G.S.Khaparde –Dadasaheb (Part- 2)

Khaparde Part -2 Telugu talk (Click here)

Khaparde’s Spiritual journey:

Dadasaheb stayed only 7 days in Shirdi during his first visit. Once he left Shirdi, he realized how peaceful it was in Shirdi and in the presence of Baba. He developed faith in Baba. So many officers were standing in line to seek his blessings. Baba also told him about their relationship in the past lives.

Khaparde came to Shirdi second time in December of 1911. This time he had to stay there for almost 100 days. Khaparde’s family tried to ask Baba’s permission so many times but Sai did not allow them to return to their place. Belief in Baba made that family stay in Shirdi that long. Baba had solid reasons for not giving permission. Khaparde has been the right hand person to Tilak. Khaprde was supposedly on the list for Bristish Government after Bala Ganghadahr Tilak was arrested. Baba had to save him not only from British but also from the mundane world. He wanted him to advance in the spiritual world. Baba took care of both at the same time.

Baba once said, “in a former birth, you (Khaparde) were with me for two or three years, and went into royal service, though there was enough at home to live in comfort.' Baba wanted to help Khaparde to break all these past impressions. If we can hold on to great gurus like Sai, we will be saved from these clutches. This is what Baba had in mind. Once Baba told Khaparde, “We (Baba, Khaparde, Dixit, Syama and Dada Kelkar) all lived with our guru in a corner street. That’s why I am trying to gather everyone here again”.

Baba used to speak in parables and tell short stories. Khaparde wrote in his diary that he could not understand these stories at times but felt blissful during these discourses. Baba used to have spiritual glances at people during and after the Arathi times. This is nothing but transmitting yogic energy to his devotees. These yogic glances brought so many inner changes in Khaparde. His routine was incredible. He used to participate in morning arathi, did satsangh with Dixit, Bhisma, Upasini Baba and several others. They used to sing bhajans after night arathi. They used to listen to Dixit’s Ramayan reading until midnight. Khaprde used to teach Panchadasi (Great vedantic writing by Swami Vidyaranya) and Paramamrita, Yoga Vasishta, Dasa Bodha, etc.

Meeting with Mr. Natekar:

Khaparde met so many people while he was in Shirdi. He wrote about this Mr. Natekar (also called Hamsa) in his diary as follows;

He is a very nice simple man & after meals he told us about his travels in the Himalayas, how he crested Manasa Sarowar, how he heard an Upanishad being sung there, how he followed foot prints, how he reached a cave, saw a Mahatma, and the latter spoke of the conviction of Tilak that day at Bombay, how the Mahatma introduced him to his brother (elder fellow student) how he finally met his Guru and became “Kritastha ”. Later on we went to Sayin Baba & saw him at the Masjid. He sent me a word this afternoon that I have to stay here another two months. He confirmed the message in the afternoon & then said that his “Udi ” had great spiritual properties. He told my wife that the Governor came with a lance, that Sayin Maharaj had a tusall with him & drove him out, & that he finally conciliated the Governor. The language is highly figurative & therefore difficult to interpret. 

While Dadasaheb was away in England, he enjoyed the hospitality of Khaparde family for a month.  Sometime in 1913, it was discovered that nine diaries of Dadasaheb were found stolen from a wooden box which was locked but they were later returned by the Government as they did not find any incriminating material therein.

Long after this incident Khapardes’ learnt that “Hamsa” was a CID detective planted by the Government in their household who had followed Dadasaheb to Shirdi to gather information about his activities there. In his entry of 14th June, 1913 Dadasaheb records, “Hamsa” appears to have taken in many on the pretext of being a sadhu”. It is not without significance that the above quoted remarks about “Udi” and repelling the Governor with “trishul” appear in the entry of 29.12.1911 while “Hamsa” was in Shirdi. No wonder Sai Baba must have known about the plotting of Hamsa and used his powers to ward off any danger to his faithful devotee. Here is a perfect example how Sai can save us if we develop faith in him and show patience. He will never disappoint anyone. The way Baba saved Khaparde from the clutches of British is possible only through great gurus like Sai.

Baba always says, “'My eye of vigilant supervision is ever on those who love me' what else we need from our guru!  He was perpetually watching the minds of the Governor and the Home Member of the Central Provinces Government and elsewhere; and he revealed to Mrs. Khaparde what he did and how he watched. He did not let Khaparde leave Shirdi until he wiped out the thoughts of persecution from the minds of British.

Mrs. Laxmi Bai Khaparde’s experiences:

We only know her details as wife of Khaparde. She was highly cultured. She had read and also heard from Keertankars the stories from Ramayana, Mahabharat, Pandav-Pratap, Shiva Lilamrit etc. She had a special relationship with Sai. Sai himself told people about her greatness. She stayed in Shirdi for almost 7 months and served Sai personally. She adored Sai’s feet. She used to eat only after she gave food to Baba. Once he felt so pleased with her service, he blessed her with some great words. Baba style of teaching is such you never will realize that you are learning but you will see changes in your personality. Now let’s look at one of Mrs. Khaparde’s stories; 

Once Mrs. Khaparde brought a platter filled with ‘sanza, sheerapuri, bhat, varan, kheer, sandge, papad, koshimbiri’. As soon as this platter came, Baba most eagerly got up from his seat, rolling up the sleeves of his kafni. He went and sat down at his usual place for eating, pulled the platter in front of him, took off the outer cover and got ready to eat. Many other naivedyas came, far superior to this one. Often they remained untouched. What was the greatly impelling reason to eat this only? Why should such a worldly attitude affect a Saint? Madhavraoji asked Sai Samartha: “Why should there be such a distinction? You keep aside all the other platters. Even if some are made of silver, you hurl them far away. But, only when this lady’s platter came, you got up immediately and started eating. This is surprising! Why is her food so delicious? Deva, this is a great mystery to us. There is some stratagem of yours, here! Why should you have such likes and dislikes? ”

Baba said: “What can I say about the surpassing quality of this food? In her earlier birth, this lady was a very fat cow belonging to a merchant, yielding much milk. Then, she disappeared and took birth in a gardener’s family. Later she was reborn in a Kshatriya family and got married to a merchant. Then, she was born in a Brahmin family. I saw her after a very long time. Let me take a few morsels of food, she has offered with love, with contentment”.

After saying this, he did full justice to the meal, washed his hands and mouth, belched to show his satisfaction and resumed his seat. The lady did an obeisance and started gently pressing Sai’s feet. Baba took the opportunity to give her some beneficial advice. While the lady pressed Baba’s feet, he in turn, pressed those hands which served him. Seeing this reciprocity of service between Deva and devotee, Shama joked about it. “It is going on well, Deva! It is a pleasurable sight to see this reciprocal devotion. It is marvelous to behold”.

Considering her service, Baba was pleased with her and softly told her to keep on repeating “Rajaram, Rajaram”. “Keep chanting this always. Oh, mother, your life’s objective will be achieved, your mind will be at peace, and you will be immensely benefited”. How potent were those words! They penetrated her heart and became embedded there. Through these words, Baba had instantly imparted ‘Shakti – pata’ (transfer of yogic energy). Such was Sree Samartha the compassionate! Sainath, the protector of all who have surrendered! He always fulfils the devotees’ cherished desires and works for their welfare.

The Guru and the devotee are not separate, though they appear different or distinct. He who attempts to separate them forcefully is bound to be humiliated. Both are one and one cannot live without the other. When guru blesses the disciple then there is no duality. The Guru lives in one place and his disciple at another! He who likes it thus, then their relationship is only for appearances sake. If essentially they are not two, how can they be separate? One cannot exist without the other; both are so inseparable! There is no difference between the Guru and the devotee; thus they are continuously together. The devotee placing his head on the Guru’s feet is a gesture of worship or outward vision.

The devotee is one with the Guru in his one-pointed worship, and the Guru is in union with his devotee. If they are not completely one with one another in this way, then the relationship is not worth its name. The root cause of all calamities is ignorance. Those who are rolling in the sleep of ignorance should wake up before it is too late and partake of the nectar of knowledge from the Guru. Therefore, with great humility, go and surrender at the Guru’s feet.

Surrender the vacillating mind at Sai’s feet. Then, he will be the doer of the actions that arise by his inspiration. Similarly, surrender the initiative and energy to act to Sai. Then behave according to his will. Know that Sai’s power prevails everywhere.

OM SAI RAM!

G.S.Khaparde –Dadasaheb

Khaparde Part -1 (Telugu talk) click here

The divine Sai Satcharita gives lots of details about Baba. Shirdi diary by Khaparde is a great blessing for Sai devotees. He depicted the daily routine of Sri Sai, his mercy, love, and humor, compassion towards his devotees and how he protected the devotees. Some of the parables that Baba used and the stories that were told by Baba were portrayed as they were given by Sai. Khaparde had good grasp of Sanskrit and English languages. He was the right hand person for the great freedom fighter Lokamanya Balaganghadhar Tilak. Mr. Khaparde formulated some of the strategies in the freedom fight. He also assisted Mr. Tilak with his Law profession by fighting against British Courts. When he heard about Baba, came to Shirdi and stayed under Baba’s protection for few months as they were trying to arrest him with charges of sedition. This proved that Baba protected his devotees from any difficulties.

Sri Khaparde’s full name is Sri Ganesh Sri Krishna Khaparde. He was born on August 27^th 1854 in a village called Ingroli. That used to be in the province of Berar. He was named after Lord Ganesh as he was born on Vinayaka Chaviti day. This Berar province once was under Nizam rulers, later merged in to Maharashtra. His father’s name was Sri Krishna Narahari.

His education took place in Nagpur and Amaravati.  Ganesh had his primary and secondary education in Nagpur and Amraoti. He failed twice in Matriculation because he was more interested in study of subjects and books other than those prescribed in the curriculum. Besides, he was weak in mathematics. After matriculating in 1872, he joined the Elphinstone College in Bombay. He was a favorite student of Dr. Ramakrishna Bhandarkar who was the Professor of Sanskrit. Ganesh had studied Sanskrit extensively in a traditional manner under a shastri during his childhood at Akola and had, therefore, an excellent grounding in the subject. Professor Wordsworth who taught him English was the grandson of William Wordsworth, the famous nature-poet of the English language. Under these two professors he acquired a sound knowledge of these two languages. In fact his knowledge of Sanskrit was so good that he was selected unanimously to debate in Sanskrit with Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, when the latter visited the Elphinstone College. No wonder that Ganesh was complimented by the Swami himself on his high standard of performance.

He became first a junior fellow and then a senior fellow in the Elphinstone College and in these capacities assisted in teaching Sanskrit and English. Sri Khaparde majored in law in 1884 and soon commenced his legal practice. After an early stint commenced as a munsiff between 1885 and 1889, he returned to the bar and soon established a name as a leading lawyer. From 1890, he started participating in public life and became the President of the District Council in 1890. His income used to be almost 90,000 rupees to 100,000 rupees in those days. That too there was no income tax. It could have been lot of money in those days.

Sri Ganesh Khaparde had 3 sons. He enjoyed writing diaries and his diaries were preserved by the Indian Government in national archives. Baba used to call him Dadasaheb or Sirkar.  His wife followed him and she was known to worship Baba with lots of love. Her name is Laxmibai Khaparde. Even though she did not have higher education, she was very righteous. She knew most of the Indian scriptures including Ramayana, Mahabharata, Pandava pratapa, Siva leela amrut and other kirtankars. Their house used to have at least 50 people at a given time. The household included Khaparde’s 3 sons, their wives, 3 other families that they support two cooks along with their families, two clerks, workers for horses, two bullock cart drivers and some poor students.

Laxmi Bai used to take care of this big family.  She treated everyone equally. She loved everyone. Even though she had this many workers in the family, she used to cook herself and feed the children by herself. Once a student called Nilkari who got a boil on his thigh and developed high fever was hospitalized.  Laxmibai would carry the food for him to the hospital and would feed him.  His sickness extended over a period of two months. He was grateful to Laxmibai all his life and would say, “Laxmibai did all for me what my own mother would not have done and but for her kindness I would have died.” There are a number of such examples. She never said no to anyone. Khaprde got married at a young age. He studied law after he got married. His father worked as Thahasildar. This family remained very righteous in spite of their wealth.

Khaparde’s freedom fight:

He was a good orator. He gravitated more towards Tilak’s principles. They become best friends and Khaparde became the right hand person for Bala Ganghadhar Tilak. On June 24^th 1908 British government arrested Tilak. He was prisoned for 6 years for sedition. Then Khaparde went to London to fight an appeal. He stays there for almost 2 years. He spends his own money up to 200000 rupees. He used to mingle with great leaders like Lala Lajapati rai, and Bipin Chandra pal in National congress. He handled all the activities in secrecy. He attended a conference as a member of Joint parliamentary committee. He worked at different levels in the freedom movement and became the key person behind all Tilak’s strategies.

First meeting with Sai:

Dadasaheb came to Shirdi on five occasions.   His first visit was on 5^th of December 1910. They stayed in Sathe wada. He stayed there for 7 days during the first visit.

He wrote about this incident in his diary as follows.

Last night I & my son Baba left by 10.15 P.M. train as proposed. Purandare, Pathare, Dhaujisha, his woodman, Bapu & others came to the station to see us off & the first two brought flowers. I slept as soon as I got into my compartment though I was awakened often. We reached Manmad about 9 A.M. today and stayed at the Railway station till nearly 1 P.M. I met one or two young men, on the station staff who very kindly helped us with things. One Haripant of Yeola also met us. In the train to Copargaon, we met an Englishman who appeared exceptionally good mannered and obliging. We reached Copargaon station about 2 P.M. hired two conveyances, one for things and the other for ourselves to travel in. Bhaskar Rao assisted us with tongas and gave us guavas to eat at his house and accompanied us to Shirdi, which we reached about 4 P.M.. We put up in the wada built for the convenience of people by Mr Chandkar. Madhavrao Deshpande was very obliging & helped us & treated us like guests. There are in the Wada  Tatyasaheb Nulkar with his family, Bapusaheb Jog and Babasaheb Sahasrabuddhe.

We all went to see Sayin Maharaj soon after our arrival. He was in the Masjid. After salutations I & my son offered the fruits brought by us & gave some money at his request. The Sayin Saheb then said that he has not been well for the last two years & more, that he used to eat only barley cake & take a little water. He showed his foot and pointed to a small sore, said it was the string worm, that it was extracted but the string snapped & then it reappeared & so on. He said he heard that it would not be well with him till he went to his native town. He said he kept it in view but that was all, he cared more for his people than even for his own life. He said he found no rest as people troubled him. It could not be helped. Then he told us to withdraw which we did. Towards evening he passed by the wada & we went & saluted him. I & Madhavrao Deshpande were together. After we saluted Baba said, “Go to the wada & sit quiet.” So I & Madhavrao returned. We all sat talking. They have many miracles to relate. I, Baba & Babasaheb Sahasrabuddhe had something to eat at night and after I returned to bed, a strange thing happened. The wife of Das Ganu who has written the “Arvachim Sant lilamrit ” & known as Tai came & lay down by my side. I do not know how long she lay like. 

He wrote about his first meeting with Baba in his diary. When we read his diary, we feel like we are in that situation and we are watching Sai. He described Sai’s words, his mannerisms as it is. He presented Baba’s stories and his parables as they were told. He stayed in Shirdi from December 5^th 1910 to December 12^th 1910 for 7 days. Then he took permission from Baba and left Shirdi. Baba spoke in parables and gave some direct teachings. We will examine some of these here.

Once Baba said, “I was here thousands years ago.” Then Sayin Maharaj turned to me & started on apparently a new track. He said “This world is funny. All are my subjects. I look upon all equally, but some have become thieves and what can I do for them? People, who are themselves very near death, desire & make preparations for the death of others. They offended me a great deal. They hurt me a good deal but I said nothing. I kept quiet. God is very great & has his officers everywhere. They are all powerful. One must be content with the state in which God keeps him. But I am very powerful. I was here eight or ten thousand years ago.”

Khaparde wrote about Baba’s affection in his diary dated December 9^th 1910 as follows.I & my son intended going away today. In the morning, after prayer when we went as usual to see Sayin Maharaj, he asked my son if he intended going away & added that we may go away. We thought the necessary permission had been granted & made ready to start. My son packed all things, & engaged a spring cart & another to carry our things, & in the afternoon went to formally see the Sayin Maharaj before actually starting. On seeing me, Sayinsaheb said “Do you really intend going?” I replied “I wish to go but not if you do not permit.” He said “Then you may go tomorrow or the day after. This is our house. The Wada is our house & why anybody be afraid while I am here. This is our house & you should look upon it as your own house.” I agreed to stay & countermanded all arrangements for departure. We sat down talking. Sayin Maharaj was in a very pleasant mood, & said many pleasant things but I am afraid, I did not understand him. Next day morning after prayer, I told my son Baba never to mention anything about our going away to Sayin Maharaj. He knows all & would know when to send us away.

This was the description of his first visit to Shirdi. He related to us so many details through his diary.

OM SAI RAM!

Upasini Maharaj Part 3

Upasini Maharaj Part 3 Telugu Talk Click here

Sai’s teachings to Kasinath:

Sri Sai declared himself to be the one Iswara, the Antaryami of all and, therefore, he wanted his best pupils to realize him as their God first and next find him and feel him in every creature that they met.

To Kasinath as to most of us this was a very, very, tough lesson that all souls are one and the same, that Iswara or the Guru God was, and is, in all and was and is All. Yet Baba determined to teach, him this lesson. So, even in the first year of his probation, Baba taught him some portion of this truth.

Baba coming as a Black dog for food (Naivedyam):

 Kasinath was cooking his food at Khandoba temple, and naturally wanted to take the food to his Guru Sai Baba, and to get back the same or rather part of it as prasad from him to eat. But while he was cooking his food, a black dog was watching, and even when he took the food towards Sai's Masjid, it followed him part of the way and suddenly disappeared. When first the dog was present and anxiously looking for the food, Upasani with his orthodox ideas thought it would be absurd to give that low creature, a dog, any food before offering it to God and before men ate (for that was against orthodox ideas). So he did not give any food to that dog. But when he went in the hot sun at noon, with his food to Sai Baba, Baba asked him,  'What have you come for?' Kasinath said.  To bring you my naivedya',  'Why did you come all the way here in the sun? I was there'  Baba said. Kasinath said that there was none but a black dog there. Baba said 'I was that black dog. So, as you refused to give me food there, I am not going to take this food'. So, Upasani returned that day bitterly repenting his orthodox frame of mind refusing to give food first to the dog.

Baba coming as a low caste man for food (Naivedyam):

Next day, he was determined to avoid that mistake. So, when he was cooking his food, he looked out for the black dog but found no dog. Then, when he was proceeding with his cooking, he noticed that a sickly Sudra was leaning against a wall  and watching the cooking. To the orthodox mind of the Brahmin Kasinath, it was drishtii dosha and improper for a Sudra to look on when a Brahmin was cooking. So he said, 'Get away', and accordingly, the Sudra left.

When that day Kasinath came near Baba with his food, Baba was very angry. He said, 'Yesterday, you did not give me food, and today you told me to go away.' 'Where were you, Baba?'   asked  Kasinath.  Baba said, 'I was leaning against that wall'.  'Could it be you, that untouchable man?' Kasinath asked.  'Yes, I am in everything and beyond', said Sai.

Baba used these kinds of techniques to teach his devotees the omnipresence of God. His doctrine reveals that he exists in every living and nonliving thing. This way he eradicated the ignorance in his devotees.

Upasini emerging as Maharaj:

Kasinath was living in Khandoba temple. He was almost sleeping with snakes as there were more snakes in that area. He was fearless. He continued his penance. In this process he learns that his third wife also died. He got this news in February of 1912. Now Upasini is totally free of any close relations. He was wearing only a gunny bag wrapped around his waist.

One day Baba sent a lady by name Chandrabai to worship Upasini as she worships Baba. She followed the direction of Baba and came to Khandoba temple. Kasinath does not appreciate this. But she insisted saying this is Baba’s order. From that day onwards Baba made him a Sadguru. Baba started sending the crowds to Upasini Maharaj.

Upasini Maharaj leaving Shirdi:

Sai Baba would now send His devotees to Shri Sadguru Upasni Maharaj for darshan. In 1914 Shri Upasi Maharaj left Shirdi for the first time after several years and traveled to Sindi and Nagpur. Here also He would beg for food and live away from cleanliness and comforts. People started visiting Him to pay homage and would worship Him.

Upasini Maharaj’s stay in a poor man’s (low cast) house:

The Hindu social life of 1915 was full of the feelings of cast and creed barriers. To end this barrier of castism, in February 1915, Shri Upasni Maharaj moved to a poor man Namdeo Mahar's house in Kharagpur. Maharaj belonging to a high brahmin caste voluntarily stayed in a cow stable, and ate food in the house of Namdeo who belonged to a lower and untouchable class. The high caste disciples of Maharaj were forced to come to Namdeo Mahar's house to seek Maharaj's blessing, and be prepared to receive a warm welcome by Namdeo.

Return to Shirdi and moving to Sakori:

After some time Maharaj went to Nagpur and then returned to Shirdi to inhabit once again Khandoba's temple. But the atmosphere at the temple was different this time, as devotees began to gather in larger numbers, and happy times began. The seeker, who lived a life of hard penance at this temple, was now a Master. The beggar of truth was now the King.

Gradually it became customary for those who came for Sai Baba's darshan, to also visit the Khandoba temple and meet Upasni Maharaj. Even Baba would ask some of the disciples to go to Sakori, and Maharaj was now being known as His spiritual heir. It so happened one day that a Swami came to meet Sai Baba. This arrogant Swami considered himself next to none in spiritual knowledge. Sai Baba soon asked this Swami for a favor "Will you please go to Sakori and bring me four hundred rupees from Upasni, as I am in urgent need of money" said Sai. "It is very important", He further added. The Swami proudly walked up to Sakori, expecting a warm welcome, being an Ambassador of Sai Baba. Upasni Maharaj was as usual sitting naked under a tree when this arrogant Swami arrived, and started demanding for four hundred rupees. Upasni Maharaj got up immediately as if the matter was really urgent, and before the Swami could understand what he was going to receive so urgently, Maharaj grabbed the Swami and beat him up. The shaken Swami returned to Shirdi to find Sai Baba, smiling over the warm welcome at Sakori. Indeed the Swami had received the real blessings.

Surgery with out anesthesia:  Once Upasini Maharaj happened to go to Sindi where he had trouble with piles. The doctors suggest that they need to be cauterized otherwise they will cause lot of trouble to him. He gets ready for surgery and tells the doctors to go ahead and do surgery with out anesthesia. They were surprised to see his control of his body and mind. Te surgery was completed with out any problems. Upasini Maharaj was worshipped as a Siddha Guru by lots of people.  

Sakori ashram and Kanyasthan:

Upasini Maharaj finally settles down in Sakori after his travels to different places. Sakori is only 5 kilometers away from Shirdi. He was there in 1917 and when Sai left his mortal body in 1918, Upasini performed the last rites. He stayed in a wooden bamboo cage in 1921 for 13 months.

He used to do satsangh from the cage it self. That was so narrow and it was difficult to move even a little bit in the inside of cage. On January 31^st 1924, he comes out of it to welcome  a girl by name Godavari vasudev Hatawalikar. Later she will be known as Godavari maa.

Sri Meher Baba was one of his disciples. Meher Baba became world renowned and Upasini Maharaj’s name spread across the continent.  Kanyasthan became spiritual center for so many people. Lots of people were visiting the place. 

On December 29^th 1941, Upasini Maharaj left his mortal body. Next day all the last rites were performed. Upasini Maharaj was blessed by Sai and as Baba predicted, Upasini Maharaj showed the path to so many people. 

OM SAI RAM!