Since 1981-82, I started doubting that Maharaj was planning a very distinct plan. On one side, he compelled me to resign from the Public service and then onwards he started entrusting me with responsibilities one after another. He observed me closely to see how I was managing these responsibilities successfully. That was his way of getting the work done. He had his own mode of working in all subjects. Hence, he never had the necessity to take guidance from anybody for any type of work. But it is very true that he had knowledge and often gave genuine guidance to experts from any field including technical subjects. Whether it be the science of architecture, art of painting, drawing, sculpture, music and art of music in a large room, whether it was a field of agriculture or maintenance of animals- Maharaj was an authority in each and every field. Hence he took me under his disciplined guidance possibly to tune me like him and carry out the same immediately.

The construction work of the ëGurukripaí building started in the year 1981. This building was built utilising both modes of construction such as ëFrame Structureí as well as ëLoad Bearingí. It was planned this way to make the building strong and sturdy. It was based on Maharajís suggestions that the building should be constructed in such a manner that it should be able to bear the most violent earthquakes in the present and future. There was a severe shortage of cement during those days. We had to go through many hassles to secure the cement for construction. I had to look after all the arrangements all day long.

Everyday, Maharaj visited in the evening to supervise and glance at the work in progress. One could easily sense the immense knowledge he had based on the fine detailed suggestions he provided in the technical side of the construction work. Adding more water than required when preparing the cement mixture, made it easier when building. This made the mixture easy to handle when filling the basket-like iron vessel and the workers had to use less strength. But such a mixture used in construction could weaken the structure built. Hence Maharaj always recommended using less water to make a strong cement mixture.

Preparing such strong mixture in 2-3 depots was hard work for the labourers and instead of continuing, they used to run away from the work-site. Maharaj personally confirmed every minute detail like ensuring the frame was in the masonís plumb-line or not, if the plaster was properly prepared or not, if the plaster was being watered properly etc. Holding a stick in his hand he used to stand by my side and give me details as to how the work should be done properly. Everyone worked properly due to the fear in the presence of Maharaj. But due to fear, they made more and more mistakes. If the women-labourers dropped the construction vessels from their hands, Maharaj would loudly shout at me “You do not have full control over the labourers. The vessel she dropped has created a loss for me. Who would compensate for the loss?” Even the very skilled masons ended up making one mistake or the other out of this fear.

Once, an electrician was making arrangements for electricity so the workers could work at night. While working with the wires, the electrician got an electric shock and fell down from the electric pole. All at once, there was obstruction and the work stopped. Maharaj advised, “That is all for today – stop the work and give medical help to that electrician.” All workers immediately dispersed when the work was stopped. But there were two masons, who were working on the 2nd floor. Due to the fear of Maharaj, they waited until 11 pm that night and only when Maharaj left from the work spot, they climbed down and went home.

The ëGurukripaí construction started after I quit my Government job. When this construction was completed, Maharaj called me one day and gave me fifty thousand rupees. He said, “Keep this for your daughterís marriage.” My daughter was only 11-12 years old then so I said, “She is still very young. Why do you need to give me money so early?” Maharaj immediately exclaimed, “You are a great fool! You do not have any commonsense in worldly matters! And you do not understand the importance of money! I am worried about your future!” After this furious and loud assault, I invested that money in a term deposit at the bank as per his advice; that amount capitalized into the Rs125000/- at the time of my daughterís marriage.

I handed over the Rs.125000 to Balasaheb Kajrekar requesting him to manage the marriage ceremony of my daughter and he managed the entire marriage ceremony within that amount. We did not have to even purchase gold from the market during this occasion. My friend Nirokhekar purchased one gram of gold for himself and me on every ëPushyaí star day (the eighth lunar asterism). I normally paid him once he bought the gold. That gold combined with other gold purchased on different occasions totalled up to 70 grams, which we gifted to our daughter at the time of her marriage.

Mr. Rajguru, my daughterís father-in-law was a research scholar in the Archaeology Department of International fame. He only expected us to hold the marriage ceremony, but we arranged for a good ceremony as per customs. There were about 525 people present for the marriage ceremony. A few Japanese research students of Mr. Rajguru were also present to observe the ceremony. The entire marriage was performed in a simple traditional way. My daughter got married to a good family. The entire Rajguru family continues to live together in peace and harmony.

Later, my son-in-law Miheer Rajguru, resigned from his position as a Quality control Manager with the Kalyani Steel Company and took responsibility of his ancestral Stationery shop. I suggested him to start a business in ready-made garments instead of stationery. We decided that he will sell the ëGurukripaí brand garments manufactured by Bandushet Jadhav. For a few years he managed both work and the business with the help of his family members. Once the business was all setup, he resigned from his job. Then while managing the business he was working as a professional advisor of Steel plants at Khopoli (Maharashtra and Goa). He also took contracts for providing branded shirts and uniforms to different companies. He was very innovative and constantly busy with his work until 10.00pm every night. This family with implicit faith on Maharaj continues to live happily and are content with the kind favour of Maharaj!

Maharaj was entrusting me with various responsibilities of the Temple. These tasks would be lined up one after another for completion. I never got an opportunity to go and stay with my family even for 2 days in Mumbai. It was getting very difficult to take a leave of absence. Due to this, even the thread ceremony of Kamlesh had been delayed. When asked, Maharaj would say that the thread ceremony can be done at any time. But my wife felt that Kamleshís thread ceremony should be performed as early as possible. Kamleshís height was the main subject of her anxiety. His height was only 4.25ft and it was her strong feeling that his height could increase after performing his thread ceremony. Finally, I took courage and waited for a moment when Maharaj was in a good mood to ask him about the thread ceremony. He gave consent and then I went to Mumbai for the thread ceremony. After that in reality his height grew pretty fast and he became 5.9ft tall. On the very next day after the thread ceremony, there was the phone-call from Maharaj saying, ëNow the thread ceremony is over. A lot of work is pending here for completion, so you should come back immediately!í Accordingly, I returned to Pune immediately.

Though Maharaj had given me the responsibility of the construction work at the Temple, he would not allow me to be away from him even to complete required tasks. “If you go away from here, who will attend to my needs?” was his usual statement. He would just make me sit near him. So, whenever Maharaj went to Dervan, I tried to get the maximum amount of work completed with great attempt and always kept the progress of completion working day and night.

The initial temple of Shree Baba was measuring 18íX 28í. At one point, it was decided to increase the area to 18í X 38í. After marking the new area of measurement under his presence, Maharaj left for Dervan. We were already prepared. In fact, we had also prepared for the fabrication work. After Maharaj left for Dervan, we started the work on Saturday morning at 6am, and with great efforts we kept the work in progress until Monday morning.

Maharaj was expected to stay in Dervan at least for one week and so until that time, we expected to complete most of the work at hand. There were some tasks that we wanted done for which Maharaj may have never given his approval, such as window glasses! Maharaj wanted to build the Temple of Shree Baba, like a strong fortress that could withstand any disaster such as violent storm, heat, rain, earthquake etc. He had made the decision of building windows with strong shutters instead of glass. Besides, the safety of devotees visiting the Temple was also an important factor. Hence when it came to the ëStrength of Materialí, there was no compromise at all.

I had thought of designing the ceiling of the temple with modern material by using large sheets of plywood and sun-mica, each measuring 4íX6í. But would Maharaj approve this? He sternly told me, “Donít you understand? If any of the big sheets loosen and fall from the ceiling by accident it could hurt someone badly. Instead, you should use 2íX 2í small pieces and fix them on the top using strong fabrication”. It is highly possible that he had sensed my plans for improvements and therefore he arrived from Dervan before the decided time.

Building of the Temple of Shree Baba was a history of great struggle in itself and Maharaj faced it to the end with full courage on his own. We were only mere witnesses to the events. During this entire struggle, I had the good fortune of being with him, probably due to some good merits acquired in my previous life. Many situations would arise and we had to take care of petty responsibilities and while completing them, it was pretty clear that it was Maharaj that was getting it completed from us. Just like Lord Krishna, when he balanced the mountain of ëGovardhaní on his little finger for sheltering his cowherd friends from a big storm. We were just namesake, holding our sticks to help out.

During the yadnya in year 1989, the plot owned by the Deccan Education Society near the temple was rented from that Society. Before leaving for Dervan, Maharaj had allotted me some work to clean and level the place, provide an outlet for bathing, clean vessels and install water tanks. One day Maharaj returned unexpectedly just like the previous trip to check the progress of the work. The land was levelled and needed to be raised with some stuffing material. When he saw this he felt that the bathroom level was of more height than normal and he rebuked me harshly. I listened to everything and kept quiet.

When the work was completed, he was highly pleased to see that the level of the bathroom was only 6″ above the ground as per his suggestion. He came over to me and said, “Oh! What an excellent job!! Why did you not clarify this that day?” I said, “I was quite sure that once the work was completed, you would certainly like it since it was all being done strictly as per your suggestions only! Therefore, I did not think it was appropriate to make any advance pronouncements about the work, especially in your presence?”

The proposal for purchasing this plot belonging to the Deccan Education Society had already been submitted to the Court of Justice. Even when Shree Vitthalrao Joshi Charities Trust had quoted the maximum bid worth 48 lakhs, some people who were interested created many obstructions in the completion of the land transaction. This was really frustrating Maharaj. In the meantime, the purchase-deed of the plot belonging to Pant Sachiv, which was behind the Deccan Societyís plot, was completed. Hence the work of repairing the building, broken drainage, building the fence, installation of water-tanks and electrification etc. were in progress.

A wire-fence was installed between the Pant Sachiv area and D.E. Society area. Maharaj visited the Pant Sachiv plot everyday evening at about 5 oíclock and gave personal attention to the work in progress. The people who lived in the Deccan Education Society used the fence to dry their clothes. Seeing this, Maharaj would curtly ask them to remove their clothes from the fence. He also shouted at me saying I was not paying attention towards the fence that belonged to our trust.

Due to some reason or another, I had to face the uproars from Maharaj every day. Many times, afraid that Maharaj will get upset, I used to tell those people to remove their clothes from the fence. But when Maharaj came to know about this, he would again shout at me saying, “What happens if they dry their clothes on the fence ?.their clothes will get torn, nothing would happen to the wire. You should not shout at them like this. We have to cross the fence of human beings not a fence of thorns!” I just listened quietly. Sometimes he altered his decisions the very next day. And just because of this, Mule kaka and Atmaram Apte always avoided accompanying Maharaj to the Pant Sachiv plot.

Plot No 939(B), where the kitchen is now located was purchased by Maharaj around the year 1960 from Khandoba Raghoba Wagh. But the purchase deed was still pending. Relatives of Mr. Wagh were taking undue advantage of the pending deed; the heirs of Wagh even tried to enter the plot sometime during the year 1978 by breaking the main gate. Maharaj immediately ordered to remove the gate that very night, and built a wall in that place before the case went to court. One day Maharaj told me, “Donít go to work today. Just come to court along with me! I am carrying quite a large amount of money and I am not used to handling such a large amount.” I felt embarrassed because, I myself had never handled money more than 2-4 thousand and too very few times. That day, the consent decree took place in the court regarding the case; as per agreement the total amount was handed over to the heirs of the initial owner Mr.Wagh; and then Maharaj gave the same plot to ëShree Vitthalrao Joshi Charities Trustí in the court on the same day.

Some of the residents of the Deccan Education Society were not ready to vacate that plot. I had to face a conflict one day due to this. There was a horsh-radish tree exactly on the border-line of the two plots. This tree was always in bloom with pods throughout the twelve months. One day Maharaj told me, “Ashok, go, pluck all the pods from that tree and bring them here! Let me see what those people can do!” So, I went there with some labourers! When they started plucking the pods, about 40-50 ladies from the Deccan Education society came running at us in a group and started arguing with me. They were annoyed, “Why are you taking the pods!”. I replied, “This place belongs to us! Who are you to question us?” This word-war went on for about 45 minutes and Maharaj was quietly listening. In the end, he walked slowly towards us by holding the hand of Shyamrao Tikekar.

That time he was little bit tired, but when he came to the site, he asked “What happened?” I told him everything. After that, Maharaj only used one sentence which was not a sentence; it was more like an atombomb! That single line from him left the opposing party totally confused, and they silently backed away. The one sentence or just the one word was not something that would be approved by the wise, but because of helplessness, Maharaj was probably forced to utter the same. He had said, “Only a whore would argue with my Ashok!” And after they all went away, Maharaj said to me in a sarcastic way, ” Why were you unnecessarily shouting and tightening your the nerves system! Just look at me, I put an end to the fight in just one sentence! Any well-respected lady will not tolerate personally the deep-rooted signification of that word. And due to this reason, they all went inside. Now just throw away all these pods you have collected.”

When Maharaj purchased the property of Pant Sachiv, it became a big-headache to evacuate the tenants from that place. There was a gentleman named Pawar. He was rude to a certain extent. Maharaj had paid him some money and asked him to vacate; but he was just not ready to listen. Finally I spoke to him and only when I agreed to pay him an extra amount he agreed to vacate the place within an hour. I took the approval from Maharaj before making this deal. Then only after Pawar loaded the truck with his belongings, I paid him the extra amount that we promised him.

But more than Pawar, there was another tenant named Kulkarni who turned out to be cleverer. Maharaj had hired a lawyer to negotiate with Kulkarni for evacuation of his place. But the lawyer settled the case with a very large amount. He paid Kulkarni the amount and even then Kulkarni did not move out 2-3 months after the event. He used a pretext that the evacuation would not be possible until he acquired a new place for himself. Maharaj became very annoyed because of all these excuses. Ultimately, once Maharaj told me, “If this Kulkarni does not go from here today, I would stop taking food until he evacuates from this place. Now you should take up the responsibility of evacuating him from here.” I obtained the information that Kulkarni had already purchased a house in L.I.C. Colony. I went to his place and told him to shift his goods to his new house. But he was not willing to talk about it, especially since that same day, there was transportation strike!

I called Balasaheb Kajrekar and he sent his van along with Shivaji driver. Then I myself loaded the van with goods from Kulkarniís house to every extent possible and told the driver to take them to the new house and unload that. But with such as small van, it would have taken two days for us to shift all the goods and hence I sent Maruti Kale to fetch for one more truck. A small truck owner became ready to come but he demanded a fare of Rs. 350/- instead of the normal charge of 100/- rupees only. But, I told him that I will pay 400/- rupees! Finally, at 11 pm that night, I locked the house with our lock and when I came to the Temple, I saw Maharaj was standing at the door waiting for me. As soon as I handed over the keys to him, he embraced me and said that he was fully confident that no one but I could have achieved this in such a short timeframe. He said, “I was waiting for you to have dinner. Now go take a bath and come for dinner!” That night we took dinner at about 12 to 12.30 p.m.

Another person named Tatya Joshi, also stayed in the same property of Pant Sachiv. But since he became an un-entitled tenant, the original owner expelled him from the building through court orders; Maharaj had therefore provided him two rooms in a property known to be owned originally by Rane. Tatya stayed there for 3-4 years, but to avoid any distress to Ashok Joshi (myself) in the future, Maharaj told Tatya to vacate the place. Then Kajarekar made some temporary arrangements for Tatya. During the same timeframe, Tatya registered an apartment and finally went to stay in his own house.

If Maharaj had not made Tatya vacate the rental place from the property of Rane, Tatya would have never owned a place of his own. So, we believe this incident turned out in favour of Tanya Joshi!

Maharaj was handing me more different responsibilities so as to get me acquainted with all the affairs of the society. He intentionally made me sit besides him on the bench. Maharaj told me to watch him closely and listen to him talking, understand him and how he handled all daily activities etc. Whenever someone visited from Dervan, there were discussions regarding various affairs relating to Dervan. Maharaj would talk on various subjects and asked specific details to assess the present state of affairs in Dervan.

I had no interest in Dervan or any activities relating to. For most part, I had not even visited the village. But Maharaj used to always say, “Let us go to Dervan!” I had already declared my views and dislike regarding the people of Konkan region. I had also spent a big part of my childhood in Konkan, and therefore I had an opinion that the people of Konkan region do not allow any planned, innovative or creative type of undertaking. Even Maharaj had similar experiences. I even asked Maharaj why he was spending so much of his energy in that region despite all the negative experiences. Maharaj told me, “We take birth in a family and become proud of that family; in a similar way, we should take pride in the place where we take birth! In fact, we should pay back the debts of that land.”

The grand inauguration of the ëShiv Samarth Gadí was carried out on 5th May, 1981 by Hon. Balasaheb Thakre. I had attended the ceremony in Dervan along with Bindu Tikekar. Prior to this, I had gone to Dervan only once. I might have attended the sacrifice in 1984 and thereafter maybe only for one or two festivals. Also, once when I had gone to the Airport in Pune along with Maharaj to watch the airplanes, we had immediately left for Dervan from there itself. And he stayed there for the ëShivjayantií (The anniversary festival of the Birthday of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj). In fact, I had left in the same clothes I wore to the airport that day.

But with all these existing availabilities, Maharaj was just letting me continue with a neutral attitude towards any concerned subject relating to Dervan but also related to the Temple and the society. Whenever I had to go to Mumbai or any other place for a day or two, as soon as I returned, he would make me sit by his side and tell me everything that had happened at the temple during my absence. “This particular person was given so much money, this person had come and that person had come, this happened and that happened” and so on. I used to say, “Why are you telling me all this? Why do you extend so much love towards me? I am merely your servant!” He would immediately respond saying, “You would not understand this. Our relation dates back to the birth of this universe! We were together at the time of the incarnation of Lord Vishnu in the form of a fish; we were together also at the time of the existence of the Saints Dnayneshwar and Tukaram; we are together now and will be together even in the future!”

Sometimes Maharaj would start narrating the prophecy of the next coming days. He predicted “there will be no rain; electricity would become very expensive; drinking water will not be easily available; and wherever it rains there will be heavy losses due to great floods; diesel and petrol would become a privilege of the rich; Governmental instability would reach its peak; a lot of people will die due to earthquakes! Somebody will have to sacrifice his accomplishments and take incarnation in human form to set this land of ëBharatí (India) straight. Because of heavy opposition from a number of people regarding this, I will have take birth from time to time and set everything right for this land, and this religion.

During his last few days, once he had an accident in bed so I had to wake him up and clean his body. He said, “Give me a bath.” I gave him a bath and then bent down to wipe his feet. He placed his gracious hand on my head and blessed me by saying, “You will live a long life”. But I questioned what I will do with a long life and who would look after me in my old age? But he immediately exclaimed, “What did you mean who would look after you? This Vithoba is here is he not? He will embody himself in a new human form and come back to serve you.” These words of affection from my Sadguru gave me a feeling of intense emotion, but somehow I managed to control my tears.

As I started realizing what Maharaj was planning for my future, I became a little uneasy; my mind was not at all ready for these responsibilities. Hence I took a different stance and utilised the guerilla warfare technique to some extent. I started passing comments even on Maharaj. I was under the impression that when Maharaj becomes angry, he will order me to leave the temple. Everybody had experienced that Maharaj could easily get angry about something, but on the other hand we had also experienced that it was not so easy to provoke Maharaj to get angry; in short, it was practically impossible!

Once Vaze said, “Maharaj did not become angry all day today. It feels as if something is missing! So let us sing the evening ëPanchpadií (A metrical piece of five hymns sung by devotees infront of the gods) with all our vocal strength!” We all sang the ëPanchpadií as loud as we could until our throats started hurting. We even sang some ëAbhangí (religious songs) as loud as we could. After the singing was over, when Pramod, Vaze and I went upstairs, Maharaj mocked and said, “Why were you guys singing the ëPanchpadií so loudly? Did you feel that I will also shout back at you! But today, I had decided that I will not shout at all! Now come here and drink some coffee to soothe your soar throats!” I had similar experience with my guerilla tactics. He was not at all paying heed to my opposition and comments! On the contrary, he once told me that he knows this opposition of mine was just superficial and that mentally I was 101% in agreement with him!

Finally, one day I set my feeling in front of him, “I am a simple house-holder. I have the responsibility of my mother-father, two children and wife. I have not learnt the ëSandhyaí (morning, noon and evening prayers). I do not know anything about ëBrahmakarmaí (religious duties prescribed to a Brahmin). I have not learned Sanskrit language and this place totally consists of religious duties prescribed to a Brahmin. You must select a disciple who understands the religious duties prescribed to a Brahmin, who might have read the ëtheologicalí part (the science of God and Divine things) of Vedas and one who might be conversant with the institutes of our religion, law and scriptures. If no such disciples available, then you must call for an efficient disciple from the Himalayas and appoint him your heir. This is not practical for me.” After listening to me, Maharaj finally responded, “Do you have more commonsense or me? Do you understand more or me?” What could I say? I should only say that I was not at all aware of these indications of my Sadguru initially! But he had regarded me as his own, a long time ago. I would like to narrate and event that occurred approximately 6-7 months after I started my stay at the Temple. The incident was very simple, but none of us present there noticed the significance of this event. That day Sharadbhai Muni, Walawalkar saheb and Bajeerao saheb had come from Mumbai. Mulekaka and I were also present. We were counting the donations collected from the donation box. It was also a big task. All together, it used to be rupees 250 to 275/-. We had to organize and sort 20 coins from each of one paisa, two paise and five paise. All these heaps were arranged in a straight line. Then Maharaj normally checked to ensure all the heaps were of same level using his palms. If he found that the levels were okay, that meant there was no mistake in counting! Then multiplying that with twenty and then adding the total to reach the final amount!! This entire process usually took about 2 to 2.5 hours. That day we were about to finish the counting when we found a one rupee coin under my legs, which had not been counted. In reality, that one rupee could have been easily added to the total in the end. But No! Maharaj said, “He has created confusion! Count again!” Counting again involved re-arranging the coins!

While we were re-arranging, we saw that Maharaj was in a very happy mood. So, Sharadbhai Muni gained some strength and said, “Maharaj, I have brought a new wallet for you. Your wallet is old and torn now – should I give you the wallet I brought for you?” Maharaj asked, “Is it similar to my old one?” The wallet Maharaj had was made of leather. He kept photos of Shree Baba and Shree Swami Samarth and the wallet was also provided enough compartments to keep 1, 2, 5, 10 and 100 rupee notes as well as coins. Then Muni went upstairs and brought the new wallet. Maharaj checked the length, breadth of his wallet with the new wallet and once convinced he took out the currency as well as coins from the old one and placed them in the new wallet. He then started looking around trying to decide what to do with his old wallet. Everyone around him had a keen feeling that either one of them will be ëfavouredí with that old wallet of Maharaj. Even I had the same feeling, but I was the junior-most in all the aspects! Maharaj minutely watched everyone for two minutes and then unexpectedly gave that old wallet to me! But he took it back and placed Rs.101/- cash in it along with a photo of Shree Baba. He said, ëHow can I give you an empty pouch? Now it is alright; keep this wallet with you only!”

I felt very much blessed. But what I did not realise back then was that Maharaj had actually blessed my wallet with the power of the three worlds. I was greatly benefited by that blessed wallet just like the empty plate of Draupadi (The eminent wife of Panch Pandavas in the sacred epic of Mahabharat). The 101 rupees put in the wallet by Maharaj still remains as-is. From the day I received that wallet, there has been no necessity that brings anxiety about money in me. If I have Rs.500 in my wallet, even if I spend the entire amount, I still have Rs500 left in the wallet at the end of the day!

I observed that there is never any shortage of food or clothing in my house from then on. My wifeís sarees used to last easily for almost 20 years. The same used to be the case with my childrenís clothes. At the mealtimes, even if four more people unexpectedly joined us, there was never any shortage felt. Whatever food was available, every one ate properly to their satisfaction. Maharaj had already liberated me that day from all types of anxieties related to the needs of this worldly life. Perhaps if I said, ëseparated from the anxieties of the needs of this worldly lifeí, it would be more appropriate.

Even though I lived in the Temple, my personal expenses including my family expenses were spent from my own account. I was paid an honorarium regularly by Samarth Development Corporation Mumbai, which belonged to Shree Walawalkarsaheb, for managing as an advisor of the various initiatives and trusts initiated by Shree Digambardas Maharaj. I never used any Temple funds for my personal expenses.

In relation to this, I would like to narrate a tale from Ramayan, the great epic. Outside the palace of Lord Ramachandra, a bell was kept hanging by a small rope. Whenever someone required justice, they could ring the bell by pulling the rope. Once a dog rang the bell! Lord Rama asked his brother Laxman to find out who required justice. When Laxman asked the dog, the dog said, ëA Brahmin has beaten me very badly. I have blook streaming out all over. Hence that Brahmin should be punished.í The Brahmin was called for and enquired. He said, “When I was on the way to offer the food to my family deity, this dog came in my way and touched me, thus making the ëNaivedyaí(food for God) unholy.” Lord Rama could not decide who was guilty, so he requested for Saint Vasishth to settle the issue. But even he also could not come to any firm decision. Finally, they decided to ask the dog what punishment should be given to the Brahmin. The dog immediately stated that they should make that Brahmin a ëMathadhipatií (master of a monastery.) Surprised, they all asked, “What type of strange punishment is this?” The dog replied, “In my previous life I was a ëMathadhipati (master of a monastery). I had to become a dog in this life because I ate the food at the monastery free of cost!”

Even for a moment, I do not forget this tale! With the kind grace of Maharaj, I always received all the necessities of my life. This kind of favour from the Sadguru is like the empty plate of Draupadi (the eminent wife of Panch-Pandavas in the sacred epic of Mahabharata) as well as ëKalpavrikshí (desire-yielding tree).

Just like when Maharaj blessed me with his old wallet, he also blessed me with his ring. The ring is made of two precious stones ëGuruí (planet Jupiter) and ëShanií (planet Saturn) respectively. I shall never forget the day when Maharaj blessed me with that precious ring! It was November of 1982, the day of Kkadashi (the eleventh day of a fortnight). It was the same day when the Income Tax Department made sudden raid on our Temple. They scanned the entire surrounding of the Temple; even broke the table-lamp to see if there was anything concealed. Someone went down in the water-tank to check if anything was concealed inside. Not only this, they even rubbed the Temple-idols with a filer to check whether the idols were made of gold! While moving about in the Temple, these obstinate officers did not even have the politeness of removing the shoes.

While calculating the cost of materials, they were marking the prices higher unnecessarily. A dhotee costing only Rs.70-80 was shown as worth Rs.400/-. The sarees were also shown to be worth four to five times. We told the lady officers to take away the sarees if they wanted to! Finally, they did not get anything except the cash of sixteen lakhs and 85 thoussand rupees brought by Walawalkarsaheb. That total amount was in my custody. This amount was legally accounted money and they had to return that money officially to me by a cheque. I had suggested to the officers to take some light snacks at the temple, with a hope that their might be an improvement in their thinking.

The investigation stopped at 4.00AM the next morning and we made special arrangements to drop all those officers who took part in the investigation and ensured everyone had reached their homes safely. Even Vikasrao had joined us in this work. When we all returned, Maharaj said, “Ashok! Soon, this society, this Temple and this Trust will be known to every person in this world!”

The sight of Maharaj standing at the entrance, holding both sides of the gate with his hands is still an image that lingers before my eyes!

After the raid, they had taken any cash amount they could find at the temple; and the anniversary celebrations of Shree Baba Maharaj, which was normally celebrated on the full-moon day of the Kartika (eighth Hindu month) was not too far away! So Maharaj, Mule kaka and I were sitting in a room (which used to be used by ladies formerly) and trying to figure out how to make arrangements; we tried to see how much money was left in the cupboards etc. Suddenly Maharaj got up and said, “I am not involved in this complication with regards to your money problems. I will just go to the washroom and come back. But this ring on my finger is troubling me, whom should I give it to?” He looked at Mule kaka couple of times, but then gave the ring to me! This ring was nothing but a great divine blessing on me.

Maharaj had a glass ëmarbleí. He showed it to me once and said, “Do you know what this is? It is a symbol of the universe. This marble was held by Shree Akkalkot Swami himself and denotes that he was setting the universe. He gave it me and now I am giving this to you!” When Maharaj took the marble out of his coat pocket and handed it to me, I did not really understand the real significance of his action. We placed it in the worshipping area of our house and treat it as a favour of the divine blessings of Akkalkot Swami. But recently, we had to move it from the worshipping place since my grandson also like to go worshipping and who knows he might just take the marble as his toy. Maharaj had also given me two framed photos, one of Nrusinha Sarswati and the other of Akkalkot Swami; he had asked me to put them up in my house saying, “Both of them would protect your house.”

These were all clear indications of the divine blessings bestowed upon me by Maharaj. But by offering the spiritual service to a Guru while maintaining moderate expectation of securing the knowledge of self and also participating in the Temple activities, which mostly come across as devotedness, I had never thought intently towards all these signs. I never felt the need to extend any shrewdness mainly because my Sadguru was taking full care of all matters (however insignificant) pertaining to me; even my physical pains were being taken care of just by his auspicious & divine touch.

I used to frequently fall sick with fever. But I could feel its severity reducing each day due to the kind grace of my Sadguru only! People in general would normally get bedridden for a long time with this kind of sickness, but my suffering was reduced to about 10-15 percent. Any pain remaining was taken care of with a painkiller and therefore, there was no reason for me to be bedridden. So even when I had a temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit, I was able to carry on all my duties without holding back any work.

Once on the immersion day of the Idol of Lord Ganesh, I had a temperature of about 104 to 104.5. But I still went to attend the immersion procession. But after coming back, I was lying on my bed for nearly a day and a half. After the immersion ceremony of Lord Ganesh in Pune, one requires to go to Mumbai. Hence I took complete rest and went to Mumbai a day late. Before leaving, I got myself examined from a doctor. The Doctor said, “Did you have a temperature? There is not one single symptom that I can observe at present! Your tongue is very clean and everything is perfectly alright!”

That was the last time I suffered from fever to that extent – never again!

I had asthma since I was a child, and anything I eat would aggravate my condition. I used to recline against a stuffed cushion or breathe through my mouth for the entire night. My mother tried to comfort me and give me company through the night. She had to suffer a lot herself, but stayed awake for me. After Shree Digambardas Maharaj initiated me, all my sufferings toned down! A tiny tingling sensation was still alive and that was the only suffering I felt at times. Sometimes, early morning around 3-4 a.m., my asthma troubled me for an hour or so. When Maharaj decided to leave his body, he called me one day and said, “You should go to your Gangeshwar Temple at Khanu (a village in Ratnagiri Dist., Maharashtra); convey my message to cure you of your asthma problem and restore your health!” As per his wishes, I prayed to Gangeshwar and was completely cured of asthma in a short time. At present, I donít even realize that I had asthma at one point in my life.

Meanwhile in Dervan, Maharaj told Dr. Madhu Joshi to do a complete physical examination for me. When the doctor observed that my blood pressure showed a range of 60-90, when it should have been around 80-120, he felt more uneasy than me. He said that I should be shifted immediately to Mumbai! I said that I did not feel any trouble and that I was perfectly alright. In fact, I did not feel any dizziness either. But maybe because of this low blood pressure, my arteries shifted from their original places and became stiffer. They had come closer to the backbone and my waist. In the opinion of Dr. Achyut Joshi, my backbone had become a bit slanted and therefore, I was having trouble sitting down, getting up & even had some pain while sleeping.

Maharaj told me that, “In your past life, you had accepted diseases of other people with kindness. Therefore, in this life you will have to personally gp through the sufferings and finish the same. With respect to your spiritual service, it was already completed in the past life itself!” Sometimes, he would reprimand others and tell them that he would send Ashok (me) to America and get his health restored. One day when he saw my acute pain, he told me with a compassion filled heart to mix the juice of ëPanfuti leavesí (medicinal herb) and ëDoorvaí (the sacred grass) with very old cow ghee and boil the mixture before applying it to my backbone. He said I would feel better with that medicine! Shyamrao Tikekar got the medicine prepared from Dervan and sent it. Before sleeping at night, I would ask someone to apply it on my back and the pain was easily suppressed.

Approximately 2 to 2Ω years after Maharaj passed away, one day I felt as though my blood pressure had suddenly risen, so I came and slept near the ëAudumburí tree (a fig tree). I could actually sense my stiffened arteries get released to their normal positions. There was only one left side artery that was still troubling me, but due to the kind grace of my Sadguru, I was soon relieved from that pain too.

Once Maharaj asked Balasaheb Kajrekar to get a bed sized 6 * 2Ω feet from somewhere. Balasaheb had difficulty finding a bed with that exact measurement, but there is nothing impossible for Maharajís devotees! He contacted a welder and ordered him to prepare a frame for the bed. He then got strong thick plywood to fit on the frame along with the sun mica from the carpenter. He then presented the beautiful bed to Maharaj by that evening. Maharaj then gave me that bed. All these were precautionary arrangements for my distressful back pain. Maharajís love and care towards me was definitely very extraordinary. I started using that bed the very same night. Even now, while in Pune, I use the same bed. The calm and peace that delight me in this house of Baba Maharaj can never be experienced anywhere else; so when I spread a woollen blanket along with a clean bed sheet on that bed, I get such a sound and peaceful sleep that cannot be experienced anywhere else!

When Maharaj transmitted his spiritual power into my body, he had mentioned that the impurities in my body will vanish eventually and the body will become clean of impurities before the spiritual powers blended completely into my whole being. And I did experience this after a few days. I once left with Bajirao Tikekar to Bhatkal, Karnatak State, for some work. But after returning from Bhatkal, I found blood in my saliva. Maharaj sensed about this and asked me, “Ashok, what is happening to you?” I said, “While spitting, a little blood came out along with it.” He called me towards him and touched my throat with his hand; then said “Now go, spit and come!”

There was no surprise to me when I tried to spit again. And interestingly, I never had this trouble again. The harsh climate in Bhatkal, a very troublesome journey, eating at odd times and the water there caused a little discomfort and developed into fever upon my return. But there were lot of things to do and it was impossible for me to take rest. So I visited a doctor located near the Dnyaneshwar Paduka square. I told him that my fever must be cured in the shortest time and recommended that he give me the strongest medicine. I requested him for one injection, but he gave me two! So my temperature went down immediately that day. But 8-10 days later, I could not get up from my bed early one morning. The hand that I had taken my shots had a big swelling that had developed overnight. Due to this pain, I could not go to take the blessings of Maharaj like I did everyday around 5.20 A.M. So he personally came to see me and said, ” Ashok, are you okay? Should we go to the doctor now?” I said, “It does not feel right that you come down to see me; I will come up and take your blessings.”

A number of known doctors were consulted who suggested many different medications; an X-ray was also taken. There was a lot of acidity due to the pills. Finally, they decided that my hand needed to be operated in the Hardikar Hospital allowing a gentle flow of the pus out of my body if there was any. Accordingly, I got myself admitted in the Hospital. Before the operation it is necessary to get approval from a relative on the disclaimer form. I said, I myself am my own relative! And I signed the disclaimer myself. Nirokhekar had come with me; he said that Maharaj was going to visit me at the hospital. But I explicitly requested not to let that happen since I just could not digest the very idea of Maharaj personally visiting a person like me.

The operation started in the morning and was over at 4.00pm. I came out of my anaesthesia at around 6.30, and asked the nurse to give me some water. But she declined saying, “We canít give you anything. If you drink water, there is a chance you might throw up due to the effect of anaesthesia!” But I was determined and insisted that I will be okay. Finally when I drank some water, nothing happened. Then I asked my friend Nirokhekar to get me some tea and cigarette from downstairs. When the nurse came back, she was shocked, “You even had tea?” When I nodded, she said it was okay for me to eat anything I feel like! So then Nirokhekar brought me some Chappati (Roti) and cooked vegetable. After my meal, I fell asleep and next day the doctor examined me around 10 am before I returned to the temple walking on my feet.

My hand was in a plaster throughout the month. Meanwhile Bandushet came to the temple and sent a message to my family about my condition. My wife immediately came to the Temple then next afternoon; but I asked her why she had to come running since there was no serious problem. She complained, “You should have at least informed me!” So I finally convinced her saying, “When I am under the blessings of Maharaj, what could go wrong? This was just a minor suffering as part of the purification of my body as he had mentioned, thatís all!”

The impurities in my body were completely expelled after the surgery and my body was now ready to absorb the spiritual powers bestowed by Maharaj. Maharaj had already cleared all my mental impurities by requesting Shree Baba Maharaj in the past!

Though everything seemed going right, the question ëAfter Maharaj what?í was beyond my imagination. The very subject or any discussion relating to was testing my patience. I was not able to even imagine tolerating the separation from Maharaj. I was very well aware of the philosophy regarding this perishable body; even then if it was about our loved ones, the reasoning seemed to fail no matter what! Any discussion about the arrangements after Maharaj was stressing me to every extent. And to add to all this distress, Maharaj started entrusting me with more responsibilities, making me curious furthermore.

I liked solitude ever since I was a child; I never had any great attraction toward socializing. But in my family, everyone was more of a ëMe and my workí kind of nature. You could never find anyone just sitting idly or gossiping about something. Everyone was generally immersed in their work or spend time reading. Therefore, we were all mostly very independent and there was little attachment as such. But at times, it went to an extremity where we would hardly know about the other family members. My father Nana was always absorbed in spiritual reading & meditation, while my mother was always absorbed in family matters. Hence she had no idea about how accomplished Nana was on the spiritual path.

When he was around 65, Nana started feeling his back-pain, making it difficult for him to sit for meditation. When he told Maharaj about this difficulty, Maharaj said, “If you find it hard to meditate in a sitting position, you can try to meditate in a sleeping position! There is no objection for this at all!” So, after his bath every morning, Nana started to sleep on the bed for meditation. My mother, who was oblivious to all this, sarcastically told me, “Now he has become weak-minded due to old age, so as soon as he bathes, he goes to sleep!” Nana never told her that he was not sleeping, but meditating! So he would just smile and ignore my motherís sarcastic comments.

Similar situation happened in my case. Walawalkar sahib had included my life history and spiritual progress in the biography of Shree Maharaj ëTuchi Baap Dhanií. When this book was published and my wife read my life history and she was shocked ! she had no clue on this subject.

Meditation need not be a big display of Tila (circular mark on the (forehead), Gandh (scent), Mala (Garland of flowers) and Saffron-coloured robes. It should be done in solitude only. By nature itself, I like to be separate from the usual crowd. But this made it more impossible for me to accept the responsibilities that Maharaj was trusting upon me.

Maharaj tested me on many different occasions. He taught me how to manage the affairs of the society with fineness as well as the inís and outís. He taught me spiritual accomplishments and then concluded as to what extent I would be able to withstand difficult situations. He also gave a torrent of an advisory speech one day. He called Amol Kondkar, Amolís wife and me. All the three of us were sitting down on a mat. Maharaj sat on his bed in front of us. Maharaj told me firmly, “You must manage all these affairs of the Temple. And for this purpose, you have the blessings of Shree Dattatreya, Shree Swami Samarth, Shree Beedkar Maharaj and Shree Baba Maharaj with you. They have fully assured me that you would not misuse any powers bestowed upon you. Shree Beedkar Maharaj especially, is in complete favour for you. Thatís it ñ the direction is set and there will be no more changes to this decision. And I know that even if you are not willing to get into this, I will ensure that your bones will be present here to continue the work.! Kondkar Kaku and Amol were the only two witnesses. Later, I requested both of them not to let anyone else know about this and they honoured that to every extent.

When it started becoming obvious that Maharaj had decided to abandon this perishable body, I started to think about my future. “Should I go back to mumbai? But what should I do there? Nobody there belongs to me. But I can sell the apartment in mumbai and pay back the money taken from Walawalkarsaheb. If he refused to take the money, I can buy a house in Satara or Kolhapur. I can settle there and take up some job. But I will not stay here once Maharaj leaves this world!” These kinds of thoughts crowded my mind all the time. One day, while I was sleeping near the Audumbar tree (fig tree) and contemplating on this subject, Maharaj called me over and directly hit on the subject. He said, “You should never sell your place in Mumbai for any reasons. Your prosperity lies in Mumbai. After me, you will have to take care of everything by staying in Pune. Everything is happening as per the wish of our Sadguru (Good preceptor). So try to get rid of any inhibitions you have against the Konkan-region. Renovate the ancestral home and the temple in your village. We should always remain grateful to our native land as well as ancestors.” He was giving me clarifications based on his capability to read my mind even for thoughts that had crossed my mind a long time ago.

Ever since I was a child, I had considered Maharaj as an incarnation of God!! But I never mentioned about this to anyone. Be it any temple, be it Lord Rama, Lord Krishna or Lord Shankar, I would always see my Sadguru in that form. Those days, he was mostly known as ëVitthal Maharají and only recently, he started being known as Digambardas Maharaj. I saw Vitthal Maharaj everywhere. So, one day, he brought up that topic in a discussion and said, “Right from your childhood, you have seen me in all the Gods. So now you have to regard my orders with respect! You will never refuse anything I say.” Over time, even I started accepting this mentally.

One Sunday, I was just relaxing after lunch. Usually, I never sleep during day time. But ever since I started staying at the temple, I had to wake up pretty early every morning. Therefore, Maharaj had a general request for me to lie down a bit after lunch to give my back some rest (Maharaj had initiated a number of such good habits for all us at the temple). Some habits, we still follow, some are already forgotten! But resting for ten minutes in the afternoon is still on.

That day I could not really sleep, so I decided to do some meditation. I sat for meditation and started chanting “Aum Digambardasaya Namah”(respects to Shree Digambardas Maharaj). When I came down, Maharaj asked me “Couldnít sleep? What were you doing?” I replied, “I was just chanting”. Maharaj laughed knowingly and said, “Itís not over at this stage. You will have to go ahead and cross many more stages.” After that, I went out and sat on a raised-stone seat at the water tank. There was no further talk on that subject, nor was any required for Maharaj also.

But I remember this one time when I had probably just decided to lay his wish in front of everyone. He was not feeling well at that time. It was time for lunch and no one seemed to have the guts to go forward and ask him if everyone can sit for lunch. Everyone feared that he will retort back and say,” Have you taken birth only for eating? You guys are always talking about eating!” Seeing that no one was willing to go ahead, I finally went forward and asked. But he said, “Arrange the plates and let us eat.” When the leaf-plates were laid and the food was served, I requested him to join for lunch. But he declined by saying, “You go ahead and start eating, I will join later.” When we felt uneasy and somewhat ashamed of starting our lunch before him, he personally came inside and said, “You guys start eating now; unless you finish eating, I will not eat at all!” Now, this appeared to be something very different. He went outside and sat on the chair. We had no choice but to finish our meals hurriedly.

In the area outside the Temple, a few workers like Ashok Dhotre and 5-6 ladies were sweeping and cleaning. Maharaj called them and angrily asked why they reported to work so late? They told him that they were on duty at 2 Oíclock as usual. They also said, “We remove the garbage daily at 3.00 Oíclock. Accordingly, we have started sweeping.” But when Maharaj was in an angry mood, he would not listen to anybody at all. If anybody tried to give an explanation, it would definitely complicate matters for worse. Those days, he would often say, “We have to stop this workshop. This is not working properly now. Itís completely out of order.”

This way he continued inflicting himself in one injury or another and we were really short of understanding the reason behind that agony. Finally, I made a bold attempt and finally asked him, “What else should I do? Did I make any mistakes? Are there any improvements that need to be made?” He did not say much except that this should all stop; people come in at any time, leave whenever they want; what was going on, etc! These complaints went on for an hour or so. Finally I responded, “I am not able to tolerate this problem that makes you undergo so much trouble especially when you are so ill, and all this because of me! I have probably fallen short somewhere. So please relieve me of these responsibilities and let me return back home.” But he immediately retorted saying, “If you leave from here, I will not get up from this chair at all. I will abandon this body right in this chair!”

Meanwhile as though invited, Bajirao Tikekar and Vikasrao both suddenly came from Mumbai. Once again, in their presence the entire episode was re-run right from the beginning. The situation was so tense, that Vikasrao had tears in his eyes. Bajiraosaheb started insisting that I inform Maharaj that I will never leave the temple. I was confused and told him, “I truly donít understand what he wants from me. If he had to face so many troubles because of me, then what is the point in my staying here?” After a lot of back and forth, I finally promised Maharaj that I shall never go away from here!

As soon as I said that, Maharaj insisted, “Not this way! Say that you will never go away from the temple in your entire life-time.” I finally gave up and told him, undoubtedly in the words of his choice, “In my remaining life, I will never go away from this place at all.”

Then like a young kid, with a happy, harmless face he exclaimed, “Had you said that at 3 Oíclock, then this question would not have come up at all!” So I asked whether there was any way of knowing that these words should have been said earlier! He laughed heartily and ordered for ëPedhasë(sweets made from condensed milk and sugar). He gave ëPedhasí to everybody and then asked the cook to make ëPohaí (a spicy snack made from pressed rice flakes). Everyone had tea and Poha after that.

In reality, he knew that I would not agree easily to stay here permanently, so he might have stages this entire drama to get the promise from me.

In my childhoodm when I had just started to talk, Nana taught me an ëAbhangaí (a type of poetry) “God I really like this great devotion only” It is highly possible that because it was the first Abhanga I learned or maybe because it was taught by Nana, there was a definite mark of dominance in my mind.

“Saint Tuka says let us put all the responsibilities on you!

And offer this house-hold life at the Divine Feet of God!”

Until today, I chanted these lines sincerely and now it was time for me to put it in practice for real.

Sayings of Saint Eknath

“Unless you extend your great devotion towards your Sadguru (good preceptor) you would never achieve lifeís highest objective.

Hence for the welfare of a devotee the extension of great devotion towards a Sadguru has been recommended in the religious books.”