A Bizarre Incident

In September 1998, I took the initiative of rewiring the electric cables in our building comprising sixteen flats with the support of all but one resident. The wiring was completed on a Tuesday. The wiring was so neat that everyone appreciated the electrician. The problems of voltage fluctuation were also arrested. On Thursday early morning, at about 3 a.m., we woke up hearing a big commotion downstairs. In the floor below an old woman was found dead in the bathroom. Incidentally, the whole building was under electric shock. Everyone thought the woman had died of electric shock. The Electricity Board technicians inspected and reported that there was nothing wrong with either the supply or the wiring. They could not find out why the building was on shock! The mystery deepened further because the building was on shock even after the power supply to the building was totally cut off!

The initial reaction was that the electric shock was because of faulty rewiring. Little did they realise that the shock had occurred 48 hours after the rewiring was completed. One can imagine the tension with a dead body lying in a flat and the building still under electric shock. We were helpless not knowing what to do. Meanwhile my wife suggested calling up Swamiji. I told her that I could not talk to Him even if I could get Him on the line. However, I kept looking at His photograph and the telephone. Within few minutes the telephone rang. My wife attended the telephone and before she could say anything she burst into tears. It was Swami on the line asking what the problem was! He felt like talking to us that day. He said that the death of the woman and the electric shock had nothing to do with the electrical rewiring. He asked us to attend the bhajan at Puja Mandiram that evening. At the Mandiram He told us that a minor alteration had to be done and that the concerned person will do it.

The dead woman was taken for burial after 36 hours and there were no signs of electric shock on her body. Most probably she had died of heart attack as she was a heart patient.

Later we found that the three phases were giving three different voltages. The supply on one phase was found so high that the Electricity Board engineers had to disconnect that phase. Meanwhile they changed the transformer itself but the situation continued. Then on Christmas day, the building was on electric shock again. However, this time we found that the shock was due to a cable fault in the neighbouring block. The shock vanished on repairing the wiring in that building. As Swamiji had told us the incidents had nothing to do with the electrical rewiring in our building.

After this incident I recollected that Swamiji had asked us not to venture out of Chennai during the month. Obviously, He had foreseen trouble ahead. Later we came to know that Swami had spoken to three devotees who were in trouble that day.

Heavens Can Wait

We arranged a bhajan in our colony on 3^rd December, 1998. Last year rain had played spoilsport during the bhajan in our colony. He had foretold last year itself that everyone would expect rain during the next bhajan but it would not rain. It was the auspicious day of Karthika Deepam and it happened to be Guru Purnima. It is a widespread belief that it would rain on Karthika Deepam day. Many devotees even asked me why I had kept an open-air puja on such a day. Little did they know that I had Swami’s assurance.

He arrived at around 7 p.m. and while walking towards the stage He again assured me that it would not rain. The bhajan started and as soon as Swamiji rendered one song a small drizzle appeared. I was frozen for a moment. A few people made for the nearby flats fearing a heavy downpour because the sky was dark with clouds. Just then Swamiji said, "Don’t worry, it won’t rain." Before people could move out the drizzle had stopped! The bhajan went on very well and Swami left at around 1.30 a.m. At around 5.30 a.m., there was a heavy thundershower for an hour or so and the entire compound and nearly half the stage came under water. The story repeated during the bhajan in Mr.Rajaguru’s house the very next Thursday. For the divine incarnations, the five elements and the nature are under control and they can play with nature just as a baby would play with its Barbie doll!

Anjaneya From Dust

On 3^rd December, 1998, the day of bhajan in our colony Mr.Krishna Theja called on us in the morning. While talking to us he noticed a roll of dust hanging from our sofa cushion. He asked me to look at it carefully. It looked like a form of Anjaneya with His tail up, one hand extended and holding something in the palm!

Swami’s Live Appearance

In November, 1998 when Swami was abroad, atleast three devotees saw Swamiji for a few seconds at the Mandiram entrance. They saw Him dressed in His usual kurta pyjama. The interesting thing is that of the three devotees, two were sitting in the Mandiram singing bhajans and the third devotee was approaching the Mandiram to attend the bhajan. Equally interesting is that the husband of this devotee who was walking behind her did not see Swami. The reality of the dream can be understood from the fact that the devotee who saw Him told her daughter pointing to the Mandiram entrance that Swami had arrived from abroad. Her daughter too saw Him in a flash.
 
 

Thunderbolt

This incident occurred during the monsoon in 1998 when Swami was abroad. His car was parked just in front of the Mandiram. Two persons were sitting in the Mandiram. All of a sudden lightning and thunder started and the horn of the car was continuously being sounded. Hearing the car horn one of the persons moved out to see what was happening when a flash of lightning entered the Mandiram, passed through the place from where she had moved out and vanished with a bang. There was no damage or injury to anyone. It was a royal entry of Anjaneya to His own abode.

It remains a mystery how the car horn could have been sounded because the car was locked. Had the horn not sounded the person would not have moved from where she was seated and would have probably got injured. It is described in Hanuman Chalisa (Verse 5) that Anjaneya carries thunderbolt in His hand.

A Tail of an Address List

This year, preparations for the Jayanthi had started as early as October. I had suggested that this time all the addresses could be computerised and that it could be done in no time. Nevertheless, it turned out to be so tough for us because whoever we had arranged for keying in the address could not complete the work for one reason or another. Finally I personally keyed in part of the data and part of the addresses had to be written down. The point is, as I had experienced last year, no work should be presumed as simple and easy to be done. It will lengthen like the never-ending tail of Anjaneya!

Never Say ‘Done’

The translation of the World Prophecies was yet another instance. A devotee had already translated the World Prophecies into Tamil which my friend had undertaken to fine tune so that it matched word to word. He had taken assistance from a couple of other persons well versed in Tamil. When we went through the proof, we found several deviations from the original in English. Finally what we had anticipated to do easily could be done only on the first day of the Jayanthi.

Five Instruments for the Five Faced

It was Swami’s wish to have the popular Panchavadyam, a kind of music with five different types of instruments. I had assured Him that I would try during December because during the month the players would normally visit Chennai. But I really did not know whom to contact. Then one Saturday He reminded me again about it. I returned home, took my lunch and was about to doze off when I heard some one playing Panchavadyam. I ran out of my house to find out the details. On enquiry I was told that the artistes had been brought from Kerala and that they would be available in Chennai for a month. On another day, the same team of artistes came very near my house in connection with a puja for Lord Ayyappa. I rushed to the place and booked them then and there.

Office at 11 a.m.

On 17^th December, 1998, He asked Mr.Rajaguru how the atmosphere was in the office at 11 a.m. that day. He could not answer. He repeated the question to Mr.Mishra. Then I recollected that the three of us had an animated discussion around my desk about what should be done regarding the live webcast. When I revealed this to Swami, he said that there was no need to worry about the webcast and that it would go smooth.

An Unexpected Puja

Swami, Mr.Krishna Theja and myself visited the house of a reputed playback singer and a good devotee of Swami to invite her for participating in the Hanumanth Jayanthi. We spent a couple of hours with the family. He spoke on many matters such as grihastasrama, the need to carry out one’s duty, faith, and so on. He spoke to her sister in law about the sudden demise of her father, her flair for music, her plans to do management program, and many such matters. Meanwhile the electric power went off when Swami said that power will be restored before we left. True to His word, the electric power was restored before we left their house.

Invitation

On 7^th December, 1999, Swami asked me to accompany Him for distribution of invitations to a gathering of people in a reputed ashram. We were six people. When we started it was drizzling but as soon as we reached the place the rain had completely stopped. We distributed the invitations to around thousand people and visited a devotee staying nearby. Then we went to the residence of three devotees. At one place, it turned out to be a puja by itself and we spent a couple of hours there.

On 9^th December, 1998, we again went to the same place for distributing invitations. This time also we were six persons. While the invitations and the now famous Message for the 20^th Century from Swamiji were being distributed, a member of that ashram raised his objections with the police official who was in charge of law and order. The police officer read the invitation and the Message and asked us to distribute them right inside the ashram saying that the Message was so nice and essential for the present world!

Question Hour

While the invitations were being distributed, I had the opportunity to be with Swami along with Mr.Krishna Rao for nearly an hour. We had the fortune of clarifying several doubts on spiritual matters. I had glimpses of Swami’s true nature and His mission. While we were busy discussing, a young boy known to Mr.Krishna Rao approached him and said, "Uncle, I want to meet Sri Vikraman Swami. I have been trying to meet Him for a long time." He said this standing next to Swami not knowing who He was!

Live Webcast

We had called a technician to set up the computer for Internet connection at the Mandiram. Being an experienced technician, he expected to complete the work in half an hour but it took him nearly five hours. Similarly we encountered many technical problems which we rectified one by one with patience. We did a very successful demo Webcast on 31^st December, 1998. After the program Swami said, "You will have an experience tomorrow which you are going to write about."

The next day morning, Swamiji asked us whether everything was alright with the computer. We said that it was all fine. When the system was switched on we found that the adaptor had become defective. Then we found to our dismay that the videographer had not brought the required connecting cables. There were a couple of other problems which too were overcome with timely advice and technical tips from Mr.Krishnamurthy who monitored the webcast from the USA. Consequently, the commencement of the procession could not be webcast live. However, we could webcast the taped version and the tail end of the program live quite successfully.

After a while Swamiji came to the computer room and told Mr.Rajaguru and Mr.Pranav Mishra that the final test was over and that everything would be alright. Mr.Rajaguru broke into tears as he could not no longer contain his tension and anxiety.

Truly, His blessings enabled us to carry out the task because none of us had previous experience in live webcast and we had many problems with the hardware. By accomplishing it, Swami’s prophecy of live webcast of Hanumanth Jayanthi had come true. We are happy that some of us could witness and take part in this event. He had foreseen not only this event but also the obstacles on the way.
 
 

The 6 a.m. Call

After the procession on 1^st January, 1999 we reached home late and went to sleep late. We had planned to leave for Puja Mandiram at 6 a.m. However, we would have overslept but for an unusual but timely call from my brother from Gujarat which woke me up. During Hanumanth Jayanthi last year I was woken up by a dream in which Swami called me. My brother never used to ring up early in the morning and that too he rings up only on Sundays.

A Maharaja

The eleventh Hanumanth Jayanthi had many unique features. The celebrations were webcast live on the Internet. Swami was carried on a palanquin throughout the evening procession on 1^st January, 1999. Pictures of Jesus, the Holy Mecca, and Lord Hanuman were taken around during the procession. Panchavadyam was introduced for the first time for the procession. The Jayanthi was celebrated on three days instead of the usual two days. With a nicely decorated pink turban and seated on the palanquin, Swami looked like a maharaja of a Princely State.

While the procession was in progress, a sick boy living near the Mandiram had a dream of a maharaja visiting him. When he opened his eyes he saw a person sitting on a palanquin sending prasad for him through a volunteer! It was Swami on the palanquin blessing the devotees on the way!

Lighter Moments

Interesting incidents happen during every Hanumanth Jayanthi. On a day in December, 1998, Swami, Mr. Krishna Theja and myself were on the way to a shop at Kodambakkam for hiring shamiana, furniture and such paraphernalia for the Jayanthi. We spotted a dozen men carrying decorated petromax lamps on head. Swami stopped the car and took down their pager number from their uniform. Later He booked them for the Hanumanth Jayanthi.

While the dance ballet Pushparaagangal was going on the stage dry ice was blown on to the stage towards the end of the program to create a special effect. Seeing it on closed circuit TV, a devotee sitting in the computer room got scared because he thought the stage had caught fire!

On 3^rd January, 1999, the stock of water was depleted but due to the shamianas the truck carrying water could not be brought near the Mandiram. It was a great moment for the volunteers. Nearly 4000 litres of water was transported by the volunteers from the truck to the sump in front of the Mandiram in two hours. Seeing the men in action, some women devotees commented, "If these men work at home also like this, the world would have been a much better place!" Another devotee remarked, "It is better that the wives don’t see this, otherwise we would be in trouble."

We had a tough time controlling the crowd because many had waited in queue for hours. I tried my best to pacify a group telling them that Swami had gone to the Mandiram for food and rest. One woman then drew my attention to the closed circuit TV where Swami was being shown talking to few devotees including artistes. Drawn to my wits end I managed to save my skin by saying that an interview was going on!

Seeing the volunteers in action a group of Ayyappa devotees mistook that they were hired for rendering service during the three-day program. The Ayyappa devotees even wanted to know whether the volunteers could offer their services for a program contemplated by them!

When we invited a woman to watch the devotional programs instead of waiting in queue she remarked that she would watch such programs on television. When we invited her for food she said, "I will take food at my home. I want to meet Swamiji." Every soul that ventured into the place was seeking Swami. To them Swami was the program and Swami was the programmer. Other things were just secondary.

It was amusing to see Swami moving shoulder to shoulder with His devotees late in the night. Wearing a sweater and a muffler wrapped around His head He was seen at all places where devotees were in work in connection with the Hanumanth Jayanthi. He would look into every minute details of any work, however insignificant it may otherwise appear.

His Master’s Voice

This interesting incident occurred sometime in January, 1999. A young devotee had appeared for the written test for a job in a shipping company which had few vacancies to be filled from nearly five lakh candidates. Swami had told him that he would land the good job. However, he became tensed up because there was no response from the company. One day, with a tensed up mind, he went to a near temple and prayed there. He came out and stood near the temple. After a while he called a person standing nearby by name and started giving divine counseling in the same manner as Swami. He spoke for nearly forty-five minutes or so and concluded by saying, "Go and meet my guru Sri Vikraman Swami of Nanganallur."

Later he received the appointment letter from the shipping company which he showed to me in the Mandiram on 4^th February, 1999 during a bhajan. After narrating his experience, he mentioned some incidents about me also. It was as if Swami was speaking through him. When I mentioned this incident to Swami, He remarked, "With devotees like him around my work load would get reduced."

From the Middle East With A New Wife

Swamiji called on a devotee at the Child Trust Hospital on 9^th February, 1999. While He was speaking to the devotee, a person from a nearby ward spotted Him and approached Him. The person had met Swami in a puja in the Middle East. Swami had told him during the puja that he would next meet Swami along with his new wife. The person had a troubled marriage and was contemplating divorce. For the last couple of years he had tried to contact Swami but in vain. His son was admitted in the same hospital with jaundice. The prophecy had come true.

From this hospital we went to Vijaya Hospital to call on another devotee who was admitted for heart trouble. It so happened that day Swami rang up the devotee while the devotee was about to inform Swami about the health problem of his wife. Doctors suspected heart trouble but Swami ruled out heart disease. Finally the doctors were proved wrong.

An interesting thing was that Swamiji had told a relative of the devotee the previous weekend that she would meet Swamiji again very soon. But she was not very sure of it as Swamiji was scheduled to leave for Kuwait in three days. When Swamiji visited the hospital she also happened to be there. As soon as Swamiji saw her He asked, "Where is the hundred rupee note?" She replied, "In front of your photograph." Then Swamiji said, "Yes, I see everything."

Cancer Turns Ulcer

During January, 1999 father of a very close devotee was admitted in hospital with infection. The doctors suspected cancer, and tests were to be conducted on the 18^th of January. On 14^th January, Swamiji gave a plantain to the devotee and said, Give this to your father, he will be alright." The medical tests revealed that it was ulcer and not cancer.

Heart Trouble for A Telephone

Once a devotee wanted to apply for a telephone connection under special category claiming that he was a heart patient. He approached a physician for a medical certificate. The doctor examined him and pronounced that he had really a heart disease! Shocked by the doctor’s verdict, the devotee stopped moving out of his house and abstained from attending puja. One day Swami asked him to come over and meet Him. He obeyed rather hesitantly. Swami told him that he did not have any such disease. On further diagnosis it was found that he did not have any heart disease at all!

Walk Over Water

A couple of months back, Swami had told my wife that she would have a dream of crossing over water. On February 18^th 1999, I had a dream against the backdrop of a familiar location where I was talking to a relative. All of a sudden, water appeared gushing forth and I lifted both my legs and started walking above the water without touching it. I crossed the stream watched by a small crowd. Among the crowd was an old woman, who was amazed by my feat. I turned to her and asked her to lift her leg. When she lifted one leg, I asked her to lift the other one too. When she could not do so I said lifting the other leg was also as simple as lifting the first leg! Later when I narrated this to my wife she told me that she also had a vague but somewhat similar dream the previous week involving water!

Dispeller of Evil

A devotee narrated this incident, which occurred a couple of years ago, to me recently. The devotee was in his office. Swami was in puja. The devotee’s wife was alone at home. All of a sudden she felt that she was under an unearthly spell because she heard eerie sounds and a voice asking her to come out of the house. She took Swami’s photograph and started roaming inside the house. She did not, however, open the door. Meanwhile Swami stopped the puja all of a sudden and asked His wife and another devotee to accompany Him. Swamiji and His wife set off by scooter accompanied by the other devotee on scooter. Later the devotee explained that Swamiji was literally flying on the road.

At the same time the husband of the devotee felt like returning home, closed down his office and proceeded to his house. It was unusual because normally he returns home late in the evening.

When Swamiji reached the house, the devotee opened the door. As soon as Swamiji entered the house she was relieved from the spell and became normal. As mentioned in Hanuman Chalisa (verse 24) the very name of Lord Hanuman drives away evil spirits. This proves that Swami is the personification of the spirit of Lord Anjaneya.

Back to Main Page