Shriji Visits Mandleshwar
On the insistence of devotees arose an opportunity to go to Mandleshwar in 1946. Travelling expenses came in advance from there and Shriji reached Mandleshwar along with me. A wave of delight overwhelmed the devotees in Mandleshwar. On hearing the news of Shriji's arrival,
hordes of devotees started coming for his darshan from every village. Shriji resided at Shri Mangilal’s
house this time. Daily kirtan would go on in a loud voice at night. Timely satsang or
spiritual discourse would also take place. Shriji never aimed at propagation and publicity. Therefore, simple, emotional and curious bhaktas would gain entry into the daily discourse and devotional singing. An unprecedented wave of joy pervaded the satsang and sankirtan because only those who were firmly dedicated to Shriji would be present; someone would be carried away by prema
for Shri Radha-Krishna, whereas someone fortunate enough would experience a bit of spiritual experience. This holy ambiance created by Shriji's grace brought a permanent turn in the lives of a few people while others became
resolutely engaged in carrying out the spiritual goal of life.
Shri had become their very own to some families. All of them would invite him to their homes, turn by turn. Accepting their loving insistence when Shri ji would visit their homes, the devotees would consider themselves highly fortunate and their abodes would be full of joyous abandon.
Banks of River Narmada
Shriji would go in the evening and sit in a lonely spot on the banks of river Narmada, along with a group of devotees. Some jovial talk would go on but it was never removed from the spiritual aim. Shri Maharaj ji's every effort would be loaded with renunciation, asceticism and affection, inspiring spiritual aspirant to realize the cherished objective. He
could not tolerate worldly talk. That is why some people
were jealous of a few associates of his inner circle. They would indulge in spreading false malicious statements about them in society but they never had the courage to confront Shriji. Some lawyers were also present in this drive which attempted to harm close devotees. One has to bear the fruits of sinning and suffer humiliation. Steeped in the intoxication of Shriji's divine ambiance,
these devotees were not bothered about such things nor did they have the time to dwell upon them. They would remain steeped in religious rapture and were fearless in Shriji's undisputed empire. A grand celebration of the
spiritual discourse and devotional singing was always dominant.
One evening Shriji went to the house of Karuna Shankar Dube with some of his devotees. Dubeji and his whole family had commendable regard for Shriji. Since it was summer all of them were sitting on the roof of the second storey. The ambiance was silent.
Shri ji began singing all of a sudden:
Krishna Playing Flute in Madhuvana
'murli baaj rahi madhuvan mein,
aam ki daari koyal ek bole,
baavri radha van-van dole,
goonj uthi tribhuvan mein, murli...'
'The flute is being played in Madhuvana,
a cuckoo is cooing on a branch of the mango tree.
Radha is mooning about from woods to woods,
and the flute
starts resounding in the three bhuvanas...'
Shriji's condition became sombre as he sang this pada, over and over again. Tears began to stream down from his eyes. Gradually he came around a bit and stood up to leave. Shriji had somehow managed to reach the house's door when he had bhava
avesha and was charged with spiritual
emotion. Being helpless he sat down on a platform outside the house. Suddenly, his body collapsed. Shriji returned to his natural state after a while and came back to his residence. The first bhava avesha trance like state of religious rapture started from this juncture, after coming from Nandgaon to Vrindavan.
Thereafter, Shriji came to my house in Maheshwar with some devotees. Taking the bhaktas, he went out for a stroll on the banks of the Narmada. He was delighted to look at the beautiful ghats.
"I have seen these lovely ghats in my dreams, a few months back," he exulted.
On seeing the vast jetty of the Narmada, its unfathomable water mass, its waves lashing out against the steps, boats with fun-loving passengers floating on the water body, Shriji wished to go for a boat ride.
A Boat
A boat reached the spot at once and Maharajji boarded it along with his group of devotees. Leaving the shore, the boat began sailing slowly in the deep waters. Shriji was keenly observing the beauty of the ghats[2]
from the boat. Balancing pots filled with water on their heads, female water bearers slowly climbed up the stairs of the charming high ghats with a slow gait, their multi-coloured clothes fluttering, anklets tinkling gently on their feet.
Women Carrying Water Pitchers
Women carrying empty pitchers were descending speedily from these steps, with their playful agile gait. Seeing this entire scene Shriji got lost in some unique realm. The village of Gokul materialized in his bhava rajya, the realm of spiritual emotion and he appeared steeped in some divine intoxication. Slowly he began describing the village of Gokul in an inimitable style. The boat was rowing gently and the group of devotees were deeply drinking the nectarous speech exuding from Shriji's mouth, in silence. No one was mindful of the time and thought nothing about the distance covered by the boat.
Shri Balkrishna Das ji Maharaj In a State of Bhava Avesha
Shriji was engrossed in depicting the scene and he would get carried away by ecstasy, in between. He would sit quiet for a while and begin describing soon after. Shriji began singing a song softly during the narration. All those who were sitting near him were listening attentively to that sweet voice. While singing, Shriji had
a bhava avesha and became emotionally charged, swooning in the boat itself. Gently I picked up his head and put it on my lap. The boat was parked at the Matangeshwar Ghat. Soon after, we lifted Shriji gently and made him lie down on the sandy banks of the Narmada, waiting for him to regain consciousness.
Evening Had Set In
Evening had set in and darkness was gaining entry slowly. Since it was autumn, a light cool breeze was making us feel a bit cold. It was seven o' clock and the darkness was increasing. Two hours had passed since Shriji had been lying unconscious on the sand but there was no symptom of his regaining consciousness of the outer world. It was ten o' clock now. The cold was steadily increasing. We waited for another hour but there was no indication of his coming round to the wakeful state.
A Charpoy
Shri Babulal Brijwasi was present so he got a charpoy from his house. On climbing twenty to twenty-five stairs there was a tiwari or a room with three openings. We put Shriji on the charpoy and got him to that room. All of us sat around him waiting for him to get up from the swoon. His first satsang or sacred assemblage had started from that spot. Everyone left for their respective houses since it was late into the night. Mangilalji and I sat next to him. Gradually the entire night passed by but he did not recover, which caused great worry to us. We had never seen Shriji fainting for such a long time. There was a change in his breathing pattern at 7 AM. He took long breaths intermitttently and the eyelids began moving slightly. We became hopeful of Shriji regaining normal consciousness, and
gazed fixedly at Shriji's facial expression.
Gradually his half-closed eyes opened and their angles dropped this way and that. Slowly Shriji raised his hand, put a finger on his chin and kept thinking something. Soon after, he beckoned me. I put my ear close to his mouth and listened.
"Where am I? What place is this?" Shriji asked softly.
"We are at Matang Ghat," I replied. “It is the same room, a tiwari with three openings where your satsang had been held. You have come here several times for a stroll."
After reflecting for some time Shriji recalled everything. He sat up slowly and kept sitting quietly in this posture for a while.
Shriji's face displayed intoxication. He had not had intake of either food or water for the past fifteen hours and had been lying still like a log of wood. Gently I asked him to leave.
However, his body was very slack. Maharajji stood up slowly and walked ahead with sluggish steps. Holding his arm I supported him from one side, and walking alongside took him to Babulalji's house. I got some frugal refreshments prepared and got them served with tea to him. The hangover of last night's trance like state of religious rapture was still prevalent.
Shriji Was Brought to Mandleshwar
After making Shriji rest for a while we got him to Mandleshwar.
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