A miracle during the Rath Yatra in Puri
Dr. Suveetha Ganesan, India
Jai Mohanji! Jai Jagannatha!
May all the words that flow in the narration of this incredible experience in the land of Lord Jagannatha be an offering at the lotus feet of my Guru, Mohanji. While I consider being able to witness the Rath Yatra procession in addition to serving the crowd of devotees in front of Lord Jagannath’s Rath (Chariot) as a privilege and blessing in itself, I am sharing a miracle that will remain etched in my memory for the rest of my lifetime.
On the morning of 9th July 2024, the day of Adapomandapa Bije (the day of the auspicious arrival of the Lord Jagannatha and sibling deities- Lord Balabhadra and Devi Subhadra), I had an opportunity to serve as a Mai-Tri instrument to a client. Soon after the process, I witnessed a vision of a very large Mohanji in bluish coloured form with huge feet in the middle of the ground in front of the Raths of the Deities with his head extending into the sky. I also witnessed the presence of many saints and siddhas.
I did not understand the purpose of the vision at the time and decided to follow Mohanji’s advice to not over analyse information and let it be. At the time, I did not know that this vision was Mohanji showing me his protective presence by watching over the procession of the Rath Yatra, the volunteers, and every other being present in his unique style as always.
Moving forward to the evening of the same day of the Pahaundi procession (special celebration of the procession of the deities into the Gundicha Mandir), all the devotees and volunteers gathered eagerly anticipating the procession of Lord Balabhadra (the elder sibling deity of Lord Jagannath) into the Gundicha Mandir. However, there seemed to be some delay in Lord Balabhadra descending the chariot on a wooden ramp carried by the Sevayat (priests) to go into the Gundicha Mandir. At one point, in a sudden, unexpected movement, the heavy idol of Lord Balabhadra tipped face forward, resulting in the fall and injury of several priests who were carrying the Lord.
This became a cause for major panic, with some of the heavily injured priests being immediately shifted into the closest ambulances and taken to the hospital. The other injured priests were carried into the office rooms of the Gundicha Mandir for shelter. At this point, amidst the heavy crowd of devotees, the military, and police personnel gathered, we were asked to supply some water crates from our stall quickly.
Then, a few minutes later, there was an urgent request for doctors, and we were asked to rush and assess the injured priests. In the chaos of the crowd, with people shouting and overall emotions, it was an overwhelming experience to even get out of the stall, let alone push across the tight sea of people to go into the Gundicha Mandir. At that instant, my mind became very calm and blank suddenly. I just rushed into the crowd with Dr. Sheetal following close behind.
At this point, I would like to reveal that deep down, I harboured various fears and insecurities about myself, feeling inadequate (being a dental doctor instead of a medical doctor) despite having the necessary qualifications, skills, and legal authority to administer emergency medical care. However, in that spot of chaos, I just mentally surrendered everything to Mohanji as he took away my fears and even my thoughts to the point that I could hear only my heartbeat while I was running through the crowd into the Gundicha Mandir. Mohanji’s grace also made sure that military personnel led us safely through the crowd swiftly.
Upon reaching the place where the injured priests were being attended to, Dr. Sheetal and I jumped into action without hesitation to provide the required emergency treatment for the various injuries before sending some of them to the hospital for further investigation or specialised care. The rest of our team of volunteers also rushed inside to help us with the first aid supplies, and everything went on smoothly despite all the chaos around us. It was a sheer blessing and a miracle to be able to serve the Sevayat, directly involved in the service of the deities.
Later, we learned there were no major injuries to anyone despite what looked like a major event in terms of the positioning of the fall. My mind was still in a state of blankness even though I was running around to ensure the injured were being calmed down and taken care of. Due to this unique set of circumstances, our team had the privilege of watching the entire procession of the deities up close from inside the temple. I had to pinch myself several times to ensure that I wasn’t dreaming and was actually a part of this life-changing experience through the overwhelming love and grace of Mohanji.
Later at night, in a jolt of realisation while listening to Subhashree’s description (given below) of Mohanji’s suddenly bruised knees, it occurred to me that Mohanji’s presence in the vision was just an aspect of this beautiful orchestration of a divine leela filled with grace, love, and protection to all the beings in the space. I am overwhelmingly grateful to Mohanji for giving me a chance to witness a part of his divine leelas at play in the most subtle way.
Thank you, Mohanji for providing me this incredible opportunity for seva whilst breaking away my barriers to flow unhindered as your instrument to my best potential.
by Subhasree Thottungal, UK
I noticed a bruise on Mohanji’s right knee, and then also on the left knee late afternoon of 9th June 2024. This wasn’t there in the morning.
When I saw it, I asked him, “How did this bruise happen?” He didn’t say much, just said, “I have many fights to deal with.”
Sometime after that, when Aishwarya and Kameah called me to speak about the Rath yatra update, she told me that this afternoon in Puri, Lord Balabhadra’s idol fell on the stairs of the Rath. Immediately, a thought came to my mind, “Ah, now I know how Mohanji got the bruise.”
Later, I narrated this to Mohanji and took his permission to click the photo of his knees. But the divine signal is clear enough!
[If you zoom into the shape of the bruise, you will see the symbol of a plough (the weapon of Lord Balabhadra).]
Edited & Published by – Testimonials Team, 11th July 2024
|| JAI BRAHMARISHI MOHANJI ||
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