|| Hari Om ||
My pranam to Bapu’s five Gurus and to my Bapu, Nandai and Suchit Dada. It is their grace that I am narrating this experience.
26th April 2010 was a fateful day for us. It was as if the death bell had rung. Only we had not heard it. And how indeed could we have heard it? Our Mahishasurmardini was sounding her bell for our protection.
“Hinasti daityatejansi swanainapuryaya jagat |
Ya ghanta patu no devi papebhyo na sutaniv ||”
On one Thursday Bapu got us to chant this sacred mantra 108 times. He also did the aarti of Mahishasurmardini 9 times and in this manner He secured His protective shield around all of us.
I was tired and slept after a busy, hectic day at home, office and after the Ramnavmi Utsav. At 5.00 am the smell of cooking gas woke me up from deep sleep. At first I thought it was my daughter, Swati who was as usual heating water for her bath.
I got up and found everyone sleeping. How and from where was the gas leaking? Since it was dark I switched on the light and checked on the regulator button. I could still smell the gas. On the 21st of that month I had got a new cylinder and I checked that too, it was sealed properly. Where in the world was the gas leaking from? In fact it kept increasing. I was scared and started trembling. Then I stood in front of Bapu’s photo and chanted the mantra that we had chanted on the previous Thursday. I woke up the children and told them to go out of the house and opened all the doors and windows. I went to make a phone call but the mobile was not charged. I plugged it in for charging and called a relative working in the Fire Brigade and told him the situation at home. He told me to call the fire brigade immediately.
I could not believe it, I could still smell the gas and the smell kept getting more intense. I went to the cylinder that was full to clear things like the oil can etc. kept around it. I was surprised to see that the rim at the base of the cylinder had a layer of ice on it. Seeing it I started trembling and called out to Bapu. In that state I could think of nothing but my Bapu and earnestly started chanting his name. My relative called me again and told me to wrap the cylinder with a wet sheet or take it out in the open air. No one had the courage to do it. My daughter thought of calling up ‘Just Dial’ and got the number of the Marol Fire Brigade Station and called them up. They came in flat 7-8 minutes. They took the cylinder in the open ground in front of our building. It took a good two hours to empty the cylinder. Seeing the condition of the cylinder they said had you waited for 5 more minutes there would have been a blast.
The moment I heard these words I could only see Bapu my Saviour. I went inside and hugged Bapu’s photo I wept. Had there been blast, the entire 3 storied building would have borne the brunt. We stay on the ground floor and the electric box of the entire building was just next to our flat. I shudder to imagine what would have happened.
The fire brigade came in 7-8 minutes but my Bapu was with me right from the moment this episode began. To make matters worse, I had ended up doing all the things I should not have done in such a situation. I had panicked. I made use of electric appliances. I charged my phone and opened the fridge. One spark would have been sufficient to destroy everything. My Bapu not only protected me but also the residents of the entire building.
The death bell was ringing for us but our Bapu saved us from this dreadful experience. We are and shall always be indebted to him
Our loving pranam at the lotus feet of our Dearest Bapu.
|| Hari Om ||
