Alabang (4th week of October) - We’ve been advised by the security people to stay in the office after work because the rain and wind outside was terribly strong. A typhoon had just passed the country and I guess its tail end wanted to leave a mark. I went outside the reception area to see how heavy the rain was and i saw all the smokers crammed in the only tiny corner spared from the rain. The downpour was so loud it was difficult to hear other people talk. Work was over but almost everyone was still here because they were trapped by the weather. I packed my stuff and was hoping to get home right away to work on the Gift Project (see 2nd post) but got disappointed when I saw the impossibility of going home.

Just at that moment, I entered in a split-second "trance state" where I was able to think of a powerful mantra i learned last week. Suddenly, the wind stopped and the rain died down to a drizzle. For a few seconds, I stood there awestruck at the sudden change in the weather, until a thought entered into my mind: God won’t hold the rain forever, you know. So I walked towards the main road which is about two blocks away, along with other employees who were dumbfounded by the weather change. I continued using that mantra while walking especially when I realized the entire sky was TOTALLY gray.

After a few minutes of walking, I got excited to get home early and started to think about the improvements I’ll make on the Gift Project. I was thinking deeply about my work that I hadn’t noticed that the rain was getting gradually stronger. "Oh sh*t, i’ve forgotten my mantra!" I said while running towards shelter which luckily was only a few meters away. I tried to use my mantra again but to no effect (the dreamy-light feeling was gone). Upon reaching home, i remembered the story below by Dada Dharmavedananda on his experience with God and the weather:

Chiba, Japan - A good number of Margis participated today in a program for about seventy-five handicapped people which were wheelchair dependent. Along with volunteers from other service groups, we went by trains and buses to a bunch of greenhouses full of bright strawberry plants, where we enjoyed our picking and eating. After that we moved to a park for our picnic.

A margi named Maheshvara (who was also a professional clown) entertained the group while they were eating, until it began drizzling. It looked like our picnic would get spoiled. At that point, everyone started moving towards the shelters - except Maheshvara. He laughingly scolded the crowd for having a little faith in God. "Come back and be brave!" It’s God’s duty to stop this rain and keep our picnic alive. He doesn’t dare fail us or we’ll stop believing in Him!" At first the crowd hesitated but then all of them moved back to the field. As soon as Maheshvara contined with his show, the drizzle stopped. For two hours we remained there, eating, laughing, singing and playing music together. All the time it was dark and from
time to time a few raindrops fell.

The program finished and we all filed into the buses. As we drove away, the drizzle again started. The buses arrived at the train station and it took a few minutes to push all the
wheelchairs inside the station building. Exactly the moment when the last chair came inside, the sky burst open. The rain fell so heavily that the very noise of the downpour was overwhelming. All of us stood there under the roof, gaping at the scene. Surely not one of us doubted that what we witnessed was a show of His grace.