Divine Call

I was on a flight to Ahmedabad during April 2014 when a dignified and friendly lady occupied the seat next to me. ‘Are you from Ahmedabad?’ she asked me.

‘Oh, no. I am just visiting Visnagar for a week’, I replied.

She had very beautiful and expressive eyes, so I asked, ‘Are you a dancer?’ She told no, but she seemed amused. It turned out that she was a high official working in Gandhi Nagar. We had a friendly conversation and just while leaving the aircraft, she gave me her visiting card and told, ‘If you need any help at all, please contact me. There is an Ayyappa temple near my place.’ I thought that the temple must be adjacent to her house.

Last year May my father left his body. During the previous month I had visited him for a week and spent the time exclusively with him, chanting mantras, doing meditation etc., I was his favorite daughter and we had a great time together. After his demise I used to get messages from him. He told he will come back into my life. Then another time he told me that he will give a definite sign while entering our lives again.

Coming back to April 2014, our festival Vishu was on 15^th. It was Hanuman Jayanti also on that day. Early morning we got the news of arrival of our grand child. I wanted to visit a temple. Suddenly I remembered the offer to visit the Ayyappa temple in Gandhi Nagar. I contacted the lady and she told it was ok to visit, even though she was having a hectic schedule.

My husband and I reached her office by 6 pm after about an hour’s drive to find that she was busy in a meeting. But she had informed her assistant about our arrival and she sent us in a vehicle to the Ayyappa temple. It was about 20 minutes drive. We reached the temple and as I entered, there was a huge pillar, on which it was written, ‘In the loving memory of Gopinathan Nair’. I got goose bumps on seeing it because my father’s name was Gopinathan. Even my husband was shocked to see it. I couldn't think of a clearer sign than this!

We came back to the office, she was still busy in the meeting and we had to return without meeting her. She served a very important role in my life, even though I couldn't meet her before leaving.

Missing ear ring again

On 5^th Feb 2014, I really was busy cleaning the house. The maid had stopped coming since one month and there was painting going on. I did brooming and mopping the whole house, inside and outside, did some work in the garden too.

In the evening we were going out, and when I looked at the mirror, to my horror, I saw that part of one of the ear rings was missing! It was of ‘Sui Dhaga’ pattern and it had sentimental value as it was a recent gift. Since I was working all over the place, I had no clue where to look for the missing part. Still I made some feeble attempt, in vain.

I have helped many people in locating missing articles, and now I had a strong intuition that I will get it back. It was a test for my patience and faith. Well, I kept my cool, the faith was strong that it will come back to me. And I kept looking for it during the cleaning of the house every day.

Days went by, 6^th, 7^th , 8^th, 9^th….On 10^th morning, while I was mopping the bathroom floor, suddenly something rolled over. And lo!!! It was the missing part of my ear ring. It was so difficult to comprehend. I had used that mop every day and washed it in the wash basin. If it had fallen in the wash basin, it could have gone down the drain very easily!

This incidence again reinforced my faith that if something has to come back to you, it just has to. And I am thankful to the Universal energy for the intuitions.

Visual Proof from Ma

We were on our way to Pune - my husband and I. It was early morning, the bhajans were on and through the car’s window the rising Sun in all its glory was smiling at us. I get visions of Kalima, and instructions, and my husband is aware of this.

Suddenly he asked me, ‘Do you get visions of Kalima these days?’

I said, ‘yes.’

‘And messages too?’

‘Yes.’

I thought in my mind, ‘It would be nice if something that appeals to one of the five senses gives an indication that Ma is with me.’

After some distance a toll booth came. The money was paid and when he got back some change, my husband handed it over to me. Usually I will just put it into my hand bag. When the coin touched my hand, I felt something. Instead of sliding it into the bag, I looked at it. It was of golden color, and there was Ma sitting on the lion. I told this to my husband. He took the coin, looked at it and told in excitement, ‘It is Vaishnodevi, my God!’

Within no time of my request, Ma gave a visual proof of Her presence with us. It was a very humbling experience!

Timely message

I was in Dandeli forest with family. We checked into the guest house, had a nice lunch and took some rest. In the evening we got out to see the surroundings and what awesome scene it was! Thick jungles all around and sounds of many birds.

Unfortunately there was no mobile connection and we had to make some important calls. The care taker told that there was a tower  about fifteen minutes walk away and there we would get the connection. There was still some time for dinner and we thought of making the calls before dinner. All of us walked towards the tower. It was quite dark and we used the mobile light to see the path.

My husband switched off the mobile and said the whole road was better visible in the moon light. Suddenly some thing clicked inside me. I told ‘Let’s go back. We will take the car and go to the tower’.  First they told, ‘Its ok, let’s walk’. But the message that I got was strong and I insisted that we go back. So all of us went back to the guest house. The care taker who was at the gate told,’ Sir you should not go walking in the dark. Many wild animals come from the surrounding jungles into the road. Even black panther has been spotted recently’. We thanked our stars and the care taker for the warning. 

The power of a thread

We were with our friends when they visited a pujari. It was an auspicious day and the pujari tied sacred thread on their wrists. We got the threads tied on our wrists too. Being sensitive to the vibrations, I was not very comfortable with the thread on my wrist. At the same time I didn’t want to remove it as long as we were with the friends. When we took leave of them, I promptly removed it from my hand.

If I was my older self, I would have asked my husband also to remove the thread from his hand, but I have traveled a long way in my spiritual journey. Some things are better learned by self experience

After four months, we had to attend another puja ceremony. My husband wanted me to remove the old thread from his wrist before attending the puja and I cut it off. Next day morning, he remarked that all these days when the thread was on his hand, his sleep was disturbed. He used to get weird dreams, and used to remember them in detail. Four days later again he told me that it was good the thread was removed.

Even a thread from one person can carry vibrations that may or may not suit another person. So it is important to be careful while using another person’s things.  

It was Bhadra kali all the way!

During childhood every Sunday morning my parents used to take us to a temple. It was a ten minutes drive to the temple, after the temple visit we would go to my paternal grand parents’ house before returning home. I used to love those trips. It was a very powerful temple. The famous Malayalam actor had a vow, that if he became successful, he would donate a baby elephant to the temple.

When he tried to do the donation, there was a hue and cry, because he was a Muslim. In the end the matter was resolved and the baby elephant was accepted in the temple. For any challenges in life, I used to call upon the Devi and I used to get solutions.

After marriage I went to North India and whenever on vacation to Kerala, my husband and I used to visit the temple. But now it was an hours’ journey since my parental house was in Trivandrum by then. In Kerala, men had to remove their shirts to enter inside temples. My husband who used to be a totally logical person, used to wait for me outside the temple, instead of taking off his shirt and coming with me inside. Then gradually, these trips came to a stop.

Over the years, slowly my husband turned spiritual (the result of staying with a totally spiritual wife for 3 decades? God only knows). He was getting interested in visiting temples along the length and breadth of India. During our visit to Kerala in April 2013, suddenly I remembered, we are going to all other temples, why not visit my childhood temple?

My husband agreed and we hired a taxi. He asked me which Devi was the idol of that temple. I was surprised that I did not know. I only remembered it was a Devi. We went straight to the temple. There was not too much crowd and we got to sit there and meditate. Devi asked me, ‘Coming after so many years?’

Then I noticed, it was a Bhadra Kali temple. Wow! That made sense. I used to get messages from Kali ma to do Havans, to prepare dishes etc., so it was Bhadra Kali all the way……

When we reached back home, I asked my father whether he knew which Devi was there in the temple. Even he didn’t know! Then I updated his knowledge and gave him the prasadam.

The missing Shivling

My sister once gifted me with a small Shivling made in stone. I put it near the bonsai banyan tree kept in my balcony. Every day morning I pour water over the Shivling, after my bath.

One day when I went out to the balcony with water, to my shock, I found the Shivling missing. I felt really sad and complained to the divine forces. " This is not fair. I am worshipping you daily, moreover, the Shivling has sentimental value for me as it was gifted by my dear sister. How can it disappear like this? You have to bring it back to me."

The balcony is at the back of the house and many times petty thieves jump the compound wall and come into our compound. I was at a loss to understand what they would gain by stealing the Shivling. Any way I continued my prayers.

On the third day when I reached the balcony in the morning, to my utter joy, I found the Shivling near the banyan tree! Till today I cannot find any logical explanation for ths incidence.