Love
The
Supreme Being referred to as the Brahm in Vedic literature, is beyond
human concept and articulation. Its attributes like the Creator, the
Preserver and the Destroyer refer to its relation to the world but say
little of its nature. The Shrutis (Vedas), after striving to define
the indefinable, end up saying, “not such, not such”! Only three
major attributes emerge consistently from the subjective experience of
the Seers, viz. Truth, Existence and Bliss (Sat, Chit and Anand).
These seers could only say that It Exists (Asti), It is Conscious
(Bhaati) and It is Beloved (Priya).
Thus the Being, Knowledge and Love are the aspects of God that
are common to all religions and form the basis of all approaches to
Him. Indian tradition, from the ancient Rishis to the Saints, has
placed love above wisdom in the pathway to God. This love, referred to
as Bhakti, forms the very essence of the fascinating relationship
between Shri Maharaj and Shri Datta Prabhu. All the facets of this
bond we have so far studied are firmly and deeply rooted in love. It
is this deep love that enabled Shri Maharaj to transcend the
limitations of human body, mind and ego; it is this love that
motivated the tremendous efforts he put in, austerities he practiced,
sufferings he underwent; it is because of this love that he could so
completely, unreservedly dedicate his whole life, his entire being to
God.
The
heart of Shri Maharaj was always filled with this Divine love.
Sometimes even the utterance of Divine Name sufficed to trigger an
outburst of this passion, choking his voice, causing a profuse flow of
tears and even leading to a trance. In the 1906 visit of Shri Maharaj
to Wadi, he used to perform his evening rituals at the Sangam
(confluence) after which he used to explain Shri Krishna Lahari. Once
just as he was speaking, the temple bells started ringing as usual for
the evening worship accompanied by burning of incense before the Lord.
Suddenly Shri Maharaj became speechless and tears started incessantly
flowing. Recovering after a short while, Shri Maharaj said, “ Behold
our great fortune and rejoice! The Lord, the Ocean of Mercy, has come
to live here for the benefit of His devotees! His grace towards his
children is indeed indescribable.”
Once
while teaching grammar to some students in Brahmavart, Shri Maharaj
encountered the word “Krishna” which led him into a trance. Such
trances were frequent occurrences with Shri Maharaj. He used to lose
all awareness of the outside world during such trances. Once at Wadi,
when he went into a trance lasting for a couple of hours, the priests
formed an enclosure around him with sheets of cloth for his
protection. Later on he told them this was neither necessary nor
desirable for such a trance could occur in jungle or other deserted
places; secondly, the sight of such a trance can be an uplifting and
purifying experience. In Wadi again, even as he remained in the trance
for almost all day, he appeared at noon on the streets of Wadi
soliciting Bhiksha! When Shri Ganda Maharaj asked him as to how this
could happen, he pleaded ignorance saying, “You were with all the
time! I did not move out.” Listening
to Bhajans at times induced such trances, as happened at Sadalage, a
village south of Wadi, while he was listening to an
Abhang of Shri Saint Tukaram. The trance lasted three hours.
These
are some of the obvious expressions of the deep ardor that ever filled
the heart of Shri Maharaj. The following incident at Narasi reveals
that the emotion was mutual and the Lord returned his love in equal
measure. Once when Shri Maharaj had gone to the river for alone for
his midday bath (Sanyasis are required to bathe thrice a day), a
village woman happened to come there to collect water. She saw Shri
Maharaj sitting under a tree and there is six-month-old baby in his
lap, sucking left and gazing at Shri Maharaj who is returning the
loving gaze. She was so dumb-struck by the sight that she forgot
filling her pot and just stood there watching in a daze. In a little
while Shri Maharaj happened to notice her when the child disappeared
and the lady lost her consciousness. Shri Maharaj went to her and
revived her by sprinkling some water and told her she was fortunate to
have witnessed the holy sight and told her to keep it secret. She
filled her pot with water and returned home. However she could not
keep the experience to herself and the story got around.
