If only one had the words to define the greatness of a Guru. The love for the divine Guru seems to surge up from the depth of the head, but the tongue fails to convert these celestial expressions into words, only tears roll out and speak out about the deep affection between a Guru and a disciple.
Ah! What pleasure one attains in the company of the Guru and what pain and longing one suffers on being away from him. Both are divine, ecstatic states because in the former, one is before the Guru’s holy form and in the latter his holy form remains constantly before one’s eyes. And when after long moments of waiting one does meet the Guru or just has a glimpse of him then the heart and the soul soar to new heights of joy and happiness. Each second spent with him leaves an unerasable mark on the heart & the soul, which delights the disciple through ages with the pleasant memories of those moments.
Yogi Raj Vishvabodhanand spent one full day with Reverent Gurudev and collected a bouquet of fragrant moments which he decided to spread among all, through the following account…
It was 20th of January of the year 1993. A divine day indeed, when I got to meet Reverent Gurudev after such a long time. As I look back into time, I remember that it was 40 yrs. back when Gurudev had left the sacred Siddhashram on the directions of his own Guru Paramhans Swami Sachidanandji. What a heart touching parting it was! A great task had been put on the shoulders of Gurudev to infuse the spiritualism on the earth with a new vigour and force. And no doubt, none else than Gurudev could have accomplished this task.
He kept in constant touch with us, the Yogis of Siddhashram, through Telepathic powers and kept directing us about the intricacies of Sadhanas and the deep knowledge of Brahma. Not only me, but each Yogi felt a void due to his absence and longed to meet him. Even the Sadhanas & Siddhis or the manifestations of Gods were not able to fill this emptiness.
And one day I made up my mind to determinedly try to meet him, if only for a day. It was about six years back and when I requested him to accept my wish he firmly refused saying that I would not be able to stay for even a moment in this world filled with deceit, hatred and Jealousy. But then he felt my longing to meet him and he consented. Or maybe I became a medium of showing the other Yogis of Siddhashram how difficult & arduous the propagation of spirituality is on this earth. I received his consent through Telepathy and the very next day I reached Jodhpur through my Yogic powers.
It was early in the morning and the whole city was bathed in golden rays of the rising sun. The city surrounded by hills was enveloped in a divine natural peace and serenity of the early morning, a virgin atmosphere not yet sullied by the poisonous chaos, commotion and tensions of the daily life. As I reached the house, which was to be my destination my eyes fell upon a divine scene which even Gods long to see. Reverent Mother, the wife of Gurudev was offering water to the holy basil plant and a few yards away sat Holy Gurudev. Forty long years…, I thought…,and my eyes filled with tears of joy on seeing Gurudev, Dr. Narayan Dutt Shrimali as he was now known. Yes! This was the divine form I had come to meet…, This was the so revered and great Yogi Paramhans Swami
Nikhileshwaranand, sitting there in the guise of a simple householder. Such an immense personality and in such a simple mundane form? Even I having reached the elevations of Yoga, became doubtful for a second, but .the next moment seeing the familiar brilliance and determination on his face, I became satisfied, Just like a lost fawn does on recognising his mother.
It was now around 7.30 A.M. and the city of Jodhpur had become hot in accordance to it’s title of the city of the Sun. It was the greatness of Reverent Gurudev that he was living here unperturbed after having spent years in the cool, peaceful mountains of the Himalayas and in Siddhashram. On seeing me he rose and beckoned me to follow him to his office.
As the door opened hundreds of daily visitors rose up , eager to meet him. Just as the fragrance of roses cannot be stopped from spreading even by covering them, similarly the greatness of such a Yogi cannot be hidden by worldly bearings and whoever just sees him cannot remain without being enchanted by his divine form.
This world is full of various problems, various tensions and difficulties; and spiritualism has become much degenerated today. People just come to Gurudev with their day to day problems and Gurudev remaining ever peaceful and smiling listens to all with patience and transfers his divine powers into them thus making their lives smooth and happy. I was overwhelmed to see the affection he has for the common men. Whereas great Yogis fear to speak to him apprehending that they may speak out some thing wrong, the common men come and empty out all their woes & anguish before him and returns filled with confidence and joy.
On an average the bell of the phone rang out after every minute and politicians, famous actors, directors, & scientists spoke to him concerning various difficulties in their respective fields. And Guruji kept answering to these calls without even a frown, listening and counselling these men on the way to prosperity & success.
I was amazed to see how many tasks he carried out or supervised at the same time. Edition of the monthly magazine Mantra-Tantra-Yantra Vigyan, directing the typist to answer each letter received in a particular way, planning out the next Sadhana camp . ., all went on simultaneously and smoothly. How could he carry out so much work at the same time? I have seen him in deep meditation for days on, and now under so much work…, I really felt sad on seeing him toil so much that too when the people were not able to comprehend his real feelings and his true capabilities.
At around 3 p.m. Reverent Mother had to come herself, after sending several messages, to ask him to have food. And then also he got up unwillingly.
After having food he became busy with the writing of his forthcoming books. And soon it was evening and the blowing of the conch shell in the room of worship announced the time for “Aarti” (Prayers). After Aarti it was the time for Guruji to immerse himself in Sadhanas. I said to myself that Guruji had promised to me that I would spend one whole day with him. Would I be able to see him in Sadhana? And as if reading my mind Guruji asked me to follow him to the room of Sadhana.
Every Yogi is filled with anxiousness regarding the Sadhanas of Guruji and if one just stands with him one is filled with a divine ecstasy and now I was fortunate enough to enter his room of Sadhana & go into a trance with him. More than a joy, I was filled with apprehension …
The room was lit with a divine, soothing illumination as seen at the advent of early dawn. A small copper idol of Goddess Kali, vanquisher of all evils was placed in the room. It must have been enlivened with celestial energy and seemed ready to speak out. In front of it was placed a lamp of pure ghee which kept burning day and night, and the light emanating from the lamp enlightened the face of the Idol and although there was no bulb in the room It seemed as if a bright light filled all the corners. A pleasant fragrance, seemingly of camphor overpowered my senses and I was filled with a soothing sensation.
Whereas outside the room it was very hot, here it felt cool and pleasant. My heart and soul knew no bounds and then an exhilarating feeling gripped me. The room seemed to be moving around in circles and I seemed to have become a part of this centrifugal motion. Soon it all became so mind boggling that I almost staggered and had to sit down, holding the side wall for support. It seemed as if all power had been drawn out of my legs and my whole body was trembling with an unknown excitement. As my vision cleared, I saw that Gurudev had already gone into deep meditation. With a strong will I tried to control my excitement.
Suddenly the room resonated with chanting of Mantras and filled with a hazy smoke. And then a loud ear shattering noise . . ., It seemed as if lightening had struck . . ., and a huge, and bright figure with red eyes appeared … First it bowed down before Gurudev and then ate all the offerings. . . Again it bowed down in reverence and disappeared into the mist. From the Mantras being recited by Gurudev I came to know that the God who had just appeared was Mahakaal Bhairav.
I do not know whether to call it my good fortune or Gurudev’s kindness for after the manifestation of Bhairav soon I also had the Darshan (manifestation) of Ganpati and Bhagwati Gayatri, a phenomenon very rarely seen even in Siddhashram. And then my long desired wish came up in my mind. Ah! Only if I would have the fortune of having the manifestation of Bhagwati(Mother) Kali. As if reading my thoughts Gurudev started the recital of Kali Stavan (the prayer of Goddess Kali) in a melodious and devotional voice.
As the recital went on, the room became more and more illumined and the idol of Kali seemed to move. At first I thought that it was caused due to the wavering of the flame of the lamp, but as the idol started increasing in size, it soon touched the roof and my breathing stopped with astonishment. Gurudev chanted some Mantras and left the water in his palm onto the ground. As soon as he did this, a sharp fragrance like that of camphor filled the entire room and Mahakali appeared before us with all her divinity. An illumined and divine form, with anger on her face and at the same time showering the affection of a Mother. Wearing a string of human skulls around her neck, holding all weapons as described in the texts and laughing with a ring of victory. A victory over Kaal (time)…, a victory over all evil…! Yes this was Mahakali, the saviour of all, who even in this fearful form is able to bestow the love of a Mother on her devotees. Such brilliance and radiance emanated from her divine form that my eyes could not bear to look at her, and closing my eyes I prayed to her to return to her original form.
The very next moment Gurudev recited the Shanti Paath (the prayer of attaining peace) and the form of Kali started shrinking and soon all the divinity returned into the idol. And then I knew that the idols too can have great powers and celestial brilliance if the Guru is kind enough to present these forms before his disciple. Due to the great radiance, I lost all sense and went into a trance without any knowledge of my surroundings. Only the image of Kali kept hovering in my subconscious mind.
When Reverent Mother entered the Sadhana room it was already morning and coming out of my trance I saw Gurudev still in deep meditation. The chirping of the birds announced the rising of the sun and I remembered that I had got the permission to remain with Gurudev for 24 hours only. Now I had to return . . ., I felt sad on having to leave him.
But Gurudev was his normal, cool self. He started his day as usual and was soon on his way to his office. As I looked into his eyes, they seemed to say Duty is duty, whatever the circumstance may be. During his Sadhana in the nights, he remains in Telepathic contact with each Yogi of Siddhashram and keeps giving valuable directions to them. He is a single person but he carries on various works, not only in the material but also in the spiritual field. I have never been able to comprehend when he wakes up, when he sleeps, when he does his work, when he performs his Sadhanas and at the same time how he also remains in contact with his 6 lakh disciples.
I bow down before his divine form and wish that he soon returns to his earlier life of ascetism and leads us on this path holding our hands and guiding us on.