Gujrat just a walk away through the open fields from the sandy beach by the
blue Arabian Sea.There we would sometimes walk with Swami Jnanananda
Giri carrying Balyogi Mukunda on his shoulders. On many a day after bathing
we would sit on the sand and meditate on the wonder of the colorful sunset
as it seemed to Mukunda to disappear into the Sea!
Many times we would walk through those fields with Bapuji, Swamiji, and
Chandrika with bags in hand to gather the wild herbs for Bapuji's amazing
medicines, about which he said the most poison made the best remedies!
Daily visitors came to this out of the way place on the bus from the train
station to have his Darshan and Satsang, and some came to meet Bapuji and
be cured! Some thought he was just a doctor! And many came to him only
after foreign doctors could give them no hope of a cure! I had no idea of
this when I came! Swamiji had told me only about Bapuji's spiritual state,
his long hours of Samadhi and of the wonderful bhajans (songs) he would
write and sing afterwards. And we would all copy down the new songs and
learn to sing them in the wonderful morning sessions of intensely beautiful
kirtana.: "Hey Prabhu,Tara Prema ma Rakh!","Hey Prabhu, Tara Ananta
Rup!" and "Dekhe che Jiva Vinashi Bhava!" were the opening songs, and
then we would sing, "Hridaya Mandirama Vas Prabhuno" and "Roam Roam
Prabhuji Sukha kari!" And as the beat and excitement intensified we would
sing with Bapuji more of his Bhajins and in evenings many times the dancing
would began!
The one great event we would always stay on up to Febuary to attend was
Maha Shiva Ratri, The Great Night of Shiva! At this time groups of devotees
from far off places and Mahatmas would start arriving a day in advance.
Bapuji would be in this unbelievable mood and the joyful singing would start
with many musicians playing drums, Shiva's 'Damaru', cymbals, harmonium,
and wonderful singers would inspire the dancing of the famous 'Ras Garbha'.
And though the celebration went on all through the night no one tired, least of
all Bapuji, who sang and danced into a state of exhilarating samadhi to the
delight of the devotees and the fervor heightened to a peak! The rising of the
Sun brought the climax of the festival of the Great Night of Shiva!
"Om Namah Shivaya! Shivaya Namah Om!"
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