Experience during Mahashibir

All the sadhaks of Vikhroli centre were staying at the wadi (community hall) during the Surat Maha Shibir. Meditation was conducted at the wadi every morning after performing puja of Swamiji’s image. One morning, five of us went to a shop behind the wadi to get flowers for the puja. I had a strong desire to get roses and asked the shopkeeper for some roses. He told us that we could get them the next day if we placed an order that day. Then we returned to the wadi carrying the other flowers we had bought. When we opened the packet to garland Swamiji’s photograph, there was a miracle. Beneath the garland, we found four red roses! And then we found a fifth rose entangled in the garland. We were all surprised and also happy, because it seemed to us that these five roses were an indication by Swamiji of our surrender to him. But some of us still had doubts so the next morning we again went and asked the flower seller whether he had given us roses the previous day. He replied, “No, how could I do so, when I didn’t have any roses in my shop?” He did not realize the significance of our question. But the very next day Swamiji made a reference to ‘offering and surrender’ (arpan and Samarpan) in his discourse. He said that there were 20 roses in all, out of which 5 were surrendered. It seemed as if we received the indication that five of us had surrendered. We will never forget this unforgettable experience of our lives. Whenever we remember it even today, we start getting vibrations.

Manisha Shinde
Vikhroli Centre, Mumbai, India