Isn't He everywhere??

It was the year 1993. We were staying at Puri where my father was posted. My mother was an ardent devotee of Lord Sri Jagannath and she used to follow the rituals of the God strictly. I was quite young, immature and I used to make fun of her for being so strict in observing the rituals. She never had any issues with the comments regarding her practices. We used to live cohesively with each others’ believes.

That day I asked her a question “Is it true that people in Puri never remain hungry?” She just nodded her head in affirmation. Then, I was curious “suppose I will not take my food deliberately, will the God send food for me?” I asked her. She said “It depends on your trust on Him”. Out of pure curiosity, I have decided to skip the food at home. My mother was worried, but I didn’t pay any heed to her requests to take the food.

At around 3 PM, one vehicle came to our residence. People unloaded Mahaprasad (prasad served to the Lord) kuduas (earthen pots in which the Mahaprasad is delivered) from the vehicle and brought those to our home. Even my mother was shocked! Sometimes later, my father came with an old man in his 70s and asked my mother to serve the Mahaprasad to us. We got to know that the old man was a relative of my father’s friend. He was staying at the Circuit House and the Mahaprasad was ordered for him. Suddenly, he has expressed his desire to take the Mahaprasad with our family. That was the most sumptuous food I have ever taken in my life.

My mother was looking astonished with clear signs of feelings of contentment written all over her face. Call it coincidence, but I took it as a clear message from the Almighty that he’s omnipresent, listening to everything. From that day, I became an ardent follower of Lord Jagannath and will continue to be so till the end of my life.

I am sharing this life time experience with all of you to make everyone feel the presence of God all around us. It’s a difficult situation; but we shouldn’t feel disheartened. He’s there, looking at us and will protect us in all forms if we continue our trust in Him.