Reminiscences

A gentleman had extreme fondness for meeting saints and Sadhakas. His luck too was such that he came to meet several saintly men, and he also obtained the benefit of close companionship of some of them. He also used to meet ShriMaharaj very often. During one such visit he narrated which saintly men he had met, and how and when, and how they took him under their fold. On listening to it ShriMaharaj calmly said, 'In that case you must have ob­tained initiation from one of these saintly persons !' The gentleman replied in the negative. Then ShriMaharaj said, expressing astonishment, 'It means that you have been to many weddings, but have not yet stepped upon the al­tar yourself ! So, I feel that you should get initiation of nama from some good person and get settled somewhere.' He was convinced by ShriMaharaj' s words, and he went to Alandi and secured initiation .

Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj was once talking with some gentleman. It was time for the customary singing of bhajan. Presently someone came and said, 'Maharaj, it is time for singing bhajan. Shall we begin?' ShriMaharaj assented. At once the gentleman said, 'Maharaj, this singing of bhajan so regularly, can it not be called a kind of addiction ?' ShriMaharaj promptly said, 'Yes, this can also be called an addiction. But this addiction is such that it frees man from the greater addiction (or peril) of recurring of births and deaths.'

reminiscences

A question arose why one does not develop a sense of complete surrender though one may chant nama and wor­ship God or the Sadguru. ShriMaharaj said, "A miracle wrought by one's identification with the physical self is that even when practising worship of God, one does not lose one's ego. Just consider this ! One says, 'God belongs to me'. While saying it the ' I' endures, and additionally one stakes a claim upon God. In saying, 'God belongs to me', a sense that God should act as one wishes, that he should satisfy one's desires, lurks. But a true devotee sin­cerely says, 'I belong to God.' In saying this one's being merges with the being of God. The ' I' does not exist as a separate entity for it to be able to have desires. This is real surrender."

Reminiscences

A disciple of ShriMaharaj once said to him, "Maharaj, please continue to bestow your grace upon me." ShriMaharaj then said, "A.guru who has to be told to be­stow his grace is not eligible for the status of a guru. His grace remains ever bestowed. No interruption occurs in it; but in one's asking for grace, the intention is that one should not suffer sorrow, or that things should turn out as one wishes. It is true that there is no limit to the sadguru's powers. But it is not proper to ask that by his grace he should alter the the allotments in one's lot . Sadguru does not avoid the fruition of a disciple's lot, but he safeguards the contentedness of his mind while he is going through it. From a practical standpoint he arranges for medical treatment and help from people. Thereby consciousness of sufferings in one's lot is diminished. The period of suffering passes quickly. Sadguru's grace is noticeable in his arranging for the painful experiences to be borne at one's convenience. At times the sadguru may take upon himself to suffer the tribulations of one who has completely sur­rendered to him; but one cannot expect or dictate it ."

Reminiscences

A person wearied by annoyances of domestic life asked ShriMaharaj, 'Maharaj, if one must suffer the fruition of one's destiny, what use is worship of God? There is no gain from practising worship.' In reply ShriMaharaj said, "Here, there is some confusion of understanding. Just as experiences of a pleasant nature come to pass in a person's life, painful experiences also fall to his lot. One's complaint is only about the pain. He who takes birth as a human being cannot escape the painful experiences that fall to his lot. This can be clearly observed from the lives of in­carnations like Rama and Krishna. One cannot bypass an experience that has fallen to one's lot, one has to finish it by bearing it. In that case, what does one practise wor­ship for ? While practising worship, in his devotion for God, a devotee loses consciousness of himself and his body. The devotee has no consciousness of whether his body is experiencing pleasure or pain.'

Reminiscences

A gentleman of advanced age had become bedridden from paralysis. He used to feel bad that he had become entirely dependent on others. When ShriMaharaj went to meet him, he said, 'Maharaj, long life is really a curse.' Upon this ShriMaharaj said, "In a way, being born is it­self a curse; but it is also a boon. If one spends life forget­ful of God, being born becomes a curse. If one spends life in remembrance of God, being born becomes a boon. In remembrance of God one forgets sorrow. For that remem­brance to endure there is no means like nama. So if you practise remaining absorbed in nama, the physical suf­fering will surely diminish, and the illness too will lessen.' He listened to ShriMaharaj's advice and his illness less­ened a great deal. Later he died of a heart - attack.

Reminiscences

An educated lady had come to meet ShriMaharaj, who was then giving a discourse. In conformity with the sub­ject matter he said that one should practise worship of God in a concrete form. After the discourse wound up, the lady said to ShriMaharaj, 'The practice of worship of a concrete God is a misconception originating in ignorance. The abstract form being, the ultimate truth how can you advocate otherwise ?' Instead of answering the lady's ques­tion, ShriMaharaj enquired after her family. In the course of converations   the lady sadly said, 'My daughter has grown to marriageable age. But as she is always unwell, I am worried about her. ShriMaharaj promptly said, ;   'Madam, just tell me whether this worry is concrete.' The  lady immediately understood. Realizing that her under­standing of the concrete and the abstract was merely un­derstanding of the literal senses of these words, and real­izing that she was very much a part of the concrete world, she became silent.