The Power Of Prayer – Part Three
What makes the results of true prayer seem so miraculous is that they clearly violate the so-called “laws of science”, and scientists themselves are unable to explain them, other than to dismiss these tales as fraudulent or the product of unsound minds. Here are two further examples. Both of them involve railway carriages and both of them occurred in India.
At a time when the British ruled India, Mani Sadhukar had to travel From Bombay to Poona on personal business. As her husband was unable to accompany her, she reserved a personal cubicle aboard the Deccan Queen Express.
As the train was pulling out of the station, a man climbed aboard and seated himself in Mani’s cubicle. Before she had time to explain to the stranger that it was reserved for her alone, he rose and bolted the door of the compartment.
When it became clear that she was in a situation of personal danger, Mani prayed silently to her spiritual Guru Sai Baba to rescue her from her predicament. No sooner had she uttered this prayer in her mind when the door of the compartment opened and a railway porter appeared.
Seeing the porter, Mani leaped to her feet and appealed to him to remove her luggage and escort her to safety. The porter ensured that she was securely settled in another compartment, leaving the stranger looking thoroughly chastened by his sudden and unexpected appearance.
As the train neared her destination at Poona, Mani looked for the porter to express her heartfelt thanks. Although the train had not stopped since leaving Bombay, and although her carriage had no link with any of the other carriages on the train, there was no sign of her rescuer. He had simply vanished from the carriage.
On another occasion, again while the British were still lords of India, a Calcutta lawyer and his wife started out on a visit to their Guru Lahiri Mahasaya, who lived in Benares. As they made their way to the railway station they found themselves delayed by the heavy traffic. By the time they reached Howrah station, the train to Benares was already whistling its departure.
The lawyer’s wife Abhoya, who was an avid disciple of this famous Rishi, prayed silently to her Guru. She implored him to stop the train as she could not bear to suffer the delay of waiting for the next train.
As the couple reached the platform they were confronted by an amazing sight. The wheels of the locomotive were spinning round and round, but the train was making no forward progress. In consternation, the railway engineer and many of the passengers descended onto the platform to look at this extraordinary phenomenon.
As Abhoya and her husband were waiting on the platform wondering what to do, they were approached by a British railway guard. Contrary to all precedent at that time the guard offered his services to them, saying: “Give me the money. I will buy your tickets while you climb aboard”.
No sooner had they found two empty seats on the train when the British guard returned with their tickets. As he handed them over, the train began to move slowly forward. As it did so, the engineer and passengers rushed to clamber on, having no idea how the train had started or why it had stopped in the first place.
The remainder of the journey passed uneventfully for Abhoya and her husband. In due course they reached Benares where they impatiently made their way to the home of Lahiri Mahasaya. Seeing her Guru at last, Abhoya was overcome with emotion.
In the Indian manner of extreme devotion, she prostrated herself and sought to touch his feet. The Rishi responded with mock annoyance. “Control yourself, Abhoya. How you love to bother me”. Then he added with a twinkle in his eye:
“As if you could not have come here by the next train!”
