covid strikes neighbours
On 8
th April I had gone to take my first dose of Covid vaccination. That evening I had fever and body ache, which kept me in bed. My neighbour is a nurse in a government hospital and her husband had also taken his shot the same day. While I got well two day later, he had a fever of 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
The next day, on the 11
th, my neighbour and I stood in our doorways and, as is our usual custom, chatted for nearly an hour. Three days later, my neighbour informed me that she had contracted Covid. Panic ran down my spine, but I kept calm and prayed fervently to Guruji to keep my family safe. With Guruji's
mehar all remained well with us.
Months passed by, when in mid-December, as my neighbour and I were chatting in the doorway, she told me that all her relatives who had taken the vaccination on 8
th April had contracted Covid. Not only did her husband have high fever on the 10
th of April, she revealed, he had lost his sense of smell, too. He had not taken the Covid test, but was clearly symptomatic. As a nurse, she had managed all the medication for the entire family.
I was shocked when I ran through her account in my mind. In all likelihood, she was suffering from Covid on the 11
th when we chatted. She had warned me to be careful and be on the lookout for symptoms as we chatted on the doorway, but I hadn't read into her concern. I was awestruck at Guruji's benevolence: While I had been within sniffing distance of Covid, my family hadn't contracted the disease. I firmly believe that Guruji Maharaj shielded us; it was His
kavach (armour) that kept us healthy and safe.
Through Him all things become possible. His bounties and mercies are incomparable. As human beings we cannot comprehend the grace He bestows upon us all throughout our lives. Our dearest Guruji's ways cannot be known; we don't know how and when He blesses us, saving us from all possible dangers:
Kaun Jaane Gun Tere. He is our soul and sole protector. It is under His wings that we find refuge from the sun, the rain, and the storm. As the
shabad has it,
Tu Mera Rakha Sabnee Thaee: He protects us everywhere. We are nothing without His divine grace. Even if we sing His glories all the time, we could not thank Him. Yet it is He who allows us to salute Him by sharing His
satsangs in this manner:
Guruji ki ustat se badi koi puja nahin.
Bhavna Seth Thakurdas, a devotee
October 2021