Protector of Devotees

Guardian in Badari
Smt. Padmaja, Sri Venkateswara Rao and their family, are the devotees of Swami. Once they went on a pilgrimage to Badari, which is in the Himalayas. The road to Badari is a very difficult and treacherous mountainous road. Landslides and road accidents are very common in that region. However Swami assured them that He would accompany them in invisible form. When they returned from the pilgrimage, Swami asked their younger daughter, "Did you not see me at one place on your journey?" The daughter agreed and told everyone that on their way to Badari when the bus was going through a particularly dangerous stretch, she saw Swami walking by the side of the bus. The bus right behind their bus skidded and plummeted into the deep valley. The family believed that Swami alone protected them from danger on that fateful day. He fulfilled His promise and protected their bus from mishap on that mountainous road.

Giving and protecting jobs
Ramana get a job. The parents of Sri Ramana prayed to Swami that their son may get a good job. Swami said, "I will give him the job as per your wishes, but you should join My service thereafter". The parents agreed. Ramana got a very good job within a month and the parents joined the service of Swami.

Prevents devotee from losing his job. Once Sri Ajay came to Swami and told Him that Ajay's elder brother's employer was going to remove his (Ajay's) elder brother from his job. Swami closed His eyes and said, "But My elder brother, Hanuman says that your elder brother is in the wrong and not his employer. Go and verify the truth". Ajay asked his elder brother to tell him what actually happened and whether his employer was justified in firing him. His brother finally revealed that he had started the issue by asking for a raise and had threatened to resign if he did not get it. The employer was annoyed and told him that he would rather fire him in that case. This was quite unexpected for Ajay's brother who certainly did not want to lose his job. Thwarted, he went home and did not report to work the next day. His guilt prevented him from facing his employer and settling the issue.
Later, Swami told Ajay "My brother, Hanuman, went to the employer and has pacified him. Let your brother approach his employer without fear". Heartened by Swami's divine assurance, Ajay's brother approached his employer. The employer calmly told him "Please join your job" without referring to the past.

Preventing train accidents
Train derailment stopped. Swami was staying with the family of a devotee called Sri Gopi in Tirupathi. Sri Gopi was out of town and was due to arrive in Tirupathi on a certain day. At 10:00 am that day, Swami suddenly closed His eyes and said to the wife and parents of Sri Gopi, "Lord Datta is going out for some urgent work". After half an hour, Swami opened his eyes and said that the work was over and that Lord Datta had returned. The family members asked Swami what the urgent work was. Swami told them that they would soon come to know. Mr. Gopi reached late that day. He came in and told his family excitedly that God saved his train from an accident. At about 10.00 am, Gopi's train had suddenly stopped. An unknown person had apparently waved a red shirt as a flag and stopped the train. When the engine driver got out, the person had shown him that the tracks had been damaged by someone. All the passengers were stranded there on the track till the railway authorities repaired the track and the train resumed its journey. As Gopi narrated this incident, his family looked at Swami with awe and gratitude for they knew who the unknown man, who prevented the accident was.

Train stops for devotee. Smt. Malati, a devotee of Swami, and her son reached the railway station when the train had just started. They ran to catch the train. Her son managed to get in but Malati was unable to board the train. Her father, who had come to see them off, was also running with her. The train had picked up speed and she knew she could not make it. In desperation, she remembered Swami and cried out, "Swami". Swami immediately appeared before her. She was taken aback when the train which had almost left the platform, suddenly applied brakes and stopped. When she got into the train, other passengers, who had seen her trying to catch the train, told her "You are very lucky; Surely, God stopped the train just for your sake". Malati knew that Swami had indeed stopped the train for her sake alone.

Scooter on autopilot
Swami told Sri Phani that he would need the help of Swami on the following day. Next day, Sri Phani was down with a fever. He was forced to go out on his scooter for some important work inspite of his condition. The traffic was heavy as usual on Indian roads. Phani was really not in a condition to ride the scooter. He was feeling very dizzy and his head was spinning. He lost control and almost passed out while on his scooter. This was when a great miracle happened. He felt that although he had no control over the scooter, it was apparently controlling itself like an aeroplane on autopilot. Then he realized that Swami had possessed him and was controlling the scooter for him. Weaving his way effortlessly through the dense traffic, he reached home safely. Phani could barely stand when he got back home. He remembered what Swami had told him the day before. He had indeed needed Swami's help and Swami had saved his life.

Devotees escape the bombing of Iraq
Smt. Gayathri, her husband and her daughters live in Kuwait. They were planning a trip to India in July 2003. In January 2003, Swami told them that they would have to come to India in March. They were puzzled as to why Swami had said so. Meanwhile tension was mounting in the Gulf and a US attack on Iraq seemed imminent. By March, newspapers were predicting the air raids on Iraq to start any day. Hastily, Gayathry and her family made plans to leave for India to escape the war. Devotees in Vijayawada were worried about the safety of Gayathry and her family, and prayed to Swami to protect them. Swami told the devotees "Unless Gayathry and her family reach India, the bombing will not start". Finally, Gayathry and her family landed in Hyderabad, India, in the early hours of 20th March 2003. As soon as they landed, they got the news that the bombing by the US forces had just started in the Gulf.

Controlling the sun
One summer day, Swami was performing a special Vedic sacrifice called Brahma Yajna. Commonly, Vedic sacrifices are performed by burning ghee (clarified butter), food and other materials in a sacred ritual fire-pit. However Swami denounces such sacrifices and explains that such sacrifices are un-Vedic. Instead, He explains that the purpose of the fire in a sacrifice is to cook food and not burn it. The sacrifice consists in the host donating food thus cooked to deserving persons to satisfy the fire of their hunger. He says that this is the real Vedic sacrifice that used to be performed by the ancient sages.
The day Swami performed the Brahma Yajna, food with ghee was cooked on the fire and offered to the devotees. The function began early in the morning. It was an exceptionally hot morning and the day promised to be hotter. The devotees were daunted by the idea of facing the hot sun throughout the sacrifice since the function was planned outdoors, given the large number of devotees. Swami was chanting Vedic hymns since dawn. By 7.00 am the sun started becoming unbearably hot. Swami stopped the chanting and explained to the devotees that the sun was desirous to see this special sacrifice so He had allowed the sun to see it thus far. However for the sake of the comfort of His devotees He would now send the sun away. Saying this Swami stared at the sun. Immediately, black clouds appeared from nowhere and covered the sun. The sun did not come out for the next six hours till 1.00 pm. By that time the function was over and most devotees had gone back home. From 1 pm until evening, the sun shone with twice the intensity. Swami told the devotees gathered there that the sun was making up for the six hours that he was forced to hide behind the clouds. The Veda says "bhisodeti surya?", which means that the sun rises only due to the fear of the Lord. Is this incident not sufficient to understand that Swami is the human incarnation of the Lord?

Swami brings rains
One year, the summer was particularly severe in Vijayawada. The rains were late and several states were in the grip of a drought that year. Oppressed by the heat and drought, some devotees prayed to Swami. Swami came out of the house, looked at the sun and sang a devotional song on Lord Datta. Immediately, black thunderclouds appeared and there was a downpour. From that day onwards summer ended and the rainy season began. The next year too, the summer was unbearable and there was a drought. Again on the request of devotees, Swami brought rain and ended the drought. But the third year, even though devotees prayed, Swami refused to bring rain saying that He should not interfere with the nature so often. In 2002, there was not even a drop of rain. Devotees prayed to Swami for rain. Swami asked the devotees to sing devotional songs. Swami said that the rain would come down immediately on the request of His devotees. While devotees were singing devotional songs, some saw Swami engaged in a conversation with Kalabhairava. Kalabhairava is one of the closest servants of the Lord. He represents time. He is the controller of creation, the enforcer of the rules of nature and works according to the rules laid down by the Lord. He normally works independently and the Lord does not normally interfere with his functioning. Only under exceptional circumstances does the Lord overrule Kalabhairava's decisions in order to save really deserving devotees from trouble. That day, during the conversation, Kalabhairava was not visible to the devotees present. However following is the conversation that ensued:
Swami : You must respond to the request of My devotees.
Kalabhairava : But last year You said that you would let nature take its course and that You would not interfere.
Swami: That is true. I am not interfering. But My devotees are asking for the rain. You are also My devotee. A devotee should respect other devotees.
Kalabhairava was very much pleased with the argument of Swami. As soon as the devotional songs finished, there was loud thunder and lightening followed by heavy rain. Devotees were overjoyed and danced in the rain singing devotional songs.

Protection in a cyclone
Sri Ajay was returning to Vijayawada from Machilipatnam. On the way, their bus was caught in a severe cyclone. All the devotees back home were worried about him but Swami told them, "Ajay is in the eye of the Sudarsana Cakra. Nothing will happen to him." Swami compared the cyclone to the Sudarsana Cakra or the Divine Disc of the Lord. Ajay reached home safely. He told others that it was truly a miracle that he and his fellow passengers survived the cyclone. Due to the high winds and torrential rain, visibility was nearly zero. Trees and poles were falling on the road. Debris was flying everywhere. Yet the bus escaped any accident. In fact several times, large trees crashed onto the road just after their bus passed.

Rain water prevented
A cyclone once hit Vijayawada. The house of Sri Sharma is in a low lying area. Residents of that locality were on alert that night since the water was likely to flood their homes. Sri Sharma prayed to Swami that night and went to bed. The storm continued unabated, unleashing torrents of rain. At midnight, Sri Sharma awoke and saw Swami sitting by his side. Swami told Sharma to sleep without fear. Sharma went back to sleep. Next morning, Sharma woke up to find that not a drop of water had entered their home. As he stepped outside to survey the locality, he found that large areas around his home had been flooded. In fact, water had entered the homes of many of his neighbors. Surprisingly, it had also entered houses which were at a higher level than his own house. He thanked Swami with all his heart for protecting his house from flooding.

Converting loss into profit
Sri Ajay is a manager in U.T.I. Bank. Smt. Padma, a devotee of Swami and a client of Ajay, had some bonds in the bank. One day, when the stock market rose she wanted to sell her U.T.I. bonds. However some important documents could not be found on that day. Padma's husband blamed Ajay for misplacing the documents. Next day when the documents were found, the stock market had gone down. The gain that Padma and her husband had expected would not be achieved and they would instead have to incur a loss. Worried by the prospects of a loss, Padma approached Swami. Swami told her not to worry and assured that He would raise the stock market by next morning. He told her to sell her bonds that day. The next day, the market made a phenomenal rise and Padma gained much more than she had expected. He was very happy and grateful to Swami for converting her loss into a profit.

Stopping devotee's transfer
Sri G. Lakshman and his wife, are great devotees of Swami. They live and work in Mumbai. Once, when Sri Lakshman's wife went to Vijayawada to visit Swami, He told her that He would grant her one boon. She could choose what she wanted. When she returned to Mumbai, she came to know that her employing bank had transferred her to Pune. The transfer meant separation from her family; therefore, she was not keen on it. However accepting the transfer was mandatory for her. She decided in her mind to use the boon granted by Swami to stop her transfer. With this resolve she went to work the following day only to find out that her transfer was cancelled by the authorities, even before she could say anything about it. The boon given by Swami had worked.