The auspicious day of Guru Purnima fell on July 3 this year. Though I have been going to the Bade Mandir since 2009, this year I wanted to attend a big function at Guruji's Mandir to celebrate His love for us. The plan was to go for Guruji's Birthday on 7th July, but everything I did led me to Guruji on Guru Purnima.
It was a Tuesday, so my girlfriend and I wrapped up work and headed towards Guruji's Bade Mandir. Each time we are on our way to the Bade Mandir, I have a sense of comfort, protection and love, which I feel comes from the connection that we have with Guruji. The assurance of His love is the best feeling in the world. It makes everything worth it! All problems, big or small, vanish and are magically solved.
On Guru Purnima day, my only thought was to reach the Mandir and I directed my best efforts to that end. We wanted to thank Guruji for our existence and His kindness in giving us the opportunity to follow His loving path.
On reaching the Mandir, we realised that it wasn't just the two of us who had decided to dedicate that day to Guruji, thousands had come. We were joining a real celebration! Before I could enter the Mandir itself, I got an email regarding an ultrasound that had been taken of my liver. The report wasn't very good. I was severely disappointed because I had been troubled with this issue for over three years and things were not improving. I entered the Mandir feeling a little glum; however, I tried to keep my spirits up.
We entered the Mandir and, thanked Guruji for all that He had done for us. I especially thanked Him for giving me and my loved ones such a beautiful life. I prayed that He would bless me with the courage to always follow His path; for Him to continuously love me and guide me; and to give me the power to do all that He desires of me.
After the
darshan, we went and sat outside the Mandir along with the
sangat, and were truly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. We decided to leave right after the aarti. Despite us not waiting for the
langar, Guruji made sure we did not leave without
prasad. While wearing shoes, a devotee doing
sewa gave us ladoo prasad.
I reached home and felt morose. I was tired and pensive. The test report was bothering me. I was questioning everything in life. I longed for Guruji's guidance. I was so upset, that for the first time in my life, I felt orphaned like a lost child. I fell asleep, tired, upset and nearly depressed. I felt the need for Guruji's immediate intervention and guidance.
That night turned out to be magical.
I distinctly remember a dream I had. I could hear birds chirp. I was sitting with Guruji and receiving some guidance from Him. I can't remember what He said to me. Guruji was showing me a path, a path ordained by Him. He gave me clothes (an orange
chola) to wear. He sent me home and I was extremely upset leaving Him. While leaving I looked up at Him lovingly and longingly. He simply told me to go home and assured me that He would visit me on Monday.
I then saw myself sitting under a tree close to my house with a pundit who was performing rituals while another looked on. They said I was ready. My girlfriend was asking the other pundit various questions. I was questioning my abilities to follow Guruji's path. At each step I was assured by my faith that I had it in me to succeed.
Next, I saw my family sitting outside our house around the dining table. I remember it felt like early morning. A telephone call came and my mother answered. A gentleman asked my mother whether "I had arrived" and whether "it was true that the one they anticipated had actually arrived." My mother was confused and passed the white cordless phone to me. I spoke to the gentleman, who seemed to be calling from a distant place. He informed me that his child was unwell. He asked me to take a yellow paper and draw a table with a blue pen. The ink spread and became green. He asked if I could understand the problem and I immediately told him that his son had thalassemia. I advised him to take his son to a doctor and make sure that the child doesn't bleed.
The man on the line wanted to know if I could cure his child or not. I gave a practical solution, offering to guide him to a doctor and requesting that he wait till Monday to see Guruji. (That was the day Guruji was to visit me.) The man seemed only interested in a quick cure and hung up abruptly.
In the next stage of the dream, it was about 7:30 in the morning. My family and I were still sitting outside; I had just taken the newspaper from the gate and was going inside the house to get ready for the morning. I was still wearing the clothes Guruji had given me. At that point, I heard my dad, mom and brother shouting, "Guruji is here." My heart jumped with excitement as I heard His voice from a distance. He told my brother: "
Ini jaldi thak gaya munda" (He has got tired so soon.) My brother, delighted, told Guruji about how eagerly I had been waiting for Him. I ran towards Guruji. He was coming down a slope near my house. I was running up to meet Him. Just then I saw my maternal grandmother and slowed my pace. I took her hand to take her to meet my God and Almighty. I asked her to walk slowly as "Guruji won't mind."
Then I saw Guruji, in an orange
chola, in all His magnificence, smiling. As I approached Him, I took off the orange slippers that He had given me and bent to touch His lotus feet. He smiled and blessed me. Looking at my slippers, He lovingly commented, "
Mera shokeen puttar hai." He then asked my mother, who was standing next to Him, to give me the Kanchak money (Kanchak is the ritual performed on the day of Ram Navami) that He had given her, so that He could bless me.
I suddenly saw myself as a small boy, with long locks, gleeful and excited to see Guruji, whose face was emitting an amazing glow. He walked with my mother towards my house, while I followed what looked like His path.
It was then that I woke up, super happy and excited! I jotted down my entire experience at 8:00 in the morning of 4 July 2012. How lucky I was! I was grateful to God for allowing me the privilege to follow His loving path and for His guidance and protection that I have strongly felt since I was an infant.
I understood the meaning of Guruji's love that day. I understood how practical He is and how magical His ways are. He assures us of His presence everyday by not only allowing us to experience the magnificent world that He has created for us but also by making everything work out for the best.
He is so loving that He even reassures us of His presence, when we doubt! He is so great that He unveils life to us in a beautiful way. I feel His divine presence each day and I am proud that Guruji has chosen me like all of us, the
sangat, to be His children, whom He personally cares for and attends to.
Thank you, Guruji. Om Namah Shivay Guruji Sada Sahay. Jai Guruji!
Sumeher Bajaj, a devotee
August 2012