Spiritual Experience of a seeker.
On November 16, 2003, between 4.30 p.m. and 5 p.m. in the evening, during the course of my chanting*, I was obsessed with only one thought, “When will I be able to do my Guru’s work?” I was aware of only two things – chanting and doing His work. I did not have any other desire of my own. I was getting immense happiness. My mind was filled with thoughts of my Guru, H.H. Dr. Athavale. At the same time, I was also suffering from physical distress for the past four months and it was so severe that it was almost hampering my walk. I had a feeling that when my Guru would visit me I would put the mat (aasan) on which I do my chanting under His feet, so that when I sit on it later for chanting, I could benefit by the pure, subtle vibrations emanating from the mat as the holy feet of H.H. Dr. Athavale touched it.
As this thought process was going on, I felt from inside my heart that
H.H. Dr. Athavale was accompanying another saint, H.H Dadaji Vaishampayan,
to one of the rooms in the ashram and they had a desire to meet me. At that
very moment, a seeker came to inform me that H.H. Dr. Athavale, along with
H.H Dadaji Vaishampayan, had requested my presence in the same room I had
the feeling they had come to.
As I went into the room to greet them, I felt H.H. Dr. Athavale telling me from
inside my heart, “For the last four months I have not given her anything.
Tomorrow I am giving her my chair (Holy seat) ”.
The next day at 9.30 a.m., as per the usual routine, a chair was kept for H.H. Dr. Athavale in the meditation temple, for His satsang (Holy company). I was chanting with folded hands and waiting for H.H. Dr. Athavale’s arrival. Deep in my mind I was saying, “O Lord, come soon. I am waiting for you. Why are you not coming yet? O Lord, I want You and You only. O Lord, it is only for doing your chanting that I want your Holy seat.” Immediately I saw H.H. Dr. Athavale coming and taking the chair. On the same day, at 11.30 a.m., H.H. Dr. Athavale gave the chair on which he usually sits to Ms. Veena Adkar, a seeker from the Subtle Department and said, “Give this chair to Mahananda.”
- Ms. Mahananda Giridhar Patil, Devad Ashram. India
An explanation of this spiritual experience
Ms. Mahananda’s spiritual experience (anubhuti) shows us that if one is on the right track in one’s spiritual practice, the Lord Himself comes to one in the form of the Guru and gives whatever one wants. Though bed-ridden for four months, Ms. Mahananda did not harbor any doubt in her mind and did every activity with full spiritual emotion. This spiritual emotion of hers prompted H.H. Dr. Athavale to go to her personally and give her the object she wanted very much, that is His holy seat.
In the beginning, Ms. Mahananda’s thoughts were that ‘When H.H. Dr. Athavale comes to me, I will put my mat (asan) under his Feet. The holy seat (the mat is referred to as a holy seat out of devotion for the Guru) will get pure subtle vibrations when H. H. Dr. Athavale puts His feet on it, and thereafter when I use the holy seat, I will also get power from it’. However, if one generates the kind of spiritual emotion that Ms. Mahananda had, the Lord or Guru does not allow one to take even that trouble, and He Himself will come forward and give one the holy seat filled with pure subtle vibrations.
After receiving the holy seat, the first thought that rushed to Ms. Mahananda’s mind was “Where should I put the holy seat so that Guru would like it?” As a matter of fact, every object or article in this world is given to one by the Guru only. If one uses it with that particular spiritual emotion, one will derive the same advantage that goes with that spiritual emotion. After all, ‘The Lord resides where there is Spiritual emotion’. To keep one’s spiritual emotion constantly activated, one should ceaselessly harbor the thought that every object or article has come from the Guru.
- Dr. (Ms.) Maya Patil
