We had registered our names for Ganesh Darshan well in time. There were five of us who planned to go by road to Swamiji’s residence for Ganesh Darshan. One of the younger sadhika’s dropped out as her college was re-opening on the 15th, and we had an immediate replacement as Mrs. Poddar from Juhu center said another lady who had joined the Samarpan movement of late was keen on coming with us. A day before we left, I was told that two sadhaks had come from Singapore and had booked a car to go the for Ganesh darshan and they could take one person if anyone wanted to go. In the meantime, the student sadhika said her college opening had been postponed and she wanted to come with us, I informed her that my car was full though I could check if she could be accommodated with the sadhaks from Singapore. That did not materialize as the logistics were too much to manage and the student dropped out. Her mother told me to get her Swamiji’s discourse audio cassettes which were not available in Mumbai anymore. I said I will try.
We left at around 7am from Mumbai and reached Anmol hotel and checked in at around 1pm. We had lunch and then left for the Dham for Ganesh darshan which was to start at 3pm and end at 9pm. Before leaving for Dandi I had fervently prayed for “no rains” so as to have a nice darshan. Swamiji blessed us with a bright and sunny day. We reached the Dham at 2.30pm and got in line by 2.40pm. I could see the Dham’s entrance about 70 feet away. As we were barefoot and the sun was beating down relentlessly, the ground heat was making it difficult to stand, and I was also sweating profusely. I managed to keep my mind away from the discomfort, by chanting a non-stop silent mantra (Om Swami Namo Namah, Shree Swami Namo Namah, Baba Swami Namo Namah, Shree Sadguru Swami Namo Namah). It passed 3pm and the line was not moving at all, and behind me the line had become very long (more than 3000 people visited). We were informed that those who had come from Mumbai and outside Navsari and who had trains and buses to catch were being given preference. At 3pm, live bhajans started, once the bhajans started the flow of energy and the vibrations too started. On closing my eyes, in spite of the heat and the sweating body, I could feel myself going cold internally from head to toe. The energy one could feel was palpable and an experience which needs to be sensed to understand. The moment I opened my eyes, I stopped feeling the energy, with closed eyes and the mantra going on in my mind the energy flow would start again. Slowly, the line moved forward, and by 4.45pm we had completed the Ganesh Darshan taken the Prasad and come out of the Dham.
After the darshan Mrs. Poddar asked if we could stop by the Sahitya office which was on the way to our hotel, if it was open. To our luck, the office was open and we stopped and went to the office. As we entered the office, Umesh, the person in charge told us that the office was closed, but the moment he saw Mrs. Poddar he smiled and welcomed us in. As we were looking at the items on display, I spotted the cassettes which Sweety (the student) had wanted. I asked Umesh if I could purchase and he said yes, and the cassettes on display were the last few in stock (production of audio cassettes had stopped). I bought them and informed Sweety that even though she could not accompany us, I had got her audio cassettes. I have a firm belief that Swamiji takes care of each and every sadhaks needs and desires in his own subtle way – we just become mediums in the happening of events, that’s all!
As we left, another car stopped and people got off to come to the Sahitya office, but were told that it was closed. We then left for the hotel. We sat down to share our individual experiences and then at 7pm we sat for meditation. After meditation we went for dinner and retired for the night at around 9.45pm.
Our room was on the fourth floor and facing the road. The room was extremely hot as we were on the top floor and the noise from the traffic below made sleeping an impossible task. We moved the bed directly below the fan, but to no avail, I could not sleep at all. I then got off the bed, took a pillow and slept on the marble floor, though it was cooler, the constant car honking and the train whistles made my wish for a good nights’ sleep, just that, a wish! At around 1.45am, I remembered the piece of paper which had the Singapore sadhaks phone numbers kept in my shirt pocket. I took out that piece of paper, and in a fit of inspiration, made two ear plugs and shoved them into each year. The sound then subsided and I got to sleep for about two and a half hours. I woke up at 4.15am had a bath and got ready as we had to leave for the ashram at 5.30am.
After I got ready, Raju too got ready, I checked with the ladies and they too were ready. Mrs. Poddar said we will check out, and so we did at 5.30am and left for the Ashram. We were thinking that due to the relentless heat the road to the Ashram would be open, but no such luck. A couple of locals told us to take the beach route to the ashram. We took the car to the Dandi beach, and as we were getting out of the car, a Tata Indica came and parked next to us- a couple got out and started walking briskly towards the ashram. It was around 6am and twilight had broken out, the 3km walk along the beach was extremely enchanting. One could hear the sound of the sea waves and smell the sea and at the same time you could hear the “miauw” of peacocks in the marshes beyond the beach. The sound of other birds and crickets along with the call of the peacocks accompanied us all the way to the ashram. There were three dogs on the beach and one of them kept coming up and circling me, taking a pat on the head, going ahead, then going to play with her friends and as I passed her, she would come and walk with me for a distance and then the same routine would repeat itself. This dog gave us company right up to the ashram. We entered the ashram at 6.50am, and Mrs. Poddar had to sit for the “chitta shuddhi havan” at 7am along with her friend. We reached the “havan kund” at exactly 7am – the three of us who were not participating sat down for meditation and the other two ladies along with two other couples who had registered sat down for the havan. At exactly 8 am the havan got over, the Sanskrit shlokas for the havan were being recited in tandem by a sadhak and a sadhika who had been trained by Shri Rambhai, the pronunciation and diction were so clear, that the mantras falling on one’s ears early in the morning was like celestial music.
After the havan, I approached the two sadhaks who had got off from the Tata Indica and asked the lady “ You are Meera, right?” She asked how do you know?, I introduced myself and told her that I was the one who was in touch with her for the seat in their cab for Sweety. I was sure that I would meet this couple somehow at Dandi, and my feelings were vindicated! She asked me if I had come with my family, and I told her that we were all part of the same “Samarpan” family. After that brief talk, we left for Murti darshan and dhyan.
At around 9.10am we left the ashram for our walk back to the car from the beach. Swamiji blessed us with cloudy weather with a cool sea breeze, which helped us in our walk back to the car. As we got out of the ashram and started walking on the beach, a moth came and sat on my right hand, this moth stayed on my hand for almost the entire walk back, I blew it on its way as it tried to walk up my arm below my shirt sleeve. We reached the car and left for Mumbai at around 10.30am The trip back as usual was very quiet, as each one of us was lost in one’s own thoughts. Leaving Dandi, is always difficult, as the peace, calm and serenity is something one can only dream of in a megalopolis like Mumbai!
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