I connected with Guruji in October 2018 but I believe that He has been watching over and blessing me since a long time. I did not immediately fall for Guruji, but felt remarkably at peace, a peace that I had been longing for, when I first attended his
satsang. I liked how Guruji's teachings were simple, how everyone was equal in His eyes, and how His blessings came through the
shabads and
langar prasad.
All He wanted us to do was just listen to shabads and lead a good and honest life—such a simple and practical approach.
By February 2019, my faith in Guruji had grown and I wanted to visit Bade Mandir. I had not been to India in seven years. I wished to bring
jal prasad back for my family and
sangat in the US. Then I received news that my mother had been diagnosed with first-stage cancer. I was shattered and surprised, given we had no family history and the disease sprung upon us out of nowhere. I knew in my heart that my mother would not be able to handle chemotherapy and began praying to Guruji in earnest that she avoid it.
Before my mom could take a test, I'd research it and find out what parameters it should show if she were to avoid chemo. Before every report was due, I would then tell Guruji of these metrics—and those are what the report would show! Guruji listened to my prayers. After all the testing and the surgery, my mom did not need chemotherapy. Doctors said radiation would suffice.
We decided that I would go to India towards the end of her radiation sessions and, if the doctors allowed, bring my mother back to the US. My mother was in Ahmedabad so I was unsure if I would be able to go to Bade Mandir and left it upon Guruji. In India, I realized my mother was doing well, and I could take a few days to visit Delhi. I had no idea what to expect at Bade Mandir, but He made my first visit at the Bade Mandir an unforgettable experience.
I reached the Mandir around 6 pm and was awestruck at how beautiful the mandir was and how seamlessly everything worked. I finally got inside the main
durbar and was seated in the second row before Guruji's
aasan. As we settled, the
shabads stopped and
mantra jaap started. I was ecstatic and thankful, blessed that Guruji made me sit in the main durbar for the jaap. I had the divine
langar prasad and as I was walking out I was hoping that I could get jal prasad, but the
sewadars were so busy that I did not have the courage to ask them.
I came out of the Mandir and waited for a friend to pick me up. A half hour must have passed when I heard a sewadar say loudly, "In aunty ko jal prasad de dena." I turned around to realize that a sewadar had opened the back of a car parked two cars away from where I was standing to give jal prasad to another family. I knew in my heart that it was Guruji's way of fulfilling my wish. For me to be standing in that huge parking lot next to a car which had jal prasad and for that sewadar to call out so loudly was not a coincidence but a call to my attention. I asked the sewadar uncle for jal prasad and got it.
My mom and I reached the US on May 30, and I was not sure if I would make it to the Mahasamadhi satsang the following day. I usually have severe jet lag. By Guruji's grace, I did not feel it this time and was able to take the jal prasad to the special satsang. My mom too found faith in Guruji and keeps listening to His satsangs.
From my son's lips comes a sacred word—Gurukul
The night before I was to leave for India to be with my mom, my son fell down. My husband had been playing with our five-year-old, lifting him up, when he lost his balance and dropped our son on a thick glass table with wrought iron corners. Our son's head hit the glass and the iron corners and he cried like never before.
I was scared, but my son neither had a bruise, nor a bump or a concussion.
This was but a small foretaste of Guruji's blessings for him. To honour Guruji's presence in our lives, we held a satsang at our house on October 24, 2019. My son is mildly autistic and he barely spoke at that time, managing just a few words or one or two iterative sentences. That afternoon when I picked him up from school before the satsang and put him in his car seat, he said, "I want to go to Gurukul."
I couldn't believe what I had heard so I asked him to repeat it, and he said the same thing. I asked him to spell it and he said G-U-R-U-K-A-L (pretty close). Clearly, my son was recalling the beautiful durbar inside the home of a devotee, whose house is christened Gurukul. My son must have visited her place for a few minutes, eight or nine months earlier, but for him to mention it on our satsang day was not a coincidence. It was Guruji's way of telling me that He was blessing our first satsang. My son was the reason I got connected with Guruji, and He chose my son to convey His message on that auspicious day.
Guruji has always made His presence felt through these special experiences. Thank you for being the guiding light in my life, for all the beautiful experiences and for all your blessings.
The only thing I always and forever will ask Him is to keep making my faith stronger and to forgive me for my mistakes. I will try to always follow His teachings and be a better person.
Jolly Khabrani, a devotee
December 2020