A Glance Behind The Curtains

Greetings YGS family, thanks for reading my first submission and interacting with me. I'm pleased that you liked it. Here is my next story... Although story is not the word that I am looking for here, as it was much of an experience.

This particular incident happened when I had just finished my 12th standard board exam and was living with my maternal grandparents for vacation, well that's what we called it because the results were yet to be announced and our fate yet to be declared. I had my cousin sisters with me, all three of them and we enjoyed each-other's company very much. I am the eldest grandchild both maternally and paternally.

My grandmother was a kind-hearted and religious woman who used to love cooking very much. Anything she would cook would be so delicious that we would be left longing for more. She always liked to try out new recipes and stuff. Her specialty was "Puranpoli"...its a Maharashtrian delicacy which is very sweet to taste. It's complicated to explain it but it is kind of a flat bread stuffed with a filling of jaggery and cooked, grounded chickpeas. Why I am detailing this stuff because this is related to the incident. My grandmother was a firm believer and a devotee of Shree Swami Samartha Maharaj, who was/is a very well-known saint in Maharashtra.

One fine night, I had a dream wherein my grandfather asked me to bring a pen from the room next to their's. I went to that room and saw my younger maternal uncle sitting on the floor in distress. Also our Puja ghar - the place where we keep and worship our gods, was in the same room, whereas in reality, it is outside in one of our halls. I tried to ask my maternal uncle as to why he looked so worried. He did not reply or even notice me, like he did not see me standing in front of him. I tried again with no luck so I dropped the topic and decided to return to my grandparents' room. Little did I know what was waiting to greet me there. Mind you, this whole dream scenario was taking place in the noon time, like there was sunlight in my dream. When I entered my grandparents' room, to my shock, it was dawn time, somewhere at around 5-6 AM. I could not see my grandfather anywhere but what I saw was my grandmother lying in the bed, completely still, no movement, not even the rise and fall of her chest while breathing. I could not see her face as the darkness had shadowed over her face, but I could make out the outlines though. I was completely frozen on the same point where I stood. I dared to ask her what was wrong and was she alright. To which I heard her voice saying that now that she was old, Shree Swami Samartha had made a provision for her. I would like to point out that, her face was not at all moving like when one speaks, it was just a disembodied voice clear as a day, ringing in my ears. I did not think of it as much and left the room, leaving her to rest.

As I was heading from her room to the hall, I saw a woman standing near the stove in our kitchen which was separated from the hall. To my horror, when she turned towards me, she was my grandmother but completely in black and white. Rest of her surroundings were colored if that makes sense. I was totally freaking out at this point as I had just seen her lying on the bed in the other room. There was some weird quality to her appearance on which I could not lay my finger on. She just calmly smiled at me and said that Swami had made a provision for her and she was going to stay here always. And zap!, just like that my dream ended.

I was so horrified, dumbfounded and confused about this whole experience. I did not talk to anyone regarding this until my grandmother noticed my changed behavior and coaxed me into telling her this. To my surprise, she too had a dream where there was a river, she and other Suvasinis (married ladies whose spouses are still alive) were trying to cross it and Swami Samartha was seated in a small boat and helped the other ladies step inside the boat except my grandmother. She said he told her that she would soon meet him. I somehow felt relaxed that a huge weighing burden was lifted off of me and at the same time knew that she also knew that her time was soon going to come. I am very sad and sorry to note that just three days after my dream, my grandmother passed away at 6:00 AM in the morning, due to heart attack and she was exactly found in the same state as I had seen her my dream. But it was an auspicious day of Gudi Padwa, so she passed away on a good day which is considered to be a good sign for moksha or mukti. I miss you grandma... Be at peace wherever you may be. Love you always!