ORIYA VAISHNAVA PREACHER SRI BALARAMA DASA

  ORIYA VAISHNAVA PREACHER SRI BALARAMA DASA


What is a temple?

One of our Oriya Vaishnava preachers was Balarama Dasa.He is called “Mutta Balarama” or “Passionate Balarama” as he used to get passionate while taking His name.He is the author who wrote “Laxmi Purana” in Oriya. You must have heard the story of Sriya Chandaluni. This story was originally written by him to remove the evils of the caste system from our society.


The story goes something like this…Balarama Dasa used to tease Mother Laxmi and used to call her “Boki” [temperamental] and “Teri” [squint eyed].

It is a custom in Puri and most of the South Indian temples that one must visit the temple of Laxmi after visiting Vishnu and sit in the verandah for a few minutes as a trip to a Vishnu mandir is incomplete without spending a few minutes with Laxmi and asking for her favor.

Balarama Dasa used to visit Srimandir every day. He would worship Jagannath on the ratna vedi and then return without spending a few moments visiting Laxmi.Laxmi got mad at Balarama and asked Balarama to explain.Balarama typical to his teasing attitude for Laxmi replied “Oh my temperamentally squint eyed mother, I see you standing next to my prabhu on the ratna Bedi.This is quite adequate and I do not see any reason why I must visit you in your temple”. This exchange of words made Laxmi quite mad and she reiterated that the temple is called “Srimandir” and the kshetra is called “Sri Kshetra” after her name as her name is “Shree” and Balarama had the audacity to challenge her.She cursed Balarama to spend his last days away from Sri Kshetra and Srimandir.

After a few days, Balarama had a fight with King Prataprudra Deva, and the king kicked him out of Puri and banished him to a place close to Brahmagiri (20 miles from Puri on the road to Chilika).

Days passed by and the time came when Balarama realized that his end was near. He decided to walk the 20 odd miles to die after visiting Jagannath on the ratna vedi. Alas, the curse of Mother Laxmi was in place. Close to the periphery of Puri, Balarama felt dizzy and sat under a big banyan tree. Lord Jagannath realized that Balarama could not walk the rest of the distance and he must visit Balarama.

Of course, Laxmi was too keen to accompany Him as she wanted to remind Balarama the significance of the practice of worshiping her in a Vishnu temple.

When Lord came with mother, Balarama woke up and offered his namaskar. Mother Laxmi reminded Balarama of her curse that Balarama was finally dying without visiting Srimandir on the Sri Kshetra. Listening this, Balarama smiled a bit, and said “Oh my temperamentally squint eyed mother, don’t you know where ever you stand next to my prabhu that place becomes Srimandir and that surrounding becomes Sri Kshetra”. After saying this he fell down and died.

Bhakta Kabi Madhusudan Rao has said it nicely in his bhajan that goes
“…ei mane bije toro nije NArAyaNa, tu kiyAn khojuchu buli chaudige mana…”

In my understanding of minimalist approach, the temple is in your heart
and the worship is in your feelings.

source : Extract from http://umeshdas.blogspot.in

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STORY ON NARADA & JAGAA DASA - Where does HE live ?

                 STORY ON NARADA & JAGAA DASA


Where does HE live?

Narada, the saint, used to take a lot of pride in being a Vishnu bhakta. Once while wandering the earth chanting “Narayana Narayana”,he started believing that he was the only one who cares and worships Narayana while the rest were more interested in their day to day petty things. Next time he came to offer his worships to Narayana, Lord Vishnu asked if Narada had a little time to help Him carry out a delivery. Narada feeling with pride jumped in and asked what he had to deliver. Lord Vishnu asked Narada to circle the earth once while holding an earthen lamp filled with precious oil and
making sure to bring the lamp back without dropping the precious oil.

Next day morning Narada set out for circling the earth and at the end of the day brought back the lamp with the precious oil without dropping a single drop. Obviously Narada was all in smiles as he was chosen by Narayana for this task and he completed the task without losing a drop of oil. Narayana asked Narada to visit a poor farmer called “Jagga Dasa” next day and observe what he was up to and report Jagga’s daily activities to Him.With all devotion to Lord filled with arrogance of his devotion, Narada set out next day morning to observe Jagga Dasa.

Jagga Dasa woke up in the morning, finished his morning activities, fed the animal, and ate an early morning breakfast and left to work on the fields.Most of the day he worked in the field, came back in the evening,fed the animal, and ate a late supper before retiring for the day.Before he went to bed, he said “Oh Lord, please accept my Namaskar”.With that he started snoring as soon as his body touched the bed.

After Jagga Dasa retired, Narada left for the Vaikuntha and described the day to Lord. Narada was mad at Lord because Lord had asked him to observe a person who Narada believed was void of a single quality that could be common to all the devotees and that was respect for the Lord.Since Jagga Dasa did not take His name during the entire day, Narada was convinced that Jagga Dasa would be heading straight to hell.

After hearing Narada’s pitiful description of Jagga Dasa,Lord asked Narada why he was so mad at Jagga Dasa.Of course it was all to do with Jagga Dasa taking Lord’s name only once and that also before he retired for the day.At this time Lord asked Narada about the number of time Narada took Lord’s name while circling the earth holding the lamp.Of course, Narada had a good alibi that he was asked to make sure to bring the lamp back with the precious oil without losing a drop.While on such an important mission, he could not be expected to take the Lord’s name.

At this time Lord said with a big smile “Oh, sage Narada, you circled the earth with one lamp, while the poor Jagga Dasa is circling the earth 365 days with several lamps feeding his family,the animals, and community.Yet, Jagga Dasa had time to take My name once while you did not have time to take my name even once”. With this with all His love for Narada and the humanity He said
“Na aham thisthAmi vaikunthe, yoginAm hridaye na cha Mudd bhakta yatra gAyanti, tatra thisthAmi NArada”.

[Oh Narada, neither you would find Me in Vaikuntha nor you would get Me by following the wandering yogis, wherever My devotee calls for Me, I make
My self available to him.]

source : Extract from http://umeshdas.blogspot.in

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BHAKTA GUNAVATHI

                              BHAKTA   GUNAVATHI


We never know when a turning point takes place in our life. A right decision taken in the quiver of an eye can lead us on the righteous path. This is the story of a Queen who was lead to the righteous path by a servant.
Once upon a time, there lived a king called Madhav Singh. His wife’s name was Gunavathi Bai. She was a pious lady, a dutiful wife and a kind hearted woman. She had two sons. A servant maid was appointed to take care of those young ones. Gunavathi bai observed that the servant maid was incessantly chanting something since her lips were in constant movement. When she asked her what she was doing the servant maid answered, ‘I am chanting the name of Srihari to liberate me from this earthly life.’ Gunavathi bai expressed her desire to be initiated into the mantra. Seeing her keenness, the maid agreed. She gave her an idol of Lord Sri Krishna and initiated her into the mantra and taught her the way of prayer. Gunavathi bai carried on her puja with total faith everyday. She prayed to the idol of Lord Krishna and served devoutedly sadhus and Haridasas.

As her bhakti increased, her interest in mundane life decreased. Her husband observed this detachment in her but did not know the reason behind it. He mistook it as madness and tried various ways and means to drive it out of her but in vain. Finally he called her and asked her the reason for her strange behaviour. She said, ‘I am praying to God incessantly. I will continue to do so till I am blessed with his Darshan. But this only irritated the king all the more. Gunavathi being scared of his angry looks closed her eyes. Lord Sri Krishna manifested Himself before her with his Sankha and chakra. Gunavathi’s joy knew no bounds. She prostrated herself before God. God touched her head and said ‘I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry.’
‘Oh God! even if the world turns topsy turvy, the sun sets in the west, the seven seas become dry, come what may, see that I don’t stop your prayer.’ God blessed her and said, ‘Your wish will be fulfilled. Don’t you worry’ and vanished.

Gunavathi opened her eyes gladly. Her husband being unaware of all this, threatened her once more and left the scene. Before leaving he warned the sentry at the door not to allow any sadhu into her room since she was falling into mad bhakti. He went to the forest to hunt.

Gunavathi carried on her pooja, and her bhajan. She continued to honour sadhus. Mantri sent a letter to the king regarding her behaviour. This added fuel to fire and he sent four people to kill his wife. They saw her being lost in prayer and so waited outside.

Lord Sri Krishna knew his devotee was in danger. So He came out of his idol in the form of a tiger. She asked why he came thus but he gave her no answer. He silently came out and killed the four waiting outside.
Those who were within ear shot, heard the roar of the tiger and hastened there. They were shocked to see the four people dead. They ran for their lives. Later Gunavathi came out and saw the dead bodies. She was touched by their tragic end and prayed to God! ‘Oh God! You and Goddess Lakshmi are our parents. You should take care of us all. These people have come to harm me, only to fulfil their duty to the king. If you want to save me, is there, no other way ? Please bring them back to life.’ God manifested himself before her and said, O.K. I’ll grant your wish’ They came back alive, pleaded guilty and became her disciples.

She explained to them how the body is transient while the atma is permanent. One who realizes this and prays to God and leads a righteous life will be blessed by God. The minister who came to know about her miraculous powers, prayed to her and sent word to the king about this. The king sent back a message to the minister to allow her to carry on her pooja in peace. He felt sorry for his cruel behaviour. She carried on her service to the sadhus and the poor undisturbed. The rest of the time she spent in prayer.

After some time the king was returning to his kingdom. On the way, at one place, he had, to cross a river. When he was half way through the river, he was about to be drowned and he prayed to his wife. ‘If your prayer is sincere you save us from sinking’ Amazing! The boat silently reached ashore. Everybody was surprised.

The king praised Gunavathi, ‘You are a blessed soul. I tried to harm you, unaware of your miraculous power. I experienced it when we were saved by you. You please forgive me.’

Gunavathi explained, ‘Nobody can harm anybody. Things happen based on the balance of good and evil in a person. God is there to take care. This life on earth is a bubble which will blow out any moment. Wealth, family, comfort all these are transient. Only God’s love is permanent. But people being lost in earthly comforts and attachments are getting detached from God . They are not making an attempt to attain moksha. So who am I to forgive you?’

The king was impressed by her teachings. He became a transformed man and began to pray to God, treating his wife as his Guru.

One day Gunavathi said, ‘Oh dear ? you can attain Gnana only through the initiation given by God. So seek the lotus feet of a good guru and get initiated. You should give up desires. Riches pull you towards desires. Desires are unlimited. A man may have all the riches, all the power ,all the beautiful women but he will not be satisfied. A wise man learns that he has to give up desires, while a fool seeks desires and thereby seeks downfall.

The king said that since she was his first guru, she should take up the responsibility of finding him a Sadguru. Then she brought the servant who initiated her into bhakti, prayed to her and requested her to do initiation for her husband too. The servant readily agreed. ‘Gunavathi you have Jnana, bhakti, vairagya. Being in your company, your husband too has changed for the better. If I don’t agree, it means I am going against the will of God.’

The king came, fell to her feet and asked her to show him a good path. She initiated him into a mantra and explained, ‘Oh king! your wife is a jnani, she has enkindled a jnana jyothi in your house. Now with your encouragement the jnana jyothi is being illuminated well. By God’s grace, you too are blessed. You think of God, you pray to God and you serve God’s devotees. If you do thus God will be pleased and will be with you. Treat others as yourself. If God is pleased, nothing will be impossible.’

The king arranged a special ashram for the servant and stopped treating her as a servant. He went to Brindavan and prayed to God. ‘Oh God! being an ajnani, I was lost in material comforts. I ignored the blessings given to me -the blessings of a human form. Now I am a changed man, please forgive me.’ Krishna being impressed by his sincere prayer, manifested Himself before the king. ‘Like Namadev and other devotees, you too have become my special devotee. I won’t leave you. I’ll be in your heart for ever.’ The king stayed there for quite some time, went to Dwaraka, prayed to God there, visited many holy places with other sadhus and came back to his kingdom and was leading a blissful life with his family.

After a few days, Gunavathi expressed her desire to go on a pilgrimage. The king readily agreed and took his family to many holy places and finally they came to Dwaraka. They prayed, danced and sang there. God bring impressed by their Jnana, bhakti , vairagya manifested Himself before them. Their joy knew no bounds on his Darsan and prostrated themselves before him. God lifted them up, embraced them and promised to manifest Himself whenever they desired for it.So saying,He vanished.

They continued their pilgrimage, went to Pandharpur, prayed there and proceeded further. Thus they were leading a life of piety till their last breath.

This shows it is easier to please God than fellow human beings and to have God’s darshan. God was impressed by the sincere prayer of the family, manifested before them and promised to manifest as and when they wanted. What else does one require ?

source : http://hinduphilosophydevotional.blogspot.in

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BHAKTA DEEPAKUDU

                             BHAKTA   DEEPAKUDU

KASI VISWANATH

Manikarnika Ghat at Varanasi

Suppose both God and Guru appear before you at the same time, whom do you offer pranams ? God may be the answer, but it seems we should offer our pranams to the Guru first, because he enlightens us about the greatness of God.

Here is the story of such a bhakta, who being lost in the service to his Guru, refused to seek any boon from the Almighty ! In fact he was surprised as to how God appeared before him when he hadn’t offered any prayer to Him.

Once upon a time there was a rishi called Vedadharmudu. He had many disciples. He wanted to know how serious they were in serving him. So one day, he assembled them before him and said, ‘Listen carefully ! I would like to nullify the sins of my previous janma so that I can free myself from the cycles of birth and death and can attain moksha. I have washed away a major part of my sins through my penance. I am still left with some more sins bear punishment for them. I will be born again to reap the consequences of those sins.

So I will go to Kasi and turn myself into a leprosy patient, a lame and blind man. I will suffer thus for 21 years to get rid of my sins. Now tell me, who is willing to serve me and look after me for all these years?

Nobody ever dared to open his mouth. Each one was worried, he might not discharge his duties well in looking after him in such a miserable condition. If he failed to do so, he might invoke the guru’s bitterness. Better keep numb than serve and be criticized.But then, one disciple by name Deepakudu was more than willing to take over the fruits of the sins of the Guru. He said ‘Dear Guru, if you allow me to do so, I will bear your sins and reap their consequences. I’ll also serve you. Please bless me ‘The Guru was pleased at the faith in him, but said, ‘I am helpless that way! I should face the suffering, I cannot transfer it to any one. In fact serving a patient is more difficult than being a patient. So you think twice before you join me on my venture.’ Deepakudu had no second thoughts. He proceeded with the guru happily.

Vedadharmudu had his bath in the Manikarnika ghat, offered his prayers to Manikarnika and had the darshan of Kasi Viswanath. Devakudu built an ashram to the guru. There the guru was affected by leprosy, blindness and lameness as desired by him. Leprosy was in its worst stage. His body was totally decayed, infected with insects and was letting out a foul smell. All these physical ailments disturbed his mental balance. A normally lovable soul-the guru, became very rude and cruel.

Deepakudu, as promised by him, served him very dutifully. He cleaned his body meticulously. In one word he served his guru as one would serve God. He found God in him and did not even bother to visit the holy temple of Kasi Viswanath.

Whenever Deepakudu brought food, the guru only tortured him. He threw the food down on one pretext or the other. He either said it was too less or that it was insipid and tasteless. He pestered him to get better food always. Once in a while, he would feel sorry for Deepakudu ‘Oh boy!’ I’m awfully sorry for you! You are such a great, sishya! You are suffering a lot for my sake!’ But that affection was short lived. The very next minute the guru with a thundering voice would attack him to clean his body properly. He would say that since he was not cleaning properly the body was emitting a foul smell, being a playground to the insects. When he began to clean him, he would curse him again for not offering him food when he was badly hungry.

Deepakudu bore all this stoically. He had the generous heart to understand that great sinners were also greatly cruel since their suffering turned them to cruelty. So he did not take it to heart. He served him so much that he had no time for his personal duties. He never spoke to anyone.

Though he had lost no time in visiting the presiding deity, Kasi Viswanath, Kasi Viswanath had no rues against him. He was moved by his guru bhakti and appeared before him and asked him to seek a boon.

Anybody would have jumped at the offer of the Almighty and would have given out a long list of boons they required. Deepakudu said that he would not seek any boon without the permission of his Guru. He went and asked his guru if he would allow him to ask God to mitigate his pain. That irritated the guru beyond expectation. ‘Why, what’s wrong! Are you too sick of serving a sick man like me ? No, for heaven’s sake, don’t ever seek such a boon ! If I ask for any mitigation of my pain, I have to be reborn again as a human being to bear the suffering. That is what is written in Shastras ! So go away ! Don’t ask for it.’
Deepakudu repeated what the Guru opined to Kasi Viswanath. Being surprised by such a behaviour, Kasi Viswanath narrated the whole thing to Lord Vishnu, before all other devathas. Lord Vishnu was delighted to hear such a thing and came down personally to see the guru and sishya.

Same old story again! Instead of being thrilled at the darshan of the Gods one after the other, he questioned Lord Vishnu in return. ‘Oh my Lord! There are hundreds of people who do penance to have your darshan! Why then did you take the trouble of manifesting yourself before me!

Lord Vishnu answered with a smile, ‘Look here! You don’t have to serve me directly ! If you serve your Guru with your heart and soul, it is as good as serving me ! I am bound to such a sishya. Not only a guru, whomever you serve-parents, pandits, brahmins, rushis, munis, I will be pleased. A wife who server’s her husband as God, is not serving him, she is serving me. So, come on, seek a boon of your choice.

Deepakudu said, ‘Our Sastras proclaim that Guru is the incarnation of God and all the holy places. In such a case why can’t I seek my boon from the Guru him self ?

Lord Vishnu insisted, ‘Yes we are one! So to please us both, you ask for a wish and I’ll sanction it and will remain with you forever.’ Deepakudu who knew only the guru and nothing else asked in similar lines. He said, ‘Oh God ! see that my gurubhakti increases day by day.’ The lord was pleased by his desire and fulfilled it at once. He said, ‘you are a blessed soul. You continue to serve your Guru thus.’

‘Whoever understands the essence of the teachings of vedas and vedantas, whoever serves his guru as the paramathma is blessed by all the devatas put together Whatever boon he seeks will be sanctioned by the devatas. One who prays to a guru as God is respected by the world around. When the opportune moment comes, we the Trimurthis provide you with a sadguru So saying Lord Vishnu disappeared.

Deepakudu ran to his guru to narrate the whole thing, but the guru had known everything, before Deepakudu opened his mouth. The Guru spoke in soft, caressing tone in Deepakudu. ‘Dear Sishya you continue to remain in kasi. You will be served by Asta siddis and nava nidhis. Those who pray to you will be relieved of their pain. so saying the guru became a perfectly healthy man. The Guru took over suffering on him to test his disciple, to teach him his swadharma and to prove the greatness of the holy place Kasi. Why will ever a guru be a sinner. This is only a message to the sadhakas to lead their life in the righteous path.

This is a story narrated by Siddhudu to Kali Purushudu in Sri Guru Charithra.

A word from the writer’s desk.

I happened to hear this story from my sister, Mrs Meena Ramarao and I planned to write it for my next Bhakta story, but on second thoughts, I felt it spoke more about the dedication to the Guru than about the miraculous powers of the bhakta himself since all along, the stories I picked up spoke about the greatness of the Bhakta. So I declared I would not write it. 

The very next morning there was a little havoc in our Kitchen but nothing happened. Then I felt that it is God’s message that I should write this story.

source : http://hinduphilosophydevotional.blogspot.in

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LIFE HISTORY OF JALARAM BAPA

                       LIFE HISTORY OF JALARAM BAPA

Rama.Sita & Laxmana with Hanuman

Shree Jalaram Bapa was born in the year 1800 AD in the village Virpur, Gujarat. His mother, Rajbai was very fond of serving sadhus and saints. No sadhu and saint could go from Virpur without receiving the hospitality of Rajbai. Shree Jalaram Bapa's father's name was Pradhan Thakkar, who was engaged in business.

At the tender age of 16, Jalaram married Virbai, daughter of Thakkar Pragji Somajia. Jalaram was however not inclined to live household life and to continue to do business with his father. He is mostly engaged in serving sadhus and saints. He separated himself from his father's business and stayed with his uncle, Valjibhai, who was very fond of Jalaram. It was obvious that Jalaram was inclined to completely withdraw from marital life. Fortunately his wife, Virbaima decided to follow the path of Jalaram. So, when Jalaram decided to go for a pilgrimage for holy places, Virbaima followed him.

At the age of 18, Jalaram Bapa accepted Shree Bhojalram from Fatehpur as guru and was given a "Guru Malaa and Mantra" in the name of Shree Ram. With blessings of his guru, he started "Sadavrat" ba feeding centre, a place where all sadhus and saints as well as the needy could have food any time during 24 hours. Nobody returned from that place without having food. All this he did single handed with Virbaima assisting him.

Soon his fame spread as an incarnation of the divine. Whoever come to Virpur, whether Hindu or Muslim was fed by Bapa. Once three Arabs in the service of Thakore of Rajkot demanded an increase in wages by four rupees in a month. Being refused, the Arabs resigned and set out to Junagadh. On their way, they hunted few birds and kept them in their shoulder bag. When they reached Virpur, Bapa asked them to have their meals and then go. When they protested that they were Muslims, Bapa said that in the court of God there was no distinction in caste and creed and they were welcome.

The three Arabs had their meals in the temple but they were embarrassed that they were carrying dead birds in their bag. The Bapa touched the bag and said that the birds were feeling suffocated. The Arabs opened the bag and found that the birds were alive. They flew away to a nearby tree. The Arabs were amazed and understood that they were in the presence of divine person. They fell at his feet and asked whether they would get a job in Junagadh. Bapa said "What was the need to have a job in Junagadh? The Arabs serve only one master." Just at that time, a camel man sent by Thakore of Rajkot arrived there. He took back the Arabs with him saying that Thakore has sanctioned an increment of seven rupees in their wages.

There are many stories about the greatness of the saint of Virpur. Remembering the stories, we can fill the heart with devotion and gratitude.

Source : http://www.jalabapa.org/life.htm

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BHAKTA LAADUBAVA

                                 BHAKTA   LAADUBAVA



India is a land of many bhaktas and saints who experienced many miraculous powers of God. If one follows total surrender to God (sarvasya saranagathi) God takes care of him. Come rain or shine, come praise or curse he will remain untouched. Bhakta Laadubava is one such bhakta who could dictate terms to Kalimata.

There was a famous bhakta called Laadubava in Jyothipuram. He was known for his bhakti and vairagya. He went on pilgrimage all over the country. He went to Gangothri in the Himalayas to Rameswaram in the South. Throughout his pilgrimage he was lost in prayer to Lord Krishna.

Once on his way to such holy places he halted at a place called Kaavuur. As usual he was praying to God. That place was inhabited by cruel people known for their violence and atrocities. They offered human sacrifices to the Goddess Kali. Poor Laadubava was unaware of this custom. The king’s soldiers could not find a single soul for sacrifice that day. When they saw him they were more than thrilled and so dragged him to the feet of Kalimata. Three of them held him tight, when one was getting ready to kill him.

Laadubava, a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna, stood undaunted. He did not think of any other means except praying to the Lord. If God wills to save him, He would save him.

Kalimata manifested Herself before them in an angry mood, and killed all the four soldiers. Then she cooled down and sought forgiveness from Laadubava for offending a bhakta like him. She also offered to sanction a boon. Laadubava said, ‘I don’t require any boon, but since you are offering on your own, please fulfil my wish. You have given place to violence in your jurisdiction. All the people here are behaving cruelly and are becoming sinners. So please entrust them to turn for the better and to become devotees of Lord Srihari’. Kalimata agreed to do so. Accordingly, she manifested herself before the king in her dreams and said,’ Oh king ! you pass an ordinance that from today onwards your people should give up violence and you become disciple of Sri Hari’s devotee, presently seen in my temple. If you don’t follow my order, I’ll see the end of your people, your family and you.’

The king woke up from his sleep, called the minister and told him to spread the news to the people thus,’You give up violence and seek the blessings of a Haridas in Kalimata’s temple.’ He personally went to the temple and was shocked to see his soldiers lying dead there. He prostrated himself before Laadubava and prayed to him in many ways.

Laadubava angrily admonished the king. ‘Oh king, why are you so cruel ? How did you take a liking to human sacrifices ? You could not realize the truth that God is Omnipresent. He manifests himself in all creatures. Your wealth, position, wife, children, you people are all temporary. They don’t come with you in your final journey. This body over which you are gloating over is but a water bubble which might evaporate any moment. It is high time you change for the better. If you continue thus you will be made to suffer in hell. Seek the company of Sadhus and refine yourself. They will teach you vairagya. You will learn to be detached from your kith and kin. When you get detached you attain atma gnana. If you attain atma jnana, you will attain moksha.’

The king felt insulted when he was chided by the saint. He said, ‘you are looking down upon me. Can you be called a sadhu, if you cannot control your anger. Let me test your bhakti.’ He ordered his people to throw him into a dilapidated well and to cover it with a big boulder.

Laadubave sat coolly on the grass growing at the lower part of the well as if it was a soft bed and continued his chanting of Lord Srihari. The honey bees there provided him honey. He satiated his hunger with that and carried on his prayer undisturbed.

The king was frightened by the mystic powers of Laadubava. He ordered his people to remove the boulder from the well. But lo ! They could not lift it. Then he sent for elephants but they too were unsuccessful. The king was at a loss to do anything. Having realized the greatness of the Sadhu, that very minute he gave up violence, he ordered his people also to give up unruly behaviour and to change for the better. He started praying on the boulder over the well. He constructed many Vishnu temples all over the villages, saw to it that prayers were conducted in the temples three times a day. He made them do bhajan to Sri Hari constantly and he too actively partook in the bhajans. He has been honouring sadhus and devotees of God. He has been ruling through dharma and has been regularly praying to Laadubava.

Twelve years passed thus. The Lord Vishnu was impressed by his bhakti, gnana and vairagya. So one day He manifested Himself before the king in his dream. The king was more than excited to see Lord Vishnu with His four arms, with sankhu, chakra and with diamond studded gold jewels ,with Goddess Lakshmi on His Garuda vahana. His glow was greater than the light emanated by crores of sun God. He prostrated himself before God and prayed to him in many ways. He added with tears of joy,’ I am an ordinary man. How can I praise you?’

Lord Vishnu said, ‘I am pleased by your jnana, bhakti ,vairagya. You will attain moksha, but to reach me you should seek a sadhguru’s blessings. You have thrown my devotee into a well to test him. You make him your guru. The king shuddered at the thought and said, ‘Oh my dear God! I am very sorry to tell you. I threw him into the well twelve years ago out of my foolishness. The very next day, I wanted to bring him out and seek his forgiveness, but I was helpless. However much we tried we could not remove the boulder over the well. Ever since then, I have been praying to the boulder itself, treating it as Laadubava. We have been giving him many offerings. As per his order, I saw to it that my people had been changed for the better. They too ve became Your devotees. Now You blessed me to seek his teachings, but I wonder how it is possible, I wonder how he would be after these 12 long years.’

God answered, ‘Why do you worry unnecessarily. Do as I tell you. Go there , do your pooja as usual and lift the boulder. It will move very easily. Then you seek forgiveness from Laadubava and get his blessings.’ So saying God vanished.

The king woke up from his sleep, narrated his dream to the minister and priests, went with them to the well, prayed there in the regular way and touched the boulder. How strange ! They could lift it very easily. They saw Laadubava there with a glowing face and prayed to him. ‘Why did you come to disturb my loneliness’ questioned Laadubava.

The king explained how God ordained him to become his disciple and requested him to forgive him. Laadubava let out a smile and said ‘You are not a sinner. In fact, you have done me a favour. You have provided me an opportunity to pray to God incessantly for 12 years. I am free from the shackles of the mundane life and I am far from the madding crowd. So how can I repay your kindness?’ He came out of the well. The king took him to his house with all the pomp and show and made him seated on an elevated seat. The king and his people prayed to Laadubava with folded hands.

Laadubava spoke to the king, ‘Oh king ! I could see in my mind’s eye the transformation in you, your good deeds and the blessings of God on you. You will one day be like God.’

He addressed the public, ‘Oh people! you wanted to test me and so pushed me into the dilapidated well. Whoever created the world, whoever controls the seas from occupying the land, whoever decides the cycle of sun, moon and other planets, whoever controls the Kaalachakra, whoever can bring the whole world to a standstill if He so desires, whoever’s atma is seen in you, me and others, that God, the Lord Vishnu, has been protecting me all along. Is it strange ? God in fact protects even those who are entangled in their family life. In such a case won’t He protect one who is devoted to him totally ? God wants to show you that he takes care of all those who surrender to him totally. Everything takes place as per His desire.

Who are we to act against his will ?’

The king surrendered to the Guru and the Guru initiated him Sri Krishna mantram and its impact. He said that the very name of God would drive out the sins, the desires, the worries and all materials bondages. The people also fell to his feet and were initiated into prayer. They continued to do henceforth bhajans and Ekadasi Vratam.

Laadubava stayed there for some time and continued his pilgrimage for quite some time and finally settled in his native place. He carried on his Hari bhajan till he breathed his last and became one with his lord. After some days the Lord appeared before him in his dream and blessed him. Finally he and his subjects attained moksha. This story tells us that a Sadguru can lead us to the righteous path.

Source : http://hinduphilosophydevotional.blogspot.in/search?q=Bhakta+Laadubava

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MIRACLES of CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU at PURI, ODISHA

      MIRACLES of CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU at PURI 

Miracles of CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU at Puri 


During the time of Car Festival (pulling of the chariot) of Lord Jagannath (an aspect of Krishna) at the Puri temple, devotees could not move the chariot no matter how hard they tried. Even several elephants trying to pull it could not succeed. Chaitanya pushed the car lightly and, to the devotees' utter delight, it began to move immediately.

Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, a learned scholar of Vedanta, also had a huge ego and great pride in himself. He did not have much of an opinion about Chaitanya and thought of him as a mad mendicant. But when he came face to face with the latter, he was struck by his deep knowledge of Sanskrit, bhakti and the great love he emanated. Instantly humbled, Sarvabhauma got converted and became Chaitanya's ardent disciple.

Vasudeva was a simple Brahmin who was excommunicated by society as he suffered from leprosy. Compassionate as he was, Chaitanya went up to him and lovingly embraced him. In the very next second, Vasudeva healed and became completely normal! Such was the healing power of his love.

Pundit Sreebas was one of the foremost devotees of Chaitanya. (The Chaitanya Bhagavata, a Biography on Chaitanya, was written by his grandson.) A Kirtan party was held at Sreebas' residence that day. Chaitanya and his followers were singing and dancing in great joy. Unknown to them, Sreebas' grandson had died of cholera just then. Though his wife was broken, Sreebas chose to join the Kirtan and continued dancing, unaffected by the tragedy that had struck him. When Chaitanya came to know about the death, he asked for the boy's body to be brought in front of him. When he commanded it to speak, the boy's soul immediately entered the body and stated that he had departed to a wonderful world and that he was happy being there now. This left the bereaved family feeling assured and even blessed.

Nitai, Sarvabhauma and Ramananda Ray had the privilege of witnessing the sheer divinity of Chaitanya. Chaitanya is said to have revealed himself to them as a six-handed divine being, two hands wielding the bow and arrow, two playing the flute and the other two holding a Danda and Kamandalu (staff and pot). With this manifestation, he was indicating that he was both Rama and Krishna.

Chaitanya once dived into the sea at Puri, imagining it to be the Yamuna at Vrindavan. As he floated on the water, he happened to be caught by a fisherman, who, sensing the weight of his catch, was very happy thinking he had caught a huge fish. Meanwhile, Ramananda and Swaroopa, who were desperately searching for their master, found him lying unconscious beside the fisherman and brought him to, by repeatedly singing the name of 'Hari'.

source : http://www.dollsofindia.com/library/sages_of_india

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