Reminiscences

A well - educated, only son of a devotee had secured a good job. He was to be married. The devotee asked ShriMaharaj, 'I have no experience in arranging marriages. Please tell me how to choose a daughter - in - law.' ShriMaharaj promptly said, 'Accept the girl whom all three of you like at first sight. Do not get into any further criti­cal examination.' After advising thus ShriMaharaj further added, 'In my opinion marriage of a son is of a more diffi­cult nature than that of a daughter. The effect of a daughter's marriage is felt at her in - laws.' The effect of a son's marriage is felt in one's home. If everyone at home behaves with a sentiment that he should mind and take care of others, comfort, and contentment will prevail . Also, the elders should act in the manner of elders, and young­sters should act in the free manner of youngsters. There­after, what scope can exist for arising of misunderstand­ings?'

Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj used to tell his followers, "Take refuge in Me." A sadhaka who had stayed with him for several years dedicatedly asked him, "Maharaj, what is the true sense of Take refuge in Me?"  Upon this ShriMaharaj said "Here, Me refers to God. To take refuge in Him means to surren­der to Him; that is, mentally to offer oneself to Him. To offer oneself is to merge one's will with His will. To merge will means to look upon Him as the controller of one's life, For this, one should conduct oneself the way He likes. To do one's duty in domestic life and practise namasmarana, is what He likes."

Reminiscences

A young man from another village met ShriMaharaj. He said to him whatever was to be said, accepted prasad, and returned. Later he remembered that his father had  told him to convey his salutation of regard to ShriMaharaj, and he had forgotten to convey that. Next time he met ShriMaharaj, he said, "Maharaj, please forgive me. Last time I forgot to convey my father's salutation to you.". Upon this ShriMaharaj promptly said, "Convey my blessings to him'; and added in a low voice, "What is the charm in conveying a salutation to him, whom it does not reach the very moment it is spoken ?"

Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj casually asked one teacher, ' Is there a shrine of a Muslim saint near your school?' The teacher said, ' Yes.' ShriMaharaj further said, " Balwantrao Ghanekar, who had studied at the same institution, was once asked the same question. His answer was, ' I do not know'' ' But, 1 said, ' everybody says so.' Balwantrao re­plied, ' Maybe it's so, but I used to go straight to the class,and when school was over, I returned home. I never rambled idly nor aimlessly.' I liked this reply, for the reason that it shows how single - mindedly one should                            pursue one's Sadhana ."

Reminiscences

One doctor asked, "The mental perturbation of every person that visits him becomes known to a saint. How does it happen ?' ShriMaharaj replied, "For this to hap­pen one's mind has to become holy and subtle. You know by using a thermometer what temperature a patient has. But a thermometer never gets a temperature. Likewise saints have passed beyond being perturbed, and so they come to know correctly the perturbation of another

Reminiscences

The Importance Of Discourse.

ShriMaharaj usually gave a daily discourse, of which the subject-matter invariably was some aspect of namasmarana . Many of those who attended spent an hour or more in coming and returning. One day one in the audi­ence raised the question whether, having once been con­vinced of the importance of namasmarana, it would not be more profitable to spend the entire two hours in namasmarana at home. ShriMaharaj immediately aquiesced, with the proviso that the ardour of the convic­tion continues unabated despite the cessation of the daily repetition, and does not get diverted to some other pur­pose. "The more important question,¹ he said,' is how the remaining chunk of the day's time (twenty-two hours ) is spent. If that much time is spent without chanting nama, it would be sheer waste. On the other hand, if, while lis­tening to the discourse, rather than listen as a matter of routine or entertainment, one listens with care, and with the object that love for God springs and endures in the mind, one may chant nama with genuine pleasure and reap the benefit. The very purpose of the discourse is that the mind should incline more and more to chanting of nama. Remember that it is not easy to create such a lik­ing for nama.

Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj was in Sajjangad to pay respects to Shri Samartha. A well-to-do but childless landlord who had his manor and farms in the shadow of the hill approached ShriMaharaj with a supplication that he may be blessed with a son to inherit the handsome estate. The following conversation took place:

ShriMaharaj ——You live right in the jurisdiction of Shri Samartha, and it is therefore proper that you ad­dress your supplication to Shri Samartha himself. Don't you think he has the power to grant it if he mean to Supplicant ———I agree.

ShriMaharaj -—— Then this is what I suggest: You and your wife should visit this Samadhi every day after the daily ablution, for a year. Stand before Shri Samartha with folded hands and pray thus:' We are happy and prosper­ous, by your grace; all that we want to complete our hap­piness is a son to inherit this estate. Please bless us, we pray, with a son if it is in our ultimate interest.' Do this daily for a year. If, during the year to follow, you are blessed with a son, treat him as the gift of Shri Samartha. If oth­erwise, your may conclude that it is not in your interest to have one, In either case, you will have a peaceful mind ready to accept either result calmly and cheerfully.

As luck would have it, the pair was eventually blessed with a son.