Reminiscences

ShriMaharaj was once speaking about authority. Say­ing that a sadguru is invariably a saint, that we have no conception of his limitless authority, and that similarly we cannot fathom the extent of his pervasiveness, ShriMaharaj added, 'True that saints are one with God. But there is only one thing that they cannot do. Let any­one behave in any manner towards them, they will not do disservice to him. Not even the thought of doing disser­vice to someone touches a saint's mind. The single and sublime motivation left in their lives being the promotion of welfare of all living beings, there exists in their hearts limitless compassion for the good as well as the bad. On account of this, they do not spurn anyone."

Reminiscences

While residing in Ayodhya, in 1905, in the course of a casual talk, ShriMaharaj remarked that the precincts are additionally hallowed by the actual presence of Maruti. KrishnashastriUppinbetigiri's imagination was fired with a keen desire for a darshan   of the Chiranjeeva ( Ever-living ) Maruti, and implored ShriMaharaj repeatedly to arrange it. The latter put it off from one day to another. One day the Shastri implored so insistently that ShriMaharaj had to agree, and took him to the other bank of the river Sharayu. There the two sat under a tree, fac­ing each other. The Shastri was asked to close his eyes. When, after a few moments he was asked to open them,he saw the huge figure of Maruti, whose resplendence dazzled his eyes. In a flash the vision vanished and he saw the usual mild figure of ShriMaharaj, who said, "Shastriji, this vision is not lasting. The true sight is the inner vision, the spiritual realization." On returning home, the Shastri remarked to Shri. Bhausaheb Ketkar, " Bhausaheb, ShriMaharaj is not just the simple, attrac­tive human we commonly see as him ."

Reminiscences

While ShriMaharaj was on a tour in the Konkan re­gion, a gentleman named Madhavrao, then over seventy years of age, came to see him, and, much impressed by the teaching , requested that he be accepted as a disciple. .ShriMaharaj said," You do not need to be initiated by me, and I promise to look after your spiritual welfare."

After some years, Madhavrao's physical condition de­clined, and, finally, he came to be bedridden. His two sons, both in service in Bombay, were summoned to his bed­side, as he sank. His suffering became too painful to wit­ness. The two sons, watching his last moments, decided to sit on either side of his bed and helplessly chant nama .At about eleven at night, one of them, Vishnupant, fell into a trance. In that state, he approached ShriMaharaj, who asked, 'Vishnupant, what brings you here at this late hour ?' ' Sir ', Vishnupant replied, ' My father's agonies are painful to watch. When will he be relieved ?'' At about half past eight tomorrow morning .' On this, Vishnupant further asked,' And what about the promise that you will always be with him ? We see no sign of that.' ShriMaharaj said in reply,' Have you witnessed any deaths before this?' Vishnupant replied in the affirmative. ' Do you not see any difference between those and now ?' Vishnupant then realized that a feature of the present case was that namasmarana was going on by the side of the death-bed. At that moment the trance ended. Eventually, at half past eight, the old man's breathing ceased. One part of the interview in the trance had thus come out true.

Vishnupant's father-in-law was, like other relatives, duly apprised of Madhavrao's death, and he decided to attend the funeral rites, as is customary, from the tenth day. He also decided to see ShriMaharaj en route. In that interview, ShriMaharaj casually mentioned that Vishnupant had called upon him about a week back. The father-in-law, though he did not controvert the statement, was stunned to hear this, for Vishnupant could not have left his father's bedside around that time.

Later, the father-in-law, in a leisurely conversation, mentioned to him the gist of his talk with ShriMaharaj. Vishnupant then narrated his trance and was convinced that he had a corroboration of the other half of his trance, and that ShriMaharaj had kept his word and been present, though in the invisible form of namasmarana

Reminiscences

A Guru Is Required Even if For Saying ‘No Guru is Required.

A disciple of Shri Maharaj was the secretary of a well-qualified industrialist. Both used to go and listen to discourses of a well-known philosopher. In one discourse the speaker said, “One has to bring about one’s own uplift. A guru is not needed here, nor is he of any use.” This had an effect on the secretary’s mind. He asked Shri Maharaj what the true situation was in regard to a Guru. Shri Maharaj said, “What the speaker says is correct. One has to speak in a way that is appropriate for the attitude and aptitude of the listeners. If one were to tell them, the style of whose lives reflects that they possess complete faith in their own abilities, that they should rely on some one else, it will not be acceptable to them. It is therefore only appropriate to tell such listeners to seek their true selves with the help of their own experience, reading, and unbiased thinking. But for a person of the common run the support from a Guru is necessary. If the listeners obeyed the speaker’s exhortation, “Do not follow a Guru”, does not the speaker get assigned the position of a Guru?”. So is it not the proof that there is no attainment of God without a Guru?

Reminiscences

Once ShriMaharaj had gone to a village called Hulkoti in Karnataka. There a prostitute came to see ShriMaharaj. On seeing ShriMaharaj a sublime sentiment sprang up in her heart. She said, "Maharaj, please impart nama to me. I will conduct myself the way you tell me." Obtaining an assurance from her that she would give up the ignoble profession, and turn a florist, ShriMaharaj imparted nama to her. A bigoted pandit objected that this was in contra­vention ofShastric dictates. ShriMaharaj said in reply,' Believe me, Panditjee, I never disregard the Shastras. Let us remember, however, that the Shastras exist for man, not the other way round. Let us first give this woman a human status, and then apply the Shastric rules to her. Show me the person whose mind has never conceived sin; but the person who does not give in to it by using human discrimination and controls action on the desire is, practi­cally, considered a good person. By practising namasmarana unholy desires gradually weaken, and one begins to feel that one wants God. When that goes on in­creasing, sublimity increases, and ultimately desire gets eradicated.' Later that woman used to work at selling flowers and garlands made out of them. But because of her constant chanting of nama, her condition became like that of a sadhaka.

Reminiscences

A doctor asked, 'Maharaj, may I practise performing ajapajapa* ? How is that japa performed?' Upon this ShriMaharaj said, "Ajapajapa is not to be 'performed', it 'takes place¹ spontaneously. Saints are always in ajapajapa. You know how blood circulates effortlessly in the body .Ajapajapa goes on in the same way; japa takesplace throughout the body."

* Ajapajapa -    repeating nama where there is no formal performance

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Aradhana of Sri Sadguru Brahmachaithanya Maharaj - invitation