Overwhelmed with tears of gratitude, I bow at the divine feet of my revered Guru “Om Swami”, thanking Him for His unprecedented kindness, compassion, and love, in accepting me under the ‘Umbrella of His Grace’ by initiating me as “Willbur Om”, just a few days prior to the most auspicious day of ‘Guru Purnima’.
What does this ‘Initiation’ mean?
Why would someone want to be ‘Initiated’?
Above all, what is the benefit in being ‘Initiated’, a logically reasoning, ‘primitive’ mind may ask?
Well, in my irrelevant humble opinion, it is technically an opportunity (by Divine grace) to ‘Jump Start’ your dormant spiritual, emotional, and materialistic life, under the grace, guidance, and direction of an enlightened Master.
Think of ‘Initiation’ as a temporary visa you acquire to travel outside your country (read karmic realm) and do something worthwhile with your life.
As an immigrant myself, I know the value of this opportunity, technically speaking, both in terms of materialistic well-being as well as now spiritually.
Long story cut short; this initiation and family meeting at the spectacularly organised “Weekend Evenings with Om Swami” at Towrang, Sri Hari Temple, was a 5 in 1 “Quintuple Guru Purnima Dhamaka (explosion)” for me and here is why!
Dhamaka Number 1 – Initiation Itself:
9th July (Saturday) 2022 @ 4:45p.m. was the day and time destined for my new birth. Since then, Swamiji’s divine compassionate voice continues to resonate in my head and heart.
During the initiation process, whilst touching my forehead and chanting the divine esoteric mantras in His majestic tonality and compassionate voice, Swamiji not only took upon all my karmic debts and deeds, but above all, said the following words in the utmost kindness, compassion and love.
“Willbur, from this moment onwards, you are part of my lineage, and I accept you, as my son, as my disciple.”
Words that have been signatured upon my heart, mind, and soul.
{Note: This is the 1st stage of initiation. Once we follow the provided ‘simple’ (not easy) instructions reverently for 365 days, we ‘May Be’ eligible for stage 2. And till date, out of 100%, only 10-15% people have reached stage 2. There are 7 stages of initiation.}
Kudos to the Sydney Team of Om Swamiji, who did a spectacularly amazing job in not only bringing Swamiji to Australia, but also organising the event in the most splendid and organised manner! A million bows to their effort.
Dhamaka Number 2 – Family Meeting Miracle:
Being a patron donor since July 2019 @ the BLPFA Sri Hari Temple project in Towrang, we were finally blessed in July 2022, with the opportunity for a 4-minute donor meeting with Swamiji, (which unintentionally got extended to 6-7 minutes), this time with my beloved daughter ‘Mairaa’.
Previous to that, Mairaa was in her mummy’s tummy in July 2019 (Read of Swamiji’s miracles during that meeting here).
Naughty Mairaa, who was mischievously playing, all evening with ‘Silvy’ (Lajjya ji’s & Rajeev ji’s beloved dog at the temple), somehow miraculously, ended up sleeping like a log, just minutes before we entered the cottage to see Swamiji. I tried waking Mairaa up (a bit vigorously too) but no avail.
As we entered the beautiful cottage where Swamiji was seated like a ‘Divine Lotus of Light’, welcoming us with his gracious smile. He, at once said, “It was constantly at the back of my mind, I was worrying for little Mairaa, waiting in the queue, as it is very cold outside (winter evening in the forest). Hope she is okay?”
{Note – How did Swamiji even know we were standing outside the cottage in a long queue of so many people? How did Swamiji even know / remember Mairaa’s name (who was yet to be born back then) from the 3-minute meeting in July 2019, having met thousands of people since? How did Swamiji even know anything and everything we were about to speak / ask him prior? This is indeed ‘Super Human’ ability right there. Once again, we were humbled at this miracle and His all-knowing ability, care and love.}
Dhamaka Number 3 – Family Meeting Blessings, Jokes & Comment:
When we asked Swamiji for His blessings, He graciously nodded and touched Mairaa’s head blessing her. He also blessed all our Rudraksha’s & my ‘Pukhraj (Yellow Sapphire)’ gold ring. Upon asking which finger should I wear it?
Swamiji jokingly replied “Whichever finger it fits”. 😛
We all started laughing. Swamiji advised correctly later on of-course.
Whilst Mahima and Myself were thanking Swamiji for all His grace & blessings, especially confirming that personally I feel Mairaa is a gift from Sri Hari and we have Dr. Jayshree Om helping us out with the Vaastu of our home ‘Vaikunda’ being built in Manningham, Adelaide, at which,
Swamiji not only smiled and nodded, but lovingly commented “She (Mairaa) is an angel”.
Hearing this, both, Mahima and myself were in smiles to the sky, while naughty Mairaa slept in my arms resting her head on my shoulders and listening subconsciously to Swamiji’s Divine voice and words.
Oh and if I may add, Mahima tried taking Mairaa into her arms, but Mairaa started crying and came back to me saying ‘Pappu, Pappu’ (Dad). Mahima said to Swamiji, “She is indeed Pappa’s Pari (angel) only”.
Swamiji was laughing away and graciously smiled at sleeping Mairaa, touching her head with His divine hands.
Dhamaka Number 4 – Family Meeting Personal Aspirations & Gifts:
Having completed ‘Walk the Dragon Leadership Program’ conducted by Swamiji in December 2021 – January 2022, I shared with Swamiji that this program was the impetus that propelled me to leave my comfy Council job and move into the Realty business (change of career at almost 40) as well as complete my pending book etc. It was a year of massive ground breaking change.
Swamiji smiled, nodded and said “Very nice”.
Feeling proud as a little kid when praised by his/her parents, I also showed Swamiji, my personal A4 Sized black diary/folder which has Sri Hari’s, Warrior Mahadev’s & Swamiji’s photo collage on it, along with my top 5 goals listed on the top, one of which is to be an ‘Enlightened Multi-Millionaire’.
Swamiji held the A4 size black diary/folder in His divine hands and glanced all over and inside it, with a smile and nodded.
{Note: Can you imagine me (Aladdin) and Swamiji (Genie) scenario right now? If that nod is ‘tathastu’ (so be it), then nothing in the 3 worlds can stop that from happening. Isn’t it?}
In utmost humility I told Swamiji, that Maa Laxmi has blessed me with Mahima and Mairaa and I aspire to earn so very much in my ‘Realty Business’ that I can pay for all thy trips, Sadhana App and every expense of the Ashram forever.
Swamiji graciously laughed and said, “No No it is okay. Thank you for that”, nodding his head as if a father/mother soothes his/her child when they say that they want to do something for them with utmost enthusiasm, innocence and joy.
In the midst of our fun, laughter and loving conversations, I totally forgot to bring the collage painting gift that I made for Swamiji as well as my book ‘Drops of Wisdom’ which is dedicated to Mairaa and Swamiji (more about it later). I was almost in tears when I couldn’t find them in my bag. Seeing me disheartened, Swamiji said to me,
“Willbur, I have read your posts and I see your comments. It is okay. Do not worry. Hand over your book to Vedananda Swamiji tomorrow”
That moment, was indeed as if my ‘tapasya’ (penance) was noticed by Godhead Himself, as shown in the mythological Mahabharata serials. (Read “Shiva to Om Swami” Part 1 here).
You can imagine my happiness, gratitude and tears in knowing that my beloved Guru (for whom I write) noticed my writings in the crowd of a million posts. It was ‘Eternal Grace’ come true for me, as an Author/Writer. I asked Swamiji to pardon my writing errors and crazy comments (as a hardcore fan) on all His posts. 😛
I shared with Swamiji that I knew of Him via Neeta Singhal ji when I was doing a seminar on Rudraksha, shortly after Swamiji launched His first book “If the Truth Be Told” at the same venue in Mumbai. (Read Shiva to Om Swami Part 2 here)
It seemed Swamiji just knew everything that I was sharing, it was more like a reiteration of me to myself. Again those who know will know what I am talking about.
Finally, we had Vedu Swamiji take a few photos of us and I told Swamiji that Vedu Swamiji has been an angel messenger for all my prayers and requests from the time Mairaa was born till today. Vedu Swamiji was sheepishly smiling away, being thankful for the compliments as well as Swamiji nodding his head, graciously smiling and bidding us good bye.
Having almost finished our family meeting and about to walk out of the cottage, I turned around and shouted loudly,
“We love you Swamiji”.
Everyone around started giggling, whilst Swamiji was lovingly smiling, nodding his head and giving His blessings with His compassionate look of utmost love, grace and care (those who know, will know).
As you can imagine, on day 2, somehow miraculously, the collage painting gift that I made for Swamiji’s, found place in Sri Hari’s Towrang temple via Priyanka ji and my book ‘Drops of Wisdom’ was delivered to Vedu Swamiji via Deepak ji.
A million “Thank you” to Priyanka ji, Deepak ji, Abhishek ji, Alpna ji, Lajjya ji & all others for making this miracle happen.
{Note – This collage painting gift could not have found a better place in the entire Universe. Isn’t it? Both these paintings adorn my book ‘Drops of Wisdom’ and is dedicated to Swamiji as a small humble token of appreciation.}
Dhamaka Number 5 – Book “Drops of Wisdom”:
Having offered my book at the feet of Sri Hari on the second day, it made its way to Swamiji via a chain of commands.
This book is dedicated to my adorable beloved daughter, Mairaa, who one day may hold this book and its wisdom close to her heart remembering the memories and legacy of her father, as well as to my Guru, revered spiritual leader and bestselling author, Om Swami, whose compassionate grace, affectionate smile, and wise words of wisdom have accompanied me during this book-writing journey and life.
Above everything else in this entire Universe, Swamiji’s foreword testimonial for my book, is nothing less than a “Writer’s Badge & Blessing” that I aspire to diligently wear with humble honour till my last breath.
More about it in the next blog. In the meantime, let’s enjoy a glimpse of the book.
Conclusion
This 9th & 10th July weekend 2022 trip to see Swamiji post-covid (after almost 2.5 years) was like the first drizzling shower of rain that finally quenched the thirst of our scorching parched minds, hearts, and souls, especially of our Australian pariwar (family).
The fragrance of unconditional love, deep devotion and pure happiness was exuberant in the air.
The 3 words “Blessed Beyond Belief” sums up it up really well.
Paying homage to my most beloved and revered Guru, “Om Swami” on this auspicious day of Guru Purnima, I would like to reiterate the famous couplets of Kabir Das (mystic poet and saint in 15th century India) as follows:
{Hindi}
गुरू गोविन्द दोऊ खड़े, काके लागूं पांय।
बलिहारी गुरू अपने गोविन्द दियो बताय।।
{English}
Guru Govind dou khade, kaake laagoon paye
Balihari guru aapne, Govind diyo bataye.”
{Translation}
Both God and my Guru stand before me. Whom should I bow to first?
I first bow to my guru, because he is the one,
who showed me the path to God.”
Happy Guru-Purnima all.
Until next time!
Willbur
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