Salutations to Ganesh !
Victory be to the most auspicious!
Victory be to the defenders of devotees
Victory be to the Blue One
The sanctifier of the unholy !
Oh Narayana,
You tore open the belly
Of Hiranyakashiputhe most cruel
Enemy of the virtuous.
To protect Prahlad,
You assumed the unusual form
And came out of a pillar.
You had a terrible form
With sharp teeth
And with mane, flowing on the neck.
Your eyes are red as the fire of khaira wood.
Although your form was terrible,
Your devotees were not
Afraid of you, even as the young ones
Of a tigress are not.
Seeing your terrible form,
Even Laxmi did not dare approach you,
But your devotees bow before you.
All the saints have been saying
That you always fulfil their wishes.
So now be true to your reputation
Eet this Dasaganu be fearless
With your favour.
Maharaj had many devotees
Residing in Akola, and he used
To visit them often.
There was Bapu Krishna
From Chapalgaon and
The famous Khatau family.
There was Bachchulal Gondulal,
And Jeejibai Pandit.
There were many such devotees.
How shall I describe them?
Once Maharaj came to Akola
And stayed with the Khataus,
In their spinning mill.
One Vishnusa of Malkapur
Desired that Maharaj should visit Malkapur.
He tried to convey his wish
through Bhaskar Patil.
Bhaskar Patil said to Maharaj,
"Vishnu wants you to visit him,
So let us go to Malkapur.
You have been kind
To the men and women of Shegaon.
Now devotees from Malkapur
Want you to visit them."
Maharaj said to Bhaskar,
"I do not want to come to Malkapur.
Please do not press me.
If you will take me,
You will come into trouble.
A string should not be pulled too tight
It may break.
I shall not leave this place."
But Bhaskar’s prestige was a stake.
He said to Maharaj,
"I have given Vishnusa a word,
That I shall take you to his home.
I am your beloved devotee,
Please do not fail me now.
Come, we shall go by train.
Let us go to the railway station."
Bhaskar requested the station-master
To arrange for a small vacant bogie
Of twelve seats for the use of Maharaj
And his devotees.
Maharaj sat in one place.
But when the bell rang,
Announcing the departure of the train,
Maharaj unseen by Bhaskar
Left the bogie
And entered another bogie
Which was exclusively
Meant for women.
The women, seeing the naked fakir,
Complained to the police
And asked the police to remove Maharaj.
The police officer came there
And roughly tried to pull Maharaj out,
But he failed.
He then went to the station-master,
And requested him to do something.
When the station-master came there
He saw the saint of Shegaon
Sitting in the ladies compartment.
The station-master asked the police officer
To allow Maharaj to travel in that bogie
As Maharaj was a well known saint
And said that he would not misbehave.
The officer said, "I have informed
My superiors by wire.
Now it is up to you
To do whatever
You feel right."
The station-master took off the hat and humbly
Prayed to Maharaj to get down.
Maharaj got down.
The case was fixed
Before Shri Jatharthe magistrate.
At Shegaon.
The date for hearing was fixed
Bapusaheb Jathar came to Shegaon
And halted at the dak-bangalow.
Vyankatrao Desai of Akola
was also there it the dak-bangalow,
He asked Bapusaheb as to why
There were crowds at the dak-bangalow.
Jathar told him, it was strange
That he did not know
The police case, so much talked over.
The police had registered an offence
Against Gajanan Maharaj for moving naked
In the public.
When Vyankatrao heard this,
He was very sorry.
He requested Bapusaheb
Not to proceed with the case.
"Gajanan Maharaj" said he,
"is a Great saint. He is God intoxicated
And he is seldom aware of his surroundings.
How can you bind him with a piece of cloth?
The police erred,
You should now rectify."
Bapusaheb Jathar to Desai,
"You know the law. Police should have known this.
Why did they register an offence?
So saying Bapusaheb asked the clerk
To summon Maharaj.
One hefty police was sent
He came to the math
And rudely asked Maharaj
To accompany him.
Maharaj looked at the police
And asked him to take him.
The police caught hold to Maharaj,
And he was shocked.
His blood curdled and he was
As if stupefied. The police could not do anything.
As the police did not return
Jathar asked Desai to go
And bring Maharaj.
The word came to the dak-bungalow
That the police was powerless
Before Maharaj and that he could not
Bring Maharaj by force.
When Desai came, he advised the devotees
To make Maharaj wear a dhoti.
They did so, but Maharaj
Did not keep the dhoti on his person
And threw it on the way.
Jahthar offered a chair to Maharaj
And said, "Maharaj this is not good
To move naked in the public. I request you
To give up this nuditiy."
Maharaj said to Jathar,
"You do not know anything.
Come on. Fill in my chilim.
Do not give much importance
To such outer things."
When Jathar heard Maharaj,
He was convinced
That Maharaj was a yogi
And was utterly regardless
of rules of behaviour of ordinary men.
Maharaj was as if Vrushabadeo of Bhagavati
Or Shukacharya or
An incarnation of Namdeo.
"Maharaj is a free soul
Who can rejoice within himself.
How can I charge him with an offence."
Said Jathar, "Fire wont’t leave its heat.
Those who are worshippers
Of fire, must keep it
At the altar.
If fire is not kept in its proper place,
It will surely burn everything
In its way.
The disciples of Maharaj
Are responsible for not keeping
Maharaj properly clothed.
Had the disciples kept Maharaj clothed,
His presence would have proved
Comfortable and beneficial to one and all."
So Jathar held Bhaskar responsible
And imposed a fine of Rupees five
On Bhaskar for neglecting his duty.
Maharaj said to Bhaskar,
"Will you now again
Press me the way you did?"
Bhaskar had no answer.
But then disciples
Decided not to take Maharaj by train.
They used to hire
Bullock-cart thereafter.
Once Maharaj went to Akola
By a bullock-cart
And stayed with Bapurao.
There was one Muslim sadhu
By name Mahatabshah.
He was in Kuruma place near Murtizapur.
He had asked Bapurao
To inform him when Maharaj
Would visit Akola.
So Bapurao sent a messenger
To Mahatabshah.
Ere he reached Kurum,
Mahatashah had started for Akola.
He met the messenger on the way.
Saints communicate with each other faster
Saints communicate with each other faster
Than the ordinary men can dream of.
Mahatashah, accompanied by
The other three Muslim companions,
Reached Akola and all of them
Stayed with Bapurao.
Next morning Maharaj came
Where Mahatashah was seated
And plucking his hair
Thrashed him hard.
This was just to wash Mahatab clean.
Maharaj said to Mahatab,
"You are born as a Muslim,
But you harbour hatred.
Remember you are Mahatab,
Let not darkness
Come around you."
Mahatab appreciated the beating
And the message of the sage.
A good sadhu can alone
Understand another good sadhu.
The other Muslim companions
Of Mahatab did not know
What to do. Mahatab told them
To return to Kurum.
All of them returned
Except Sheikh kadu.
After some time Bachchulal
Came over there and invited
Maharaj for a dinner
To his home, the next day.
Next day Maharaj was
Brought most ceremoniously
In a tonga at Bachchulal’s
When the tonga arrived
At the door. Maharaj won’t
Step down. They had to take back
The tonga to Bapurao’s house.
None could know
The reason why Maharaj won’t alight.
One intelligent gentleman, however, told
That Maharaj was offended
As Mahatab was not invited.
So they extended an invitation to Mahatab.
He was also then
Taken in a procession and
Was asked to get into a theatre
Maharaj was taken to Ram Mandir.
But Maharaj also came back
To the theatre and they all dined.
When the feast was over,
Mahatab told those who were there
To get one ticket for one place in the Punjab
As he wanted to go there.
Sheikh Kadu prayed to Mahatab
Not to go, as the construction work of a masjid
At Kurum was not yet over.
Mahatab told Kadu that
He was ordered by Maharaj
To proceed to the Punjab
And that none should hold him back.
The construction of the masjid
At Kurum would surely go on
As smoothly as ever.
The sages look upon all religions
As the same divine manifestations.
Let not the people attach themselves
To temples or to mosques.
Be it a temple of be it a mosque,
The material is the same everywhere
Brick, mortar and sand.
Both the Hindus and the Mohammedans
Are the children of God.
Let them love each other’s religion.
So saying Mahatabshah
Left for the Punjab and never
Returned to Vidarbha.
So look ! Maharaj beat Mahatab
And yet the latter did not bear
Any anger towards Maharaj.
Maharaj could not take food
Without Mahatab,
Through he had thrashed him hard
A few hours before.
Bapurao, who had invited Maharaj
Was worried about bhanamati
Bapurao’s wife was a victim
Of bhanamatia black magic.
Clouds of vermilion
Used to charge at her,
Bibbas with cross marks
Used to be hurled at her,
Her garments used to catch fire.
Bapurao spent a lot over exorcists.
But it was in vain.
So he supplicated to Maharaj
And said to him,
"How should black magic prevail
In a place sanctified
By your holy presence?"
What Bapurao said was right.
No more did bhanamati
Torture Bapurao’s wife thereafter.
Once Maharaj arrived in Akot
To pay a visit to Narasinhji.
There was a well
Beside Narasinhji’s math.
Maharaj sat on the wall of the well,
Dangling his feet.
Narasinh Maharaj asked him
What he was doing.
Others were also worried.
They thought that Maharaj
Would fall into the well.
Maharaj said to Narasinhji,
"You are lucky. Water of the Godavari, the Yamuna
And the Bhagirathi are here for you to bathe in.
Why should I not bathe?
I won’t get away from here
Unless the mothersGanga, Yamuna
And Bagirathibathe me today."
Ere Maharaj finished,
The level of the water in the well
Rose and in a moment
Water gushed from the hollow of the well
Like a live fountain,
Showering itself profusely
On Maharaj who was sitting there.
All the men and women
Took bath in the overflowing water.
Those who had no faith in Maharaj
Now hung their faces in shame.
After the bath Maharaj got down
From the well and the water
Receded into the well.
Maharaj left for Shegaon
After seeing Narasinhji.
Let this Gajanan Vijay
Bestow thousand of blessings
On the devotees !
END OF CHAPTER SEVENTEEN