The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 5

There was a fervent disciple named Basappa who always follows Swamiji everywhere.  Once he followed Swamiji in the dense wood, Swamiji asked: “ Basappa, why you are following me, leaving your family behind?” Basappa said, “ I want to serve you, Maharaj.” Swamiji asked “ You are leaving your children and wife behind and serving me?,” he said “ My happiness is at your feet, I am finding immense peace and pleasure at your feet Maharaj” Swamiji advised “ Basappa, your wife is struggling to meet the requirements of your family, she is working so hard to serve meal for the family members, you should go back to home and take care of your family.” He begged Swamiji “ Kindly, do not separate me from you.”  Swamiji said “ Ok. Come with me. Whatever I instruct you should follow, you should not get scared.”  He was following Swamiji for some time, he saw there were many serpents crawling all over the ground, he was frightened and called out for Swamiji, Maharaj laughed and said: “Take as much as you want.” He reluctantly followed the instruction of the Maharaj,  he picked a serpent and put it in his turban clothe.  The next morning he arrived home and his wife poured out harsh words for being irresponsible and not taking care of the needs of the family and wandering behind Swamiji.  Basappa shouted at his wife for talking harshly about Swamiji.  The couple started arguing each other, seeing the bundle on his hand wife asked about it.  He explained what had happened in the forest.  He opened the bundle and saw it was not a serpent, it was solid gold, and the couple was shocked at the miracle.  The couple sincerely prayed to Swamiji for his kindness, they rushed to have Dharshan of Swamiji who was settled under a peepal tree.  Swamiji said, “ Basappa, it is the fruit of  your devotion.” Basappa’s wife begged for forgiveness for not realizing this Mahapurusha.  Swamiji blessed the couple to live happily, but Basappa was not willing to leave Swamiji who was advised to perform Namasmaran which would bring goodness to him.  Swamiji advised “Your wife has spent all her life in sufferings of poverty, keep her in all comforts, my work in this village is over. I have to move on.”  Basappa earnestly asked Swamiji “Where are you leaving,” Swamiji said, “ I do not know Basappa.” Swamiji disappeared from their sight.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 4

The fame of Sri Swami Samarththa Maharaj spread across the Puri, people from various places arrived to meet Swamiji.  One day Swamiji informed his disciple Alawani Maharaj about his journey to Haridwar and left.  Siddhapurushas often disappear from the crowd and prefer solitude for their meditation practices, they appear among the people to accomplish their tasks and disappear without leaving any trace.   There were two young men who were afflicted with leprosy, the people of the village discarded them completely and they stayed out of the village, children in the village find pleasure in throwing stones at these young men.  They felt miserable, once they were treated with respect when everything was fine, they had nothing to eat and people were treating them like lowly creatures.  Swamiji appeared before these two young men, he placed his leg on them, immediately they relieved from their illness.  They were shocked, wept bitterly and fallen at the feet of Maharaj. Though the young men were enquired about Swamiji, he replied “ I am a Yajurvedi Bhramin Nrusimha Saraswathi, living under Vata Vruksha, Dhaththa Nagar,” and disappeared from their sight.

Once Digambar Swamiji arrived in the house of a Bhramin for alms, husband and wife reverentially prostrated before Swamiji, this couple was very poor, they had nothing to offer as alms to Swamiji, she rushed to market to get milk for Swamiji, Bhramin revealed his pathetic state at home, he was taking care of a cow which was not producing any milk for four years, Swamiji said “ Go and bring a vessel and milk the cow right now. I want milk from this cow only.”  Swamiji spoke to cow “ Ma, your owner is very poor, you should give him milk to remove his poverty.”  The Bhramin approached the cow which was lacking milk for four years, suddenly it poured out milk,”  The couple were extremely happy,  Maharaj asked the couple to cook milk pudding with it and blessed the couple “ At last, your poverty has come to an end.”

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter - 3

An old man arrived to witness the famous festival of Puri Jagannatha Yathra, he lost his wife in the crowd, he cried before Maharaj “ Maharaj, I came here to earn piousness, see what I have got is grief, I am a Grihastha, I will be all  alone without my wife, I cannot perform any of the rites without her or I will be away from the pleasures of the family life.” Maharaj shouted at the old man “When is your attachment to this world is going to end? You have become too old now, your death is nearing, your body is shivering, when you will win over your senses and put an end to feeding them? Your intellect has become impure.  Do you know where did you come from? Do you know who you are? And where did you go after this birth? Leave all your attachments and worldly desires.  Fool…you have forgotten your real self.” saying so Maharaj kept his hand on his head, suddenly he started recollecting all the incidents related to his previous birth, an extreme joy-filled on his face in place of anxiousness.  Soon he realized that he was a disciple of Swami Nrusimha Saraswathi in his previous birth.  He begged Maharaj to accept him as his disciple and permit him to stay with Swamiji, he doesn’t want to be a Grihastha anymore.  In the meantime his wife appeared from nowhere, he blessed the couple to get relieved from the attachment of Grihasthashrama and accept the path of spirituality.  The couple prostrated before Swamiji and left.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter - 2

Once a saintly old man Alawani Maharaj arrived to witness the famous Puri Jagannath Yathra, he was afflicted with severe infection and fever, and he felt miserable with pain and hunger, he continued to starve for four days, he was quite sure that he is going to die in Puri with hunger and fever.  He had no attachment to the body which has perishable nature; he sincerely wanted to have the Dharshan of Lord Jagannatha before his soul departs.  Soon the Swami Samarththa Maharaj appeared before the old man who was helpless and sick, and called him “ Aloni Bua, get up, it is early in the morning,” the old man looked at the divine personality and got up “ Hey, Avadhooth,  you are the representation of wisdom and knowledge, supreme bliss and love,”  Maharaj said “ You get up now, you are alright,” The old man asked “ Hey Avadhooth, who are you? Where are you from?” The divine personality with effulgent appearance, big stature,  hands on the waist replied “ I live in the whole Universe, I live in mountains and hills and all the sacred lands on the Earth.” There arrived a pious man and invited both for a meal, after blessing the old man, Advadhooth disappeared from the sight.

Later, Alawani Maharaj asked Sri Swami Samarththa Maharaj “There are numerous people making visits to Puri Jagannatha, Is that true Lord Parameshvara resides in everyone’s heart?” Maharaj said “Alawani, these Kumbhamela, and religious and spiritual festivals are the dwelling places of noble-souls,  they keep meeting the ordinary souls,  imparting the knowledge of Bramham with an intention to alleviate the soul from the miseries of worldly existence, everyone has their own way of living, should not mistreat anyone.”   Once Maharaj described to Alawani Maharaj about his favorite places, as Sahyadri Mountains, Girinar Parvath, Varanasi, Mahur, Karavir/Kolhapur, Panchaleshwar, Kuravapur, Audumber, Karanjanagar, Narasimhawadi, and Gangapur.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 1

There is no evident information about the birth of Akkalkot Swami Samarththa Maharaj.  It was believed he was an incarnation of Lord Dhaththathreya later came to know as Sage Nrusimha Saraswathi who was lost in the Kardhali wood, moved to Badri and undertook Tapasya for several years, eventually, a mound was covered him. Those days people were scared to go near these anthills thinking of the dwelling place of serpents.   Once a woodcutter entered in this dense wood searching for wood pieces, found a big tree next to a huge mound, he was cutting the tree down, suddenly there appeared a divine personality from the heap of mud, he was in a loincloth, adorned in Rudraksha all over the body, and had a Shikha.  The divine personality assumed a huge form, the woodcutter was horrified, and he prostrated before the divine Purusha and begged for forgiveness.  The divine personality blessed the woodcutter and disappeared from his sight.

Sri Swami Samarththa Maharaj traveled extensively to the various places like Kolkatta,  Haridwar, Kedareshwar, Gangotri, Badrinath, Ayodhya, Dwaraka, Puri, and lived on the banks of Gangotri for some time.  He visited Pandharpur, Begampur, and Mohol, and then moved to a small village of Akkalkot in Madhya Pradesh.   During his spiritual journey, he relieved many people from the miseries, sorrows, afflictions, and grief and guided them to the path of spirituality.  He arrived in the Himalayas and conducted Tapasya, he spent several years in Varanasi and Gangothri.   Swamiji has names like Akkalakot Maharaj, Chanchal Bharathi, and Digambar Swamiji.  He was the preceptor of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,  Shirdi Saibaba, Sri Shankar Maharaj, Sri Gajanan Maharaj etc..

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Sri Samarththa Maharaj attained Mahasamadhi on 30^th April 1878, after accomplishing the purpose of his incarnation, it is believed that Swamiji lived for 600 years and conducted his spiritual tours to the various sacred lands, finally attained communion with the Bramham while sitting under the peepal tree.

Swami Sri Bolananda Giri Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Giri Maharaj!

Chapter – 14

The number of people increased in the Ashram.  The disciple and devotees had to face the constant trouble of monkeys in this Ashram, many a time Rotis were missing, clothes kept for drying were missing and torn.   The monkeys mishandled the boxes of rice, wheat flour, and grains and kept in the storehouse and messed it all over the floor, even the places like Ayodhya, Mathura, and Gokul also had the same trouble of monkeys.  The disciples were complaint to Guruji about the troubles of monkey habits. It was a strict order from the preceptor that ‘None of the animals or humans should mistreat or hurt in the Ashram.”  Even the devotees started complaining about the same to Maharaj, he came out in the garden and said “ Monkeys, you should be in the place where you are supposed to be, you are troubling my disciples and devotees, they are finding it difficult to perform their simple tasks, and they are not harming you because of my order, it does not mean that you are free to do all your monkey acts here, you have the right to eat the fruits of the Ashram, my disciples and devotees will feed you happily, but never torn off the clothes kept for drying, or should not touch the storehouse ingredients,  Do you all understand that?.” All the monkeys assembled before him like they were listening to the lectures of Bholanandji, devotees and disciples looked at this with amazement, there was an old monkey sitting close to Bholanandj, it responded with its tilting head as if he understood the lectures of Maharaj, rest of the monkeys were kept silent.  Bholanandji said “You have all the right to eat fruits from the Ashram; if you disturb us we have the right to scold you and chase you from here. Is that okay?” The elderly monkey shook its head and agreed to it.  The next day onwards, the Ashram was free from the troubles of monkeys.

Baba Bholanand Giri was a great saint, who does not find any difference in humans and animals.  He treated everyone with kindness and humility, he was unforgiving to his disciple and took great care of them, and he sincerely wanted them to achieve great heights in spirituality.  Prabhupada Vijaykrishna Goswamiji used to comment about Baba Bhlonand Giri “ He is a supreme Yogi”.   It was on 8^th May 1929 Bholanand Giri Maharaj attained Mahasamadhi in his Haridhwar Ashram.

Swami Sri Bolananda Giri Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Giri Maharaj!

Chapter – 13

There was a fervent devotee of Bholanand Giri Maharaj, he was  skilled in hunting, he went to a dense wood for hunting with his friends, Sundarban is a famous forest in Bengal and it is one of the most hazardous too.  He was enthusiastically conducted search for wild animals finally he was lost in the wood.  He had an encounter with a bear,  he did not carry a gun and all he was carrying was a knife, he was pretty sure that he cannot survive with this weapon so long, but he was too adventurous, he decided to fight for life, finally, he fell severely wounded and understood his death is coming closer.  Commonly all the people remember Supreme Lord at the time of troubles, he remembered his Guruji and screamed “Jai Gurudev”, soon he heard a voice instructing him “Go and fight for life, don’t leave your hopes.” He regained all the strength and fought with the bear and shoved it down the hill, he thought his feeble hands made miracles; soon he realized it was the pure blessings of Guruji otherwise he would have died by now.

Bholanand Giri Maharaj used to deliver lectures on his preceptor to his disciples; he used to discuss miraculous incidents with them.  While giving lectures, he described a hilarious incident that took place in the house of his devotee who was a wealthy Seth from Bombay.   Once he conducted a spiritual tour to Bombay, during this time he stayed in the home of a wealthy Seth.  The Sethji couple had one daughter, he was hoping for a boy child to take care of his wealth, but it did not happen.  Sethji made a request seeing the young and sturdy Swamiji, “ Swamiji, will you do me a favor, can you reside with us forever, I have an only daughter and no other child, kindly accept my daughter as your wedded wife and take care of my properties and wealth.” Bholanandji was surprised to hear from him, he did not even recognize him as a saint.  He did not understand why Sethji made a request like that.  Bholanandji asked, “ Why are you tired of taking pleasure in it, you have immense wealth, huge house and vehicles, and servants to attend your needs, are you tired of all these and no more interest in taking pleasure in it?” Sethji said, “ You are right, I am tired of all these, I have everything in this life, but I am lacking peace of mind. I am mentally worn out of various worries.  I wanted to get relieved from all these and conduct spiritual trips and engage in Keerthan and Bhajan.”  Bholanandji asked “If it was a burden for you to look after this wealth which creates constant worries, why you want to fasten me with all your worries? If I want to be a rich person, I would not take up Sanyasa, or wander around with the begging bowl. Kindly excuse me, I do not want to be a Grihastha, I am a sanyasi.”  This incident gave new inspiration to Bholanandji, he abandoned living in the houses of devotees and moved to Haridwar.  He built a hermitage, in the meantime his preceptor Gulab Giri Maharaj was attained Mahasamadhi.