I belong to a reputed business family, but of late we had come under severe financial stress. Debt had piled on and added much strain to the pressure of maintaining financial, business and social obligations. Within the family we had discussed revealing our distress to our lenders, but the loss of our market reputation, built with hard work and over time, always restrained us. Our hope lay in a parcel of land that could fetch us a good price. However, we had been trying for more than a decade to sell it off—to no avail.
One of our relatives too had passed through financial problems and we knew that a Guruji had helped them out. In fact, due to Guruji's grace, my
fufaji (husband of my father's sister) had not only recovered financially but also tasted great success. In spite of this, I never enquired from them about Guruji nor did we ever talk about Guruji. Once my grandmother had shown me a photo of Guruji on her mobile, which was sent to her by my
bua (father's sister), but I did not have any recollection of it. Nor did I have His
swaroop.
As our financial crisis mounted, I would brood over the threat to our business and family reputation. I did not share my worries with anyone. Then in January of 2019 I felt like visiting Bade Mandir. There was no specific reason behind my feeling; I now understand it was Guruji's call. I did not ask anyone about Guruji, but began reading about Him over the net. I wanted to know if He would accept me. As I came to know more about Him, I started reading
satsangs, which kindled the light of faith in me. I also started reading Light of Divinity, which further encouraged my faith. I joined some related social media groups as well. After a month of this engagement, I saved a swaroop of Guruji on my mobile. The satsangs made me wish for His likeness in a locket.
One day Bua came to our house. She talked to me about Guruji, knowing that I was following content related to the divine master on different media and probably because my grandmother had told her about my strengthening interest. I talked to Bua about Guruji and she not only narrated her satsangs to me but also gave me her own swaroop of Guruji, which she kept in her purse. She also gave me a locket, revealing that she had meant to bestow it to someone in our family. I talked freely with her about my problems and my feelings about Guruji. She assured me that since Guruji had taken us under His
sharan, everything was bound to become all right and the property too would be sold.
I placed Guruji's swaroop in my office, as Bua had advised. In April, likely a month or two after her visit, the land we had been trying to sell off for the last 12 years got a buyer. What had seemed implausible was accomplished with the divine blessings of Guruji Maharaj. I now knew that Guruji was holding my hand and had taken me under His sharan.
No matter how grateful I be to Him, it can never be enough. Guruji saved our family's reputation. Since then we have been able to pay off most of our loans and with Guruji's grace the rest will be repaid, too.
Guruji's blessings have continued to fall on us. I have often seen manifestations of His blessings, His reassurance, typically in the form of an Aum, that I can see in the
prasad I partake of and even in the sky.
Despite these blessings, my wish to go to Bade Mandir had not yet come true. Once I had to go to Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh on a business trip. While waiting for the train for Bareilly, which was my last destination, it occurred to me that I could go to Delhi en route and visit Bade Mandir. I immediately called my wife, who supported my decision. I was apprehensive about getting a confirmed seat on a train, but with Guruji's grace I got it easily.
Two days later, I reached Delhi at 4 in the morning. It was dark and as I came out of the station I wondered where I would stay and how I could reach the Mandir. I booked a cab and as it came into view, I saw it had 'Guruji' written on it. The driver turned out to be a devotee; he had Guruji's photograph inside the cab. I realized that Guruji was taking care of everything and I needn't worry. We exchanged phone numbers, with the devotee promising to take me to the Mandir whenever he could.
With Guruji's grace I got the opportunity to experience heaven on Earth—Guruji's Bade Mandir.
I have many such instances of His
kripa, but words fall short. I bow down to Guruji and am thankful to Him. May He forgive any shortcomings in writing down this satsang. Aum Namah Shivay Shivji Sada Sahay / Aum Namah Shivay Guruji Sada Sahay.
Gopal Agrawal, a devotee
August 2020