The Endless One. An Offering and Tribute to Sri Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri.

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THE COMPASSION AND MERCY OF THE SADGURU

Mercy

For someone to comment on a particular topic, he must be an authority on the subject. For example, you cannot write on politics unless you have studied the subject in depth. In the same way, in order to teach spirituality or comment authoritatively on religion, one must have lived the spiritual path all his life. One such being was Saint Eknath Maharaj.

Eknath Maharaj states that God loves and cares for those who worship him and cherishes to be associated with his devotees. God is always concerned for the well being of His disciples and, through the Grace of the Sadguru, is ever present to guide, support and help them.

Saint Eknath was the fountainhead of Bhagwath Dharma. He was manifestation of infinite peace and divinity. Saints of such worth have often had to endure suffering and humiliation during their lives. This was also the case with Eknath. The Bhramins of his village bribed a goon to spit on Eknath every time he returned from his bath at the river. One morning, as usual, Eknath went for his morning bath. The goon waited nearby, chewing on betel leaf. On his return from the river, the goon spat the betel leaf juice on Eknath Maharaj. Without even raising his eyes to see who it was, Eknath went back to the river and took another bath.

Upon leaving the river, once again the goon spat on him. Again Eknath went back and took another bath. This happened repeatedly until the goon gave up and fell at the feet of Eknath. He then begged Eknath’s forgiveness. His disciples asked him, "Why didn't you just punish the goon?" Eknath answered, "Just as he could not give up his bad habits, I could not give up my patience."

Compassion

In every spiritual and religious path there are historical accounts of events in which God has shown compassion by defying the very laws of nature in order to set a Supreme example for those of us still embodied on this Earth. Often, God uses living saints as His vehicle through which many of these events occur. Jesus Christ is one example. Bhagawan Nityananda of Ganeshpuri is another.

A Personal Sharing from Gopalkrishna Shenoy

Jeevdan means being afforded a "new lease on life." The Guru has the power to wash one’s Karmas away. A saint of the stature of Bhagwan Nityananda does it so naturally that it just happens. By just being in his presence one’s past Karma is washed off. That is the power of a Janma Siddha. I have direct knowledge and experience of four instances where Bhagawan Nityananda has given this new lease on life to His devotees.

In the first instance it was the son of Engineer Hegde, also known as Madhav Hegde of Mangalore. Hegde was one of the oldest disciples of Bade Baba. He met Sitaram Shenoy, who then brought him to Baba. Because of his great devotion for Bhagawan Nityananda, Engineer Hegde used to travel to the Ganeshpuri ashram of Bade Baba whenever he had time off and during most holidays. Hegde’s father, being a staunch Brahmin from Gowda Saraswat Bhramin community, he had his own community Guru and did not appreciate his son’s devotion for Bade Baba. He used to ridicule Madhav insisting, "Your guru does not have the ability to buy a piece of loin cloth worth one anna (six paise). What a guru!"

Now, Engineer Hegde had a son also named Nityananda. During a visit to Ganeshpuri, Engineer Hegde’s son was bathing with his grandfather in the kunda (hot spring) near the great Bhimeshwar temple. All of a sudden the child slipped below the surface of the water and, before anyone noticed, the boy drowned. His body was removed and Madhav Hegde, along with his wife, took the body to Bade Baba. The mother was inconsolable. The child’s body was placed at the feet of Bhagawan Nityananda and the incident was narrated to him. Baba ordered everyone to leave the room and told one of the attendants to place the body in a gunny bag.

After some time, Bhagawan Nityananda called for the parents. When they entered the room, their son was alive and playing. The grandfather who, until then, ridiculed Baba, fell at his feet in surrender. Bhagawan Nityananda told him, "Bhimeshwar (the deity of Bhimeshwar Temple) is concerned about his reputation. If the child were to die, Lord Bhimeshwar would have lost his image in the eyes of his devotees." Engineer Hegde's son lived to be forty-two.

My father had a sister named Gulabi. She too was a great devotee of Bhagawan Nityananda. One day she decided to visit Baba at His Kanhangad ashram. She left Bharmawar for Kanhangad with her young child and a caretaker. It was dark by the time they reached Kanhangad. During this time there were no lights or torches. So one had to walk in complete darkness. With her baby in her arms, Gulabi walked from the train station to the rock Ashram with the caretaker.

Near the ashram there was a pond of water. Not being able to see the pond in the dark, Gulabi, with her baby in hand, fell into the pond. The caretaker did not notice and kept walking. Gulabi was frightened. The death of her child, along with her certain death, was too much to bear. She cried out to Bhagawan Nityananda for help. Just as she called out Bhagawan's name, a huge hand from no where just lifted her, along with the baby, out of the pond and transported them to the gate of the Ashram. The moment she entered the gate, Bhagawan Nityananda laughed and said, "So you had a dip in Ganga?" All knowing Baba had rescued her.

There was a devotee called Krishnabai. She has been mentioned in several books written about Bhagawan Nityananda. Her son, Mr. Mangalori, is presently living in Talmikiwadi, Girgoan, Mumbai. He too is a great disciple of Bhagawan Nityananda.

Mr. Mangalori lived on the third floor of a building which had an open gallery in it. In one corner of this gallery were stacked many cotton mattresses. One day Mr. Mangalori’s son was hanging out of an open window in this gallery. The boy lost his balance and fell out the window. At that height, death was a certainty. Now, miraculously, a couple of mattresses also fell with the child, beating him to the ground. The boy fell safely on those mattresses and did not get a scratch on him. He got up and climbed the stairs back to his house.

The family who witnessed the child fall out of the window were wonder-struck. In their next visit to Ganeshpuri, Bhagawan, in Konkani Gurbanji, began to tease the child, "So how was your experience in flying like a sparrow." Nobody had related the incident of the boy's falling to Bhagawan. Being all-pervasive, Baba knew of it because it was he who had saved the child by making the mattresses fall to break his fall. The Bhramaupdesh (the Thread Ceremony) of this child was performed by Baba and the Kanmantra (Mantra initiation given by reciting the mantra in the ears) was also given to him by Baba himself.

Some time in 1940, Sitaram Shenoy suffered a massive heart attack. In those days there was no major treatment for coronary disease. He was admitted to Dr. Rao’s hospital and, for more than a month, he was bedridden. So severe was the attack that Dr. Rao recommended that he should not get up from the bed at all. Sitaram was becoming restless because he was not able to go see his Gurudeva. He desperately wanted to have Bhagawan Nityananda's darshan. He called his brothers and said "Only Nityananda can cure me. Make arrangements to take me to Ganeshpuri."

When the doctor heard about this he became angry and said, "Do you wish to see him dead? If you make him take one step he will drop dead due to over-exertion." After they insisted, Dr. Rao allowed them to take Sitaram in an ambulance, after absolving himself of any responsibility. The ambulance reached Ganeshpuri in the evening and Sitaram was brought into the Ashram on a stretcher. Bhagawan Nityananda was sitting near the Bhimeshwar temple drinking his coffee. The stretcher was placed close to Baba.

Bhagawan ordered Sitaram to get up. Sitaram made several attempts to get up but he was so weak that he just could not raise himself. His relatives attempted to help him. Bhagawan Nityananda admonished them and insisted that Sitaram should get up on his own. When Sitaram looked at Baba helplessly, Baba poked Sitaram in his hip. No sooner Baba touched him, Sitaram experienced a bolt of energy surging up his body, He immediately got up and fell at Baba’s feet. Bhagawan Nityananda then told him to take a walk around the hot spring. Sitaram walked confidently and smiled. The man who the doctor had declared would die was now enjoying a walk by the grace of his Sadguru.

When he walked back to Baba, Bhagawan gave him his own left-over coffee to drink, and a walking stick. Sitaram took these as his Guru’s Prasad. Thereafter Sitaram lived a vigorous life for ten more years. The walking stick given by Bhagawan Nityananda remains in our Vajreshwari house, sitting beside the altar to Bade Baba.

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

Photo Credit: M.D. Suvarna.

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