A Guru’s Promise
I am writing to share a very significant experience that happened in my life by the grace of our Guru Maharaj.
Recently we met a couple who recently moved to our city. They hail from Chennai. Recently when they returned after visiting India, they brought their parents along with them to the United States to spend some time with them.
While they were here, they had invited our family for dinner at their home. This was in November. When they took us around their home and showed us their Pooja room, I was pleasantly surprised to find a picture of Bhagavan Yogiramsuratkumar there and I inquired of this association. My friend mentioned that her father is very attached to Yogiji and later that evening, her father and our family were talking about our associations with great Mahaans. At that point, I mentioned about Sri Sri Swamiji. Her dad listened ardently.
After a couple of days, my friend wrote an email to me asking for some books about Sri Swamiji since her father had heard about Sri Sri Swamiji and His pravachanams on Raj TV but wanted to learn more about Him. I was preoccupied and hence procrastinated sending over the books for some time. It was only the end of December when her parents were about to leave to another city that we went and met them. I remembered to take with me some books and CDs of our mission including Unnai Arindhal, Thukkaram and a Madhuramurali magazine which I had just received via mail but not unopened. Her dad was thankful to receive the books and CDs.
Next morning, I received a call from their house, ‘Do you know something?’, uncle said. ‘No mama! Go ahead…’ I said. He said he was in a state of ultimate bliss since he opened the magazine I gave him the previous night since he was elated to see a picture of his Guru Maharaj, Thriveni Swamigal from whom he had received ‘Naama Upadesha’ (initiation) many years back! He kept saying I do not know how thrilled he was – having come all the way from Chennai to the US and both of us not knowing each other’s background, yet I gave him some material pertaining to Sri Swamiji and when he opened the first one, i.e. the magazine, he was pleasantly surprised and shocked to see Thriveni Swamigal’s article and picture. I kept thinking to myself ‘What a great incident! Very true when our Guru Maharaj says that nothing is a co-incidence; it is all an incident!’
And so went a week and a half as I was basking in this incident and it was all still fresh in my memory.
Very recently, one morning at 8 am I received a call from her. She called to convey the news that her father had passed away today morning due to heart failure! I was in a state of shock to collect anything at the moment. But once I recovered from that, I was thinking about how the Guru’s grace had brought uncle’s Guru right before his eyes all the way to the United States, in the form of the Madhuramurali magazine and how I had been chosen as the channel to convey this message to him in his final journey! His Guru, Sri Sri Triveni Swamigal had also kept His promise to lead his initiated devotee and make His presence before the devotee in his last days!
As I narrate this, I can feel myself in an unexplainable awe and bliss. This is only one episode to prove how Sri Swamiji’s grace, love and blessings have engulfed us in the form of Satsangs, constant Nama Kirtan and His remembrance, as we pray for uncle’s departed soul to be one with the Lord Himself.
