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I was very fortunate to witness the jyothi in the sky

   "After six months, I got an opportunity to visit the siddhar peetam in January. Swami put the Ayyappan mala for me and I could climb the sacred eighteen steps after following an austere regimen and penance. I had good darshan of Lord Ayyappan in the peetam. I was very fortunate to witness the jyothi in the sky. It was a marvellous and wonderful experience. I also got a chance to participate in the prathishta function of Lord Chandra Moulishwararand Goddess Kamakshi.

   "I really feel that we are fortunate to be associated with Swami and feel assured and protected. I look forward to leading a pious and peaceful life with his grace."

   Vijaya Lakshmi Gopalakrishnan is a resident of Tambaram who has been associated with Swami for over a decade. She is an ardent devotee of Lord Ayyappa and she visits the peetam daily to worship. Here, she narrates the thrilling experiences she had with Swami.

   "My husband was an officer in the Air Force. He got a posting in Tambaram in 1989. After retirement in 1991, we shifted from the air force quarters and started staying in a house very near the siddhar peetam. Ever since, I used to visit the temple daily in the morning and evening. Whenever Swami was at the peetam, I used to go and meet him and pay my obeisance to him. In the year 1992, during mandala kalam, I used to go and worship Lord Ayyappa and sing His devotional songs, with in my limited knowledge. Once, on such an occasion, when I was singing, forgetting myself, Swami threw something on my lap. When I took the object in my hand, it was an idol of Devi. I went into a trance and totally forgetting myself and the surroundings, I started chanting 'Swamiyai Saranam Ayyappa' loudly. Since that day, the seed of faith towards Swami was sown in my heart. From then on, every other time I started having wonderful experiences. On my husband's 60^th birthday, we celebrated the function in the peetam and we performed archana and pooja to Devi. Food was prepared and given to all present there. Swami was not present on that day since he had gone to Bombay to attend a wedding reception of one of his very close devotees. But, as I entered Swami's room to take out a flower garland from the fridge, a message 'happy birthday' was heard three times from the radio inside the room. I concluded that was Swami's blessings.

   In the year 1998, in the month of June, my daughter Bindu, who was pregnant had come to our house for delivery. We both paid our salutations to Swami and he said that she would deliver a baby girl mostly on Thiruvadi pooram, in the month of July on pooram star as per the Flindu calendar. You will be astonished that as per Swami's divine words, my daughter delivered a baby girl on the same star. It was the time of the prathishta festival in the temple. I used to attend all the functions and during the poojas, I used to take part in all the activities.

   "One day at night, there was a discussion in the Gnananandar hall and the subject was Karnan's story. When the satsang was about to end, Swami got up from his seat and went to the dais where the discussion was going on. At that time, I saw a flash of the divya jyothi. I was totally stunned and I tried to wipe my eyes and blinked two or three times and still I could see that behind Swami's head. That was similar to the full moon in the sky. I did not know what it was. It was almost 9 pm and without telling anyone about it, I returned home. I told all my family members about that. Next day, when I went to the temple, those who were present there, said "Aunty, you really missed something last night by leaving early. Swami showed jyothi to all". Immediately, I narrated my experience. They said that I was blessed since Swami had given me special darshan earlier itself. Even today, it is very difficult for me to describe that experience. Likewise, whenever I intently and sincerely pray and call Amme, immediately Devi responds and consoles me till today. When I sincerely worship and pray to Devi, Swami comes in my dream no matter where I am."

   Whatever you think, you will try to put that in action — this was the divine saying of Swami to Mrs. Rajni Jayaraman, who knew him right from his childhood. In fact, her marriage was the very first one which took place by Swami's divine prediction. Rajni reveals how in all aspects of her life, Swami's words to her had come true and how she has experienced that time and again in her life. The transformation of Lord Lakshmi Ganapathi into Shakthi Ganapathi is an example of that as Rajni reveals in her following experience and the underlying story.

   Rajni and her family live in Lakshminagar colony in Crompet, Chennai. In that colony, there was an idol of Lord Ganapathi which was on a small rostrum inside a compound near her neighbour's house. The colony people wanted to erect a temple to house the Lord but due to the Government's objection, for over three years, they could not succeed in constructing a temple. The new occupants who purchased the neighbour's house could not renovate their house because of the Ganapathi idol. Moreover, even those who used to go and worship the idol, started evading it and so much so, no daily poojas were held on account of scarcity of funds. Even to celebrate the Vinayaka Chathurthi, the most important festivity for Lord Ganesha, there was not enough financial assistance. There was an old man by name Govindarajan who was the only active person and because of whose charity, occasionally some poojas were performed to that idol.

   Meanwhile, in the year 1999, it was Ganesh Chathurthi festival time. Rajni and her husband went there and donated some funds to that temple and on their return, they were discussing the pathetic situation of the temple not coming up at all for a long time because of the lack of funds for its management and organization. They felt very sorry and decided that they should talk to Swami about the temple and get a solution from him. At that time, Swami was in Bombay and he was supposed to return to Chennai within a week. When they returned home, there was a phone call from Kannan in the peetam that he, Sundar and his family would be coming there to see Lakshmi Ganapathi. They came and placed some flowers on the idol and showed Karpooraarathi to the Lord and then they went away. After a week, on a Sunday, Rajni and her husband went to see Swami during rahukatam in the peetam. They explained to him about the Lakshmi Ganapathi idol and sought a solution from him for constructing a temple for the Lord. Swami immediately replied that the name of that Lord had to be changed to Shakthi Ganapathi and by doing so, the sanctity of the idol would tremendously increase and that the Lord would find a sannadhi for himself. He said that the temple would come up very well and fast. After saying that, he materialized a Ganapathi dollar and gave it to them asking them to tie the dollar around the idol's neck. They immediately rushed to Govindarajan's house to convey Swami's message to him about the Ganapathi idol. Before they were about to tell him, Govindarajan told them that the municipal commissioner had called him on that morning at 11 am informing him about the government's approval for constructing a temple at a central place in that colony for Lord Lakshmi Ganapathi. When Rajni briefed him about Swami's suggestion, they all felt that it was Devi Herself who had come in Rajni's form and given the divine command. The idol was adorned with the dollar given by Swami and it was shifted and installed in a central location with the new name Shakthi Ganapathi. Slowly, the temple construction work started and the funds started pouring in. A group of persons came forward and donated a sum of five lakhs and the temple work progressed rapidly. Very soon, a beautiful temple was built and not only that, even a sanctum for Devi came up in the temple premises.

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