The Protection of the Divine

One day when Draupadi, the Pandavas, and Krishna were dining together, Draupadi suddenly grew sullen and moody. When Krishna quizzed her about her mood, she made the following retort. (Image Source)

You came quickly when my husbands invited you. However, why did you delay when I called you as I was being harassed in Hastinapur?
Krishna said he came as soon as she called him, and since she had asked the question, she would receive the appropriate answer.

When your husbands went to gamble, and Duryodhana said Shakuni will play on my behalf, why did they not think of me? They could have said Krishna would play on our behalf. However, they trusted their ability instead of trusting me. When they lost everything, and Dushasana dragged you into the throne room, what did you say first? You looked at your husbands and asked them to help you.

Next, you begged all the elders in the room to stop this injustice, yet you never called me. After that, you pleaded with every person you trusted, and still, you did not remember me. You even asked Dushasana and Duryodhana to stop this gross violation of Dharma, but you did not think of me. When nothing worked, and Dushasana started disrobing you, you held on to your garment with all your strength instead of remembering me. When your strength finally failed you, you uttered my name and said, Krishna, save me. I came immediately. That gathering had the greatest warriors in the world. Could they harm you or outrage your modesty? Never say that I did not come. You did not call me, and without an invitation, how can I manifest for you.

This incident was narrated by my guru Om Swami during an event. He spoke about it with a gentleness and poignancy that brought tears to my eyes.

This is one of the most distressing incidents I have read about in Indian mythology, and the only balm I received was from the divine bhajan by Dr. Gurnam Singh. The video does not have embed permissions but do listen to it. It soothes the soul.

My personal experience of divine protection when I explicitly asked for it is a slightly embarrassing story. I was completely lost during the years 1999–2005, during which I prepared for and completed my engineering degree. I failed multiple exams, hid them from my parents, and attempted them again. During one such attempt, a friend managed to sneak a look at a question paper and started scribbling the answer in his palm. I quickly did the same without thinking too much about it. An hour into the exam, an invigilator saw my friend sneaking a look at his palm and threw him out of the examination hall. They suspended his candidature and told him to bring his parents for counseling. They then started checking the hands of every single student in a class of sixty students.

I was sweating bullets. I imagined the face of my innocent parents learning about this and how it would break their hearts. I did the only thing I could. I prayed with all my heart. I volunteered at the Vinayaka (Ganesh) Temple near my house. I considered him my second father. I prayed to him to rescue me from this situation, and I would pay any price he wanted.

The examiner walked down my row. He came to me, smiled and said I was a sincere student, and went to check the student behind me. The class had 60 students. He checked the hands of 59 students. I thanked my stars, completed the exam, and walked out. I felt a little ashamed that I used my divine for such a cause but was generally relieved.

Remember about the promise to Ganesha that he could extract any price he wanted? Another friend called me a few weeks later. I had failed both the exams I had attempted by a single mark. Our university gave a passing grade of 50, and I got 49 in two exams I had attempted. Everyone consoled me and told me it’s unfair and that I was unlucky. Only I knew that my father, Ganesha, had let me off cheaply