Shri Vasudevanand Saraswati Tembe Swami Maharaj

A compact Biography.

• The Protector and Provider
  

  Implicit in the insistence on strict obedience is the assurance of full protection and constant sustenance of the devotee. This is best exemplified by two events. When Shri Maharaj commenced his Chaturmaas at Pavani (1909 AD), thousands of devotees and disciples started arriving from all over India. As many of these areas were afflicted by the epidemic of plague, people feared the spread of the epidemic to Pavani. An incidence of a rat death in one of the temples accentuated these fears. When apprised of this, Shri Maharaj prayed to Shri Datta Prabhu, “ O Lord! I have initiated the present Chaturmaas on your orders and all these children of yours have assembled here. If any of them happens to succumb, it will tarnish your glory. Hence I am compelled to interrupt the Chaturmaas and move on.” The Lord assured him that nobody would be harmed till the conclusion of the Chaturmaas. Shri Maharaj conveyed this to all and their fears were soothed and Chaturmaas passed off without any mishap. However, as soon as Shri Maharaj set his foot out of Pavani, the place was assaulted by the epidemic taking a heavy toll.

                    Shri Maharaj spent his last year or so at Garudeshvar. During this period also, there used to be a continuous flow of visitors with hundreds of persons camping every day. The expenses towards the arrangements of food and provisions were met from the money people used to offer Shri Maharaj, who himself never even touched it. This money, referred to as the Lord’s treasure was kept in a box. One Mr. Sabnis looked after these arrangements. Once Mr. Sabnis noticed that there remained only three rupees in the box, after paying for the provisions. A bit anxious, Mr. Sabnis brought this to the notice of Shri Maharaj who only said, “ Everything happens by God’s will; why should we worry? Even assuming that no cash flows in, there is always plenty of water in Narmada to drink!” After about 8-10 days Shri Maharaj asked Mr. Sabnis to pay up a supplier. As soon as Mr. Sabnis opened the box, the sight of gold coins spread all over the box pleasantly surprised him. On enquiry he came to know that a devout couple from Varhad had placed those coins worth 3000 rupees in the box.