DEVOTEE'S EXPERIENCE - SAI GAVE ME A NEW LIFE - By S. Venkat Kumar, Chennai

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DEVOTEE'S EXPERIENCE

 

SAI GAVE ME A NEW LIFE

 

It was in the year 1990, on June 4th, I was traveling on official duty from

Hyderabad to Bombay. I was holding an RAC ticket in the second AC compartment on

a holiday special train going from Hyderabad to Bombay. Since it was an RAC

ticket I went to station around 8-30PM, well before the scheduled departure of

the train. My ticket was confirmed; I just boarded the train, entered the coupe

and got on to one berth. After sometime another gentleman also entered the same

coupe. Incidentally I was sleeping on his berth. However he didn't mind it and

he took the opposite berth, which was actually mine.

 

I had with me one suitcase containing my clothes, some office papers, money

etc., I was also carrying one shoulder bag which contained a water bottle, a.

napkin and Sai Satcharitra Book. During those days I was reading the book every

now and then, more so starting on a Thursday and completing by next Thursday.

 

After getting on to the berth, I removed my foot wear, then removed my shirt and

put it in the shoulder bag. I then hung the shoulder bag in the hanger hook

provided in the compartment. The train started around 9.15 PM from Secunderabad.

My brother saw me off at the station. Immediately af¬ter my ticket had been

checked, I almost went off to sleep.

 

Soon I was awakened by a thunderous sound. I could see darkness all around and

heard all sorts of cries. There was utter confusion. I tried to get up, but my

legs wouldn't move, they were entangled in some windows cross bar. I realised

that there was an accident. I some how freed myself and just jumped out of an

opening that I saw before me. I fell on the ground and landed at the feet of

some unknown person. He told me that there was a big accident and the first few

compartments were totally crushed in a head-on collision, with a goods train

coming in the opposite direction. The person at whose feet I fell was traveling

in the 9th compartment had come to the front to see what happened. I was in a

very bad shape with my clothes torn, several wounds including head injury and a

lot of bleeding all over. The co-passenger at whose feet I was, took my

brother's phone number at Hyderabad and asked me to relax. Suddenly I be¬came

unconscious.

 

After about may be 3 or 4 hours, I just got up and the person was still by my

side. I was shivering and he borrowed some blanket from another co-passenger and

wrapped me in it. Since I was still lying near the track, I wanted to be moved

somewhere so that I could stretch myself a little. With the help of the

co-passenger I got up, when I found something heavy on my right shoulder. I

lifted my head and I found the shoulder bag, which I hung on the hanger hook

perfectly placed on my shoulder. Further the most surprising part was that the

Sai Satcharitra Book was in the bag in perfect condition. I had lost my shirt,

water bottle placed in the bag and my other luggage also.

 

It is a real miracle of Sai Baba that the bag which was on the hanger hook

clinged onto my shoulder when I jumped out of the compartment and what more,

only the Sai Satcharitra was there in it. At this juncture I was overwhelmed

with tears and all of a sudden some extraordinary courage came into me and then

I slept on the road itself.

 

After about couple of hours I woke up and the co-passenger at whose feet I fell

was still by my side. By then, the Railway and Medical authorities had arrived

and the co-passenger said that they would take me to the hospital. He was with

me all along, informed my brother and only after my brother reached the

hospital, the co-passenger left. Later on I got to know that I was the only

survivor in the second AC compartment that I was traveling. God's grace has it

that I was sleeping on somebody else's berth and not the original berth allotted

to me. >From this it is clear that Sai Baba has given me a new life.

 

From that day onwards my faith and belief in Sai Baba increased manifold and

from then onwards everyday after my bath I read one paragraph or at least a few

sentences from Sai Satcharitra before I leave home for work, no matter how

urgently I need to go. After this, there have been numerous incidents and ways

in which Sai Baba has been helping and guiding our entire family in one way or

the other. Every day our faith and devotion in Sai Baba is increasing and we

have cast our burden on him and he is bearing it.

 

 

By S. Venkat Kumar

General Manager

Hays Document Company Ltd.

Chennai