A Chance Encounter With Gurudev’s Care

In 2005, I lived in Bangalore and had done the basic course with Gurudev in 2003, but I never believed in him. I was going through personal problems, and my life wasn’t going well. One day, I decided to go for a bike ride to the outskirts of the city. I found myself near the ashram with a big photograph of Gurudev welcoming me. I went inside the ashram and was amazed by the ambiance. It was Navaratri, and around 500 people from all over the world were there. I sat at the lawn in front of the Vishalakshi mandap and felt hungry at around 3 PM because I hadn’t eaten since morning. I knew there would be prasad somewhere because it was Navaratri. But I was desperate for a sign that Gurudev was a real master. So, I made a promise to myself that I would only eat if someone came and asked me to eat. In the next 30 seconds, something incredible happened. A chappal stand was a few feet away, and a gentleman (now a swami) came up to me and asked if I had eaten the prasad. I smiled and said no. He then asked for my help to arrange the chappals into the stand and suggested that I have prasad first, or else the kitchen would close. I was overwhelmed by Gurudev’s care and shed tears of joy. I went to the kitchen and had a good portion of prasad. After that, I came back to the chappal stand and completed the seva joyfully, feeling grateful for the chance encounter with Gurudev’s care.