At The Home Of The Divine

It was 24th December, 2009 and I had returned from the Ashram (Art of Living International Center in Bangalore) after completing my 21 days TTC (Teachers Training Course). I had loads of stuff to do and I felt like taking a day off from everything. Instead, I got a call from my father to leave immediately for Kumbakonam (Tamil Nadu, India) to visit a few temples.

Initially, I was a bit reluctant but I did not want to say no as it would cause an unwanted conflict between my father and me, since he is not very much into Art of Living. So, I packed my bags that evening and left for the Shanti Nagar bus depot in Bangalore from where I could get the bus to go to my destination. Due to excessive rush, I was not lucky enough to get a seat. I did not know how to tell my father that I would not be able to make it for the pilgrimage. I prayed to Sri Sri and told him that I am coming to your birthplace, Papanasam (15 km from Kumbakonam) and it is your responsibility to make me happy.

No prizes for guessing what happened next! A Tamil Nadu government bus stopped right in front of me, its destination being Kumbakonam. Though I saw some seats vacant in the back, I waited till the driver said that there are ten seats in the back and I could take any seat if I was willing to sit in the back. Overwhelmed, I went to the time keeper and asked him why he did not tell me about this bus when I asked him if there would be any more buses just a few minutes back. He rechecked and said this was a special bus decided at the last minute and though there were large crowds going to other more popular places down south, the authorities decided to chart it to Kumbakonam. I couldn’t believe my prayers were answered by Him so quickly!. To top it all, no one came for those remaining seats. It was like all ten seats were reserved only for me and I had a wonderful ride. He kept his words, “Your desires were answered even before it came to you mind”. And so I reached Kumbakonam comfortably. When I called my dad on reaching, he said that they were stuck somewhere due to an engine problem and it would take another four hours to reach.

So, I took the next bus to Papanasam and went to Guruji’s home. While I stood outside waiting for someone around to respond, a man who stays right in front of the house came out and asked about me. When I told that I am a devotee of Guruji, he was more than happy to give me the keys of the house! He took great care of me and showed me around the house. After that he told me to make myself comfortable while he went out to get something for my breakfast. I did my ablutions in Guruji’s home and did my Padma Sadhana and Kriya right in the place where Guruji’s heavenly foot touched this earth. The fact that it was 25th December, Christmas Day made it even more special. It was a divine experience and I had the best Yoga Nidra (sleep-like state while meditating) so far. After that I had my breakfast, took some photographs, played in the swing where Pitaji (Guruji’s father) used to sleep, thanked the guy who gave me the keys and started back to Kumbakonam. I reached half an hour before my parents could.

The whole time, I remembered what Bawa (Khurshed Batliwala, senior teacher with the Art of Living) kept saying during my TTC, “We rely on miracles” and now I finally understood why he is very confident when he says it!

Jai Gurudev

Sridhara Krishnan

Sridhara is a teacher with the Art of Living Foundation