Part 4 – God’s Grace
Due to her deep devotion to God, Mother never felt any fear at all. Simply she used to keep singing the glory of God whether she was working with her husband or at home alone. Once during war time when Father was posted in a place called Tounjee, his piles problem had become acute. Owing to his preoccupation with the charity work which he often undertook, he had ignored his own ailment for too long. Then some friends insisted that he undergo an operation. As the town had become very unsafe, Father wanted Baba’s mother to move to a safer place with the child. Before Mother had never argued with him, but that day, she used to recollect, that she was feeling very strange, that day. Unknown to her and perceived by a Divine intuition perhaps, she was feeling that some danger may befall on her husband. She became adamant and did not agree to go alone and insisted that Father also move with her. Father was surprised. Before that, Mother had never argued with him or forced him to do anything against his will. Finally Father managed to get ten days leave and left the place. There were no proper railway stations and trains were the only mode of transport available for public. There were no men to manage any station, nobody knew which train was moving where. Some times they had to wait for two or three days inside the train before it would start moving. Danger of bombing raids was always there. Nobody was sure of living to see the next moment. Chaos and sufferings were all over. After two days of waiting with some of their belongings, like clothes, biscuits as food, finally a train came. After they got into that, it took another two days before the train moved out. Father first thought that he would leave Mother at a safer place in Rangoon and then return to his duty. But, when they reached Rangoon, they heard over radio news, that the railway line on which they had traveled for a long distance and also the town of Tounjee was bombed heavily and destroyed immensely, the very next day after they had left it. There was destruction and chaos all over. Some unknown Superior Power had guided Father, Mother ,and their child to safety.
For his livelihood, Father had to work under the Japanese but for three days in a week he continued his charity work. They had lost all their belongings in the bombing of Tounjee. Again they had to start a fresh. All along, with language problems, Mother had to spend many lonely and difficult days.
After the war was over, they came back to their Motherland India in 1947 for the first time in fifteen years to see their relatives and after staying for four months they went back to Burma. Burma’s economy was in ruins after the war. Father wanted to work among the poor. Every few months they had to shift with two little kids. Yes! after the loss of first female, and birth of a male child, now, twins were born, a male and a female. The male baby was destined to die this time. It was suffering from a strange fever. Yet again Father was helping some poor people in a remote village.
Mother had become weak. It was a miracle that she and the female child survived. The male baby died even before they could name it. Later they named the female as Vijaya Lakshmi. It was only after several weeks, when Father came back, he got to know of the birth and death. He was sad that the baby died before some medical attention could come even in the absence of Father. But he was equally thankful to God that his wife and the female child survived.
Finally in 1949, Father underwent piles operation in Rangoon Hospital. For some time looking after two kids and Father, all fell on Mother’s head. She faced it boldly and prayed to God to give her strength to face the moment. After Father recovered from the illness, Mother expressed a wish to Father. It was a timely thought that had come to her mind, perhaps by the Divine inspiration. She wanted the Family to return to India for sake of children’s education which she thought would not be possible in such conditions as was there.
First, Father was unwilling and said he was destined to work amongst poor of that place. But Father encouraged that Mother should return to India with the children. Mother knew it was futile trying to change his mind. She was torn between her husband and children. But for children’s sake she was willing to sacrifice. Finally after taking a promise from Father that he would return soon to India, she left Burma for the last time in June, 1949. She prayed to God to inspire her husband to return to India. She came and started living in the town of Kolar, in the state of Karnataka, in South India.
Her prayers were answered. After her return, Father’s health failed considerably. It was a long negligence in his anxiousness to help the poor and needy. He missed his wife and children. He felt very lonely. In his diary he says how lonely he had started feeling. Mother was his source of strength whenever he had to go out on charitable tours. He had lost two children there, when he could not attend on them because he was away on charity tour. But he never have had any complaints about destiny or God. He always considered that the survival of the remainder of the family was God’s enormous grace and gift. Silently both the parents accepted this Truth and never grumbled.
Due to his ill health he had to resign the job he had there and finally decided to return. Destiny brought him back to India in 1950 August, to join his wife and two children.
Until his death in 1967 July, my father, Dr. Shankara’s first consideration was the Poor. They were always welcome in to his clinic which he had established in Kolar for his livelihood. He gave the poor free medicines also. He did all this quietly, unknown to the outside world. He never established any institution for charity. He believed in work. Always he told us that if money gets accumulated, such people get attracted who would be tempted to misuse it. After the wicked had taken away the family wealth, he had decided that he would not make any property or money. He told us that Character and Education, Sincerity and Charitable Temperament were the property he would like to give us. His third amongst the survived children, a male baby whom they named as Sathyanarayana, was born in September 1951. Baba Shivarudra Balayogi was born as the fourth child named Shrinivasa on 20th September in 1954.
