My Divine experience of meeting His Holiness Sri Sai Gopal Krishna Baba

Yesterday evening while returning from work, we stopped at the Lakshmi- Narayan temple to offer our humble respects and seek blessings on the auspicious day of Dhanteras. And we saw banners of the visit of His Holiness Sri Gopal Krishna ji to the temple. He was here in mumbai as part of his yearly programme visit of darshan, bhajans(devotional songs) and spiritual discourse.

An ignorant me,I had never heard about him before or even seen his photos. (He happens to be the supreme disciple of Bhagawan Shri Satya Sai Baba and is specially revered in Bangalore) .He was scheduled to reach by 7 pm. All around the temple premises we saw a special seating arrangement made for him and the devotees, with the entire pathway strewn with flowers for his welcome. The atmosphere was so beautiful. We thought that we would just have a glimpse of this divine mystic and then later leave. After finishing with my prayers I was seated before the deities for some secret conversation and saw my troubles and qualms being melted away instantly; just looking at the alluring, smiling faces of the Gods.

The feeling of visiting our holy places of worship contains within itself so much of His Light, His Love and His comfort. Once you are in His kingdom there is only rejoicing and nothing else, because my father eases up all our pains and kisses our sorrows goodbye. You just have to trust Him fully.

As we get ready to leave the temple, I came across a bookstall which had books regarding Sri Gopal Krishnaji and began glancing through them. After paying up for the two books that I liked we finally were leaving. Just then a car stopped at the entrance, a saintly figure stepped down and the musicians began welcoming him by the sound of the traditional dhols. It was as if we were destined to have His blessed sight and what a blessed meeting it was!

The devotees started running towards him to bow down at his feet and seek blessings. I along with my family too went up to him and touched his lotus feet, what a soul-stirring feeling that was! I couldn’t get my eyes off his radiant smiling face and the aura he carried with him was so pure, divine and mystifying. His presence alone was enough to give me a heady feeling of spiritual bliss and the fragrance his Self emitted was heavenly. It dawned upon me that it was the magic of a Pure soul who had finally realized God and His Self. Infact, we all were so drawn towards him that we felt completely in perfect harmony with Divinity. His one glimpse made me feel complete and I felt so empowered with the power of a Saint”s blessing.

We couldn’t move our legs towards the exit. We decided to sit for a while and listen to his words. Amidst so many people he was so much at pure bliss that he emanated only peace and blessings to all gathered .

The mood was ecstatic with the starting of devotional songs and Swamiji being totally engrossed within. It was a true sight to behold! Such is the intoxication of Divine Love that we give up the drop and become the ocean!

As we sat for atleast 2 hours(it was a state of timelessness) we were waiting for him to speak to us but he was silent throughout and that said it all. Silence was the language through which he communicated with each one of us as though telling us to be calm and listen to our inner voices, it is there that you will hear God speaking.

The highlight of the evening was when he got up to specially bless a girl with brain tumour. She had come with her parents. Her physical state was extremely sympathetic but the smile on her face was intact and her faith in her Guru was unflinching. Such is the connection between a Guru and the Disciple, between the Peer and the Mureed.

As she touched his feet tears swelled up in my eyes and I found myself overwhelmed. Her mother was crying bitterly and telling Guruji to bless her daughter and free her from her physical sufferings. He blessed her smilingly tossing his hands in the air and miraculously deriving Vibhuti (Holy Ash) which took us all by awe and smeared it over her forehead. The happiness and faith in her eyes was so immensely heart melting.

With prayers for her recovery and light in my heart we left the temple with Sri Gopal Krishnaji’s blessings and a soul full of haunting memories of meeting such a blessed Divine Mystic.

As they say, sometimes there are no words and sometimes words are not enough…