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)