On 18th June, 2013, Sri Sri was going to visit the BITS (one of India’s leading educational universities) campus in Goa where there would be a satsang (Vedic hymns and chants) and then He would address the students of the college. My plan was to catch a bus by noon so that I could reach Goa by 5.30 pm, attend the satsang, sing, dance, celebrate and meditate with my Guru, listen to him and meet Him in the darshan line and then catch a late night bus back to Belgaum But if everything went according to plan, it wouldn’t have been The Art of Living. What ensued as the day progressed was lots of divine comedy and chaos! On 18th morning, it was 11 am and I was not extremely sure of going. My friend Deepak kept asking me if we should go and I was trying to find every reason to say no. There would at least be 2000 people attending, thus slimming our chances to meet Sri Sri. The climate was also poor since it was monsoon season and I did not have sufficient rain gear. None of us knew the location of the campus where the Satsang was going to take place. I was also supposed to get interview calls from that day from the colleges where I had applied. Since it was 11am, we knew if we delayed more we would not be able to make it in time. It was 11:30 am and I shut off my pestering mind and just sent a message to Deepak, saying we’d leave by 12:30 pm. This in a way ensured I wouldn’t backtrack, since I already gave a commitment to him. We soon boarded a bus, and were on our way to Goa. We reached by 5pm and thought we would easily make it on time since the Satsang was going to start at 6.30pm. In-spite of telling the bus driver to drop us at the Birla Circle bus stop, somehow, he managed to forget about it. Enamored by the beauty of nature that was en-route, we lost track of the signboards around. It was when we reached the last bus stop, we realized what had happened. It was 6:00 pm now. The bus had dropped us approximately 20 kms ahead. And it would at-least take us another 30 minutes to reach to the original spot, and then locate the college. We thought it was as bad as it could get. By 6:35 pm a local bus dropped us off at the highway and told us it would take us only 10 minutes to walk to the campus. Thanking him, we began walking. After 20 minutes, we were still walking, and the campus was nowhere in sight. Finally, we did find it, and decided to run towards the auditorium. We received news that Sri Sri had just now graced the dais. We were at the entrance then and the hall was another kilometer away. I hoped that if not for the satsang, at-least we would reach in time, before Guruji spoke. We reached just as a bhajan (devotional hymn) got over and Sri Sri took hold of the mic. For the next two hours Sri Sri took over. He amazed me, mesmerized me, made me fall in love with him and everything that he spoke. ‘Today is definitely a special day’, I thought. For the first time I went so deep in meditation, when Guruji was conducting it live, and then the question and answer session was exactly what was required not just for me, but for all the students seated there. We lost track of how time flew by, and before we knew it, Guruji had left the auditorium, while Jai Jai Radha (a devotional hymn marking the end of the event) was being sung in the background. He came like a King, and went away like a King, having conquered all our hearts. Then reality hit us. It was 9:00 pm and we had to quickly rush to the bus stop. Deepak and me thought of asking two of our friends, Ashnika and Anjana, who had also come from Belgaum to attend the event about their plans to go back home. Amidst a sea of hugs,high fives and congratulatories by the Goan teachers and volunteers for a successfully organized event, we rushed out to find some transport that could drop us off till the bus stop. There was a red bus, with RED MAGIC written on it. We boarded that local bus, and by 9:45 pm it dropped us at the national bus stop, that would take us back to our hometown. We were confident that we would get the bus and we politely rejected an offer to stay back at the home of an acquaintance’s place. To our horror, the bus stand wore a deserted look. There was not a single bus in sight. Suddenly, my friend Deepak asked me if I had collected his bag. I asked him, “Was I supposed to collect it?”, and right there we froze. Deepak’s bag went away with the local bus, which we had no idea was going to which location. It contained his ATM card, Driver’s License and some money. I silently prayed to Guruji to get us out of this mess. Once we accepted the situation, and knew that we weren’t in control of it, we actually seemed to have gotten some control of it. That is what happens when you completely surrender. I immediately recalled that the bus had RED MAGIC written on it. In my friend Ashnika’s bag, there was a flyer about an upcoming PART 2 course in Goa. And it had all the prominent numbers of every Art of Living teacher from every region in Goa. We knew that the bus was specially hired for the satsang, and some teacher would be responsible for all the transport. After calling up five teachers, we still were waiting to track the bus. Tired and hungry, we decided it would be best to eat first and then decide where to stay. Some of the locals already told us, that we could get a bus only at 6:00 in the morning now. As we ate, the teachers had already started working out on who could help us. The Power Of Surrender Then we got the number of Mrs Shudha Phal Dessai. We were told that she was in-charge of all the transportation for the satsang and she also stayed near where the bus may have gone. Deepak called her up and within minutes, his bag was traced. But the catch was, that we could get hold of the bag only in morning, and we still hadn’t figured out where we would stay for the night. Then as if she had read our situation, Mrs Dessai offered to accommodate us at her flat. She had two flats, one of which was vacant. Deepak and me realized this was the best way out, however the girls were apprehensive. They asked, ‘Would it look good to stay at someone’s house, whom we don’t even know?’ Finally, we accepted the invitation and informed Mrs. Dessai about it. Sri Sri takes royal care of us always! Mrs Dessai said that a Government car would come and pick us up soon. I thought it was part of the transport arrangements for the satsang. But when we reached her flat, we realized that she was the wife of a local politician, Mr Subhash Phal Dessai. We couldn’t believe our luck. Getting to sleep at his home, safe and secure for the night, not having to worry about anything, only Guruji could have taken great care of us like that. After a great night’s sleep and some sumptuous breakfast, we took leave. Mr. Subhash said if we ever come to Goa again for any Art Of Living function, we were always welcome at his home. While coming back, we discussed of what had just transpired. The permutations and combinations of what had just happened were mind boggling. What if we had not taken the girls along? Deepak would have never lost his bag. He lost it, in trying to hold the girls’ bags. Now if that would’ve happened, most definitely me and Deepak would’ve spent the entire night wandering. What if in-spite of the girls being there, he still took his bag along? Again we would’ve wandered searching for shelter. There would be no Mrs Dessai to help us. What if we did catch the Belgaum bus on time? We would’ve have missed the wonderful opportunity to experience surrender, and also meet such wonderful people. In Art of Living, everything happens for a reason. Wisdom is to take out the learning’s in all of it, and move on, smarter and more skillful than before. An ordinary trip, made extraordinary by His grace. Jai Guru Dev
- Ignatius Dsouza
