Devotees are like Guruji's kites; He holds the thread of our lives in His hands. He pulls us towards Himself; He takes us through the updrafts and downdrafts of life and it is He who joins our lives to His Lotus Feet.
For us the call came, when my husband was going to see his maternal uncle. Out of the blue he was asked to accompany his uncle to Guruji's place at Empire Estate. The year was 2000 and we were very lucky: on our very first visit, Guruji asked my husband what he wanted.
We were having lots of problems at the time. Even our marriage, which had taken place that year, was a difficult affair. My husband's family business had gone bankrupt and, being on unsure financial footing, he was unsure about going ahead with the wedding till the night before. He made very sure that the wedding rituals minutely honoured the ancient rites, yet our problems never ended.
Then, Guruji gave us an opportunity of His divine
darshan and we were blessed. Our marriage was made in heaven and through the intercession of Lord Shiva, in the form of Guruji, in our lives it was saved.
We continued our visits to Guruji. In October of 2006, I was seriously ill. I could not even walk from my bed to the bathroom. I would go to Shri Guruji's place with my four-month-old. Because of the inconvenience posed by the infant, I could not partake of the
langar and would just make do with
chai prasad. However, in January 2007, Guruji gave us His
adesh to have
langar and then go home.
Langar was not usually served outside the
satsang hall, but that day we had it outside and returned home. That night was the most horrifying night of my life. I felt sure that it was my last night on earth and continually prayed to Guruji.
The next morning I went to a doctor, who ordered some tests. The results came, and I was referred to other doctors. But, no one would tell me what was wrong. The resolution came in the form of a dream
darshan of Guruji Maharaj. My husband saw that he and I were sitting in front of Guruji. Guruji told him that someone had performed black magic on me and asked him to get a red cloth and black thread.
Since that day, I have been healthy and hearty - only because of our beloved Guruji.
Father-in-law and father cured
My father-in-law is a heart patient and has had several minor and major operations, too. He is diabetic as well. He had visited Guruji occasionally but it was my mother-in-law who was His firm devotee.
They live in Najibabad, the hometown of my husband and a five- to six-hour drive away from Delhi. In October 2006, my father-in-law had a second heart attack. My mother-in-law prayed to Guruji and the omnipresent Master appeared in front of her and told her to take her husband to Delhi. They did as the Lord ordered them to do.
When they reached Balaji hospital, my father-in-law's heart was beating at 20 per cent of the normal rate. Doctors were astonished. How had he survived a five- six-hour journey with this low a heart rate? We knew the answer. Our beloved Lord Shiva, Shri Guruji, had been our saviour.
My father was also one of lucky ones who would visit Guruji. He was also going through a bad phase. His business had gone bankrupt. The empire he had built since the age of 18 years was shattering and breaking day by day. He had no one to look after him as he was the eldest in the family.
He was so sad when I looked upon him one day that I asked him, for the first time, to accompany me to Bade Mandir. It was an auspicious day during the
navratras (the nine-day worship of the Holy Mother) of 2007. We reached the Bade Mandir on a Monday at 8.15 pm; the
satsangs were over and so, it seemed, was the chai prasad. We had not known that things started and ended a little early on Monday. However, on omnipresent Guruji's divine prompting, we soon got some of the blessed tea. Later, as we were leaving, a devotee got out of his car and recounted a satsang to us. My wishes were being fulfilled: I had wanted my father to listen to a satsang of Guruji's.
Since that day, my father's faith and his finances have increased. Today, he thanks me for taking him to Guruji but I well know that it is Guruji who calls us to His divine doorstep.
My entire family is taken up by the Bade Mandir. For my son, Bade Mandir is America and Empire Estate, Australia. (He wants to settle down in America when he grows up.) My husband says Bade Mandir is held up in the air by Guruji himself; I believe and feel it is heaven on earth.
With Guruji's blessings, we have completed our family. I love my children, who are Guruji's gifts to me, and there is deep love between me and my husband. We all can call God 'Guruji' and Guruji's mandir by different names, but at the end we will all meet and be answerable to one Lord itself, be it Brahma, Vishnu or Mahesh. We have all found our place, our home, the refuge of our Divine Mother here.
The significance, the majesty, the grace of a Guru cannot be articulated. Neither does it ever end; the devotees can continue expressing it forever. But, we should all love, remember, pray, salute and bow to our Lord Shiva, Guruji, to keep us near His Lotus Feet and bestow his blessings on us always.
Guru Mata, Pita
Guru Bandhu, Sakha
Tere Charno Me, Swami,
Mera Koti-Koti Pranam
(My Mother, father are you
Brother and Sister, too
At your Lotus Feet, Swami,
I pay unceasing obeisance)
Anisha Agarwal, Guruji's daughter-devotee
March 2008