Sadguru Aniruddha Bapu's grace saved us from terrible car accident

Once the Sadguru becomes 'the dearest, the most trusted and the closest of all', the one in whom we repose our unconditional faith, and we accept this fact with love, our Sadguru Aniruddha Bapu is ever-willing and prompt in answering our calls. The incident I am about to share stands as a testament to this very fact. It all happened on 4th July 2009.

My elder brother had been seriously ill for two weeks. So, we admitted him to the hospital at Narayangaon in the Pune district. We decided to shift him to Pune because he showed no signs of recovery, apart from compelling financial reasons. My brother was unconscious, but we had arranged to shift him with an attached saline in my uncle's Maruti van to take him to Pune.

After commencing our journey and driving for 40 kms, we reached Rajgurunagar. Just then, a Scorpio car came racing onto us at a speed of about 80-85 km/hour and zoomed off. It scraped the driver's side of our vehicle, and the impact of the collision made our vehicle spin. It turned turtle 2 or 3 times and finally crashed on its side. I was numb as I was sure something terrible was going to happen for sure. And even in those circumstances, all I could manage to utter was the word 'Bapu'.

Just then, I felt someone lifting me, making it easy for me to stand up. Once on my feet, I glanced around. I saw nobody. A little later, my
father could open the vehicle door and step out. My sister and my brother's wife broke open the windshield and emerged out. My brother was unconscious and so had fallen on the ground. Five minutes later, he gained consciousness. The vehicle, however, was completely smashed.

What was remarkable was despite the vehicle having crashed and in such a dreadful state, not one of us was injured or bleeding. The
incident was indeed life-threatening, but we emerged safe and sound solely due to the grace of Sadguru Bapu. Also, what amazed
me the most was that my brother's health began to improve following this incident.

The day of Gurupournima was not too far. Ordinarily, after experiencing such a terrible accident, I ought to have been in the hospital. Nevertheless, there I was – hale, hearty, and very much part of the celebrations – all because of Bapu's love and grace.