My 83-year-old father has dementia and is bed-ridden. Last year, he had a major fall at our residence in Mumbai. He had gotten up unattended from his bed, without his walker, and fell and banged his head upon the wall. He had a serious head injury; blood flowed from two ruptured spots. We got him stitched up.
His health began to deteriorate rapidly, and he had to be hospitalized twice. The second time he was put on oxygen and was inhaling the maximum amount one could from a 14-litre cylinder. The hospital staff saw no hope and advised us to pay our last respects to him. My mother and I did so the same night, not expecting him to pull through the night.
We are devotees of Lord Shiva and prayed to him. In fact, it has been my practice to go to the Chinmaya Jagadeeswara Temple at Powai on every full- and half-moon twilight to perform a
Pradosha havan. (Pra means remover; dosha is taint or negative karma; the worship is done on the thirteenth day of each lunar fortnight, a time most pleasing to Lord Shiva, as it aligns with the period of his rejuvenation after imbibing the all-devouring
halahala, or poison, to save humanity.)
So I prayed to Lord Shiva for the highest good of my father. The following day, I called at 5 in the morning to find out about him. The doctors reported a miraculous turnaround! My father was not only alive he was also breathing in less oxygen from the cylinder. Lord Shiva had heard our prayers. Dad recovered, came back from hospital, and lived.
One day while I was taking account of my WhatsApp message, within a week of this incident, I came upon the profile photo of a devotee known to me for over a decade, Bani Aunty. Instead of her photo, her status displayed the photo of a bald man. I was curious and called her up. She told me about Guruji: He was none other than MahaShiva, who had come to earth in a physical body. I was amazed and openly queried how in this age of the media omniscience, this phenomenon was not known to everybody. Guruji had not wanted it so, Bani remarked. I was wonderstruck and asked how I could meet Him.
Bani introduced me to a Mumbai
sangat and, the following day, I had gone to a private
satsang and then to the Mumbai Mandir for consecutive days. I was then inspired to join
sewa at the Mandir. I was asked to come every Friday morning for cleaning sewa there.
One Friday I had to clear the garbage and waste from the plumbing leading to the kitchen washbasin, which had had begun to overflow. The sewa coordinator asked me to pull out the garbage from the drain underneath with my hands as he could not find any pump for the task. Soon I had removed the waste and the wash basin was working.
Within days of this incident, my father's dementia was fixed, and he was his normal self again. Medically, dementia is irreversible. It was Guruji's blessings.
A devotee had given me
Light of Divinity. I would open one page daily and read from Guruji's wisdom. On several occasions, the book would open on a page which talked about how Guruji had given a new lease of life to a devotee. I would also regularly read about how Guruji had cleared up to 90 per cent of the dementia of another sangat's father-in-law. These testimonies validated both miracles of grace that we had witnessed: One, of Lord Shiva giving a new life to my father and of Guruji (both are one and the same) fixing dad's dementia completely. Jai Guruji!
Since being part of Guruji's sangat during the past one year, I have also not been bothered by asthmatic attacks, which I suffered since childhood.
Shukrana to Guruji for allowing me to be part of His sangat and shukrana to Guruji for showering us with His blessings.
Gautam Saigal, a devotee
April 2023