Reminiscences

A disciple of ShriMaharaj lived at a place not far from Bombay. He invited ShriMaharaj to attend the thread ceremony of his son and ShriMaharaj agreed to be present. The grandmother of the son lived in Pune, The father went there to invite her. At that juncture the grandmother was seriously ill, suffering from asthma. The doctor defi­nitely declared that she would survive for barely eight or ten days. Hence deciding to postpone the thread ceremony,the father returned to inform ShriMaharaj ac­cordingly. On hearing the entire story, ShriMaharaj said, 'Why is the doctor in a hurry to dispatch the grandmother? Who can confidently say that a particular person will die at a particular time ? He alone, who has the power to postpone death, should such a situation arise, may de­clare thus. Where is the guarantee for the doctor about his own self being alive even tomorrow ? So his prediction is not very reliable. Do perform the thread ceremony on the day fixed.' The celebration accordingly came to be concluded satisfactorily.The grand mother left for her heavenly abode nine months later.

Reminiscences

There was a doctor who sincerely loved ShriMaharaj. His wife's heart had become considerably dilated. An emi­nent doctor opined that she would live barely three or four years. When this was mentioned to ShriMaharaj, he said, 'Doctor, there is no cause for you to worry about your wife's health. You will not suffer the sorrow of her passing away; however, take proper care according to medical advice.' Later, after four years, the doctor him­self suddenly died; his wife died eighteen years there-after. It was after the doctor died that the true significance of the statement 'You will not suffer the sorrow of your wife's passing away' was realized.

Reminiscences

A gentleman was visiting Gondavale. He deposited his luggage in his room and went to see ShriMaharaj. ShriMaharaj expressed pleasure, and enquired,' Where are you putting up? He said that he was putting up in his own room. Upon this Shri Maharaj said rather jokingly, "One comes to Godnavale to lose the feeling of I and 'mine'. but you seem to have brought them along with you!

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Reminiscences

A sadhaka asked, 'Maharaj, why is so much impor­tance attached to companionship of the virtuous in at­tainment  of God ?' ShriMaharaj said, 'The mind is fickle, and it is very difficult for it to remain firm. God's grace plays an important part in it. So one should not associate with hypocritical persons and atheists. Because of them, resoluteness is shattered, and when that occurs, one can­not restrain oneself. It is possible only for the very ad­vanced to maintain one's stand even in bad company. A very minor cause can suffice for the shattering of reso­luteness, and that brings about one's ruin. That is why importance is attached to companionship of the virtuous. One should not let one's devotedness to nama  diminish even if Brahmadev (the Creator) himself were to descend to confront one.'

Reminiscences

Someone asked, 'Maharaj, is the business of life easy, or is attainment of God easy ?' ShriMaharaj said, 'Attain-

ment of God is easier than the business of life. In the business of life one deals with many, while in attainment of God, one has to deal with the one God. No one has attained happiness by pursuing the business of life, and no one has been sorry for having pursued attainment of God.'

Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj once said, 'My guru has bestowed upon me the knowledge of three arts. Firstly, whichever knowledge I want at a given time, occurs to me at that time spontaneously. Secondly, I can be at whichever place I want at whatever time I want. And thirdly, I can ensure deliverance precisely in one's hour of death,' On hearing this, a devotee asked, 'Maharaj, what is it that you do when you ensure deliverance in the hour of death ?' Upon this ShriMaharaj said, 'He who, throughout his life, chants nama imparted by me, journeys beyond heaven to a bet­ter world. I elevate him who chants nama off and on, to a better state, so that he feels as when being promoted from a lower class to an upper one.'