Mahasiddha  Baba Balaknath

Pranams at the lotus feet of Baba Balaknath Maharaj!

Chapter - 4

Baba Balaknath was born to pious Bhramin couple Vishnu Rao and Lakshmi Ben.  This poor Bhramin couple was yearning for a child for long, they were instructed by a divine voice to conduct the Japa of Panchakshara and worship of Lord Shiva.    This couple underwent intense meditation upon the Panchakshari Mantra, Lord Shiva was pleased with the devotion of these couples and offered the boon.  Lakshmi Ben said “ Prabho, we  are yearning for a child who has the divine appearance and effulgence of you.” Lord Shiva blessed the couple and advised them to have patience; they will have a virtuous offspring who would bring fame to his parents.   In due course of time, Lakshmi  Ben gave birth to a child and he was named as “Dev”, the couple was overjoyed at the birth of the child.  Once there arrived a saint in the house of this couple, seeing the child he prophesized that the child is an incarnation of Supreme Lord, he is not an ordinary child and this child was born to remove the sufferings and sorrows of people in this world.   He also predicted that the child would take up spirituality at a young age.  His parents were shocked to hear the prophecy. 

It was after twelve years, his parents revealed their desire to perform Dev’s marriage so that his mother would get some help from the little bride in performing household duties, but child Yogi was not interested in worldly matters and he replied “I am not born to get married, my life is for the service to humanity and worship of Lord Shiva.”  His father was infuriated at the reply of his son, he  decided to perform his marriage at the earliest, he warned the boy to be prepared to get married tomorrow, and his mother also sincerely supported the advice of his father.    It was in the midnight, Balaknath was already prepared his mind to leave his parents forever, he prostrated before them who were fallen asleep and prayed “Kindly forgive me; I could not perform any of the duties as your son.”  He left home seeking the eternal truth.

 Balaknath’s parents conducted a thorough search in the entire village but they could not find their son, they were all tired of mental exhaustion.  This little boy sincerely prayed to Lord “ Bhagavan, kindly give enough strength to my parents to withstand the pain of separation.”  His father felt extremely guilty and asked his wife to forgive him for compelling the child for marriage; he accused himself as the culprit for all the miseries in the family.