Crises and Prayers

Once on padayatra, I was guiding the tractor up on a by-lane that met with a busy highway. Below was another road. One by one, every one got down from the tractor and the trolley.

Could the tractor take the load of all the trolleys together, uphill? It could, we thought and continued. Suddenly the driver stood up straight and shouted, “Brake failed! Brake failed! Somebody stop the tractor.” He was standing with his full weight on the brakes, but slowly the tractor began to roll down.

Everyone began picking up big stones and piling them before the wheels of the tractor and the trolleys, but it was unstoppable. Even the bystanders joined us in lifting and placing the stones. I looked below a busy road was moments away.

“Everyone will blame me for picking this stretch of road,” I thought. I nearly lost my equilibrium and in desperation tried to stop the tires with my bare hands. In sheer hopelessness, I cried, “Nitai-Gaurasundara! Please save me.”

Immediately, both the tractors and the three trolleys stopped by stones placed before them all at the same time. We carefully detached the trolleys and guided the tractor to safety.

Water Works

Another time I took the padayatra to a place where there was no clean water supply. The only source of water was a small dirty pond from where the entire village fetched water. There had been no rain for years in that village. I left the place to arrang for the next day’s shelter, but on the way I felt bad for not arranging some tanker of fresh water for the devotees. 

“Nitai-Gaurasundar,” I prayed, “Please arrange something.”

When I returned there was a big queue of villagers on the spot. They were beaming and carrying pots full of fresh clean water. “What is the matter?” I went and checked. Clean water was gushing out of a tanker and the whole village was filling their buckets and pots from there. Devotees had just finished bathing and cooking with that water.

 What transpired was that a devotee found a switch that seemed dysfunctional. He repaired it and switched it on it was the switch of a pump that filled the tank with underground water. When the pump started functioning the tank filled up in no time. Apparently none of the villagers knew about it. Now everyone thanked the padayatra team for the wonderful gift of water. And I thanked Nitai-Gaurasundara for another of Their miracle.

As told to Murari Gupta Dasa

Bhakta Gopal is a member of advance party of the padayatra.