Newsletter #64, by Sobana Baskaran (23 September 2013)

Samarpan Online Group Meditation Newsletter

TOPIC FOR THE WEEK –Beautiful surprise

The gurus blessings towards my soul and life started during Guru Poornima 2011 as it fell on my birthday too. I grew up not knowing much about the traditions and culture. I did attend Tamil classes and classical devotional music classes but I don’t know much about the importance of Mahashivarathri , Guru Poornima or any other occasions.

Sometimes there’s a pause in our spiritual journey maybe, I started practising samarpan, I won’t call it a practise but it just happened during October 2010. My mother , my cousin sister and myself completed our 45 days successfully. It was such a smooth sailing, but again after returning back from my first visit to the ashram during Mahashivarathri 2011, I stopped for some time. We faced a family problem, and I couldn’t concentrate on meditation, being the eldest, I did leave it to swamiji but my meditation wasn’t regular. I guess there was a reason may be why it had to be that way. The again, Swamiji and the gurus surprised me for my birthday as it fell on Guru Poornima, I meditated in centre in Malaysia again. Swamiji just took me and was giving me so much of blessings since that day. At times, we do face pitfalls but I guess it’s a clearance of our very own karma. Sometimes I also feel he is testing us whether do we really want to surrender at his feet or taking control of the situation and raising our “ego”.

I don’t know why but every Guru Poornima since 2011 , though I am not at the ashrams ground but I feel light. I may not even meditate but I always feel cool breeze enveloping me on this special lovely day. I don’t even know what was Guru Diksha, I didn’t know how important this day was but the gurus always gift me with their blessings. Early this year , I was craving to attend Guru Poornima, I even spoke to some sadhaks from UK, South Africa,Mauritius and Singapore that all of us have to perform something and we going to have a blast. I was looking forward for the celebration and wanted to attend physically. However, life took a different turning point , I was depressed the first few months beginning of this year because I haven’t got settled in a job. Slowly, I realise, I have to carry out my responsibilities here as well. Being away 3 months and my spiritual visits to almost all the ashram in Gujerat , I feel contended all of a sudden. I feel Swamiji was closer, and I felt I don’t have to attend any celebrations for now as I feel so satisified and all sadhaks and swamiji is closer to my soul.

I was embarrassed that I couldn’t even do meditation at home during guru poornima nor attending my centres meditation due to my work. But I did feel light on the Guru Poornima day. Swamiji and gurus surprised me again. On the beautiful Guru Poornima, I received a call from a very dear friend, he was thanking me because I helped him with an essay for him to be selected to go to US for Youth Development Program and he was the only Indian out of 5 who were selected to go for a 3 months trip but most of them were selected only for 3 weeks. My friend runs an NGO to help India students to progress and he is active in all the social works. He also helped us with Guru Karya by calling us for his program to introduce samarpan to the kids. I felt a very soulful connection with him. He doesn’t meditate but he helped in all this. Like swamiji said when we do guru karya, when we allow the gurus to do the karya, we receive so much of blessings beyond our imagination. I told him the same, I said he had performed guru karya without him realising, and he is doing wonders in helping millions genuinely and he has the power of collectivity with him. The gurus had blessed him on a very special day and they were the one who gave him this beautiful gift and not me. I told him apart from his genuine efforts, he was also being blessed.

Another beautiful event also took place, our soul sister Wai Ling from Singapore asked me to help her with amendments of a short write up by her. I mentioned to her that I am not so good in my grammar, but I am more than happy to help her but I asked her to give me some time as I was busy with work. I opened her email the next day after Guru Poornima and to my surprise it was about holy river Ganga. As I started to type itself, my spinal cord was vibrating and felt cool energy flowing like the holy mother Ganga within me. As I was typing I was amazed with what I was typing and I felt as if I was already bathing in River Ganga. Like she was washing away my sins and purifying me. As I was reading and typing each event, it was as if It happened to me but I haven’t even step my foot there. I have only heard about River Ganga being a holy river and people use to bath there to remove their sins and fault. But little did I know by writing or reading from a very pure medium , Wai Ling di , my chitta had already gone there and I was able to feel and enjoy the anubhootis. I was thanking Swamiji what a beautiful gift he had gift me for this Guru Poornima although I missed meditation. I felt so emotional and was thanking Wai Ling di and Swamiji for such a beautiful surprise.

Jai Baba Swami.