In the presence of my Master (my Guru) 🙇🏼♂️, revered Guru Dev Shri Shri Sadguru Riteshwar Ji, Shri Laddli Nikunjavan Vrindavan, the recipient of His grace, His humble servant Akash Gupta, I received His infinite grace. Since the Radha Madhav Utsav of 2021, I have been blessed with a residence in Braj, which is a dream for the residents of Vrindavan. We pray to Kishori Ji, “May I be blessed with the privilege of residing in Vrindavan in every birth.” It is easily attainable through the grace of the Guru. They say, “With the grace of the Guru, everything is possible.” Their compassionate glance can transform life and fill it with joy. Gurus are the embodiment of knowledge and bliss. Gurus speak the truth. The word “Guru” cannot be confined to a single definition; it encompasses love. Just as you cannot repay the debt of your parents, the debt of the Guru is even greater, and cannot be repaid even after many lifetimes. Many incidents have occurred in my life in the presence of my Guru, and I want to share some of them with all of you.
Before the Radha Madhav Utsav of 2021, I used to have many dreams in which multiple cars were roaming on big roads as if it were a video game and I was playing it. After the conclusion of the Radha Madhav Utsav 2021, I approached Guruji and said, “Gurudev, I am here to seek your permission. Now I will go to Itarsi.” To this, Guruji replied, “No, you have to go to Varanasi.” Then I said, “Yes, Gurudev. I will go.” As our journey began, cars were coming out in groups, five cars in the front and five cars behind, on the roads. It felt as if the dream I had seen was turning into reality, and we continued our journey for almost six months. Being in the presence of Guruji, we got the opportunity to visit several great cities, meet people, interact with leaders, and visit villages and towns. People eagerly awaited Guruji’s arrival, and it felt as if they had been waiting for Guruji for ages as if Shabari Maiyya had been waiting for Lord Rama. I couldn’t understand how a sudden action plan was made that we had to go to a particular village or city, and people were eagerly waiting there. After receiving blessings from their eyes for several days, it felt as if they had been waiting for Guruji for years. Meanwhile, we visited many villages and cities, and we stayed in Lucknow for many days at a devotee’s house. People would come to meet us, and even Dasharatha Ji visited us once. He came and knocked on the gate. We never spoke to him on the phone, but I had only seen his face on Facebook.
It is an incident from Lucknow. I opened the gate and directly said, ‘You have come from Arabia, you are Dasharath Ji.’ Then they started telling everything at the gate. I brought a clay cup for Prabhujee (my Guru), which was made of local soil, and I started telling everything about myself. The first thing they said was to have a glimpse of Guruji. I said, ‘Wait a little, Guruji is talking to someone, I will also meet you.’ After that, as they sat, tears started flowing from their eyes continuously. I got scared, thinking that maybe some trouble has occurred. And they never met Guruji, and there is so much love and tears. And I am a poor person, I live with Guruji, but I have no love. I am not even a devotee. Seeing people, I think I should become a devotee, but a devotee is a devotee. Then I silently think that devotion is a relationship of many births, only the devotee and the Lord know the glory. If devotion doesn’t give me love, then I will wander without any purpose. Then there were many discussions with Dasharath Ji. What have you come for? In the meantime, they showed me a handmade garland made by their own hands. There, chanting ‘Ram Ram’ aloud was not allowed in Arabia. They had made a neem bead garland with their own hands, which they showed me. It had 108 beads. That garland was also amazing.
Then one day, January 26th arrived, and we hadn’t prepared anything. We were foolish and often troubled Guruji. That day was also January 26th, and we hadn’t made any preparations. Guruji was furious with all of us. It is difficult to look into their eyes; it feels like Lord Shiva has descended from Mount Kailash. They explain and say, “Understand everything, understand the current time.” If we understand, we understand. One thing is also there, if a living God is present before you on Earth, it is our Guruji. There was a moment when Guruji got angry, and after that, the celebration of January 26th took place, and they showered boundless love. Then some time later, Monu’s sister was getting married. In the evening, at 7 o’clock, Keshavananad Acharya said, “We have to go.” I said, “When did I say I want to go?” Acharya Ji said, “Then let’s go on a journey. We have to go to Monu’s house; it’s Monu’s sister’s wedding.” I said, “Okay, but we will reach so quickly.” Still, while we were on our way, it took an hour to reach. I was sitting in the second car, and since I have a habit of sleeping, I slept a lot in the car that day. I said in the car that I took a 5-minute break. Everyone thought I meant 5 minutes, but it turned into 5 hours. I didn’t even realize, and we reached Kachhua at 1:30. Either we can call it the magic of the time cycle or Guruji picked us up and brought us there, along with the car. Guruji shows us their divine play, but they show it in a way that people cannot understand whether it is a divine play or a normal event occurring.
After that, we returned from the wedding and again came back to Lucknow, and the journey continued in the same manner. One day, there was an incident at Taj Ganga Hotel in Varanasi involving Raju Bhaiya and Rajendra Acharya ji from Byawar, Rajasthan. They had been accompanying us in the journey for a long time, and Raju Bhaiya was planning to go home. Guru Dev was trying to convince him, while I was serving in my own capacity. Guru Dev was sitting in a chair and explaining something. While explaining, he said something, and as if one leg of the chair was up, just like Lord Shiva sits with one leg up and the other leg down. He moved the leg that was placed above the knee, and his entire posture changed. It was as if Lord Shiva, wrapped in a tiger’s skin, with his matted locks, was flowing with the Ganga river. At first, I thought it was an illusion, but the incident lasted for more than 5-7 minutes. I couldn’t grasp what Raju Bhaiya was saying; nothing was registering in my mind. If I understood what Guru Dev was saying, then I understood that I don’t need to understand someone else’s words. I should understand whatever Guru Dev was saying. But I’m a fool; some things I understood, some things I didn’t, some things I forgot, and some things remained in my memory.
Then one day I spoke to Guruji and said, “Gurudev, I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Guruji replied, “There is no need to understand now. The day you need to understand something, I will explain it to you.” I said, “Alright, let’s solve this confusion.” Then there was an incident that happened once. We were in Amaravati, and even while traveling, Guruji and I were having a lot of fun in the car. We were singing songs from the Amaravati tales and enjoying ourselves. I forgot in which city the incident happened before Amaravati. How did I forget? I don’t know. It was an amazing experience. At that time, Guruji, Sandeepji (Gurudev Anandji), and I were all walking barefoot. In the evening, Guruji said to us, “Today, I will test your endurance. I will make you serve me throughout the night.” He said it with a smile. We had no idea that the divine being we wanted to see since childhood was actually sitting there, observing us. One leg had become the divine feminine, and the other leg was masculine. One woman was wearing a blue saree (as if it was Radha we had imagined), and while pressing Guruji’s feet, her hand slipped. On the other side, Sandeep bhaya’s foot was pressing, and a yellow dhoti was visible. It felt like both Lord Shiva and Lord Krishna, or rather both were present, not separately but in a combined form. I said to Sandeep bhaya, “What I am seeing, you are also seeing.” He got a little nervous at first but then remained open-eyed for about 10-12 minutes. When we reached Amaravati, Aman bhai and Himanshu bhai had also arrived, and a few other people were there too. We were all walking together, doing charan-chhapan (foot touching) together. Then Guruji, while laughing, said, “With your foot touching, I felt that I have already achieved the sky.” He had witnessed all these incidents. Aman and Himanshu asked me, “What’s going on? Tell us.” So, Sandeep bhaya and I started smiling. Then we narrated the entire sequence of events to them. There are many such incidents that occurred during my time with the Brajwasis (devotees of Lord Krishna).
Since childhood, I often had dreams. Another dream was that during the end of the world, the entire Earth would be glowing, and Lord Vishnu would provide a ship. He would say, “Seat the 8 subjects inside. I will summon Vasuki Ji, who will come and pull the ship across to the other side. You will have a sailor with you.” I said, “What is my role, Lord? When the sailor steers, I am just a vessel. I am merely observing everything.” At that moment, Lord Shiva appeared and said, “You are taking these 8 sages, including your Guru, with you.” After that incident, I saw a television series depicting a similar event, and I realized that it was not just a figment of my imagination; it was true. During the time of the Earth’s destruction, it will indeed be engulfed in flames.
Our ashram is located in Sonarakh village, and the Vrindavan pilgrimage route is 300 units away. We come from the Raman Reti Police Station. On both sides, there are old buildings that have been there for a long time. When we come from the Raman Reti Police Station to the ashram, all these old buildings can be seen along the way. It used to appear in my dreams since childhood that the path is like this, but it’s not just imagination; it’s true. The ashram is quite far, and I get tired from walking. Then a Baba with a long beard appears. His seat is on top of earthen stairs, as if he is seated like Lord Shiva in a serene place, waiting only for me. He has Vasuki around his neck. In one battle, there is Gohata, and in another battle, there is another creature, but I feel no fear in going to him. However, I am unable to speak with him, or you can say I am afraid to talk. It’s like how I feel afraid to speak with my Guru. I once told my Guru about this dream when we were in the car, and he smiled and said, “Just be happy. That day was today. This dream feels like a true event from a previous birth.” There is much more to come in the future.
Aakash Gupta, Itarasi
*Jay Gurudev, jai Govind*
