Almighty’s day in …

Tak! Tak! Tak!

One early morning, a loud knock on my door was heard. I was so comfortable in my warm bed that it was next to impossible to get up to open the door. Thinking it was a dream, I ignored the disturbance.

Somebody knocked the door again.

“Who the hell is this?” I yelled.

“Oh dear, it’s ME.”

“Me? Who is that?” I inquired for more details.

“I am a Ganesh. You call me often so I am here.” somebody named ‘Ganesh’ added.

Wiping my eyes off sleep, I looked around to confirm the source of the sound. The taps on the door were louder now. It was surprising for me because no one was expected this early morning. There was no prior intimation of anybody’s arrival. I could not even recollect calling anybody named Ganesh.

The knocking continued.

Opening the door was now unavoidable. But I covered my ears with a pillow and requested my husband, “Honey, please wake up. There is someone at the door.”

He murmured, “I hear nothing. There is still time to get up. You sleep and let me also sleep some more.”

“A second ago, I heard a knock on the door. I think our neighbor uncle is calling you for jogging” I reminded him.

“No way! Yesterday, I have clearly told the uncle that I would be sick today. It must your friend and no one mine. I know for sure.” He refused to get up. The very next moment, he was fast asleep.

Sighing, I got up and opened the door. It was dark everywhere. A sparkling figure appeared in front of me which almost made me shut my eyes. The colorful light glowing out of that figure brightened my face and my half opened eyes.

“Where should I park my mouse?”

This puzzling question made me verify the reality of the situation. I could not figure out the phrase-‘Parking a mouse’.

“Your garage is so full of things that even my tiny mouse cannot get in.”
By now, not only were my two eyes but also my mouth was open. Wide open!
“Lord Ganesh? Am I still dreaming?” The entire scene was unbelievable.

“No. You are not. It’s the reality. You call and remember me occasionally. So, I thought I would take the opportunity and visit you once and enjoy your hospitality. So here I am.” Almighty further gave a reason of his stunning arrival, saying that he wanted to respect the invitation of his devotee.

The authentic spirit of entire universe amazed me.

“Yes, yes. Please, come inside. Let your mouse be on the side of the walk way.” I was hypnotized by the overall incidence.

Looking at my distress, the guest asked, “Did I disturb your sleep?”

“No, no. I was about to get up, but mm… m….” I stuttered.

“It’s okay. I have come to spend some time with you.” A smile under the long trunk was easily noticeable.

I attempted to hide the shock by saying thank you. Instead, I nervously began playing with my fingers. The Sanskrit proverb ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’ says ‘A guest is like a God’. But in my case, the God was the guest. The ultimate force of the universe was my guest.

“How are you? How are your children and rest of the family?” The guest continued the conversation, which reminded me about the time for the kids to wake up and get ready for the school.

Reading my thoughts in mind, great God nodded his Gajavadan (head like an elephant) and eased me telling, “It’s okay. You carry on. I will be fine.” The guest made the host feel relaxed.

“Please make yourself at home” I thanked politely. Then I requested my guest Ganesh to accompany me to the kid’s room.

“Hey, get up, get up. Look, who is here. Ganapati Bappa! Do you remember we went to that temple and saw the elephant headed god with four hands? He is here to meet us all. Come on get up and greet him.” I thrillingly announced the news of the arrival of the lord at our place.

A full size yawn suppressed my excitement.

“Mum, it’s neither a month of April to fool us nor the festival of Christmas to tell some stories of fantasy characters” the kids replied maturely.

“No, no. I am not joking. I mean it. It is the truth”. My repeated words and the raised tone of my voice aimed to make them believe me.

The Nirakar (formless) informed me that others won’t see him. He had come to meet me and only I could see him.

“Oh, really?” I asked the Almighty to confirm.

But the kids responded, “Yes mum, neither April nor Christmas! Don’t make any more jokes this early in the morning.”

“The children are no longer kids now”, I thought to myself.

Pushing them to prepare for school, I started the everyday’s morning battle. The battle was between my limited energy verses the reducing time and the overflowing amount of work. Just like any other day, my routine battle continued in the kitchen. That day big-bodied Mahakay (heavy bodied) was good company for me. I worked as fast as possible to prepare the breakfast. The egg omelet with bread was set ready on the breakfast table. The glasses of milk were placed next to the food and tea was on the hot plate to boil.

Time was running short and lunch had to be quickly packed for my kids and my husband. This may seem like an easy job but certainly was not since lunch was to be prepared as per the individual preferences in very short amount of time. The chocolate cake, yellow lemon rice and a few pieces of Green apple were loaded in a colorful box for my younger kid who does not like bread. Squares of foil were wrapped around the triangular cut sandwiches with some hot sauce, cucumber and tomatoes for my elder child. My husband hates the aroma of the Desi spices in his American office atmosphere. So he likes to eat only salad for lunch. That also helps him to keep his eyes open at least to watch the screen of the computer. The disposable lunch box was set ready with different raw and cooked veggies with salt and black pepper sprinkled over the top of it and some dices of fruits aside. I struggled to fulfill everybody’s choices till getting completely exhausted.

That day, all the morning work got over in just a fraction of minutes. “I won the battle today” I claimed the victory. But a doubt intervened in my thought of this triumph. “Did the Chatrubhuj (one having four hands) do some of the chores for me today?”

A dose of a coffee was felt necessary to get ready for upcoming work of the day. A pleasant conversation with my guest at the coffee table in the patio was planned in my mind. As I was about to have a refreshing sip, the alarm reminded me the time of the diabetes medicine of my father-in-law. Chugalugging the coffee, I ran to his room with his breakfast, the medicine and the testers to test his blood glucose. Unlike usual, he needed no insulin injection that day. The glucose count in his blood was just perfect.

After having a short conversation with my aged parents-in-law, I went to the kitchen to finish rest of the work like cooking the lunch, cleaning pots and dishes and also doing some preparation of the afternoon snacks for my kids. Either the work seemed less or I worked faster. That day was just unusually fast. The housework was getting done much rapidly than expected. While cooking, side by side I folded all the dry casual clothes. The laundry was to be loaded with the rest of the used clothes like formal office wears and school uniforms. Surprisingly, there were no clothes in the laundry room. “Wow!” I exclaimed. The clothes I thought to be washed were already done. They were already ironed and neatly placed in the respective closets.

“I forgot it seems. But when did I do that?” while wondering in my surprise, the pile of envelops on the computer table caught my attention. “The mails received on earlier day had to be seen and replied if urgent.” I decided the priority of the tasks and started working on the mails.

The late afternoon would be free for worshiping Vinayaka (Lord of All).” I rearranged the day’s schedule in my mind, because after the lunch, my mother-in-law had to be driven to the hospital for a pre-surgery eye checkup. Till earlier day, she was complaining about seeing blurry images around all objects. It had made her scared of darkness and sometimes even to walk during a day light. Even though she had lost all her confidence due to the unclear vision, she was very frightened of the surgery and we all were very worried about her. But that day, she had no complaint. Wonderfully, she was able to see all very clearly. We visited the hospital for the checkup anyways, just in case something was wrong. The ophthalmologists changed his earlier advice of a surgery and confirmed that her eyes were fine and just needed different eye drops and glasses. I thanked the Sankat Nashaka (one who destroys the danger or trouble) for her relief and prayed for a good health of my entire family in the future.
By now, I was fully convinced that it was none other than the presence of the ‘Supernatural Being’ in my house had caused all the miracles.

The afternoon went so swiftly that I had no time to give it to myself or even to my spirit guest who came specially to meet me. I felt extremely ashamed of myself. “Now, yes, right now, stop all other work and first attend the Prathmesh (The foremost among all gods)” I ordered myself.

Just at that point of time, the phone rang with my friend’s name flashing on the screen. I impatiently picked up the phone. She told me that she was in trouble. Her elder son had slipped from the staircase. His ankle was swollen and he needed to see a doctor without delay. On the phone, my friend was requesting me to look after her very young baby for some time so that she can pay proper attention to her son’s injury. I could not refuse. The arrival of the baby made me so busy that I almost forgot about the presence of god who was quietly watching me in action. He must have been waiting for my prayers and some worship. Instead of devotional or spiritual songs, I softly sang lullabies for the baby. Gajakarna (One who has ears like an elephant) had to take no extra effort to listen to my whisper due to his big ears. He was happily swaying to the lullabies.

After a while, I felt slightly free since the baby was sleeping. Suddenly, the taps of the feet started approaching my house. The wall clock showed the time of the kids returning home from the school. “The baby better not get up crying” the kids were warned as soon as they entered the house. I requested Dayanidhi (one who forgives) for a little excuse and went on to prepare some snacks. The kids were kind enough by having their snacks without much noise. They were always extremely energized after returning from school. Not only overactive but also extra playful! Only Shantipriya (one who loves peace) must have cooled them down to that extent. No one on this earth ever had the capability to calm down my super-active kids. That day was really marvelous.

Their home-work had to be finished correctly and tidily before I began the dinner preparations. Budhdhidata (the one who gives knowledge) was nearby to help the kids so that they complete their work without difficulty. The elder kid could do the so-called ‘impossible’ math problems in seconds and the younger one could spell all words in his grammar book without asking me for the spellings. They both were so concentrated on their work and sat at the study table that they did not even get up from there even once. All went smoothly due to the blessings of Vighna Vinashaka (one who removes hurdles). The daily homework drama at our house was avoided that day due to his existence.

The baby’s brother had a light bandage tied on his ankle at the hospital. The pain killer medicines given to him made him feel better. He and his mother came to pick the baby and they all went home waving their hands happily. The kids were off to play outside and it was my time to volunteer at the Animal Aid Society in their work of treating the animals those were victims of unfair circumstances. I thought of the guest’s presence there when I saw the animals looking at me with pure love and trust without expecting any returns. “More than my family and me, these animals in pain need your mercy god. Please, help them”. My request reached the Kripalu (kindhearted) lord who is the world’s real magician.

The animals at the Animal Aid Society looked joyful that day. Their waving tails, funny hops and comical actions showed the presence of the Almighty. The recently operated doggy could get up and stand for a while. The white furry cat that lost his leg by an electric shock of the fence drank some milk on its own. The eyes of the golden deer having a big wound on his body were usually seen filled with tears and discomfort. That day, those pity eyes gave the impression of being blessed and released from pain. The new born puppy contracted his legs when pet gently. The kitten quietly meowed looking at us through her green round eyes. The little brown bunny gladly flipped for no reason. All of them were felt like they were liberated form sufferings. The Dukhaharata (one who removes pain or sorrow) had played his magic on these souls by taking away their grief.

At home, the hungry tummies of my kids waited for their food. I could not allow a single minute to myself and directly entered the kitchen to prepare the dinner. The salad, soup, appetizers were made in minutes. I felt like additional four hands of the god were helping me in my chores. My husband also returned home from work. The dinning table was set with the food. My entire family gathered together for dinner. We all prayed together for a merry and healthy life. The constantly chirping kids ate the food cheerfully. The laughter added more taste to the meal. The feeling of content was noticed on the faces of my parents-in-law. The Annadata (one who gives food) was showering all the blessings on us. I did not disclose this secret. Having no proof in hand of the fact of his being with us, there was no point in sharing my feelings and experiences with the members of my family.

After dinner, the kids, my husband, and my parents-in-law sat in the family room to watch the programs on television. I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the entire kitchen for the next day’s use.

Finally, it was my free time to converse with the Highest Power of the world. I felt extremely guilty of myself for not offering anything to Maheshvaraya (supreme god) who came to spend a full day with me. Neither food nor prayers! Not even fraction of a moment! I was speechless.

Breaking the silence, “It’s all right,” Almighty said from his curved trunk.

I was ashamed of myself for being ignorant. Because of being busy with my daily activities and giving more importance to others over the Devadhidev (God of gods), I was really shameful.

The Gurudev (God as teacher) restated that I was thinking wrong. He said “You do all your duties whole heartedly without any returns. All the work done is out of love and affection. You keep all others first over yourself and even me. This is devotion and is the real honor to me.”

“I am sorry for not presenting you a single moment of my day. Please excuse me for my incorrect behavior.” I plead for forgiveness. “On this earth there are so many people who always beg to have at least fraction sight of the Absolute Ruler of the universe. And me? I did not respect what I got easily. It is my fault.” I repented. The guilt in my mind scrolled over my cheeks in a form of tears from my eyes.

“This is the appropriate way of living. Living for others! For your kids, elders, friends, or any other soul whoever is in need of help. I live in all souls. If you do anything good to any one, it indirectly reaches me. You do not have to do anything special like worship, offerings, fasts and prayers”. Almighty assured further, “Now, though I am going, do not think that I am gone for ever. I will always be there for you.”

I could hear a squeak of a mouse outside the house.

Next day was customary. The morning chores of preparing breakfast, lunch-boxes went on as usual. Afterwards, I came out to send off my kids to the school.

“Mum, look at these foot prints here in the yard. Which animal has this kind of feet?” they questioned.

I boldly stated, “It was a mouse. Ganapati Bappa’s mouse.”

Because of the experience of the Almighty’s day in my house, I replied confidently.