Chapter 59: Unparalleled Divine Intervention

 

Swami Lakshman Joo Raina

The readers are already familiar with Swami Shri Lakshman Joo Raina, a siddh  saint of Kashmir. Once he had been intoxicated by divine madness for a span of four to six months. He remained in a state of semi-consciousness even on being relieved from that state of bhava unmada or transcendental madness[1]. Once he had come to Delhi and sent a message to revered Maharajji to visit Delhi, However, Shriji expressed his inability to do so due to ill health.

 Shri Vrindavan

On getting Shriji's message Shri Swamiji instantly thought of going to Vrindavan. He reached Venu Vinod Kunj along with his devotees in three cars. Both the great souls met each other very affectionately. Shri Swamiji was made to sit on a chair in Shriji's chamber. Shriji applied sandalwood paste on him and garlanded him. Taking the small metal bowl containing sandal from Maharajji's hands  Swamiji also applied sandalwood paste to Shriji and met him with a warm embrace.  Thereafter, Shriji put a new silk garment on Shri Swamiji and both of them had tea together.

“Well! I will take leave now,” Shri Swamiji stood up and declared soon after.

“ Swamiji! You can go only after taking meals,” insisted Shri Ghanshyamji.

Shri Swamiji's mental state of divine madness had not yet been fully calmed.

“Okay! Then get the food,” he said.

Swamiji was brought to the room after much persuasion and seated. Swamiji stood up several times and was stopped many a time. Humorous exchanges  took place between the two great souls.

“I say, Maharajji is very tricky! He made an excuse of ill health for calling us to Vrindavan,” remarked Shri Swamiji.

Shri Swamiji's loving conversation with Shriji went on for six to seven hours at a stretch in Venu Vinod Kunj.

 

 

Swami Lakshman Joo Raina Overjoyed to See Maharajji

Members of Shri Lakshman Joo Raina's inner circle of devotees revealed, “Swamiji has not given so much space to any other person in his heart till date as he has to Shriji.  Neither has he talked so openly with such joyous abandon to anyone nor has he allowed anyone to touch his body.”

But the instant Shri Swamiji sees Maharajji he is overwhelmed with joy and hugs him warmly with teary eyes.

 Shri Maharajji is Prema

“Do you know what Shri Maharajji is? Bhaiya, Shri Maharaji is prema[2], pure love selfless, from top to bottom!” Swamiji would say soon after

I took several photographs of the meeting of both the saints that day. After having meals Shri Swamiji left for Delhi with his close associates.

 AIIMS, Delhi

After a few days Shri Swamiji had to be admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences because of deteriorating health. Shriji's programme of going to Delhi for seeing Shri Swamiji was fixed for 19^th May, 1991. Accordingly he started for Delhi at 7:30 in the morning by Sitabai Podar's maruti van. Shri Ghanshyamji and Kusumji were accompanying him.

Road Between Chhata & Kosi

The path was quite wet due to rain so the van's tyres suddenly slipped between Chhata and Kosi. The van swerved around and turned turtle on one side of the road. A passenger bus was coming from the front and the driver was constantly flashing its lights from a distance.  

 

Bus Stopped on Seeing the Accident

Seeing the car skid and turn over completely, the bus passengers raised a hue and cry. The driver stopped the bus on reaching the site. All of the bus passengers came rushing to the van and saw that everything was fine inside. Such a marvel had taken place that the van's dickey had opened on its own accord as soon as the van had turned turtle, making way for its passengers to exit. All the windows had definitely got jammed. Kusumji was sitting by that side of the window on which the van had overturned. She had got a bit hurt. Besides, her arms and ribs had been pressed due to pressure, causing pain and swelling in the ribs. Blood clotting had made a large black spot on her arm.

Shriji had been sitting in the middle of the back seat. He did not get any injury but his body was aching at several places due to the sudden jolt. Thakurji (Ghanshyamji) was sitting in the front seat. His finger had turned blue because of being pressed by the window.

 Venu Vinod Kunj, Vrindavan

Ever since the van had started from Venu Vinod Kunj Shriji had begun saying that it was the rainy season and vehicles often slip so they should be driven carefully. Despite these warnings the driver would speed up the van. Therefore, Ghanshyamji had shifted from the back to the front seat and kept telling the driver to drive the car slowly.

At the time of the accident the van was being driven at a speed of sixty. Passengers of the bus slowly pulled out everyone through the Maruti van's dickey. Seven to eight of the passengers picked up the van and placed it upright.

Everyone said that when they saw the van turning turtle they had no hope of seeing anyone alive but God had saved everyone. 

Japa Mala

When they saw Ghanshyamji and Kusumji holding japa bead bags, the passengers said that everyone in the van was safe because they were saints with were coming back from a pilgrimage.

The bus driver checked the Maruti van. He examined the petrol tank, brakes and started the car to see if it was fine. Everything was intact. Even on turning over in such a ghastly fashion neither its glass panes nor its headlights had got shattered and there was not a scratch on the van's body.

“The van is in perfect condition. All of you may go comfortably, ” the driver said in a pleased fasion.

 “Maharajji! We should go back now,” suggested Kusumji.

“Why should we return when God has kept everything intact, looked after our well-being, He has kept the van safe and has not let us get injured? We shall travel by this very van now,” was Shriji’s response.

Owing to this incident Shriji was late in reaching Lalji's place in Faridabad. Everyone was waiting anxiously. They were astonished on listening to the account of what had happened.

There was an extraordinary fact which lay behind this occurrence. It was later disclosed by Shriji:

ananyaashchintayanto maam ye janaahaa paryupaasate |

teshaam nityaabhiyuktaanaam yogakshemam vahaamyaham || 22 ||

(Bhagavad Gita, verse22, chapter 9)

Lord Krishna Looks After His Devotee

'With single-pointed meditation, those who are constantly engaged in my worship, I carry the burden of acquisition and preservation of their needs,' declares Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita.

Shriji used to interpret this shloka of the Bhagavad Gita in his own way. He would say that 'yog' means the context of becoming one with Krishna and 'kshem' means the love and ecstasy which that union provides. Keeping this confidential, our very own Lord Krishna is the One who protects us.

Shriji asked us, “ Do you know why this incident occurred? Ever since I sat in the van the thought that this sort of yogkshem wherein a devotee becomes one with Krishna and the love as well as ecstasy which that union provides thereof is solely mine, was predominant in my mind. So how does dark-hued Krishna preserve and sustain the entire universe, I wondered. The omnipresent Lord Krishna, who is sarva karta, the Doer of everything, must be someone else. 

Dark-hued Krishna is Omniscient

 By this incident Lord Krishna made me conscious of the fact that He alone is the omniscient, all pervading, all-doer, preserver of everything, and the bearer of all types of well-being. He was the One who made the van slip and overturn, and then looked after our welfare by saving all of us. I understood that dark-hued Krishna had done this lila or divine play to remind me of His Omnipresence.

As a matter of fact, even on knowing and experiencing everything, a devotee often gets drowned in some wave of madhurya. At that moment awareness of Krishna's aishwarya or absolute opulence and grandeur generally vanishes. The Braj gopis are not ordinary living beings but have full knowledge of Krishna's divine nature. However, because of being absorbed in the madhurya rasa or sentiment of sweet romance they are always overpowered by the thought that,'Lord Krishna is only our Lover.'

At the time of separation from Krishna they feel His absolute opulence and grandeur for some time and thus cry out:

'na khalu gopika-nandano bhavan

akhila-dehinam antaratma-drik  |'

(Shrimad Bhagavatam,10.31.4)

“You are not actually the son of gopi Yasoda, O friend, but rather the indwelling witness in the hearts of all embodied souls.”

"Since You have descended to protect the entire universe, how can You neglect Your own devotees?" the gopis imply at this point.

But when Krishna appears in their midst:

tasam avirabhuc chaurih smayamana-mukhambujah  |

pitambara-dharah sragvi saksan manmatha-manmathah  ||

(Shrimad Bhagavatam 10.32.2)

Supreme Lover Krishna Appears Before Gopis

'Then Lord Krishna, a smile on His lotus face, appeared before the gopis. Wearing a garland and a yellow garment, He directly appeared as One who can bewilder the mind of Cupid, who himself bewilders the minds of ordinary people.'

Thus by Krishna's appearing in this form, He is seen by the Gopis as their Lover, belonging just to them. They do not have the slightest inkling that He is God. Had it not been so why would they spread their odhani the very next moment and ask Him to sit on it.

tatropavishto bhagavan sa isvaro

yogesvarantar-hridi kalpitasanah  ||

(Shrimad Bhagavatam 10.32.14

Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna Seated Amidst Gopis

'Lord Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for whom the great masters of mystic meditation arrange a seat within their hearts, took His seat in the assembly of gopis.'

The essence of what I am trying to say is that even on knowing everything a devotee or beloved gets carried away by some wave, and even The Supreme Lover loves to enjoy Himself by playfully flirting with the devotee in different ways.

Everyone was carried away by emotion on listening to this extremely sweet incident veiled in the accident Shriji had, from his mouth.

Thereafter, Shriji went to the hospital to look up Swamiji who was very pleased to see him. He made Shriji sit next to him and have tea, and listened to Ghanshyamji's kirtan. Despite his illness the joy apparent on Swamiji's face was worth seeing. Meeting him, Shriji returned to Shri Dham at the scheduled time.