the Orange Darshan

Date : 28th October 2009

"What to wear ? "
"hmm.. quite a few shirts are there"

"dhoti??"
"hmm.. ya.."

"ya! thats the best way i feel i want to"
"and then ? our favourite green shirt?"

"hmm.. no im wearing it now.. but for tomorrow.. hey! how about the kurta?"
"super!"

It was already close to 550PM. The shuttle (my first company Avaya in Pune) to the city would leave by 6PM. I thus, took one extra set of clothes and made way to the shuttle stop. Thankfully there was no important work in the office, that i could leave early.

The bus started. My 1 day old 'new friend' had invited me home so that we could go to Hadshi together. Baba had arrived that day to Hadshi village enroute Pune.

I was extremely excited already and a couple of incidents that day ay my friend's home took me to an entirely different level of existence.

First:
The agenda off BABA's Visit was to inaugrate the magnificent Panduranga Kshetra built by the famous industrialist "Shivaji Jadhav". Right from 2003, the latter patiently waited and prayed to BABA to inaugrate the temple. However, Swami had only decided to inaugrate at this point of time.
On introspection, i realised that "i too was considered in HIS Plan" of this visit. Had HE come over even a couple of months earlier for this visit, i would not have fitted into this Blissful Scheme of the events!

Swami says that HE is like an engine that waits for a number of carriages to be attached so that HE can pull all of them together at one go! But why me ? What a great fortune has been bestowed on this pretty ordinary soul ?

Second:
My friend had one VIP Pass, which would allow one to take a closer Darshan. The entire family did not take the VIP pass and straightly passed it on to me! I was thrilled further!

Third:
My friend gave me a drop of the nectar that continuously flows in an Ashram at Mysore. It was materialized by Swami.

Fourth:
There was one Dream i got in the night, which practically looked very real to me. I saw that Swami showed me that HE was present in the lifesize picture of HIM that was in the hall.

Date : 29 October 2009



The next day, my friend and i left for Hadshi village, about 60kms away from Pune.

As the taxi reached the foothills of the hillock, where the Panduranga Kshetra Mandir was built, i started recalling the place slowly and steadily.

I got a SHOCKER of my LIFE!

45 Days prior to this, when no one knew of this visit of Swami, Swami showed me in my Dream that this is the path i would be taking to see HIM. Further to this, in that Dream, HE had even acted as a priest to "Lord Panduranga", which is what exactly happened here in reality!

Thus, the last 12 hours were unimaginably crazy!

Now, the TIME arrived!

As the car reached the hillock's top, my heart started beating harder. This was my first visit to see Swami. I was unable to comprehend that 'I am physically in the radius of GOD' and was very excited! What a proximity to cherish!

As i walked in, the SevaDal led me to the VIP seats' area. I was in a white (slightly creamish coloured) kurta. I also had worn a Dhoti. I sat down on one of those seats.

I was fortunate to see Swami from a close distance. After a while, Swami decided to go to HIS Residence. I still recall those beautiful moments when Swami was taken in a make-shift lift that was very near from the place where i was sitting.
Every moment looked so beautiful and i felt that each moment was running fast.

HE was to come back in the evening where HE had planned to give us a Discourse. The evening session was extremely touchy! The way HE made HIS Entry like an awesome HERO, and with high pitched yet pleasant Vedam chantings being sung by HIS Students and other Devotees put me in extreme Bliss.

My mind finally agreed, "this is how GOD must be, and this is the way I wanted HIM to be!"

Suddenly a very unusual thing happened to me, where i started weeping profusely. I was unable to take the Divinity in front of me, perhaps! The beautiful bhajans that were sung in HIS Presence still remain my heart-favourites!

Those precious moments.. The real moments in an otherwise transient world.. these would remain etched in my hearts for eternity by HIS Grace!

Now, Swami is not seen in HIS Physical Presence.
I was always interested to know if i would have seen Shirdi BABA in one of my previous lives? or seen Krishna in one?
But.. now they all seem to have satisfied and answered by this beautiful Orange Darshan!