Fond memories of bliss – Part 21 – 3

In connection with my earlier posts on destiny and fate, Sri Janakiraman, who is Sri Sri Swamiji’s ardent devotee narrated this incident. To me it seems to make the whole idea complete and intelligible – “Everything in the world is premeditated. However, if God or Guru wills, the destiny can be changed.” I have penned down Sri Janakiramanji’s narration below—

From the day we saw Sri Swamiji, we, the entire family as a whole, surrendered ourselves completely at the feet of our Guru and were devoted to him. We had the rarest fortune of having Sri Swamiji stay in our place and living under the shade of His feet. Sri Swamiji used to talk a lot about various saints and avatarapurushas.
Once during such a discussion, I asked Him – “ Guruji! Can fate be changed? Some say it can be changed while some say it cannot be. Which is true? “
Sri Swamiji answered – “there is no doubt that fate can be changed if God or the guru wills!” Saying so, He began to narrate an incident from Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s life. An ardent devotee of paramahamsa, Mathur Babu, once came to see him. Seeing him with a sullen face, Paramahamsa asked him the reason. Mathur replied that his wife was unwell. The master asked if he wanted Him to cure her. Despite having experienced his Grace on many occasions, Mathur replied – “What can you do Master? Everything happens according to fate!” The master soon asked – “Do you accept that KAli can do that if she wills?” The devotee said – “Even KAli cannot do that Maharaj!” Paramahamsa pointed to a nearby tree and asked what its fate was. Mathur replied plainly that its fate was to put forth red flowers. The conversation ended there. The next day the tree had flowers of various colours and the Master called Mathur to show him that wonder! “
“Hence”, Swamiji continued,” If God or Guru wills, they can surely alter one’s fate. Suppose an arrow is aimed at a bird. Though the bird may be unaware of it, an onlooker who sees it can prevent that arrow from striking the bird or alert the bird with a sound so that it escapes the arrow’s mark. Likewise, the Guru knows our fate very well. He can prepare us so that it does not affect us at all. Just as we hold an umbrella to protect ourselves from rain, the meritorious deeds that we perform have the power to shield us from the severity of our fate. “
Saying thus, Swamiji ended the discussion. The next day morning when we went to the garden to collect flowers for the Lord’s worship, we had a pleasant surprise. The white- hibiscus plant in our garden had a few pink hibiscus flowers. We all shared the wonder among ourselves. This happened for a day or two and then the phenomenon stopped. When we reported this to Swamiji with great joy and wonder, He said with a smile – “Perhaps God is changing your fate!”. I spoke quietly to myself –“Swamiji alone knows what our fate is and how it would be changed! What can we grasp with our limited minds? Swamiji’s Grace is enough for us!”