2/22: The Godly Experience That Has Forever Touched My Heart And Soul.
Hello!! Hii!!
Wow!! What a journey it has been thus far. I feel like I have so much to say yet nothing to say at the same time. I feel lost for words and been feeling this “writers block”. Before leaving for India a few weeks ago, I had this spark to blog my entire adventure and capture every essence of this journey, but life had other plans for me...
I know y’all probably want to know how my treatment is going but before I get into that, I’m going to rewind for a second. Hold tight…
It all started with our 40 + hour travel journey until we reached our first destination and yes it was as bad as it sounds! Nearly 2 full days on the road, in the air and we finally made it home.
That feeling when you enter your village, when you can sense that you are close and even someone who wasn’t born in India, after coming here many times, I too have come accustomed to the streets and can identify the landmarks. Words can’t fully articulate the emotions behind this but let’s just say it’s a very special and sacred experience.
Home Away From Home- Bham, Punjab, India<3
I didn’t realize how go-go-go this first part of our journey was going to be and mistakenly, we didn’t give ourselves any time to recover from the jetlag and long travel. And well as you can imagine that eventually ended up kicking me in the ass, BIG TIME! It was a few days in where I started to feel super lethargic and that was basically the end. I got really sick, assuming it was a combination of jetlag, food poisoning (although I was pretty cautious of what I was eating), dehydration and if I’m being reallll honest, I think a big part of it was also the overstimulation!
If you don’t know, India is one of the most overpopulated countries and when I say its INSANE here, it really is! The traffic is horrendous, there’s people everywhere, the streets are jam packed and it will take you triple or even quadruple the time to get somewhere that really should only take you 5 minutes. (In a way, it reminds me of what back home is starting to look and feel like. Not good!)
Let’s just say, there was A LOT of purging! Being sick is never fun but especially when you’re in a third world country and the environment is SO different from your hometown. Not a good combination. Like at all! Haha okay I digress!!
Harmandir Sahib, Golden Temple
2/22- Okay let’s take a moment and appreciate the synchronicity of the date and my experience at The Golden Temple aka Harmandir Sahib. I actually didn’t even realize what the date was until after. So first I’ll be honest, I don’t have much knowledge on numerology and astrology, but I have been really leaning into it over the last I’d say probably one year. I definitely don’t believe in coincidences, and I do believe in a source greater than us, whatever that may be, I don’t think we are alone. Whether you want to call it God, Universe, Guides, Angels, Spirit, Higher Self etc, there is an unseen force that is guiding us and leading the way.
How MAGICAL is that!?
In short, the numerology number 222 represents ABUNDANCE.
Everything that unfolded for me during this experience was nothing short of abundant. This is the morning I started to feel sick, and I didn’t realize how sick I was until we were en route to the temple, and I began projectile vomiting, luckily, we were already stopped, and I had some time to recover. I thought I was going to be okay…
We arrived at the temple and my gosh it was just as glorious as I remember it. I’ve been here many times before but this time it was going to be different. I already went into this trip knowing that I wanted to experience the full spectrum of the temple and do it properly from beginning to end versus just rushing our way through it. This is also the first time that I’ve been really connected to God, so that in itself already speaks volume to my desire and intention to whole heartedly take in the richness and prayers of this magical place.
If you’ve been to the Golden Temple before, you will know that it is SO busy at all times. There are lineups upon lineups to get inside to pray. So here we are, waiting to go inside and there were people everywhere and all of a sudden, I started to feel a bit lightheaded.
My mom and brother were behind me, and my aunts and cousin were a little ahead of me. I don’t know why but even before I started to feel a bit off, I had asked my mom to come in front of me, I think just in case we all got separated that I could still see her but clearly there was another reason for it.
A few minutes in, I could feel my BP drop, I was getting so hot and burning up inside and everything went black. I couldn’t see anything, and, in that moment, I knew I was about to faint. I tapped my mom and I remember hyperventilating and saying, “I don’t feel good, I can’t see, everything is black”. My mom abruptly grabbed me, and we rushed out of the lineup and sat to the side. My brother joined.
Ooohhh just thinking about that moment brings up a lot of emotions.
There was a Babaji who was standing in that area that we were sitting, and he was so sweet and generous making sure I was okay (along with my mom and brother of course!). I felt seen, heard, and supported.
We didn’t have any water bottles with us and “coincidentally”, (there are no coincidences) there was a tub of HOLY WATER sitting next to us. My mom grabs a cup of it and in a way forces me to drink it and with no hesitation I did. Now normally, we wouldn’t drink this water just because of the different environment and tap water not sitting well with our immune systems but in this moment, there was no other option.
I know my mom was worried about me and a bit panicked and all I remember her saying was “It’s okay, you were meant to drink this water, God wanted you to drink this today and He is going to make you better, it’s okay just keep taking small sips” I remember feeling this so deeply, I was so heavy in my emotions as I was sitting there crying on the side feeling so helpless and wondering “why” this was happening to me and “why” out of all days did I get sick on the most important day of this trip.
Lo and behold I eventually started to feel (somewhat) better and the Babaji that was standing with us allowed me to bypass the lineup and go to the front of the line so I can get my prayers in. God bless him<3
By the time we got outside it was evening and the entire temple was lit up in all its glory and light was illuminating every which way we looked. It felt like we were in a picture-perfect post card. Now if that wasn’t enough, all of a sudden, we start to hear fireworks going off and WOW!! They were the most magnificent fireworks I have ever seen. They went on for a good 20-25 minutes lighting the sky, so vibrant and so bright.
When I say this entire experience was magical, I mean it in every sense you can imagine. To be able to see and find the light within the darkness is a gift that I don’t take for granted. It’s easier to look at life’s experiences and focus on the negative but it takes dedicated inner work to see the good during trying times.
Now I have no idea what this holy water entails (which later I learned is actually called “amrit” in Punjabi. Always learning something new-thank you mom) or how it’s going to help heal me, but something tells me that, everything that happened this day/night and the exact way it unfolded, it was divinely timed and orchestrated. (The fireworks are not a daily occurrence, we happened to be there on Gurpurab (this was not planned) which is a celebration of one of the Sikh Gurus. Again- no coincidence that we were at the Golden Temple on 2/22)
Love. Light. Abundance.
And that my friends, was our incredible Godly experience.
(To learn more about my experience and insight on my connection to God, check out my latest Instagram post. IG handle: @sara.s.jaswal)
Alright, its 8pm (IST) and this girl is ready for bed. I’ll be back tomorrow to bring you along my first 6 days of treatment!
Goodnight<3
With love & gratitude,
Sara J.
