I visited Bade Mandir on Shivratri 2011, just two days after I had returned to Delhi from visiting my children in the US...I had to be lured there: I was not given to going to temples; I could never understand how God could be contained in an idol. To me, He is all there is. And yet my husband cajoled me to the Mandir with the promise of more
prasad (he had brought some home for me), and
langar. When I walked in to the Mandir I felt I was home-a feeling reinforced during all the
darshans.
The
sangat was convinced that Guruji was Shivji: I was shocked: Shivji was God! I had for years been wondering about our religious beliefs, about idol worship. Every time I went to a temple or to a religious gathering I apologised to God for things I didn't understand and for any mistake I might make in my ignorance. I took the same attitude towards Guruji. He took me under His wing, and taught me that He indeed is God, Shivji, and as caring and forgiving as a parent. He showed it, too.
On October 6, 2011, my husband was returning home after having
langar at the Mandir. He stopped the car to get stuff from Ramesh Sweets, which was across the road. He stepped off the divider-only to fall two feet down with a truck bearing down at him. He had misjudged his footing; the road on the other side was not level at all. The truck was so close that impact could not be avoided. Yet, my husband found himself rolling across the street like a ball (arms crossed, elbows and knees touching the stomach) before the truck could get to him.
When he found his feet, the employees at the shop had gathered around him, expecting an accident. His palms were bleeding; he asked for soap and water to clean the wound. On the way back home, he got out of the car to check if he was hurt elsewhere but save some pain in his lower back he was okay.
The next morning he went to a hospital in Saket. For a nominal amount, his hands were bound in dressing and he was given a tetanus shot. Not only him, but his clothes too had escaped damage. A few drops of blood alone were found on them. This was strange for he had fallen on the road.
It was apparent that Guruji had saved my husband. Indeed, when Guruji takes care of you, He looks into every detail, so that you always come through with minimum damage. Like a parent would.
Monica Mehra, a devotee
May 2012