In those 5 days, there were many times when I cried and felt like running away from the ashram. However, Gurudev had different plans for me and I ended up doing the Sahaj Samadhi course also along with the Advanced course! Here are a few instances of how I felt His grace moved things for me – Whenever I was at the edge, my teacher used to appear by my side, out of nowhere and I was taken care of. As a part of Seva during the course, we were assigned to clean dishes. I panicked! I can hardly hold my food plate without straining my back injury. So, I prayed to Gurudev to watch over me until the course ends. Post lunch, we were washing utensils and I was swept away by the joy of doing Seva! After a while, a sudden desire to eat payasam (that was served at lunch) sprung up. Moments later, a guy with a bucket and glass approached me, asking if I would like to have a glass of payasam. I was stupefied! I made a quick recovery from a mix of various emotions and politely declined while the rest enjoyed the gift. I was too embarrassed to say “Yes” hahaha. Also, because of that break, I was able to get some time to rest my back before heading back to the course. I thought of buying a book but could not decide. I randomly picked one, and opened the 5th page, it was dated 10th July which is also my date of birth! I got excited but laughed at my stupidity to make it the reason. I said to myself “Gurudev, you choose and tell me”. With that, I was anticipating to hear it from someone by chance. The first name I heard was “Narada Bhakti Sutra” from my teacher while she was sharing an experience. But I was still unsure. I wanted to hear a more direct statement. That evening at Satsang, Gurudev was bestowing knowledge and in the midst of it he says, “You should read Narada Bhakti Sutra”. BULL’s EYE. I was dumbfounded. At the end, I bought my first Art of Living book which also happens to have my date of birth on page 5. Lesson learnt - Be careful of what you wish for, specifically in the ashram. Jai Guru Dev.