By Acarya Dasa

On the 7th of December 2015, padayatra reached Pakala, a major town in the Chittor District of Andhra Pradesh. Whenever we travel, the ratha of Nitai Gaurasundar is in front and following closely behind are 3 trolleys. On this occasion I was upfront driving the tractor at a very slow pace. While passing by a local liquor shop the brakes of the tractor failed. I tried hard to press the brakes because I was worried that we would crash into the many people gathered outside the liquor shop, but the tractor could not be stopped. Suddenly there was a crash and I realized that the tractor had collided into a scooter! Thankfully no one was injured since the tractor had buckled on the right side of the road avoiding the people gathered on the left, in the vicinity of the liquor shop. I was convinced that at least 10 people would have left their bodies if it was not for the mercy of our beloved Nitai Gaurasundar! Their Lordships had protected not only us but the people of the Pakala village. I now clearly understand that there is no such thing as a coincidence and recalled Lokanath Swami’s words: “It’s all an arrangement of the Lord.”

Although the driver of the scooter was uninjured, he demanded we pay him 5000 rupees to repair the marginal damage to the scooter. –We explained to him that we are padayatris and did not have any money. He insisted that we pay him saying if we didn’t he would call the police. The police did eventually arrive and they were very polite to us. In questioning us about the incident, they began inquiring about the padayatra program. By this time the driver of the scooter had disappeared. The policemen asked us if they could join our evening program. They accompanied us on sankirtana and they also stayed for gaura arati, and left with copies of the Bhagavad-Gita. We were thankful for the Lord’s mercy and grace that had saved us. All Glories to Sri Sri Nitai Guarasundar!