My Gurudev Shri Dattatreya.

My Gurudev Shri Dattatreya’s birthday was yesterday. I still remember how He gave me His blessings the first time in this body.
I was unable to fathom how this divine knowledge was coming to me. The sutradhar should be someone around, I reasoned out. So I decided to seek Him out. I was not aware of anyone around me who could be guiding me surreptitiously. It was very intriguing for me. I waited for many days for Him to show up. Since I had no physical confirmation from anyone or anything, I was extremely frustrated.
One day I couldn’t take it any longer. I decided that enough is enough. I had to know this great person. I finalized a date in my mind by when, if my answer was not with me, I shall go away never to return. Maybe my life was not worth it.
That day, I was sitting in my store chair waiting for closing time. No customers were around. The staff was busy chatting away in the aisles. Suddenly, I noticed someone sitting in front of me. I looked up like a zombie not knowing anything. He talked to me very familiarly as if He knew me, telling me to shut shop and follow Him. I did as He advised. The first thing He told me was a strange sentence,”you wanted to meet me today, so here I am.”
I shut shop just a few minutes away from closing time. He sat in the front seat of the car. No one noticed Him, I am sure. I sat on the drivers seat and revved up the car and started to drive fast. We crossed a bridge and I was driving too fast. I was told to slow down but I was coming down very fast. I overshot the lane which he asked me to turn into. I drove till the next turn and took the left lane. He asked me to take a u-turn and later at the end of the lane he asked me to stop. I switched off my engine. I looked at the seat next to me. There was no one there. I was stunned. I got off from the car and started to walk aimlessly. I came to the end of a dead end lane and noticed a temple.
I went inside and sat down. It was a Saibaba temple in BTM layout. I waited for some sign or some indication why I had come there. But nothing happened. Then I got up to go. I came near a book stall and bought few books and pictures. I saw a clump of bushes so I asked the book stall attendant what it was leading to. He asked me to go there and see for myself.
I gingerly walked through the bushes. There was a tiny temple of Dattatreya there and I was so stunned by the sheer presence of the divine persona. I didn’t know what hit me. As if I found the love of my life. But still I needed a sign. Now what could be the sign. I sat there or went round the temple or whatever I did or not I don’t remember. But suddenly when I was about to go. I saw this temple pujari or priest holding some stuff in his hands and was talking to me in the local language. I never got the entire thing but just a gist of what he said. He told me he was waiting for me for a long time. He was told to give me the biggest garland and some coconut and sweets. I asked him who told him that and if he was sure it was meant for me! He pointed to The Lord Dattatreya’s image and said that I was the person to whom He had asked him to hand over that. So my Guru is Shri Dattatreya? I couldn’t believe my ears. I needed more and more stuff to get my understanding.
That person who came and sat in front of me was not human, since no one else besides me saw Him. You cannot call that delusion since the poojari was waiting there for me with the Prasad. I had no prior knowledge about this temple in my life. There are many such things which couldn’t be explained by the normal deductions. I was not hallucinating too.
Later on He gave me number of experiences which confirmed my ideas about my Gurudev.
Such was my first meeting which I still am floored by.
Dattatreya’s birth place visit, five days in absolutely chilled waters of the Ganga, Gandgapur and many other instances completed the list of my experiences with my Gurudev.
So such was my experience which started it all. The rest came much later.

Image Courtesy by Mythistical