( Unknowing, Unknowing, not so, not so )

I had promised Maharaj in the presence of all that in my remaining lifetime, I would never leave this place. The implied wish of Maharaj behind that promise, probably might not have come to the attention of everybody. But I started thinking about every instant regards my stay in the Temple.

In the year 1976, I came to the Temple. After that for a term of twelve years I remained in the auspicious proximity of my Sadguru both physically and mentally. Here, with the eyes of a humble devotee, I observed several attractive sides of his personality. I got the opportunity to closely observe the lofty personality of my Sadguru. Over time I made attempts to understand his personality. Different aspects of his persona started taking glorious forms before my mental eye, as though one was watching him through a kaleidoscope. It was the sight of his universal form which challenged me mentally just like Arjuna was in Mahabharat when he saw Lord Krishna’s universal form. I was frightened. Maharaj’s personality was like God and even afer covering the entire Universe, some part still remained.

I started remembering the different situations which I experienced in his company, one after other. As always, I would try my best to comprehend the real meaning of those experiences. However, most often than not, I would have to give up saying “Not so, Not so”.

During his incarnation, it was never possible to address him as ‘Maharaj’! He immediately would start uproaring “Who is this Maharaj? Show me!” etc.. So all his disciples would address him as ‘Vitthalrao’. While talking on telephone, he used to introduce himself as ‘I am V.G. Joshi speaking’.While talking in the context of Shree Baba (Shree Baba Maharaj), he would call himself ‘Das Vitthoo'(humble servant Vitthal).

Sometimes in front of his devotees, amusingly he would call himself ‘Bomblya Vithoba'(Loudmouth Vithoba). To avoid all the loud shouting, I would prevent formally addressing him and more so with a title. He did not like people prostrating in front of him. He would clearly reprimand those who throw praise on him or try to flatter him. He was always 100 % aware while having a conversation. It was impossible to try to get anything out of his mind, whatever the circumstance, without his consent !

Once he told me “Tommorrow I will be going to Dervan” I asked “When would you come?” He said “Whenever Shree Sadguru Baba Maharaj would bring me back!”. Later, when I asked this question a number of times, however much the rush, I got the same reply.

Maharaj had a few advocate friends. Maharaj considered them his close friends. He would always visit them personally. To some of those, Maharaj would send Angara (sacred ashes of incense burnt before a deity) and Sunthavada ( ginger-candy) on a daily basis. Even I had delivered it for 7 to 8 months. I began to notice that these packets were not even being opened and utilized in some of the houses. It was just lying around. I felt sad and a great sense of shame at the way some of these people treated it.

Maharaj would purchase, large quantities of sarees, rugs (floor mat, carpets), warm blankets and trousers etc from cloth-merchants. These were all Maharaj’s trustworthy shop-keepers.After going to the store Maharaj would order soft drinks (Goldspot) for all with his own money. He himself would partake only a spoonful but would insist that all others enjoy the drink. From the famous Gold-stores of Pune, he would purchase gold ornaments for his devotees. With whatever friendship Maharaj treated these business- people with, unfortunately they didn’t reciprocate. For them he was only a big customer. Their thought never went beyond this level of thinking.

Shree Sadguru Beedkar Maharaj left this world in the year 1913. While giving up his body, he had told his disciples that he would still stay in this world for 36 years more. So Maharaj told me that it was not necessary to go to Shree Beedkar Maharaj’s Muth (Samadhi Mandir), Shree Akkalkot Swami had personally taken him away.

Dr. Dattopant Nirokhekar was the disciple of Shree Beedkar Maharaj. He was Sick for some time. When he was admitted to the Bombay Hospital, Maharaj had gone to meet him. At that time Nirokhekar asked him as to what should be done regarding Beedkar Muth (Samadhi Mandir) since Panshet Dam is going to burst and the Muth would get carried away by the flood water!. Maharaj told not to worry at all! Further, he said that for Smt. Maharaj (wife of Shree Beedkar Maharaj), the Asthi Kalash (Earthen pot containing bones of Shree Beedkar Maharaj) would certainly be found and made available.As foretold, the dam burst and the muth was flown away by flood waters, however as Shree Maharaj had prophesied, the Asthi Kalash was found after two days right there in the mud! This event had been stated by Maharaj for at least 7-8 times.

Municipal Corporation officers, Boad, Marathe, Nanajkar, V.N. Shinde, K.M. Shinde, collectors and Assessor Dalvi, Jadhav, Naik, Mahashabde etc would visit Maharaj to seek his blessings. As such even municipal commissioners, Arun Bargirwar and Panase would also visit Maharaj to seek his blessings. Similarly, politicians started visiting Maharaj for his blessings and advice. MPs (Member of Parliament) Anna Joshi, Balaram Jakhar, MLAs (Member of Legislative Assembly) Girish Bapat, Shashikant Sutar, Arvind Lele, Gosaliya Rambhau Mhalagi, Wamanrao Mahadik, Dattaji Salvi, Pradhan, Abhayasinha Raje Bhosle. Bapusaheb Thite etc.

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Vasantdada Patil also came to the Temple-Shrine. He would seat himself at the sacred feet of Maharaj. Maharaj would then ask him to sit on a chair. He had Diabetes. Maharaj once gave him Chakli (Mixed flour of rice etc. kneaded with spiceries, rolled out and then rolled up and fried) to eat. Since it was oily, his personal secretary and the doctor asked him not to eat the same. However, Honourable Vasantdada stated “Your authoritative rule is outside the gate. Here, whatever Maharaj gave me , I would eat.” Such was his faith! During election, Maharaj gave financial help to Vasantdada. Maharaj did not approve Vasantdada’s acceptance of the post of Governership of the state of Rajasthan. Honourable Vasantdda Patil had risen in politics on his own and through his understanding of the problems faces by the lower classes.

As Maharaj expected that Dada should become the Prime Minister of India- Bharat,he sent Walawalkar Saheb to Abu and compelled Dada to resign from the Governership of Rajasthan State and then called him to Pune.Then while all the discussions and strategy on how to plan for the post of Prime Minister was in progress , misfortune struck and Shri Vasantdada left this world. Later, Rajiv Gandhi also showed his desire to come and see Maharaj, however, by then Maharaj had left this world.

Maharaj at times would present some question for discussion. If someone raised a question, there would be instant discussion with careful reasoning. For the next two to three months., the same topic would continue! right from early morning 5.00 AM up untill 2.00 PM. The same subject would be discussed with anyone and everyone who would come to visit temple! I would get tired listning to all the discussion on the same topic or question. I could not fathom the purpose and motive behind all the discussion. But I felt that it was one of his plays (drama). This discussion was not to expound on that subject but to observe the understanding, reaction and honest views of the other person.

Once a similar type of question came up. Maharaj went to the temple at noon. There he called Walawalkar Saheb, myself and in like manner one more gentleman who was present there at the time. Maharaj asked us to see if the questions can be answered by casting lots, in the presence of Baba (Sadguru Shree BabaMaharaj). So by writing ‘yes’ on one piece of paper, ‘no’ on another and in addition three to four blank slips, the paper slips were folded and placed in front of Baba and then we prayed for the decision.

First Walawalkar Saheb picked up one paperslip which revealed as ‘yes’. Then the paperslip picked up by me also came as ‘yes’. Then that gentleman picked up the slip but it came as ‘no’. He appeared to be totally depressed. But immediately he started arguing and discussing what is good and what is bad.He said “Indeed Baba was asking me not to pick up this slip,but pick up the other one !” I had a inner feeling that by lying outright in the presence of Maharaj, this gentleman was underestimating Maharaj. Later on when we went upstairs, Maharaj called me aside and said “Did you observe how people behave! That is the reason I keep everybody at a distance.”

Maharaj had the taste as well as gait in the fine arts like theatrical music etc. He showed us many dramas like “Mrichha Katika, Saunshaykallol” etc. He was an excellent actor and decorator also;. Like dramas he had a taste in cinemas too. Very often he used to take us along with him to the cinema-theatres. He had also set some etiquettes on how to behave in cinema-theatres as well. rule1: One should only look towards the cinema-screen, rule2: not to look here and there, rule3: not to look towards Maharaj, rule4: One should not talk or laugh loudly. Since laughing in theater is not part of theater etiquette he would prick with his elbow if someone does laugh in the theater even if by mistake. Hence everyone gave the responsibility of sitting next to Maharaj to me. During the movie intermission all of them used to go out, eat ‘Vada’ (fried cakes) icecream and return. But Maharaj never enquired as regards to where anyone of them had gone.

At times, for 2 weeks at a stretch we would go to theater to watch movies. It would be fine if we watched different movies everyday, however I do remember that for nine days in a row we saw the same movie starring Dada Kondke in “Hyoch Navara Pahije (I want this husband only)”. In this heroic movie watching adventure, on the third day Atmaram Apte and later on the fifth day Mule kaka dropped out. Somehow I maintained my stamina till the end. I was pondering as to what would have been the reason behind making us watch the same movie for 9 days. But regarding that nothing else was practically possible beyond inference. His actions were beyond the power of our understanding. Sometimes his behavior would confuse our minds. He carried out the welfare of all those who maintained firm faith in their minds that the Sadguru is doing all this for the welfare of the disciples.With this confidence, I experienced the drama which he had shaped, in the role of a witness.

A distant relative of Mahaaraj worked in the Central Government. After getting transferred to Pune, very often he would visit Maharaj for his blessings. Maharaj treated him in a friendly manner. This incident pertains to the last chapter of Maharaj’s existence. As he had mentally decided to give up this body, he started taking very little food. He become very weak physically. But understanding the problems of the devotees and catering to their needs went on like before.This gentleman’s daughter had a M.A degree and was at a marraigble age. It was getting difficult to find a suitable parner for her marriage. Their financial situation was also not too good. He spoke to Maharaj regarding the situation. He once came to visit Maharaj along with his daughter. Maharaj gave some expensive clothes (sarees etc.) and some cash amount to him for his daughters marraige.After few days Maharaj sent me along with one more disciple, to invite and bring along the girls father from his office. Both of us went to his office. The disciple who accompanying me became nervous and stood outside the gentlemens office. I went inside and gave him the message from Maharaj. Accordingly, the gentleman came to the temple to visit Maharaj in the evening.

Maharaj asked him “You would be giving your daughter to me (marrying her to me), I had given you the money and clothes for the same reason and you had accepted it as well. Now as per the procedure, let us talk about the marriage. Maharaj sat on one mat. On the other mat in the front, sat the gentleman, the disciple and myself. Maharaj handed a piece of paper and pen and aske me to prepare the details for the marriage. He gave me details of the wedding location, the honours and presents to be rendered and the number of leaf-plates to serve food etc. and I wrote down all those details. Hearing all this the genglemen got very nervous and literally started sweating. He said “I never came here to give my daughter to you at all. In fact, I had come here to ask you as to when she would she get married”

Maharaj said “Now you are lying! You are changing your word! You had already agreed to give your daughter to me. In that respect you had accepted money and clothes. Now your cannot go back on your word !”

The gentleman seemed ready to burst into tears. He started persuading Maharaj. But Maharaj was not ready to listen to anything! Finally Maharaj said “You have cheated me. That way I would an advertisement in the newspaper ‘Sakal’ tomorrow.” Immediately he started giving me the details for the advertisement. The atmosphere became so tensed that the disciple sitting with us took a break and left the room saying that he would be back after going to the toilet, but he never returned at all.

Since it was mealtime, leaf-plates got arranged. Maharaj said “Now he is my father-in-law, so he also would take food before leaving.”. Maharaj went to wash-basin to freshen himself. Then immediately the gentleman also came out with extremely pitiable face, and spoke to me “Truly I had never agreed to give him my daughter. With kind favour, please donot give that advertisement in the paper. My reputation would get utterly destroyed Already daughters marraige is getting delayed. If the advertisement comes in the news paper, then her marriage would never take place!”

I told him “Donot get frightened. Be calm. Wait and see what happens next.”

While taking meals, there was no discussion. After the meals, Maharaj gave him permission to leave. Maharaj never discussed the topic again and the topic was left hanging in midspace.

Within only a month the girl got a suitable partner and the marriage took place. Her life became full of happiness. Very often she would come to the temple for blessings. But whenever I remember that evening between 6.00 pm to 9.30 pm, I still get the thrilling sensation of fear and wonder in my body. I never properly understood the role of Maharaj behind this whole drama as well as the meaning of the cause and effect. One thing that was certain was that Maharaj’s actions and speech was only in the best interest of his devotees.

Maharaj had a friend who was a lawyer by profession. He was elder to Maharaj. Both of them were similar by nature and so they got along very well. Maharaj used to visit him at least once in 3-4 months and return after drinking milk. I also used to go along with Maharaj. Besides festivals, Maharaj used to invite his family over for food at the temple. During mango fruit season, his family would be invited over to have mango juice.

One day, the 29-30 year old daughter-in-law of his lawyer friend came to the temple in the morning at around 10:00 AM along with her 1.5 to 2 year old son and started crying. When she calmed down a bit, Maharaj enquired her as to what had happened. She said “My 35 year old husband is an officer in a big company. Yesterday night at 10.30 PM, while we were sitting at the dining table to have dinner, he suddenly had a ‘fit’ (sudden epileptic seizure with unconsciousness). We got him admitted in a very big hospital. He is still in’coma’. Some obstruction in the blood-flow has developed in the artery in the neck, supplying blood to the brain.The case is very serious” Maharaj after listening to everything calmed her. He then asked me to give her the ‘tirth’ (holy water) and ‘Angara’ (sacred ash) of Shree Sadguru Baba maharaj, as a favour and advised her to give the same to her husband. For the next 7-8 days she would come to the temple daily in the morning and Maharaj would give her assurance that her husband would be ok. He would ask me to give her the ‘Tirth’ and ‘Angara’ as well. On 10th -11th day, I spoke to Maharaj “What is all this going on? You could create a new universe! Why are you not restoring her husband?” Maharaj said “It is not good to interfere with the Supreme Lord’s plan. There is born-enmity between the father and child. It has been going on for the last 20-25 births. Out of the two, one would always win. In the previous life, the child (‘child’ in the current life) had already told the father (‘father’ in the current life) that he would take birth in his family to take revenge on him. Now I have influenced both of them to end this cycle. This would be the last enmity. Let the incident take place in this lifetime and this enmity cycle will end.”

Later, Maharaj, Bindukaka and myself, the three of us went to the lawyer friend in the evening at 6-00 pm. Maharaj was there till 7.30 pm. The instant we returned to the temple, the same instant the phone rang. When I took the call, I heard the painful news about the sudden death of the lawyer’s son. When Maharaj heard this news he said “You and Bindu, after taking meals, go for the funeral rites.” When we went for the funeral rites ceremony, there was a surprise awaiting us! The lawyer seemed to be in a state of perfect contentment while observing everything around him during the ceremony. All this was only due to the alchemy of Maharaj. A month after the death of the lawyer’s son, Maharaj went to his house and recommended the re-marriage of his young daughter-in-law.

Whenever the need arose to visit Dervan, Maharaj would get up in the early morning at 3.00 O’clock, take bath, say prayers, perform all the Pooja (worship) rituals and then leave. For this reason I would buy flowers (required for the Pooja) the previous day itself and keep it. Walawalkar saheb and Bajirao Tikekar would also be present the previous night. Almost always Maharaj would depart for Dervan in the morning. Bajiarao Tikekar would accompany him to Dervan and Walawalkarsaheb would return to Mumbai.

Once, while Maharaj was all set to visit Dervan, we had come to the main entrance of the Temple to say good-bye to Maharaj. Maharaj said “Oh Ashok! today you should also go to Mumbai along with Walawalkar saheb. Return tomorrow. But do not go by aeroplane. Take a taxi instead.” After Maharaj left, we got ready, took our bags, and got into a rickshaw to leave. Walawalkar saheb said “Let us first go to the Airport. Let us see if we can catch a plane. Today I have a very important pre-scheduled meeting with the Chief Minister.” This incident took place in the year 1980-81.During those days there used to be only one 48-seater plane which flew from Mumbai to Pune at 7:30 AM and then leave for Mumbai immediately at 8.00 AM. Since seats were limited, seat reservation had to be done 2 months in advance. So I told Walawalkar saheb in the rickshaw that there was no possibility of getting two tickets.

Even then we went to the airport with the very thought of trying out our luck. We got the tickets. We got the boarding passes too. Then we took coffee etc. and checked in all our items as per Airport procedures. We were all ready by 7:15 AM. The aeroplane which was supposed to come from Mumbai at 7.30AM, did not come even upto 8.00 AM. Walawalkarsaheb started becoming restless. It was very important for him to see the Chief Minister by 10 AM. Then he quickly made enquiries by telephoning and he got confirmation that the plane would arrive by 9.00 AM. Walawalkarsaheb said”O.K. A bit late but still, I would be able to meet the Chief Minister. Finally the plane came at 10.00 AM. We started to board the plane. Walawalkarsaheb knew the pilot. When he saw us, he said that one of the planes tyre’s is out of order and so the plane would not be able to take off in time.

During those days there were too many visitors at the Airport, so vehicles (taxi’s ) were not easily available. Finally Walawalkar saheb made some arrangement and we came to Pune Railway Station. There we hired a taxi and started. But by our bad luck we got such a taxi driver who drove like a tortoise. We could only reach Dadar (in Mumbai) in the evening at 6.00 PM. Maharaj had warned us in the morning. Because we ignored his warning we had to endure this 12-hours long journey. As per the directions of Maharaj, had we started in the morning by taxi, then Walawalkar saheb would not have missed his pre-scheduled meeting with the Chief Minister. We could have easily reached Mumbai by 10.00 AM.

My experience was that by the grace of Maharaj, there was never any delay in my journeys at all.

During 1981 to 1989 I had to frequently travel between Pune-Mumbai.We had to travel by S.T (State Transport Bus), or Taxi, or ‘Asiad Bus’ or sometimes by private vehicle. Not even once did the vehicles go out of order or was there any accident. During those days Khandala hill area would be the bottleneck for traffic. It would take 6 to 8 hours for people to pass through the hill. But I never experienced this. My journeys would take place without any troubles and delay, due to the solemn blessings of Maharaj. He was quite capable to get over all the obstacles and today too the same continues. Knowing all this, that day we had disrespected the warning given by Maharaj and we fell prey to the saying ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’. Even if you bring any thought in the mind against Maharaj’s command and when its vibration reaches Maharaj, then one should be ready to face the repercussions.

It would be a big test for us to accompany Maharaj when he would go to the temple for worship. After taking bath around 10:00 or 10:30 AM, wearing a silk dhotee, taking the articles of idol- worship and a round basket of flowers, Maharaj used to start his worship rituals. First worshipping the Deity on the upper floor, then completing the worship in the Temple of Baba and the Pradakshina (circumambulation); he would again go to the upper floor. During that time one person used to accompany him. Pramod and Vaze always tried to avoid this work. Most of the time, I had to go. While in his company if any hither and thither thought took shape in the mind, then soon rapid discharge of explosive words would start! How do these unexpected thoughts come in your mind at all? Such furious and loud attack of words would begin. After that there was no surety as to how the next 2-3 days would unfold. Hence, while in his company, it would always be advisable to chant the divine name of Baba (Shree Sadguru Baba Maharaj) in the mind.

Once when Maharaj was performing his worship rituals, he threw a flower and sacred leaf on Shree Beedkar Maharaj photo from the floor below. Idols of Beedkar Maharaj and Swami Samarth were at a good height on the back side of the shrine, so it was not at all possible to offer flowers and garlands on these idols without climbing on the walls of the shrine.

A slippery thought came in my mind, as to the way in which the flowers were being thrown this way? Immediately Maharaj started talking, as though talking to himself, “Maharaj ! Was this worship of mine agreeable to you or not? I am throwing these flowers but with great love only! Had I done anything which would hurt you? You would agree with my worship, is it not?”

So while in the proximity of Maharaj, it was essential that one remains mentally alert. As soon as a crooked thought comes in the mind, Maharaj would immediately expose that thought in front of a few people present at the time.

Once this way only, on the street in front of the Temple, two drunkards were walking by and chattering under the effect of alcohol. Looking at them I laughed for a moment. But Maharaj warned me nicely. He said “Why should you laugh? Today they are outside and we are inside. But tomorrow they might be inside and we outside. This is a wheel of fortune. The small empty earthen pot would get filled up sometime and the full earthen pot also would get emptied. So why should we laugh at the emptied earthen pot?” He expressed kindness for their suffering in such kind words, that I remembered Saint Tukaram’s ‘Abhang’ (species of metre):

|| He who considers the sufferers of this world as his own, ||

|| One should identify such a person as a saint ||

|| One should recognize him as God ||

Kindness was the oratorical sentiment of Maharaj. His entire life was meant to manifest kindness for all the created beings. Maharaj had spent his entire life in requesting his Sadguru that ‘Let the whole world be happy. Whoever came in the contact of Maharaj, Maharaj recognized their needs and gave so much that “one can only take as much as his own individual capacity ” would be the position of that person.

When winter starts, Maharaj would give away warm clothes to the attendants working in the Temple. Once, Maharaj bought 200 sweaters and blankets from a Nepali man selling warm clothes and distributed it to all the poor attendants. In the summer, he would distribute hair oil to all, to be applied to the head (to keep head cool in hot summer). Once he ordered a tempo-full of water-melons and distributed the same to the ‘Suvasinis’ (a woman whose husband is alive) in a ‘Haldi Kunku’.(social function arranged for women).

He would place orders for 50 kilograms of figs (figs are expensive in India). He would give away a kilo of figs to anyone who would come across him in the temple. Once he asked me to bring 50 kgs of ‘Suttarpheni’ (A kind of Guajarati sweetmeat) for distribution. I walked from Deccan Gymkhana to the camp area in Pune but I could only get 7 Kgs of ‘Suttarfeni’ from all the sweet meat stores there. I spent more that 400 rupees on the rickshaw itself. Once he asked me to bring 500 Cream sandwiches. Let us give people cream sandwiches to eat. Somehow I was able to get only 70 – 80.

He had taken a vow to distribute food and clothing to the needy. Whenever he bought ‘Ganji frock’ (under garments) for me he would purchase 6 to 7 pairs, all at once. We inherited the same habits due to our proximity with Maharaj. Once in Mumbai, when I noticed Kamlesh’s ganji frock was ripped. I went to the market and brought the undergarments. Seeing half-a–dozen undergarments bought by me for a growing boy, my wife felt highly amused. She said “Henceforth, do not pay any attention in the domestic purchases. You are used to the habits of Pune. From that point on, I stopped making domestic purchases.

Maharaj always said that “man gets attracted to earn money in an unjust way only due to shortage in his income. Since man is not able to fulfill his basic needs of food and clothes, he is forced to secure the same treading wrong path. In order to prevent them from doing so, I always tried to help them in all the ways possible to me. If I give them clothes, then that would mean one item less for them to spend on. During the festive season different types of delicious dishes are prepared here. Due of this, their desire for delicious dishes was becoming less to some extent. How would it be possible for everyone to prepare so many delicious dishes in every home? Their souls get satisfied in the Temple of Baba. Besides, food in the Temple is very pure. Due of this, their souls would evolve higher. There are women attendants in the Temple working for 25-25 years. Now their eating habits have become so much purer that they would reject and not consume any irritable food.

Maharaj had given gold ornaments to many women. He had distributed several types of ornaments like bangles, chains, rings and Kolhapuri ornaments amongst the women. A woman has natural attraction for ornaments. So due to these blessings in the form of gifts from Maharaj, women would experience incomparable happiness. Maharaj used to say, “if the woman is happy and contented, then the whole family would get contented and happy”. With happy families, society would improve and on account of such excellent and healthy society, the nation would get very strong and hence it is the duty of everybody to keep the woman in the family happy and contented.

A girl named Shewade who had a Bachelors in Science BSc, always came to the temple to attend festivals of Baba (Shree Baba Maharaj). She was a little weak in health. So there was no chance of her getting married. Maharaj had advised her to take private tuitions. She would be present during the festivals with complete devotion. Once Maharaj had brought the Shawls made of Khadi (thick cotton) for distribution amongst sisters. Standing near Maharaj I would place shawls on his hands and then Maharaj would hand them over to the sisters. While giving the shawl to this girl, Maharaj also gave 500.00 rupees along with the shawl. This was not for all the women standing in the line, but only for this girl. It might be either as an honour for her devotedness or possibly as assistance for her weak financial condition. However the Rs. 500 note fell down and the straight forward girl picked up the note and returned it to Maharaj saying “You see, your money had fallen down here!”. Maharaj replied, “This might be your money and not mine at all!” But the girl replied “How could there be so much money with me?”. In the year 1977, rupees 500.00 was really a big amount. Finally, Maharaj made her accept the money by saying “Let this money belong to anybody! You keep this with you. It would be useful for your expenses!”

Out of the many old couples who came here with devotion he had given Rupees forty thousand to fifty thousand each, as a financial help. Even though their children were earning, this help was given with the very intention that these couples should have their own money for daily needs and no necessity should ever arise for them to extend their hands towards their children for monetary help. The subtle intention behind this generosity was to preserve their self respect and freedom.

In the surroundings of Dervan (Ratnagiri District) Maharaj had already created a new standard of generosity. By noticing whatever responsibilities Maharaj had undertaken to manage all the necessities like food, clothing and shelter of the people belonging to that area, one should get the idea of his industrious generosity. He donated clothing, provided subsidized food grains, coarse woolen blankets to the farmers, gave tools, distributed animals, provided tiles on the roofs of the houses in summer, provided water to the thirsty people by tankers, provided help to schools and arranged for medical help. Now, as per his desire, a hospital has also been opened there. Maharaj had extended help to many parents of the brides, so that these daughters of the poor and needy should live happily as daughter-in-law with their in-laws.

At times Maharaj used to express his affection regarding a certain person by offering a small gift. Bhau Kajarekar liked the tea provided in the Temple and he also had expressed his liking regarding the tea to Maharaj. After that, whenever Bhau would decide to visit his village Sonavadya, he would first visit Maharaj for his permission before departing; Maharaj would specifically give him 2. Kgs of tea powder and ‘Eclairs’ chocolate packet, before bidding farewell to him. Through that meeting the blessings and affection of Maharaj would reach the relatives of Bhau at Sonavadya.

The generosity of Maharaj was continuously flowing like ‘River Ganga’ (The sacred River Ganges), there was never any interruption in that flow. But he would never depend upon anyone. None at all! Once he shared with us an important piece of wisdom. For any work, if the money used was not from good source then that work would not make any progress. To what extent and from whom we could collect this donation? If the donation collected was not from right source then this place would not make any progress at all. So Maharaj started worshipping Goddess Parvati (Daughter of Himalaya Mountain, wife of Lord Shiva) early in the morning, continuously for three hours from 2.00 a.m. to 5.00 a.m.; He would say, for the acquisition of wealth, it was essential to worship Goddess Parvati and not Goddess Laxmi (Goddess of wealth, wife of Lord Vishnu, born from the ocean).Goddess Parvati, became very much happy and gave him a vision in his dream. In the vision she asked him the reason behind his worship. Maharaj said that Walawalkar is a very pure person. He was brought from Himalaya by us only. You should bless him with all prosperity, which in return would enable me to go ahead with my projects.

Walawalkar’s business progressed rapidly. He too, without any restraint, brought enough money and gave it to Maharaj for his works. There seemed no necessity for Maharaj to give him any suggestions regarding this at all. Whenever he came to see Maharaj, he would bring along with him 5-10 lakhs rupees and offer the same at the feet of Maharaj.

Once, Walawalkarsaheb narrated a small incident which would give the right context to all this information. Once, Walawalkarsaheb accompanied Maharaj to Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh state. At that time he drove an old red fiat car. During the journey, the car-battery malfunctioned. The mechanic said that one of the battery cells had stopped working. Walawalkarsaheb did not have enough cash with him, so instead of replacing the entire battery he replaced only the faulty cell and managed to make two ends meet. However, since Maharaj was present in the vehicle and had the vehicle malfunctioned again then it would have become more embarrassing for him. So to avoid such a situation; the entire battery should have had been replaced. Walawalkarsaheb would always recall this incident later and say that “I should have made the arrangement for the money by selling my finger-ring etc. That day since I didn’t think of this, I am left with a sense of shame through out my life”.

All these various types of projects never get accomplished, only due to resource availability. Today too, we observe that during the economic downturn of the nation, raising donations involve the use of famous sports and Arts personalities. However, out of these famous personalities, only a single person might give donation out of his own overflowing pocket. The remaining personalities feel contented by just allowing the charitable events to utilize their glamour value to raise funds.

Maharaj’s generosity knew no bounds. It displayed infinite kindness for the entire humanity. Kindness was the inborn nature of the life of Maharaj! With great certainty I always felt that this kindness was towards all including animals and birds. Just like human beings, he was also very much affectionate towards the animals and the birds of this Temple, as well as that of Dervan area. He paid lot of attention to ensure that these animals and birds are taken care of even during the haste and confusion time of the festive season.

Before taking his meal, he would confirm that all these animals and birds received their meals. Only then would he accept his meal. When his darling dog “Shamya’ died, Maharaj sprinkled the holy ‘Ganga’ water on the dog with his own hands, then moved his hand with great affection on the dogs body. After digging a pit in the Temple garden he put the sacred leaves of ‘bel’ tree (A tree sacred to Lord Shiva), holy basil leaves, camphor, and the dog’s body in the pit. Then he gave a final farewell to ‘Shamya’.

In the Temple there were two dogs, ‘Arjun’ was the male dog and the other female dog by the name of ‘Subhadraa’. Besides there was also a pair of dogs, by the name of ‘Lalya-Kalya’. Arjun was very hot-tempered. He was tied with two chains. Seeing anyone, he would run to bite the person. But in front of Maharaj, he would be very submissive, like a cow. Whenever I went there, he would start licking my feet. The female dog Subhadra would start jumping lightly around me like a young child, then roll on the ground and show bent-up movements this way and that way. Arjun would cry continuously for fifteen days at a time. Crying of a dog was considered as an evil omen. Mahara’s health had deteriorated. There were clear indications that Maharaj would leave his body very soon. In such a time, everyone felt very distressed when they heard Arjun cry continuously for long periods. When I felt that Maharaj may also be troubled by the noise of a crying dog, I asked Balasaheb to take away the dog and leave him in Radhanagari jungle. When Maharaj overheard my conversation he said “Oh! Every living being had to undergo one’s own suffering. Only when the suffering gets finished would he stop crying!” And the next day he stopped crying.

Maharaj’s kindness had been spread throughout. On the basis of this kindness throughout his life he struggled vigorously to make everybody happy. But while he was busy spreading kindness everywhere for everyone, there was neither any advertisement of the same nor carelessness at any place.

Once, monsoon rains was very much delayed. Even when the month of August arrived, there was no rain in Dervan. Hence there was a serious scarcity of water and grass, the food for beasts and birds. In Dervan area, enough number of live-stock had been maintained. There was a great difficulty in providing them with fodder. In the evening, Maharaj was sitting in the chair and unexpectedly a stream of tears started flowing from his eyes. Maharaj said “If there was no rain now in Dervan, then to what extent of bad condition these dumb animals would undergo?” Then Maharaj became silent for sometime, he was sitting motionless as though absorbed in deep thought. Then suddenly he started talking, said “Now I have prayed to Akkalkot Swami. Shree Swami Samarth has called all the saints for bringing rain immediately.” And then in Dervan, within three hours itself it started to rain. Deep green grass came up and enough food became available. Maharaj, who took care of all the living beings got freedom from a great anxiety. “A caretaker should be like a Sadguru”. This only is true!

During the last few years of his life, Maharaj used to sit calmly on a bench outside his residence for some time. This blissful mental state with the absence of enmity is possible only in the case of accomplished ascetics and it was better understood by the cattle and the birds than human beings. Seeing Maharaj sitting silently like a statue with affectionate feeling, the sparrows skipping on the trees slowly came and sat on the body and shoulder of Maharaj. They would dance by opening the tail feathers and make lovely chirping sound. With smiling face Maharaj would observe their skipping activity. The skipping of the birds fearlessly on the human body happens only in the case of a great ascetics and saints. Maharaj had made the entire surroundings of the Temple sacred, auspicious and pure to such an extent that in the temple surroundings three mongooses would move about fearlessly. Many birds like Lark, Dhanesh and parrots etc would be totally at ease and play their music on the trees located in the compound. This made the entire surroundings appear like an ancient hermitage of the saints located in the thick forest.

In the large compassionate heart of Maharaj there was affection towards all created beings. His affection did not discriminate on the basis of caste, religious belief and religion. Whatever God created was the result of particular circumstances of the time or necessity. Regarding other religions too Maharaj spoke with the same feeling. The religious philosophy of Buddhism, Christianity and Muslim sect have been created by the will of God only. All these religious philosophies were needed at that time. Hence they have still continued to remain. What happened to the Brahmo Society of Keshavachandra Sen which failed to continue ? What happened to the Aryan Noble Society of Dayanand Saraswati which failed to grow at all? The reason was that no divine power existed behind them. The necessity of either Christianity or Muslim Sect was also getting over by now. It was Maharaj’s opinion that both these Sects should get merged in the rapid stream of the ‘Sanatan Arya Dharma’ (Aryans eternal ancient religion). Because of this deep vision, Maharaj observe a person as an individual only and he had no other anxiety to know about the caste and religion of that individual.

Gafoor Mirajkar, supplying flowers and garlands to the Temple was a loyal devotee of Maharaj. Gafoor had six daughters. By the time all of them got married, Maharaj was not embodied in physical form. But at the time of marriage of each of his daughters, Gafoor would bring the bridegroom and make him stand outside the Temple gate. Then he came inside the temple. He would then cast the lot (write YES and NO on two paper chits, fold them and them throw the chits in front of Maharaj’s statue, then ask a question and pickup one of the chits. If there is a YES in the chit pickedup, then that would be taken as a Maharaj ‘s wish and answer to the question) in front of Maharaj by saying “That person has come outside! Should I offer my daughter him or not?”

Should a positive consent be given, through the lot, he would tell the person waiting outside “Come with me to the Mosque. You can get married to my daughter and take her away with you.” Should that consent be negative, he would clearly tell that person “Maharaj did not give the consent and so I refuse to offer my daughter to you.”

All this I had closely observed. Why all these people had got attracted so much towards Maharaj was because Maharaj himself brought everybody very close to him with his emotional feeling that ‘Seeing oneself in every created being was itself equivalent to taking the ’Darshan’ (blessings) of Lord Shiva.”

He would always state the importance of understanding how the journey of the atom (evolution) of a man had taken place. Caste and religion were of no significance at all. If there was no evolution of a person’s atom, then there was no meaning in offering importance to him just because he belonged to a particular caste or religion.

Maharaj would always maintain alertness and awareness in day-to-day business. Simultaneously, he would also be sympathetic towards the needy and help them financially or otherwise in their specific situation or need. In order to observe as to how Maharaj was able to manage both aspects so efficiently, it was necessary to visit the vegetable market along with him. At times Maharaj would personally visit the vegetable market. I would accompany him there as well. There was a vegetable vendor by name Bodke in the market. Religious Instructor Sapre Guruji knew him well. Bodke used to team up with Sapre for health training (exercises) in the past. He had received his university degree B.A. in the year 1950. He was a vendor selling potatoes and vegetables etc. After going there, Maharaj would sit beside him with great affection and carry on light conversation. Then Maharaj would go with him to buy vegetables. There, one could see Maharaj putting all his efforts negotiating the prices right down to each paise before agreeing on the price to buy vegetables. He would keep track of all the transactions and ensure that there is no oversight in transactions or calculations. At the same time, he would give the same vendors, Rs. 50 or Rs. 100 over and above the cost of the vegetables in order to help them and their families financially. Maharaj would say “Buying vegetables from them was a business transaction that one has to carry out very strictly. However they were very poor people. They have their own families with children etc. We should give such monetary gifts to them, to help them out with their families needs”

Later Bodke closed his business and went to some other place. As advised by Maharaj he handed over his store in the market to Rambhau Indulkar. Then on, we started visiting Indulkar. I was my responsibility to take care of the bags. When we would reach the market, Maharaj would take out Rs. 5 / Rs. 25 from his pocket and give it to Rambhau saying “this for you to snack on Misal-bisal (popular local cusine), freshen up and join us”. As advised, Rambhau would come back fresh and vigorous after his snack.

As advised, Rambhau would come back fresh and vigorous after his snack and only then would buying groceries begin. Eventually, buying vegetables, chilies, coriander and fruits etc would be accomplished in the right manner.

Whenever Maharaj would go to the market for buying groceries, the vegetable vendor or the shop keeper would make an active effort in ensuring that Maharaj would buy at least one item from their store. I became curious to know why this undue haste from all the vendors. Shortly after, my curiosity got clarified when I had a conversation with one of them. One of the vendor’s explained me that if Maharaj became their first customer for the day, then they would end up making much more profit that day. Their entire goods would get sold within an hour as against the entire day, waiting for customers, on any other day.

At times, all of a sudden Maharaj would get an inclination to visit the vegetable market. Normally that responsibility was only mine. During those days, income was low. We could not afford rickshaw fares, so I would take a bicycle instead. Soon after we come back to the temple with the vegetables, Maharaj would check the accounts and the freshness of the vegetables. One the veggies were tested for its freshness, its weight and any other related measurements were confirmed. Should there be an error, I had to sustain the loss !.

Then he would check accounts of all the expenses made in the market. If there was no error in the accounts, the next question would be “Where had you kept the bicycle?”

“In the stand!”

“Then that charge of five paise had not been accounted. Take this.”

Then he would give five paise cash in my hand.

“Why this?” etc if I say anything out of modesty, then he would not listen to me at all. He was trying to impress on our mind by stating time and again that a man should be matured in accounting. If the bicycle was kept in a place other than the bicycle-stand, then too he would disprove since it is against the law! He went to great lengths to ensure that rules formed by the Government should be abided by.

Due to this attitude towards the Government rules, Maharaj was very prompt in submitting the Income Tax papers related to all his financial transactions. He had appointed a Chartered Accountant by the name Kireet Parekh, who was available at that time. Once Parekh had come to take ‘Darshan’(blessings) of Maharaj. He said that he and his mother together had completed the pilgrimage of ‘Char Dham’ (the four most important places of worship – Kedarnath (North), Rameshwar (South),of Lord Shiva,and then Jagannath(East),and Dwaraka(West) of Lord Vishnu). Maharaj listened and said, “What Ashok? Do you not want to complete the pilgrimage of ‘Char Dham’ ?

Then I went ahead with full devotion, placed my head on the lotus feet of Maharaj, bowed and humbly said ” Here, I just completed ‘Char Dham’ pilgrimage”. I could see the satisfaction felt by Maharaj clearly on his face.

In the temple kitchen of Maharaj, different items were always being stored in sufficient quantities. Out of these four items like cloves, cardamom, cinnamon and saffron were being kept in a locker. Whenever there was a need, it was given to the cook in proportion to the number of dining leaves (plates made of leaves). The rest of the time, they were being kept in a locker and the key was maintained by Maharaj. Due to this, these items were being carefully utilized during cooking. Dry fruits like almonds, pistachio, cashew-nuts and dried grapes were being preserved in fully packed china-jars.

Occasionally, when some sisters (women workers in the temple) came to see Maharaj. Maharaj would ask them, “Why did you come here for?” They would reply, “No specific reason, however, inside, china-jars containing dry fruits stuffs have not been cleaned for many days and worms might have been formed in them. So we would like to clean them.!”. Then Maharaj would give them tea biscuits etc and they would start cleaning these china-jars for one to two hours. After this they would point out their observations regards the dry fruits saying, “These cashew-nuts are getting spoiled and might get wasted. These almonds probably might have turned bitter…..” etc.etc. Then Maharaj would respond, “Is that what you think? Then do this way, take them home and utilize them, they should not go to waste!”. Later, when they leave with these items, Maharaj would tell me “Do you think that they could afford to buy these cashew-nuts etc? Since developed a desire for the dry fruits, let them take away the same! I just bought the cashew nuts 15 days back, how could they get spoiled so soon?” Maharaj would always say,”Oh! There was no necessity for us to go through the thorny fence, but it was essential for us to go through the fence of humanity! Finally was it not that our own people ate these things? Let them eat.”

Man develops attraction to materialistic desires and at times falls prey to them depending on the situation and circumstances. I didn’t descend from the heaven either. At times, even my mind got corrupted, however using my intellect and the power of discrimination, I found my way out and chose the right direction. I would be my own judge in deciding what is right or wrong and choosing the right direction. I believe that if we are honest to ourselves, then it is not difficult to discriminate between right and wrong.

Out of all the disciples Maharaj had, the only person whose intellect never got corrupted was Walawalkar Saheb ! Absolute trust and unparalleled pure mind; due to these inherent qualities, Walawalkar Saheb’s mind never got corrupted. Several others were seen whose mind showed signs of corruption under different circumstances.

Maharaj always said that one had to cross the barriers of humanity before leaving this world and hence he considered and utilized both kindness and business as though belonging to the same side of a coin. He did this due to his innate understanding of the life of a common man.

I remember a strange incident. Monday was the day when salaries were given to all the male and female workers in the temple. In Pune however, the prevalent system was that the weekly salaries were paid on every Saturday evenings and Sunday was the designated holiday for all. So on Sunday however, the workers ended up wasting all their money on bad habits (addiction to alcohol, gambling etc). Due to this on Mondays the percentage of absentees on work site was very high. It was due to the time spent on their bad habits on Sunday that the workers were feeling short of energy to report on duty for Monday. In the temple however, since the salary was being paid on Monday evening instead, the percentage of absentees was very negligible on Tuesdays.

Once, as per the prevalent system in the temple, on one Monday evening I took some money from the inner cupboard to pay salaries to the workers. As I came out of the room with money, Maharaj asked me “Hello! What are you doing?”

I replied, “I am paying salary to the workers.”

He said “Who had asked you to pay the salary?”

I said “Nobody told me. But since it was salary-day;I thought of doing it.”

Maharaj said “No! keep that money in the cupboard! I have no intention of paying the salary at all!”

I was stunned, but as per the instructions, I went inside and kept the money back. Then Maharaj came near the workers and told them clearly and undoubtedly that money was readily available for payment and there was no possibility of arranging the same in the next 8-10 days. So he told them that it was not practically possible to pay the money on that salary day. Further he told them that he would send them a message once money was arranged for. After this conversation, all the workers left the temple.

For the next 7 to 8 days I and Atmaram Apte carried out all the chores. Cleaning the temple, collecting flowers and getting rid of all the garbage etc. Then one day Maharaj said, “Send a message to those workers to resume work from very next day onwards.” The workers presented themselves immediately. They were paid their pending salary and work resumed as though; nothing had happened during the intervening time. There were no complaints from the workers at all.

Why did Maharaj do all this?

Two possibilities came to my mind. One, was that he proved to the workers that the temple chores could be carried out without them, entirely on our own strength and the second one was that whether we, the higher servant class people, would run away because the workers were not there? He also may have tested this scenario. Maharaj taught a lesson as to how harsh a person may have to become occasionally in the business matters. As on today, I am sixty-one years old. Even today I would not be able to tell anyone in such a calm and composed manner that I do not have any money and they should just leave the place till further notice. I didn’t have such boldness as well. Whatever Maharaj did, only he himself could do all that.

This fearlessness in Maharaj’s character would clearly flaunt itself during difficult times. Occasions of struggle had come up very often. Instead of saying the occasions came up it would be correct to say that Maharaj had invited the same.

“Struggle is the foundation of life.” It was his understanding that if there was no struggle then the society would appear like dead. He took up waves of the struggle on his brave chest instead of his back. In Dervan he led a revolution. The society always moves about under fear and pressure. It never likes to tell the truth and by avoiding any form of struggle, only pursues material pleasures. The pleasure desirous society easily gets caught in the cycle of destruction and hence a demonic power tightly fastens the society in close embrace.

At that time, he would always say “Should the condition of the society continue to remain similar to today; then it would be impossible for the society to live long after the year 2025”. ‘Vyas’, the celebrated sage, the author of the great epic ‘Mahabharat’, number of Puranas, and the compiler of the Vedas, had quoted that the great epic ‘Mahabharat’ was ‘the history of the great victory’. In a similar way, the biography of Maharaj can be quoted as ‘the history of the great struggle’. And this entire struggle he faced only on the basis on his own courage. Let there be the gravest of grave occasion or situation, there would never even be a speck of fear in his mind and he would face the situation single-handedly. There is a saying ‘The one who never gets scared to fight the difficulties single-handedly, he indeed can be called a fearless man’. Seeing the life of Maharaj, one can personally experience this saying.

Maharaj bought few places near the templa from Deccan Education Society. Some people belonging to an organization didn’t approve this and so started giving a lot trouble. They took out processions and filed court-cases.

Maharaj purchased a few places near the Temple at Pune, from Deccan Education Society. That time some interested people of one organization, gave too much trouble. They took out processions and started court-cases. One wellknown person of Bandushet Jadhav was in the chief post of that organization. Bandushet told Maharaj that he would bring that chief-person to the Temple. He further suggested that by having talk with that chief-person,that organization which was protesting would stop the same. Then Maharaj told him to bring that person. Accordingly, Bundushet went to the village of that person and brought him to the Temple.That person came in the night at 8.00 O’clock’.All of a sudden Maharaj got himself manifested in a vey dreadful form and said “Who is this person who has come here? Who has brought him here ? Could this person carry out my works?” Getting nervous out of fear, Bandushet said “I only brought him here”, “Who had told you to bring him?You take him away!” Bandushet silently took him to his native place left him and came back.

Maharaj was very disciplined by nature. His discipline was as strict as in the military. The person violating his discipline would get a very harsh treatment, in the form of very harsh and strongly worded speech. Maharaj would even close the gates for such people. They would not be allowed to enter the temple. At times due to individual egoism some of these people would fail to remain at peace. They would instead, try to create problems for Maharaj by registering false police cases, print and distribute false information against the temple etc. Amidst all this, Maharaj would never lose his calm. He would remain composed under all circumstances, all the time.

One evening while performing spiritual rituals, Maharaj mentioned to Mule kaka that he was drawing upon himself some danger. Now, the people loyal to me would always remain with me. The remaining, like fallen leaves of the trees would fade away in the storm and it happened that way only.

Some people, who take pleasure in others’ difficulties, filed a petition with the police commissioner. Maharaj was called to the Chaturshrungi Police station at 11:00 PM for a detailed enquiry. Mulekaka and I accompanied him. They made a detailed enquiry for an hour and then sent us back. Then this case went to the court, I attended the court a number of times along with Maharaj. One day in the court, just like an accused person, finger prints of Maharaj were also taken. I felt very bad about that incident. I spoke in disgustful words regarding the insensitive Government machinery for giving such a treatment to Maharaj, who was continuously and strenuously striving for the upliftment of the society. Maharaj was very calm. He said “In this life such things always happen. Good and bad days always come by. The earthen vessel sometimes gets filled up and sometimes emptied. Sometimes the level would go up and sometimes go down!” Maharaj never got frustrated or disturbed in any way.

In the meanwhile, some police officers started coming to the Temple deliberately in a roundabout way. After coming to the temple they would mention that they would get us released from these difficulties and then slowly put forward their direct-indirect demands for money. Maharaj also played his part by giving them an impression that he had become very much anxious and nervous. Then these police officers would happily depart after putting some money in their pockets. As per Maharaj’s personal view, this action was probably just like the women workers who came to the Temple to clean china – jars containing cashew-nuts and almonds and then pocket some.

Once, while we were inside a vehicle and all ready to go somewhere.The vehicle was parked outside the temple gate. Maharaj too was in the vehicle. I was about to sit when a police officer came there on a motorcycle and told Maharaj that it was the ‘day’ for giving evidence as an witness in the courtHe further said that he had already given the evidence as a witness in support of Maharaj. Maharaj totally neglected his conversation and asked the driver Khushiram to start the vehicle. The officer got totally confused and waited there itself; staring at our vehicle as it drove away.

Later, after some period of time, we got acquittal from the case. That day Maharaj was not in Pune but in Dervan. In the evening the lawyer told that Maharaj was not guilty as per the decision of the court. I did not take the trouble of informing Maharaj regarding this outcome. I informed him when he came back to Pune, but Maharaj did not pay much attention to this information. Whatever was to be achieved out of this case had already been achieved.

Some people were deliberately coming to the Temple, a minute prior to 11.00 AM in the morning to take ‘blessings’. During those days, the Temple would close at sharp 11.00 AM. Maharaj would never compromise on discipline. People, who would purposely point finger at the 11:00 AM closing rule and enter the temple gates just a minute earlier, were eventually firmly dealt with by Maharaj. They were refused entry. Out of these, some people belonged to the highly educated upper class society. These discontented souls later conspired against Maharaj. Of course Maharaj did not worry at all about such people.

On the whole, it seemed that Maharaj had some long term plans regarding the Temple. Once, a devotee who came late to the Temple was sent back from the gate itself with an uproar by Maharaj. That time naturally a question came in my mind. Maharaj said “Oh! The tomb of saint Dnyaneshwar remained unknown for the 300-350 years. Even if the tomb of saint Shree Baba Maharaj remained unknown for another 30-35 years, nothing much would go wrong. There is a necessity for me to undergo solitude; but you will have to organize and get the people together”.

Maharaj would always prepare an outline in his heart about the shape and appearance of festivals which he conducted in the temple. For the birth anniversary of Shree Baba Maharaj, generally there used to be 1100 attendees. After 1150-1200 meal-plates were over, Maharaj would start shouting at any of the family! Shouting would be in such a way that out of fear some 4-5 families would stop coming to the festival! Next year again 1100 meal-plates!

He had already set a limit on the number of dining plates to be served during the special occasions. The set limit for the birth anniversary and death anniversary were: 60 meal-plates for each. For Ramnavami (Birthday of Lord Rama), 80 meal-plates. Due to the inherent discipline enforced by Maharaj, there were occasions of struggle some times. However, there was never any compromise on that front.

An unwritten but important (or most important of all) rule at the Temple was that, after entering the temple, get purified by cleaning hands and feet, then take ‘Darshan’ (blessings) of Shree Baba and later directly go and take the blessings of Maharaj. After taking ‘Darshan’ of Shree Baba if any person went upstairs first to change their clothes (upstairs in the building) and then came down, then the same was not acceptable to Maharaj. Instead, meeting Maharaj first for the blessings, then stating the purpose of coming and after taking the consent of Maharaj only one was expected to go upstairs (in the building) for changing ones clothes. Maharaj would say, “You had come to see me, so after meeting me only you should go for other works” Even while leaving too Maharaj would not approve if a person gets all ready and dressed without taking his permission. Maharaj used to say “Am I a postal stamp here, that anybody could come and get stamped?

A particular disciple of Maharaj while returning from out of town visit would never follow the time-restrictions being observed in the temple. This behavior did not fit well with the discipline imposed by Maharaj for the temple visitations. Besides, this was also troublesome for others in the temple. Finally Maharaj decided to teach him a lesson. Maharaj had entrusted me with the custody of the gate for some time. I would keep the key with me. People would start visiting the temple early in the morning from around 5 AM. Therefore, temple staff at the gate would have to open the gate locks and allow visitors and devotees to enter the temple.

One day when I was at the gate, but Maharaj took the key at 7 PM itself and closed the gate for the night. He kept the key with him.

Incidentally, the same disciple arrived, from his out of town visit, at the Temple gate late at night around1:00 AM. Without the key, it was not possible to open the gate and moreover, key being in the pocket of Maharaj, who was in very deep sleep, who had the courage to awaken him from the deep sleep? Therefore, I had to refuse his entry and send him back from the gate itself. By passing the night somewhere outside he came back to the Temple in the morning. From this incident, he learnt the right lesson for later visits. After all, he had already drawn up certain rules of conduct. If that Laxman Resha – the line of safety – was crossed, it was as good as inviting trouble. All these rules had been formed very thoughtfully for the efficient management of the organization (Trust). For several years, the management of the organization continued in the most efficient way based on the same rules. While taking any temple article out of the temple or while bringing any foreign article inside the temple it was essential to inform Maharaj and take his permission before doing so. During the festival period, for the performance of the ‘Kirtan’ and ‘Bhajan’ (singing of hymns in the praise of God) all the necessary tools required, like the ‘Tabla’ a Harmonium, Drum, and Taal etc were being checked as in order or not and then stored neatly. This work was entrusted to Vinayak Paradkar and Arun Tembe.

Once, Arun Tembe had taken away the drum out of the Temple compound for repairs. At the time Maharaj had gone to Dervan. After the arrival of Maharaj from Dervan it was very essential to inform him regarding this topic; however Arun failed to do this. One evening Arun brought back the repaired drum and at that very time Maharaj was standing in front of Baba’s Temple near the Tulsi (The sacred basil plant). Seeing Arun with the drum in his hand, Maharaj asked him “Where did you bring this drum from?”

He replied, “I brought this back after getting it repaired.”

Maharaj said “Whom did you ask before giving it for repairs? What type of repair was required?”

He said, “The iron-rust paste applied to the bass-end of the tabor Mrudung had faded away”

Maharaj said “Without my permission how could you take it out of the temple ? Why did you not inform me on my return?

The volley of harsh words continued to bombard for the next two to two and half hours. Finally Arun accepted his mistake and asked for forgiveness. Then that matter got over after the enlightenment as to how to apply commonsense regarding minor matters as well and good behavior. Of course if the occasion arises, a twist would get imposed on the discipline. Practically this orderliness and obedience was not just for observing the discipline. These disciplinary lines were being drawn so that everything should move on in a trouble-free manner. An incident took place during the Diwali festival in the year 1977. During the festival, there was a custom of giving light refreshment to the people who come to the temple. Packets of light refreshment were being given.That year too refreshment materials had been prepared. Around 5 or 6 days had passed after the preparation of sweetmeat balls. These were made of granulous wheaten flour mixed with cocoanut-kernel. Since few days had passed, the sweetballs started smelling a little. I had mentioned this to Maharaj as well. However, Maharaj got angry and said, “What kind of smel did you notice? Do you understand anything at all?”

I kept quiet. That day I finished off all the sweetmeat balls by distributing them to the temple visitors. I mentioned to everyone that the sweetmeat balls, though smelling a bit, were quite good and nothing would happen. I also mentioned that the fact that Maharaj had also eaten one. All sweetmeat balls were over by night. At night, when all of us sat down after the meals, Maharaj asked “What happened to the sweetmeat balls?”

I replied “All finished!”

He said “How could you just finish it off without asking me?” Who asked you to execute this task on your own?”

I said ” They would not have lasted till tomorrow. All would have been spoiled by then and had to be discarded. Also before distributing them I told everyone that the sweetmeat balls were smelling a bit”.

Maharaj did not say anything. Probably he might have agreed with what I said. Then at night he asked Bhau Kajarekar to prepare fresh sweetmeat balls for the next day. Everyone was surprised. Maharaj did not get angry at me at all. Without his permission no one had the courage to move even a straw and i was surprised at my own act of achieving the impossible, and even after this rather abnormal event Maharaj was quiet ! I felt that probably Maharaj might have agreed with my action since I had presented all the facts in a straight forward way in his presence. I never ever resorted to trickery, stealthiness, wasting time by speaking untruth etc. Due to this, I never felt any fear on account of Maharaj. I always went with an open mind in front of Maharaj. Our Khusheeram Kukareti was also likewise. Even if Maharaj got enraged to any extent, this Khusheeiram would go to Maharaj and like an innocent boy, speak to Maharaj “Maharajaji what happened? What is the problem ?”

This incident took place in the year 1988. Maharaj cut a big joke regarding the innocent nature of Khusheeram. Maharaj summoned Khusheeram and asked him “What work do you do here?”

He said, “I do all kinds of little tasks at this place!”

Maharaj asked him “Who gives your salary?”

He replied, “Walawalkarsaheb!”

Khusheeram’s salary was undoubtedly coming from Samarth Development Corporation, Mumbai. However, this reply didn’t go well with Maharaj. Maharaj became very angry;and said “He thinks that all the work around here is small and unimportant. this person is a dam-beast. he should not be allowed to live here ! Walawalkar is paying his salary, Is it not ? So let him go to Mumbai right away!”. Helpless Khusheeram collected all his belongings and went straight to Walawalkar’s office in Mumbai.

After two days Maharaj asked “Where is Khusheeram now?” I said “Gone to Mumbai”

“With whose permission did he go to Mumbai? Summon him here immediately.”

Then I rang up Walawalkarsaheb at Mumbai, who then sent his assistant to Dahisar, Thana district, Maharashtra and summoned Khusheeram. Then he came to pune along with him. Behind all this, Maharaj only had one abjective, that is to ensure that no one should take things (privileges) for granted in his organization. Maharaj had also given similar treatment on different occasions to some dignified and learned Brahmins. Of-course, when the right message reaches the right place, then there would never be even a bit of bitterness in the behavior. Maharaj had taken this precaution so that the subsequent people, after him, should not experience this trouble of hereditary privilege.

Discipline was strictly implemented however should an occasion arise he displayed flexibility too, to accommodate special circumstances. Regarding purity and impurity too he would sensible in a similar way. In his own personal case too, he would observe with full attention, about purity and impurity. Nobody was allowed even to touch him immediately after he shaved of his beard. He gave full attention regarding the observance of the impurity caused by a birth in the family as well as mourning. In case of mourning, he would sit outside the kitchen while taking his meals. After the meal, he would clean all the utensils used by him. During those days even if a male servant happen to touch him accidentally, he would shout “You touched me, . Now immediately go take bath and come.’

While reading the newspaper ’Balawant Weekly’, he came to know about the news regarding the death of one of his brothers Shreedhar Pant. Regarding the observance of mourning, only 2-3 days had remained. One day Maharaj said “Let us go to see a cinema!” and so we went for the 9.00 PM cinema. Maharaj, Mulekaka and myself went for the cinema. After coming back, as usual critical discussion took place and then the coffee was served. Then Maharaj said “Now, what would you do?”

We replied “Now we would take bath!”

Maharaj said “Now? Are you crazy? Take the holy water of Baba (Shree Baba Maharaj) and go to sleep now!” The rules were important and likewise sensibility and good judgment was also important.

Once in ‘Gurukripa ‘ building , morning at 11 to 11.30 a.m. I was shaving my beard. I applied soap to the cheeks and moved the razor one side of the face. Just then a servant came running and told me “Maharaj has summoned you immediately, in your current state!”

With my half-shaven beard itself, I ran to see Maharaj. Bandushet Jadhav was sitting there. Maharaj said “This Bandushet has come just now from Pandharpur. He had brought these incense-sticks. Keep them in the cupboard.”

I said “My beard is half-shaven. I have to take the bath too. After the bath I would keep them. How can I keep the incense-sticks without taking bath?”.

On that Maharaj said “Do as I say, do not delay unnecessarily.”

I picked up the incense-sitcks and kept them in the cupboard of incense-sticks. Maharaj who after getting his beard shaved never allowed anyone to offer him salutation, Maharaj who was observing purity and impurity with great attention and Maharaj who always put a fence on the liberty of action regarding self-made rules! All these things were mysterious only to me.

From the cinema, I remembered one humorous occasion. Once I, Mulekaka and Apte along with Maharaj had gone to the cinema. After seeing the film and coming back, a discussion was held, this way. How was the story, suppose a turn was given to the story, then what would have happened, was the end right or if a little change was made, would it have appeared better, how was the work being carried out, how was the music and if this work was given to so-and-so, then what would have happened and this way a studious and critical discussion was taking place in a pompous way. Till this was over, it would be 3-00 O’clock in the morning and after taking coffee, we went to sleep.

One day a similar thorough discussion took place. After taking the coffee etc., while going upstairs to sleep, casually I spoke to apte that the villain in the today’s cinema appeared like him. Was it not? A miracle took place! That villain surged in the body of Aptekaka. He said “now I would go down and inform Maharaj about this opinion of yours. Let us see what he would say!” because of the next probable disaster, I got totally shaken. Should the court trial stand before Maharaj at 3.00 AM today, then there was no certainty for getting sleep tonight for us and also there was a doubt as to whether we would get the same for tomorrow. By incurring the unconditional surrender I fell at the feet of Maharaj. But Aptekaka was not ready to give up the behavior of the villain at all. Mulekaka started pleading on my behalf, but it was totally of no use!

I said “Excuse meThis was just a joke !”

“Joke? What is your age? What is my age? You are making fun of an old man like me! I am older than you by 25 years. You should at least honour that age?”

I said “though there is a difference in our age, we are like friends and hence sometimes familiarity breeds contempt. Now as an elderly person, you should forgive me.”

In this manner the discussion and arguments continued till 4:00 AM. Now it was time to get up within an hour. But Apte’s drama was not getting over at all! At last all of a sudden, I shouted at him “What type of irritation you started here for an hour. Now would you go down to inform Maharaj or should I give you two hard hits between your forehead and the ear?”

Apte at once pulled up the cotton bed sheet over his head and slept! There was a sudden post-war silence in the room. Then we put off the lights and rested on the bed! That time some examples were also present in the Temple for exerting moral pressure by showing the reverential fear of Maharaj!

One year in Dervan (Ratnagiri District) during palkhi celebrations, some people of nearby village Kondamala, requested Maharaj for the permission to present ‘Naman’.’ Naman’ (or Khele) was a type of ‘Loknatya’ (popular public drama), belonging to the place of Ratnagiri and Chiplun in Ratnagiri district. ‘Naman’ is a spontaneous manifestation of art. The stories were presented based on the specific ‘Pauranic’ mythological occasions etc. The dialogues would not be in the written forms. Dialogs would be made spontaneously at the spur of the moment. The workers were all males. They also played female roles. There was no specific stage setup for the drama. There would be ‘Mrudung’ (a kind of tabor) along with a pair of ‘Taal’ (cymbols), singing traditional songs in chores by 20/30 people, wearing ‘Zage’ (distinct long robes) and ‘Pagadya’ (turbans) standing, performing and presenting small drama’s behind the curtain.

In Dervan, where ‘Shree Ram Temple is located now, there used to be a raised platform. There, by putting up the curtains, a makeup facility for actors was created. At 10:00 in the night, after dinner, the ‘Naman’ Loknatya started. All the assembled village people and workers were delighted watching the ’Loknatya Naman’. Behind, Shyamrao Tikekar, Bindukaka. Arun Mirashi and myself sat on a bench. Being used to city environment, we looked at the ‘Naman’ Loknatya with a bit of aloofness and a bit of mischievousness. Naturally commenting work was also in progress.

In the drama, as per the story, there was a king along with two queens. The male artist acting as one of the queens appeared a bit potbellied. That time Shyamrao jokingly said that one queen of the king appears to be ‘Potushi’! (pregnant) and we all laughed in full swing. By our misfortune, we were not at all aware that Maharaj was standing behind us.

Maharaj said “Hey, this art belonged to the uneducated, poor people of the village. Do not compare them to the city dramas and cinemas, instead try to identify with these people and appreciate their efforts! Do not make fun of them. In whatever circumstances they live in context to those circumstances, evaluate their art and with kind-heartedness appreciate their art. These working class people, who came here after labouring the entire day on their farms, again have to return to their fields all day tomorrow. They would not be getting any honorarium packet today at all. Even then, they would remain here throughout the night to sing and dance, only to show respect to this place and for the sake of devotion! At least honour their sentiments!”

In Pune, in front of Baba’s Temple every year during Ganapati festival about 20 to 25 ’Kanphate Saints’ of Nath Sect, would come along with an elephant. One year, Maharaj told us to give meals the very next day to the elephant along with those ascetics. Accordingly, all of them were were given invitations. Next day, this unique guest along with the retinue remained present at 12.00 O’clock.

The preparation of the meal for the elephant was very thorough. Sreekhand, sweet dish of 20 kilos, 500 bananas, 200 breads and about twenty sugarcane pieces etc! Later, Maharaj asked Maruti Kale and Baban Patil to bring thin twigs of the banyan tree. When I asked the reason for those, Maharaj said “Its for the elephants dental hygene. Today’s meal plan is not considered normal diet for the elephant. Twigs of the banyan tree was very essential to clean the food stuck in its teeth!” Then Maharaj brought a bunch of 100/-rupee notes and gave one thousand rupees along with a coconut to the elephant as monetary gift after giving a meal, just like Brahmins!

As per Maharaj opinion the elephant was not simply an animal whose sole purpose was to fill up the stomach of the Kanphate Saints. He looked at the elephant with broadminded outlook and considered him as his guest.

Maharaj arranged to present the coconut to the elephant, on behalf of all of us. The elephant, accepted the coconut with its trunk and placing it under its feet broke it. Maharaj included all of us in this incident. Then Maharaj served all the saints with a meal of Sreekhand Puri (Sweet dish with small round crisp cakes) and then gave everyone a note of 100/- rupee. At the end, 30-40 notes remained in his hand. Unexpectedly, one of the saints came forward and tried to pull out those notes. Seeing this, we all became perplexed. I even said to the saint as to what type of saint was he ? Compared to him we, the domestic people, were certainly better. Seizing the hand of another person for the sake of money, appeared totally inappropriate to your saffron colored clothes and the ashes smeared on your body! But Maharaj remained very calm. He did not say anything at all. There was no possibility of his getting distracted by such incidents at all.