MIRACLES
by
Shanker Nath Fotedar
Chapter XIII
by
Shanker Nath Fotedar
Chapter XIII
MIRACLES
It
is not proper to mention the miracles performed by great saints as, first,
they shun publicity and, secondly, they are not to be judged by their miracles.
Some of them, in fact, are averse to the demonstrations of this sort, as
they do not want to interfere with Naure's ways. Saints generally shun
the ashtasidhis (the eight supernatural powers), regarding them as detrimental
to spiritual advancement. But, when a saint has attained Shivahood, what
has he to lose or gain by performing miracles to help somebody? A few streams
flowing out of the ocean, do not affect it. This was true of Bhagawaan
Ji. He was a Karma Yogi who found the modern generation engrossed in materialism,
with faith in God and godly ways shaken and crumbling. He had great compassion
for the suffering humanity and would go out of his way to help them. By
his very nature, he could not remain indifferent when the country was in
trouble. He put in a great spiritual effort from 1947 onwards, unmindful
of the physical hardships he had to endureee e in the process, to bring
order out of chaos. Forgetting to eat and drink, and with a foaming mouth
and blood-shot eyes, he would go on puffing at his chillumn and offering
oblations into his dhooni. He did not deliver spiritual discourses, but
induced spirituality by a touch, a look or by offering bhasma, prashaad
or his chillum to the suitable aspirants. He seemed to us to be too preoccupied
to have any spare time. It seemed as if he was to appear in some difficult
examination and was preparing for it. The struggle in his mind was not
an open chapter. The miracles reported here have their own instructive
value and depict the various aspects of his personality. This is the reason
why, I think, they should form part of his biography. Neither I nor any-one
else could understand in which direction he was actually working, but major
catastrophes were averted in those disturbed times because of his great
penance, as is acknowledged by some other people also from Kashmir, which
appeared to be the visible sphere of his activity.
In the first
instance, some incidents affecting the country will be reported
In the year
1947, raiders from Pakistan attacked Kashmir, committing murder, rape and
arson, wherever they went. They reached even the outskirts of the Srinagar
city and some people approached Bhagawaan Ji for help. He assured them
that the raiders would not enter the city but would be halted beyond the
seventh and last bridge over the Jhelum in the city. The raiders were actually
halted much below the Chhattabal Octroi Post by the Indian Army.
Two months
before the raid, he had told a devotee posted at Baramulla that he should
get to Srinagar everything from Baramulla, even a blade of grass, as he
had purchased those articles with his honest earnings. By Bhagawaan Ji's
grace, the devotee was transferred to Srinagar before the raid.
Bhagawaan Ji
once went to the Shri Shaarika Bhagawati Shrine at Haari Parvat. That was
some time after the raid and a Chandi yoajna was in progress there then.
As soon as those present saw him, they flocked round him and requested
him to save Kashmir. He replied, 'There is no danger, as I am always present
on the battle fronts,' In one of his soliloquies, Bhagawaan Ji was heard
saying, 'What is the army doing? They get so much rations and yet do not
open a direct route to Kashmir for the Laddakhi Lamas.' We failed to comprehend
what this meant. In the month of November, 1948, however, the Indian Army
conquered the Zojila pass and Kargil, and a direct link was re-established
with Ladakh.
The part played
by Bhagawaan Ji in this campaign was revealed by an officer of the Military
Policy who was connected with this operation. He had been informed by the
Front Commander that a mysterious person directed the operations and gesticulated
to the jawans at the battle front to fire in certain directions; this proved
correct militarily. This Military Police Officer had been given the identification
clues of the mysterious person and very much wished to know whether a person
answering the description (who, he guessed, must be a saint) lived in flesh
and blood. He gave the identification marks to one, Mr. T.N. Dhar of Rainawari,
Srinagar. During this period, Mr. Dhar, among others, had already seen
Bhagawaan Ji sitting on a pillow at his residence at Reshi Mohalla (Srinagar)
and gesticulating with his hands as if to direct someone invisible to fire
in this or that direction.
Mr Dhar told
the Military Police Officer that he knew the saint in question and sent
a man to escort him to Bhagawaan Ji's place. The officer was a plump, rather
short-sized person of a dark complexion and with a pock-marked face. He
was a Christian. After seeing Bhagawaan Ji, he said that the saint exactly
answered to the description given by the Front Commander, who had also
said that the saint had been mainly responsible for their victory.
During this
period, Bhagawaan Ji fasted. But one morning he suddenly had a barber called
in, had a shave and broke his fast. He was in a relaxed mood and his genial
self again. 'The news of the capture of Zojila was announced the same evening.
Late in the
autumn of 1956, the people of Kashmir were panic-stricken owing to the
uncertainty about the future of Kashmir. A large number of them went to
implore Bhagawaan Ji to save Kashmir. In a soliloquy, he remarked that
Kashmir would be ruined if the Indian Army left. This accentuated their
worry. Though this subject was often mooted, Bhagawaan Ji gave no reply
but continued his austerities with redoubled vigour. One fine morning,
when I, too, was present, he, on his own, gave the reply, saying that the
Army would remain in Kashmir for the good of the country and the people.
A month later, on 18th February, 1957, the UN Security Council passed a
resolution co-sponsored by the USA, the UK, Australia and Cuba for inducting
a UN Force into Kashmir. The resolution was, however, vetoed by the USSR
and the picture changed dramatically during these years, he would often
say, 'Kashmir is in the throes of consumption (silla). I am sitting on
Kashmir and will not allow it to drift away.'
Bhagawaan Ji
also, seems to have been connected with the Sino-lndian border war of 1962
in some mysterious way. He was at the Bhadra-Kaali shrine about the month
of September, 1962. As has been narrated elsewhere, he was once sitting
in an open space with his dhooni on, and sent away all his devotees back
to Srlnagar, except his sister and Swaami Amritaananda, telling them 'Don't
you see what is happening across the mountains (Tibet side)? A whiff of
the wind from that side will blow you over.' This period, too, was for
him one of intense spiritual activity for the safety of Kashmir. He returned
to Srinagar after about three weeks' stay. The Sino-Indian border war had
already started. While in Srinagar, he told his sister one night at about
11 p.m. that he was going out. Noting his determination, she assented and
he left the house wrapped in a woollen chaddar and carrying only his chillum
He returned after an hour or so, intensely cold. The Next day, he contracted
bronchitis and all that. He told a devotee whhh ho had summoned courage
enough to enquire where he had gone the previous night, 'To Tibet, to settle
matters.' Some days later, the hostilities ceased.
Before the
Indo-Pakistan war started in 1965, he would, of his own accord, point towards
the South- West (i.e. towards Poonch, Rajouri and Gulmarg) and say that
there was Kaala or Death there. The reference, we realised later, was to
the Pakistani infiltrators who had sneaked into these areas and indulged
in loot, arson and murder. One evening, during the 1965 war, he got up
all of a sudden from his usual reclining position, saying that there was
danger looming. He took out a sugar candy and put it into his mouth; he
also gave a sugar candy to either of the two men sitting before him, and
audibly asked himself whether he should save Srinagar or Delhi. Then he
suddenly became silent. Only a few minutes later, the Srinagar aerodrome
was bombed but the damage was minimal. It was learnt later that a Pakistani
plane on a bombing mission to Delhi had been brought down near Meerut.
A few days
before the hostilities ceased, he observed, 'The West is clear now.' Now
I shall proceed to give the details of some cases where Bhagawaan Ji helped
to ease individual distress. The instances cited are authentic.
1. The wife
of Shri Chuni Ial, Vice-Principal of a music institute in Srinagar, once
suffered from the cancer of blood (Leukaemia). She was under the treatment
of an eminent physician specialist. At one stage, on the basis of her blood
picture, the doctor gave up all hope of her survival, and left her free
to take anything she liked, as her end was near. Dejected and distressed,
Shri Chuni Lal went to Bhagawaan Ji, who gave him a small packet of the
ashes from his dhooni. With tearful eyes, he said, 'What will these ashes
do to my dying wife?' Moved visibly, Bhagawaan Ji said that she should
take the ashes with water or medicine. Shri Chuni Lal went home sceptical
about the efficacy of the ashes. He, however, told everything to his mother
who snatched the tiny packet from his hand and put some ashes on the patient's
tongue, smearing her body with the rest. The patient went off to sleep
immediately. Waking up after two or three hours, she said that she was
feeling hungry. Since the night had advanced, they could get and feed her
milk only. The next day also, she felt very hungry though she had been
given ample feeding. The doctor advised that the patient be taken to hospital
for a fresh blood check-up. The check-up revealed a normal blood picture
with no trace of the cancer. The doctor was puzzled and enquired of Shri
Chuni Lal what he had done and how she had been cured. Shri Chuni Lal related
the story of the ashes. He says that subsequently the doctor also went
to pay obeisance to Bhagawaan Ji.
2. A lady in
Delhi was declared a case of pyelonephrltis (Tubercular). The tests revealed
that the infection in the kidney was galloping and involving healthy tissue
. A relative of the lady approached Bhagawaan Ji in Srinagar with the prayer
to save her, as her death would mean the ruin of her three young children.
Bhagawaan Ji was moved, filled his chillum and smoked it for about half-an-hour
and said, 'Go, the lady is saved'. Her husband reported later that the
tests had revealed an improvement in the condition of the kidney and that
she was recovering. She recovered fully and leads the normal life of a
housewife .
3. Once, one
of Bhagawaan Ji's devotees was suffering from a heart and a stomach ailment.
He went to Bombay and got himself thoroughly checked up by a professor
of cardiology. The treatment prescribed did not have any appreciable effect.
The patient returned to Kashmir and was one day sitting in front of Bhagawaan
Ji who, of his own accord, told him that he had renewed his heart and stomach.
The devotee was fully cured. Next winter, he went to Bombay and got himself
rechecked by the same cardiologist, who was surprised to find nothing wrong
with the heart, and told him that he had expected changes for the worse
in his heart during the year. He then enquired whether he had used the
medicines prescribed. On being informed that the medicines had not been
used, the doctor wanted to know how the marvelous cure had taken place.
The patient informed him that it was only divine grace, leaving the doctor
all the more amazed.
4. One of Bhagawaan
Ji's devotees once broke the head of his femur. The patient's relatives
approached Bhagawaan Ji for instructions whether the patient should be
removed to hospital. He told them that he should rest in his room and that
he (Bhagawaan Ji) would cure him himself. A month after the incident, he
asked the patient's relatives to bring him to his place. He was taken there
on a stretcher; placed in a chair, he was ushered into the presence of
Bhagawaan Ji, who told him to rest for a few days in the ante-room. One
day, Bhagawaan Ji went into the ante-room and helped the patient to stand
up and move a few steps. He asked him to continue the practice himself
with the help of crutches; after a few days, he directed him to go back
home. The man is quite well and can walk long distances though with a slight
limp.
5. One of Bhagawaan
Ji's devotees was once laid up with an attack of what is commonly called
'black motions', and was removed to hospital by his relatives, without
his (Bhagawaan Ji's) consent. After a few days, he advised a relative of
the patient to get him back from the hospital, saying, 'I shall do the
rest'. He also advised that the patient be given cooked rice and gram daal.
Surprisingly, the doctor also suggested the same diet.
6. On 26-11-1966,
one of Bhagwaan Ji's devotees, Pt. Pran Nath Kaul, who appears to be the
man of destiny for carrying on his mission. was sitting before him, as
usual, when the latter's brother came in, running and alarmed. He told
Pran Nath Ji that his father, whose nose had been bleeding mildly off and
on for two days, had started bleeding profusely from the nose and that
his condition was fast worsening. Pran Nath Ji was asked to go home immediately
along with a doctor by his brother. The devotee was nonplussed and wondered
how he could get a doctor, the hour being very late. He talked about it
to Bhagawaan Ji. A lady sitting there also prayed to Bhagawaan Ji for the
patient's cure. Bhagawaan Ji gave a small quantity of dry tea leaves lying
in front of him to Pran Nath Ji and told him that a decoction of it, mixed
with sugar, should be given to the patient. Pran Nath Ji continued to stay
on at Bhagawaan Ji's place, asking his brother to take the tea leaves home.
As soon as a few sips of the tea were takeee en by the patient, the bleeding
stopped. The next day he felt normal.
7. In December,
1963, the Holy Relic was found missing from Dargah Sharif, Hazratbal, Srinagar.
All the people of Kashmir were terribly upset. There was a great commotion
in Srinagar and the rest of the Valley. Normal life got disrupted and the
Government appeared to have lost its grip on the situation. There was an
apprehension of the situation deteriorating further. Pt Shambhu Nath Bhan,
later a member of the Bhagawaan Gopinath Ji Trust, and some others approached
Bhagawaan Ji for help. Pran Nath Ji also was present on the occasion and
joined the others in praying to Bhagawaan Ji that the Holy Relic must be
found as only then would the peoples' anguish be over and normalcy return
to Kashmir. After a short pause, Bhagawaan Ji smiled and said, 'There is
no worry. The Holy Relic will be found soon.' The very next day, it was
announced that the Holy Relic had been found. As Bhagawaan Ji had predicted.
Its genuineness was certified by the saint Khwaja Mirakh Shah Sahib of
Shalimar and some other competent and reee eliable people.
8. A devotee
of Bhagawaan Ji had a long-standing throat trouble, which the doctors suspected
to be due to some malignant growth. Bhagawaan Ji asked him to get small
brick pieces, heat them in the sun and keep applying them to his throat.
After some time, the trouble disappeared.
9.(a) The husband
of a pious and rich lady, a devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, fell ill with the
cirrhosis of the liver. The lady requested Bhagawaan Ji to cure him. Though
the request was made many times, he did not say anything in reply. However,
one day he asked the lady to get her husband along with her to his place.
The lady's
husband agreed reluctantly but, when he sat in the car to go to Bhagawaan
Ji's place, he suddenly came out and did not go. He refused to go there
on some subsequent occasions also. He passed away soon after. On the night
previous to her husband's death, the lady went to see Bhagawaan Ji. She
complained about the patient's lack of appetite. He asked her to give him
some tea and also said, in my presence, that the pandits had started the
katha which meant that the man's end was near. The katha is narrated for
ten days after the death of a Hindu in Kashmir.
(b) This lady
was a great devotee of Bhagawaan Ji. She developed asthma and hypertension
but continued to live for about fifteen years. One day, he told her, in
my presence, that her disease was sleeping on one of his legs; he then
pointed to a spot on his own right leg, where, however, we could see nothing
abnormal. During the year 1972, about four years after his giving up the
gross body, the lady had a vision of him in a dream; he showed her his
leg with a big scab on it but put the leg back under his phiran. This meant
that he was still looking after her physical well-being, continuing to
take the disease upon himself even after giving up his gross body.
Two or three
cases have come to our notice when Bhagawaan Ji asked the patients to be
brought to him. If they failed to come for this or that reason, they perished;
those who came, got cured.
10. Bhagawaan
Ji had a strange way of curing heart patients. When the patient would be
sitting before him, he would begin feeling his own pulse for a few minutes
in both the wrists alternately, and the patient would get cured. He also
advised some such patients to have an oil massage after a bath.
11. Shri Shiban
Lal Turki, a devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, who appears to have brought a good
store of spiritual progress from his previous births and is well on the
path of God-realisation, has reported the following experiences with Bhagawaan
Ji:-
(a) One day
I was pressing Bhagawaan Ji's feet for an hour or so and felt elated for
doing that good deed. Thereupon Bhagawaan Ji said, 'You fool, you have
gone crazy over pressing my feet which are simply splinters of wood". This
opened my eyes and I fell at his feet, begging pardon. Nothing was hidden
from Bhagawaan Ji, not even a thought that occurred even for a fraction
of a second in another's mind.
(b) I was studying
in the B.Sc. classes. One day, I wore a new shirt and pants, adding grace
to my personality. My college friends started envying me. This inflated
my ego and I thought I could make love to any girl I liked, and there were
other low thoughts as well. I went to see Bhagawaan Ji about a week after
this incident and he, in his bewitching way, repeated not-only the sentences
my friends had used about me but also my filthy thoughts. I started sweating
from head to foot. Had I not known that Bhagawaan Ji was benign, I would
have fainted. However, I became rooted to the spot, as it were, and could
not move. He went on to say, "What does this body contain, except dirt,
phlegm urine, filth and the other excreta? Which of the body's outlets
gives out any thing attractive? So why this feeling of pride?"
'(c) I went
to Agra to try and get an M. Sc. Seat without taking Bhagawaan Ji's permission.
The Head of the Department concerned kept dodging me from day to day and
I had to stay on in Agra in the grueling heat of summer. As I did not write
to her, Mother, getting anxious, approached Bhagawaan ji. As soon as she
mentioned me, Bhagawan Ji showed great anger saying, "Poor boy is being
sent from pillar to post, and is staying in a building situated on a four-way
crossing [an exact description of the place I was living at] but is well
and will return soon." I returned home soon afterwards.
'(d) My elder
brother's marriage was to be celebrated and it had been raining continuously
for two days; there appeared to be no sign of the sky clearing and, if
the rain did not stop, the marriage function would be in a mess for lack
of adequate space in the house. Mother went to see Bhagawaan Ji. Looking
at the sky through a window, he waved a stick in the air as if dividing
the clouds. Soon after, the vast expanse of clouds broke into two, and
the next morning the sky was quite clear. We could arrange the function
in our compound.'
12. Sister
Jai Kishori a devotee of Bhagwaan Ji and model of chastity, is likely to
be a promoter of Bhagawaan Ji's mission among the womenfolk. She has to
say this about Bhagawaan Ji:- 'I went to pay respects to Bhagawaan Ji for
the first time in the year 1964. As soon as I was seated before him, he
cast an affable glance towards me and smiled. I felt a surge of bliss inside
me. I continued to visit him practically every day thereafter.
'In the year
1967, the city was under curfew for many days and I could not go to see
him. I felt very sad. An intense longing to pay my obeisance to him developed
within me and I was restless. Then something unexpected happened: the curfew
was lifted for just an hour and I dashed towards his residence. I found
him in an ecstasy. He cast a benign look towards me and smiled. I returned
home happy and relaxed.
'In the winter
of 1967, I was returning from a pilgrimage to Haridwar; it snowed heavily
and the road got blocked near Banihal. The clearance of the road was likely
to take many days; I was in deep anguish, and did not know what to do.
I could only pray to Bhagawaan Ji for help. After only a short while, the
signal was given for our bus to start and we reached home in Srinagar safely.
No other bus could come to Srinagar for a number of days on that occasion.
The next day, I went to pay obeisance to Bhagawaan Ji. It seemed to me
that he was waiting for me to come. After he had finished smoking his chillum,
he looked towards me, smiled, pointed towards his own shoulders and said
that he had to shoulder the bus for my safe arrival.'
13. Shri Mohan
Kishan Ticku, an esteemed member and Organizer, Bhagawaan Gopinath Ji Trust,
has reported the following experience with Bhagawaan Ji:-
'I am a businessman
and my shop is situated on the road-side on the main Ganpatyaar-Habbakadal
Road, Srinagar, on the right bank of the Jhelum. Once, Master Zinda Koul
Qasba, a well-known philospher - poet of Kashmir and popularly known as
Master Ji, was sitting in my shop, and there were some others also. Pt
Shambhu Nath Bhan, a distinguished member of the BGT, passed that way and,
seeing Master Ji sitting in the shop, came up and spoke to him. Master
Ji enquired of Mr Bhan where he was going. He replied that he was going
to pay his obeisance to Bhagawaan Ji. Master Ji told him that he had great
respect for Bhagawaan Ji but did not like his smoking the chillum more
or less constantly. Mr. Bhan then walked on quietly. A few minutes later,
I, too, followed him. As soon as we were seated after paying respects to
him, Bhagawaan Ji raised his head and said, 'What business has anyone to
pass remarks in a road-side shop regarding my chillum smoking. I am doing
this with a special purpose". Bhagawaan Ji being clairvvv voyant and clear
audient. nothing was hidden from him.'
14. The incident
that follows shows Bhagawaan Ji's solicitude for his devotees. Shri Makan
Lal Tutoo, a devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, has this to say:-
'Early in the
morning of 29th May, 1968, I wanted to have Bhagawaan Ji's darshana, not
knowing that he had given up his mortal frame the previous day. As soon
as I learnt about the tragic fact. I was smitten with grief; I proceeded
to his residence and joined the procession to the cremation ground. I am
a businessman and used to go out of Kashmir to sell some Kashmiri handicrafts.
I had returned from Delhi about a month before and was on the look out
for a shop at a good shopping centre in Srinagar. In spite of great efforts,
I had failed. In fact, my contemplated visit to Bhagawaan Ji on 29th May
was for his help in getting a shop on rent. While the last rites were on
at the cremation ground, I was feeling terribly dejected and forlorn, thinking
that the very source of my divine help had dried up . Beset with grief
and anxiety, I lay reclining on the turf-covered ground. Soon, I fell into
a sort of trance in which Bhagawaan Ji appeared before me, and directed
me to follow him. He took me to Lambert Lane, one of the busiest shopping
centres in Srinagar, opened the two locks attached to the shutter of a
shop, raised the shutter, and signaled to me to enter the shop. Thereupon,
I woke up from the trance.
'Three or four
days later, I went to Lambert Lane. While I was sitting in a shop there,
a man came up and informed me that a shop was to let. I approached the
manager of the shopping centre straightaway. He handed over to me the keys
of the shop there and then though he had rejected many prospective tenants.
Bhagawaan Ji is very benevolent and helps his devotees in difficulty, even
if he is not physically with us.'
15.(a) Shri
Somnath Kaak, employed in Lloyds Bank, Srinagar, narrates the following
experience:-
'My brother,
Shri Jawahar Lal Kaak, when he was an Engineering student in Bombay, suffered
an attack of renal colic. The doctors diagnosed it as a case of renal stone
and advised an immediate operation. As soon as I received his telegram
to this effect, I approached Bhagawaan Ji for help. He started rubbing
his own left side, and, in his characteristic way, observed, "Stones come
down with snow, with water; look, the stone has come down with urine."
Though the hint was clear, I repeated my request. He, in turn, repeated
that the stone had come down. Next morning, I received another telegram
from my brother stating that, after another severe attack, he had a vision
of somebody with a turban on and wearing a phiran upturned; this man was
pulling at the stone. A few minutes later, the patient passed urine and
the stone came out . He knew nothing about Bhagawaan Ji then.
'Later on,
my brother again developed a kidney stone. On 3rd April, 1967, I received
a telephone call from him from Bombay that he was to be operated upon on
5th April, 1967. As soon as I received this information, I went to see
Bhagawaan Ji at about 6 p.m. There were many people assembled there and
I could not get an opportunity to speak to him till 11 p.m.; by then, all
others had left. I told him that it would not be possible for me to reach
Bombay on the 4th. i.e. the next day, to be present at my brother's operation
on the 5th morning. "Go by air', he said firmly. When I said that it would
not be possible to get an air seat on the 4th without prior booking, he
repeated, "Go by air tomorrow." Miraculously and by his grace, I got an
air seat direct to Bombay by which I arrived on the 4th evening. On the
5th morning, the patient was operated upon successfully. Soon after, as
he was being taken out of the operation theater, he regained consciousness.
The first thing he enquired about was, "Where has Bhagawaaaa an Ji gone
? He was with me, when I was taken to the theater, with one side of his
phiran on his shoulder and with a turban on " He (Bhagawaan Ji) had also
told him that he should wire his mother in Srinagar to get purees made
of 2 1/2 seers of flour, and send these to his (Bhagawaan Ji's) residence
at Chondapora, Srinagar. The purees were taken to Bhagawaan Ji's place;
he smiled and distributed them among all present.
(b) 'In 1960,
accompanied by the other members of my family, I went on a pilgrimage to
Haridwar. Before leaving Srinagar, I went to seek Bhagawaan Ji's permission.
He agreed and gave me a small packet of bhasma, advising me to keep it
with me. This was unusual, as he gave bhasma only on request. From Srinagar,
we went direct to Delhi to spend a few days there before proceeding to
Haridwar. Our host in Delhi, Shri Lakshmi Nath Zalpori, lived in only one
room along with his family. We felt cramped up in it and wanted to leave
as soon as possible. Nevertheless, we stayed on for three days. When we
were about to leave for Haridwar, our host's daughter, aged about nine,
was suddenly taken seriously ill; she also lost consciousness. The doctors
diagnosed it as a case of meningitis. After three days, her condition worsened
and the doctors gave up all hope of her survival. We felt extremely sad
at our presence in the room when death was hovering over a member of our
host's family. I lay awake the whole night, invokiii ing Bhagawaan Ji's
grace to save the girl. Early in the morning, the idea flashed across my
mind that the bhasma given to me by him, was meant to cure the girl. Straightaway,
I ran to her mother and asked her to wash the patient's face. Her mother
declined the request saying that the girl was dying. She gave in, however,
in the wake of insistence. I took out a small portion of the bhasma and,
mixing it with a little water in a tea-spoon, put it into the patient's
mouth. She could not gulp it down and part of it spilled through the corners
of her mouth. A few minutes later, when I tried again, a little water mixed
with the bhasma went down her throat. About 15 minutes later, she started
moving her legs and arms, and began to moan in a low husky voice. After
about half an hour, she regained consciousness and opened her eyes. An
hour later, she sat up in her bed. In the evening, she played with her
playmates.'
16. Once, Bhagawaan
Ji cried out, 'There will be an earth-quake, causing much destruction.'
The many people present became panicky, fearing Kashmir might be rocked
by the earth-quake. The very next day, there was a terrible earthquake
in Iran, causing immense loss of life and property.
17. An incident
reported by Pandit Vish Nath an old man in the employ of Ganesh Asthaapan,
Srinagar, runs as follows:-
'In the year
1960 or thereabout, on the day following the Diwali day, I went to Bhagawaan
Ji's residence at about 3 p.m. There were many other people also there.
A young man from among them picked up a lump of hashish lying in front
of Bhagawaan Ji while the latter was busy smoking his chillum and hid it
in his phiran pocket. After Bhagawaan Ji had finished smoking, he asked
the young man to keep the hashish tied in a handkerchief. Thereupon, the
young man noticed that the pocket in which he had placed the hashish had
become heavy. He also sensed something moving in it. After he had put a
hand into the pocket, he started shrieking, "A snake, a snake . I am dying;
I am dying. Save me." And a black snake, about 3 feet long, came out of
the pocket, and all those present in the room, including Bhagawaan Ji's
sister, bolted. Bhagawaan Ji, however, said, smiling, "There is no danger.
Come back. " The snake crawled on to Bhagawaan Ji's lap and stayed there
for a while. Bhagawaan Ji patted it on the back with his riggg ght hand
and then asked it to go away. It crawled into one of the folds of his aasana
and was never seen again. This, obviously, was a reprimand to the young
man for committing theft.
Bhagawaan Ji
usually did not seem to take notice, if anybody stole the money lying before
him. A small boy once stole his cloth purse with money in it, but brought
it back the next day.
18. During
the year 1947, when Pakistani raiders attacked Kashmir, a Kashmiri Hindu
was on duty in the Sindh Valley into which the raiders had infiltrated.
As he failed to return to Srinagar, his wife got anxious and approached
Bhagwaan Ji early one morning, praying to him for the safety of her husband
and his safe return to Srinagar. In a round-about way, Bhagawaan Ji indicated
that there was danger to her husband. She understood what he had told her
but kept sitting, imploring him in her heart that her husband- might return
home safely. At about 2 p.m., Bhagawaan Ji asked her to leave, saying that
he would return. Dodging raiders, her husband reached Vayilu, a place about
18 miles from Srinagar, that very evening. There, he found a bus full of
passengers. He pleaded with the driver to take him along and was made to
sit on the roof of the bus. Reaching Srinagar, the bus stopped suddenly
near Jama Masjid. He lost the balance, toppled over and fell down. But
he felt somebody holding him in his arms while he waaa as falling, and
saving him from sure death. Those who saw him falling down ran to him and
removed him to a shop on the road. After he had taken some water, he was
his normal self again and walked home. There is a proverb in Kashmiri that,
by the intercession of saints, 'Kaathis Chhe Kath Gatshaan', i.e., a man
destined to die on the rack gets a mere scratch instead.
19. Pt. Maheshwar
Nath Qasba, a businessman with strong faith in Karma Kaanda is a scholar
of Vedantic Literature. He has visited and served many saints, but, maintaining
his individuality, sipped at all cups, draining none. He called at Bhagawaan
Ji's place during the period 1957-68 off and on. One of the experiences,
related by him is given below:
'During the
year 1966, I once went to Bhagawaan Ji's place at Chondapora, Srinagar,
late in the afternoon. While sitting in his august presence, I had a feeling
that I would miss my evening aarti at the Haari Parvat Shrine of Shri Shaalikaa
Bhagawati and was very much disturbed. At dusk, while sitting before him,
I was delightfully surprised not only to get a full picture of the aarti;
I saw clearly the big vermillion-coated slab, on which is engraved the
Shri Chakra representing Shri Shaarika Bhagawati, the ghee lamps kindled
by the pujaarias is usual with him on such occasions, and a dazzling light
on the wall being Bhagawaan Ji; I could also hear the aarti being recited
there. This was a scene never witnessed by me before, away from the Shrine.
What puzzled me was Bhagawaan Ji's insight into the hidden recesses of
my mind and fulfilling my desire by not only bringing a visual picture
of the aarti but also making it audible to me. It seemed to me that the
very walls of Bhagawaan Ji's room were reciting the aarti'
20. Shri A.N.
Fotedar, then a Divisional Forest Officer, was suspended from the service
on a flimsy charge and for no fault of his, in the year 1958. During the
period of his suspension, he, along with his wife, was once going to a
friend's house, when he encountered Swaami Nand Lal Ji (Nanda Bub), a clairvoyant
saint of Kashmir, mentioned earlier also. Swami Ji, whom Mr Fotedar had
not met previously, directed him to follow him to the house of a Kashmiri
Hindu, where Swaami Ji, along with a retinue of people, was going. Swaami
Ji, who was in the habit of putting on a tilak on the foreheads of all
who came to him and giving parvaanas (chits of paper written on by him)
to people, wrote down a parvaana in Urdu and handed it over to Shri Fotedar.
On this parvanna, which is still in Mr. Fotedar's possession, it was written
that he should put in an appeal to Shahanshah (King of Kings) Gopi Nath
Ji who is adorned with seven medals, and lives at Chondapora, Srinagar.
He also told Shri Fotedar that he would meet a maaa an at the Haari Parvat
Shrine, Srinagar. The man would guide him to Bhagawaan Ji's residence.
Mr Fotedar used to have a daily parikramaa round Haari Parvat. Two or three
days later, while he was going round the hillock in parikramaa, he met
a subordinate of his, who implored him (Mr Fotedar) to go and seek Bhagawaan
Ji's grace. He pleaded with earnestness and offered to take him to Bhagawaan
Ji's place. A few days later, Mr Fotedar went to see Bhagawaan Ji accompanied
by this man and also on some subsequent occasions.
On one occasion,
while Mr Fotedar was sitting in front of Bhagawaan Ji, he started debating
in his mind about the pros and cons of astrology. Though he tried to put
the idea out of his mind, he failed, and became uncomfortable and felt
irritated. Meanwhile, a man come and sat in front of Bhagawaan Ji. After
he (Bhagawaan Ji had smoked, he gave his chillum to this man, who returned
it after having a few puffs. Soon after, this gentleman started speaking
about the effect of the grihas (stars) in the various positions in a horoscope.
Mr Fotedar, who has a rational and critical mind, did not believe in horoscopes
and did not in the first instance suspect that this man was speaking about
the positions of the stars in his (Shri Fotedar's) own horoscope, but somehow
he got interested and began to listen to him with attention. Mr. Fotedar
asked him where he had seen his janma kundali (chart of stars). The man
did not reply but closed his statement with the remark that horoscopes
are true, but the man reading them musss st be a saadhaka who can interpret
them correctly. Bhagawaan Ji again gave him his chillum. This man had a
few puffs and, returning it to him (Bhagawaan Ji), fell silent. It now
appeared that he was not the same man as had spoken about the correctness
or otherwise of horoscope reading. He even confessed he knew nothing about
astrology.
Mr Fotedar
visited Bhagawaan Ji frequently but did not broach before him the subject
of his reinstatement. On one occasion, however, Bhagawaan Ji himself brought
up the subject and told him that about the time it was spring in Jammu,
he would go there and be reinstated, though there would be certain bad
remarks and some loss of pay. He also said that, though he would, subsequently,
go to court for redress, the case would linger on, till the Government
of Bakshi Gulam Mohammed had been replaced by the Sadiq Government, which
would redress all his grievances. That was what actually happened. Mr.
Fotedar is in the Indian Forest Service and is working as Conservator of
Forests at present.
21. In this
second edition of Bhagawaan Ji's biography a few miracles that were reported
by very reliable persons have also been mentioned. Any mention of the miracles
performed by the Bhagawaan after giving up the gross body has been avoided,
since the book is 'a biographical study'. An exception has, however, been
made in the case of the following incident for the simple reason that Pandit
Ramaadutta Shukla has mentioned it in the Hindi version of Bhagawaan Ji's
biography.
The late Shri
Shankar Nath Zadoo, a disciple of Bhagawaan Ji, had contacts with him for
about three decades. Shri Zadu says, 'My wife, Smt. Prabhavati Zadu, passed
away in May, 1970. Her sudden and untimely demise caused me not only much
financial loss but also told upon my physical condition; I developed a
serious nerve disorder. I roamed about like one having lost his mental
balance as a result of some grave calamity. There was hardly any desire
left in my mind. My daughter was very sad because of my physical and mental
state. And in December, 1973, (Shri Zadu lived from September, 1971 to
May, 1976 with his daughter and son-in-law in Bombay) she persuaded her
husband, a devotee of Shri Bhagawaan Satya Sai Baba, to seek the Baba's
grace for my well-being. The Baba was to deliver a lecture at Andheri,
Bombay, and she virtually forced me to attend it. On reaching the venue
of the lecture, I was wonder-struck to see an audience of over 40,000,
eager to listen to the Baba as also the bhajan (hymn)- singing grouuu ups.
Having concluded his speech, as the Baba was proceeding towards the rooms
where he was staying, he passed by the place where I was. Standing before
me, he said, 'Your Guru (that is, Bhagawaan Shri Gopi Nath Ji, who had
given up his gross body ln May, 1968) has directed me to grace you" He
also asked me whether I had been struck by some disease of the nerves.
I gesticulated to indicate that I had been. Thereupon, he quickly moved
around his right hand and, all of a sudden, sacred ashes started coming
out of his right thumb. Giving me the ashes, he directed me to eat some
of them and with the rest besmear my head. As soon as I ate the ashes,
I felt an electric current, as it were, running from my head to feet: I
underwent a sudden change: I became perfectly healthy, repenting over my
folly and ignorance.
'While the
Baba stood before me, he said, "Your Guru (Bhagawaan Gopi Nath Ji) was
the greatest Kashmiri saint; he was a jivan mukta (liberated while still
in the gross body). In the real sense, he is not dead. He will appear before
you in about two months.......
'Bhagawaan
Gopi Nath Ji gave me his darshana many times in those two months. He emphasized
the transience and unreality of this world and spoke about the problems
concerning moksha (liberation).'
22. The late
Professor Kashi Nath Dhar, a former President of the Bhagawaan Gopi Nath
Ji Trust, related his following experience to several members of the Trust:-
Once he (Prof.
Dhar) visited at Chattabal a family closely related to him on the mother's
side. One day, he went out to the market, a gadvi (liquid container) in
hand, to fetch some milk. On his return, he lost his way in a maze of lanes.
Even after wandering about for about a couple of hours, he had no idea
where he was; the lanes and the rows of houses appeared to be quite unfamiliar.
He grew very anxious. Then a certain lane led him towards the River Jhelum.
He heard an angry remonstrance: 'Why are you coming in this direction?
Take that small lane.' And he found that it was a Kashmiri Pandit, wearing
a pheran and a white turban, and carrying a gadvi full of water in his
right hand. The man was coming up the steps of a ghaat. Professor Dhar
took the lane indicated and in a few moments was just before the house
he had to return to. Bhagawaan Ji was still in his gross body then.
Many years
later, Shri Pran Nath Kaul and some other senior members of the Trust approached
Prof. Dhar to accept the Presidentship of the Trust. After some initial
reluctance, he accepted the offer.
When he entered
the Ashram hall at Kharyar, Habba Kadal, he was amazed to find a hundred
per cent resemblance of the man who had led him back from the market and
Bhagawaan Ji's marble statue-to the statue and not to the many photographs
of the Bhagawaan in the hall. The statue does not bear a complete resemblance
to Bhagawaan Ji's gross body and so not to the photographs either. Was
it an indication in advance that the statue to be installed in future at
the Ashram was to be taken to represent him in spite Or a lack of complete
resemblance?
Prof. Dhar
had never seen Bhagawaan Ji.
23. Dr Kaushalya
Wali of the Post-Graduate Department of Sanskrit, the University of Jammu,
says:-
(a) 'A certain
family had felt somehow somewhere lacking in peace at home, although every
mentionable material facility was available to its members...A few members
of this family went to Bhagawaan Ji one fine evening. They sat in front
of Him for some time. As usual, He was busy making offerings to his dhooni
and having a puff at his chillm, when, in between, he stared at the faces
of these visitors for some time, and then said, "You will be free on Monday'.....On
the said Monday, the electric staff came to check the electric charges.
The [electric] wire of a room was giving way; on being replaced, therewith
came down a folded paper. The paper was unfolded and in it were found some
grains of ash and some painted images of the members of the family with
their hands bound. The elders of the family took this paper etc. to some
person knowing this occult art and it was interpreted by him as the unwholesome
effort of a not-well-meaning relative to harm the progress of this family
by taking recourse to ..black maggg gic.
b) ' The young
father of a number of small children was on the death bed. The mother of
the children along with a few relatives implored Shri Bhagawaan Ji to save
the dying patient in the interests of his minor children. It is said (that)
since that day Bhagawaan Ji gave up taking food for about a month and,
as a result, .... the patient's life tenure was extended by one year.'
24. Mr. Philip
Simpfendorfer, an Australian devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, says, 'He (Shri Gwash
Lal Malla) had once been obsessed by the contrast between the seemingly
endless weariness of his life and the statement that the whole of humanity's
existence on Earth is only a small part of one day in the life of Brahmaa
(in fact one Brahmaa's day is 2160 million years). Going to Bhagawaan Ji
with the problem, he was given an empty chillum to puff by one of the people
present. Feeling giddy, he left but collapsed in the street and someone
took him home. At 11 p.m., it was reported to Bhagawaan Ji that the man
was still unconscious. Bhagawaan Gopi Nath said, 'It does not matter. He
is all right. Put this piece of sugar into his mouth." At about 2 o'clock,
he returned to his senses. During the trance, he had lived many cycles
of life (only three cycles of life, according to the late Gopi Nath Malla,
perhaps - Ed.), and he understood how one day of Brahmaa could be equal
to millions of earthly Years.'
24. The following
are some of the miracles narrated to Mrs Kusum Handoo by Smt:. Gauri Ji
[Mrs Prabhavati Handoo], daughter of Shri Bhola Nath Handoo, a boy-hood
friend and, later, disciple of Bhagawaan Ji. The miracles happened on Bhagawaan
Ji's way to, and after his return from the holy Amarnath Cave.
(a) 'During
the pilgrimage, Bhagawaan Ji's party was divided into two groups, women
and men. The group of women, who went ahead, thought that Bhagawaan Ji
was with the men who, in turn, thought that he was with the women. But
he lay at some distance supine and seemingly asleep. When Shri Bhola Nath
tried to awake him up', Bhagawaan Ji said, 'What have you done? Don't you
see everything around is scorched? I was trying to water this area." Shri
Bhola Nath said, 'But, Sir, rain will mean great difficulty for us. It
may lead to some dangerous situation." Bhagawaan Ji replied that no harm
would be done to the party. All along the rest of the journey, Bhagawaan
Ji and party were in the sun; the rain followed immediately after.'
(b) 'About
a week after returning from the pilgrimage, Bhagawaan Ji and the Handoo
family decided to visit Gautam Nag, a holy place about three kilometres
from the Anantnagh town, towards Mattan. Even though only a vegetarian
meal may be taken at Gautam Nag, they carried, at Bhagawaan Ji's behest,
their lunch consisting of cooked rice and fish curry. As the party was
having their lunch near the spring, the Mahant of the place, Swaami Gwash
Kaak Ji, appeared on the scene. In very great anger, he asked Bhagawaan
Ji why, even though the latter was a brahmchaari (celebate) and saadhu
(saint), he was taking fish at a holy place where nothing non-vegetarian
might be taken. Bhagawaan Ji said calmly, "Who has eaten the fish? If you
want them back, here they are." And he put two of his fingers into his
mouth and vomited two living fish, 'which jumped into the spring. The Swaami
prostrated before him and prayed for forgiveness.'
(c) 'After
a week or so, the family, along with Bhagawaan Ji, visited another holy
place in the Anantnagh District, called Trisandhyaa. It is a miraculous
place: the holy tunnel-shaped spring there remains bone-dry for most of
the year, but during a brief period, water wells out in fairly good quantities
twice or thrice a day, and pilgrims bathe in it. As part of their worship
of the holy spring, they drop flowers and thrice-washed grains of rice
into it. During the intervals between the welling out of the water, the
spring becomes so waterless that mice appear and eat the rice. On the day
Bhagawaan Ji was there, Trisandhyaa appeared -i.e. water welled out-eight
times. Then a woman came there to absolve herself of her sins by bathing
in the holy Trlsandhyaa, but, even after a long wait, Trisandhyaa did not
appear. Then she prayed to Bhagawaan Ji that it might appear. But he, in
great anger, told her "Mondee (O wretched one), why did you let the cows
burn to death in your burning house? Why did you not let theee em loose
in time? You have committed such a heinous sin that, as long as you are
here, the holy Trisandhyaa will not appear." All those present urged her
angrily to go away. After she had gone a little distance, Trisandhyaa appeared.
She returned to take a dip. But no sooner did she reach the holy place
than Trlsandhyaa disappeared. After she had finally gone, it appeared again
and all present bathed in it for the ninth time that day'
(d) 'In mid-1948,
Bhagawaan Ji along with Shri Bhola Nath and the Handoo family went to the
Nishat Bagh by boat. Bhagawaan Ji took up one of the dead fish they carried
to be cooked as part of their lunch. He rocked it in his lap for many minutes
and then threw it into the Dal Lake. And lo and behold! As soon as it touched
the water, it regained life; a normal and healthy fish now, it swam about,
- and away!.'
25. Mr. Iqbal
Kaui of R K Puram, New Delhi, accompanied Bhagawaan Ji on a pilgrimage
to the holy Amarnath Cave 'around August, 1946.' On the return journey,
Bhagawaan Ji did not permit him and others to proceed beyond Panchtarni.
Mr Kaul writes:
We had our
lunch, packed our bags, and sought Bhagawaan Ji's permission to return
to Wavjan. He would not let us leave our place, and did not budge from
his aasana. All of us remonstrated with him, informing him that we had
to cross a difficult leg of the route, and (that) any delay in departure
would create unnecessary problems. These arguments did not cut any ice
with him...Therefore, in utter frustration, we gave up pleading with him.
However, around 4 p.m., he allowed us to set off for Wavjan.
'A shock awaited
us at the Mahagunas Pass. The whole area of the Pass was carpeted with
thick layers of slime and slush. The pilgrim pathway was converted into
ruts by the passing ponies and pedestrians. Depressions were brimful with
water and tiny rivulets were cascading down the slopes. The area, only
twenty-four hours earlier, was bone-dry. We found a few frightened Kashmiri
Pandit ladies here. They were soaked to the skin and shivering with cold.
They told us their tale of woe. A freak cloudburst had struck the pass,
and a large number of yaatris (pilgrims) had been caught by the deluge.
We reached Wavjan around 9 p.m. in good cheer. (Now) the significance of
Bhagawaan Ji's negative attitude at Panchtarni dawned on us. Had we started
at Panchtarni according to our will, we too, would have received a drubbing
from Nature. It was Bhagawaan Ji's intervention that saved us from a nasty
situation.'
26. Shri A.N.
Fotedar, IFS, a retired conservator of Forests, was a witness to the following:-
'One evening,
while it was snowing heavily, the Bhagawaan, as usual, was in an ecstatic
mood, puffing away at his chillum. Suddenly, he held the chillum in his
left hand and looked out through the window near him, shouting, "O puny
mortal, donning an immaculate military uniform covering your huge body
and sporting a well-trimmed moustache, you cannot frighten us from across
the mountrains. We are here under the protection of Shri Shaarika and numerous
saints and sages, both of the past and the present. Their grace has protected
us from marauders and continues to do so. You can do whatever you like
in the area on the other side of the mountains, South and West of Kashmir.
The yellow race with slit eyes and snub noses to the North of us, which,
you think, will come down on us to help you in your evil designs, dare
not do so now. The King, whom they will drive out of their area, will not
be allowed to come to our sacred land, but may be received, and thereafter
live in the hills and mountains East of Kashmir. I again tell you and do
so forcefully, "Do not even cast an evil eye on this sacred land and do
not expect the slit-eyed, yellow-faced and snub-nosed northerners to help
you in this misadventure."
'Only the following
day the news came that General Ayub Khan had taken over in Pakistan in
a military coup, and had imposed martial law on the country. In the subsequent
years, the insurrection in Tibet against the Chinese oppression resulted
in the flight of the Dalai Lama and his followers into India, east of Kashmir.
Later, in 1962, the Chinese launched a massive attack on India which shook
it to its foundations. But all the fighting took place away from the Kashmir
Valley.'
27 Mahaatma
Nand Lal Ji, popularly known as Nanda Bub, once decided that the marriage
ceremony of a devotee girl of his should be performed in the house at Gadood
Bagh, near Chondapora, Srinagar, where Bhagawaan Ji lived during the last
years of his earthly life. Shri Pushkar Nath Kaul of Kani Kadal, Srinagar,
a saintly person, was asked by both the saints to officiate at the ceremony
in place of the girl's father who was lying very ill in the room adjacent
to that of Bhagawaan Ji. The following incident has been reported by Shri
Pushkar Nath Kaul himself.
After the earlier
ceremonies, the Mehandiraat and the Devagone, the day of the wedding came.
On the arrival of the baraat, Bhagawaan Ji blessed the girl, saying, 'Deka
bad aasin!' ('May her husband outlive her!'). The lagan (the marriage rituals)
started at 9 a.m. Towards the close of the lagan ceremony. poshi-pooza
is performed: the girl's parents and other relations shower heaps of flowers
on the newly-wed couple while the officiating priests chant Sanskrit verses
blessing the couple. Now, just before the poshi-pooza. Shri Pushkar Nath
went to the room, where the girl's father was lying ill, to see if the
latter could muster strength enough to go and drop at least a few flowers
on the couple and bless them. But he was shocked to find the man's elder
daughter wailing and beating her chest as he had just died.
Besides being
shocked, Shri Pushkar Nath was at a loss whether to carry on with the marriage
rituals and the ceremonial farewell to the couple and the bride-groom's
people, or whether to start performing the rituals for the dead and organise
the funeral procession to the cremation ground. It was an extremely difficult
situation and he did not know what the injunctions of the shastras were
to tackle it.
In a fix, he
approached Bhagawaan Ji whom he found in a deep spiritual ecstasy. But
before he could say anything, the Bhagawaan opened his eyes and said rather
loudly, 'Dapus thahar pagaah taanya.' ('Ask him to wait till tomorrow').
Shri Pushkar Nath could not understand the purport of these words. He,
however, returned to the dead man's room where he was pleasantly surprised
to find him smiling and talking to his elder daughter. He now informed
him about the poshi-poozaa
The function
ended at about 7 p.m. and the couple was blessed by Bhagawaan Ji on their
departure.
On the following
day, the girl's father suddenly died, and his funeral rites were duly performed.
It
is not proper to mention the miracles performed by great saints as, first,
they shun publicity and, secondly, they are not to be judged by their miracles.
Some of them, in fact, are averse to the demonstrations of this sort, as
they do not want to interfere with Naure's ways. Saints generally shun
the ashtasidhis (the eight supernatural powers), regarding them as detrimental
to spiritual advancement. But, when a saint has attained Shivahood, what
has he to lose or gain by performing miracles to help somebody? A few streams
flowing out of the ocean, do not affect it. This was true of Bhagawaan
Ji. He was a Karma Yogi who found the modern generation engrossed in materialism,
with faith in God and godly ways shaken and crumbling. He had great compassion
for the suffering humanity and would go out of his way to help them. By
his very nature, he could not remain indifferent when the country was in
trouble. He put in a great spiritual effort from 1947 onwards, unmindful
of the physical hardships he had to endureee e in the process, to bring
order out of chaos. Forgetting to eat and drink, and with a foaming mouth
and blood-shot eyes, he would go on puffing at his chillumn and offering
oblations into his dhooni. He did not deliver spiritual discourses, but
induced spirituality by a touch, a look or by offering bhasma, prashaad
or his chillum to the suitable aspirants. He seemed to us to be too preoccupied
to have any spare time. It seemed as if he was to appear in some difficult
examination and was preparing for it. The struggle in his mind was not
an open chapter. The miracles reported here have their own instructive
value and depict the various aspects of his personality. This is the reason
why, I think, they should form part of his biography. Neither I nor any-one
else could understand in which direction he was actually working, but major
catastrophes were averted in those disturbed times because of his great
penance, as is acknowledged by some other people also from Kashmir, which
appeared to be the visible sphere of his activity.
In the first
instance, some incidents affecting the country will be reported
In the year
1947, raiders from Pakistan attacked Kashmir, committing murder, rape and
arson, wherever they went. They reached even the outskirts of the Srinagar
city and some people approached Bhagawaan Ji for help. He assured them
that the raiders would not enter the city but would be halted beyond the
seventh and last bridge over the Jhelum in the city. The raiders were actually
halted much below the Chhattabal Octroi Post by the Indian Army.
Two months
before the raid, he had told a devotee posted at Baramulla that he should
get to Srinagar everything from Baramulla, even a blade of grass, as he
had purchased those articles with his honest earnings. By Bhagawaan Ji's
grace, the devotee was transferred to Srinagar before the raid.
Bhagawaan Ji
once went to the Shri Shaarika Bhagawati Shrine at Haari Parvat. That was
some time after the raid and a Chandi yoajna was in progress there then.
As soon as those present saw him, they flocked round him and requested
him to save Kashmir. He replied, 'There is no danger, as I am always present
on the battle fronts,' In one of his soliloquies, Bhagawaan Ji was heard
saying, 'What is the army doing? They get so much rations and yet do not
open a direct route to Kashmir for the Laddakhi Lamas.' We failed to comprehend
what this meant. In the month of November, 1948, however, the Indian Army
conquered the Zojila pass and Kargil, and a direct link was re-established
with Ladakh.
The part played
by Bhagawaan Ji in this campaign was revealed by an officer of the Military
Policy who was connected with this operation. He had been informed by the
Front Commander that a mysterious person directed the operations and gesticulated
to the jawans at the battle front to fire in certain directions; this proved
correct militarily. This Military Police Officer had been given the identification
clues of the mysterious person and very much wished to know whether a person
answering the description (who, he guessed, must be a saint) lived in flesh
and blood. He gave the identification marks to one, Mr. T.N. Dhar of Rainawari,
Srinagar. During this period, Mr. Dhar, among others, had already seen
Bhagawaan Ji sitting on a pillow at his residence at Reshi Mohalla (Srinagar)
and gesticulating with his hands as if to direct someone invisible to fire
in this or that direction.
Mr Dhar told
the Military Police Officer that he knew the saint in question and sent
a man to escort him to Bhagawaan Ji's place. The officer was a plump, rather
short-sized person of a dark complexion and with a pock-marked face. He
was a Christian. After seeing Bhagawaan Ji, he said that the saint exactly
answered to the description given by the Front Commander, who had also
said that the saint had been mainly responsible for their victory.
During this
period, Bhagawaan Ji fasted. But one morning he suddenly had a barber called
in, had a shave and broke his fast. He was in a relaxed mood and his genial
self again. 'The news of the capture of Zojila was announced the same evening.
Late in the
autumn of 1956, the people of Kashmir were panic-stricken owing to the
uncertainty about the future of Kashmir. A large number of them went to
implore Bhagawaan Ji to save Kashmir. In a soliloquy, he remarked that
Kashmir would be ruined if the Indian Army left. This accentuated their
worry. Though this subject was often mooted, Bhagawaan Ji gave no reply
but continued his austerities with redoubled vigour. One fine morning,
when I, too, was present, he, on his own, gave the reply, saying that the
Army would remain in Kashmir for the good of the country and the people.
A month later, on 18th February, 1957, the UN Security Council passed a
resolution co-sponsored by the USA, the UK, Australia and Cuba for inducting
a UN Force into Kashmir. The resolution was, however, vetoed by the USSR
and the picture changed dramatically during these years, he would often
say, 'Kashmir is in the throes of consumption (silla). I am sitting on
Kashmir and will not allow it to drift away.'
Bhagawaan Ji
also, seems to have been connected with the Sino-lndian border war of 1962
in some mysterious way. He was at the Bhadra-Kaali shrine about the month
of September, 1962. As has been narrated elsewhere, he was once sitting
in an open space with his dhooni on, and sent away all his devotees back
to Srlnagar, except his sister and Swaami Amritaananda, telling them 'Don't
you see what is happening across the mountains (Tibet side)? A whiff of
the wind from that side will blow you over.' This period, too, was for
him one of intense spiritual activity for the safety of Kashmir. He returned
to Srinagar after about three weeks' stay. The Sino-Indian border war had
already started. While in Srinagar, he told his sister one night at about
11 p.m. that he was going out. Noting his determination, she assented and
he left the house wrapped in a woollen chaddar and carrying only his chillum
He returned after an hour or so, intensely cold. The Next day, he contracted
bronchitis and all that. He told a devotee whhh ho had summoned courage
enough to enquire where he had gone the previous night, 'To Tibet, to settle
matters.' Some days later, the hostilities ceased.
Before the
Indo-Pakistan war started in 1965, he would, of his own accord, point towards
the South- West (i.e. towards Poonch, Rajouri and Gulmarg) and say that
there was Kaala or Death there. The reference, we realised later, was to
the Pakistani infiltrators who had sneaked into these areas and indulged
in loot, arson and murder. One evening, during the 1965 war, he got up
all of a sudden from his usual reclining position, saying that there was
danger looming. He took out a sugar candy and put it into his mouth; he
also gave a sugar candy to either of the two men sitting before him, and
audibly asked himself whether he should save Srinagar or Delhi. Then he
suddenly became silent. Only a few minutes later, the Srinagar aerodrome
was bombed but the damage was minimal. It was learnt later that a Pakistani
plane on a bombing mission to Delhi had been brought down near Meerut.
A few days
before the hostilities ceased, he observed, 'The West is clear now.' Now
I shall proceed to give the details of some cases where Bhagawaan Ji helped
to ease individual distress. The instances cited are authentic.
1. The wife
of Shri Chuni Ial, Vice-Principal of a music institute in Srinagar, once
suffered from the cancer of blood (Leukaemia). She was under the treatment
of an eminent physician specialist. At one stage, on the basis of her blood
picture, the doctor gave up all hope of her survival, and left her free
to take anything she liked, as her end was near. Dejected and distressed,
Shri Chuni Lal went to Bhagawaan Ji, who gave him a small packet of the
ashes from his dhooni. With tearful eyes, he said, 'What will these ashes
do to my dying wife?' Moved visibly, Bhagawaan Ji said that she should
take the ashes with water or medicine. Shri Chuni Lal went home sceptical
about the efficacy of the ashes. He, however, told everything to his mother
who snatched the tiny packet from his hand and put some ashes on the patient's
tongue, smearing her body with the rest. The patient went off to sleep
immediately. Waking up after two or three hours, she said that she was
feeling hungry. Since the night had advanced, they could get and feed her
milk only. The next day also, she felt very hungry though she had been
given ample feeding. The doctor advised that the patient be taken to hospital
for a fresh blood check-up. The check-up revealed a normal blood picture
with no trace of the cancer. The doctor was puzzled and enquired of Shri
Chuni Lal what he had done and how she had been cured. Shri Chuni Lal related
the story of the ashes. He says that subsequently the doctor also went
to pay obeisance to Bhagawaan Ji.
2. A lady in
Delhi was declared a case of pyelonephrltis (Tubercular). The tests revealed
that the infection in the kidney was galloping and involving healthy tissue
. A relative of the lady approached Bhagawaan Ji in Srinagar with the prayer
to save her, as her death would mean the ruin of her three young children.
Bhagawaan Ji was moved, filled his chillum and smoked it for about half-an-hour
and said, 'Go, the lady is saved'. Her husband reported later that the
tests had revealed an improvement in the condition of the kidney and that
she was recovering. She recovered fully and leads the normal life of a
housewife .
3. Once, one
of Bhagawaan Ji's devotees was suffering from a heart and a stomach ailment.
He went to Bombay and got himself thoroughly checked up by a professor
of cardiology. The treatment prescribed did not have any appreciable effect.
The patient returned to Kashmir and was one day sitting in front of Bhagawaan
Ji who, of his own accord, told him that he had renewed his heart and stomach.
The devotee was fully cured. Next winter, he went to Bombay and got himself
rechecked by the same cardiologist, who was surprised to find nothing wrong
with the heart, and told him that he had expected changes for the worse
in his heart during the year. He then enquired whether he had used the
medicines prescribed. On being informed that the medicines had not been
used, the doctor wanted to know how the marvelous cure had taken place.
The patient informed him that it was only divine grace, leaving the doctor
all the more amazed.
4. One of Bhagawaan
Ji's devotees once broke the head of his femur. The patient's relatives
approached Bhagawaan Ji for instructions whether the patient should be
removed to hospital. He told them that he should rest in his room and that
he (Bhagawaan Ji) would cure him himself. A month after the incident, he
asked the patient's relatives to bring him to his place. He was taken there
on a stretcher; placed in a chair, he was ushered into the presence of
Bhagawaan Ji, who told him to rest for a few days in the ante-room. One
day, Bhagawaan Ji went into the ante-room and helped the patient to stand
up and move a few steps. He asked him to continue the practice himself
with the help of crutches; after a few days, he directed him to go back
home. The man is quite well and can walk long distances though with a slight
limp.
5. One of Bhagawaan
Ji's devotees was once laid up with an attack of what is commonly called
'black motions', and was removed to hospital by his relatives, without
his (Bhagawaan Ji's) consent. After a few days, he advised a relative of
the patient to get him back from the hospital, saying, 'I shall do the
rest'. He also advised that the patient be given cooked rice and gram daal.
Surprisingly, the doctor also suggested the same diet.
6. On 26-11-1966,
one of Bhagwaan Ji's devotees, Pt. Pran Nath Kaul, who appears to be the
man of destiny for carrying on his mission. was sitting before him, as
usual, when the latter's brother came in, running and alarmed. He told
Pran Nath Ji that his father, whose nose had been bleeding mildly off and
on for two days, had started bleeding profusely from the nose and that
his condition was fast worsening. Pran Nath Ji was asked to go home immediately
along with a doctor by his brother. The devotee was nonplussed and wondered
how he could get a doctor, the hour being very late. He talked about it
to Bhagawaan Ji. A lady sitting there also prayed to Bhagawaan Ji for the
patient's cure. Bhagawaan Ji gave a small quantity of dry tea leaves lying
in front of him to Pran Nath Ji and told him that a decoction of it, mixed
with sugar, should be given to the patient. Pran Nath Ji continued to stay
on at Bhagawaan Ji's place, asking his brother to take the tea leaves home.
As soon as a few sips of the tea were takeee en by the patient, the bleeding
stopped. The next day he felt normal.
7. In December,
1963, the Holy Relic was found missing from Dargah Sharif, Hazratbal, Srinagar.
All the people of Kashmir were terribly upset. There was a great commotion
in Srinagar and the rest of the Valley. Normal life got disrupted and the
Government appeared to have lost its grip on the situation. There was an
apprehension of the situation deteriorating further. Pt Shambhu Nath Bhan,
later a member of the Bhagawaan Gopinath Ji Trust, and some others approached
Bhagawaan Ji for help. Pran Nath Ji also was present on the occasion and
joined the others in praying to Bhagawaan Ji that the Holy Relic must be
found as only then would the peoples' anguish be over and normalcy return
to Kashmir. After a short pause, Bhagawaan Ji smiled and said, 'There is
no worry. The Holy Relic will be found soon.' The very next day, it was
announced that the Holy Relic had been found. As Bhagawaan Ji had predicted.
Its genuineness was certified by the saint Khwaja Mirakh Shah Sahib of
Shalimar and some other competent and reee eliable people.
8. A devotee
of Bhagawaan Ji had a long-standing throat trouble, which the doctors suspected
to be due to some malignant growth. Bhagawaan Ji asked him to get small
brick pieces, heat them in the sun and keep applying them to his throat.
After some time, the trouble disappeared.
9.(a) The husband
of a pious and rich lady, a devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, fell ill with the
cirrhosis of the liver. The lady requested Bhagawaan Ji to cure him. Though
the request was made many times, he did not say anything in reply. However,
one day he asked the lady to get her husband along with her to his place.
The lady's
husband agreed reluctantly but, when he sat in the car to go to Bhagawaan
Ji's place, he suddenly came out and did not go. He refused to go there
on some subsequent occasions also. He passed away soon after. On the night
previous to her husband's death, the lady went to see Bhagawaan Ji. She
complained about the patient's lack of appetite. He asked her to give him
some tea and also said, in my presence, that the pandits had started the
katha which meant that the man's end was near. The katha is narrated for
ten days after the death of a Hindu in Kashmir.
(b) This lady
was a great devotee of Bhagawaan Ji. She developed asthma and hypertension
but continued to live for about fifteen years. One day, he told her, in
my presence, that her disease was sleeping on one of his legs; he then
pointed to a spot on his own right leg, where, however, we could see nothing
abnormal. During the year 1972, about four years after his giving up the
gross body, the lady had a vision of him in a dream; he showed her his
leg with a big scab on it but put the leg back under his phiran. This meant
that he was still looking after her physical well-being, continuing to
take the disease upon himself even after giving up his gross body.
Two or three
cases have come to our notice when Bhagawaan Ji asked the patients to be
brought to him. If they failed to come for this or that reason, they perished;
those who came, got cured.
10. Bhagawaan
Ji had a strange way of curing heart patients. When the patient would be
sitting before him, he would begin feeling his own pulse for a few minutes
in both the wrists alternately, and the patient would get cured. He also
advised some such patients to have an oil massage after a bath.
11. Shri Shiban
Lal Turki, a devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, who appears to have brought a good
store of spiritual progress from his previous births and is well on the
path of God-realisation, has reported the following experiences with Bhagawaan
Ji:-
(a) One day
I was pressing Bhagawaan Ji's feet for an hour or so and felt elated for
doing that good deed. Thereupon Bhagawaan Ji said, 'You fool, you have
gone crazy over pressing my feet which are simply splinters of wood". This
opened my eyes and I fell at his feet, begging pardon. Nothing was hidden
from Bhagawaan Ji, not even a thought that occurred even for a fraction
of a second in another's mind.
(b) I was studying
in the B.Sc. classes. One day, I wore a new shirt and pants, adding grace
to my personality. My college friends started envying me. This inflated
my ego and I thought I could make love to any girl I liked, and there were
other low thoughts as well. I went to see Bhagawaan Ji about a week after
this incident and he, in his bewitching way, repeated not-only the sentences
my friends had used about me but also my filthy thoughts. I started sweating
from head to foot. Had I not known that Bhagawaan Ji was benign, I would
have fainted. However, I became rooted to the spot, as it were, and could
not move. He went on to say, "What does this body contain, except dirt,
phlegm urine, filth and the other excreta? Which of the body's outlets
gives out any thing attractive? So why this feeling of pride?"
'(c) I went
to Agra to try and get an M. Sc. Seat without taking Bhagawaan Ji's permission.
The Head of the Department concerned kept dodging me from day to day and
I had to stay on in Agra in the grueling heat of summer. As I did not write
to her, Mother, getting anxious, approached Bhagawaan ji. As soon as she
mentioned me, Bhagawan Ji showed great anger saying, "Poor boy is being
sent from pillar to post, and is staying in a building situated on a four-way
crossing [an exact description of the place I was living at] but is well
and will return soon." I returned home soon afterwards.
'(d) My elder
brother's marriage was to be celebrated and it had been raining continuously
for two days; there appeared to be no sign of the sky clearing and, if
the rain did not stop, the marriage function would be in a mess for lack
of adequate space in the house. Mother went to see Bhagawaan Ji. Looking
at the sky through a window, he waved a stick in the air as if dividing
the clouds. Soon after, the vast expanse of clouds broke into two, and
the next morning the sky was quite clear. We could arrange the function
in our compound.'
12. Sister
Jai Kishori a devotee of Bhagwaan Ji and model of chastity, is likely to
be a promoter of Bhagawaan Ji's mission among the womenfolk. She has to
say this about Bhagawaan Ji:- 'I went to pay respects to Bhagawaan Ji for
the first time in the year 1964. As soon as I was seated before him, he
cast an affable glance towards me and smiled. I felt a surge of bliss inside
me. I continued to visit him practically every day thereafter.
'In the year
1967, the city was under curfew for many days and I could not go to see
him. I felt very sad. An intense longing to pay my obeisance to him developed
within me and I was restless. Then something unexpected happened: the curfew
was lifted for just an hour and I dashed towards his residence. I found
him in an ecstasy. He cast a benign look towards me and smiled. I returned
home happy and relaxed.
'In the winter
of 1967, I was returning from a pilgrimage to Haridwar; it snowed heavily
and the road got blocked near Banihal. The clearance of the road was likely
to take many days; I was in deep anguish, and did not know what to do.
I could only pray to Bhagawaan Ji for help. After only a short while, the
signal was given for our bus to start and we reached home in Srinagar safely.
No other bus could come to Srinagar for a number of days on that occasion.
The next day, I went to pay obeisance to Bhagawaan Ji. It seemed to me
that he was waiting for me to come. After he had finished smoking his chillum,
he looked towards me, smiled, pointed towards his own shoulders and said
that he had to shoulder the bus for my safe arrival.'
13. Shri Mohan
Kishan Ticku, an esteemed member and Organizer, Bhagawaan Gopinath Ji Trust,
has reported the following experience with Bhagawaan Ji:-
'I am a businessman
and my shop is situated on the road-side on the main Ganpatyaar-Habbakadal
Road, Srinagar, on the right bank of the Jhelum. Once, Master Zinda Koul
Qasba, a well-known philospher - poet of Kashmir and popularly known as
Master Ji, was sitting in my shop, and there were some others also. Pt
Shambhu Nath Bhan, a distinguished member of the BGT, passed that way and,
seeing Master Ji sitting in the shop, came up and spoke to him. Master
Ji enquired of Mr Bhan where he was going. He replied that he was going
to pay his obeisance to Bhagawaan Ji. Master Ji told him that he had great
respect for Bhagawaan Ji but did not like his smoking the chillum more
or less constantly. Mr. Bhan then walked on quietly. A few minutes later,
I, too, followed him. As soon as we were seated after paying respects to
him, Bhagawaan Ji raised his head and said, 'What business has anyone to
pass remarks in a road-side shop regarding my chillum smoking. I am doing
this with a special purpose". Bhagawaan Ji being clairvvv voyant and clear
audient. nothing was hidden from him.'
14. The incident
that follows shows Bhagawaan Ji's solicitude for his devotees. Shri Makan
Lal Tutoo, a devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, has this to say:-
'Early in the
morning of 29th May, 1968, I wanted to have Bhagawaan Ji's darshana, not
knowing that he had given up his mortal frame the previous day. As soon
as I learnt about the tragic fact. I was smitten with grief; I proceeded
to his residence and joined the procession to the cremation ground. I am
a businessman and used to go out of Kashmir to sell some Kashmiri handicrafts.
I had returned from Delhi about a month before and was on the look out
for a shop at a good shopping centre in Srinagar. In spite of great efforts,
I had failed. In fact, my contemplated visit to Bhagawaan Ji on 29th May
was for his help in getting a shop on rent. While the last rites were on
at the cremation ground, I was feeling terribly dejected and forlorn, thinking
that the very source of my divine help had dried up . Beset with grief
and anxiety, I lay reclining on the turf-covered ground. Soon, I fell into
a sort of trance in which Bhagawaan Ji appeared before me, and directed
me to follow him. He took me to Lambert Lane, one of the busiest shopping
centres in Srinagar, opened the two locks attached to the shutter of a
shop, raised the shutter, and signaled to me to enter the shop. Thereupon,
I woke up from the trance.
'Three or four
days later, I went to Lambert Lane. While I was sitting in a shop there,
a man came up and informed me that a shop was to let. I approached the
manager of the shopping centre straightaway. He handed over to me the keys
of the shop there and then though he had rejected many prospective tenants.
Bhagawaan Ji is very benevolent and helps his devotees in difficulty, even
if he is not physically with us.'
15.(a) Shri
Somnath Kaak, employed in Lloyds Bank, Srinagar, narrates the following
experience:-
'My brother,
Shri Jawahar Lal Kaak, when he was an Engineering student in Bombay, suffered
an attack of renal colic. The doctors diagnosed it as a case of renal stone
and advised an immediate operation. As soon as I received his telegram
to this effect, I approached Bhagawaan Ji for help. He started rubbing
his own left side, and, in his characteristic way, observed, "Stones come
down with snow, with water; look, the stone has come down with urine."
Though the hint was clear, I repeated my request. He, in turn, repeated
that the stone had come down. Next morning, I received another telegram
from my brother stating that, after another severe attack, he had a vision
of somebody with a turban on and wearing a phiran upturned; this man was
pulling at the stone. A few minutes later, the patient passed urine and
the stone came out . He knew nothing about Bhagawaan Ji then.
'Later on,
my brother again developed a kidney stone. On 3rd April, 1967, I received
a telephone call from him from Bombay that he was to be operated upon on
5th April, 1967. As soon as I received this information, I went to see
Bhagawaan Ji at about 6 p.m. There were many people assembled there and
I could not get an opportunity to speak to him till 11 p.m.; by then, all
others had left. I told him that it would not be possible for me to reach
Bombay on the 4th. i.e. the next day, to be present at my brother's operation
on the 5th morning. "Go by air', he said firmly. When I said that it would
not be possible to get an air seat on the 4th without prior booking, he
repeated, "Go by air tomorrow." Miraculously and by his grace, I got an
air seat direct to Bombay by which I arrived on the 4th evening. On the
5th morning, the patient was operated upon successfully. Soon after, as
he was being taken out of the operation theater, he regained consciousness.
The first thing he enquired about was, "Where has Bhagawaaaa an Ji gone
? He was with me, when I was taken to the theater, with one side of his
phiran on his shoulder and with a turban on " He (Bhagawaan Ji) had also
told him that he should wire his mother in Srinagar to get purees made
of 2 1/2 seers of flour, and send these to his (Bhagawaan Ji's) residence
at Chondapora, Srinagar. The purees were taken to Bhagawaan Ji's place;
he smiled and distributed them among all present.
(b) 'In 1960,
accompanied by the other members of my family, I went on a pilgrimage to
Haridwar. Before leaving Srinagar, I went to seek Bhagawaan Ji's permission.
He agreed and gave me a small packet of bhasma, advising me to keep it
with me. This was unusual, as he gave bhasma only on request. From Srinagar,
we went direct to Delhi to spend a few days there before proceeding to
Haridwar. Our host in Delhi, Shri Lakshmi Nath Zalpori, lived in only one
room along with his family. We felt cramped up in it and wanted to leave
as soon as possible. Nevertheless, we stayed on for three days. When we
were about to leave for Haridwar, our host's daughter, aged about nine,
was suddenly taken seriously ill; she also lost consciousness. The doctors
diagnosed it as a case of meningitis. After three days, her condition worsened
and the doctors gave up all hope of her survival. We felt extremely sad
at our presence in the room when death was hovering over a member of our
host's family. I lay awake the whole night, invokiii ing Bhagawaan Ji's
grace to save the girl. Early in the morning, the idea flashed across my
mind that the bhasma given to me by him, was meant to cure the girl. Straightaway,
I ran to her mother and asked her to wash the patient's face. Her mother
declined the request saying that the girl was dying. She gave in, however,
in the wake of insistence. I took out a small portion of the bhasma and,
mixing it with a little water in a tea-spoon, put it into the patient's
mouth. She could not gulp it down and part of it spilled through the corners
of her mouth. A few minutes later, when I tried again, a little water mixed
with the bhasma went down her throat. About 15 minutes later, she started
moving her legs and arms, and began to moan in a low husky voice. After
about half an hour, she regained consciousness and opened her eyes. An
hour later, she sat up in her bed. In the evening, she played with her
playmates.'
16. Once, Bhagawaan
Ji cried out, 'There will be an earth-quake, causing much destruction.'
The many people present became panicky, fearing Kashmir might be rocked
by the earth-quake. The very next day, there was a terrible earthquake
in Iran, causing immense loss of life and property.
17. An incident
reported by Pandit Vish Nath an old man in the employ of Ganesh Asthaapan,
Srinagar, runs as follows:-
'In the year
1960 or thereabout, on the day following the Diwali day, I went to Bhagawaan
Ji's residence at about 3 p.m. There were many other people also there.
A young man from among them picked up a lump of hashish lying in front
of Bhagawaan Ji while the latter was busy smoking his chillum and hid it
in his phiran pocket. After Bhagawaan Ji had finished smoking, he asked
the young man to keep the hashish tied in a handkerchief. Thereupon, the
young man noticed that the pocket in which he had placed the hashish had
become heavy. He also sensed something moving in it. After he had put a
hand into the pocket, he started shrieking, "A snake, a snake . I am dying;
I am dying. Save me." And a black snake, about 3 feet long, came out of
the pocket, and all those present in the room, including Bhagawaan Ji's
sister, bolted. Bhagawaan Ji, however, said, smiling, "There is no danger.
Come back. " The snake crawled on to Bhagawaan Ji's lap and stayed there
for a while. Bhagawaan Ji patted it on the back with his riggg ght hand
and then asked it to go away. It crawled into one of the folds of his aasana
and was never seen again. This, obviously, was a reprimand to the young
man for committing theft.
Bhagawaan Ji
usually did not seem to take notice, if anybody stole the money lying before
him. A small boy once stole his cloth purse with money in it, but brought
it back the next day.
18. During
the year 1947, when Pakistani raiders attacked Kashmir, a Kashmiri Hindu
was on duty in the Sindh Valley into which the raiders had infiltrated.
As he failed to return to Srinagar, his wife got anxious and approached
Bhagwaan Ji early one morning, praying to him for the safety of her husband
and his safe return to Srinagar. In a round-about way, Bhagawaan Ji indicated
that there was danger to her husband. She understood what he had told her
but kept sitting, imploring him in her heart that her husband- might return
home safely. At about 2 p.m., Bhagawaan Ji asked her to leave, saying that
he would return. Dodging raiders, her husband reached Vayilu, a place about
18 miles from Srinagar, that very evening. There, he found a bus full of
passengers. He pleaded with the driver to take him along and was made to
sit on the roof of the bus. Reaching Srinagar, the bus stopped suddenly
near Jama Masjid. He lost the balance, toppled over and fell down. But
he felt somebody holding him in his arms while he waaa as falling, and
saving him from sure death. Those who saw him falling down ran to him and
removed him to a shop on the road. After he had taken some water, he was
his normal self again and walked home. There is a proverb in Kashmiri that,
by the intercession of saints, 'Kaathis Chhe Kath Gatshaan', i.e., a man
destined to die on the rack gets a mere scratch instead.
19. Pt. Maheshwar
Nath Qasba, a businessman with strong faith in Karma Kaanda is a scholar
of Vedantic Literature. He has visited and served many saints, but, maintaining
his individuality, sipped at all cups, draining none. He called at Bhagawaan
Ji's place during the period 1957-68 off and on. One of the experiences,
related by him is given below:
'During the
year 1966, I once went to Bhagawaan Ji's place at Chondapora, Srinagar,
late in the afternoon. While sitting in his august presence, I had a feeling
that I would miss my evening aarti at the Haari Parvat Shrine of Shri Shaalikaa
Bhagawati and was very much disturbed. At dusk, while sitting before him,
I was delightfully surprised not only to get a full picture of the aarti;
I saw clearly the big vermillion-coated slab, on which is engraved the
Shri Chakra representing Shri Shaarika Bhagawati, the ghee lamps kindled
by the pujaarias is usual with him on such occasions, and a dazzling light
on the wall being Bhagawaan Ji; I could also hear the aarti being recited
there. This was a scene never witnessed by me before, away from the Shrine.
What puzzled me was Bhagawaan Ji's insight into the hidden recesses of
my mind and fulfilling my desire by not only bringing a visual picture
of the aarti but also making it audible to me. It seemed to me that the
very walls of Bhagawaan Ji's room were reciting the aarti'
20. Shri A.N.
Fotedar, then a Divisional Forest Officer, was suspended from the service
on a flimsy charge and for no fault of his, in the year 1958. During the
period of his suspension, he, along with his wife, was once going to a
friend's house, when he encountered Swaami Nand Lal Ji (Nanda Bub), a clairvoyant
saint of Kashmir, mentioned earlier also. Swami Ji, whom Mr Fotedar had
not met previously, directed him to follow him to the house of a Kashmiri
Hindu, where Swaami Ji, along with a retinue of people, was going. Swaami
Ji, who was in the habit of putting on a tilak on the foreheads of all
who came to him and giving parvaanas (chits of paper written on by him)
to people, wrote down a parvaana in Urdu and handed it over to Shri Fotedar.
On this parvanna, which is still in Mr. Fotedar's possession, it was written
that he should put in an appeal to Shahanshah (King of Kings) Gopi Nath
Ji who is adorned with seven medals, and lives at Chondapora, Srinagar.
He also told Shri Fotedar that he would meet a maaa an at the Haari Parvat
Shrine, Srinagar. The man would guide him to Bhagawaan Ji's residence.
Mr Fotedar used to have a daily parikramaa round Haari Parvat. Two or three
days later, while he was going round the hillock in parikramaa, he met
a subordinate of his, who implored him (Mr Fotedar) to go and seek Bhagawaan
Ji's grace. He pleaded with earnestness and offered to take him to Bhagawaan
Ji's place. A few days later, Mr Fotedar went to see Bhagawaan Ji accompanied
by this man and also on some subsequent occasions.
On one occasion,
while Mr Fotedar was sitting in front of Bhagawaan Ji, he started debating
in his mind about the pros and cons of astrology. Though he tried to put
the idea out of his mind, he failed, and became uncomfortable and felt
irritated. Meanwhile, a man come and sat in front of Bhagawaan Ji. After
he (Bhagawaan Ji had smoked, he gave his chillum to this man, who returned
it after having a few puffs. Soon after, this gentleman started speaking
about the effect of the grihas (stars) in the various positions in a horoscope.
Mr Fotedar, who has a rational and critical mind, did not believe in horoscopes
and did not in the first instance suspect that this man was speaking about
the positions of the stars in his (Shri Fotedar's) own horoscope, but somehow
he got interested and began to listen to him with attention. Mr. Fotedar
asked him where he had seen his janma kundali (chart of stars). The man
did not reply but closed his statement with the remark that horoscopes
are true, but the man reading them musss st be a saadhaka who can interpret
them correctly. Bhagawaan Ji again gave him his chillum. This man had a
few puffs and, returning it to him (Bhagawaan Ji), fell silent. It now
appeared that he was not the same man as had spoken about the correctness
or otherwise of horoscope reading. He even confessed he knew nothing about
astrology.
Mr Fotedar
visited Bhagawaan Ji frequently but did not broach before him the subject
of his reinstatement. On one occasion, however, Bhagawaan Ji himself brought
up the subject and told him that about the time it was spring in Jammu,
he would go there and be reinstated, though there would be certain bad
remarks and some loss of pay. He also said that, though he would, subsequently,
go to court for redress, the case would linger on, till the Government
of Bakshi Gulam Mohammed had been replaced by the Sadiq Government, which
would redress all his grievances. That was what actually happened. Mr.
Fotedar is in the Indian Forest Service and is working as Conservator of
Forests at present.
21. In this
second edition of Bhagawaan Ji's biography a few miracles that were reported
by very reliable persons have also been mentioned. Any mention of the miracles
performed by the Bhagawaan after giving up the gross body has been avoided,
since the book is 'a biographical study'. An exception has, however, been
made in the case of the following incident for the simple reason that Pandit
Ramaadutta Shukla has mentioned it in the Hindi version of Bhagawaan Ji's
biography.
The late Shri
Shankar Nath Zadoo, a disciple of Bhagawaan Ji, had contacts with him for
about three decades. Shri Zadu says, 'My wife, Smt. Prabhavati Zadu, passed
away in May, 1970. Her sudden and untimely demise caused me not only much
financial loss but also told upon my physical condition; I developed a
serious nerve disorder. I roamed about like one having lost his mental
balance as a result of some grave calamity. There was hardly any desire
left in my mind. My daughter was very sad because of my physical and mental
state. And in December, 1973, (Shri Zadu lived from September, 1971 to
May, 1976 with his daughter and son-in-law in Bombay) she persuaded her
husband, a devotee of Shri Bhagawaan Satya Sai Baba, to seek the Baba's
grace for my well-being. The Baba was to deliver a lecture at Andheri,
Bombay, and she virtually forced me to attend it. On reaching the venue
of the lecture, I was wonder-struck to see an audience of over 40,000,
eager to listen to the Baba as also the bhajan (hymn)- singing grouuu ups.
Having concluded his speech, as the Baba was proceeding towards the rooms
where he was staying, he passed by the place where I was. Standing before
me, he said, 'Your Guru (that is, Bhagawaan Shri Gopi Nath Ji, who had
given up his gross body ln May, 1968) has directed me to grace you" He
also asked me whether I had been struck by some disease of the nerves.
I gesticulated to indicate that I had been. Thereupon, he quickly moved
around his right hand and, all of a sudden, sacred ashes started coming
out of his right thumb. Giving me the ashes, he directed me to eat some
of them and with the rest besmear my head. As soon as I ate the ashes,
I felt an electric current, as it were, running from my head to feet: I
underwent a sudden change: I became perfectly healthy, repenting over my
folly and ignorance.
'While the
Baba stood before me, he said, "Your Guru (Bhagawaan Gopi Nath Ji) was
the greatest Kashmiri saint; he was a jivan mukta (liberated while still
in the gross body). In the real sense, he is not dead. He will appear before
you in about two months.......
'Bhagawaan
Gopi Nath Ji gave me his darshana many times in those two months. He emphasized
the transience and unreality of this world and spoke about the problems
concerning moksha (liberation).'
22. The late
Professor Kashi Nath Dhar, a former President of the Bhagawaan Gopi Nath
Ji Trust, related his following experience to several members of the Trust:-
Once he (Prof.
Dhar) visited at Chattabal a family closely related to him on the mother's
side. One day, he went out to the market, a gadvi (liquid container) in
hand, to fetch some milk. On his return, he lost his way in a maze of lanes.
Even after wandering about for about a couple of hours, he had no idea
where he was; the lanes and the rows of houses appeared to be quite unfamiliar.
He grew very anxious. Then a certain lane led him towards the River Jhelum.
He heard an angry remonstrance: 'Why are you coming in this direction?
Take that small lane.' And he found that it was a Kashmiri Pandit, wearing
a pheran and a white turban, and carrying a gadvi full of water in his
right hand. The man was coming up the steps of a ghaat. Professor Dhar
took the lane indicated and in a few moments was just before the house
he had to return to. Bhagawaan Ji was still in his gross body then.
Many years
later, Shri Pran Nath Kaul and some other senior members of the Trust approached
Prof. Dhar to accept the Presidentship of the Trust. After some initial
reluctance, he accepted the offer.
When he entered
the Ashram hall at Kharyar, Habba Kadal, he was amazed to find a hundred
per cent resemblance of the man who had led him back from the market and
Bhagawaan Ji's marble statue-to the statue and not to the many photographs
of the Bhagawaan in the hall. The statue does not bear a complete resemblance
to Bhagawaan Ji's gross body and so not to the photographs either. Was
it an indication in advance that the statue to be installed in future at
the Ashram was to be taken to represent him in spite Or a lack of complete
resemblance?
Prof. Dhar
had never seen Bhagawaan Ji.
23. Dr Kaushalya
Wali of the Post-Graduate Department of Sanskrit, the University of Jammu,
says:-
(a) 'A certain
family had felt somehow somewhere lacking in peace at home, although every
mentionable material facility was available to its members...A few members
of this family went to Bhagawaan Ji one fine evening. They sat in front
of Him for some time. As usual, He was busy making offerings to his dhooni
and having a puff at his chillm, when, in between, he stared at the faces
of these visitors for some time, and then said, "You will be free on Monday'.....On
the said Monday, the electric staff came to check the electric charges.
The [electric] wire of a room was giving way; on being replaced, therewith
came down a folded paper. The paper was unfolded and in it were found some
grains of ash and some painted images of the members of the family with
their hands bound. The elders of the family took this paper etc. to some
person knowing this occult art and it was interpreted by him as the unwholesome
effort of a not-well-meaning relative to harm the progress of this family
by taking recourse to ..black maggg gic.
b) ' The young
father of a number of small children was on the death bed. The mother of
the children along with a few relatives implored Shri Bhagawaan Ji to save
the dying patient in the interests of his minor children. It is said (that)
since that day Bhagawaan Ji gave up taking food for about a month and,
as a result, .... the patient's life tenure was extended by one year.'
24. Mr. Philip
Simpfendorfer, an Australian devotee of Bhagawaan Ji, says, 'He (Shri Gwash
Lal Malla) had once been obsessed by the contrast between the seemingly
endless weariness of his life and the statement that the whole of humanity's
existence on Earth is only a small part of one day in the life of Brahmaa
(in fact one Brahmaa's day is 2160 million years). Going to Bhagawaan Ji
with the problem, he was given an empty chillum to puff by one of the people
present. Feeling giddy, he left but collapsed in the street and someone
took him home. At 11 p.m., it was reported to Bhagawaan Ji that the man
was still unconscious. Bhagawaan Gopi Nath said, 'It does not matter. He
is all right. Put this piece of sugar into his mouth." At about 2 o'clock,
he returned to his senses. During the trance, he had lived many cycles
of life (only three cycles of life, according to the late Gopi Nath Malla,
perhaps - Ed.), and he understood how one day of Brahmaa could be equal
to millions of earthly Years.'
24. The following
are some of the miracles narrated to Mrs Kusum Handoo by Smt:. Gauri Ji
[Mrs Prabhavati Handoo], daughter of Shri Bhola Nath Handoo, a boy-hood
friend and, later, disciple of Bhagawaan Ji. The miracles happened on Bhagawaan
Ji's way to, and after his return from the holy Amarnath Cave.
(a) 'During
the pilgrimage, Bhagawaan Ji's party was divided into two groups, women
and men. The group of women, who went ahead, thought that Bhagawaan Ji
was with the men who, in turn, thought that he was with the women. But
he lay at some distance supine and seemingly asleep. When Shri Bhola Nath
tried to awake him up', Bhagawaan Ji said, 'What have you done? Don't you
see everything around is scorched? I was trying to water this area." Shri
Bhola Nath said, 'But, Sir, rain will mean great difficulty for us. It
may lead to some dangerous situation." Bhagawaan Ji replied that no harm
would be done to the party. All along the rest of the journey, Bhagawaan
Ji and party were in the sun; the rain followed immediately after.'
(b) 'About
a week after returning from the pilgrimage, Bhagawaan Ji and the Handoo
family decided to visit Gautam Nag, a holy place about three kilometres
from the Anantnagh town, towards Mattan. Even though only a vegetarian
meal may be taken at Gautam Nag, they carried, at Bhagawaan Ji's behest,
their lunch consisting of cooked rice and fish curry. As the party was
having their lunch near the spring, the Mahant of the place, Swaami Gwash
Kaak Ji, appeared on the scene. In very great anger, he asked Bhagawaan
Ji why, even though the latter was a brahmchaari (celebate) and saadhu
(saint), he was taking fish at a holy place where nothing non-vegetarian
might be taken. Bhagawaan Ji said calmly, "Who has eaten the fish? If you
want them back, here they are." And he put two of his fingers into his
mouth and vomited two living fish, 'which jumped into the spring. The Swaami
prostrated before him and prayed for forgiveness.'
(c) 'After
a week or so, the family, along with Bhagawaan Ji, visited another holy
place in the Anantnagh District, called Trisandhyaa. It is a miraculous
place: the holy tunnel-shaped spring there remains bone-dry for most of
the year, but during a brief period, water wells out in fairly good quantities
twice or thrice a day, and pilgrims bathe in it. As part of their worship
of the holy spring, they drop flowers and thrice-washed grains of rice
into it. During the intervals between the welling out of the water, the
spring becomes so waterless that mice appear and eat the rice. On the day
Bhagawaan Ji was there, Trisandhyaa appeared -i.e. water welled out-eight
times. Then a woman came there to absolve herself of her sins by bathing
in the holy Trlsandhyaa, but, even after a long wait, Trisandhyaa did not
appear. Then she prayed to Bhagawaan Ji that it might appear. But he, in
great anger, told her "Mondee (O wretched one), why did you let the cows
burn to death in your burning house? Why did you not let theee em loose
in time? You have committed such a heinous sin that, as long as you are
here, the holy Trisandhyaa will not appear." All those present urged her
angrily to go away. After she had gone a little distance, Trisandhyaa appeared.
She returned to take a dip. But no sooner did she reach the holy place
than Trlsandhyaa disappeared. After she had finally gone, it appeared again
and all present bathed in it for the ninth time that day'
(d) 'In mid-1948,
Bhagawaan Ji along with Shri Bhola Nath and the Handoo family went to the
Nishat Bagh by boat. Bhagawaan Ji took up one of the dead fish they carried
to be cooked as part of their lunch. He rocked it in his lap for many minutes
and then threw it into the Dal Lake. And lo and behold! As soon as it touched
the water, it regained life; a normal and healthy fish now, it swam about,
- and away!.'
25. Mr. Iqbal
Kaui of R K Puram, New Delhi, accompanied Bhagawaan Ji on a pilgrimage
to the holy Amarnath Cave 'around August, 1946.' On the return journey,
Bhagawaan Ji did not permit him and others to proceed beyond Panchtarni.
Mr Kaul writes:
We had our
lunch, packed our bags, and sought Bhagawaan Ji's permission to return
to Wavjan. He would not let us leave our place, and did not budge from
his aasana. All of us remonstrated with him, informing him that we had
to cross a difficult leg of the route, and (that) any delay in departure
would create unnecessary problems. These arguments did not cut any ice
with him...Therefore, in utter frustration, we gave up pleading with him.
However, around 4 p.m., he allowed us to set off for Wavjan.
'A shock awaited
us at the Mahagunas Pass. The whole area of the Pass was carpeted with
thick layers of slime and slush. The pilgrim pathway was converted into
ruts by the passing ponies and pedestrians. Depressions were brimful with
water and tiny rivulets were cascading down the slopes. The area, only
twenty-four hours earlier, was bone-dry. We found a few frightened Kashmiri
Pandit ladies here. They were soaked to the skin and shivering with cold.
They told us their tale of woe. A freak cloudburst had struck the pass,
and a large number of yaatris (pilgrims) had been caught by the deluge.
We reached Wavjan around 9 p.m. in good cheer. (Now) the significance of
Bhagawaan Ji's negative attitude at Panchtarni dawned on us. Had we started
at Panchtarni according to our will, we too, would have received a drubbing
from Nature. It was Bhagawaan Ji's intervention that saved us from a nasty
situation.'
26. Shri A.N.
Fotedar, IFS, a retired conservator of Forests, was a witness to the following:-
'One evening,
while it was snowing heavily, the Bhagawaan, as usual, was in an ecstatic
mood, puffing away at his chillum. Suddenly, he held the chillum in his
left hand and looked out through the window near him, shouting, "O puny
mortal, donning an immaculate military uniform covering your huge body
and sporting a well-trimmed moustache, you cannot frighten us from across
the mountrains. We are here under the protection of Shri Shaarika and numerous
saints and sages, both of the past and the present. Their grace has protected
us from marauders and continues to do so. You can do whatever you like
in the area on the other side of the mountains, South and West of Kashmir.
The yellow race with slit eyes and snub noses to the North of us, which,
you think, will come down on us to help you in your evil designs, dare
not do so now. The King, whom they will drive out of their area, will not
be allowed to come to our sacred land, but may be received, and thereafter
live in the hills and mountains East of Kashmir. I again tell you and do
so forcefully, "Do not even cast an evil eye on this sacred land and do
not expect the slit-eyed, yellow-faced and snub-nosed northerners to help
you in this misadventure."
'Only the following
day the news came that General Ayub Khan had taken over in Pakistan in
a military coup, and had imposed martial law on the country. In the subsequent
years, the insurrection in Tibet against the Chinese oppression resulted
in the flight of the Dalai Lama and his followers into India, east of Kashmir.
Later, in 1962, the Chinese launched a massive attack on India which shook
it to its foundations. But all the fighting took place away from the Kashmir
Valley.'
27 Mahaatma
Nand Lal Ji, popularly known as Nanda Bub, once decided that the marriage
ceremony of a devotee girl of his should be performed in the house at Gadood
Bagh, near Chondapora, Srinagar, where Bhagawaan Ji lived during the last
years of his earthly life. Shri Pushkar Nath Kaul of Kani Kadal, Srinagar,
a saintly person, was asked by both the saints to officiate at the ceremony
in place of the girl's father who was lying very ill in the room adjacent
to that of Bhagawaan Ji. The following incident has been reported by Shri
Pushkar Nath Kaul himself.
After the earlier
ceremonies, the Mehandiraat and the Devagone, the day of the wedding came.
On the arrival of the baraat, Bhagawaan Ji blessed the girl, saying, 'Deka
bad aasin!' ('May her husband outlive her!'). The lagan (the marriage rituals)
started at 9 a.m. Towards the close of the lagan ceremony. poshi-pooza
is performed: the girl's parents and other relations shower heaps of flowers
on the newly-wed couple while the officiating priests chant Sanskrit verses
blessing the couple. Now, just before the poshi-pooza. Shri Pushkar Nath
went to the room, where the girl's father was lying ill, to see if the
latter could muster strength enough to go and drop at least a few flowers
on the couple and bless them. But he was shocked to find the man's elder
daughter wailing and beating her chest as he had just died.
Besides being
shocked, Shri Pushkar Nath was at a loss whether to carry on with the marriage
rituals and the ceremonial farewell to the couple and the bride-groom's
people, or whether to start performing the rituals for the dead and organise
the funeral procession to the cremation ground. It was an extremely difficult
situation and he did not know what the injunctions of the shastras were
to tackle it.
In a fix, he
approached Bhagawaan Ji whom he found in a deep spiritual ecstasy. But
before he could say anything, the Bhagawaan opened his eyes and said rather
loudly, 'Dapus thahar pagaah taanya.' ('Ask him to wait till tomorrow').
Shri Pushkar Nath could not understand the purport of these words. He,
however, returned to the dead man's room where he was pleasantly surprised
to find him smiling and talking to his elder daughter. He now informed
him about the poshi-poozaa
The function
ended at about 7 p.m. and the couple was blessed by Bhagawaan Ji on their
departure.
On the following
day, the girl's father suddenly died, and his funeral rites were duly performed.
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