My father suddenly fell extremely ill in year 2014. He became unconscious even as he was being taken to hospital, where he was admitted to the ICU. Doctors couldn't diagnose his condition and moved him to a normal ward. But in a few hours his condition deteriorated and he was shifted to the ICU again and put on a ventilator. Doctors stunned us by saying that he would survive only if he regained consciousness within 48 hours.
I went to a Kali Mata temple to pray for his life. I asked the priest for a flower as a sign of Her grace. He was a little uneasy, but a flower fell from the statue of its own accord. The priest said that the Mother had herself given me the flower. Within 48 hours, father regained consciousness but he was far from well. He stopped recognizing me. His memory was gone. Doctors were ambiguous about if his memory would return. Tests on my father's spinal fluid showed tuberculous meningitis—what they call brain TB. Our life was plunged into darkness. We got my father discharged from the hospital and brought him home because we could not afford the extremely high hospital expenses. My mother, my two brothers and I could see no way out. All our hopes rested on God.
As if in response to our prayers, my brother went to Bade Mandir thanks to his friend. There he obtained Guruji's blessings in the form of His holy water, which my father drank. Quickly thereafter my father got admitted to a government hospital. Doctors there said that if he hadn't come in when he did, my father would have been in grave trouble. Instead, my father recovered completely.
In hindsight, I recognize Guruji's grace. He got us out of the expensive private hospital and into a government one right after His blessings reached my father in the form of
jal prasad. Such is the kind of mercy our Guruji shows. Even when sinners like us forget him, He comes running to take care of us. We are sinful and we are not aware of Guruji, our Holy Father, but Guruji knows everything.
We worship God only for our own benefit, never out of love. Even now we are not truly connected to Guruji Maharaj, because we have so many expectations and desires. If someone remembers us only when they need something, we distance ourselves from them. But our Guru Pita never leaves us alone in any circumstance because He is our father. Yet, being children, we forget our duties and our love for our father.
Demolished once, our house is rebuilt with blessings from Bade Mandir
It had so happened that we had bought a terrace to build a house. A person familiar to us had introduced us to the area; little did we know that it was disputed property. As soon as we started construction on the terrace, a neighbouring lady began causing trouble. She made unreasonable demands and when they weren't met, she threatened to prevent us from building the house. She even insisted we give up a small portion of the terrace to her. We were all deeply distressed. Then another lady who lived nearby came to our house and asked us to connect with Guruji, promising us that everything would be fine.
She would often visit us and give the same assurance. But we rejected her appeal and tried to resolve our problems through other solutions. We finally got a print of Guruji's
swaroop from a cyber cafe and began offering it our worship. Despite our many refusals, He came forward to help us
As we began rebuilding, the lady filed an MCD complaint and got the house demolished. Our faith began to falter, but we didn't know that Guruji Maharaj was working out our karma. A case was filed and a stay was ordered on the property. We felt broken; all roads seemed closed. Even those who had helped us buy the property did not come forward to help. Like orphans, we waited for help; we had forgotten that the supreme power of the world, Guru Pita, is with us. We are not orphans.
That court case itself was the path Guruji had cleared for us. Father knew many lawyers, but we didn't know which lawyer to approach. One day Guruji sent my father to a lawyer who charged INR 20,000, but handed our case over to another lawyer. He turned out to be a great devotee of Hanuman-ji and very trustworthy. That lawyer represented our case for free—all due to Guruji's blessings! After all, Lord Hanuman is
shankara suvana (son of Shankara).
Guruji's grace saw to it that we were protected. A man who was much feared in that area, but who respected Guruji, helped us. He went to the lady who was causing us trouble and warned her that if she prevented the house from being built, it would not end well for her. Then one day I had a vision of Guruji's Mandir. A voice told me to take three stones from Guruji's temple and place them in the house—then nothing could stop it from being built.
We went to the Bade Mandir. I related my dream to a devotee there and he told us we could take the stones if we could find them. I brought the three stones, and on the date Guruji had ordained they were installed. Many obstacles and hardships came, but the construction of the house did not stop. Guruji Maharaj personally brought us into His home, His temple, and seated us there. About eight months after we moved in, the lady withdrew her case against us. Such is the power of Guruji's presence and blessings.
Our faith did falter many times, but from this we learnt the lesson: no matter how terrifying the situation, no matter that all roads are closed, even if there seems to be no glimmer of hope, every time you break, you become more closer to the Guru, our Divine Father. Every time you weep, you find Him standing near you. Every time trust is shattered, trust Him again. We want instant results, while He has a different plan. Guruji's presence does not always mean that all troubles can end immediately, but that gradually they are resolved and our betterment is assured. As devotees aver, Guruji takes on 90 percent of their karmas leaving them to bear the remaining 10 percent.
Guruji has rightly said, "
Mango nahin, Maano." Our Father is supreme and infinite, but we are selfish. He only asks for our love and takes away our sorrows. Yet we never think about Him or His pain. We shouldn't do
satsang to fulfil a wish or out of fear. Satsang should be done to show love to Him, our One Divine Father who, without any selfish motive, stands by us in every circumstance. We may not be able to see Him, but He is always supporting us. So why can't we give that father our selfless love? There is nothing in this world that can make His children cry when He is with us.
I only have one plea to make with folded hands: He asks for love and only love. Not the kind of love we give after someone helps us, but the love a mother gives her child with no expectation, the love a child gives to his parents.
Our Guru Papa's heart is big. He protects His children no matter what happens. He does it, simply thinking that He would bring us onto the right path so we don't go astray during difficult times. We come to God, that is our Guru Papa, and He can show us the way and free us from all troubles. Guruji only thinks about us.
It took me a lot of time to share this satsang, and I ask Guruji to forgive me for that. Shri Guruji Maharaj thinks only about us and our betterment. Endless thanks to Him! Jai Guruji!
Rinki Sharma, a devotee
February 2025