How I got Saved from Drowning!

The below real life near drowning incident of mine has been narrated by my wife:

*****

In Sept. 2011, we decided to go on a camping trip to Sequoia National Park in California near the border with Nevada with my two sons, in 8th grade and 4th grade. The campsite was next to a small river.

I was packing for the trip, when I felt Mahaperiyava tell me in mind insistently and WORRIEDLY, to pack the poonal, yagnyopavitam sacred thread for the trip. It was a very strong instruction in the mind. But all this telepathic talk being new to me, I dismissed it as my imagination.

The poonal, sacred thread I had at home were all blessed by Jayendra Periyava Himself.

Usually, Pudhuperiyava will place His hand on it for a second or two and give it back.

But in my 2011 India trip, Pudhuperiyava placed His hands on the poonal and the Mangalasutram thread, closed His eyes and went into Dhyanam for a whole minute. Then He opened His eyes and gestured to me to take it.

So happy with this extra blessing, I soon wore the Sharadu.

Little did I realise then, why Periyava did it. These poonal sacred threads were the only ones I had at that time. Anyway, I dismissed the mind talk by Periyava as my imagination and did not pack the poonal.

We reached the campsite, my husband put up the tent with my sons. Being dusty, he wanted to have a dip in the river mentioned in the National Park brochure. But when we went there, it turned out it was a small stream, with just ankle deep water.

Our tent in the campsite is seen below:

In it we found a 3*3 ft. depression filled with water. My husband had a very quick dip ( muzhukku) in it, holding his nose, the traditional way.

Then he stood up and My Goodness! The poonal had disappeared! In just 3*3 ft. pit of crystal clear water. I was shocked and searched in the slow-moving water. I could see every stone, but not the poonal.

It was then that I understood that Mahaperiyava had actually spoken to me in mind, to pack the poonal.

For my husband who does Sahasra Gayathri every single morning in Brahmamuhutham, and much more than 108 during Madhyanikam and Saayam Sandhya, being without poonal was quite upsetting.

The next few days, husband woke up as usual at 4 am and did his Sandhyavandanam in the campsite, without the poonal.

In the below picture I am seen getting the food ready at the campsite, in my pre-madisaar (traditional 9 yard saree) life!

We found a place, 10 min. walk from the site, where the river formed a pool, about 20 ft deep and 100 ft. long. My children and husband are good swimmers and enjoyed the pool.

We were leaving for home 3-4 days later.

My husband and kids undid the tent and packed up the car. It was around noon. My husband felt all dusty from the work and and wanted to have a swim in the river pool to wash himself, so we all went by the narrow path in the hills to the pool.

The pool is seen below:

A deer walking gracefully on the small bridge over the pool at sunset:

My older son went to the far end of the pool exploring there. My husband and younger son were swimming around the pool for a while when my younger one started a swimming race with my husband.

A couple of minutes later, my husband who was swimming suddenly seemed to be struggling in the water. In a couple of seconds he shouted “Chandra, Chandra….” to my younger son who was just 2 ft. away, lunged and grabbed his arm. Both went into the water. He let go off Chandra’s arm and started shouting out to my older son, “Gopu GOPU….”

Watching from the banks, I was first puzzled to see my husband thrashing in the water and grabbing Chandra. I panicked that something was amiss and he was probably having a heart attack or something, being a diabetic. Myself not knowing swimming, I started yelling to my older son Gopu to come quickly.

By now, my husband’s head was more inside the water than out.

Gopu, initially puzzled and not understanding why his father was shouting, took a couple of precious seconds to respond.

Then he swam very fast, and, reaching my husband quickly and holding his arm, brought him to the banks. My husband sat there, gathering strength.

Then he turned to me and said, “Whatever pain a drowning man has to undergo, I have undergone it. If I am still alive it is only because Periyava has done Maangalya Anugraham to you.”

The Words Are STILL Ringing in My Mind. NEVER forgotten.

After resting for a few minutes there, he got up and we slowly started walking back to the campsite. Had our lunch and drove back.

All of us were very shaken and terrified and going over all the ‘what if’s. My husband knows how to swim all the different styles, freestyle, butrerfly, backstroke etc. He knows how to float on his back when tired.

And yet this happened.

Probably his sugar levels had dropped drastically because of the laps he had been doing and probably becoming very weak all of a sudden, he started going in.

Gopu had loved swimming at that time and insisted on learning competitive swimming in swim school. And he saved his father that day.

I am sure that his insistence on going to swim school and wish to learn power-swimming was entirely Periyaval’s design.

My husband is posing at the Sequoia national park mountains:

Within half an hour of coming on the freeway, we had a very close call, barely managed to escape two more deadly accidents at high speeds, due to the mistake of the other cars. Those incidents are for another day.

It was only later that I understood the significance of the way Pudhuperiyava kept His hand on the Mangala Sutram yellow thread and the yagnyopavitam for so long, with eyes closed.
I was wearing that Mangasutram Sharadu thread.

But I did not take the poonal, sacred thread for my husband. If I had, and he had worn it when the poonal went missing in the water the first day, maybe the drowning accident on the last day of the trip might NOT even have occurred.

My disbelief that Mahaperiyava was talking to me through mind and disobeying His very Insistent instruction had resulted in so much pain for my husband.

I understood then that obeying or disobeying Periayavals’ words could be a matter of Life or D———.

From then on, I always obey His advice in dreams or in mind talk.

A giant Sequoia tree in the background:

Eternally grateful to all our Periyavals for protecting my husband, for us.

Periyava Periyava Periyava Periyava

🙏

*****

Reading today this write up by my wife gave me the chills of an incident that happened more than 12 years ago! The agony felt real even after such a long long time!

A beautiful day to Everyone!

Shankara