A Tribute to Swami Jnanananda Giri ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ

A Tribute to Sant Gulab Singhji

Sri Shunya Babaji, Emanual Sorensen ~ Viking Spirit!

                                                ... here with the cosmic dog, Sri Cho Chu Wuji!

      Sri Shunya Babaji, Sunyata Emanuel Sorensen, this is his story told to me,
over the years of his visits to us in Chandigarh in the 70's. That he was a Viking
child, of Denmark, born on Oct. 27, 1890, raised on a small farm. Little was
said about his childhood but sometimes came out in jests. And there were days
of joyous ease spent in silence near him in THAT divine consciousness.
He was always in a friendly mood and would happily answer any questions.
So one day he told of how he came to India. He said, "Before coming to
India I was a gardener communicating with plants and trees on a big estate in
England. I used to see Gurudev Tagore, the new guest there, walking alone in
the early morning before dawn.Both of us enjoying the silence we never spoke
until just near the end of his stay. He said to me, 'Why don't you come to India
and teach silence to the Indians!' So, we became friends and I begin to think of
coming to India. By the time I had reached India and Shantiniketan a year or
so later, Tagore was not there! So,I began to travel around India, alone~all one.
    I was to meet him later and he introduced me to Nehru, and the sister.
There I was a guest when I was offered some land to live on, 'The Immortal
Garden of Emptiness', at Kalimat. So, this house in the hills above Almora was
built by ones gathering all the stones from around there only! When people
ask how one lives there without electricity, I tell them that I live like the birds.
When the sun is out I come out and when it gets dark I go to bed. And there
is the dog, Sri Cho Chu Wuji!"
    After some time a friend of his, Paul Brunton, arranged for a trip to meet
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi in Tiruvannamalai Ashram. This was his
"most significant spiritual encounter." He was to make three others trips there
also!
    One day Paul told Sunyata that Bhagavan Sri Ramana had referred to him
as a 'Janam Siddha', a born Mystic!
    He said," I used to sit daily in the back and just observe everything,
especially the Bhagavan Maharishi himself. And one day suddenly, out of the
pure akasha and living Silence, there sounded upon Emmanuel (his preferred
name for himself) these five words ‘We are always aware, Sunyata!’ So, you
see this is where the name came from and initiation and mantra!"

               "It is not what I say, but what 'I am' that sometimes gets across! "

         "You see, if God did not exist
                 then the whole business would have to be invented!"
                                                                            "Wu!"

Radheshwari interviewed in the book: 'NEW LIVES'

You may see an interview at this website:

     http://www.newlives.freeola.net/interviews/11_radheshwari.php


                   
                  BEAUTIFUL DAYS WITH BELOVED SANTJIO

                EXTRAORDINARY TIMELESSNESS WITH PITAJI.

                       

                                                   ¸.•*¨♥•.¸.•´*´¨ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ~*~

                                         .¸.•*¨♥☮❤•.¸.•´*´.¸.•*¨♥❤•.¸.•´*

                                             .~☜♥☞~(¯`••´¯)~☜♥☞~
                                              .............. *•.♥.•* ..........
                                                           ♥ ԼƠƔЄ ♥
                                              ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ 

    Radheshwari 

Mataji Sri Narvada Puri 2013

Young Baba Shripadji and the book~ *.✽In The Hours of Meditation*.✽

                                                                                                                                                                                                           
   "Work to thine utmost, and then to thine utmost be resigned."

"Regard all thy moods as mere body moods;  remain aloof, thou art the Soul."

"Be self-possessed and remain unattached. For what thou mayst  think and
feel today may not move thee on the morrow ... in thy real nature, thou art
independent of both idea and emotion."...

"In Love and in Realization there are no barriers."

Voice of Divinity-
   "There is a Love which knows no limits, which is everywhere, which is in the
presence of Death, and which is all tender even in the terrible. I am That Love.
There is a Love which is Unutterably Sweet, which welcomes all pain, which
welcomes all fear, which drives away all sadness, which is where so ever thou
dost search for it. I am That Love. Oh, I am the very Essence of That Love.
And O! My own self, I, That Love, am Thine Own Self, my nature is Love!"

                                                       ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ

       How sublimely prompted by the Divine this book came to us!  It was a
gift of Swami Jnananandaji and he told this story of Baba Shripadji.Swamiji
said that he used to roam with a young balyogi, who is a saint.  And now
I know so many stories of his life.  He could speak little English then, and
Swamiji knew only a little Hindi, but their language was mainly on a higher
Divine plane. One day, he said they were deep in a jungle, and out of Bal
Yogiji's mouth slowly came the words,"In The Hours of Meditation".
From a deep mood immersed in Divine Love, he made him understand
that there is a book ... in English, which most explains his own feelings.
Sometimes, Swamiji said, he felt he was in the presence of God Himself.
The bal  yogi was so tuned to the Infinite! Swamiji spent two years trying
to locate this book. Even as I read it I could feel the presence of the bal
yogiji. for I knew him through Swamiji, and his vibrations are clear. The
book is most Divinely inspired and I can see why and how Balyogi Sripadji
could catch it's name through the either.

       Knowingly or unknowingly we are constantly in search of the Source,
this beauteous attraction in all, so cleverly disguised. This is His game the
play of Life.  To those of good fortune He reveals Himself for a moments
bliss, a hint of His depth, a glimpse of Infinite height, that one may discover
Thine own Nature and dispel illusions hold. Thy Nature is Divine!
 Beyond the individual, which is just an idea that thou art confined to a
single form, thou art in truth Infinite! When you lose yourself, the idea
of being an individual, you shall be immersed again in God, you shall be One.
Indivisible! Like the rays of the Sun cannot be separated from the Sun,
so is the soul in God. .¸¸.•*`*•.✽

                                         In The Hours of Meditation  .¸¸.•*`*•.✽

A Tribute to Baba Shripadji

Swami Jnanananda Giri's Address

                                    Together on the Holy Gangaji at Varanasi

                                             ~ॐ~ 

Regarding the question 
                        of Swamiji's address:
     Very glad to hear that you read the blog!
 There is this very persistent urge these days
to keep on writing this blog at the least until
all the beautiful pix and letters and other
precious spiritual info that may be shared is
put into it, and even then to share whatever
can deeply inspire souls.
     I can feel your sincere hearts!
     The question has been asked several times
regarding Swami Jnanandaji's address
since the blog started and I have asked Pujya
Swamiji before.  He has always said several
wonderful things regarding this question.
      Once he said anyone who reads about him
in the blog has already met him!
      Another time he has said that to read his book,
Transcendent Journey,  is an initiation in itself! 
      So far he does not want his address to be
given out to anyone over the Internet. 
     He lives an extremely quiet life,  walks eight miles
in the forest natural gardens alone everyday,
sings and speaks with devotees after sunsets,
and lives in the land of Bliss and Pure Joy!

      You are welcome to join this site, 
I am so glad to hear from you and 
wish you great inspiration!

 ஜ۩۞۩ஜஜ۩۞۩ஜஜ۩۞۩ஜ
_./'\._¸♥.•¤**¤•.¸.•¤**¤•♥
*•. .•* * ♥ WELCOME ♥
/.•*•.\ ♥¤**¤•.,.•¤**¤•.,♥
ஜ۩۞۩ஜஜ۩۞۩ஜஜ۩۞۩ஜ.

               

Yours,

    Radheshwari

*❤•*¨`*•❤•*¨`*••☼♥❤•*

                                                             ~ॐ~ 

  

Beloved Shyam Dasjeo 1953 ~ 2013

"Hari lila unfolds in so many directions,
we can only bow to the quarters
and this is something that we all
have to deal with, the pains and joys
of wearing the outfits of life
that change from moment to moment
all according to the whim of Hari.
such a lila it is, full of abundance
what else could I want in life."
                      
                        Shyamdas
                 (From a message just recently written)
       
                                       ~*~*~*~

So it is that those Blessed souls that once leave this world
for the next, are thereby even closer to us,
since now there is no-Body between us!!
Dear Shyam dasjeo, our time together was too short, 
yet we can feel your special Krsna Bliss
and Hari Intoxication now even more than ever!!
Ah Ho!!

                                                             " Jai Sri Krsna!"

                                                             Together in Gokul Dham  1996

 

                                                Shyamdasji during the 70's in India

               with his beloved Guru, His Holiness Shri Goswami Prathameshji

                     With His Holiness Shri Goswami Gokulanandaji

                                     And with his Guru's grandson,
                                              His Holiness Sri Goswami Milan Babaji


                                                             .ི̓үྀ .¸¸.•☀ღ.¸'¸ི♥ྀ☼

                                                                                
                                                            .ི̓үྀ .¸¸.•☀ღ.¸'¸ི♥ྀ☼

A Tribute to Sri Sripad Babaji Maharaj by Chandrika Shantananda

Babaji's lifetime was lived in the true tradition

of a vairagi sadhu, and on Dec. 31, 1996

he passed out of it in the same noble manner.

His life intention was to awaken souls to

what he often referred to as the 'clarion call',

the Divine Flautist calling all to live in

conscious awareness.

       For thousands of people through India and in many countries abroad as
well, the year closed with significance and a greater transition than we could
have imagined by an event that will not only remain inscribed in our memories,
but in history as well.  On new year's eve of 1996, one of the most renowned
mystics of our time left his mortal coil and us behind.  The Hindi newspapers
reported it in a beautifully poetic manner as did the 'Jai' victory chants in the
funeral procession, hailing the liberation from the bodily encumbrance and
subsequent meeting with the divine.  With these words still echoing through
this numb body, I cannot help but feel only a deep sense of loss, along with
many others.  That hazy day in Vrindavan when he set out on the last journey,
there were few dry eyes to be found.
       He had been remembered as a child yogi, careless of even minimal
comforts and no personal attachments.  When he travelled, he went with
himself and no baggage.  He never used footwear except for once, I heard,
when he was travelling with a sannyasi he wore one sandal!   It seems that
on the way the sannyasi had left his sandals behind out of respect for Babaji.
Having understood the discomfort of the sannyansi, on both accounts, Baba
insisted upon wearing one sandal while the Sannyasi wore the other! Such
was the sense of compassion. Babaji's ways and means were most
extraordinary, and could not be comprehended by the ordinary mind. He
endeavored to pierce the intellectual function and mind set of those
associated with him that they may develop the intuitive faculty in what he
called the inner sanctum of the mind.
       Babaji never wore stitched clothing and preferred simple or hand-
loomed dhoties.  Even in the deep Himalayas, he could be found casually
draped in a shawl after a cold river bath.  His hair fell in naturally matted locks.  Babaji's unattachment to his own body came from inside.  It was not something to show to the world. It was an overflowing of his natural state of being.
       Babaji lived in a state of detachment and left the world that way.  The disciple who was with him for his last days told about the preparations he made for Mahasamadhi, although the student had not imagined it to be so at the time.  Babaji's leaving his body happened much the same way as a man who would get up from a chair quite willing to stretch his legs.  For several days, he had abandoned external activities; he had no interest in eating  or communicating, except for necessary instructions of the moment.  He remained for hours in a seated posture.  Clearly, he remained conscious in his one pointed concentration.  A doubting man approached him wondering about his quietude, and Babaji surprised the man, telling the man his own phone number and telling him that he would eventually understand!  After that he remained in silence until he joined his Beloved and blissful union.
       Babaji's sammadhi-postured body was then taken to Vrindavan, the place he cherished the most, and remained enshrined for two days while thousands passed through to pay a last homage at the Vraja Academy, where he was the founding acharya.  Hindus, Sikhs, Muslims and Christians all came to Babaji.  On the third day, the procession set out through the narrow streets he had loved, making brief stops along the way to Yamunaji.  A band playing devotional songs led the entourage of hundreds accompanying the heavily garlanded palanquin.  Winding through the lanes, to the background of continuous salutations, policemen cleared the way.  The procession stopped at all his favorite temples and pujaris; residents emerged from houses to offer flowers and cloth, many joining in the last pilgrimage. 
       Perhaps a quarter of the town's population gathered at the banks of the Yamuna along with devotees from as far off as America.  As Babaji was carried onto a boat, a dozen or so others set out, bowing low in the water as the crowds looked on.  Downstream at the shrine of Devaraha Babaji's, where he had taken jal samadhi too, just a few years back, Babaji went to the familiar waters where he had so often sat in meditation.  Vedic mantras were recited as the last rites were performed by disciples.  Babaji and Devaraha Babaji were soul companions, and both would have been honored to share this sacred space.
       Babaji's last journey through the holy village that he had reveled in for so many years was nothing less than remarkable and a fitting tribute to such a great soul.  During the procession itself several devotees received intuitive messages from Babaji.  It was an honor to share these last kilometers in the company of a great saint.  Many felt that Babaji was still guiding them in his playful way.
       Babaji's life intention was to awaken souls to what he often referred to as the clarion call, the Divine Flautist calling all to live a life of conscious awareness.  He was dedicated to the work of waking up sleepy minds and dormant bodies. And above all, instilling a burning love for God within one's heart.
       Babaji was no parable-speaking, soft-spoken saint to make anyone feel better about themselves.  In fact, he was a hard task-master who relentlessly exposed you to the depths of your demons, pushed all your buttons and poked holes in your boat, if you still persisted in taking the easy way rather than to confront the rapids of life.  No one was spared if they dared to stay more than twenty-four hours.  Some got it sooner.  He maintained a unique and special relationship with each and every one who came to him.  He took special joy acting as the mirror to people.
       Babaji loved the verses of the saint poets and told many stories about their lives.  When he would talk about a mahatma or his own deity, he would become so immersed in that reality that you knew he was living there.  He had that rare quality of evoking a divine mood at will, and he longed to share this ecstasy of divine love, so that we may also be infused with a passionate thirst and yearning for God.  Many of his stories seemed to come by chance, just at the need of the hour to answer a question.  Babaji would rarely give a direct reply to any intellect; his answers came in a more subtle, indirect way, that they may touch the depth of the soul. 
       He had a special interest in the preservation of the Indian culture and fusing the traditional with the new age of science. The subject most dear to his heart was the environmental protection of holy pilgrimage places, rivers and the Himalayas. 
       Babaji was a revered teacher, master, saint and yogi to many, and his extraordinary personality and spiritual guidance will be missed by them.  May the strength of his teaching be kept alive in their hearts!

Graceful Gangaji at Kaudiyala ~*~ The Tent Retreat ~*~

 

Sri Suneet Joshiji

                                            See the Divine Being in the Fire!! Shaktanand!!

...Just a ten min. walk down the mountain to this quiet beach by the Ganga.
Om!

Bal Yogi Sripadji and Alice Boner

 

                            ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ

      To prepare one for any future stories, unusual tales if you 
will, of Baba Sripadji this one event shared with me very 
recently by Swami Jnananandaji must be kept in mind. 
      Swamiji said, ' Once when Sripadji was a very young Sadhu 
we were in Banaras sitting with Alice Boner, (Alice Boner,1889-1981,
was a Swiss artist and scholar of Indian art who had made Varanasi her home
from 1936 to 1978.) She asked Sripadji, 'What kind of Sadhu are you?"
 He casually pointed down the street and said, "See that dog there
walking with his master, he is a 'regular dog'. Now see that one 
over there, the street-dog, moving here and there, wherever and
whenever he likes.  He is an irregular dog! 
                                               I am an irregular sadhu!!"

      And this is what actually made Baba Sripadji so specially 
unique, heartfelt, inspiring and intense!   No matter which
form of God one adored he could connect with that individual
in a miraculous way touching the Soul!

                      ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ ॐ


     

Swami Jnanananda Giri ~*~ Om ~*~ and...'The Book of Mirdad'

     "Yes, I walk daily into the nearby forest and back, it's about 10 kms, very
beautiful! There is a security guard at the entrance. I talk to the trees and
steal flowers that fall from them on the ground. People must think I'm mad!
( and he laughs!) One has to be a little mad otherwise it's a bit tough.  I'm
also a security guard, a spiritual security guard!"
    "I always remember the words of Mikhail Naimy in

         'The Book of Mirdad':

'Forgetting the world makes you a pilgrim.
Forgetting the next world makes you a saint.
Forgetting forgetting makes you complete.'

Om Om Om!"

 ~ Some words of yesterdays talk with Swamiji.

                                                                        ~*~

   And here is my favorite quote from Mikhail Naimy's ~

The Book of Mirdad :
The strange story of a monastery
which was once called the Ark

"So think as if your every thought were to be etched in fire across the
sky for all and everything to see. For so, in truth, it is.
So speak as if the world entire were but a single ear intent on hearing
what you say. And so, in truth, it is.
Do as if your every deed were to recoil upon your heads.
                                                                                 And so, in truth it does.
So, wish as if you were the wish.  And so, in truth, you are.
So live as if your God Himself had need of you His life to live.
                                                                                 And so, in truth, He does."

                                                                    ~*~

Vashishtha Gufa Along the Ganges *ღ*¸.•°*♥ हरीॐ♥*°•.¸*ღ*

            Swami Purushottamanandaji Maharaj, the renowned grand disciple
of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and disciple of Swami Brahmanandaji
arrived at this Vashishtha Gufa in 1928. Since then he had been performing
'tapas' (austerities) occupying this cave for more than 25 yrs. 'til a small
Kutia was made for him near the cave's entrance.  Still he is the amazing
inspired Gurudevji to several brilliant yogis like Swami Bhumananda Puri,
and Swami Nirvedananda Puri. It was in 1955 that Swami Jnanananda Giri
came to this ashram at Vashishtha Gufa and was to spend much time there
among other young swamis receiving the discourses of Maharajji from the
"Yoga Vashishtha Maha Puran" and many blessings. These stories one has
heard and discussed again and again with Swamiji over the years.
          When Swami Purushottamanandji Maharaj first arrived at the Gufa
it was actually all surrounded with tall trees and jungle! And even now
there are wonderful huge trees at the Gufa's entrance.
         For over 30 years he occupied this cave up to his Mahasamadhi on
Feb.13, 1961~ It was Maha Shivratri.

       In the earliest years when Maharajji started staying in the Gufa, it is said
that a lion used to come daily at sunset from across the river and sleep at the
entrance of the cave while Maharajji used to stay inside at the  farthest end
of the cave.  This went on for about a year and then the lion stopped coming.
    

                                                    The majestic beauty of Gangaji

         In the words of Swami Jnananandaji, "The charm of this forest retreat
was due to it's natural setting.  Living there was in itself an austerity.  One
slept on the river sand that cushioned the floor of the large cave.  Cooking
was done on a wood fire, in the open, with only a sheet of canvas overhead
to give shelter from the rain and wind.  Every sadhu knows only too well
that the fires of divine aspiration burn brightest when life is simple,
independent, and in touch with nature..."

                                                                   Vashishtha Gufa

         Maharishi Vashishtha is one of the Saptrishis ( 7 great sages ) a Brahm
Rishi and manasputra of Lord Brahma, the Sadguru of his time possessing
20 kala's,(divine arts) with perfect knowledge of the full cosmos and of God!
         After the death of his 100 sons he, along with his wife Arundhati, came
down  from his Gurukul at the banks of the river Beas to journey South and
passed this way by the Ganga banks to perform tapas ( austerities) for a few
hundred years.
          The Gufa itself is situated over 20 kms. North of Rishikesh and 10 kms.
South of Byasi on the main road to Devprayag.  The cave itself is said to have
been sealed only in the last few years, that it went on for several kms. and that
Siddhas (divine beings) have been coming here to do tapas in their subtle
bodies since thousands of years. It is one of my favorite places in the India,
there is such beauty and a wondrous powerful energy here!!

                                     "Those who have the eyes to see, let them see!"

            One has only to follow the small light at the end of this long dark cave,
and sit silently before the great Shivlingam and white image of  Vashishthaji,
and in moments one is swept up and away in the ecstatic vibrations and most
mystical experience of That Inner Depth which is beyond words!! It is a Pure
Grace that lifts one out of oneself and into the soul presence of the Divine.
And even if once this has happened,  it is never forgotten and the way here
has been mapped-out in the heart forever!
                                        This is the Grace of a Realized Saint.

                                                The Spirit of Maharishi Vashishthaji ~
                                                        Swami Purushottamanandji Maharaj.
                                                                                               

            Just North of Vashishtha Gufa was this amazing sight
                                                 of great light flooding Heavenly Grace!

                                                   *ღ*¸.•°*♥ हरीॐ♥*°•.¸*ღ*

            *ღ*'.¸.•°*♥ हरीॐ♥*°•.¸.'*☆*

Sant Gulab Singhji & Sripad Babaji

                                                          « ҉ »  श्री   « ҉ »

Bring back the one who left.
Lure him with music
or any irresistible pretext.

If he says, I will be there in a little while,
that is part of his beguiling,
his art that can tie strands of water into knots
and make weavings of the wind.

Do not accept those.
Bring the presence!

Sit down within that and live inside
what is beyond physical beauty,
beyond the sun's extravagance
or the handsomeness of human beings.

Yemen has the most exquisite rubies,
but the one I want to see
coming through the door
is the one who lives here. ~

                               ~ RUMI ~
                         
                                          ~ Translated by Coleman Barks

                                                          « ҉ »  श्री   « ҉ »

Maharajshri Swami Akhandananda Saraswati ~ words on 'Grace and Sadhana'

       ..." the 'Jiva's Dharma' is 'Sadhana' and the Lord's 'Dharma' is 'Kripa'
(Grace).  It is only when the Jiva follows his own Dharma that he becomes
the recipient of the lord's Grace. Without following one's svadharma, one
cannot hope for the Lord's Grace.  It is true that the Lord's Grace is ever
partially raining down upon the moving and unmoving, the manifest and
unmanifest, and the sentient and the insenient.  It does not differentiate in
terms of time, place, or object. It has been raining down from the beginning
of time.  It will do so till the end of time, because raining down is its very
nature. In fact whatever is existent is because of only a fraction of the
Lord's Grace.
    This is the Truth. However it is not possible to realize this Truth of the
Lord's Grace without Sadhana.  It is the nature of the sun to spread its
rays of light far and wide to bring new life and energy to the whole universe.
However because of some problem with the eyes, if one is not able to enjoy
that light, one cannot blame the sun, saying it is being partial.  It is the
problem of the eyes.  In the same way, even though the Lord's Grace is
always present, we have to remove the incapacity to experience it.  It is
through Sadhana that we will gain the capacity to experience the Lord's
Grace.  Through Sadhana we will gain a sparkling and pure 'Antahkarna'
with which we will easily experience the Lord's Grace."

(Translated from Hindi by Ananda Saraswati.)

                 Just as I remember you, Maharajshri, in the boat on Holy Gangaji


                                                        •*¨`*•❤•*¨`*••☼♥❤☼••*¨`*•❤•*¨`*••

 

The Face of the Beloved Master ~ Sant Gulab Singhjio ~

                           Sant Gulab Singhjio ~ Beautiful  Beyond Imagination!!
Hazaaron Pranam ! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

Sant Gulab Singhjio and Guru Sant Teja Singhjio ~

           Sant Teja Singhji, the beloved Guru of Sant Gulab Singhji, was first
met by him outside his village of Thoa Khalsa, Pakistan. where he stayed

under a tree beside the Gurudwara. When anyone asked him in or tried to 

bring him food he refused saying that he had come all the way from Village

Mankapur, near Lucknow with his own food rashin. "I have not come of my 

own free will." 'Mere Nirankar ka hukam se aiya hun. Main yahan se ek 

jeeva lena hai!' "I've come by the will of God, to take one soul from here!"

          Actually Santji's grown-up son, Jeswant Singh was always fond of
meeting saints of every kind and it was he who first came to meet him, as
Santji had always told him to bring any visiting saints home to the house.
He first took with him his Chachaji Jesbir Singh. Santji said that his
younger brother was a real saint. That daily he would get up at 4 am, go
outside and melt the ice to have bath, and then sing prayers on every
step up to the top of the house where he did his morning 'path'.
   As they went along the pathway to meet the visiting Saint Teja Singhji, he
quietly recited to himself a favorite poem of Hafiz. How beautiful and
amazing that when Jasbir and Jeswant Singh  reach there, Sant Teja Singhji
first called out, " Jesbirji, let us also hear Hafiz :

                "Ba mai sajjda rangeen kun gar Pira ma gah goed,
                    ki salik bekhabar na bawad, rasmo rahe manzil!"

Later when Sant Gulab Singhji heard the event , he secretly knew that
he was the one the saint had come for! He immediately went to meet him,
this saint 30 years younger then himself. At first sight of Sant Teja Singhji,
Santji became totally unconscious and for days did not leave his sight.
He told me himself that Teja Singhji never slept at night, but only for 2 hrs.
in the afternoon. At that time Santji would lie on a mat on the ground.
At night devotees would come and he would hear them sing 'Soni Mehiwal'
or 'Heer Ranjha' and again go into samadhi!

          
                                                        ~*~*~*~*~Om!~*~*~*~*~

                   Beloved Sant Gulab Singhjio ~ ( The oldest photo I have!)

   Oh, no!! This is the oldest photo I have of  Beloved Sant  Gulab Singhjio.
It is a treasure!! ~*~ He is That jewel in the Lotus!!  ~*~

Sri Radha and Sri Krsna's Signs on Their Lotus Feet ~*~

Sri Krsna's foot signs (left)                        &                 Sri Radha's foot signs (right)

Sri Anandamayi Maji's Samadhi

                           ~~*~~   Samadhi Mandir!  Samadhi Kutir!  ~~*~~

Swami Akhandananda Saraswati Maharaj and Sri Anandamayi Ma

                      Swami Akhandananda Saraswati Maharajji holding the hands
                of Swami Vimalanandaji (left) and Swami Prabhodhanandaji (right)
                at Rishikesh, India with his devotees c.1975.

                ....and here they are with Swami Chidananda Saraswati Maharajji
                                     at the Shivananda Ashram.

             ...And even I am caught here by this camera with Swamiji Maharaj
             shown just above my head as the Divinity he is sitting in the shaded
            part of the boat as we crossed the splendorous Gangaji.

 

        Graceful Swamiji always welcomed us, Radhadasi, Asim krishnadas and
myself into his presence wherever he was sitting, we ran to meet him and to
hear his discourses on Brahma Gyan, a rear thing in most of Vrindavan.
        Once time I was staying in a room at his Vrindavan Ashram enjoying his 
discourses, even though my Hindi then was very little indeed! Somehow we
had no difficulty communicating and he always kept me sitting near him
whenever I came.Even after the evening satsang and meal was finished one
was allowed to stay with a very few devotees as he rested and spoke gently
into the evening hours always fanned and served by Swami Vimalanandaji and
Swami Prabhodhanandaji. It was then that he would tell interesting stories and
sometimes make us all laugh adding pure joy to the nights Bliss!!

                  (This picture is of the two saints, but at a different occasion.)


        It was during these days in Vrindavan, that he received an invitation from
Sri Sri Anandamayi Maji to come to her Kankhal Ashram with all his devotees
and give a Srimad Bhagavath Saptha. So, of course I was overjoyed to be one
of those invited to go. Swamiji travelled in his own conveyance with his cook,
and others dear to him. I came with his devotees  in the small tourist bus to
Hardwar and we all arrived in the afternoon and were settled into the Kankhal
Ashram rooms each with two or three beds. I was relaxing, happily with these
gentle ladies and someone came to the door and give a message from the
Ashram that foreigners were not allowed to eat in the dining area here, that I
would have to arrange my own meals!
      To my surprise the ladies in our room became very upset! They even
wondered why I also was not!   But, I had already learned in India that when
the unexpected things happen, that is the time to really watch and see what will
be the will of God! And it is actually when our own plans don't succeed that
the most amazing things happen! Anyway, since coming to India to find a
spiritual teacher, a true Yogi, a real saint, nothing else ever seemed to matter
very much, like food, clothes, or accommodation. I was just always concerned
with having the company and guidance of the saints! When my travellers
checks finished in 1970 I had decided I would stay in India, to be in the
company of saints even if it meant getting a job somewhere here. Strangely
enough being in the company of saints and devotees at that time I never
seemed to need any money!! When a desire came to go or do something
the money also just came!!  There are always more lovely places to go and
'sadhanas' to do then there is time to do them. God is truly marvelous and
honestly looks after those who put their full trust in Him/Her! But it has to
be completely faithful, like a child not as if testing God!!
        Within ten minutes another knock came to the door and there was another
boy with a message from Swami Akhandanandaji inviting me to have all my
meals with him!! More pure joy from God!! So all of the rest of the days and
nights of the Septha I visited Swamiji at his special cottage in the Ashram and
sat, after he had his food, I would have my meals along with Swami
Vimalanandaji and Swami Prabhodhanandaji.
        Actually, the first morning after arrival there I, too went early in the
morning to Maji's cottage, where many foreigners were already waiting to
meet her. They were all discussing how the rules of the Ashram had been
changed and that there was a foreigner staying there!! Some of them were
very upset and all.  Soon one of her girls came down and called them to
come forward and hear Ma's new message. It was that Maji, herself, had sent
the invitation to Swamiji and his devotees to come and stay in the Ashram for
the Septha, and that she didn't expect him to have any foreign devotees with
him. So now that I had come she said she would not take back the invite,
and that after I leave the restriction for foreigners would remain the same!

She met me very kindly that morning and remembered our first meeting as
well. She gave prasad always with her own hands graciously as the Divine
Mother.   Om Ma!
                                                                         ~*~

         It was an amazing Septha! The speaker being Swami Akhanandaji and
the listener being Sri Sri Anandamayi Maji!! Ah ho!!
       After this Swamiji went on to visit Rishikesh, as you see in the photos,
we all met Swami Chidanandaji of the Shivananda Ashram there.  But we all
stayed together in the Swarg Ashrama across the Ganga River. There he gave
discourses for a few days to all the sadhus on Gopi Bhava!
When later I remarked how interesting it was that he never gave that
wonderful talk on Bhakti in Vrindavan, but there he spoke always on Gyan.
He just smiled and nodded his head with a gleam in his eye.  Om! Hari Om!

           
                                                              ~*~ In Rishikesh ~*~