The Mad Lovers of God

One of the greatest characteristics, perhaps the greatest mark of a true disciple, is his/her supreme love for the Guru. My Gurudev used to say that when a disciple begins to feel the pain of separation from her Guru, then this pure Love and Devotion for the Master begins to gain the intensity necessary for merging with the Divine. A disciple like this who remembers to cultivate this supreme love and devotion for the Guru, attracts the full Grace-bestowing power of God in less time than it takes to utter the mantra. It is this mad love for God that causes God to come looking for you. This supreme love and devotion is cultivated through surrender to the Acharya. In doing so, God is never far from you.

The Pain of Separation

Several days had passed since she last saw her beloved Guru, Lord Krishna. Her family had banned her from even looking at him. The temple doors were locked and anyone who aided Meera in worshipping Lord Krishna's statue risked being arrested and jailed. Meera saw her beloved Lord Krishna everywhere. When she saw her mother, she thought of Krishna. When she swept the floor she saw her Krishna. When she watched children playing, she experienced her beloved. Meera’s entire life was taken up in her Supreme Love and Devotion for her Guru. Aside from this mad love for Lord Krishna, nothing else mattered.

One day, the pain of separation became too great to bear. Meera asked her attendant to place a cot in the compound facing the door of the temple. Then she declared that she would fast until she died if Krishna did not appear before her. Several days passed and nothing happened. The doors to the temple remained closed and locked. Meera was becoming weak for lack of food and water.

One night there was a terrible storm. Meera cried out, "Oh Lord Krishna! I am frightened. The black, yellow and blue clouds have gathered in the sky and lightning is striking everywhere with a frightening thunder. I am now thoroughly broken without you. Please show your beautiful face or let me die. This separation is no longer bearable." So saying, Meera fell unconsciousness. There was large oil lamp hanging in front of the wooden door of the temple. On one side of the door was her beloved Lord Krishna and on the other side was Meera in the agony of separation. The wind began to rock the large oil lamp and made it swing backwards and forwards, hammering against the wooden door. Suddenly the hot oil splashed over the temple door and it caught fire. With the wind blowing on this fire, the temple door burned down. Now the beautiful face of Krishna was visible. Meera’s attendant lifted Meera’s head and brought her around. Meera opened her eyes and gazed on her beloved. Her joy was endless. With that she fell into a state of ecstasy and began dancing, leaving all her family spell-bound.

My Mother
by Gopalkrishna Shenoy

Sunita Shenoy was born to Hosdurga Devrai Pai, a Head Master of Canara High School at Kanhangad. She was the eldest daughter and her mother died when she was very small. Her father remarried and she had four step brothers and four step sisters. Hosdurga Devrai Pai was one of the first disciples of Bade Baba in Kanhangad. Bhagawan Nityananda used to call Devrai "head master." In those days Baba used to sit in the caves of the Kanhangad Ashram. Head Master used to send breakfast or lunch for Baba everyday.

Sunita Shenoy was a young girl at the time and she was given the task of delivering the food to Bhagawan Nityananda every morning. It was a very long distance from her home to the cave at Kanhangad Ashram, and an equally long walk from there to school. For a child of her age it was not a pleasant assignment, but bound by respect for her elders, she did it without any complaints, making the difficult journey every morning to serve Bhagawan. Bhagawan Nityananda was in his teens then and was always absorbed in the Avadhoota state. He could never be found in the same place and Sunita usually had to search for him or wait until he appeared. Sometimes she waited for a long time and Bade Baba did not come. Then she left the box containing the food in order to avoid being late to school.

Sunita's family was very poor. Yet she always found a way to deliver the food each day, even during times when she returned after school to find that the empty box left by Bhagawan Nityananda after eating the meal, had been stolen before she could return to pick it up.

Sunita's father, Hosdurga Devrai Pai, was the first devotee of Bhagawan Nityananda in Kanhangad. Baba was a small lanky boy, living a very carefree life wandering in the jungle. At times he used to appear in the village and distribute sweets to the village children. To some, outwardly, young Bhagawan appeared insane. For this reason, some people used to harass him and throw stones at him. But Baba was always absorbed in the Absolute within His own being and was unaffected by what other people thought or how they behaved.

Mr. Pai, who was Head Master in the local school, commanded respect from all. His own father was a great devotee of Tirupati Balaji and was known in the village for singing devotional songs. Head Master could see the divine nature of Bhagawan Nityananda and became his disciple, even though Bhagawan was still a young boy. During this time Bhagawan Nityananda lived in a cave which was close to the walls of a fort built by Tipu Sultan (this is the area where the Kanhangad Ashram now stands). This cave was situated near a thick forest known as Guruvan. Next to the Fort was a hill on which there was a memorial built to the local deity called Akeri Keri Keri Batteri Baba. This deity was represented by three stones. Next to these three stones was a depiction of the demigoddess Malbira.

People passing this spot found themselves harassed by these two deities who demanded cow’s milk and liquor from them as an offering. Local villagers who did not submit to the offering suddenly began to suffer ailments and diseases. And it was only after making the offering of cow's milk and liquor to these deities that they were released from their suffering.

Now when Bhagawan Nityananda took up residence in the area these deities were disturbed by his superior spiritual power. One night Bateri Baba challenged Bade Baba and there was a show of strength which ultimately Bade Baba won. Bhagawan then warned Bateri Baba never ever trouble the villagers again. Bhagawan Nityananda told Bateri Baba that, if he helped the villagers and watched over them instead of harassing them, that they would always offer him a bowl of cooked rice in return. To Malbira he promised that, if she stopped troubling the villagers, she would be glorified with fresh cow's milk. He told her that none of the newborn cows would yield good milk unless their milk was offered to her first.

Since that time the villagers have made it a practice to offer the first milk to Malbira. When villagers and visitors were suffering difficulties, they made a request to Bateri Baba to give them solutions and solve their problems. When their wish was fullfilled they offered him a bowl of cooked rice. Baba thus made these two deities custodians of that place. This offering to these two deities continues even today.

As news of Bhagawan Nityananda spread, more and more people began to make pilgrimage to the area. To facilitate this the Kanhangad Ashram was built. In those days Kanhangad was a small village and there were no restaurants. People traveling over long distances for Baba’s darshan had no place to go and nothing was available at the Ashram. Baba used to send people to Hosdurga Devrai Pai saying "Go to head master’s house and have lunch." Mrs. Pai was sometimes shocked to find groups of 10 to 15 people coming from as far as Mumbai, showing up at their door for lunch, unannounced, at the behest of Bhagawan Nityananda. Head Master would return on his midday break to aid her. He would somehow always manage to get rice and vegetables and the guests were always fed. The Pai family took their meal only after all the guests were fed.

Although head Master was not a rich man, he always fed people, considering it to be his Seva to Baba. In this way, Bhagawan Nityananda tested the devotion of Devrai Pai. This Seva of offering food began in the 1920s. After Bhagawan Nityananda took Mahasamadhi, head master continued to make this offering to Sri Janananda Swami until his Mahasamadhi in 1982, and also to Shri Padiyar Swami. In return, the entire family received Bhagawan Nityananda's Grace. So, it is very auspicious that Sunita Shenoy grew up in such a pious and holy environment.

Sitaram Shenoy met Bhagawan Nityananda in Padbidri, in Karnataka. As a disciple of Baba's he too visited Kanhangad and was once sent to head master’s house for lunch. Thus these two great householder devotees of Swami Nityananda met. This spiritual bond was to undergo further strengthening when Sitaram's brother, Raghunath Shenoy, was asked by Bade Baba to marry head master’s daughter Sunita. Thus, with the blessings of Bhagawan Nityananda, both Sitaram and his brother Raghunath, went to Bombay with their family and prospered. Sunita lived her life as the devoted wife of Raghunath. Her devotion to Baba grew tremendously after marrying Baba’s disciple, Raghunath.

Sunita and Raghunath Shenoy had six children, four daughters and two sons. I am the youngest. Sunita had a beautiful voice and used to sing bhajans. Through her own example of Supreme Love and Devotion for Bhagawan Nityananda, she taught each of us this Guru Bhakti. She also taught us how to lead a Dharmic life to fulfill our given duties. In addition to fulfilling her householder duties, Sunita devoted a great deal of time to her spiritual growth. Visiting Ganeshpuri with her husband and children was a great event. Bhagawan Nityananda always showed a genuine concern for her welfare. It was she who fed him in his youth when he wandered the jungle. Sunita was a great cook and used to cook special dishes for Baba whenever they visited Ganeshpuri.

The Curfew

My father, Raghunath Shenoy, was lovingly nicknamed 'Bondu' by Bhagawan Nityananda. You see, of all of Bhagawan Nityananda's disciples, Raghunath was considered to be dumb. He could very easily fall asleep and snore loudly. He and several other disciples used to stay up late massaging Baba's feet. At that time, a group of Baba's disciples used to eagerly await night fall because, often, Bhagawan Nityananda used to give spontaneous talks on a variety of topics. Since electricity had not yet reached Ganeshpuri, it used to get very dark and these talks lasted well into the night.

As people listened eagerly to Bhagawan's spontaneous discussions, Raghunath would slowly slide down on the floor and fall asleep, often right on Bhagawan’s feet. Sometimes when he began snoring, Baba used to laugh saying, "And there goes Bondu to sleep." Then everyone would break out in laughter.

Raghunath was simple and, sometimes, absent-minded. So, Bhagawan Nityananda took care of him and guided him through his difficulties. When Baba was in Bombay, Raghunath used to visit him at Gol Mandir, Canery Caves, Kurla Salt Mines and several other places where Nityananda was found in those days. In turn, Bhagawan used to visit Raghunath’s shop and sit at his counter. This was during the time of the British occupation of India. The Hindu-Muslim riots were at their height back then.

One day when Raghunath was at his shop, a Pathan (Muslim from Pakistan) was murdered and his body was thrown in front of Raghunath's shop. Seeing the dead body, Raghunath was frightened of being caught by the British police who would have accused him of the crime and beaten or torchered him. His fear was so intense that he froze and could not think clearly. Just then Swami Nityananda Bhagawan appeared at his shop out of nowhere, as if materializing from thin air. Bhagawan then started shouting at Raghunath, "You stupid fool. How dare you continue sitting with your shop open with murder right in front of the door and curfew in the city? Do you want to be arrested by police? Close the door and get out." Realizing Baba was there by his side, Raghunath gained some courage and asked, "How do I go from here? There is a curfew and police are patrolling every where. Orders are to shoot on sight." Baba raised his finger to the road and said, "See over there. There is Victoria (in those days a horse carriage was called Victoria, since such carriages carried Queen Victoria of England). Board it and go home." Now, how that horse carriage suddenly appeared there, God only knows! Raghunath got into the carriage and traveled home. All along the road there were police but none of them noticed a Victoria carrying him on the wide empty road. He road all the way home safely. From this incident one can understand how much Baba cared for Raghunath.

The Snake Bite

When Baba was in Bombay, he was often found living at the salt mines in Kurla. Often, Raghunath carried food there for Bhagawan after closing his shop for the day. During such visits, Padiyar Swami, as he was called then, (now known as Swami Sadananda of the Kanhangad ashram) often accompanied Raghunath. There was a certain discipline to be followed when taking food to Baba. Raghunath carefully packed the food in paper and kept it in the breast pocket of his coat. He would also carry two British cigars. On reaching the salt mines at Kurla, Raghunath then waited patiently for Bhagawan Nityananda to arrive.

In those days Bhagawan carried a large eight-cell torch. From a distance he used to wave the light at Raghunath so that he could see to where Baba was in order to meet him. Upon meeting, if Swami Nityananda indicated that he wanted food, Raghunath carefully opened the packet and offered it to Bhagawan. He then stood and waited until Baba finished eating. Sometimes Baba invited him to share the food. After Bhagawan Nityananda finished eating, he demanded the cigars. Raghunath would then hand Baba the cigars, along with the match box. Baba then lit them and, in one strong puff, finished both cigars from end to end. (This cigar smoking lasted only when Bhagawan was living in Kurla. After he left Kurla, Baba never smoked.) After the smoke, Bhagawan Nityananda spoke with Raghunath for some time.

During one particular visit to take Bhagawan food, Baba did not appear for long time. Growing tired, Raghunath sat on the parapet of the salt mine. All of a sudden he felt a great pain in his leg. Just as this happened, Raghunath saw Baba walking towards him, angrily shouting at him. Bhagawan admonished Raghunath for the manner in which he was sitting. Raghunath's leg was still in a great deal of pain. Bhagawan Nityananda then asked for his two cigars. Baba lit both the cigars and, in one big puff, converted both of them into ash. He took the hot ash in his hand and rubbed Raghunath's leg. No sooner had he done that, the pain subsided.

The very next day, Raghunath met Baba at the same spot of the previous night. On the parapet was a large, dead reptile. Bhagawan said "I did not get angry at you. I was angry at reptile for biting your leg. It is very poisonous. It has now attained salvation. Worry not. There shall not be any after effect on your body due its poison." Raghunath’s eyes filled with tears. In his heart expressed to Bhagawan Nityananda "You are indeed great."

The Golden Padukas

Tulsi Amma built a small Ashram in Magalore at Managudda. It was called Anand Ashram. Several devotees of Bhagawan Nityananda became her devotees also. One day, Tulsi Amma decided to install padukas (holy sandals) in the name of Swami Nityananda. She made two sets of small golden padukas, with a beautiful golden throne placed in a larger silver throne. She placed the two sets of golden padukas in small trunk and decided to offer them to Bhagawan Nityananda. Baba was living at Bhramavar in Karnataka then. Tulsi Amma visited him there. When she placed the two sets of golden padukas in front of Bhagawan, Baba blessed one set and gave it back to her. The other set he gave it to Raghunath. This was probably the only instance where Bhagawan Nityananda gave a disciple a set of golden padukas. In all other instances people would take a set of padukas to Baba to be blessed and then returned to them. This ‘Bondu’ was indeed dear to him.

The Deaf and Dumb Boy

When Bhagawan Nityananda was living in Kurla, a young deaf and dumb boy used to visit him. Bhagawan loved seeing this boy and both of them used to communicate in sign language. This boy was very good at mime. He used to perform various plays and Baba loved watching him. During some of the times that he brought Bhagawan food, Raghunath also had an opportunity to witness these plays that the boy put on and how much Baba enjoyed them. At the end of each play the boy used to imitate a lion and asked Bhagawan Nityananda to sit on his back like Shiva. Baba never obliged him.

One day while they were playing, an airplane flew by and the boy danced with excitement at the sight of the plane. He then told Bhagawan that, one day, he wanted to sit in a plane. A few days later an airplane crash landed in the salt mines. After leading all the passengers to safety, the rescue workers brought in their heavy equipment and tried to move the plane, but it would not budge. The boy went to Bhagawan Nityananda and Bhagawan instructed him to go and have a look at the airplane. The boy’s joy knew no limit. His wish was fulfilled. He ran and climbed up on the plane and took a seat inside. The next day they were able to tow the plane out.

Now, this deaf and dumb boy was good at massage. So, Baba told him that he should learn to do it as his profession. Later, the boy became very famous. People with physical disabilities visited him to get a massage and they were cured. One day a rich man hired the boy to work on his young hunch-back child. After some time, the boy visited Bhagawan again, dressed in a long gown given by the rich client. After taking Baba’s blessings, the boy left for Calcutta.

Discipleship, Sunita Shenoy, Sunita Shenoy-Part Two, The Compassion of the Sadguru, Sitaram Shenoy.