Tryst with God – Swamy Raj – Series 7-
MIL/Federation of God Beliefers, Apr 27, 2008. Swamy Raj Baldev
New Delhi, India: April 27, 2008 - Released by Federation of God Believers - Our whole family shifted to Montgomery permanently and there I started my schooling.
During my stay in that city, my mother got an attack of severe rheumatism with symptoms of crippling, to be more specific, the disease was similar to Motor Neurone Disease (MND) of which Stephen Hawking, a British scientist, who is considered to be the leading theoretical physist, has been suffering from for a long time.
This group of diseases is progressive neurological disorders that destroy motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity such as speaking, walking, breathing, and swallowing. In fact, the disease of which my mother suffering from was a mixture of MND and Rheumatism, her lower portion of body had stopped functioning, but she had no problem in her speech and intellectual wisdom, might be due to her being a spiritual lady and a regular reader of the Holy Gita.
Since my mother could not move from the bed, she required a regular attendant for 24 hrs. to take care of her and our family members were happily ready to serve her on the bed.
My sister Maina Wanti, who was older than my brother and me used to attend my mother whole the day and night. Only for a brief period, we two brothers rendered some help to our mother after coming from the school. My sister had lot of responsibilities. She was also to take care of our youngest sister, who was quite small and after her birth, my mother had an attack of the above said deadly disease.
My mother remained in this state for more than 7 years, my father took her to all available best hospitals for treatment and consulted the top most doctors to find out some hope of curing her, but of no avail. Even the best doctors in Lahore whom my father approached showed their red signal.
During this long period of illness, my father had to incur lot of expenditure on her treatment; his personal income from the court considerably declined due to his irregular availability in the court and his clients were reduced to minimal since my father had little time to attend to them. They used to come from far off places for legal consultation and opinion about their criminal cases in which my father had a mastery and perfect skill.
My father was a great devotee of Lord Vishnu, the Supreme Godhead in Hindu mythology. He used to serve all sadhus and saints with whatever best he could do with his financial sacred obligations within his means and most of the times out of his way, he discharged them happily withut any grudge; simply he wanted his wife to be cured, who was also a great devotee of Lord Krishna and used to read the Holy Gita on the bed itself.
One day my father had a dream, wherein he met a Saintly Person in yellow clothes, who advised him that he should get his elder daughter married and his wife should jointly do the kanya Daan, (ceremony of giving daughter in marriage) along with him as per the Hindu culture and that should be done as fast as possible. Kanya Daan is considered the most auspicious act and virtue in the Hindu culture. He told my mother the nature of dream he had and disposed of matter casually.
To the sudden surprise of my father, an unknown person came to him the next day, introduced him having belonged to Okara Tehsil of the same district i.e. Montgomery. He suggested to my father that if he was willing, he could think of marrying his daughter with his young and smart nephew, living and doing business in Peshawar, North Western Frontier.
My father consulted my mother and both agreed to the proposal; the boy was called from Peshawar and just in ten days, the marriage was solemnized. My mother and father jointly performed all marriage ceremonies as was advised to do so in his dream. Even though my mother could not get up from the bed, a special arrangement was made for my mother to sit on a comfortable chair to enable her to perform the sacred formalities.
After 5 days of her marriage, there was Janam Ashtmi, (the Birth Day of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu), which is regularly celebrated in all temples of India. My father suggested to my mother that he had a wish if she could also have the glimpse of Lord Krishna in the temple in His baby incarnation physically.
My father told my mother that a thought struck to him that in His baby incarnation, even Lord Krishna was unable to move out of his bed, and on the other side she could not move out of the bed, he exclaimed himself what a coincidence, though the idea had no relation to each other at all, why it was stimulating his mind again and again? Why that struck him?
He tried to explain to my mother why such thoughts were striking his mind? My father said he was helpless to think that she would one day be able to have the audience of baby Lord Krishna physically on her own feet, on Janam Ashtami, in a temple convenient to her, and that would be his great day.
On the day of Janam Ashtami, which fell immediately, a cradle was decorated with Baby Krishna shown lying therein on His birth night, displayed in each and every temple to complete the ceremony of Lord’s Auspicious Birthday. Lord Krishna is always made to lie down on the wooden decorated bed and tied with a cord or string and the devotees come in the temple and feel privileged gently to move it, to and fro, and get the blessings of the Lord on that great night.
Most of the devotees including women keep fast and only after the birth of the Lord when declared by the temple authorities to have taken place, break it with Prasadam (something made of sugar) distirbuted in the temple.
My father wanted to leave that thought being impractical but someone forcing his mind not to abandon that. That way my father could not leave the idea of having darshan of the Lord by his wife i.e. my mother, even in that miserably condition. Why some force was goading him to do that, he was unable to understand, and was not capable to ignore it. He mentioned the whole stress to my mother that some spiritual force was pressing his mind to go to temple and try his luck.
Finally, my father went to the Chief Organizer of the temple and sought for his permission to permit his wife, my mother, in that condition to have the audience of Baby Lord Krishna on the night of Janam Ashatmi?
He tried to convince the Chief Organizer that he would bring his wife on especially made chair for darshan, but he did not grant the permission, saying that all other devotees would be disturbed and moreover, the chair could not be carried in the subway created for darshan, even though it was a sort of wheel chair.
My father was disappointed and came home, did not take his meal and went to sleep. He got a dream again at night and the same saintly Person in yellow dress appeared before him, who had suggested my father to arrange the marriage of his daughter as early as possible and had also advised him that his ailing wife should jointly perform the kanya daan, a ceremony of giving daughter in marriage, and which was arranged and solemnized. The Saintly Person encouraged my father not to lose heart and try again and then he disappeared and my father woke up abruptly.
My father told my mother that the same Saintly Person in yellow dress had come to his dream advising him not to lose heart and try again for his wife for Lord's Darshan.
My father was anxious to know who that Saintly Person was and why he repeatedly came to his dream? The first dream had been materialized as advised. But my father was thinking how to convince the Chief of the temple, who had refused to allow her even with wheel chair to have the Lord’s darshan and there was no use to try again.
On the night of Janam Ashtami, my mother had kept fast as usual and said, “She would go up to the main gate of the temple and pay her obeisance and respect from outside and would wait there till the auspicious birth of the Lord was announced to have taken place, and would then break the fast.
My father was puzzled, but wanted that if his wife wanted to pay respect to Lord Krishna even at the main gate of the temple, it’s better than never. He became ready to achieve her goal and also felt happy that by doing that he would abide by the advice of the Saintly Person, who met him in his dream.
As per program, my father hired a tonga (horse carriage) to carry them up to the temple with a contract to bring them back after the temple ceremony was over. The Tonga Driver promised to come back to the temple at about 12-30 at night again i.e. 00.30 hrs. As per contract, the tonga driver brought my father and mother to the temple gate and helped my father to lift the chair from the tonga and put it on the ground and taken up to the temple gate.
On that night before going to temple, my father locked the house and asked all children to stay in the neighbor’s house, play and sleep there till they returned from the temple. He gave particular instructions to my elder sister , who got recently married and was waiting for husband to take her home in Peshawar.
My father had reached the main gate of the temple and stood by the side of my mother, helpless, praying to Lord Vishnu, and thinking within, “What type of test is that”?
There was enough decorating light lit by the temple authorities on the complete inner and outer boundary of the temple walls, so as to give a kingly look of the occasion of Janam Ashtami. It was a great pleasing spectacle view of lights and the devotees flocking the temple and their reflection on the water flowing the adjoining walls of the temple enhanced the beauty of the occasion.
My father was more or less merged with the stunning atmosphere prevailing at that time and was happy to see the people congregating the temple. He was more or less, half attentive to my mother, holding her chair, and on the other side of the mind he was absorbed seeing the temple environment of Lord’s decoration on the temple welcoming the devotees entering like an uninterrupted stream.
After a while, a Saintly Person in yello clothes came from outside, asked my father, what was he doing and why was he not taking his wife inside the temple?
My father tried to recognize him. When my father started gazing at tha Saintly man, he interrupted and asked my father not to think anything else. My father was thinking that he was probably the same Saintly Person in yellow dress who had come to his dream twice.
Before my father could say anything, the Saintly Person said, “Don’t think who am I” just tell me why don’t you go inside the temple?” He interrupted in such a way that made my father more or less blank about the query in his mind, even though my father’s memory was photogenic, he forgot his query as if hypnotized or attention diverted.
My father replied that the temple Chief Organizer refused to permit his wife to have the glimpse (darshan) of Lord Krishna in the temple despite his repeated requests.
Without replying to my father, the Saintly Person went inside the temple and returned after a while and advised my father that the organizer of the temple looked to be tough, he refused him too.
In the same breath, the Saintly Person further advised my father, better take his wife home. My father asked, “What about Darshan of Lord Krishna? “Leave it to Him”, the Saintly Person replied. Don’t waste time; go home immediately; the mahurat (the auspicious time) is passing. My father felt as if he were mesmerized by that saint, he just felt mum, my mother who was also listening everything was similarly felt silent for a while.
However, addressing my mother the saint blessed on her head and said, (words to the effect): “Pay respect to Lord Krishna at home.” He then moved towards my father and said, (words to the effect), “Take your wife home without wasting time. The saint did not enter the temple, but went outside somewhere through the front street.
My father and mother were looking at each other, not knowing what to do and what not to do, whether to obey the saint and go home or wait at the temple? They were stuck between the lines.
After recouping his wit, my father asked my mother to go home. My mother said it was not possible to go home immediately, “With great difficulty we came by a tonga (horse carriage) with a special request made to him, then how would we go unless we find another tonga? And that’s not possible in that area.“ “Even otherwise, we have already committed to our tonga driver to come after one and a half hour.
What would happen to him when he does’nt find us here? It shall not be fair for us to ditch the tonga driver like this. So, it would be better to wait.” My father replied, “ When the tonga driver comes to our house, we would pay him the agreed amount and also some extra money to compensate for his additional trip.” But my mother said, “Where is another tonga, We can’t go?”
My father also felt helpless and dropped the idea to move home, since it was not possible for them to go back without proper conveyance for his wife, my mother. Thus my father decided to wait till the old tonga driver arrived, who had brought them there at the temple, and had promised to take them back, and the tonga driver was expected to arrive there after about one and a half hour or so after completion of the ceremony of Janam Ashtami.
It was a long waiting for my parents for the tonga driver and meanwhile they had no regret since my mother was to stay at the gate till the symbolic auspicious birth of Lord Krishna took place. So they stayed at the temple gate and were to wait, nothing else to think but waiting for the end of the ceremony..
Just after a while the same Sainlty Person came by another tonga, which gave a special look in decoration, and asked my father that if he liked he could use his tonga and he would help him in lifting his wife on the backseat of the tonga and take home?.
My parents was overjoyed and hastily agreed to the proposal of the Saintly Person, who also helped my mother and lifted her to sit on the back seat of the tonga along with my father, and the Saintly man sat on the front seat along with the tonga driver keeping my mother’s wheel chair on his lap and knees.
After about 15 minutes, they reached home and the Saintly Person helped my father in getting down comfortably and made her to sit on the chair. My father asked the Saint to hold the chair of my mother, which he did and my father opened the lock of the house to get in.
Incidentally, I was still awake and came out of neighbor’s house and called my sister and brother to come out, they, except my youngest sister Raj Kumari who was sleeping, all others were sitting and listening to the stories of Lord Krishna from the neighboring aunt. My elder sister and brother both came out to help take my mother inside home. I was then about 13 years of age and my brother over 15 years.
My brother helped my father in carrying mother inside home and I was left out. My father asked the saintly man to come inside and blessed all of them. Without waiting for the reply from the Saintly Person, my father along with mother and brother went inside to place my mother comfortably on her bed, which was a priority.
The Saint blessed me and put his hand on my head and asked my name, and when I said “I am Baldev,” he embraced me, I felt for a moment as if Lord Krishna Himself had hugged me and just in seconds, he went away by his tonga along with the Tonga Driver. My body looked to be giving rose fragrance, never felt before and that fragrance lasted for more than two years and astounded all the people around me and particularly always surprising to my parents and brother, sisters, till I joined the Army.
When my father came out of the house, he enquired of the Saintly Person, and I told him that uncle had gone; my father was terribly disappointed for not finding him there. He tried to search him running after him for a few yards, but the Saintly man had gone out of sight, perhaps for ever.
Continued…..
| 
