Ever since I knew my own mind, I had an inner urge to have the
darshan of my Guru. I could always feel the presence of a Guru, but I could not see Him. When faced with adversity, I remembered Him and right from childhood, a divine protector's power manifested itself in many ways and helped me. Then, I could finally have Guruji's
darshan.
How I met Guruji
My husband and I were at Chandimandir. It so happened that an Army officer's daughter was unwell. I asked her to be sent home so that I could examine her. From her condition, I diagnosed that she was suffering from viral hepatitis. I gave her some medicines and sent her home. Later in the day I met the daughter's father and asked her how she was. Imagine my surprise when he said she was absolutely fine since Guruji had come to his home. I complained that he had never mentioned his Guruji to me before and he responded by saying that he would let me meet Him. I told him to call me whenever Guruji happened to come next.
He did so. I rushed in to the officer's home to find Guruji sitting in the couple's room. He identified me instantaneously, saying: "
Come, Dr Sahib, daughter of Dr Bhagwan Dass and Leelawati." He had told me my parents' names; I knew He was my Guru. I was on top of the world.
And the very next day, I was given
diksha (initiation) in His temple. After that, there was no looking back. And His grace, His
kripa, started flowing.
Saviour of our souls
We were saved from many fatalities. Before I had met Guruji, I could, as I have said already, feel His protection. Once when I was driving in Srinagar, a car - driven by an Army officer I instantly recognized - came right in front. My car could not brake and I swerved to avoid a collision, my car heading for a culvert. My vehicle stopped with just its hind quarters perching precariously on the road. And it stayed stable there, three fourths of it hanging out of the road. The officer came out of his car and told me my brakes had failed. I could only thank God for saving me.
Later, when the divine protective power was revealed to be Guruji, He continued to save us.
When I was in Jalandhar, a mini-bus nearly rammed into my car. I had in fact reached very near Guruji's temple, when the mini-bus suddenly appeared near a crossing. A collision was avoided and I reached Guruji's temple only to find Him standing near the entrance gate. He looked at me and said, "
Saved".
In December 2005, I had taken my son's car out to go to a nearby park for a stroll. A truck came near a crossing and would have hit me. But, the truck driver veered away from my vehicle - rare road behaviour since it is generally smaller vehicles that have to take evasive action when faced with a truck.
The truck driver looked at me crossly and I was compelled to tell him that it was my
bhagwan (God) who had saved me. Hearing these words, he smiled and moved away.
A first-ever promotion case in the Army
Guruji also got my husband, a Major General posted at Chandimandir then, promoted. The board cleared him, but there were only five vacancies and he was the eighth one on the list. There was no chance that he would get promoted. Guruji was in Jalandhar. My husband had His
darshan there. After the
langar, Guruji said: "
Lt General sahib let's give you a dining out." After distributing some sweet
prasad, Guruji gave him a dress to wear and a silver glass to take milk from. I kept the clothes and the glass - which were blessings - in an almirah. But, Guruji told me that my husband should wear them. He did and Guruji's blessings simply kept coming.
To our surprise, he got three extensions till he was promoted - a first-ever case in the Army. The delay occurred because the file was stuck. Guruji had sent me to Delhi to check up on the case. A General, a devotee of Guruji's met me there, and was apprised of the case. Soon, after his intervention, the file moved again.
Within days, my husband was posted as Lieutenant General to the AMC centre in Lucknow - a kingdom in itself.
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In Lucknow, Guruji stayed for some time. Once an electricity fuse got burnt at around 3 in the morning, plunging the area into darkness. The generator also could not function. It was time for the
satsang and Guruji - the divine light of our lives - was sitting amidst us. He told my daughter to switch on the audio tape machine. She didn't as there was no electricity. Guruji repeated His command. My daughter switched on the tape and - lo! - it worked and played for four and a half hours. Without electricity, mind you.
Getting a devotee's house built
Guruji also got my house built in Panchkula. When He asked me to do so, I had very little money. My husband greeted the news with sarcasm. He wondered where the money for the undertaking would come from and asked me whether Guruji would shower money. As it happened, so was the case. My husband gave me a little seed money - around Rs 40,000 that had been saved over from my son's marriage. Then I found - thanks to Guruji's indirect prompting - that I had some fixed deposits that I could use. Finally, after Guruji had asked me for the third time about my shares, I was able to sell them at a good price. Suddenly, the money was there.
In fact, Guruji even went ahead and asked a shopkeeper to give me material on a discount. Before long, the house in Panchkula was complete. My husband's query had been amply answered. Guruji made a house for us to stay in. It is His temple and we are its caretakers.
The secret of a silk shirt given for wearing in cold December
Thanks to Guruji, my sons' weddings were also blessed. Guruji attended my son Manoj's wedding in 1991 in Chandimandir. He predicted that the couple would have two sons and it was so. In fact, when doctors tried to hide from me the sex of the infant in the mother's womb, I - remembering Guruji's words - told them.
Similarly, my son Arvind was blessed with a son and a daughter. His wedding took place in 1995 and Guruji came and blessed the couple. My daughter-in-law could not conceive, but due to His blessings, she did.
He also played a key role in my youngest son Rahul's marriage. Rahul who had gone to the US on a scholarship called up one day to say that he liked an American girl. I was put off, but by mutual consent we decided to leave the decision to Guruji. If He says yes, I told my son, then you can go ahead, but if it is a no, then the idea would have to be dropped. He agreed. When I approached Guruji, He gave His nod. He even gave the date for the wedding.
It was a December wedding to be held during the day. Guruji gave my husband a cotton pant and a silk shirt to wear for the wedding. My husband said that he wouldn't get the dress stitched since the weather at that time would be very cold. He in fact wanted to opt for a suit.
Lo and behold, the wedding day was bright and sunny. All the guests who had put on their coats suffered from the heat. My husband of course wore the cool dress of blessings given by Guruji.
Everything happens at His time
We were to leave Jalandhar for Lucknow on the Shatabdi. We had gone for Guruji's
darshan and He made us sit till it was half an hour past the train's scheduled departure time. When we reached the station, we found that the train was half an hour late!
Similarly, once we had to go from Noida to Panchkula. We were very late and started out from home at the Shatabdi's departure time. My husband maintained on the ride to the railway station that the Shatabdi would have left, but we carried on regardless. At the station, the train seemed to be waiting for us. We easily boarded the train. I had not even prayed to Guruji about the matter since it was so trivial, but He Himself worries about us and takes care of us.
In Chandimandir, on a whim I once went to Guruji's straight away in the morning, thinking that I would rejoin my duties after His
darshan. Guruji made me sit till 11.00 am though I had to go to the military hospital by 10.30 am. However, I waited calmly. When I went to the hospital, I was told that no patient had come. All of the army ladies had gone to Chandimandir, where a General had come for an inspection.
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My husband is an avid golfer and he was complaining of a pain in the right knee. It was a hairline fracture and a colleague told him that he would put a cast over it. I forestalled the clinical adventure, putting my faith firmly behind Guruji. Indeed, Guruji simply brushed His hand over the tender spot and the pain was gone. We are fortunate to be in His presence. Even a glance from Him, the
Puran Guru, is sufficient to take care of our suffering.
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In Jalandhar, my routine was to go from my medical duties at the OPD to Guruji's place for
satsang, the regular hours for which were between 6 and 10 am. Once Guruji asked me to check His pulse and I recorded it at 40 beats per minute. But, I told Him I would not be worried even if He had no pulse, for I knew He is a divine incarnation much above the laws of the physical body.
Dr Savitri Ahuja, a retired Army medical practitioner, Panchkula
July 2007