Salutations to Ganesh !
Ganesh is the Reality.
Brithless and deathless.
One the only One,
And no second.
The second exists not.
Dasaganu prostrates
Before Ganesh
He seeks protection.
He seeks fearlessness.
Dasaganu is an humble soul.
He is meek.
The great always bestow blessings
On those who are meek and humble.
Did not Shankara
Elevate even the ashes
by applying them to his forehead?
So let this humble Dasaganu
Be with you, all the time.
Be you kind to Dasaganu.
Dasaganu will do
Whatever is desired of him.
People used to throng at Shegaon.
To avoid the crowds,
Maharaj often went into forests
And stayed there
For months together
In the forest.
There was a temple
Built in the style of Hemadpanta,
That is to say,
Stone slabs
piled on one another,
fixed without mortar.
Once Maharaj
Went into the sanctum sanctorum,
Sat motionless,
In the lotus posture.
In the evening,
Cowherd boys
Led the cattle
to the rivulet, flowing
Near the temple.
One of the boys
Entered the temple
To bow before the Shivalinga.
The boy was wonderstruck
To see someone sitting so motionless.
He called other boys.
The sat round the sage,
They called him loudly.
But Maharaj did not open his eyes.
The boy thought,
"He is tried and hungry
Perhaps he has no strength.
Let us give him bhakar.
So saying the boys
Placed a bhakar
On a banyan leaf
And kept it before Maharaj.
They shook him,
But to no purpose.
The Sun set
And the shadows of the evening
Thickened.
The boys thought to themselves,
"We are being late.
Our parents, worrying
Will hasten to the forest
With lanterns, in search of us
And the cattle.
The cows are anxious to feed the calves.
The calves might be hungry.
So let us go
And tell our parents
About this unusual person,
Sitting so motionless
In the sanctum sanctorum
Of the Shiva’s temple."
So saying they all went home,
And told their parents
About the saint
who was sitting silently in the sanctum.
So next day
Men went to the forest
with the cowherd boys
And entered the temple.
Maharaj was sitting
In the same posture.
The piece of bhakar
Lay there as was kept.
Men said.
"He is a yogi.
He is in samadhi
Do not disturb him.
He will regain outer consciousness.
Then will he speak.
Years ago, in Bengal
Jalandhara sat in a cave,
And were in samadhi
For full twelve years.
So the men did not know
what to do.
Whether to leave the saint there
Or take him home.
At last they decided
To take him home.
They brought a palanquin
And placed the saint in it.
Men and women
Returned home in a procession.
The village band of pipers and drummers
Preceded the procession.
Flowers and tulsipatra
And vermillion were worshipfully thrown
On the palanquin
The saint in the palanquin
Was besmeared with the auspicious holy powders.
It was an unusual occasion for joy.
Bells chimed,
Drums were beaten
Gongs sent resounding notes all around,
In rhythmic unison.
The procession entered the village
And ended in the temple of Hanuman.
All the din produced by drums. Gongs and bells,
Could not bring down Maharaj
From the deep samadhi.
The men sat there in
The holy presence of Maharaj
Without caring for food and water.
They say devotional songs
In a continued chain.
Next day Maharaj
Returned to the worldly plane.
Everyone was overjoyed.
Each one vied
To offer food to Maharaj.
Maharaj obliged all.
On Tuesday, the residents of Pimpalgaon
Came to Shegaon for the weekly market.
Some of them told their relatives
That they too had discovered one sadhu
In the forest temple of Shankara.
The new spread in the market place.
When the news reached Bankatlal,
He went to Pimpalgaon
Accompanied by his wife.
He at once recognized Maharaj,
Entreated him to return.
He said to Maharaj,
"Your sudden disappearance,
A fortnight before,
Has made us miserable.
The devotees there
Are starving themselves.
They cannot think of
Taking food, without having your darshan.
I, myself, won’t survive,
If I do not succeed
In taking you home."
Maharaj thereafter
Stepped into the dhamani.
Bankatlal proceeded to Shegaon.
Did not Akrua once
Take Krishna from Gokul?
Men of Pimpalgaon
Regarded bankatlal as Akrura.
Bankatlal assured the residents
Of Pimpalgaon,
"Do not be sorrowful,
Maharaj is not going far away.
You may come any day
And have the darshana
Of Maharaj, and get your wishes fulfilled."
Bankatlal was a moneylender.
There were many in Pimpalgaon,
Who owed him money.
So they were under obligations.
None could stop Bankatlal,
From taking Maharaj
Away from them.
On way to Shegaon,
Maharaj said to Bankatlal,
"Oh Bankata,
What is this?
I think this is your usual way,
As a moneylender,
Of forcibly taking goods
Belonging to others.
You moneylenders
Are not ashamed to do so.
Laxmi ¾ the goddess of wealth,
Better half of Shri Vishnu ¾
The Lord of the universe,
Laxmi, who can command
Everything in this world,
Is locked up by you
In your steel box !
And you locked me too.
Seeing the plight of the Mother Laxmi,
I ran away from you to the forest."
Bankatlal smiled and said
In an humble subdued tone,
"Maharaj, Mother Laxmi
Was never afraid of getting locked.
She continued to stay in my home,
Because you preferred to stay there.
It is well known
That mother will stay
Where the child is.
As for me, I regard
You as my wealth.
Any other wealth is meaningless to me.
That is why
I have come over here
To take you back home.
This home is no more belongs to me.
Its’s yours. You are the owner and master
How can this humble servant
Disobey you now?
You are free to do as you wish.
My humble request is
You should not leave Shegaon.
Cows leave their calves
But do they not return home at dusk?
So you may go anywhere
To shower blessings
But do not forget us.
We want you to stay
in Shegaon permanently."
Thus did Bankatlal
Persuade Maharaj.
So Maharaj returned home
To Shegaon along with Bankatlal.
A few days later
On one fine morning,
He left in the early hours of morning,
And nobody knew it.
Maharaj left Shegaon,
As freely as morning breeze.
He walked fast towards Adgaon.
It was the month of Vaishakha
The Sun was bright.
Hot winds blew everywhere.
Maharaj was walking
All the time from the morning
And was now nearing Akoli ¾
A village on the way to Adgaon.
It was noon time,
The sun was hot in the sky.
Maharaj was thirsty.
The heat parched his lips.
But there was no water anywhere.
Maharaj saw one farmer.
His name was Bhaskar.
He was working in a field.
Farmer are great.
They work hard,
In the hot sun,
And during the rains,
and produce grains
And feed the world.
Bhaskar was labouring in the field.
He had brought a pitcher of water
And kept it under a bush.
It was usual for a farmer.
To take bhakar and a pitcher of water,
And to work from morn to noon,
And then to have his meal
Under the shade of a tree if any.
And then after resting a while
To work again till dusk.
Maharaj saw Bhaskar
And his water pot
Under a bush.
Maharaj asked him for water to drink,
For was it not the kindest thing in the world
To offer cool drinking water to a thirsty man?
The rich spend money
and make arrangements
for cool drinking water on the roadside.
And thus gain merit,
For a better life in the next world.
Maharaj begged Bhaskar
For a little water to quench his thirst.
Bhaskar did not give it,
But said it to Maharaj,
"What merit shall I gain
By giving water to you,
Who are worthless
And good for nothing?
You are a naked beggar,
And although you are
Healthy and well-fed,
You won’t work.
What benefit am I going to get
By giving water to a lazy one like you?
I have brought the pitcher
All the way from home
On my head and I won’t
Waste if over you.
Don’t you know that water
Is scarce in Akoli?
You may get ghee
But not water, if you ask for it.
So, make yourself scarce,
Don’t pester me,
I shall be the last person
To give you water.
Lazy fellows like you
Do not deserve any sympathy."
Maharaj simply smiled
When Bhaskar bombarded
Him with these words.
He simply turned away
And proceeded towards
Something which looked like a well.
Bhaskar shouted,
"Oh you fool of a person,
Why go there ! the well is dry.
You won’t find water
Anywhere within a couple of miles around here."
Maharaj said, "May be, as you say,
The well is dry.
But men, women and children
Need water during these hot days,
More so when they come to this fields.
If I pray for them,
God may help me."
So saying, Maharaj
Came near the well
And looked into it,
And then sat under a tree
With eyes closed.
"Oh Narayana, Wamana,
Pradyumana, Raghava,
Oh Vitthala, Narahari," said Maharaj,
"Water is scarce
In this village.
Children, women and men
Find it hard to live without water.
They have to go a long way
To bring a pitcherful of water.
Oh Panduranga, you are great,
You can work miracles.
You saved the kittens
When Gora Kumbhar baked
The earthen pots.
You saved Prahlad
By emerging out of a pillar.
You saved the cowherd boys
By sheltering them under Govardhana.
You saved Damaji
And Chokha.
For Namadeo,
You made water available
In the desert land of Rajasthan.
Won’t you, oh Narayana,
Do something for the people here?"
While Maharaj was still praying,
Water gushed from the rocks
And filled the well.
There was a glow of happiness
On Maharaj’s face.
God is great.
Things impossible become possible.
Maharaj quenched his thirst
With fresh water.
Bhaskar’s surprise knew no bounds,
For he knew it well
That the well
Was totally dry for the last twelve years.
How could this naked fakir
Fill it with cool water in a moment?
Surely he no ordinary man.
Bhaskar ran to him
And fell prostrate before Maharaj.
He cursed himself
For having spoken harsh words
For having insulted Maharaj.
He praised Maharaj
And solicited his favour.
He repented.
He besought Maharaj
Not to leave him thereafter.
Bhaskar said,
"This maya is false.
God alone is great and real.
Would Maharaj favour him?"
Maharaj said to Bhaskar,
"Oh Bhaskar, be calm and don’t weep.
I have filled the well for you.
You need not bring pitcher of
Water on your weary head.
What more do you want now?
Cultivate an orchard."
Bhaskar said, "Maharaj,
Please do not allure me any more.
I know for certain,
That the well was dry
For so many years.
It is you who have
Dynamited it with
Your miraculous power.
This is no ordinary water.
It is the spring of your love.
I shall raise here now
The garden of devotion,
I shall plant the trees of
Righteous behavior
In this soil of fine sentiments
Good actions will blossom here.
No more of barns and bullocks now !"
Oh you, listeners,
See what a tremendous change
Was brought about in Bhaskar
By a few moments with Maharaj.
That is why Tukaram says
"Even particles of dust
Attached to the feet of saint,
Would work miracles."
The darshan of a real saint,
Is a golden event in the life
Of a real sadhaka.
When the people came to know
Of this event, they ran to the spot
And had their fill
Of cool drinking water.
They shouted in unison,
"Victory to Gajanan Maharaj."
"Victory to Gajanan Maharaj."
END OF CHAPTER FIVE