Power of Mantra

The Power of Mantra

The Power of Mantra to Be Revealed

It was 14 months after my mantra initiation when I had the first experience that showed me the true power of my mantra. At that time my partner and I were travelling in New Zealand. We were on a two-months holiday for which we had bought a derelict old car to get us around cheaply. By a strange twist of fate we ended up going skiing on Mount Hutt which was not something we had originally planned nor were equipped for -- definitely our car wasn't equipped for it! We skied on Mount Hutt for seven days and each time it was a bit difficult for our old car to make the ascent on the steep road, and the descent on patches of snow without winter tyres was tricky as well, but we always returned safely.

A Dangerous Situation

The incident happened on the last day. The weather was bad on the way up already -- not only was there snow on the road that day but also patches of ice. Though our car had no winter tyres we decided to go anyway. While we were skiing and enjoying ourselves we were unaware that the conditions were deteriorating. When we finally returned to our car in the late afternoon it was quite windy, hazy and much colder. We noticed that people were very tense and there was much talk about how dangerous the road was today. The snow had frozen solid, we were told, and somebody warned us that a car equipped with winter tyres had an accident! One man gave our old car a contemptuous look and said it was insane to go without winter tyres. Consequently my partner and I were quite worried about making it down safely, but we saw no alternative.

So we got into our car and discussed what to do. We decided to go very slowly and carefully and say prayers first. My partner was driving as I didn't have a licence then. The road was very slippery, ice-covered and indeed very treacherous. My partner drove at the slowest speed ever. We were both very tense and didn't speak a word while he concentrated on driving and getting us off the mountain safely. When we had come about halfway down the road cleared. There was no more snow nor ice and a good dry gravel cover. I felt very relieved and my partner must have been too because he started driving faster automatically. After a minute or two we came to a long straight stretch ending in left curve further down. My partner was going at a good speed by then, not dangerously fast but maybe a bit too much for this type of road and our old car.

Premonition

Suddenly I had a very strong premonition, a knowing really, that we would be having an accident in that curve at the bottom of the road. I had no doubt about it, it was completely clear that this was meant to happen. There was no fear, only knowing, but of course my preference was not to have an accident! I didn't want to alarm my partner and cause him to do something rash, such as braking hard and possibly losing control over the car, nor did I want to put the idea of an accident in his head as a self-fulfilling prophecy. As we were still far from the curve there was time enough to slow down. So I asked cautiously and calmly, "don't you think we're going a bit too fast?" My partner responded immediately by reducing the speed somewhat. But as we were nearing the curve I knew that it wasn't sufficient, we were still too fast!

In Dire Straits

However, we managed to pass the curve without incident and I was just relaxing, thinking that I had been wrong, when it happened. Without any apparent cause - for we had cleared the curve - the car began to skid on the narrow road which was bordered by a sheer rock wall on the right and a precipice overgrown by trees on the left. As the car skidded towards the rock wall I automatically began to repeat my mantra mentally. Time seemed to slow down while I watched the rock wall coming closer and closer as if in slow motion.

Though I had been repeating my mantra diligently every day since my initiation, I had never been able to repeat it so perfectly before. I repeated it at high speed but each syllable was complete and the metre was perfect as well. The strangest part was that I had absolutely no fear in this situation. My body was totally relaxed and even my face I am sure wouldn't have betrayed any fear. Just when I saw the rocks so close up that it seemed impact was inevitable, my partner managed to tear the car around.

But we weren't saved yet… I had a feeling of "from the rain to the drain" when the car -- now on two wheels only -- skidded towards the abyss on our left. Had we avoided the rock wall only to tumble down the slope and crash into a tree? Somewhere in the back of my mind I was very much aware of the severity of the situation. But the mantra was going on and on in perfect metre, so clearly, totally unaffected by the danger.

Calm in the Chaos

It felt as if the whole world was hanging on the mantra the way a spider hangs on a thread.

And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that while I kept on reciting the mantra nothing could touch us! The car was on two wheels still and we neared the slope. Everything was still in slow motion. I recited my mantra with total faith and let no other thought enter my mind. At the very edge of the road my partner tore the wheel around again. His arms were near rotating so fast did he move the steering wheel.

Now the car was on the other two wheels moving towards the rock wall once more. And again he tore the wheel around just before impact. The car was going from the left wheels to the right wheels, from rock wall to abyss about six times. My body was tossed around as the car leaned left and right and left again -- still I was totally relaxed and passive. My partner on the other hand was working very hard to avoid an accident. I was vaguely aware of his tension. He seemed to be in a totally different time frame from the one I was in. While he took quick and hectic action, frantically turning the steering wheel, I was in a world where time was moving slowly and everything was peaceful.

And through it all the mantra went on, almost by itself, so perfectly, so clearly, and so beautifully. My mind was totally focused on my mantra to the exclusion of all other things. I had never been so focused in my life. I didn’t allow myself to think of the possibility of having an accident (probability seems a more appropriate term!). I knew, the moment I faltered in my recitation we would crash. But I wasn’t going to falter. There was no doubt and no fear, everything was light and perfect and I felt the power of the mantra as the greatest force in this world.

It was the power that created this world, the power that held it in balance and the power to destroy it.

It was awesome!

Miraculous Rescue

And then the strangest thing happened. One moment the car was on two wheels, going towards the slope for the third time around, the next moment the car virtually jumped into the air, losing all wheel contact. It made a little hop and landed in the middle of the road, on all four wheels for a change, and went on perfectly straight and smoothly without the slightest shudder!

Nobody spoke a word. I was amazed at what had just happened and still processing it all. It was clear that I had just experienced a miracle. There was no way the car could possibly have corrected its course like this. It basically jumped in the air and moved in the opposite direction as if a big hand had turned it around in mid air. My partner was probably too shocked to say anything at first and drove on in silence as if nothing had happened.

After a few minutes he turned to me and asked, “And what were you doing?” It was so funny how he emphasised the "you", implying that I had done nothing to save us while he did all the hard work. But I just smiled and answered, “I was repeating my mantra”. Though my partner did his share, and did it well, I knew it was the power of mantra and the grace of Shiva alone that saved us!