Many-many years back, I used to think how a person can pray to another person. I would see my father in law praying to his Guru, whenever I would visit my in laws. He would be studying books written by so many Gurus and Swamis. He would visit Ashram of his Guru quite often. Many swamis would be visiting his home etc etc. But, somehow, I was not touched by any such things.

My friends and colleagues in the office learnt Sudarshan Kriya (Basic Course/ Happiness Program) from Art of Living teachers. I was aware about Gurudev and many were pushing me to learn Sudarshan Kriya since mid nineties. They would tell about Gurudev, some miracles, healings etc but somehow I was not getting drawn to learning Sudarshan Kriya.

Our financial situation was not good. The company was not doing well and was on the brink of closure. I used to talk to to my wife that if such situation prevails, it would lead to my suicide.. It was in the background that I was a double Gold Medalist. I topped in Physics Hons in the college and I topped in MBA in the University. I was selected in first 10+2 Naval Engineering through SSB. I got good campus placement but couldn’t join any of these for one or other reasons. I worked for two years in a company dealing in Gemstones & Jewellery and I was enjoying but for some reasons I was compelled to move to my present company, where I saw a very long bad phase.

Once, I was extremely frustrated and wrote a poem:

कविता - क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(i)मंदिर के दरबानों से,

मस्जिद की आज़ानो से,

गिरिजा की मीनारों से,

और सभी गुरुद्वारों से,

मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(ii)शमा पे जलते परवानों से,

मादकता के दीवानों से,

सूनी राह के मुसाफिर से,

और इल्ज़ाम लिए काफ़िर से,

मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(iii)अमीरों से, शहंशाहों से,

सरकारी नौकरशाहों से,

सफ़ेद कुर्तेधारी से,

और सड़क के भिखारी से,

मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(iv)दिल में वीरान किनारों से,

आसमान में सितारों से,

जीवन के सभी सहारों से,

फूलों से,

बहारों से,मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(v)दीपक की लौ, और चिराग से,

मोहन वीणा के राग से,जल से,

जीवन धार से,

प्यार की पुकार से,मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(vi)चरिन्दों से, परिंदों से,

निर्बल से, साकारों से,होनी से,

अनहोनी से,सम्राटों के दरबारों से,

मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(vii)पहाड़ों से, झरनों से,

उफनती नदिया की धारों से,

स्वप्नों की उड़ान के, न दीखते किनोरों से,

मैंने पूछा___ क्या अच्छा होना बुरा है?

(viii)दर्द हे, दुःख है, पीड़ा है, घ्रणा है, समस्त व्योम में व्याप्त ।

चिंता है, बेचैनी है, अँधेरा है, न है रौशनी पर्याप्त।।

प्रतीत होता है जैसे, झूठ ही सच्चा है ।

सोचता हूँ शायद, बुरा ही अच्छा है ।।

Hindi Pakhwada was going on in the company. I recited this poem and I got first prize but it was the irony of frustration. I come back home and was watching TV along with my wife and was shuffling the channels. Suddenly I stop at one of the channels where Gurudev just at that moment was saying: “कुछ लोग समझते हैं अच्छा होना बुरा है किन्तु अच्छा होना बुरा नहीं है अपितु निपुण आवश्यक है”| And we had goose bumps, which I am also having right now while writing this. Though, I never became smart till date.

Then few days later, I was talking to my wife and telling her something, which my small mind thought, was not right about Guru. I said, see Dronacharya asked for the thumb of Eklavya. What was the fault of Eklavya, that he made sculpture of Dronacharya and learnt archery by praying to him. How can a Guru do that? I was saying this and simultaneously I was shuffling the channels of TV and suddenly Gurudev appears in one of the channels and he was saying: कुछ लोग कहते हैं की द्रोणाचार्य ने एकलव्य का अंगूठा गुरुदक्षिणा में मांग लिया | मैं कहता हूँ परिपेक्ष बदल के देखो | अपने ऊपर कलंक लेकर एकलव्य को महान बना दिया अन्यथा उसे कौन जानता | It was an OMG moment. We were flabbergasted. We were discussing the same topic when Gurudev appears on a TV Channel at that moment and decipher for us the meaning of this event with a wonderful statement.

We thought that Gurudev is calling us under his aegis, so let’s do the course. We spoke to one of the teachers who was going to take basic course (Now Happiness Program) in evening. I normally reach home at around 8 PM from my office, so I requested her if it was possible that for her to take course in the morning for us. But it did not help. Then, we found that another teacher was going to take same course nearer to our home, but again in the evening. We requested her too. She said yes she would take a batch in the morning provided we are at least five persons doing the course simultaneously and on Saturday & Sunday, morning and evening batch can be combined. We started searching for three others and could end up at four total and then one person from evening batch moved to morning batch and we were five. My office is about 30 kms from our place and it takes about 1 hr 10 minutes to reach in peak traffic in the morning.

The office starts at 9.30 AM. The day the course was to start, I had ISO audit of my department in the morning. I being the internal auditor was supposed to be present. Just a day before, I was praying that if the audit can happen today, I would be able to join the course the next day (day fixed for audit). Just after the lunch, my Head of Department came to me and asked me that are we prepared for the auditing today itself as some other department has requested for change for tomorrow morning. I just jumped over and said yes we can get it done just right away. The audit went smoothly and next day myself and my wife were at the Centre for the course. The gracious teacher Swatiji who is wife of an Army Officer would come to the Centre in the chilly morning of December 2006 from Cant area driving by herself for five persons. I touch her feet and always tell her she is the route to Gurudev. The course happened and I had some experiences after my first Sudarshan Kriya, which are incomprehensible.

Guruji always tell the devotees and disciples to read Bhagwat Gita ( Discourse between Lord Krishna and Arjuna). So, I picked up Gita which was available at our home and started reading the Shlokas with simple meaning of each Shloka written below it. After couple of Shlokas, I got stuck onto one, which I couldn’t understood and thought this Shloka can only be explained by my master, my Gurudev. And that very day he appears on a TV channel in a program which was recorded may be few years back in North-West Delhi, where he had given exposition on Gita. To my amazement, he was explaining the same shloka on the channel. It could never be a coincidence. It his grace which flows and gives directions to us as required. He is divinity personified. He is Shiva, He is Krishna, He is the lord, and He is the beloved. In whatever way one wants to see him, feel him, he is there.

Gradually our life seem to be changing, knowingly or unknowingly, by the grace of Guruji. I later added the following para at the end of my poem:

किन्तु…

आशा है अभी, और है विश्वास।

कर्मभूमि में, गीता का न होगा उपहास।।

सर्वदा की भांति,

झूठ का होगा अन्त, बुराई का होगा सर्वनाश।

सृष्टि में,सत्य और धर्म का, होगा प्रज्वलित प्रकाश।।

Whatever happens in our life is Guru grace and Guru Prasad. Whenever I am in any trouble, howsoever small it may be, I just pray to him and his blessings are always there. I long for him, wish to meet him, to see him and this longing for him shall always be there. Gurudev has arranged all the courses that I could do, in Delhi. Though, I was fortunate to visit Ashram twice. Myself and my wife have done most of them together like Basic Course (Now Happiness Program), Advance Meditation Courses (Two with Guruji at Japanese Park with Swami Vidyadharji) with Rishi Nitya Pragyaji, Vandana Adeshji, Sukhi Bhayya, DSN Course with Darshak Hathi Bhayya, Sahaj Samadhi with Mamtaji, Blessing Course with Swami Pragyapadji, Shakti Kriya with Gaurav Vermaji.

I remember the first advance meditation course with Gurudev at Japanese Park, Rohini. It was the second day and early morning it was raining heavily. We started from our home at around 4.30 AM to reach Rohini in time as the Pranayam Dhyan Shivir by Gurudev was to start at 6.00 AM. The chairs were fallen, carpets wet, stage was not in a good shape and it was raining. Before the PDS was to start, the rain had stopped but it was extremely cloudy and everyone was worried, how would PDS will happen in open. Guruji came, the PDS started and he said “जब सब मिलके ध्यान करते हों, तो प्रकृति भी साथ देती है’| While the meditation was going on , I slightly opened my eyes to see the clouds (My mischief) and I was flabbergasted. What I saw was unbelievable. There was a huge ring above the PDS ground with blue sky visible inside the ring and black clouds outside the ring. What Gurudev said was true, nature was providing support, but by the grace of Master.

Gurudev always say, विश्वास रखो ऐसा नहीं है कि तीर नहीं आएगा, किन्तु टोपी उड़ा के ले जायेगा लगेगा नहीं| I wish to state a small incident. Our family was travelling to Rishikesh and we started from our home early morning. I didn’t check the status of tyres of my car. After travelling for about two and a half hour one of the rear tyres got punctured, so I checked for the stepney. I found that the tyre was worn off and the spikes were coming out.I was wondering what to do as we might have to wait for some time to see the market opening and where would be the tyre shop. Was just saying Jai Guru Dev in my heart, and suddenly I saw across the road, there is a tyre shop and the person was opening it so early. We got the tyre changed and puncture was done soon and we went on to complete our journey. It was astonishing to note that the tyre got punctured just across the tyre shop somewhere in Modi Nagar. He listens to small & big things, once one has samarpit devotion. I have also seen my friend’s arthritis vanishing in front of me during the second AMC with Gurudev. I have seen patient with life threatening diseases getting cured and becoming AOL teacher with his unbounded grace. He is just divine, divine, divine.

Guru Puja Ph 1 & Ph 2 is taught at Bengaluru Ashram by Bhanu Didi. I always used to yearn that if Guruji can arrange Guru puja at Delhi, it would be wonderful. Though, these are tough times and I would have never wished for pandemic like Covid, but Gurudev arranged Guru Puja Ph 1 online and sitting in Delhi I felt blessed again and Bhanu Didi so graciously conducted Guru Puja Course online along with few Guru stories. It was phenomenal. I think Gurudev is in human body for blessing the entire humanity. It is just not about few miraculous events which I have talked about but there has been a paradigm shift in the way we now look at the life.

He always conveys his messages in one way or another at the moment they are required. He is always with us and his blessings shall remain with us always.

The world smiles with his grace and blessings always!!!