The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 10

Once Swamiji was relaxing under Vatavruksha, a few of the farmers were working on their field; two of the men came and sit close to Swamiji.  Suddenly, they could hear a shriek of farmer’s wife, her husband collapsed on the field, she cried for help, soon the two men ran towards the farmer and carried him and kept him before Swamiji.  She cried and told them that her husband got serpent bite, the two men felt helpless, Maharaj was pretending to be asleep, one of the men went to pick the Padhuka of Swamiji, he had no courage to wake up Swamiji.  Swamiji woke up and shouted at the man who took his Padhuka, Maharaj asked him to utter his name in both the ears. The man uttered the name of the farmer “Ramanna” on his ears; the farmer who was unconscious woke up as if from the deep sleep.

Once Swamiji was listening to the lectures of a Bhagavatha who was explaining the verses from Viveka Choodamani of Adi Shankara Bhagavadpadha, he described the qualities of a preceptor, a wise preceptor should be a good listener, all the naked mendicant cannot be treated as preceptor, if someone who is well behaved cannot be treated as preceptor, a Shudra cannot be preceptor,  a preceptor should have deep knowledge in Shasthras, he described Sant Thukaram Maharaj, a disciple should have supreme intellect, and control over senses.  The preceptor only can guide the soul to cross the unfathomable ocean of the world of Samsara.  Suddenly the Bhagavatha could see Lord Vishnu in place of Maharaj, he was in a state of ecstasy prostrated before Swamiji.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 9

There were a few royal personalities who had a great devotion to Akkalkot Maharaj Swamiji Samartha.  King Maloji Raje Sahib a pious and a wise ruler of Akkalkot state makes frequent visit to Swamiji, he persuaded Swamiji to stay in his palace and during his stay there were people to serve Maharaj at his will.   But it created difficulty among the ordinary people who were yearning to get a glimpse of Swamiji.  The King and Queen was a great devotee of Swamiji.  King Maloji Raje Sahib had a son who was born with the blessings of Swamiji, though Swamiji had great liking towards the King, he often criticizes him for his mistakes, once the King who was riding on an elephant to meet Swamiji was sharply criticized for his disrespect and pretentious act.  The King had to face the displeasure of Swamiji when he gave shelter to the arrogant Dajeeba Bhosle.  Even though, Maharaj appeared before the King who was on the death bed and blessed him.

Jayarajirao Shinde the Maharaja of Gwalior was a very devoted and virtuous ruler, he relentlessly serves pious and holy men in his Kingdom, he came to know about Swamiji Samarththa of Akkalkot residing in the palace of King Maloji Raje Sahib.  He arrived in the palace of Akkalkot and waited for four days to get Dharshan of Swamiji, though he was totally distressed, ultimately his devotion paid its fruit. On the fourth day, Swamiji took a seat under the Vatavruksha out of the palace, Maharaj got the news of Swamiji sitting under Vata Vruksha, soon he set aside his royal meal and came barefoot running towards Swamiji and prostrated before him.  They had a discussion on spiritual matters and Maharaj was deeply impressed by the lectures of Swamiji.

Tukojirao Holkar of Indore had visited Akkalkot to have Dharshan of Swamiji, soon he remembered the first meeting took place with the Swamiji in Mount Abu, he realized that Swamiji is the incarnation of Lord Dhaththathreya. Swamiji had a great number of devotees, Nawab sir Salarjung of Hyderabad was one among them.  He was fond of people with great devotion and faith.

Maharaja Malharrao Gaikwad of Baroda had a great desire to bring Swamiji to stay in the palace in Baroda.  He believed that his city would be sanctified at the touch of the feet of Swamiji.  Once Maharaja announced in the Assembly about his desire to bring Swamiji in Baroda, one of the assembly member Tatyasaheb decided to proceed to Akkalkot with his attendants to bring Swamiji,  as per the order all the expenses would be borne by the King in this journey and huge money would be given as a reward to Tatyasaheb.  During his stay in Akkalkot, Tatyasaheb sincerely spends fair money on charities and serving the hungry people as per the advice of Swamiji.  Tatyasaheb did not get any positive response from Swamiji, so he approached Cholappa who is  a sincere attendant of Swamiji tried to persuade him with the money, and it worked. Cholappa said to Swamiji “ If you visit the palace of the King of Baroda, I would be awarded huge money as a cash award.”  Swamiji said, “ Cholappa, If the King has  devotion I would have definitely visited him, but unfortunately it is not there.” Later, Tatyasaheb plotted a plan to take Swamiji in a Palanquin without his knowledge and deposit him in a special train to Baroda, but this plan was failed, Swamiji disappeared from the Palanquin.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 8

One day a few people were surrounded by Maharaj and listening to his lectures, a young lady with her blind child who lost eyesight after the sacred thread ceremony arrived to meet Swamiji, she begged Swamiji to restore the eyesight of her son.  There were few arrogant fellows taken a seat in the crowd and made fun of Swamiji.  Maharaj took the blind child near him and said: “ Ganesh, give the right answer to these arrogant men who have questioned me about Veda.”  Ganesh said, “ Maharaj, I know nothing, how can I give an answer.”  Swamiji placed his hands on the head of Ganesh, soon he regained his eyesight,  Ganesh said: “ Maharaj,  I can see everything now.”  Ganesh approached the arrogant people assembled there and gave lectures on the ninth chapter of Bhagavad Gita.  The arrogant men felt ashamed of their actions and fallen at the feet of Maharaj saying “He is Prathyaksha Parameshwara, we were testing Parameshwara, we have committed severe sin, kindly forgive us.”  Maharaj said “I am receiving alms without looking people and their religion; therefore you came here to take a test on me.  Take a dip in Ganga, and perform the recitation of Namasankeerthan.” In this way, Maharaj’s fame spread across the Akkalkot within a short period of time.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 7

Maharaj arrived in Akkalkot took shelter under a Vata Vruksha.  Two Muslim men made fun of him without knowing his divinity, they approached Swamiji and one of the fellows gave his Hukka and asked Swamiji to take pleasure in it.  Swamiji threw off the tobacco in the Hukka and emptied, later took near the mouth, immediately the smoke gushed out of it.   The Muslim fellows surprised and got scared.   These guys felt Swamiji is starving after arriving in Akkalkot, but they were reluctant to serve him with meals because he is a Hindu saint and they are Muslim.   One of the guys informed a pious Hindu man Cholappa about Swamiji and brought Maharaj to his house and meals were served.  The Muslim guys were stopped in front of the house of Cholappa, seeing this Swamiji shouted at Cholappa for making the Muslim guys standing out of the house.  Swamiji asked the Muslim guys to be in and the meal served was fed to Muslim guys and Cholappa equally.  Later, Swamiji asked both of them to feed him.  Maharaj said “ I do not find any difference in Hindu or Muslim”, and he happily shared a meal with them.

Cholappa requested Maharaj to stay with him in his house; he wanted to serve Maharaj in his entire life.  Maharaj said he will stay in Akkalkot but he will not stay in his home.  Cholappa has grown too devoted to Swamiji “ Maharaj, kindly do not keep me away from your service, you are supreme soul, the whole Universe belongs to you, you can reside wherever you want, but let me do my service to you.”  Finally, Maharaj decided to live with Cholappa for some time.  One day Maharaj started behaving strangely, he put off the fire while his wife was cooking Roti, he poured water on the Roti dough, his wife got scared and both of them ran out of the house.

Once Cholappa brought an old lady Sundarabayi to Maharaj, he said: “ She came back to finish the

remaining work.” She said “ Swamiji I am coming from Sholapur, my foot is aching like hell, how

many vows and treatments I have taken, my foot pain remains the same,” Maharaj said “ Your foot 

ache will take time to heal.” Sundarabayi said, “ I will stay here and serve you.” Cholappa said 

“Swamiji this lady has no one, let her stay here and serve you.”  Maharaj said “ Cholappa, do not 

keep this lady in your home, she will bother you later.”  Sundarabayi was shocked to hear this; Cholappa consoled her saying that Swamiji makes fun in between his conversation.

The great Sage of Akkalkot -  Akkalkot  Swami Samarththa Maharaj

Pranams at the lotus feet of Swami Samarththa Maharaj!

Chapter – 6

Maharaj arrived in a hermitage, he entered inside the chamber and settled in the blanket spread on the floor, and soon he has fallen asleep.  The other saint who was in the chamber watching all these surprisingly, he could not speak to Swamiji so he left the room locked to finish his task.  While leaving he informed another saint that Maharaji is sleeping inside, please do not let him go.  The saint who walked through the empty ground saw a few children were playing sports, suddenly he could see Maharaj among them, he could not believe his eyes, he has already locked the room where Maharaji was sleeping, he was puzzled to see Swamiji with the children in the playground.  The saint realized that he was locked a Siddha Purusha inside the chamber, he rushed to the hermitage and opened the door; he could not see Swamiji inside.  He was so disappointed, soon, Maharaj appeared before the saint, he had fallen at the feet of Maharaj for his rude behavior.  Maharaj immediately disappeared from his sight, after this incident Maharaj did not stop too long in the Mangalwede, he traveled through Mohur and arrived in Sholapur. 

Maharaj  met a pious person Chinthopanth who immediately realized Maharaj is not an ordinary person, Maharaj asked “ If I am Siddhapurusha or not what’s in that?” Chinthopanth surprised to understand that Maharaj can read the minds of the people,  Chinthopanth said: “Maharaj, I think  you are new in Sholapur, kindly visit my home and sanctify our residence.”  Thus, Maharaj accepted the invitation of Chinthopanth.  One day another person in the village enquired Chinthopanth about Maharaj who was residing in his house, the neighbor asked “ You have invited a saint who sits in the dust of Dhaththathreya shrine, for lunch. He accepted your invitation, and your saint has no knowledge of the upper class or middle class.  It is wrong to sit with him and consume meals according to Purana.” Chinthopanth was confused, suddenly Maharaj came out of the house and said “ I am leaving to the place where I came from. You are confused now; therefore I cannot consume a meal from your house.”  Chinthopanth begged for forgiveness, Chinthopanth felt his devotion is not pure and cried.

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.”