Friday, April 25, 2008

Diary 9 of Divine Great Saint Ushaji: GOVERDHAN


The entire day's regime of Ushaji at the Holy Dham of Vrindaban have been narrated in the previous chapters. However every year invariably She used to go on pilgrimage after Janmashtmi to the following places:

  • A Goverdhan tour for 3 to 4 days.
  • Barsana for around 15 days to celebrate Lalita-chhath and Sri Radhashtmi.
  • She ventured to Nandgaon for around 3 to 4 days so that it was possible to reach Vrindavan around the Navratras.

In the year 1981, I was fortunate enough to reach Goverdhan, staying with Her for three days and discovered Her activities to be rather enlightening.

i) The day began with a morning kirtan followed by a holy dip in Manasi-Ganga instead of Yamunaji. The schedule up to 10 am was the same as in Vrindavan. ( 3.30 am to 5 am diary 1 of Divine Great
Saint Ushaji ;5 am to 6 am diary 2 of Divine Great Saint Ushaji and 6 am to 10 am diary 3 of Divine Great Saint Ushaji )

ii) More often than not after 10 am, She would go for Darshan of Sri Gayaprasad Panditji . Yes, He was the very same famous personality who used to reside permanently at the Daan-Ghati of Goverdhan . To Him, everyone bowed respectfully while taking a Parikrama of Sri Goverdhan. Actually It so happened that after Golokgaman of Gitapress' Bhai Hanumaan Prasad Poddarji , the devotional threesome of Sri Radha-Baba of Gorakhpur, Gayaprasad Panditji of Goverdhan and Balkrishandass Maharajji of Vrindaban guided several devotees from 1971 to 1995 in the spiritual field and our beloved Saint Ushaji was a witness to the entire scenario.

Saint Gayaprasad Panditji was a strict disciplinarian of the highest order and would meet only male devotees. But for our great Saint Ushaji , He broke this stringent rule and had a meeting with Her on finding out that She had risen way above the mundane world and was a divine figure.

iii) After His darshan, Saint Ushaji would return to Thakurji for serving lunch-Bhog. Her other activities from 11 am to 4pm were the same as in Vrindaban.


iv) While staying in Goverdhan , Saint Ushaji inevitably wanted to go for a Parikrama of Sri Goverdhan every day. Because of the time needed for Thakurji's sewa She broke this 21 hour Parikrama into two slots.


  • Badi Parikarma of about 14 km which had Daan Ghati, Mukharvind , Yatipura and Poonchri ka lotha en route.
  • Chhoti Parikarma of say 7 km, which included Udhav Kund , Sri Radha-Krshan kund , Samadhi of Roop Goswami , Kusum Sarovar , Manasi Ganga , Chakreshwar Maharaj and the rest.


v) Another distinction of Saint Ushaji's stay in Goverdhan was the absence of a 4 to 6 pm assembly otherwise a regular feature at Vrindaban. At times all by Herself She ventured to Udhav Kund , Sri Radha-Krshan Kund , Kusum Sarovar for witnessing the divine play of Sakhaji.

It is but natural to ask who is Sakhaji ? Let me clarify. Sakhaji is a divinity of Gaulok , who had first appeared before Saint Usha-Bahinji on Her birthday ( 30th July , 1954 ) and began imparting Lord Sri Krishna playful dalliances to the innermost circle of devotees popularly called the parikar. In fact , Her divine encounters with Thakurji reveal that a course of events which took place in the ancient Acharya Vallabhachryaji on GITAJI -Goswami Tulsidassji- Soordass Bhakti-yuga were replicated in the Bobo era as well ( 30th July 1925 to 20th Feb 1992 ) ... Before Teacher's Day when great Devotees of the Lord were incarnated, they generally took birth in a parikar or divine group so that their time on Earth was not frittered away with worldly people but meaningfully spent in spiritual satsang . To quote from The Divinised Humanity : Saint Ushaji :

"Her birth on 30th July, 1925 ------surprisingly, it is the Sravan month, which had the privilege to bring Rev. Ushaji on this corporeal land. And again, it is the same day and month when Sakhaji, a divine personality in celestial form, advents in the life of Ushaji to reveal esoteric secrets of Golokdham"


As far as Great Saint Ushaji was concerned, Thakurji-sewa was always of prime importance more than anything else . Her schedule after the 7 pm bhog was generally the same as in Vrindaban ...8 pm to 9.30 pm diary 8 of Divine Great Saint Ushaji .

The above briefly sums up Her 3 to 4 days sojourn to Goverdhan every year . As several Braj denizens would bring bhiksha for Her , many a times a full-time kitchen like the one at Vrindaban was not required just a makeshift one for tea in the morning or milk at night, would suffice. The devotees were bursting with pride when they got offerings for Her as they very well knew that such great Saints were indeed rare to come by.

Though a great sage Herself and hence always in favour of simple or saatvic food , She would not turn away spicy bhiksha brought by innocent Brijwasis ! This fact endorses Her commitment for Brij and its Brijwasis --- BRAJWASIN TE HARI KI SHOBHA .......

GIRIRAJ MAHARAJ KI JAI !


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