This series chronicles sweet experiences recounted by the devotees of HH Maharanyam Sri Sri Muralidhara Swamiji as well as some divine experiences of Sri Swamiji himself. These articles are translations from the series “Madhuramaana Mahaneeyar” that is published every month in Madhuramurali Tamil monthly magazine.
Can Fate Be Changed?
Recounted by Sri Janakiraman ji, Chennai:
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 avatara purushas.
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 narrated an incident from Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s life. An ardent devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, Mathur Babu, once came to see him. Seeing him with a sullen face, Sri Ramakrishna 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!”
Sri Ramakrishna 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 colors! The Master called Mathur to show him that wonder!
“Hence,” Sri 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, Sri 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 Sri 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!”
Originally published in Madhuramurali magazine and www.namadwaar.org
