Sunday, July 8, 2018

Chapter 15: A Ray of Grace (Part 2)

 
Shri Ahilyabai Holkar

Maheshwar is a very ancient Puranic town known by the name of Mahishmati in the Puranas. It has been the capital of Kartha Veeryarjuna (who had a thousand arms). Two hundred years ago it was the capital city of world-famed Maharani Ahilyabai Holkar. Beautiful ghats[1]  and shivalayas[2] built by Shri Ahilyabai add to the beauty of the Narmada Banks. These ghats are even more beautiful than those of Kashi (Varanasi.) Maharajji was staying in a hut on Rajrajeshwar Ghat which was one of these ghats.

Matangeshwar Mandir

The Matang Ghat and a huge temple of Matangeshwar are situated on the banks of the Narmada. Matang Rishi is said to have done penance here. A saint was staying in a tiwari or a verandah having three doors on this very ghat. Strolling on the banks of the Narmada in the evening, Shri Maharajji and I went to see him. After mutually prostrating before each other there was some talk of spiritual discourse. The saint was greatly impressed by Shriji. The very next day he begged Shriji to give a religious discourse and sing devotional hymns at his place. Shriji could not evade his loving insistence and the programme was fixed for the coming day. Conductor Babulal, a resident of Maheshwar, made all the arrangements for  kirtan at the ghat.  

Mandleshwar

Mandleshwar is a town situated on the Narmada banks, five miles away from Maheshwar.  Several rishis and munnis have done penance here. This is the place where Shri Mandan Mishra who had had philosophical disputations with Adi Shanakracharya, resided. Some devotees, fond of satsang  as well as kirtan, were my acquaintances here. They too were informed. Next day, Shri Mangilal, Narayan Rao, Haribhau Patwari and other devotees were present at the satsang, on time. Seth Pannalal Saraf, a wealthy and deeply devout resident of Maheshwar, was present as well. The programme of satsang and kirtan spiritedly continued for the whole night. This marked the auspicious inception of Shri Maharajji's satang and his spiritual congregations in the province began from here itself. The saints and all the attending devotees were very impressed by Shri Maharajji.

At the conclusion of the satsang everyone accompanied Shriji to his hut at 4 AM in the morning. He accepted Narayan Rao's prayer to visit Mandleshwar and we left for Mandleshwar with Shriji on that very day. Shri Maharajji and I stayed at the house of Narayan Rao. He developed implicit faith in the feet of Shri ji on that one day of satsang. Gradually the number of eager devotees went on increasing. Mangilalji, Haribhauji, Karuna Shankar Dube, Chandra Shekhar Joshi and Ram Sajeevanji were foremost among them. Shri Nageshwar Maharaj of Dhargaon and Anand Dasji Maharaj were also present at that time.


Shri Anand Dasji Maharaj

Shri Anand Dasji Maharaj, a God realized saint, was a resident of Janakpuri and initiated into the Ramanandi Sect. Lord Hanuman was his cherished deity. He   remained intoxicated on relishing the nectar of religious devotion and was a very simple noble soul. There is an ashram of his at Vrindavan.

Shri Anand Dasji Maharaj had told his disciples,I am going to Chitrakoot,and had given up his body a few years back. He propagated sankirtan[3]  in the province of Nimar.

River Narmada

Shri Maharajji used to take a walk with his close devotees by the banks of the Narmada in the evening. The satsang environment would be prevalent at that timet. They would return back at 8 PM after roaming around. It was winter. Maharajji would again sit down after meals and the group of devotees would gradually assemble there. Lively talk of the Divine would take place in a jovial atmosphere, which would continue till ten or eleven o' clock at night. Since it woulld bed be late most of the people would leave but a few eager devotees mentioned above, would sit alert in the hope of listening to something from Maharajji's sacred mouth. Seeing their expectations he would begin the spiritual discourse. 

Shri Maharaj ji's Divine Face

Oblivious of their bodies these satsangis, gazing intently at Maharajji's divine face, were enchanted and listened to his discourse with single-mindedness. A unique ambiance pervaded the place and sleep became absolutely non-existent. This  flow of spiritual discourse would continue without a break from 11 PM to 5 AM in the morning. Everyone would regret as to why the night had passed by so quickly. Shriji would end the satsang and the devotees would go to their respective homes.Shri Maharaj ji would lie down for respite. At 7AM in the morning he would sit down again after getting free from bathing and other daily chores.

The entire family of Shri Narayan Raoji had much respect and fondness for Shriji. All of them were zealous in attending to his needs. The above-mentioned devotees would start gathering again and the satsang would begin, and continue till 11AM, sometimes even later. After Manji's (Narayan Rao's wife) repeatedly telling Narayan Raoji, he would signal to Shriji and Maharajji would stop the satsang to have meals etc., Shri Anand Das Baba, Shri Nageshwar Baba and I would have meals along with Shriji. The devotees too would retire to their houses to take some rest and have food. Shriji would get up sharp at two o' clock in the afternoon. The devotees would pour in and satsang would go on till 4 PM. Devotees' hearts were so much attracted by the satsang that they would arrive sharp in time without bothering about their meals, sleep and other important tasks. This mandakini or stream of satsang flowed for one and a half months at a stretch. Shri Nageshwar Baba and Shri Anand Das Baba lived in close proximity to Shriji during this entire span.

Shri Ram Charit Manas

The lifestyle of Nageshwar Baba was just like that of Nagas because he belonged to the Naga Sect. He had ashes smeared on his body, tied a thick girdle of woven rush grass around the waist, wore just a kopeen or loin cloth for cover, held tongs in his hand and had long matted hair. Exercising daily was his habit and he consumed a lot of ghi. His body was robust and life was sattvik[4] . He read the 'Ram Charit Manas' and did sankirtan as a daily routine.

 His life changed beyond imagination because of associating with Shri Maharajji and so did his dress up. He began living as a love-struck devotee thirsting for the Divine. The one and a half months of satsang brought a drastic transformation in the life of Mangilalji too. He was a kshatriya by caste and a devotee of the Mother Goddess. He developed implicit faith in Shriji and worship of goddess Devi was given up. 

Lord Krishna

Love  for Lord Krishna awakened in him. In this manner Shri Maharajji became the loving and highly revered idol of the Mandleshwar group of devotees. Shriji would laugh and joke with them but that never deferred him from the true purpose of lifting devotees from the material world and leading them towards religious devotion of God. If ever he would see a devotee afloat in worldly talk he would say a couple of words in such amusement that the devotee would become conscious.

Shri Maharajji's constant endeavour was that the sadhaka should never be without Godly thoughts. Why think about the material world when it is not ours. Shriji would never preach to an individual and convey whatever he had to in his public discourse. Willing learners would understand his intent. Neither did he make any disciple in his life nor did he consider anyone his guru.

From whomever one gets God realization, that person is one's guru,is what he would say.

All of us have to go 'there[5]', some have to go earlier and some later so who is one's guru and who is whose disciple. All God realized saints should be regarded as gurus.

Shri Maharajji stressed a lot on kripa[6] . He would say it is impossible to get the love of God and attain Him without the grace of saints. ' Vastu prapti ' or Spiritual evolution’ is not possible by devotional means. These practices simply make one eligible to be a recipient. Expounding the grace of saints he would give the example of Rahugana.


Jada Bharata Instructs King Rahugana 

rahūgaṇaitat tapasā na yāti na cejyayā nirvapaṇād gṛhād vā  |
na cchandasā naiva jalāgni-sūryair vinā mahat-pāda-rajo-'bhiṣekam  ||
( Shrimad Bhagwat, Canto V, Chaper 12, Shloka 12)


'My dear King Rahūgaṇa, unless one has the opportunity to smear his entire body with the dust of the lotus feet of great devotees, one cannot realize the Absolute Truth. One cannot realize the Absolute Truth simply by observing celibacy [brahmacarya], strictly following the rules and regulations of householder life, leaving home as a vānaprastha, accepting sannyāsa, or undergoing severe penances in winter by keeping oneself submerged in water or surrounding oneself in summer by fire and the scorching heat of the sun. There are many other processes to understand the Absolute Truth, but the Absolute Truth is only revealed to one who has attained the mercy of a great devotee.’


Shri Radha-Krishna

The capacity of granting prema for Shri Radha-Krishna belongs to saints endowed with the gopi bhava of sweet and total commitment and love for Krishna. He instructed devotees to just meditate on the Name, Form and playful dalliances of Lord Krishna.

Life is mortal and is attained as a precious gem through spontaneous blessings. So the supreme and ultimate aim of human life is to attain Lord Krishna, for sure,” Maharaj ji used to say.

In this way Maharajji bestowed bliss on the devotees of Mandleshwar by infusing a new lease of life in them during these one and half months of satsang.

It was the last night of this one and a half month satsang in Mandleshwar. Shri Maharajji concluded the all night spiritual discourse at 4 AM and the following hymn:

Shri Radha

'Oh heart! Let us go to Vrindavan and live there now, where the sweetness of the Yugal[7] (Divine Couple, Shri Radha-Krishna) revels. When the hungry beg from the denizens of Braj and eat their scraps of food. When thirsty drink the nectar-like water at the banks of the Yamuna, ' says Vyasa on looking at the winsome Brijeshwari Shri Radha, go on singing Her unblemished glory.'

The devotees did not know that it was a specific hint of Shriji's departure. They   assumed that the pada[8]  was reflecting their heart's wish. Thereafter, Shriji lay down to rest  and the devotees left for their respective homes.

After performing the morning ablutions and eating breakfast, Maharajji told Shri Narayan Rao,I am going to some devotee's house,and stood up.


Shri Vrindavan

He signalled me to accompany him. Walking for about a mile on Maheshwar Road he went and stood under a tree. As soon as a bus came he boarded it and left for Vrindavan. Neither did Shriji have any baggage, except the black blanket, nor did I. We reached Shri Vrindavan Dham next day. Our arrival brought a ripple of joy among the devotees of Vrindavan. It is difficult to estimate the plight of the devotees in Mandleshwar. Later on, it was known that they did not enjoy eating-drinking, sleeping or even talking for days together, feeling that they had lost some invaluable treasure of theirs.


Braj

Coming to Shri Dham, Shriji started living in joyous abandon with three to four devotees. So far he had rarely stayed at someone's house but ever since I began living with him he mostly put up at Motiramji's house in Vrindavan. Shriji would keep roaming about in Nandgaon, Barsana, Goverdhan and other places, and kept me along with him. This wandering in Braj was mostly done on foot. Taking bhiksha from Nandgaon he would either eat it at Krishna Kund or in the garden of Nand Baba. It is beyond the power of my pen to describe the exclusive opportunity and unprecedented joy I got by wandering in Braj with Shriji in those days.


Bhuteshwar Mandir, Mathura

One day Maharajji and I walked to Kosi from Nandgaon and went to Bhuteshwar (Mathura) by train. Evening had set in. By the time we walked and reached Bengali Ghat, it was night. Shriji never kept any money on him. There was no bedding which we could spread out or cover ourselves with. Both of us spread out the shawls which we were wearing and lay down. The floor had become very hot as it was summer. But these things never affected me because of staying with Shriji. We had taken bhiksha in Nandgaon in the daytime and had walked a lot, therefore I felt hungry. It was 10 PM at night. Relying on endurance, I was lying down quietly, but how could this remain hidden from the all-knowing Shri ji.


Shri Maharajji suddenly got up and said,The train from Masani Station starts early in the morning. We shall be late if we go from here. Thus let us go to Masani Station and take rest.

I tried to live life as Shriji wanted therefore I got up at once and set off with him.

Dwarkadhish Mandir, Mathura

We approached Dwarkadhish Mandir via the bazar. Most of the shops had closed down for the day. A few of them were open and businessmen were looking at their accounts.

Going a bit further down from Dwarkadheesh Mandir, Shriji asked me to sit on the plank of a closed shop.
 I will be back,” he said and left.

Shri Maharajji returned shortly with a munim. He took me to a shop serving spinach and parathe[9]. The munim asked the shopkeeper to serve us spinach and parathe. I was astonished. Shriji had come to know that I was famished and so he had acted accordingly. He would never have gone for himself as he was habitual of being without food for three days at a stretch. Seeing this compassion of Shriji I was overwhelmed and my eyes brimmed with tears.

I asked,Why did you do this?

Maharajji answered,I could figure out that you were hungry. If I had asked whether you wanted to eat a bite, you would have refused so I made the excuse of coming to Masani.

Shri Balkrishna Das ji Maharaj & Shri Manohar Bhaiya

Even today my heart becomes joyously elated on remembering this incident. Maharajji took care of me very lovingly, like a small child. He always fulfilled my desires in spite of bearing hardships. My heart got so attached to him because of this love of his that it became unbearable for me to be separated from him, for even a moment. My eating, drinking, sleeping and walking always went on in his company.




[1]     Ghat: landing and bathing embankments
[2]     Shivalayas: small temples dedicated to Lord Shiva
[3]     Sankirtan: congregational singing of devotional hymns
[4]     Sattvik: endowed with the guna of goodness
[5]     There: where Lord Krishna forever dwells
[6]     Kripa: grace, mercy or blessings
[7]     Yugal: Divine Couple, Shri Radha-Krishna
[8]     Pada: devotional verse meant to be sung
[9]     Parathe: a flat unleavened bread fried on a girdle

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