For the better part of the morning on Wednesday, January 25, 2023, the Tamil Nadu skyline was remarkably clear. And then, it drastically changed just before noon, when a helicopter carrying Sri Sri Ravi Shankar dropped out of the sky and landed into a relatively unknown hamlet.
Reports reaching the Indian Capital said for villagers of Sathyamangalam, a sleepy village in the hilly forests of Erode district, it was a pleasant surprise to see the genial wellness and spiritual guru in their midst.
The emergency landing of the chopper trigger breaking headlines, what happened in the village remained unknown to many.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar was originally headed toward the 2500 year old Sri Bruhannayaki Ambika Sametha Sri Ardhra Kapaleeswarar Swamy Temple at Tiruppur District. The spiritual and wellness guru was on an invitation from local priests to do reconsecration (kumbhabhishekam) of the temple. Interestingly, the priests – for generations – believed that if Gurudev did the consecration, problems plaguing the village would get solved.
But the chopper had to change track when it was 15 minutes from the destination. The weather turned foggy and visibility became near zero. The pilot forced an emergency landing in the compound of a small government school in Sathyamangalam on the banks of Bhavani, a tributary of the Cauvery in the foothills of a tiger reserve in the Western Ghats.
The chopper attracted the villagers to the site. The villagers were elated to see Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji emerging from the chopper. Those travelling with the wellness guru were worried with the unexpected turn of events, but eyewitnesses said the wellness and spiritual guru was completely unfazed.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji started mingling with local inhabitants, inquiring about the difficulties they faced in their daily lives. The wellness guru was shocked to hear about widespread liquor addiction and how it was impacting the women of the village. He urged the youths of the village to visit the Art of Living ashram on the outskirts of Bengaluru for rehab programmes.
And then, Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji distributed among the villagers whatever cash Art of Living officials were carrying with them. The locals talked at length with the genial guru, apprising him of the challenges of water scarcity, absence of motorable roads and other essentials in the village. The villagers said the village faced problems because of its location inside the interior of a tiger reserve.
Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji was told how people crossed steep mountains for over 5-6 kms on foot to reach the nearby towns, and how they encountered wild animals like tigers and elephants on their way. The villagers also complained how the wild animals would visit their homes in the cover of the dark and pick up domesticated animals like goats and cows, also hen.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar gave the villagers a patient hearing, and appreciated the villagers for the high standards of cleanliness in the hamlet. And then, he blessed the whole village. The wellness guru was offered fresh vegetables by the villagers as an expression of gratitude.
Within an hour the weather cleared and the chopper took Sri Sri Ravi Shankar to the ancient temple where thousands waited for the kumbhabhishekam. After the ceremony, the wellness and spiritual guru returned to the Bengaluru ashram where devotees appeared worried and were seen making frantic calls to their Tamil Nadu office to check the whereabouts of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.
At the ashram, finished a scheduled meeting with 2000 Karnataka farmers, attended as many as eight wedding ceremonies in the ashram, and also interacted with doctors and health experts to shape a plan for Tuberculosis Free India.
And when everything settled down for the night at the ashram, devotees talked about a vision Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Ji had about a chopper crash a few days ago. He was resting in the afternoon, and at that time, he had no plans to visit Tamil Nadu.
Strange coincidence, isn’t it?
