Chapter 39: Shri Haridasji

Mandleshwar

The readers are already acquainted with Shri Haribhauji, a resident of Mandleshwar. He used to work as a patwari[1] here. Shriji's satsang and kirtan had been held in his house for years together. Impressed by this practice, he renounced everything consequently and came to Shri Vrindavan Dham in 1950. He lived in the refuge of Shriji's feet for about eighteen years. People would call him Bhau Sahab in Mandleshwar, but everyone addressed him as Haridasji in Vrindavan. 

 

 Shri Dham Vrindavan

 Haridasji was fifty-five years old when he came to reside in Vrindavan.While living in Shri Dham he wanted to and had adopted the lifestyle of a sadhaka. He would subsist on madhukari by begging for cooked food from residents of Braj. If some delicious food item was procured while begging he would distribute it amongst everyone and then eat a meagre portion of it himself. Shriji would taste a bit of his madhurkuri at times.

The Mahamantra

He followed the staunch regime of chanting the 'Mahamantra' three lakh times every day. He would get up at 3 AM, early in the morning, and sit down to do japa[2]. While moving around his lips would keep quivering as he chanted Hari’s Name. A daily routine of bathing in the Yamuna and circumambulating Vrindavan went on for years together daily but he had to give up this practice after he became very old. His nature was extremely calm and quiet. If any member of Venu Vinod Kunj would ask him to do some service, he would willingly perform it. A certain lively spiritedness was always reflected on his face. He would get moved by talks and stories of the Divine. Haridasji had several divine experiences in life, some of which are hinted hereunder.

Barsana

Once he had gone to Barsana to have darshan of Ladliji Shri Radha.  

Gahvar Van

Thereafter he went to circumambulate Gahvar Van. The thread of his japa mala broke as he crossed Krishna Kund. It was almost evening and his eye-sight was quite weak. So sitting on the [3]rasa mandal near Brahmachariji's Kuan[4], he began stringing the counting beads. 

Ten Year Old Brijvasi Girl

 In the meantime a twelve year old Brijbas[5]i girl came and sat next to him

” Baba! What are you doing?” she asked.

 “ Give me Baba! I shall string it,” she said offering to string the beads

“Baba! Where do you stay?” she asked as she worked.

“ Then Baba!  Why have you come here?' she wanted to know on his saying that he lived in Vrindavan, she asked

“Lali[6]! I have come to have darshan of Shriji[7]!”Haridasji replied

“Baba! You have grown old now. Do not come here. In fact, Ladiliji resides in Vrindavan itself,” remarked the twelve year old girl.

The Japa Mala

She had mended the string of prayer beads as she spoke. Soon after, Haridasji  took the japa mala  and proceeded further. Seeing that young girl and listening to her talk his mind had unconsciously become restless. Tears began streaming down his cheeks.

“Oh! I have blundered! The Brijbasi girl was Shriji (Radha Rani) Herself!” it struck him when his mind was a bit pacified.

The joyous abandon of this experience exhilarated Haridasji for many days.

Once the arrogance of being a brahmin made Haridasji feel that he could easily get alms from Brijbasis otherwise it is tough for sadhus to get bhiksha.  

The Brahmanical Sacred Thread

He began to display his yajnopavita or brahmanical sacred thread by keeping it outside. One fine day he was going to have darshan of Shri Banke Bihariji in the evening. 

Eight Year Old Brijvasi Boy

He had barely climbed onto the platform when an eight to nine year old boy came running from the temple of Bihariji. Putting his hand inside the sheet covering his body, and snapping the yajnopavita he ran away with the thread. Haridasji instantly realized that this was Bihariji Himself. He wanted to dispel his arrogance and had thus run away with his brahmanical sacred thread. The joyous abandon of this incident exhilarated him for many days.

Haridasji would go to Sewa Kunj at 4 o'clock in the morning, and sitting at the samadhi[8]  would chant the 'Mahamantra' in a loud voice for several months. One  day he was taking God's Name loudly when his eyes opened all of a sudden. He saw a black cobra sitting with its hood spread out, at a forearm's distance. Haridasji panicked at first but sensibly reduced the loud sound of chanting the mantra gradually. Soon after, the cobra slithered away.

Sewa Kunj

Haridasji once had an extraordinary experience in Sewa Kunj. He had gone to the Kunj at 5 o'clock in the morning as always. 

Tamal Trees

The instant one enters the gate there are two dark tamal [9]trees on the left. Seeing a blue-hued light under one of them Haridasji was deliciously drawn and went towards that tree. The moment he reached that tree the light moved to the second tree. 

Flute Play Amidst the Blue-hued Light

 As he was about to go there the sound of flute play could be heard from that blue-hued light. The instant he went near it the blue-hue shifted to the first tree. In this manner he took three rounds and fell down unconscious beneath that dark tamal tree. The day was about to dawn and streaks of early morning light could be seen. arti was about to begin in Sewa Kunj.

An old woman walking with the support of a stick came and shook him with her hand.

 “ Baba, get up! It is time for arti[10],” she said.

On being shaken a couple of time Haridasji came to his senses and slowly went to join the arti. He was so spiritually intoxicated from that day onwards that he used to weep day and night, losing all interest in food or drink. An unprecedented lustre was reflected on his face, all the time. Twenty days had gone by in this state of his. On finding him alone one day, I had asked what had happened to him and Haridasji had narrated this incident. Gradually he became normal after many days.

A few years later when a month had passed since Shriji's hernia surgery, Haridasji was sitting amidst the parikar in Vrindavan and talking a lot. After having tea with everyone at five in the evening, he went to Nidhi Van. 

Nidhi Van, Vrindavan

 Circumambulating Nidhi Van, having darshan of the samadhi, and taking charnamrita [11], he went and sat down under a tree next to the rasa mandal, and began chanting the Mantra. While doing japa his neck began stooping slightly. Savitri Behan and Krishnaji were brooming nearby. Seeing him they thought he was in a state of bhava stithi of awakened spiritual consciousness but Haridasji suddenly slumped to the ground.

“Baba has fallen down,'a sadhu who was also doing the seva of brooming nearby cried out loudly, “Baba has fallen down.'

“Baba! Will you have water?”Savitri Bai came running and put his head in her lap

“Yes!” he said with a smile on hearing her voice as he opened his eyes.

Savitri Bai ran and brought a cup of Swamiji's 'charnamrita' and made him drink it. After sipping the sacred water he fainted again. Some people ran and informed Venu Vinod Kunj.  

 

Venu Vinod Kunj

Two men went from the Kunj and lifting him got him to the Kunj. Thereafter, they got him admitted to a hospital. The doctors diagnosed that he was paralytic. He remained unconscious for eighteen hours. The next day at ten o'clock in the morning on 20.1.1969 he attained 'Golok' (expired) on the Dooj of Magh Shukla Paksha. He was 73 years old. His body was immersed in the river Yamuna. The sad part was that Shri Maharajji was in Bhopal during that time and he came to Shri Dham after two days.

“ His soul has attained a good gati or direction,” Shriji remarked on hearing the details.

Shri Radha-Krishna in a Nikunja

Later on, Deviji saw in her dreams one day that Priya and Priyatam[12] are resplendently seated in a nikunja in 'Golok' and Haridasji is standing outside near the entrance. He had not yet acquired the meritorious right of gaining entry into the nikunja.

Shri Albelisharanji

Nimar Region, Madhya Pradesh

Leaving home at the young age of eighteen, Shri Albelisharanji had come to Vrindavan with the sole aim of doing bhajan or worship. He was a resident of village Choli in the Nimar region of Madhya Pradesh and had been initiated at Tatiya Sthan. He would invariably spend the entire day in an extremely secluded forest region doing bhajan and do madhukari by begging for cooked food from Brijwasis in the evening.

 Shri Maharajji , Venu Vinod Kunj

In 1968 he began living under the shelter of Shri Maharajji in Venu Vinod Kunj. Shri Maharajji would treat all sects equally that is why he had no discomfort in coming under Shriji's refuge. With dedicated devotion he diligently served Shriji  for 25 long years. Even while living at the Kunj he carried on his sect's mode of worship. Shriji had the same affection for him as he did for his followers.

Some follower of Albelisharanji got a room built for him in Shri Gorelalji's Kunj. Twenty-five years later he is living in that room and carrying on his worship. He has kept the same regard for Shriji which he had previously. Albelisharanji constantly participates in the festivals, celebrations and mass singing of devotional songs which take place in Venu Vinod Kunj. His faith in the parikar , the inner circle of Shriji's followers is the same as it was earlier. They too have the same affection and love for him as they had initially.

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[1]     Patwari: registrar of a village's land accounts

[2]     Japa: incantation

[3]     Raas mandal: where the round dance of Krishna with gopis is enacted

[4]     Kuan: well

[5]     Brijbasi: resident of Braj

[6]     Lali: an affectionate mode of address

[7]     Shriji: Radha Rani

[8]     Samadhi: shrine

[9]     Tamal:According to legend of the Bhagavata the tamal tree is closely associated with the life sport of Lord Krishna – and Krishna is shown to be of blue or dark skin color.

[10]    Aarti: a Hindu religious ritual of worship

[11]    Charnamrit: offered sacred water

[12]    Priya and Priyatam: the beloved Shri Radha and Supreme Lover Krishna