The festival of Rath Yatra or the Chariot festival is a big event in Odisha. The sight, of the Lord sitting on his magnificent chariot, being pulled by thousands of devotees, is so wonderful! How can people not get drawn towards him? No wonder, folks from all over the country throng the holy city of Puri at that time.
I had heard from one of Gurudev's close devotees, that Gurudev usually stays at Puri during the time of Rath yatra. Keeping this in mind, me and my husband, planned our trip to Odisha. A day after reaching Bhubaneswar, I got to know from my Father that Gurudev was indeed in Puri. I was thrilled to hear this. We made plans to go to Puri on the 14th of July (2011), a day after Bahuda yatra.
On the above mentioned date, my parents along with me and my husband set out for Puri right after lunch. The ashram is located at Balighai, which is 20 minutes drive from Puri. After reaching Puri we headed straight for the ashram. We reached the ashram at 4:30 pm and got to know that Gurudev would be free to meet us around 5:00 pm.This was the second time that I had come to this beautiful place. On an earlier occasion, I had accompanied my Mother along with an aunt, but that time Master was traveling and hence we were not able to meet him.
There was half an hour's time in hand, so we all went to the Samadhi Mandir. This temple houses the samadhi of the great Kriya yogi - Paramahamsa Hariharananda (Gurudev's Guru). It is one of the most beautiful temples that I have seen. The place is so calm and serene that one does not have to make any effort to get into a meditative state.
Half an hour being well spent we walked up to the other side, towards the main block of the ashram. As we gradually made our way, I could soon see the veranda of the main building and there... there was my Master! sitting on a chair, surrounded by a few folks. I was thrilled!Not wanting to waste any more time I practically jogged up to him. As I approached him, I suddenly realized that I was carrying with me a bag of fruits. Where do I put it? I don't know how Master knew, but , pointing to the bed, which was adjacent to the chair he was sitting on, he said - "You can put it there". So I put the bag on the bed and then went to him and knelt down before him. As I got up I could see Master smiling down at me, his eyes full of warmth and affection. I felt so wonderful, like a baby in the comfort of the mother's arms.
Not wanting to sit away from Master, I sat down on the floor, right in front of him. He was just an arm's length away from me and I could feel his aura engulfing me. I had been waiting for this moment for so long. Countless number of times, had I imagined, this meeting of ours in my mind. And now it was for real! and it was so perfect. My eyes welled up with emotion and I could feel a big lump in my throat as I realized that I was living presently, a much awaited moment in my life. I had no clue of what was happening around me. For me, time had frozen; and I was with my Master, alone.
My parents and my husband, Saurav were also sitting close by. This was the first time Saurav was meeting Gurudev and I was very happy about it. Master spoke to them and every now and then he would look at me, smiling. Seeing him smile, gave me this feeling of immense contentment. That is the closest I can come to, trying to put down in words my exact feeling at that point.
Master was not well. He was getting out of breath while talking and coughing every now and then. After talking to us for a while in the veranda, he asked us to come into one of the inner rooms as the veranda started getting more crowded. It was only Master and us over there. I had not spoken a word, since I met him. I was so happy just looking at him and being in his presence that I did not feel the need to talk. Gurudev seemed to have realized this, so he said -"Why don't you say something?" I had seen an interview of his on the internet where he had spoken about the time before he met his Gurudev, and in that interview he had mentioned about a dream which he had when he was still in school. I suddenly recalled this interview of his and asked him to tell us about this dream. Gurudev talked about the dream and how it had become an indicator for him, about future events in his life.
Time flew, and soon it was 6:00 pm. Since it was Guru Purnima the day after, many folks had come to the ashra, to spend time with Master and stay there for a few days. There was a discourse organized at 6:00 pm for all the visitors and Master was going to speak. He asked us also to join as part of the audience. The discourse was going to take place in the first floor hall, just above the room where we were sitting in presently.
In his talk, Gurudev spoke about the importance of meditation and also the significance of Guru Purnima. When the speech ended, I was amongst the first few people to come out of the hall, since I was sitting adjacent to the door. Fortunately for me, Master also walked out of the hall at the same time. He saw me outside and asked - " How come while delivering the talk, I had no signs of breathlessness or coughing?" He had a twinkle in his eyes as he asked me this question. I did not know what to say, I just smiled at him and he smiled back and went down the stairs, back to the veranda where we were sitting an hour ago. As I saw him going down, I had a feeling like that of a young kid, when he/she is taken away from the mother. I hurried downstairs, realizing that the next few moments might be the last few with Master, as far as the present visit for concerned.
Standing at the entrance of the main block, Master was seeing off folks who had come to hear his talk. He had a basket of fruits with him and he was handing over the fruits to the people as they came up to him to take his blessings before leaving. He saw Saurav come down the stairs and he called out to him -"Saurav Baba! Come Come." We all went up to him and received those fruits as prasad from him. He then hugged my Father and then Saurav. He told Saurav - "I am genuinely happy to see you. Do not think these are mere words. I really mean them. I want to see you often". I was thrilled to hear this. I touched his feet and internally prayed that I get to meet him again very soon. With mixed feelings I started walking away towards the main gate, turning back every now and then to look at my loving Master whom I was leaving behind.
I had heard from one of Gurudev's close devotees, that Gurudev usually stays at Puri during the time of Rath yatra. Keeping this in mind, me and my husband, planned our trip to Odisha. A day after reaching Bhubaneswar, I got to know from my Father that Gurudev was indeed in Puri. I was thrilled to hear this. We made plans to go to Puri on the 14th of July (2011), a day after Bahuda yatra.
On the above mentioned date, my parents along with me and my husband set out for Puri right after lunch. The ashram is located at Balighai, which is 20 minutes drive from Puri. After reaching Puri we headed straight for the ashram. We reached the ashram at 4:30 pm and got to know that Gurudev would be free to meet us around 5:00 pm.This was the second time that I had come to this beautiful place. On an earlier occasion, I had accompanied my Mother along with an aunt, but that time Master was traveling and hence we were not able to meet him.
There was half an hour's time in hand, so we all went to the Samadhi Mandir. This temple houses the samadhi of the great Kriya yogi - Paramahamsa Hariharananda (Gurudev's Guru). It is one of the most beautiful temples that I have seen. The place is so calm and serene that one does not have to make any effort to get into a meditative state.
Half an hour being well spent we walked up to the other side, towards the main block of the ashram. As we gradually made our way, I could soon see the veranda of the main building and there... there was my Master! sitting on a chair, surrounded by a few folks. I was thrilled!Not wanting to waste any more time I practically jogged up to him. As I approached him, I suddenly realized that I was carrying with me a bag of fruits. Where do I put it? I don't know how Master knew, but , pointing to the bed, which was adjacent to the chair he was sitting on, he said - "You can put it there". So I put the bag on the bed and then went to him and knelt down before him. As I got up I could see Master smiling down at me, his eyes full of warmth and affection. I felt so wonderful, like a baby in the comfort of the mother's arms.
Not wanting to sit away from Master, I sat down on the floor, right in front of him. He was just an arm's length away from me and I could feel his aura engulfing me. I had been waiting for this moment for so long. Countless number of times, had I imagined, this meeting of ours in my mind. And now it was for real! and it was so perfect. My eyes welled up with emotion and I could feel a big lump in my throat as I realized that I was living presently, a much awaited moment in my life. I had no clue of what was happening around me. For me, time had frozen; and I was with my Master, alone.
My parents and my husband, Saurav were also sitting close by. This was the first time Saurav was meeting Gurudev and I was very happy about it. Master spoke to them and every now and then he would look at me, smiling. Seeing him smile, gave me this feeling of immense contentment. That is the closest I can come to, trying to put down in words my exact feeling at that point.
Master was not well. He was getting out of breath while talking and coughing every now and then. After talking to us for a while in the veranda, he asked us to come into one of the inner rooms as the veranda started getting more crowded. It was only Master and us over there. I had not spoken a word, since I met him. I was so happy just looking at him and being in his presence that I did not feel the need to talk. Gurudev seemed to have realized this, so he said -"Why don't you say something?" I had seen an interview of his on the internet where he had spoken about the time before he met his Gurudev, and in that interview he had mentioned about a dream which he had when he was still in school. I suddenly recalled this interview of his and asked him to tell us about this dream. Gurudev talked about the dream and how it had become an indicator for him, about future events in his life.
Time flew, and soon it was 6:00 pm. Since it was Guru Purnima the day after, many folks had come to the ashra, to spend time with Master and stay there for a few days. There was a discourse organized at 6:00 pm for all the visitors and Master was going to speak. He asked us also to join as part of the audience. The discourse was going to take place in the first floor hall, just above the room where we were sitting in presently.
In his talk, Gurudev spoke about the importance of meditation and also the significance of Guru Purnima. When the speech ended, I was amongst the first few people to come out of the hall, since I was sitting adjacent to the door. Fortunately for me, Master also walked out of the hall at the same time. He saw me outside and asked - " How come while delivering the talk, I had no signs of breathlessness or coughing?" He had a twinkle in his eyes as he asked me this question. I did not know what to say, I just smiled at him and he smiled back and went down the stairs, back to the veranda where we were sitting an hour ago. As I saw him going down, I had a feeling like that of a young kid, when he/she is taken away from the mother. I hurried downstairs, realizing that the next few moments might be the last few with Master, as far as the present visit for concerned.
Standing at the entrance of the main block, Master was seeing off folks who had come to hear his talk. He had a basket of fruits with him and he was handing over the fruits to the people as they came up to him to take his blessings before leaving. He saw Saurav come down the stairs and he called out to him -"Saurav Baba! Come Come." We all went up to him and received those fruits as prasad from him. He then hugged my Father and then Saurav. He told Saurav - "I am genuinely happy to see you. Do not think these are mere words. I really mean them. I want to see you often". I was thrilled to hear this. I touched his feet and internally prayed that I get to meet him again very soon. With mixed feelings I started walking away towards the main gate, turning back every now and then to look at my loving Master whom I was leaving behind.
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