Shri Sai Leela
(Official organ of Shirdi
Sansthan)
YOGIRAJ VASUDEVANANDA
SARASWATI
Report of the Gathering held at Shirdi
Shri Sai Leela
(Official organ of Shirdi
Sansthan)
Eternal Religion
When the Gita unfolds karma as ethical detachment and gnana as concentration culminating in
“recollection and bhakti as the love
in which the “individual” communes with the Spirit –the Gita affirms a doctrine
which centuries of thought have greeted as the Wisdom of the Ages. This
doctrine the Gita and the Rishis of India called the Sanatana Dharma: the
mystics of the middle ages in Europe called it the “Eternal Religion”. It
flowers in the beauty of humility and love and service and sacrifice.
Shrimadbhagawadgeeta
The
Bhagawad-Geeta, or Geeta, as it is commonly known, forms a very important part
of the philosophy propounded in our great Indian epic, the Mahabharata. The
most important event in the Mahabharata is the war between the Kauravas and the
Pandawas. The beginning of this war is described in minute details in the
Bhishma-Parva of Mahabharata, as this Parva (canto) is known after Bhishma, the
first Commander-in-Chief of the Kauravas.
Bharat has all along
been a country of monsoon rains. It rains here in deluges for four months from
June to September every year. This heavy rainfall causes floods everywhere. In
these days the rivers swell to such an extent that it is hardly possible to
cross them. In the absence of permanent good bridges across these rivers, the
movement of big armies was impossible in the monsoon days. Hence we find that
up to the Seventeenth century all major wars were fought in this country in
other seasons than the monsoon. In the Mahabharata days also the war must have
therefore been waged after the monsoon days. The Bhagawad Geeta which was told
to Arjuna on the first day of the war is traditionally believed to have been
told on the 11th day of the bright half of the month of
Margasheersha and this time synchronizes properly with the post monsoon days
described above. The Geeta Jayanti, like the Jayanties of all gods, is observed
on the aforesaid day of every year. This year it synchronized with the X’mas
day viz 25th December, 1974.
From the first canto of the Geeta, we come to know that the armies of
the Kauravas and Pandawas were arranged properly for a War. The leaders of the
troops were blowing their conches and at that moment Arjuna requested Shri
Krishna to drive his chariot to the place in between the two armies. When
Arjuna saw that the army against which he had to fight consisted of so many of
his relatives, distant and near, and that his own army ,of course comprised
only of his near relatives, he visualized that a major war between these two
armies means nothing else but the end of all his relatives. The very idea of this
bloodshed totally upset the warrior and throwing his bow and arrows on the
ground Arjuna told Lord Krishna that he did not want to have a blood red
throne. On seeing this condition of Arjuna, we are told that Shri Krishna told
the Bhagawad Geeta to him, whereby he said that his doubts were all cleared and
that he would now fight to the finish. Now here a layman tumbles upon a
practical difficulty. When he counts the total number of Shlokas in the
Bhagawad Geeta, he finds that they are in all seven hundred in number. Now,
when the two armies were on the point of attacking each other, where could
Arjuna and Krishna have that much peace of mind and time to ask questions and
counter questions and give detailed replies to the questions of an inquisitive
and learned disciple like Arjuna. But after all, the Mahabharata is an epic and
we believe that the Lord Krishna had supernatural powers. We find that later on
in the same war when Jayadratha was to be disposed of, he actually shut off the
light of the Sun for the time being and all therefore felt that the day had
ended. Arjuna who thought that he had failed to fulfill his vow of killing
Jayadratha before the end of the day was getting ready to sacrifice himself in
the fire and at that time Lord Krishna took back his Sudharshana (fiery disc)
and told Arjuna that the day had not ended and hence he could fight and kill
Jayadratha, who was accordingly beheaded by Arjuna. Similarly, Lord Krishna, by
his Maya, though it has not been described in so many words in the Mahabharata,
might have kept both the armies spell-bound up to the time he satisfied his
disciple and devotee and convinced him by showing the Vishwaroop
(Omnipotent,omnipresent,omniscient, transcendental form of God).
The philosophy of the
Bhagawad-Geeta has attracted the attention of all great personalities of
philosophical bent of mind all over the world. The philosophy though composed
in simple Sanskrit verses is so pregnant with meaning that from times
immemorial Pundits have thought it worthwhile to write commentaries on it
explaining the philosophy in simple words, which would be understood by the
common people. Apart from the commentaries on this book in Sanskrit, there are
a number of commentaries in all the Modern Indian Languages. The commentaries
on Bhagawad-Geeta in Marathi are literally countless. Every Marathi author, who
had a little power of writing, has tried his hand in commenting on this book.
Even though a number of commentaries in the verse form have been printed and
are available, still new poets and authots are even now getting inspiration to
add to these commentaries. Some commentaries are still awaiting publication.
Out of all these commentaries, the two most widely known are the Dnyaneshwari
or Bhavartha-Deepika by saint Dnyaneshwar and The Bhagawad Geeta Rahasya by
late Lokmanya Tilak. Dnyaneshwari is in verse form and because of this lapse of
so many years since its composition, the language of the book has now become
obscure to the modern generation and it almost impossible to understand the
philosophy completely without further commentary. The commentary by Lokmanya
Tilak is in prose;but this book also has a history behind it. It was written by
Lokmanya Tilak; while he was in imprisonment in Mandaley; but Lokmanya Tilak had
attained a ripe age at that time. His thoughts were quite mature and it is as
if he was explaining the theory of his own life, of Karmayoga that he practiced
throughout his life, by making Arjuna only a means to explain his philosophy of
life. The commentary of Dnyaneshwar has a literary and poetic touch while the
commentary of Lokmanya Tilak, though in prose reflects fully his comparative
study of the Western and Eastern philosophies.
While
considering about one standard book as a gospel, it is said that the Christians
point out only towards the Bible, the
Mohammedans towards the Quran while the Hindus have no such one book which they
can point out as embodying philosophy of their religion. The people say that
there are the Vedas, the Upanishats, the Smrities, the Shruties, the Epics and
so many other books which according to the view point of the author have
explained the principles of the Hindu religion; but what can be said in this
behalf is that there has been only one prophet in the Christian and Mohammedan
religions, while the Hindu religion happened to have many more. It is not a
matter of shame to have many more learned men who thought about religion and
who thought of explaining about it to the common people. The Hindu religion may
not thus be able to claim the BhagawadGeeta as the only book which can be
called the gospel; still it contains the philosophy propounded in the
Upanishata and other religious books in a nutshell and it has therefore been
aptly described,in a figurative manner, as the milk of the cow in the form of
the Upanishats as follows :-
“Sarvopanishado gavo dogdha gopalnandan”.
It is because of this
philosophical background of the BhagawadGeeta that many of our national leaders
of modern days like Dr.Annie Besant, Mahatma Gandhi and Vinobaji Bhave have
been attracted by it.They have unequivocally admitted and openly said that this
book has given them inspiration and guidance. As already stated above the
interpretation of the BhagawadGeeta done by the late Lokmanya Tilak was one of
Karmayog, of doing the work as one’s own duty without expecting for the fruit.
This interpretation of the Bhagawad Geeta appears to have appealed even to the
revolutionaries, who once terrorized India and many of whom embraced the
gallows with a smile on their face and the BhagawadGeeta in their hands.
Shri Sai Baba
was a man of few words. He never claimed to have an army of disciples. He never
held big meetings of thousands of devotees where he would give sermons on
religious matters or on philosophy or devotion; but from his occasional talks
as reported in the Sai Satcharitra it appears that he was well conversant with
all religious books in Sanskrit and Marathi which embody the philosophy of the
Hindu religion. In chapters number 39 and 50 of the Sai Satcharitra, a detailed
discussion between Nanasaheb Chandorkar, a devotee of Shri Baba, who was a good
student of Vedanta and who prided himself on his knowledge and Shri Sai Baba is
reported by the author. On going through those chapters we find that Shri Baba
had given a thought to the propriety of words used in the Bhagadwadgeeta. He
appeared to have even thought about the use of alternative words for thw words
already used in that book. His discussion with Nanasaheb Chandorkar about
Shloka no 34 from the 4th canto of the Bhagadwadgeeta is in no way
less interesting than the discussion that take place between learned Pundits
and Shastries where the knowledge and their power of thinking is clearly seen.
Apart from this knowledge of the
Bhagawadgeeta we see that the teachings of the Bhagadwadgeta were being
practiced by Shri Sai Baba in his daily life. “Anasakti” or non-attachment to
this worldly life is the main principle preached in all our religious and
philosophical books. Shri Sai Baba appears to have mastered this principle to
the last letter of the word. He had no belongings in this world. He never
stored anything and subsisted on begging. He had, therefore, no worry that
property would be stolen or destroyed. He had also no worry about the next day.
The other principles of “Karmayog” and “Bhaktayog” also seem to have been
mastered by Shri Sai Baba. He lived in this world not for himself. He lived for
the well-being and the good of his devotees. His only worry was the peace and
tranquility of his devotees with no
ultimate gain for himself. This way of life has been described in great detail
in his commentary of the BhagawadGeeta, by the late Lokmanya Tilak and we find
that Shri Sai Baba was observing it in his life like the Rishies and Sages.
In the twelfth
canto of the BhagawadGeeta Lord Krishna has explained the “Bhakti Yoga”. After
explaining “Sankhya Yoga”,”Karma Yoga”,”Dnyana Yoga” in the earlier chapters of
the Geeta the Lord explains the “Bhakti Yoga “ in the twelfth chapter. While
explaining this yoga of Bhakti (devotion) the Lord makes it amply clear that
the other Yogas explained to Arjuna by him may be found to be difficult to
practice and in that case he may resort to this simple yoga which is within the
reach of everybody and which does not require any paraphernalia or any previous
preparation. Shri Sai Baba never called himself to be the god; but he always
called “Allah Malik” and called himself to be a servant of the God. He also
preached among his devotees nothing else but implicit faith and devotion to
himself, which was the simplest form of worship a devotee could adopt easily.
It will thus be
seen that the Geeta, as aptly described is the cream of the Hindu philosophy in
a nutshell. It is no doubt in Sanskrit in original and adequate knowedge of
Sanskrit would give a reader the full and perfect knowledge of its teachings;
but as stated before, there are ample commentaries available on it in all the
modern Indian languages and with their help any inquisitive and devout reader
will be able to follow the philosophy and teachings of this world famous book
which has inspired thousands of people in this world irrespective of caste and
creed. To the Sai devoteed this book is of particular importance because the
teachings embodied therein were already assimilated by Shri Sai Baba and he was
also preaching these principles among his devotees. Every year we are
celebrating the birthdays of so many gods throughout the year; but they should
not be observed only as a casual ritual to be practiced annually. We as Sai
devotees should give a thought to the underlying idea behind all these
celebrations and hence while observing the BhagawadGeeta Jayanti, we should also
think about the philosophy and teachings of this book and try to practice them
in our daily life.
The Secret of Service
Krishna announces now the great “secret of
success” in all mighty undertakings ----- be they spiritual or material. This
verse is the very backbone of the third chapter of the Geeta. The Lord reveals
(III-30) “Renouncing all actions in me, with mind centered on the Self, without
hope and ego, freed from fever ---fight on”. The most pregnant verse in al
scriptures sometimes read as the most flippant. As it stand, this verse sounds
quite ridiculous. But there are chapters of suggestions packed in every phrase
here employed.
“Renouncing all actions in
Me” (Mayi sarvani karmani sannyasya). Man acts always in a spirit of
dedication(arpana-buddhi). We generally act dedicated to wife(Bharyarpana) or
dedicated to son (Putrarpana) etc. Here Krishna insists that we should
undertake all actions dedicated to Him, the Infinite Lord. Our capacities then
increase according to the glory of the altar of our dedication. Thus, as an
ambassador of a country an ordinary man can sign for his country, trade
treaties etc ----- it is not he, the person who is signing, but the country he
represents.
When we “dedicate ourselves in Him” and act, always as
His deputies in life, we draw unto ourselves infinite strength, power, capacity
and intelligence. Be His servant; He being the mighty ideal of your heart.
Now the question is, how is one to gain this
continuous spirit of dedication? This is possible if we live with the mind
centered on the Self (Adhyatma chetasa). The distractions here come from our
identification with the demands of the flesh, the urgencies of the mind, or the
restlessness of the intellect. But with the two processes of (1) intellectual
dedication to the self, and of (2) mental centeredness in our ideal, we draw
into our bosom, from some unexpected source in ourselves, an unbelievable
quantum of fresh vitatlity, an active surge of irresistible enthusiasm, and the
dash to face courageously all vicissitudes.
Even when we have the joyous tide of energetic
fervour to act, to strive, to sweat and gain our goals, often we find, in the
very fields of our achievements, our inner fountains dwindle and soon dry up
completely. Why? For example, if water is not flowing from the tap in the
wash-basin , we can safely conclude that either there is a clogging somewhere
along the pipe or there is a leakage in the system. Similarly, when your
enthusiasm in a programme of work wanes, it is clear that your vitality is
being dissipated enroute.
There are only three channels through which
personality dissipation takes place. They are indicated by the Lord when he
says “ without hope and ego”( nirasheernirmamo bhootva) and “freed from fever (vigatajvarah) act on in
life.
Hope(asha) is “Expectation for something to
gain in a future period of time”. To grow thus anxious for the future ---
which, is in fact, the result of the present dynamic action--- is a waste, a
ruinous dissipation. Similarly, our ego-centric identity is nothing but “our
total memories of the past experiences”. Thus, the exhortation “without ego-centric
relationships (nirmamah) means, without allowing our present mood to be
disturbed with “regrets of the past”. To remember the past and ruminate over it
with regret --- is yet another channel
of dissipation through which our efficiencies ooze out.
In addition to this, we have a knack of exhausting
ourselves with our “excitements in the present”. In the busy chases of
urgencies in a fast, energetic life, you are called upon to attend to hosts of
duties, crowds of different activities, innumerable functions and varieties of
relationships. So Krishna rightly points out “Freed from fever (vigatajvarah).
Feverish excitement lowers our abilities. Avoid them, be calm ,serene, cool ---
and act quietly; efficiency is then maintained at a very high pitch in us.
An individual of steady application is exhorted by
Krishna to fight (yudhyasva), where the battle is with your vicissitude and
problems. Having thus adjusted your inner equipments and their functions, bring
the newly-discovered energies in fighting down the forces of evil around you
and chasten the cultural and political life of the community.
This technique is equally available for both
material and for bringing about one’s spiritual unfoldement. Unconscious
dissipations in unintelligent “regrets of the past” and “anxieties for the
future” and “excitements in the present” keep many of us at the levels of
failure, disappointments and despairs. Have faith in an ideal, or idol, and
surrendering yourself to it, act diligently.
Success is sure. This way of life, only the youth of
the country can practice and master. In this discipline lies there
achievements, and the ultimate glory of the nation in the years to come.
(Courtesy :Geeta
Office, Powai).
YOGIRAJ
VASUDEVANANDA SARASWATI
( A Biography)
(Continued from January
1975 Issue)
By:-Shri S.N.Huddar
Chaturmas-24-Shak 1835
(1913 A.D.)
Garudeshwar
This place is on the bank of Narmada. Temples of
Narad, Garud and Karoteshwar are here. Some Bhillas live here.All provisions
and articles are to be brought from Tilak Wada or Nandod. Garud did penance to
please Shankar and so this place is known as Garudeshwar. Swamiji came here on
Chaitra wadya 6.
Vishnupant Soman had a grocery shop here.Swami
Maharaj did his rituals at Naradeshwar and slept on a slab of stone in the
open. Madhukari can be had here only at the house of Vishnupant Soman.
The news of Swamiji’s arrival spread and people
began to come to this place. A Mandap
was then constructed for visitors. Ramchandra Shastri Prakashkar came
here on Vaishakh Suddha 7-8.Swamiji told him that he should not go anywhere
from there.
Vasudeo Shastri Phanse also came here. He would
bring alms for Swamiji. From Gujarati Brahmins fruits only were accepted.
Dhondopant Koparkar came here with his family and brought phanaspoli, coconut,
dried phanas,chips etc.Swamiji only took the phanspoli and other articles were
distributed. Dhondopant constructed a hut for Swami Maharaj. There was a neem
tree here. On Chaitra Suddha 1 the leaves of this tree were given as Prasad.
The taste of these leaves was sweet.
The number of visitors was increasing day after day
and the one hut was found quite insufficient. Parashram Bhai Kuberi Engineer
therefore constructed a separare shed for cooking.
Swami Maharaj explained ‘Geeta Bhashya’, ‘Datta
Bhava Sudharas etc’ to the interested audience. Shri Datta Murti was given bath
with Laghu rudrabhishek in the morning. Some Maharashtrian ladies came there to
stay and then Swamiji could get alms at 3 places.
Swamiji’s Diet
Swamiji took bread of Vari
( a cereal), boiled rice, vegetable of Bhindi (lady finger) or suran, baskets
of fruits were offered but he did not look at them. In the afternoon he gave
replies to the questions asked or read puran. Bhajan was sung in the night.
After Bhajan gram or Mung pulses were usually distributed in good quantity as
there was usually no cooking at night. Sarta Datta Pujan was performed several
times. One and hald maund Prasad was distributed.
Many persons from Baroda had also come
here. One shed to accommodate 50 persons was constructed. Visitors lived there
in co-operation. Some brought water, some collected fuel, some did cooking.
After offering Naivedya to Shri Datta all dined.Daily 3 to 4 hundred persons
dined. Swamiji used to tell in the morning “So many persons will come today and
prepare particular articles of food”. Visitors would come by 12 or in the
mid-day.
Brahmanand Teerth of Shringeri and
Brahmananda Saraswati from Niloor Math had come to Garudeshwar. They also
ovserved chaturmas along with Swami Maharaj.
Balwantrao Bhagwat of Gwalior was in service
at Gokarna, He was given Sanyas and Dand by Shri Brahmanand Teerth and was
named Pradyumna Teerth.
Due to heavy rains, the level of the river Narmada
was increased and all became anxious. They approached Swami Maharaj who then
came to the Narmada, touched the water with his dand and requested ‘ O mother,
there should be no flood, else your devotees here will come into troubles.”
After this the level of water came down.
Dhondopant Koparkar again
came here in Shravan, when Narmada was flooded. Forty to fifty persons sat in a
boat at Nandod for Tilakwada. The flow of Narmada was very powerful. Hence the
boat could not be rowed upwards. There was danger of its sinking. Dhondopant
and others prayed Swami Maharaj and then the boat reached Garudeshwar safely.
All bowed to Swami Maharaj humbly. Swami Maharaj said “you prayed to god when
you were afraid of sinking”.
Relief from Diseases
Some Muslims also approached Swamiji for
relief from certain diseases. Swami Maharaj gave them medicines and Koran
mantras for recitation. The only son of Manubhai Umrekar of Bharoach ‘Ganapati’
had some mental trouble. He came to Garudeshwar.Swamiji looked at him and he
was all right.
A Parsi gentleman of Navasari came and said that a
spirit di not let him take even one morsel of food. After your darshn, only
yesterday I could take food. Swamiji gave him a yantra and he was relieved of
the spirit trouble.
Dr.Chintamanrao of Baroda lost his 5-6 issues. He
has one son who was suffering from fits. He asked Dhondopant to bring angara
from Swami Maharaj. After applying the same the boy was cured.
Nath Comes Out of coconut
A woman took
darshan and offered a coconut to Swamiji. Her Nath(nose ring) fell down. She
realized this after returning to her place. She inquired from Swamiji if it
could be found.Swamiji asked her to break the coconut. As she broke it the nath
came out of it. All wondered to see this miracle.
Swami Maharaj wrote Atmanatma Vichar. Chitta Subodha
and Nakshatra Mala in Prakrit and distributed them to those who agreed to act
as per instructions given in the booklets. He also wrote “Datta Bhawasudharas”
nut shell based on “Datta Mahatmya” and Gurucharitra for daily reading. A son
of Rambhan Subnis of Sangli was an officer in the Baroda state. He came to see
Swami Maharaj, when he was informed to come after shaving off the hair on his
head. He had decided to depart in the morning and took permission of Swamiji in
the night. Next day when he started Swamiji was giving lessons. Subnis wished
to have teerth and Prasad. When they were going, a man came to him and gave the
Teerth and Prasad.
Shri Rang Awadhut Swami
Yogiraj Shri Vasudevananda Saraswati Swami Maharaj
roamed all over Bharat from North to South and from East to West visiting
almost all the holy places. He had thousands of disciples out of whom some have
been very illustrious such as Narsinha Saraswati (Dixit Swami) of vadi,
Yogananda Saraswati alias Ganda Maharaj of Gunj (Dt.Parbhani) Shri Govindraj
Pandit of Sipri, Shri Shankarrao Shirolkar (who later became Shankaracharya of
Sankeshwar) Sitaram Maharaj(younger brother of Swamiji), Ramchandra Shastri
Prakashkkar of Baroda,Shri Vamanrao Gulavani Maharaj Poona, Shri Dhundiraj
Maharaj Kavishwar,Deolgoan Raja, Shri Shankarrao Deshmukh Ajegoankar, Hingoli,
Janakiram Maharaj of Pali (Dist Aurangabad) and many others.
Shri Rang Awadhut alias ‘Bapuji’, a most popular saint
of Gujarat was also a principal and staunch devotee of Swami Maharaj. He lived
at Nareshwar near Baroda on the bank of Narmada carrying on the mission of
spreading the devotion of Shri Datta amongst the Gujarathi people. Recently he
has been to Africa due to pressing invitation of his devotees,many of whom are
staying in Africa and other foreign countries. He therefore earnestly wished to
publish an English Biography of his revered Gurudeo, Shri Vasudevananda
Saraswati Swami Maharaj to enlighten the English knowing people, spread all
over the world, with the pious and divine life of his Gurudeo. But it is a
misfortune that Shri Rang Awadhut Swami passed away on the 19th of
November 1968 at Haridwar before the life sketch of his guru, could be
published. An attempt is made here to give in short some incidents in the life
of Shri Rang Awadhut Swami, whose inspiration has been the cause of writing
this biography.
A vedic Brahmin Balambhat Valambe lived at
Deole (Tal. Sangmeshwar Dist.Ratnagiri). His third son Vithalpant came to
Godhra (Dist. Panchmahal Gujrat) as a priest of the Vithal mandir of Sakharam
Anant Sarpotdar. He was only 18 years of age but had studied Vedas and Shastras.
The name of his wife was Rukmini. The pious couple gave birth to a son named
Pandurang on the 21st of November 1998 and he was later on known as
Shri Rang Awadhut Swami.
At the age of 3, Pandurang saw a dead body being taken for
a funeral when he asked his father where was the person being taken. Father
replied, “To the place of God”. Pandurang again asked,”Can we not go to the
God’s place by our feet?” Vithalpant did not like this unauspicious question,
yet he said “ By reciting the name of Ram one can go to the God’s place.”
Innocent Pandurang got inspiration from this and he constantly began to recite
Ram nam.
Vithalpant died in 1903,
when Pandurang was only 5 years old and his younger brother Narayan was 2 years
old.When Pandurang was of 8 years his mother came to Konkan with her two sons
and performed their thread ceremonies. The mother then came to Vadi with her
two sons.Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati Swami Maharaj was there at that time. As
soon as the 9 year old Pandurang saw Swami Maharaj, he ran to Swamiji, who also
seeing the smart boy exclaimed, “Oh,this is our boy”. Swamiji asked Pandurang,
“To whom do you belong?”. He replied, “To you”.Swami Maharaj said, “My boy, you
begin to read Pothi”.
This is the only instance, when Pandurang had contact
with Swami Maharaj. He regarded Swami Maharaj as his spiritual Guru from this
time and Swamiji also had often been guiding Pandurang. Swamiji had his Samadhi
at Garudeshwar in July 1914, when Pandurang was only 16 years old. He could not
se Swamiji again, like his other chief disciples.
Pandurang had a brilliant
school and college career. He was a student of Baroda College when Mahatma
Gandhi launched his non-co-operation campaign in 1921. Pandurang responded to
Nation’s call and leaving the Baroda college he joined Swarajya Ashram at
Ahmedabad and became Snatak (graduate) of Gujarat Vidyapeeth.
He worked as a teacher and
also participated in the Satyagraha movement. He had liking for Sanskrit. He
began to write articles and books on subjects of National interest. He
translated two books of Tolstoy in Gujrati and they were published by
Navajeevan Prakashan, Ahmedabad. He wrote a Sanskrit treatise on Bhartrihari’s
“Subodh Shatak” and ‘Girvan Bhasha Pravesh” ie Sanskrit text book for Swarajya
Ashram. Tales from Upanishatts (Upnishdoni Baton) was also written and
published by him in Gujrati.
However his inclination for
devotion to God Datta continued all the time. He had longing to have darshan of
Shri Datta. When his younger brother Narayan completed his education and was
employed, Pandurang concentrated his mind of devotion of Datta still more. Once
he was so seriously ill that his relatives had lost all hope about him. But
with intense devotion he composed poems and prayed Datta most sincerely and he
got relief.
In this state of health
Swami Maharaj advised him to read “Datta Puran” 108 times. At the time of his
first visit to Vadi, Swamiji had asked Pandurang to read the ‘Pothi’. But it
was not clear which Pothi was to be read. But by intuition Pandurang guessed
that the pothi referred to was “Shri Guru Charitra” as it was being read by his
maternal uncle, who had received it from Shri Sai Baba as Prasad. Pandurang
took the Pothi from his maternal uncle and began to read it with devotion. He
would not even take his food before reading it.
He entrusted his mother to
his younger brother Narayan and some how consoling her started for the
Himalayas. But on the way some saints and sadhakas requested him to do penance
on the bank of Narmada. He therefore chose the lonely but charming place of
Nareshwar on the bank of Narmada. On its east there are hills and it is
surrounded by thick forests. It is an abode of peacocks, bright skinned cobras
and beasts. There is a Shiva Mandir, which had been in neglected condition so
far. Pandurang stayed there, completed 108 readings of Datta Puran. For the
completion function, he decided to have Narmada Parikrama in 108 days drinking
only the water of Narmada. Due to such hard penance and blessings of Swamji and
Datta, Pandurang was now being known as Shri Rang Awadhut Swami.
After the brahma Niryan of
Swami Maharaj at Garudeshwar in 1914, Swamiji’s Datta Murti was retained there
as Shri Datta had expressed his desire to stay at Garudeshwar. Shri Rang
Awadhut carried the torch of devotion of Shri Datta and spread its light
throughout Gujarat. He wrote Guru Leelamrit in Gujarati which includes Shri
Gurucharitra and Datta Purana. This is a book which is much respected and has
been very popular amongst the Gujrati people. His Sanskrit volume “Rang
Hridaya” expresses his heartfelt devotion. He has also composed several songs,
strotras etc in Gujarati, Marathi, Hindi and Sanskrit, which are much liked by
the devoted public. He was reciting the name of Datta with every breath.
It is due to Shri Rang
Awadhut Swami Maharaj that some new mandirs, dharmashalas and dwelling places
of modern type have sprung up at Nareshwar and it has been an attractive holy
place for the devotees and other visitors.
(to be continued).
During the course of his all India tour, Babu Rajendra
Prasad, President of the Indian National Congress held at Bombay in 1934, went
to Ramana Maharshi and to receive his blessings. He stayed in the Ashram for a
few days with his family and friends in the blissful company of the Maharshi.
At the time of taking leave, Sri Rajendra Prasad requested the Maharshi for a
message to Mahatma Gandhi. The Maharshi smiled and said, “What message can I
give, when the same Shakti (spirit) that is working here is working there”. In
this one pregnant sentence, the Maharshi has propounded a great spiritual truth
of universal nature.
Among the numerous mandirs, numbering about five
hundred, Sri Kanaka Bhavan is the most important in the city of Ayodhya.
Tradition has it that Lord Rama lived with Sita Mata in a mansion constructed
of gold and diamonds,gems etc on the same spot in Treta Yuga. There is a Shayan
Kunj (Bed chamber) of the Lord in the second storey of the Mandir. Every night
the Pujari of the mandir arranges garlands,flowers, scents,sweets,fresh water
to drink etc in this chamber, for the use of the divine couple in the night,
before the mandir is closed. About 25 years back it so happened that the pujari
forgot to provide drinking water. At the dead of the night, Lord Rama appeared
before a Saint, living in chyavani at a distance of one mile from the mandir,
in a vision and told him “I am thirsty. The pujari has not kept drinking water
for me.Please arrange water for us”. The saint at once rushed to the manager of
the kanaka bhavan and woke him up and informed him of his vision. The manager
immediately sent for the pujari and asked him if he had provided drinking water
to the Lord that night. The pujari recollected for a while and said, “I forgot
to place drinking water” and begged to be excused. Immediately drinking water
was arranged in the Shayan Kunj.
Vedadri is a famous pilgrim centre on the banks of
the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh.
The presiding diety there is Lord Narsimha. The zamindar
of Muktyala is the trustee of the temple.Every day at the time of Shayan Arati,
the idol (Utsa vigraham) of the lord is places in a cradle and it is swung
until the arti is over. Then the pujari and other devotees retire after closing
the temple. About forty years ago, the threads of the cradle were in shreda in
a part and the idol was in imminent danger of falling down from the cradle. One
night the Lord appeared in the dream of the Zamindar and said “You are sleeping
happily in your cosy bed, while I am laying in the cradle of shreds. Please get
the cradle fitted with new threads without any delay”. So saying the Lord
disappeared. The Zamindar immediately woke up and recollected the dream. He
thought that something was wrong with the cradle. Next morning he went to the
temple and examined the cradle and took the pujari to task for his failure to
report the bad condition of the cradle in time. He got the cradle immediately
repaired.
Such instances abound in almost all the famous temples. The
devout believe in them, while others dismiss them as incredible and fantastic.
Lord Sai, in his own way, has established the veracity of such a phenomenon as
detailed below.
Sri Dilip Kumarji Roy is an ardent devotee of Mahayogi
Aurobindo. He established an Ashram at Poona and has been carrying on his
spiritual activities there. A few years ago, an acquaintance of his presented
an idol of Sai Baba to him. Dilip Kumarji placed it among several other other
idols in the compound of the Ashram exposed to heat and cold. That night Baba
appeared to him in a dream and said,” I am shivering of cold. Please take me in
and provide a comfortable and snug corner in the Ashram”. Immediately Sri Dilip
Kumarji woke up and took the idol of Sai Baba into the Ashram and placed it in
a comfortable place. He realized the glory of Sainath and undertook to
construct a mandir for the idol. In a
few months he got a small mandir constructed and consecrated it at Poona. This incident took place some
fifty years after the Mahasamadhi of Sai Baba.
Myriads are the Lilas(sports or miracles) of Sainath
during the time he was in flesh and blood. Such miracles continue to happen
even after his Mahasamadhi and will continue for ever. They are intended to
protect his devotees from dangers and calamities, to infuse faith in them, to
illustrate the veracity of spiritual doctrine and spiritual phenomenon etc ,
and thus enlighten his devotees and lead them on the SUBRA MARGA. Such powers
of SaiNath are as natural as the rays to the Sun. They are inseparable from Sai
as rays from the Sun. Just as the rays of the sun nourish and sustain and give
the creatures a new life, the powers of Lord Sai are a source of spiritual
vigour and strength and have sustaining and enervating influence to the
devotees. Sai radiates his influence over his devotees and makes them whole and
perfect.
In the three incidents narrated above, it is the same
spiritual phenomenon and the same divine spirit that is revealed.
Upasani Maharaj, the sage of Sakori, in his Sai Mahima
Stotra, has stated that Sai is “Ramamevaavateeranam”!.Lord Rama that has
descended. Again he adds, “Sai roopa dhana Raghavottamam” it is Lord Rama that has
descended in the form of Sai. Sai did confirm faith in the devotees towards the
God or chosen Deities they worshipped by manifesting himself as Lord Rama or
Krishna or Ganesh or Mahalakshmi or Datta or Vittal or Jesus etc.
It is our good, nay, unique fortune that we have become children
of such a Lord as Sai, due to Rinanubandha or prenatalities. Let us deserve to
receive his grace in abundance by having Nistha and Saburi, that is ,faith and
courageous patience, the two spiritual coins that Sai demands of us.
P.V.Satyanarayan Sastry,B.A.
KOTHAPET
GUNTUR(A.P).
(Continued from January
1975 issue)
By Dr.S.D.Parchure M.A,
Ph.D
The Sun of joy and pleasure did not shine for a long time
over the house of Dasopant after his return from Bedar. Dasopant was an
altogether changed man after his return from the Sultan’s prison. During his
days of his imprisonment he had a lot of strain on his mind. In that one month
his mind was oscillating between hope and frustration. Though he was all along
expecting some help from his father, he found that he could not help him in any
way. He realized that his only savior was Lord Datta and hence if he has to
achieve anything in this world it should be the devotion to the Lord and
nothing else.
Because of this metamorphosis that took place in Dasopant
he could not take any interest in his family life. He was quite young. This was
the age when one likes to eat,drink and make merry ; but Dasopant could not
take any interest in such things. Because of his hard days in the prison of
Bedar, Dasopant’s mother was feeling very sorry for him. She was, therefore
trying to serve rich and delicious dishes to him; but all that tasty food was
tasting completely bitter to Dasopant. His father used to tell him to carry out
certain domestic duties or carry out some other work in connection with the
collection of revenue in his vicinity; but Dasopant was not able to apply his
mind to the work. In this state of mind he had therefore, decided to chop off
all these fetters of his loving parents and his charming young wife who looked
as fresh and pretty as a blooming flower; and one day in the dead of the night
he quietly left the house in order to go in quest of the Lord Datta! The
bondages of family life are required to be severed in this same fashion. Did
not Siddhartha leave his wife and son in this fashion? Would the world have
seen a Buddha if Siddhartha had not left his house on that night?
The next
morning though the sun rose in the sky, it was all darkness in the house of
Digambarpant. Dasopant’s bed was found to be vacant in the morning. No one knew
or could guess where he must have gone. The joy of the family over Dasopant’s
release from the Sultan’s prison only appeared like a mirage.Digambarpant was
completely shattered. Parwatibai, his wife, lost all her interest in the
well-being of the family.To Dasopant’s wife, the whole life became a drudgery
in the absence of her husband in so young an age.
Dasopant left his family in this bad predicament; but
he was not at all sorry for that. He has only goal before him, the attainment
of Lord Datta. After he left his house, Dasopant straight went to Hilalpur and
spent a few days there in meditation. After visiting a few intervening
villages,Dasopant came to Nandigram (modern Nanded) on the river Godawari. This
river is equally holy to the people in the south as the river ganga is to the
people in the north. Hence he stayed at this place for some time in order to
observe penance and went to Matapur. This place is famous for the temple of
Anasuya, the mother of God Datta. As Datta was the family god of Dasopant, his
mother also was revered by him. He therefore, meditated at this place for some
time and worshipped Anasuya with the fervent hope that because of her worship,
it would be easy to win the favors of her son god Datta.
From Matapur, Dasopant went to Siddhakshetra in the
Sahyadri mountains. The idol of Lord Datta at this place is supposed to be very
powerful and showering favors on the devotees. The nature surrounding this
place is quite pleasing to the eye. The vegetation, the springs, and the wind
in the vicinity of this place are nothing but enchanting and hence Dasopant
selected this place for his penance. Not one day, one week, one month or one
year but Dasopant spent here full twelve years meditating on his favorite deity
god Datta. He forgot his father, his mother, his wife and his home and was
fully engrossed only in the meditation and his austere penance for twelve years
did not go unrewarded. He got a vision in which Lord Datta stood before him and
told him he was pleased with his austere penance. Lord Datta told him further
to go to Rakshasbhuvan on the bank of the river Godawari and unearth his
“Padukas” in the sandy bank there and worship them for the rest of his life.
The vision of the Lord and his order pleased Dasopant
to a great extent. He bowed down to the Lord and decided to start for
Rakshasbhuvan on the very next day. While leaving Siddakshetra, he felt very
sorry because of his twelve long years attachment with that place, but the
order of the Lord had to be obeyed and hence he straightaway went to
Rakhshasbhuvan. On reaching the banks of river Godawari, he immediately had a
bath in the holy river and prayed thereafter from the bottom of his heart.
After the bath he came and stood in the sandy bank of the river when the order
of the Lord flashed before his eyes. He had no doubt come to Rakshasbhuvan as
per the order of the Lord and was standing in the sandy bank of the river; but
where was he to hunt for the Padukas? The lord has not told him the exact
location of the spot where he would get the Padukas and the sandy bank was so extensive
that one complete life would not have even been enough to search and dig it. In
this pensive mood itself Dasopant sat on the sandy bank and unknowingly his
hands started digging the sand before him. After a short time a small pit was
there and lo! Inside the pit he felt that there was something very hard. This
hard substance at once brought Dasopant out of his trance and he dug up
further. To this surprise he found the Padukas there as ordered by God Datta.
The first reaction of Dasopant on seeing those Padukas was
of reverence. He placed them on his head and then bowed down to them.He then
took them and washed them clean in the holy water of the Godawari. Thereafter
he worshipped them only there in the sandy bank of the river. Dasopant wanted
some suitable place to install those Padukas of Lord Datta. He therefore
started in search of a suitable place. On his way he came to Wani-Sangam and
finding the place quiet and congenial he thought of settling there. In that
village there was a temple of Wagheshwar and Dasopant chose it for his abode.
Wageshwar was a holy place, which was often frequented
by pilgrims from all over the country. One day one old man came and pitched his
tent on the sandy bank of the river. The priests of the village immediately
went to him to enquire from where he came and also what ceremony was to be
performed by him. Dasopant, who was sitting in the temple of Wageshwar, saw the
old man and the two ladies with him and thought that he had seen the people before.
He therefore, asked the priest,” Who are those people?”.
The priest asked “Which people are you referring
to?”. Dasopant replied, “That old man with two ladies, one of whom is old and
the other is young”.
The priest said “That old man is from Narayanpeth. He
has a big landed property; but he is unfortunate. His only son left his house
before fifteen years and has not returned so far. That young lady is the wife
of his son. You know according to our Shastras if a husband is away from the
wife for more than twelve years, then she is to be treated as a widow and she
has got to abandon the ornaments that signify that she is a married lady. The
family has come over here to perform that ceremony”.
This narration of the priest simply shocked Dasopant. He
realized the strange situation which had arisen due to his departure from his
house. His wife would very soon declare herself to be a widow even as her
husband ie himself was alive. He was stunned for a moment.He could not make up
his mind regarding the further steps to be taken in order to avoid the
catastrophe: but Lord Datta gave him an inspiration. He told the priest to
request the gentleman to meet him before going through the proposed ceremony.
Digambarpant
was a man of religious bent of mind. To him all religious minded people were
venerable. So he thought to himself “Why not take the darshan of this sage
before the ceremony? The visit to a righteous man will never be wasted. It will
always bear good fruit.’ Thinking so he went to the temple along with his wife
and daughter-in-law and what wonder? Were his eyes deceiving him? Was he not
his dear son Daso, who was standing before him? Yes, he was his dear son Daso.
No sooner than he saw Digambarpant, he fell at his feet but Digambarpant was so
overwhelmed with feeling that he asked him to get up and embraced him closely.
The mother and the wife of Dasopant were also overjoyed at the site of Daso and
were glad that they met Daso just at the nick of time when they were about to
throw away all the ornaments of Dasopant’s wife,signifying her marriage. This
chance meeting no doubt once again showered joy over the whole family; but at
the same time again they remembered the former occasion when Dasopant came back
from the Sultan’s prison and again disappeared within a short time.
After the first gush of emotions was over, the family
settled down a little and Digambarpant said to his son, “Daso, you left us
before and we were fully plunged into grief; but at the same time we were not
so old. We somehow faced the grief bravely but now both of us have grown very
old. Nobody can say how long we will live. Hence let us now go back to
Naraynpet and settle there in peace. Do not leave us alone in this ripe old
age”.
Dasopant heard this and replied humbly, “ I am very
sorry to have been a cause for mental torture to you all ; but I did all this
according to the orders of the Lord in this behalf. I was prompted by Lord
Datta to go out of the house for observing austere penance and I accordingly
responded to the call of the God. He has now granted his “Prasad” to me in the
form of his Padukas and has ordered me to settle in this life; but I am not in
favour of going to Narayanpeth”.
On hearing
this,Digambarpant said, “Daso, we have got our house there. We have got our
landed property there. Where shall we go leaving aside all our belongings?”
“The Sultan of Bedar is a man of vindictive nature. He
wanted to trap me: but Lord Datta foiled his plans. He will therefore, be
waiting for another opportunity to give further trouble to us. Let us
therefore, go away from Narayanpeth so that we shall be out of the clutches of
the sultan”, Dasopant said.
Seeing this changed attitude of Dasopant, his father
Digambarpant also agreed to whatever he said, but he enquired, “What is to be
done about all our property?”.
Dasopant promptly replied, “Lord Datta is there to take
care of us. We shall donate all our property in Narayanpeth to someone. There
is no other good thing as donating our belongings, treating them as a blade of
grass”.
From his study of religious books and his contact with
the holy people, Digambarpant knew that all the persons, who have attained the
favour of God, have very little attachment for wordly belongings. He was
pleased to know that his son was now going to stay with them permanently and
therefore, he agreed with Dasopant’s proposal. He thought that the property was
of no value before his son. Digambarpant’s manager had come with him. So he
thought that he was the best person to whom the property could be donated. The
father and son agreed on the proposition and all the movable and immovable
property of Digambarpant was donated freely to his manager, whose descendents
are even today in possession of that property. Digambarpant became a very poor
man; but the persons who have strong belief in the power of God are never
worried about their food and shelter. They are sure that the Lord is going to
take care of them. To such people the wordly belongings are nothing but trash
and they are ready to part with them in no time. This attitude of Dasopant of
treating the wordly belongings with scant respect, indicated to Digambarpant
that Dasopant had attained a high spiritual level and that he is now a person
who has won the favour of God. This incident that took place in the Wageshwar
temple at Wanisangam spread all over like a fragrance of a flower and Dasopant
came to be known as a saint. Religious minded and devout people from all the
places round about started coming to him for his darshan and he on his part
started preaching the devotion to Lord Datta and meditation on him. Whosoever
that came into his contact was advised by him to devote his time on
concentrating on Lord Datta. When they were passing their time in this way,
Lord Datta ordered Dasopant to go to Ambejogai in the present Marathawada. He
accordingly bowed to the wishes of the Lord and started for that place. In
coming to Ambejogai he straight went to the Ganapati temple in that village and
started his preaching there.
It was in December 1967, I began Sai Pooja
as initiated by a close Brahmin friend of mine with whom I was staying at
HIDKAL DAM near Belgaum.
At first I did a Sai Saptaha “reading of Guru
Charitra” in a week and concluded on Thursday as desired. The same night Sai
appeared in dream and directed me to attend an interview the next day. This
dream was in acceptance of my worship and faith in SaiNath. The following day
being Friday, as usual after my morning rituals when I returned from Shivalaya,
a person was waiting for me with an introduction letter to appear for an
interview. I was offered the job without many formalities. The new assignment
was not much appealing to me in the beginning when compared to my previous
post. My mind was therefore not at rest. I prayed to Sainath for his grace in
meeting these challenges. My course of worship was very simple, restricted to
always remembering Sai’s name and form. This process slowly purified my mind
and redressed my mental state.
At the inspiration of Sai I devoted my whole hearted
attention to my new task, casting aside all my doubts. My ceaseless efforts in
introducing a better pattern of accounting
system paved way for my initial success and due recognition in the
organization.
Sai’s acceptance of
Naivedya and appearance as a black cat.
After about three months I had been to Kerala for my
marriage. Just prior to my marriage I performed another Saptaha in my home town
where many friends and relatives were present on the seventh day. When
preparations for arati were being made a black cat turned up before Sai’s photo
and gulped at once the naivedya offered to Sai and disappeared. This miracle of
Sai surprised those who were present there. They all shared this spiritual
feast for the first time and kept wondering at the glory and significance of
Sai, who is present in all beings.
Sai’s appearance as serpent on my birthday
My faith in Sai grew day by day. In the year 1969 on my
birthday I was reciting Sai mantra and offering arati before Sai’s photo along
with my wife, when I felt the presence of SaiNath there. At the very moment our
attention was drawn to a shining piece of gold in front of Sai’s photo. Soon we
realized it as a living serpent of 6 inches in length. My joy knew no bound. My
wife was dumbfounded with this Sai leela. At my instruction milk was brought
and offered. In a few minutes it had disappeared. My faith and devotion was
thus acknowledged. By this time my little pooja room became a place of worship
for many simple devotees of Sai Nath. One of these days a saint who came to
perform yagnya to this place revealed these sequences as rare glories of Sai
Nath.
K.R.Gopinath B.Com
Hubli-22 Karnatak State.
Picture on the cover page
Once Shri Dasganu Maharaj
expressed his desire to go to Pandarpur for taking darshan of Pandurang
(Vithal). Shri Sai Baba told him that Shirdi itself is Pandarpur and gave him
darshan in the form of the Vithal of Pandarpur.
[ His Holiness Swami Shri Gangeshwaranandaji
Maharaj Udasin recently toured in South East Asia with the active collaboration
of the world-wide cultural organization, “The Vishwa Hindu Parishad” for the
establishment of “Ved Mandirs” in the various cities in all these countries. An
account of the revered Swamiji’s Hongkong visit was published in the issue of
this magazine for the month of December 1974. It is hoped that the following
report of the Swamiji’s visit in the Philippine islands will also be found
equally interesting by our readers. –Editor]
His Holiness Swami Shri Gangeshwaranandaji with his party
landed at the Manila airport on the evening of 3rd November 1954 and
was received by a very large gathering of devotees and sponsors of his ten day
programme in this eastern most Asian bunch of seven thousand islands known as Philippines.
The visit to these far flung islands was on account of very
cordial and pressing invitations of Swamiji’s numerous disciples since three
generations and their present fourth generation children, whom Swamiji has been
meeting since their childhood. Long before Sindhis were required to seek new
pastures and lands in the wake of their sacrifice and loss of the province of
their birth for the freedom of their motherland, quite a countable number of
them had embarked upon their adventure of conquering the world as traders for
which purpose they had gone to the main international markets and with their
genius and industry carved respectable positions everywhere. Hongkong, Manila,
Singapore, Tokyo are such theaters of trade in the east as Trinidad, Guyana,
Seriname,Jamaica in the west, where enterprising Sindhi Houses had migrated
much before partition of India.
Besides in the houses of affluent devotees, Swamiji had
daily ‘Satsangs’ in the Hindu Temple which is now the abode of many Hindu
Godheads of worship in Manila.
In his very illuminating talks in the score of gathering
Swamiji revealed all aspects of Bhakti-Yoga, relation of Man with his Maker,
the significance of devotion to God and how it profits the devotees and so on.
I am confident that our Manila brethren must have very much enjoyed the rich
food of thought in the series of talks on Bhakti-Yoga.
Swamiji explained very lucidly why Man should offer prayer to
his Master and be devoted to Him. Generally it is seen that those who pray and
worship their cherished Gods and deities expect them to grant their wishes.
They argue: God is a self lover of self-esteem and flattery, if he wants us to
pray and praise him without our expecting any rewards and fruits, and that, if
the reward and fruit of our ‘Bhakti’ are not to follow, why pray at all?
Swamiji answered the
dilemma by referring to the philosophical concept of the relation of the
“universal” to “individual” in the light of the “abhas” reflection theory
Vedanta. Swamiji said, “individuals” seek happiness in feeding dressing
beautifying and generally pleasing one’s self. It is like standing before a big
mirror and feeding, dressing and decorating the reflection in the mirror. All
your attempts to decorate ‘Reflection’ will be ridiculously futile. The more
you try to clothe the ‘reflection’ which is indeed only an ‘abhas’ unreal – it
will be covered and disappear from your sight. The correct way therefore to see
the ‘pratibimba’ –the reflection decorative and delightful, is to decorate and
please the ‘bimba’ or ‘universal’ which when done, the individual will
automatically reflect the ‘sat-chit-anand’, which is the real character of the
universal. That is why we should pray, praise and please ‘maker’. That alone, will
reflect in our individual lives.
Swamiji presented on behalf
of the Internatioal Chaturveda Committee the sacred Veda to the Hindu temple in
a function like of which was never witnessed before in this town. From amongst
the large number of elite citizens who were present, Shri P.S.Naskar, the
Bharatiya Rajdoota in Philippines, spoke in warm terms about His Holiness and
lauded his unique mission.
The second presentation of the sacred Veda to the
university of Philippines, renowned as an international attraction of students
from all over the world, deserves to be mentioned. Prof. Joseph Saniel,
representative of the Vice-Chancellor, welcomed Swamiji and expressed sense of
gratitude for his gift, on behalf of the university. Shri Dada Apte introduces
His Holiness Swamiji, and spoke on the general aspects of the Vedas and the
great learning, science, and knowledge they contained. Swamiji in his
presentation address informed the learned audience of the special features of
the mammoth volume of the four Vedas presented to the University. Swamiji
referred to the preaching and teachings of the Vedas which are indeed meant for
the whole humanity.
In the last public meeting
addressed by Swamiji in Manila while he commended the spirit of patriotism of
the great Portugese discoverer, in his naming of the islands after Philipps II,
the then ruling king of Portugal, he expressed his sadness at the thought that
the people of the islands have not yet changed the name Philippines which
smacks of and reminds of the days of bondage. Swamiji offered his reflections
on the meanings and purport of the names Manila and Philippines and its
relation with Bharat and Asia of which it is a part and parcel.
Swamiji was very much
delighted to learn that the Philippines government had recognized the most
honored place of Bhagawan Manu as the first law giver of mankind, and placed
his picture in the Department of Justice. Manila in the view of Swamiji must
have had close relation with Bhagawan Manu and his daughter Ila, as it is well
known that in ancient times this island, then called ‘Gandharva’ was one of the
nine islands connected with Bharat.
Swamiji and his party were the guests of a well known
businessman Sri Arjan Mirchandani, Sri Kripaldas, President of the Hindu Temple,
Sri Dadalani, Sri Genomal and so many other influential magnates of Manila
hosted Swamiji and attended on him regardfully throughout.
Swamiji was accorded a
grand send off on the evening on 12th November 1974 he took off to
Singapore.
O!Sai!Shirdi Bhagwan!Yogiraj!Janardhan!Supreme God!
Thou art the Lord of Universe, Argus,Artisan
Knowledge,Truth,Mercy,Love,Joy incarnated in Thee
Inscrutable,immeasurable, immutable art Thy ways
Nature prostrates before Thy presence
Maya, the blinding veil bows down in muteness
No distinction, difference Thy Mercy knoweth
The poor, the rich, the high and the low are equal
Love ye another even as I love you all
Thy message is the essence of all religions
Thou art the beacon light to humanity and world
O!Ocean of mercy, turn me as Thy servant and disciple
Wash my sin and adorn me with pearls of virtue
O!Gurudeva!Brahman, Sri Sainath Maharaj!
Where art Thou? What is Thy form?
Where is Thy nectar of love that brings solace to me
My mind,body and soul are Thou,pity me, pardon me
Art Thou partial? Or deaf to my wails of helplessness
Thou art the ‘Avatar’ and incarnation of Dattatreya
Why uncareful towards me? Baba! Tell me
Mere utterance of Thy name inspires me and my
thoughts
Thou art my Bhava,thought and all,surrendered to Thee
completely
Despair,disappointment overpower me Baba
Stand by me as my protector,preserver and promoter
Render my life purposeful, conquer devil of defeat
Tie me to Thy lotus feet with bounds of unerring
faith in Thee
Shatter forces of evils,distress,disdain
Let Thy form be my rescuer, saviour and guide
Take me as Thy dear Bhakta and ‘Sishya’ and child
I cannot trust human beings and life has become
drudgery
Cheat,untruth,wickedness, pomp,vanity rule high
Truth, simplicity,softness, merit,virtue, vanquish
O!Maharaj? Where art Thou? Let me see
Defeated I am in the battle of life
Always push me down the valet the devils of despair
in darkness
Why art Thou not impartial? Or art Thou selfish?
Why success to few?Why fortune to the privileged?
Why Thy mercy is not dawned on me for ever
The Soil of Shirdi, a heaven on earth! Purifies all
O!Sai guide me with the light of kindness,mercy
Purify me, provide peace, happiness overwhelmingly to
me
Only to serve Thy feet with unflinching devotion and
faith.
L.Suryanarayana Sharma, B.A,
Rajupet, MACHILIPATNAM.
Report of the Gathering held at Shirdi
As announced in the issue
of this magazine for the month of January 1975, the first gathering of the
poets and writers contributing their articles to Shri Sai Leela and the
well-wishers thereof was held at Shirdi on the 18th and 19th
of January 1975.
Thirty persons graced the occasion. Though the bulk of the
people had come from Bombay, still a large number also attended from Ahmedabad,
Pune and Gwalior. The delegates from Bombay started on 17-1-1975 by 12.30 (P.M)
and reached Shirdi at about 9.30 (P.M). As per instructions of Shri
K.S.Pathaksaheb, the court receiever, the staff at Shirdi was awaiting the
arrival of the delegates from Bombay and did all the arrangements for their
lunch and accomadation, no sooner they reached Shirdi. After a heartly lunch
the delegates attended the night arati at the Samadhi Mandir and retired for
rest.
At Sakori, a village some five km from Shirdi, the
celebrations of the diamond jubilee of Sati Godawari Mataji are in progresss.
Hence the delegates thought it worthwhile to pay a visit to Sakori and take
“darshan” of the revered Mataji and it is a matter of pleasure to state that
though the delegates went to Sakori in different groups in the morning on
18-1-1975, they were all given darshan by the revered Mataji. In addition to
this programme all the delegates observed all the usual religious ceremonies at
Shirdi like attending the morning arati, abhishek etc.After the lunch in the
noon the delegates returned for rest.
The first session of the
gathering started at 4 P.M in the afternoon of 18-1-1975.As it was necessary
for all the persons to know each other, this programme was of self introduction.
Shri N.P.Awasthi from Pune, aged seventy eight, presided over the meeting. Shri
Awasthi is a person who has spent a few years in the company of Shri Sai Baba
and hence he was considered to be the most appropriate person for the occasion.
The programme of self introduction was very interesting.Apart from being Sai
devotees, which was a common factor among all the delegates, they came to know
several other details and achievements of each other.Shri Awasthi concluded the
meeting after telling many anecdotes of Shri Sai Baba. Shri K.S.Pathaksaheb,
who was detained in Bombay due to some work, came to Shirdi just in time and
rushed to the meeting. His presence in the meeting added to the zeal of the
delegates. After the session was over the delegated went for sight seeing,
arati etc and took rest after lunch.
The second session started in the morning at 9.30
A.M on 19-1-1975 when Prof. N.A.Gore from Pune presided over the meeting. This
was an important session when the delegates present expressed their opinion
about the present get up of Shri Sai leela magazine and put forth their
suggestions for its improvement. Though the present get up of the magazine,
which was achieved by the Ex-Executive editor Late Prof.D.D.Parchure after
taking great pains, was found to be tolerantly good ,still with a view to
further improving the magazine the following suggestions were inter alia made
by the delegates.
1)Attempts may be made to
increase the circulation of the magazines and popularize them.
2)Information regarding the
saints and prophets of other religions should be given in the magazines.
3)Information regarding the
holy places of pilgrimage and the temples of sri Sai Baba should be given.
4)Bigger type may be used.
5)Information regarding the
persons who have seen Shri Sai Baba in live form should be given.
6)We may think of publishing advertisements in the magazines.
7) We may open a children’s
section in the magazines.
8) A section for questions
and answers should be started, where in replies may be given to the questions
put up by the readers.
9)Some important articles
from Marathi issue may be translated and published in the English issue.
10)Important Marathi books
on philosophy may be translated and published in the English issue.
The suggestions
were noted down for consideration and the session concluded at 11-45 A.M. The
delegates were then taken round by Shri
K.S.Pathaksaheb to the new building undergoing construction and shown the
facilities and conveniences provided therein. The delegates were glad to
inspect the new building under construction, costing about twenty lacs of
rupees, which was coming up for the convenience of the devotees.
The afternoon session
started with the songs sung by Shri Samel. He sung with devotion a few songs
based on the life of Shri Sai Baba and all the delegates were moved with
emotion.this session was presided over by Shri K.S. Pathaksaheb who in the
beginning told the delegates the economic aspect of the magazines. He said that
the Sansthan has to give an annual subsidy of over rupees twenty thousand for
publication of the magazines and added that both the Charity Commissioner and
the court are advising him to stop the publication. Shri Pathaksaheb assured in
the end that he would do his best to continue the publication of the magazines
so long as he continued to be in the office. In this meeting the main work was
of giving replies to the suggestions made by the delegates in the morning
session. Shri Pathaksaheb therefore, said that the executive editors and added
that so long as the magazines are not self-sufficient the suggestions which do
not involve much cost would be implemented immediately. It may take some time
to implement the other suggestions involving expenditure.
Shri Sadanand Chendvankar, the executive editor, pointed
out that recently the membership of the magazine has gone up which shows that
the magazines are slowly gaining ground and at that the present get up of the
magazines is likely to attract more devotees to become members of the
magazines. He also assured that all
efforts would be made to implement the suggestions.
Dr.D.S.PArchure then gave a
reply.He stated that in the beginning that the late Prof.D.D.Parchure the
former editor Shri Sai leela was mainly responsible for giving the present get
up to the magazines and much of the credit for improvement of the get up goes
to him. He then told the delegates that so long as the limit of forty eight
pages is required to be observed, it will not be possible to implement osme of
the suggestions. He pointed out that some of the suggestions have already been
implemented and assured the delegates that further efforts would be made to
implement the suggestions. He also thanked the delegates for having given a
though to the subject and given them the valuable suggestions.
Shri Sahukar, the General Manager of M/s Godrej and his
wife Smt.Maniben Sahukar who are both Sai devotees and who had come to Sakori
for the celebration for the diamond jubilee of Sati Mataji met the editors at
sakori in the morning of 18-1-1975, as they were informed about the gathering
they were kind enough to remain present at this last session. Smt. Maniben was
also pleased to address the gathering for a few minutes in which she stressed
the greatness of Shri Sai Baba and the
simplicity of his teachings.
In his concluding remarks
Shri K.S. Pathaksaheb thanked the delegates for having attended the gathering
in so large a number and requested to be excused for any shortcomings in the
arrangements regarding accommodation or lunch,tea etc. In all the three
sessions Dr.S.D.Parchure proposed the vote of thanks. Shri R.S.Pujari from Pune
thanked Shri.K.S. Pathaksaheb for arranging this first gathering and requested
that this may be made an annual feature.
Dr.K.B.Gawankar delivered a
“pravachan” on the evening of 18-1-1975. He is also a person who had sen Shri
Sai Baba in live form and hence his words were also considered authentic and
valuable. Shri.S.V.Deodhar was another delegate who had seen Shri Sai Baba when
he was alive and hence many delegates asked him a number of questions about the
personality etc of Shri Sai Baba.
After the concluding
session, the delegates started returning to their homes. The first batch of
delegates started for Bombay by the night bus leaving Shirdi at 9-15 P.M. on
19-1-1975. The other delegates left on 20-1-1975 according to their
convenience.The feeling among the delegates was that this first gathering was a
complete success and that it would go a long way in developing feelings of
affinity among the contributors to the magazines. Due to their short stay in
this place, they felt that they have started considering them as members of one
big family, the family of Shri Sai Baba. The delegates returned with sweet
memories of their stay at Shirdi and said that they would be looking up for the
gathering to be held next year. The staff at Shirdi Sansthan made all
arrangements for accommodation ,lunch,tea etc of the delegates to the best of
their ability and deserve thanks for the same.
S.D.Parchure