I am always with you

[Guest guest]

I am always with you

 

As usual, Shyamdas set out on another

pilgrimage to Dwarka, Porbandar , Girnar, Somnath and

many holy kshetras taking about three and a half

months to do so. He, along with a group of pilgrims

and his personal servant stopped at Girnar parvat.

They chalked out a neat program to climb the girnar

parvat and take darshan of the Dattatreya padukas,

then to Ambaji Tekdhi (Ambadevi Temple atop the hill),

then to Gorakshakarnath Temple. The day of the climb

happened to be a Thursday. So, the group decided to

have darshan first, and then a meal. Although they had

an early start, nonetheless, they were delayed and had

got late.

 

Shamdas, while ascending the mountain, clearly heard

Baba say, " I am always with you. " Happily, he

continued up the hill, where some 30 to 40 steps were

very steep and high and difficult to negotiate. The

heat of the day was intense, the sun was beating on

him with full intensity and the water he had brought

was over. Still, another 200 to 300 steps were in

front of him. Shyamdas was four to five steps ahead of

the group, when he felt extremely exhausted. His

throat was parched, he felt dizzy and fell down. When

the group reached him, they found that he had fallen

to the left. Had he fallen a bit to the right, there

would have been no trace of him as there was a deep

ravine. Quickly, Tarabai (one of the grou members) and

the group came to his rescue. They found that he was

unconscious, frothing at the mouth, and he had a heat

stroke. Tarabai sat down next to him, and cradling his

head in her lap, wiped his mouth and started fanning

him with a piece of cloth. The group huddled together

and were wondering what to do. The dire need for water

was evident and there was nothing around them, except

the steps leading to the top. It was decided that

someone would retrace their steps to the bottom of the

hill and fetch some water.

 

Just as they looked in that direction,

they saw a Gosavi with a huge tamba (pot) of water,

making his way towards them. He addressed Tarabai and

said, " Mother, give the child this water, sprinkle

some on his head and face and he will come around. " So

saying, he handed over the pot, and further added,

" Make sure he drinks all this water. I've some work to

do and I will meet you when you return. " Then he

ascended the steps. Mechanically, they did just what

he said and Shyamdas started coming around. He could

see the Gosavi had ascended about twenty steps or so

and then he disappeared. It took about an hour for him

to fully recover and they proceeded on. They had a

wonderful darshan of all the temples. Meanwhile, the

group was talking amongst themselves. " Who was this

Gosavi? Why and how did he bring the water for

Shyamdas? How specific were his instructions? "

Shyamdas however knew that Baba had saved his life.

Had not Baba assured him, saying, " I stand behind and

in front of you and look after you, always, and at all

times. "

 

Where is Shirdi and where is Girnar? Yet

the Guru Mauli is always at hand to help her child.

When they returned to that very spot, he wished to

wait for the Gosavi.

 

He did so for about an hour. But the group

urged him to continue the descent. It was getting

late, as it was now 5:00 p.m. and it would soon become

dusk. Also, everyone was tired and hungry.

Reluctantly, Shyamdas agreed and they reached the

bottom of the hill at Junagadh Gaon, they had a meal

and retired for the night.

 

But Shyamdas could not sleep. He was

overwhelmed by what had happened. He had sustained no

injury from the fall, except a few scratches and a

grazed knee. Now, he was quite lucid and mentally

alright, but he could not bare the thought of not

having met his benefactor, the Gosavi. " Why? " he

wondered. That night, he cried himself to sleep. That

night, at about 4 a.m., in the morning, he had a

vision. Baba said, " Arre Shyamdas, don't cry like

this. There is a lot of work to be done. You will know

that in the future. Okay? Now get up. " Shyamdas was

comforted, as he was enveloped in Baba's love and

concern for him. After some months, he came to Shirdi.

As soon as he entered Dwarkamai, Baba said, " Come

Shyamdas, didn't I give you a lot of water to quench

your thirst. " Shyamdas went and laid his head on

Baba's feet and washed them with tears. Baba placed

His palm of benediction on his head and gave him Udi.

 

(Source Sai Leela Magazine)