MEETING WITH MAHASHAKTI

Getting married..

The year 2003 proved to be a turning point in my life.I got married to a girl after my own heart. The next year brought even more unexpected happiness as my daughter was born.I was a bit irritated to find that she was religious more than normal. Pujas,prayers,fasts became very common in the house.My mother was religious but not as much as my wife was. She too didn't seem to like her numerous religious activities. She refused to eat non-veg on days like Monday,Tuesday,Thursday,and Friday.Her activities made me disgruntled and cross. Very soon she started worshipping Sai Baba of Shirdi. I never believed in Sai Baba and never took the saint seriously.She also used to count the beads of a rosary. When I came to know nobody in her family was as seriously religiously as my wife, I was a bit surprised  because her being religious had something to do with me. After my marriage,I asked her:"Which God do you like the most? " Her answer was:"Shiva." I  exclaimed to myself:"Shiva!" Strangely enough,when my daughter grew up,I was struck with the  same amazement to observe her fascination for Lord Shiva.My wife's family were ardent devotees of Lord Jagannath.

I remember something interesting that might appear out of context here but let me narrate it here. After coming back from Nepal,I once made a visit to the Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. A priest did a puja for me. When I paid him for his services,he was surprised to receive the amount of money. We had a cordial chat for some time. I narrated my experiences to him. I wanted to know why I saw scenes of sex  and huge bottles of wine most of the time.His jaws dropped and he said:"Don't know Sir?Shiva is a tamashika(pleasure-loving)God!" I came to know people offered wine to MAHAKAL(Shiva).

My wife was not doing any job then.She did a lot of housework but her religious activities outweighed everything else. I particularly disliked her fanatical attachment to Sai Baba of Shirdi.Some other Sai devotees got associated with her and the situation was exasperating.

I was returning from Jyoti Enclave after giving a  class to a student named Trishna. It was about 4 in the afternoon. When I came out onto the main road,my motorcycle would not start. Hundreds of kicks had gone unanswered. As it was summer I was dripping wet with sweat. I thought of my wife's obsession with Sai and said to Sai Baba mentally,"Baba if you are already there,please rescue me from this painful situation."

After a short while,a boy emerged from one said of the roadside huts and said,"Sir,the bike doesn't start?"

I said,"Yes."

"Don't worry Sir. I am a mechanic.I'll fix it."

I waited for half an hour.

The boy said,"Your bike is now okay."

I gave the boy one hundred rupees.I was happy and forgot all about Sai.Even after reaching home,I didn't say anything about it to my wife.

Next came another incident very soon. It was past 10 o'clock in the night. It was raining hard and heavily.After teaching a boy at Metro City Apartment,I was returning home on my motorcycle.As the area was waterlogged,it was difficult to locate the road.I was riding cautiously.Yet the front tyre of the motorcycle got into a drain. I didn't know it was so at the time. I tried my best to pull out the tyre from the drain but couldn't do so. I stopped for a while and prayed to Sai Baba for help.I could see no one around.It was 10:30 in the night.I was hopeless and anxious.
A few moments later,I saw someone coming towards me holding a torch.A bit of hope was kindled in me.As he approached me, he said,"Sir what are you doing here at this time of the night? I have been watching you for about ten minutes."

When I told him about my problem,he said,"The tyre is in the adrain. Let us pull it out together."

When we pulled it together it came out easily. He gave me precise directions to reach the main road.

I reached home.It was 11:30.That dark night remained in my memory for ever. This time too I forgot to express my gratitude to Baba. Nor did I say anything about it to my wife.As time passed,I lived the usual way I did.At the bottom of my heart rang the prediction that something remarkable would happen as far as my spirituality was concerned.I did ask myself many questions.Since my 1st attempt to attain Shiva had not been satisfactory,I  was inwardly searching for a Guru who would guide me properly on my journey to God(Shiva).I was thinking constantly of the Bengali woman who had told me so many beautiful things to happen  in future."Will those things really happen? Shall I again take to spirituality and get peace and happiness?Shall I be fortunate enough to get the right spiritual Guru considering the present cheats and criminals posing themselves as great Hindu spiritual masters?" These were the questions that assailed me from time to time.

When this was my mental state,a young man who was a mere acquaintance baited me with the offer of the Chief Editor of a magazine.He boasted to me of his high status of a wealthy businessman.A few days passed and he unexpectedly arrived at my house. We engaged in a conversation. He revealed that he needed a business partner.Next he insisted that I be the selfsame partner.I had to make a contribution of 50 thousand rupees! I was easily taken in by him but my wife was wise enough to sense the mischief. She strongly opposed me giving anything to a complete stranger.But I gave him a cheque for 25 thousand rupees. And that was a blunder of the first magnitude.