Prayer, fulfilled: Dream job comes after lesson in humility

Amit Khandelwal, September 2012
Ancient Indian thought posits that it takes about 84 lakh births for a soul to manifest in a human body. That in this human form we can be part of Guruji's family-how lucky is that?

Indeed, the day I saw Guruji, I looked at the Almighty. His aura was so purely intense that I could gaze at Him for but a few seconds. When Guruji looked at me, His eyes probed my inner consciousness. I felt Guruji was reading the book of my life, its past and present. That first contact aroused feelings that are difficult to express.

Guruji is there with us from the time we take birth and remains with us even after our death. His blessings are with us every day, every night and in every breath we take. His blessings are so immense that sometimes we do not even realize the grave difficulties that fall upon us and seem to pass off so easily. It is only, later, when we introspect that we truly understand how bad things could have been had it not been for Guruji's grace.

I met Guruji for the first time during the third semester of my engineering course. A devotee, Shri Deepak Gupta, told us about Guruji. Guruji is an incarnation of Lord Shiva, he told us, narrating many satsangs. He convinced us and with Guruji's blessings, the day soon came when Shri Deepak drove us to Guruji's sthan at Empire Estate.

We were going with mixed feelings. We felt lucky to be visiting the mandir, but were curious about Guruji: How does He look? What form would our first experience take? I imagined Guruji would be dressed in saffron, sporting a long beard and long hair. I was dumbfounded when I saw Guruji in a T-shirt and jeans, sitting with natural ease on a wooden sideboard. Yet His appearance was out of the ordinary. Whoever has seen Guruji will concur that His appearance is beyond description.

As soon as I saw Guruji, I silently presented Him with my wish list: all conceivable materialistic things, and the most critical issue of clearing one of my engineering papers. I was bound to fail in that paper having attempted questions for only 30 marks when the minimum pass mark was set at 35.

Nothing happened to make me believe to the contrary when I reached Bangalore. But when the results were announced, I had cleared all the papers. To my utter surprise, I scored exactly 35 marks in that paper. My happiness knew no bounds. I immediately thanked Guruji. With His blessings not only did I clear my third semester but almost secured a distinction.

I must admit that my life took a new turn from the day I met Guruji. I became more confident and believed I could clear my exams with flying colors. Belief translated into reality. In my other semesters too, I scored brilliant marks and turned into a meritorious college student. My marks were rising stupendously. I was really happy with the sudden change in my academic life. I knew all this was happening with Guruji's blessings.

Guruji places me in my dream company

Like any other student, I dreamt of getting in a good company. Before in-campus placements began in our college, I went to Delhi to visit Guruji and obtain His blessings. By then Guruji had taken mahasamadhi. At Bade Mandir, I prayed to Guruji to help me get a good placement. I had doubts whether my prayers would be heard since Guruji was not physically present.

I returned to Bangalore. The first company visited our college for recruitment, and I took the aptitude test very confidently. I was sure to be taken in, I felt, as this firm was hiring in bulk. Out of 400 students who appeared for the aptitude test, 300 were selected. I was not among them. I was dejected and my confidence was shattered. For a moment I thought that Guruji's blessings had been effective when He was in the physical plane; now, His blessings would not reach me; my life was doomed.

All the sudden success I had owed to Guruji's blessings had come to an end. I went back home and prayed in front of Guruji. I asked Him for His blessings and to give me courage to prepare well for being hired by other visiting firms. In retrospect, it seems Guruji had taken me out of a spell of overconfidence. It would have worked against me in the long run.

Two days later a multinational firm visited our college. I appeared for the aptitude test, which I cleared along with the other rounds. Out of 300 students, they selected 110 and I was one of them. Thereafter, I succeeded in securing an offer for whichever company's test I appeared for. At the end of the placement season, I had six offers in hand and felt that Guruji was telling me to choose-it was an amazing feeling.

However, we are never satisfied with what we get. I turned again to Guruji in my prayers: As part of His family I believed I was special, I told Him, but in all the placement offers that came because of His grace, not one stood out in terms of remuneration. I wanted something bigger and better. I even associated my salary with a number that I desired.

Guruji is a loving father who gives you all that you ask for. A few days after my prayerful request, a company came to our college. It offered me the same compensation that I had requested Guruji for. But I had a slim chance of selection, as it was one of the best Information Technology firms. Also, I knew it would not hire from the Electronics and Telecommunications batch. To my surprise, the firm was ready to hire from any branch of engineering.

Students took the test and went through ten interview rounds. Eleven were selected from our college and my friend and I were the only students from an engineering branch other than computer science that got through. It was one of the best moments of my life. Later, I realized how ignorantly foolish I had been. I had always asked for worldly things from Guruji, instead of enjoying what He had already provided.

Guruji always used to say "Mango mat, Mano" (Don't ask, just accept). He is not here to fulfill our false needs and desires, but for something beyond that. In time, Guruji gave me this understanding. He is the ultimate. He re-energizes our souls. He is the one who looks after His world and feeds every single living being upon it.

Guruji has been constantly blessing us and also guiding my professional life. I am doing fairly well professionally and have achieved much in two years. That would not have been possible without Guruji's blessings.

I would urge everyone reading this satsang to understand that Guruji is not a man with supernatural powers. He is God, He is our father, our mother and He really takes good care of all of us. You can talk to Guruji, you can cry in front of Him, you can laugh with Him, you can play with Him like a child and you will see that Guruji also laughs with you, plays with you and cries with you. If someone comes to me today and asks, "Have you seen God?" I will say yes, I have seen God. Guruji is god. He is Lord Shiva and I have seen Him and touched Him.

May He continue to keep all of us together as His sangat and shower His blessings on each and every person in this world so that we can all be part of His family. Jai Guruji!

Om Namah Shivay, Shivji Sada Sahay; Om Namah Shivay, Guruji Sada Sahay

Amit Khandelwal, a devotee

September 2012