Sea Puja at Shoreham Beach, 1983

In 1983 one of the yogis mentioned to Shri Mataji that it would be a great blessing if Australia could be drenched with a heavy rainfall as the whole country was suffering drought and as a consequence bushfires were causing havoc in many parts of Australia because of the heat and dryness. In answer to our prayers, it was decided to have a puja at the seaside the very next day. We were only about fifteen yogis at the time and we found a wonderful quiet beach where we could see the city of Melbourne in the distance. Shri Mataji was seated on a flat rock — and we watched in awe — everything was silent. The sea began to react to the vibrations and started to rise and, with a wave of Her hand, She said, "Calm down, calm down. It's all right." And with that, the sea was still and calm. She then started drawing Shri Ganesha in the sand and slowly kept shaping His form over and over again for a very long time. Everything was peaceful and silent — just the gentle ocean lapping the sands. She offered Shri Ganesha flowers, kumkum, turmeric and rice and then the rejoicing words, "Now, after this puja, the whole of Australia will not suffer from drought any more." We all bowed to Her Feet through the cool, salty seawater. It was absolute heavenly bliss.
At 4 am on the 20th March 1983, while we were preparing the garland for Her sixtieth birthday, suddenly the sky exploded with a crack of thunder and there it was — rain — torrents and torrents of it and it went on for days. During the puja She announced, "You see, your prayers are answered." The newspapers were headed with a full front page — "Miracle Rain." The whole of Australia, even Ayer's Rock [Uluru], was blessed with the heavenly rain.
Gauri M.