Lord Shiva is known by many names – one being ‘Margabandu’, meaning a friend/protector during travel.
My personal experience has proved the meaning in totality. During early 1970’s bus frequency from Chennai to Kanchipuram was very limited. The last bus will leave by 7 pm and the travel time used to be for 2 ½ hours to 4 hours. In those days devotees should leave the premises only after His Holiness nods his approval. There was no compromise on it as it was considered “abhachaaram” (sin) to leave without his approval.
Once, on reaching the presence of Sri Maha Swamigal I realized that I was short of money for my return journey. Being a very ordinary person, my mind was more on how many miles I had to walk back to reach home at Chennai.
Around 6 pm, I stood before His Holiness silently, as was the practice, to seek permission to leave. But Sri Mahaswami ordered me to go and sit and pray! It was 6:30 pm, 7:15 pm and so on. My permission was not coming as I was repeatedly ordered to go and pray. The irony of it was that I knew nobody at Kanchipuram.
It was 8 pm, when an elderly man and his wife entered to have darshan of Sri Mahaswami. After blessing them, giving some flowers, etc His Holiness asked them the least expected question,
“Have you come by car? Are you going to Chennai ?”
Slightly startled by this question the elderly man said “yes” and also that he was directly returning back to Chennai. Sri Mahaswami signaled to me to come as I was quite far away. When I reached his holy presence he said to the elderly man,
“If it is not inconvenient can you drop this boy anywhere in the city limits? This boy will go home in some bus from there.”
The elderly man agreed saying that it was his pleasure. I was dropped, not at the outskirts of Chennai, but at my very doorstep.
At home, I felt grateful to Sri Mahaswami for his “parental act”
My personal experience has proved the meaning in totality. During early 1970’s bus frequency from Chennai to Kanchipuram was very limited. The last bus will leave by 7 pm and the travel time used to be for 2 ½ hours to 4 hours. In those days devotees should leave the premises only after His Holiness nods his approval. There was no compromise on it as it was considered “abhachaaram” (sin) to leave without his approval.
Once, on reaching the presence of Sri Maha Swamigal I realized that I was short of money for my return journey. Being a very ordinary person, my mind was more on how many miles I had to walk back to reach home at Chennai.
Around 6 pm, I stood before His Holiness silently, as was the practice, to seek permission to leave. But Sri Mahaswami ordered me to go and sit and pray! It was 6:30 pm, 7:15 pm and so on. My permission was not coming as I was repeatedly ordered to go and pray. The irony of it was that I knew nobody at Kanchipuram.
It was 8 pm, when an elderly man and his wife entered to have darshan of Sri Mahaswami. After blessing them, giving some flowers, etc His Holiness asked them the least expected question,
“Have you come by car? Are you going to Chennai ?”
Slightly startled by this question the elderly man said “yes” and also that he was directly returning back to Chennai. Sri Mahaswami signaled to me to come as I was quite far away. When I reached his holy presence he said to the elderly man,
“If it is not inconvenient can you drop this boy anywhere in the city limits? This boy will go home in some bus from there.”
The elderly man agreed saying that it was his pleasure. I was dropped, not at the outskirts of Chennai, but at my very doorstep.
At home, I felt grateful to Sri Mahaswami for his “parental act”
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