“You are working in a bank right?”. This question was from Swami and was addressed to me. The scene was set in the interview room in Prasanthi Mandir. Bhagawan was seated on the chair in the interview room and I was seated on the floor.

It was just the two of us in the interview room. And this scene is from one of the most vivid dreams of Bhagawan that I have ever had so far in my life. 

“Yes, Swami”. I answered in response to His question.

“So when you say, you work in a bank, what work do you actually do? Do you write accounts etc.?” As He spoke, the latter part of the sentence, Swami made an innocent sweet gesture with His hands as though He was actually writing out accounts in a book! 

“I work as a branch manager Swami”, I said.

“Oh! You are a branch manager?” He said, with evident pride.

“You sing right?” He asked.

“Yes, Swami.”,.

“So why don’t you sing a song.” 

Even before I could respond, Swami got off from His chair. He sat cross-legged right in front of me! And to my utter amazement, He placed a harmonium in front of Himself!

“Which song will you sing?” He asked.

“Teri Hai Zameen, Swami”, I heard myself say.

I have had the opportunity to sing this song a few times in Bhagawan’s Divine presence. While I know this song, I have absolutely no clue why I ‘chose’ to sing this song in the ‘dream’ interview. In fact, at that point in time, this song never figured in my list of top favourites!’

In the dream Swami played the opening line of the song on the harmonium as a lead. I started singing the opening stanza- the version of the lyrics which we used to sing during my student days. Something strange happened after I had completed singing the opening stanza I directly jumped to the last stanza of the song. As I started singing this stanza, Swami, who until then, was just accompanying me on the harmonium, started singing along with me. He was swaying beautifully from side to side as He sang these lines. It was as though He was underlining those lines for me. As soon as this stanza was concluded Bhagawan looked at me and with an enchanting smile playing on His face, said “Very good, very good”.

Swami then stood up, created vibhuti with the characteristic wave of His Divine hand and then commanded me to open my mouth. He then dropped the materialised Vibhuti into my mouth. He seemed to have a solemn expression on His face while He did this. As I saw the vibhuti fall into my mouth I noticed that it had some golden crystals mixed in it! And as the vibhuti fell on my tongue I noticed that it tasted sweet!

Exactly at that moment, the dream ended. I woke my wife up saying, “I saw Swami…I saw Swami!”. It was the pre-dawn hours, the ‘Brahma Muhurtha’. The amazing thing was that even after I woke up, for a few moments, I could still feel the sweetness of the vibhuti linger on my tongue! This still baffles me! It was as though for those brief moments, the dividing line between the dream and waking states had blurred!

Shortly after the dream, I went through what was possibly one of the most challenging periods in my professional career. But each time I was filled with despair, the vivid scene of Swami singing the following song – Tu Chahe Toh Hame Maare – along with me in the dream, would flash in my mind.    

The significance of the lines of that song slowly started dawning on me. I felt that Swami was teaching me that I must consider all experiences in my life, the painful {Tu Chahe Toh Hame Mare} and pleasurable {Tu Chahe Toh Hame Rakhe} as part of His script for me {Tere Hi Haath Se Sai…Hamare Bhag Hai Likhe}. He was teaching me the important lesson of ‘Sharanagathi’, total equanimity in the face of pain and pleasure which He has proclaimed on many occasion to be His definition of devotion!

Swami pulled me out of the professional challenge I was undergoing in His inimitable amazing manner.

As though to confirm the dream, when I visited Prasanthi Nilayam immediately after the difficulty got resolved, through a seemingly unlikely sequence of events I found myself amongst the two or three singers who were to lead the rendition of ‘Teri Hai Zameen..” in His Divine presence! I felt Swami was looking straight into my eyes while this song was being sung and only the two of us understood how much this meant to me!

The story has an interesting sequel. Slowly, I started observing a pattern emerging. I found that before each time I was to pass through a rough patch, this song appeared in front of me apparently out of the blue! I must confess, that initially, my monkey mind was seeing this song as an omen of trouble to come!

But gradually, it has started occurring to me that to the contrary, it is a sign of His grace and mercy. I began seeing that far from being an ‘omen of troubling times to come’ it was a proactive assurance from the Divine scriptwriter of my life that a tough scene in the Divine Drama was impending, but because it is scripted by Him, I will sail through it safely and emerge more evolved, riding on the benign wings of His grace. 

I remembered what an elderly devotee once said “Brother, it is not that tough times come into people’s lives when they come to Swami. In reality, Swami comes into their life just before tough times come in so that He can guide and guard them through the rough ride!” 

T S Balaramachandran B.Com (Hons.) in Brindavan, Master of Financial Management in Prasanthi Nilayam, 1994 – 1999). He was a part of the Mandir Bhajan group during his student days and is currently a part of the Sundaram Bhajan group at Chennai. Currently working with a leading bank in the Human Resources function.