031. Shri's leelas at the Tol home

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Maharaj began his leela when at the home of Chintopant Appa Tol. 

He would go to the forest outside the village and bring back large branches from the castor tree. He would then make foot-long pieces of these branches and stuff them with mud. These pieces he would arrange these as if he was readying rifles for battle. Maharaj would also gather the woolen fringes found at the end of a ghongadi and would arrange these in a queue. He continued to do this for seven months.

Whenever anyone asked Him what he was doing, He replied, "I am readying platoons."

Only when Nanasaheb Peshwa led the first war of Independence against the British, did everyone realize what Maharaj was referring to, through his words and actions.

Every word that Maharaj spoke and every action that he performed had a deep significance and esoteric meaning which in some cases was crystal clear, with the benefit of hindsight.

After the British defeated us Indians after the first war of Independence, the instances of armed uprisings in pockets around the country eventually subsided. It was then that Maharaj started playing a new game.

At Akkalkot there is a large cannon that is called Lakshmi. Maharaj used to put his face into the mouth of the cannon and sit for hours. He did this for many days.

The British were looking for those Indians that had directly or indirectly supported the Indian side in the first war of Independence and were sentencing them to death by cannon. When this fact became well known, that is when people understood the meaning behind Maharaj's actions.

Many princely states were investigated and action was taken against them. Some people from Naldurg, Menglai began looting.

One day Shri Swami Samarth was seated in the front yard of Badulkhan's house in Budhwar peth. Someone mentioned the looting. 

On hearing this, Maharaj said, "Nothing belongs to the Hindu now. The elephant is gone. The horse is gone. The palanquin is gone. Everything is gone."

His words ring true as the Hindu still suffers in his own country.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

030. Maharaj throws the golden chouphula into the well

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Once when Shri Swami Samarth was strolling in the Akkalkot palace grounds, he saw one of the king's attendants nearby holding a chouphula, a container with four compartments, shaped like a flower, used to keep cardamom, cloves, and other such items used as mouth fresheners. This one was made of solid gold and was beautifully crafted.

He snatched it from the servant and pointing to a nearby well asked the king, "Should I throw this into the well?"

The king, with folded palms, said, "Maharaj, it is Yours. You may do as You wish."

On hearing these words, Maharaj promptly threw the chouphula into the well. All the courtiers and servants present were saddened thinking that such a lovely item was now at the bottom of the well. However, the king was not saddened as he was fully assured of Swami's powers. That night, Maharaj stayed at the palace.

The next morning, Maharaj was once again playing on the palace grounds. The king also arrived there. 

"Get the pohara!", ordered Maharaj. The king instructed that a pohara (pail for drawing water) and rope be brought, and lowered into the well.

When the pohara was pulled up, everyone was surprised to see the chouphula inside with the items inside it as they were before it was thrown in the well. 

What was even more surprising to everyone was that the items in the chouphula were completely dry despite having been at the bottom of the well overnight.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

029. Malojiraje receives a divine vision

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Every Gurupratipada, Shrimant Malojiraje, went to Gangapur and stayed there for three nights, and in addition to other rituals, he would feed many brahmins.

One Gurupratipada, he had a divine vision in which Shri Narasimha Saraswati appeared before him and said, "I am at your village so why do you come here!?" On seeing this vision, he woke up and hastened for Akkalkot the next day. He was convinced that Shri Swami is a Datta Avatar.

At Akkalkot, Malojiraje received Samarth's paduka, applied gandham, and placed Them in his home altar.

From then on, the king began celebrating Gurupratipada at Akkalkot. In those days, an amount of two hundred rupees used to be sanctioned for the festivities.

|| Shri Swami Samarth || 

028. A mouse in the palace

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Maharaj roamed wherever he wanted, whenever he wanted, and ate wherever he wished. 

One day, Maharaj went to the palace and stood in front of the king. The king, with all honors, escorted Maharaj to the pooja altar and seated him on the swing. 

The king's priest, Appa Salabh Pujari, was preparing gandham when a mouse began eating the wick in the prayer lamp. Salabh noticed and angered by the rodent who had been a nuisance in the pooja room, hurled the grinding stone at the mouse killing it. 

Salabh picked up the mouse and was about to throw it out when Maharaj spoke, "Bring the mouse here."

He handed the mouse to Maharaj who took the mouse in His hands and passed it from between the rings of the swing around ten to fifteen times.

Maharaj said, "Go child!", and the mouse immediately jumped from His palm, onto the floor and scurried into his hole.

On seeing this miracle, the king and all those present were amazed at Shri's power.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

027. Description of Shri's playfulness

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Once Cholappa's wife had ground green lentils and had prepared a very good quality dal in a container.  When no one was looking, Maharaj entered the kitchen, took some dal from the container, and fed it to the cow. He did this for many days and finally, there was no more dal left. Some days later, on the occasion of some festival, Cholappa's wife decided to make puran poli and went into the kitchen to get the dal. All she found was an empty container.  

She suspected Maharaj right away as she was aware of His routine of roaming all around her home, and complained to Cholappa.  When Cholappa asked Shri Maharaj about the dal, He replied, "How should I know? Your cow ate the dal! Ask her!", and walked away. 

Cholappa was from a poor family and that is why his wife would get angry at Shri Maharaj when he would do such acts. She had not understood His true nature and thought that He was just an ordinary man.

The ruler of the princely state of Akkalkot, Shrimant Malojiraje, was informed of Maharaj's arrival in Akkalkot. They described Him as a sadhu who had come to grace Akkalkot. On hearing about Maharaj, Malojiraje said, "How do we know that he is a sadhu? I will only believe that He is a sadhu if He appears before me right now and gives me darshan." Just then, Swami Raj appeared in Malojiraje's court in His Digambar form seated on an asana in front of Malojiraje. After the ruler had the fill of His darshan, Swami Maharaj disappeared.

Once, the Governor of Mumbai was visiting Solapur on government business. He requested Malojiraje to come and meet him. Malojiraje, accompanied by this administrator, Chintopant Appa, began to make preparation to visit the Governor. 

Chintopant suggested that they visit Cholappa's home and seek the darshan and seek blessings from the sadhu who was staying with him. If they did that, Malojiraje would surely be successful in any discussions with the Governor. Malojiraje agreed they set out to Cholappa's place.

Maharaj was seated on the verandah of Cholppa's home. He was in an especially angry form and Malojiraje could not muster up the courage to stand before him and stood standing near his palanquin. 

Just then, Maharaj called out to him, "Come here!"

Malojiraje stepped forward and paid his obeisances to Shri, who took a sword from a nearby soldier and handed it to the ruler. Into Malojiraje's other hand, he pushed a spittoon. Then, after offering Him worship, Malojiraje went to Solapur.

The Governor was in a hurry to leave and the cannon salute, and the formal announcements that are the usual protocol for royal visitors were not carried out. Malojiraje was unhappy that the protocol was not followed. 

Malojiraje met the Governor and was informed that the restrictions on bearing arms, which had been in force for some time, had been lifted. That is when he realized the significance of Maharaj handing him the sword. The spittoon implied that he would be insulted.

From then on, Malojiraje's devotion to Shri Maharaj grew, and allocated an allowance of five rupees monthly for Maharaj's worship and expenses, which would be handed to Cholappa.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

026. From Solapur to Akkalkot

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

In the month of Kartik, Chintopant Appa Tol went to Akkalkot and Maharaj went with him. Tol had arranged two horses, one for Maharaj and one for himself, and a servant who would walk with them.

When they had barely traveled ten kilometers, a messenger from the collectors' office came riding with a message for Tol. He had been asked to return to Solapur in order to attend to a work emergency.

Tol gave strict instructions to the servant, "Stay here with Maharaj until I return, and don't allow Him to go anywhere!" 

The servant nodded and Tol rode off with the messenger back to Solapur. As soon as he had left, Maharaj dismounted from the horse and wandered into a nearby garden. The servant followed, pleading with Maharaj to not go any further. 

However, Maharaj does what He wills, and is not bound by anyone's instructions. Maharaj disappeared from the garden and appeared in Akkalkot seated in the Khandoba temple, leaving the Tol's servant worried about what explanation he would give to his master. 

Here, Tol wound up his work at Solapur and swiftly rode back to the place where he had left Maharaj. Noticing only his servant, Tol chastised him for having let Maharaj leave even as the poor man explained that he did all he could to stop Swami from leaving. They looked around in the nearby area but there was no sign of Samarth. Tol then hastened towards Akkalkot, worried that he may never see Swami again.

The Khandoba temple is on the outskirts of Akkalkot on the route to Solapur. As Tol approached Akkalkot, he noticed Swami seated in the Khandoba temple. His joy knew no bounds and he dismounted and ran towards Maharaj. 

He pleaded with Maharaj, "Please come home, Swami."

Swami replied, "My home is different."

Even after much pleading, Swami did not agree to go with Tol, so with a heavy heart, after offering his obeisance to Shri Swami Samarth, he returned back to Solapur. Maharaj then left the Khandoba temple and sat at the village entrance, not yet entering Akkalkot. He sat there without food for three whole days.

On the fourth day, Ahmed Alikhan, a soldier, mockingly asked Shri Maharaj, "Do you smoke chilim?", to which Maharaj replied, "Yes I do!". Alikhan handed an empty chilim to Maharaj which He put to his mouth and took a puff.  

A thick smoke emanated from the chilim and this convinced Akikhan that Maharaj was an avaliya. Alikhan had noticed that Shri Maharaj had not eaten for three days and thought of arranging food for Him from a Brahmin home. Cholappa lived nearby and would surely make arrangements. 

Cholappa brought food for Maharaj and went with Alikhan to where Maharaj was. He prepared a plate and offered it to Maharaj, who asked Alikhan to touch the plate. 

Alikhan was understandably hesitant to touch the food prepared by a Brahmin. 

Sensing his hesitation, Swami reassured him, "Don't be scared, hold it in your hands."

At the insistence of Shri Swami, he touched the plate and placed it in front of Samarth who ate with great joy. 

At women of Cholappa's household were livid because Cholappa brought Swami home. They criticized his actions, called him names, and made life miserable for him. Swami did not make life easy for Cholappa either: He would feed the grains and lentils to the cows, would pass stool wherever He wanted, and would donate household items to the needy. 

But, even through all these tribulations, Cholappa's devotion to Maharaj only grew stronger.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

025. Tol is instructed to go to Akkalkot

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Rajshri Chintopant Appa Tol was leading a retired pensioner's life during the time that Shri Swami Samarth had come to Akkalkot.  Later, Shahajiraje, the king, appointed Tol as an administrator at Akkalkot. 

Once, when Tol was on his way to Solapur, the king called for him and asked him to go to Akkalkot instead. Shri Swami Maharaj was at Tol's home at that time. Tol requested Maharaj to accompany him.

Maharaj replied, "It is very hot in Akkalkot, I am not coming."

"Then when will you come to Akkalkot?", asked Tol. 

"I'll come after it rains!", replied Majaraj.

Then, with Swami Maharaj's permission, Chintopant Appa Tol left for Akkalkot.

Shri Swami Maharaj never shied away from roaming at will in the scorching hot sun. The unbearable summer at Akkalkot was not the reason He did not go. He wanted to imply that the summer would be a difficult time for the people there, because the king, Shahajiraje, was going to pass away, and rainfall would be delayed.

Just as Shri Samarth had foretold, Shahajiraje feel ill and he left his mortal coil in the month of ashad. That year, it did not rain during the chaturmas. Later in the year, after Diwali, in the month of kartik, there were good rains, and the crops flourished. Swami came to Akkalkot after these rains.

Malojiraje, the newly anointed king, had just assumed his royal duties.

From then on, for the next twenty-three years, Shri Swami Samarth resided at Akkalkot and performed various leelas, to become bhakta-kama-kalpadruma for his devotees.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

024. Chintopant Appa Tol

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Sometime between 1854 to 1855, Swami left Mahol and arrived in Solapur. He stayed there for a few months at the home of Rambhau Gurjar.

One evening when Shri Swami Samarth, in His digambar form, was seated in the Datta Mandir, many people arrived for the darshan of Shri Dattatreya. Chintopant Appa Tol was also amongst the gathered devotees.

After receiving darshan from Shri Dattatreya, he was circumambulating the deity when he saw Maharaj and thought to himself, "This must be some siddha purusha." 

No sooner did he think this than Majaraj called him out, "I may or may not be a siddha purusha. What's it to you? Go your own way?" 

He was wonderstruck on hearing this and thought to himself, "He must be a mind reader."

Maharaj retorted again, "I may be a mind reader, or I may be anybody."

Tol was truly surprised. The display of any mystical feat surely warrants reverence and Tol did exactly that. After he had offered his obeisances to Maharaj, he invited Shri to his home. At his home, Tol worshipped Maharaj and offered naivedyam. After He had eaten, Tol arranged a place for Him to rest and continued to serve His lotus feet.

Tol was now fully devoted to Shri Maharaj. Seeing that Maharaj also reciprocated, Tol would frequently invite Maharaj to his home and offer Him naivedyam.

Once, Maharaj was seated in the front verandah of Tol's home. Tol was in the backyard completing his bath. Sohni was also in the backyard with him and Tol said to him, "Swami eats wherever He wants, and hence it's not right to seat Him with others during meal time." 

After wearing his dhoti, when Tol came onto the verandah, Maharaj stood up and said, "You discriminate amongst people, I will not eat at your house!", and began walking away.

Tol was repentant of the words that he had used when speaking of Maharaj and fell at His feet seeking forgiveness, and convinced Him to return back home and have His meal.

Vishnupant was Chintopant Tol's son and was a clerk at the collectors' office. Golatpeet was the collector and Hanmantrao Pitambar was his secretary. Both officers were strict and expected punctuality from their department staff. Their clerks had been instructed to be in the office by ten o'clock sharp.

Once, when Maharaj was at the Tol residence, Chintopant Tol bathe Him, offered worship, and placed a plate with the naivedyam in front of Him. However, Maharaj did not partake in the offering and the food on his plate remained untouched for a long time. 

Vishupant had to reach the office by ten o'clock and his father, Chintopant, suggested that he eat and leave. However, Vishnupant, who was a devotee of Shri Maharaj, decided to wait until Maharaj had eaten, no matter what the consequences were at the workplace.

At around eleven o'clock, Maharaj began to eat, and Vishnupant also had his food. He then got ready for work and left. When he reached the office, he placed his things at his desk and made his way to the head clerk to mark his attendance and to explain his tardiness.

However, the head clerk, Deorao, was surprised. 

"You arrived at work before me and I can see your attendance already marked", said the head clerk.

When Vishnupant checked the attendance register, he was pleasantly surprised that his attendance had already been marked for the day. When he narrated the incident to his colleagues, they were also surprised, and this continued to be discussed for many years going forward. We are told that this happened in 1856. 

Such is the nature of Maharaj's leela.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

023. Collector Sohoni

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Mamledar Ganesh Hari Sohni had arranged a kirtan performance at his home in celebration of the Ganesh Utsav. It was a wonderful kirtan and Shri Maharaj was also attending. 

At around midnight, Maharaj stood up and walked out of his home. Anxious as to why Shri had left the kirtan, Sohoni followed Him, pleading with Him to come back inside. 

There was a light drizzle and Maharaj was making his way toward the forest. Sohoni's servants brought a torch they followed Him into the dark forest. Maharaj would not relent and refused to come back to his home. He said, "Your home is very boring. I will not come."

Sohoni asked, "When will we receive your darshan again?"

Maharaj replied, "In the mango season."

Having realized that Shri would not come back, a disheartened Sohoni left an attendant with Maharaj and returned home.

Sohoni had maintained a mistress in his home and was very attached to her. This was not acceptable to Maharaj as Sohoni was a very devout man under the evil influence of kama.  This is what He meant when the said that he found Sohoni's home, boring.

So, until Sohoni gave up his mistress,  it was certain that Maharaj would not give him darshan. This ran so true and he had to face many obstacles in his career due to his obsession with this rand.

Sohoni's well-meaning seniors took him aside and discretely asked him to leave the woman as he, being the collector, needed to project an image of a respectable man. However, he told off his seniors and the miffed seniors brought a disciplinary inquiry against him. 

However, fortunately for Sohoni, Shri Swami Samarth helped him get off with just a loss of his job without having to spend any jail time. Finally, he gave up his attachment to his mistress.

Sohoni then went home to Solapur and stayed there for many days. In the mango season, Shri Swami appeared before him in digambar form and gave him two mangoes. Eventually, he was reinstated as a collector at Baroda.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

022. A Gaveswamy receives darshan

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

After leaving Mangalvedha, Shri Swami Samarth first went to Pandharpur, and to Mahol. It was the monsoon season, and the Bhima river, which flows between the two towns, was flooded. The boat service that ran between the two villages was not operational. 

Shri Swami Samarth began crossing the flooded river and the river water subsided to knee height till Maharaj had crossed over. The people of Mahol saw this miracle.

Rajashri Ganesh Hari Sohni was the collector at Mahol. Shri Swami stayed at his residence.

Gaveswamy was a lingayat sadhu at Mahol. He was 125 years old. It is said that when he used to meditate in solitude, his asana levitated one to two feet above the ground. An adept master, he could speak of the past, present, and future.

Once Shri Swami Samarth and Gaveswamy spoke in private and after that, he gave up yoga sadhana and began interacting with the world. Shri Samarth used to visit his math once in a while. Many days after Shri Samarth went to Akkalkot, Gaveswamy entered the Samadhi state.

At Mahol, koshti man began troubling Shri Swami Samarth, "Show me, Brahman, Show me, Brahman." Maharaj tried to shoo him away but he would not listen.

Finally, Maharaj took him to the Nagnath mandir at Mahol, and said to him, "Look at Brahman." As soon as He uttered these words, the koshti began seeing snakes everywhere. He lost his mind and for many days he started behaving like a madman. After that incident, Gaveswamy interceded on this behalf with Shri Swami Samarth, who in answer to his prayers, brought the koshti back to normalcy.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

021. Manik Prabhu and Sabnis received darshan

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Before arriving in Akkalkot, Shri Swami Maharaj visited Manik Prabhu in Humnabad. Even at that time, there were two other divine men that accompanied Maharaj.

Rajmanya Rajshri Baba Sabnis was a resident of Akkalkot. He was a philosopher and devout. After his wife had passed on, he turned his focus to spiritual growth and used to visit Manik Prabhu regularly to seek spiritual guidance.

Once when he was visiting Manik Prabhu, he saw three diving beings seated near him. One of them was Shri Swami Samarth. 

Manik Prabhu instructed him to receive Maharaj's darshan and told him, "From here on Swami Maharaj is your Guru. Take the benefit of His darshan!" Sabnis received darshan from Shri Maharaj and also from the other two divine souls. 

Maharaj let loose a barrage of expletives. "You are a butcher!", said Maharaj. Through inner communication, he also provided spiritual instruction to him. 

Sabnis' mother was very ill, and yet, he had not stayed beside her bedside and had made the trip to Humnabad. That is why Shri Maharaj called him a butcher. Swami then instructed, "Go to Akkalkot, I will also come there." Sabnis was surprised as to how Maharaj knew that he was from Akkalkot and was convinced that Shri was an Avatari.

Later Sabnis received darshan at Akkalkot when Majaraj arrived there. He, however, did not receive darshan of the other two divine souls he had met. 

After leaving Mangalvedha, Maharaj went to Solapur. There is a parcel of agricultural land, adjoining the road to Solapur, that belongs to the Karmarkars. That land parcel was leased to Pandharinath and Eknath Bhatji Niwaskar from 1855 to 1856. 

In the scorching heat of the afternoon sun, at around two, both of them encountered Swami Maharaj on the road. He asked for Pandharinath's slippers which he promptly gave. 

On wearing the slippers, Swami walked with such a pace that while Pandharinath and Eknath were speaking with each other, Maharaj was nowhere to be seen on the road.

Eknath said to Pandharinath, "Why did you give your slippers to that madman!? He is nowhere to be seen. Our uncle is sure to be angry with us." On hearing this, Pandharinath fell into worry.

After around five minutes, they saw Swami walking towards them and was soon standing in from of them. He said, "Take your slippers! Now your uncle will not be angry." 

Both of them thought that Swami must have been hiding nearby and after hearing us speak came back to give the slippers.  Pandharinath wore the slippers and walked onto the farm and sat under a tree with Eknath.

After about half an hour, a group of people, traveling to Solapur, met Eknath and Pandharinath and asked them if they had seen a madman walk in this direction in a great hurry. The two narrated the incident with the slippers, and everyone was surprised that Shri Swami Samarth had covered such a great distance in such a short time.

Since that day, Shri Samarth never returned to Mangalvedha.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

020. A discussion with two divine men

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

A river runs near a forest thicket at the foot of a huge mountain near Mangalvedha. That is a very scenic place. 

Once, Maharaj was seated near the river when on the opposite bank, two divinely glorious men, akin to Maharaj, appeared there. The three took each other's darshan and began climbing up the mountain.

One muttered, "Ka radto ka?", the other spoke, "Haka ka marto?", and the third said, "Ase ka karto?" These utterances were beyond the understanding of the common man.

After they had climbed the mountain, and had stayed there for some time, only Maharaj walked down.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

019. The story of Ramdasibua

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

When Swami Maharaj was at Mangalvedha he used to visit Pandharpur, Begampur, Chalambe, and other villages in the nearby area. Chalambe is a village of Patwardhans. 

One day Shri Samarth was in the Ramdasibua Math at Chalambe. He had His meals there and then took a nap. Ramdasibua had some work to attend to, and hoping not to disturb Swami's repast, he quietly closed the locked doors of the math and left.

That evening people saw Shri Swami Samarth playing in the sand on the banks of the river Bhima. This news eventually reached the ears of Ramdasibua. 

Readers should note that the Bhima river does not flow through Chalambe and that is why Ramdasibua thought that it may be some other Swami at the Bhima because Samarth was at his math resting.

On reaching the math, Bua opened the lock and saw inside to find Shri Samarth missing. Bua was surprised as there was no other door that Swami could have used. He then realized that this was all part of Swami's leela.

Bua then traveled to the banks of the river Bhima, and after having received darshan from Maharaj, brought him home.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

018. Compassion shown to the Muslim

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

When Swami was at Mangalvedha, there was a yavan who used to serve Him. He used to prepare a chilim (smoking pipe) for Shri Samarth whenever He used to come into the village and reside at Patwardhan's place. The yavan did not work. He roamed around the village like a madman, beg and eat bhakari, and lived carefreely. 

After he had served Maharaj in this fashion for a number of days, Maharaj took mercy on him and placed His hand on the yavan's forehead and initiated him. He received spiritual knowledge and became an avaliya.

Maharaj never gave spiritual discourses but from the example of the avaliya we learn that when He found someone capable, He took mercy on them and hastened their progress. There is no doubt about that.

The avaliya then went to Pandharpur and then to Satara. He used to roam around the banks of the river Krishna behaving like a pisacha. When his fame as a great yogi spread, many people flocked to him seeking material blessings. Whenever someone approached him, the avaliya used to pelt them with stones. It was commonly understood that if the stone hit anyone, his desire would be fulfilled.

Shri Yashwantrao Mahadev Deo sought Maharaj's darshan when He was at Mangalvedha and stayed with Him for some days. It was then that he received Swami's blessings and then returned to his village. Eventually, Dev Mamledar became a renowned spiritual master.

From this, we learn that Shri Samarth spiritually initiated those that were worthy.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

017. Weaver's poverty removed

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was a weaver in Mangalvedha who lived in abject poverty. On some occasions, he would not have enough to eat and had to beg to support his family. However, one day his fortune changed and he met Swami Maharaj. As soon as he met Maharaj, he became a devotee and performed seva daily. 

It had been three months since he began his seva that Shri, who is an ocean of compassion, took mercy on him. That night, Swami appeared to him in a dream and said, "Your father was a rich merchant but he died during his pilgrimage at Pandharpur. Your mother had already passed away. Under the tulsi vrindavan in your house,  your father had buried a treasure. Dig it up and claim it!"

He immediately woke up and as instructed by Samarth, he dug up the ground and found the treasure. His joy knew no bounds. Shri Swami Samarth had freed him from the curse of poverty for good. He sought out Swami in the forest and fell at His feet. He could not control his emotions and his tears rolled onto His feet as if performing abhishekam. With Samarth's blessings, he lived a good life in Mahol.

Such is the glory of Shri Swami's leela.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

016. Babaji Bhat's Well

 || Shri Swami Samarth ||

Babaji Bhat was a Brahmin who lived in Mangalvedha. Every fifteen days, Swami Samarth used to come and sit in his house. One day when Swami came, his wife was at home while Babaji Bhat was attending to some errands elsewhere in the village. 

As soon as she saw Him, his wife offered an asana to Swami and with great devotion, offered Him worship. Swami asked her for a drink of water. She replied, "I will fetch you some water from outside."

Samarth asked her, "Why are you going outside when you have a well in your home!"

She replied, "It is true that we have a well but it has dried up in the drought season. I will bring you fresh water from the community well."

Maharaj replied, "Don't go out. There is plenty of water in the well. I will show you. Come", and led her to the well. He then urinated into the well and then asked her to lower a vessel into the well to draw water. 

The good-natured and devout woman complied, and to her utter surprise, the vessel was filled with water, She looked into the well and saw that there was water in the well up to a man's height. Just then Babaji Bhat returned home and his wife narrated what had happened.

Both husband and wife offered their obeisances to Shri Swami Samarth. There was never again a shortage of water.

Later, Babaji Bhat lived in Pandharpur and there he continued to narrate this incident that showed Swami's generosity.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

015. The shudra woman begets a son

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There lived a sixty-year-old man in Mangalvedha who had a wife that was fifty-two years old. Their only sorrow was that they did not have any children. The woman was chaste and devout. 

Once she met Basappa Teli and heard of the miracles that Swami had performed to lift him from the clutches of poverty. He said to her, "If you worship Swami with devotion, and if you have your daily meal only after you receive Darshan from Swami, surely your desires will be fulfilled."

The woman began following what Basappa had advised, and received Darshan from Swami daily, and only then did she eat. She did this for two years. 

In the third year, Swami, who was immensely pleased with her seva, said to her, "Take the sap from the tree there, add sugar, and eat, so that your work will be done!"

It was the shirasa tree and had fresh white sap. She took the sap and mixed it with sugar and ate it, as instructed by Swami. In some days, she conceived, and in due course of time, gave birth to a healthy baby boy. She took the baby and placed him at Swami's feet to receive His blessings. 

The old man, his wife, and their son lived happily, in service of Samarth.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

014. Basappa Teli Prospers

 || Shri Swami Samarth ||

Basappa Teli lived in Mangalvedha. Once, when roaming around in the forest, he saw Shri Samarth lying on a bed of nettles. On seeing this, he felt immense devotion towards Swami and began offering service.

His wife labored the entire day to help support the family. She felt helpless that, while they were drowning in poverty, her husband had become the follower of a madman. This continued for many years, until one day, Samarth was pleased with Basappa's unwavering devotion and decided to remove his poverty. 

Shri took Basappa to the forest on the outskirts of Katvan. Maharaj walked ahead of Basappa deep into the forest. Suddenly, they were surrounded by hundreds of snakes. Basappa fell at Shri Swami's feet. 

Swami said, "Pick as many as you want, no need to fear!"

The obedient Basappa spread a cloth on the ground and covered up a snake that was a foot and a half long. He picked up the cloth with the snake and held it tightly under his arm. The rest of the snakes completely disappeared. Maharaj and Basappa then returned back to the village.

They came to a garden near the village. Maharaj said to Basappa, "You are holding wealth in your underarm. Use it to live a happy life with your wife and children!"

Basappa place his head on Maharaj's feet and then returned home. His wife was pleased to see him come home. He opened the cloth in front of her and, to both their surprise, saw that there was a foot-and-a-half-long piece of solid gold instead of a snake. Their joy knew no bounds and at the next dawn they, both the husband and wife, offered aarti to Shri Maharaj. 

Basappa continued his devotional service to Maharaj and began an annual pilgrimage to Akkalkot when Swami came to reside there. 

This story took place in the Shaka year 1766.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

013. The cow yields milk

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Once, when Maharaj was at Mangalvedha, he went to a Brahmin's home and asked him to serve Him dashmi to eat. The Brahmin said to Maharaj, "I have a cow but she does not yield any milk."

On hearing this, Maharaj went to where the cow was tied and said, "Lady, this Brahmin is a family man. Continue giving milk!"

Maharaj then turned to the Brahmin and said, "Milk her today and prepare dashmi and keep for me. I will come in the evening!" The Brahmin complied with Samarth's instruction and milked the cow and prepared dashmi for Maharaj, which He came and ate in the evening.

The Brahmin then greatly prospered.

|| Shri Swami Samarth || 

012. Vishnubua Brahmachari's ego is crushed

 || Shri Swami Samarth ||

The King of Akkalkot, Maloji Raje, was fond of listening to discourses on Vedanta. He had appointed scholars like Rajshri Rambhau Chinchanikar, Gopal Shastri Harlikar, and others, to explain to him the Jnyaneshwari, Amrutanubhav, and other scriptures. He paid them a high salary. This continued for quite some time.

Soon, the accomplishments of Vishnubua Bhramhachari from Mumbai began to be discussed in the court at Akkalkot. Talks of him having defeated Christian padres in debates, and the wonderful discourses that he delivered on Vedanta, began making the rounds.

Maloji Raje invited Vishnubua Brahmachari to Akkalkot, and he came, and he spoke on Vedanta.

Bua wanted to speak on Vedantai in the presence of Shri Swami Maharaj. Thus, accompanied by three Parsi gentlemen, he received the Darshan of Maharaj and then began his talk. In the end, he posed a question to Shri, "How does one achieve God realization?", but He did not reply.

Vishnubua, who had begun to think highly of himself, thought, "Surely this Swami is not a scholar like me! He seems like a madman who has been declared God by these simple folk."

That night Bua dreamt that he was covered in scorpions and a scorpion stung him. He woke up frightened, and screaming "I am dead! I am dead!" His Parsi companions were sleeping close by and they woke up and comforted him saying that it was only a dream. 

As he calmed down, he told them of the dream and they surmised that this may have been a consequence of his criticism of Maharaj.

After receiving Darshan from Maharaj, Bua once again began his discourse and at the end of the talk again put the question, "How does one achieve God realization? By what means?"

Maharaj then chastised him, "You are a donkey! You were covered with scorpions in your dream and were also stung by one of them. Yet woke up screaming and in fear and yet make big talk of Vedanta."

"Is God realization so cheap!? You are a bookish scholar! Just because you are learned does not mean you have any realization. Get up and get lost!"

Maharaj then communicated with Bua without speaking and that made him realize the error he had committed, and understood that Shri Swami Samarth is an Avatari.

Shri Swami Samarth stayed at Mangalvedha for twelve years but did not receive much attention there. He would rarely come to the village and would stay in the nearby forest. Even if He did come into the village, He would sit in some unclean place, eat anything that people would give him, and would then return to the forest. 

No one knows if He ate anything when in the forest. The villagers considered Him a madman. Then after seeing some miracles, they became his followers.

In Mangalvedha, he was known as Digambarbua. During the same time, another sadhu, Balkrishnbua also received attention there for the miracles that he performed. 

Once, he brought back the eyesight of a boy who was blinded due to some illness. When the boy's parents approached Balkrishnabua, he took the leaves from some plant, made a paste in his palm, and tied a poultice around his eye. He instructed the family to fast for three days and then remove the poultice. They complied. Lo and behold! The boy regained his eyesight on the fourth day.

Just outside Mangalvedha, there was a dried-up well. The nearby villages were dependent on it for water, and there was an acute water shortage everywhere. To alleviate the suffering of the people, Balkrishabua sat in the village for three full days. The water level slowly started rising, and when it reached the height of a man, Bua climbed out of the village.

Bua performed many miracles but unfortunately, there isn't any detailed record of these. Bua believed that Maharaj was God, and when Bua came to receive Darshan, Maharaj would stand with both hands on his waist like Vithoba, and Bua would place his head on His feet.

Balkrishnabua eventually went to Pandharpur and Shri Samarth came to Akkalkot.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

011. The Barrister

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Two gentlemen from Kolkata, one white and the other Parsee, had come to Mumbai on business. They heard a lot about Maharaj and made the trip to Akkalkot to see Him. 

They had a lot of questions that they wanted to put to Him.

When they arrived in Akkalkot and received darshan from Shri Maharaj, they sat down in front of Him. They were in awe of Him, and, of the numerous questions that they had thought of, were able to ask only one question, " Where are You from?"

Shri replied, "I first left from Kardalivana. From there, I traveled to Kolkata and other cities. I roamed Bengal and received the darshan of Kali. Then, traveling along the bank of the Ganga, I visited Haridwar, Kedareshwar, Gangotri, Badrinarayan, Ayodhya, Dwarka, and a thousand other sacred tirthas, after which I arrived on the banks of the Godavari."

"Then, I was at Hyderabad and Mangalvedha for a number of years, followed by Pandharpur, Begumpur, and Mahol where I stayed for a few days, after which I am at Akkalkot."

This story matches the story in the fifty-first chapter of the Shri Guru Charitra. 

Mahadev Shastri has penned in Sanskrit, the biography of Shri Swami Samarth, in shloka form. Sakharam Balkrishaa Sarnaik, Chambalikar, has composed, in ovi form, the biography of Shri Swami Samarth. Narayan Hari Bhagwat has written the biography of Shri Swami Samarth, in prose form, 

Once, some priests from Gangapur had come to Akkalkot for Swami's darshan. When they were seated in front of Him, Swami asked, "What is the name of your God?"

They replied, "Our God is called Shri Narasimha Saraswati."

On hearing this, Samarth said, "My name is Narshimha Bhan."

Swamisuta, a great devotee of Shri Swami Samarth, has composed abhangs describing the glory of Swami.

Even the acclaimed staunch non-dualist, Vishnubua Brahmachari, held the view that Shri was an Avatari.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

010. Chandulal Divan and Samartha's Horoscope

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

In Mengalayee, there is a village by the name of Rajur. There is a matha there. Chandulal Divan had arranged for the matha to be considered a jagir in government records. 

He was a devotee of Maharaj and Maharaj may also have been very pleased with his astuteness. We believe that is the case as whenever any of His servants seemed to be intelligent, Maharaj would call him Chandulal.

From Rajur, Maharaj went to the Amba temple at Jogai. There is a big mountain in that region and on that mountain, there is a cave that is known as Datta Pahad. Maharaj stayed in the cave for some days, while fasting. The cave was in a forest and the place was desolate. No one ever went there. When people learned about Maharaj being in the cave, people started to throng there for His darshan. Maharaj did not want the attention at that point in time and so he left that place and came to Pandharpur.

From Pandharpur He went to Mangalvedha where He resided for twelve years. 

Rajashri Nana Rekhi, an expert astrologer, had prepared the horoscope of Shri Maharaj and brought it to Maharaj at Akkalkot, and offered it at His lotus feet. According to this horoscope, Shri Maharaj was born in the Shaka year 1071, in the month of Chaitra, on the Dwitiya (second day) of the Shukla Paksha (bright fortnight), on a Guruvar (Thursday), under the Ashwini Nakshatra, under the Priti Yoga, in the morning at two ghatikas, with Mesh (Aries) Lagna (ascendant), in the Cheli village which is around twelve kosa (thirty-six kilometers) from Hastinapur, under a vada (banyan) tree, near the deity of Ganapati.

Ram Singh, a devotee of Maharaj, was playing marbles and called upon Maharaj to play his turn. To fulfill his devotee's desire, Maharaj appeared from the ground as an eight-year-old boy.

Swami Suta, a devotee par excellence, had established Swami's math at Kandewadi in Mumbai and believed that Shri Samarth entertained even the most elaborate stories about Himself that His devotees made up. Those who had seen Maharaj's Divinity, would themselves understand His glory, and would not need any stories to be convinced.

|| Shri Swami Samarth || 

009. Shri's Birth Era

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Shri Swami Maharaj first appeared in Mangalvedha around Shaka year 1760. We do not know for certain from where he had come. However, some of his devotees did make the effort and could gather some information.

In Uttar Bharat, to the north of the Shri Bhagirathi, there is a large forest where many Yogis performed austerities. Swami Maharaj was also performing austerities in this forest for a long time and had been enveloped by an ant hill.

A woodcutter accidentally hit the ant hill with his axe when chopping down a tree, and the blade hit Maharaj's thigh. The scar was still visible. One could argue that the woodcutter did the world a favor as then Maharaj left the forest, and after much travel arrived in Akkalkot from where he continued to shower his blessings on everyone.

When the left the forest, he first went to Kashi, and from there to Ganga Sangam where he stayed for some days. From there he went to Yatiraj Devalgram where he installed his paduka. One is absolved of the sin of even the murder of a Brahmin just by the darshan of those paduka.

Then Maharaj made His way to Mengalayee where He established a matha. He obtained the title of the jahagirdar of the place, handed over the administration of the matha to His disciples, and kept moving forward. Maharaj was known as Chanchal Bharati during those times. When Maharaj was at Akkalkot, some Sadhus from Mengalayee had come to meet him. They wanted His signature on some government document regarding some administrative matter of the math. He declined to sign.

From there he went to Rameshwaram, Udupi, and then Pandharpur. He gained some fame at Mangalvedha. 

Maharaj was five hundred to six hundred years old according to some people but we do not know for sure. What is certain is that He was a very ancient person.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

008. Maharaj throws the vessel into the well

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

It was the drought of Shaka year 1776. Maharaj was seated near a large well when a marwadi man after washing his hands and feet, with a heavy vessel filled with water, presented himself before Maharaj hoping to receive his darshan.

After the darshan, when he was returning, Maharaj called him back. He took the vessel from his hands, poured out the water, and then flung the vessel into the well which was twenty-five to thirty feet away. 

Everyone thought that the heavy vessel would surely hit someone and cause a serious head injury, as there were around fifty to sixty people inside and around the well filling up their fill of water.

Maharaj's leela can neither be understood nor explained! The vessel fell right in the middle of the gathered crowd without touching anyone. Everyone was surprised.

|| Shri Swami Samarth || 

007. Maharaj's rupa

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Rajshri Chintaman Appa Tol's son, Govindrao, was a Datta upasaka. He was suffering due to an evil spirit. The story of how he was freed from the evil spirit will certainly follow.

Govindrao and his family had taken up residence at Akkalkot to be able to offer seva. One morning Samarth unexpectedly came to his residence at Joshi wada. Govindrao was performing his morning pooja. 

On seeing Shri Swami, he immediately offered a pat (wooden asana) for Him to sit. He had brought with him paduka from Gangapur, which he touched to Samarth's feet, and then worshipped His feet with gandha and pushpa.

He then prayed to Samarth, "Let me never forget and forever remember your lotus feet."

Maharaj nodded.

Govindrao then asked, "Maharaj, are you at Gangapur at the sangam?"

Maharaj replied, "Yes I am there", got up, and walked away.

That night Gonvidrao had a dream vision in which he saw the inner sanctum of the temple of Gangapur and the paduka of Shri Dattatreya Narasimha Saraswati inside. He saw that in the sanctum, Shri Swami is also seated and is wearing the same paduka that he had offered him that morning. He also saw that there were pujari's seated nearby.

In the dream vision, Gonvindbua asked one of the pujari's, "Who is seated inside the sanctum?"

The pujari replied, "Akkalkot Swami is seated inside."

Having seen this in the dream vision, Govindrao awoke. He was convinced that Swami is an incarnation of Dattatreya and he became a devout worshipper of Maharaj.

It is not just His devotees that believe that Maharaj is a Datta Avatar. Renowned Yogis, Siddhas, and Tapasvis, would hear about Maharaj and come to Akkalkot. On receiving his darshan they would be convinced that He was an Avatari, and would also tell the same to the local residents.

Narasimha Saraswati Swami from Alandi and Yashwant Rao Maharaj Dev Mamledar also believed the Maharaj was an Avatari.

The most surprising fact is that even the renowned vedic scholar, Vishnubua Brahmachari, a staunch opposer of deity worship, and the author of 'Vedokta Dharma Prakash', who has reasoned that Dnyaneshwar Maharaj, Changdeo Maharaj, Namdeo Maharaj, and others may have not have performed the miracles attributed to them, also believed that Maharaj was an Avatari.

What further evidence does one need!?

Much information about Shri Swami Maharaj remains unknown. 

Where did he spend his childhood? Who were his parents? To which caste did he belong? What region did he come from? Where did he receive Deeksha? Where did he take Sanyas?

He would sometimes quote from the vedas and the shastras, and it was surmised that he was a Sanyasi and a Brahmin. He would have meals at Brahmin, Shudra, and even Yavan (Muslim), homes. 

Shri's complexion had a divine glow. He was fair with a tint of red. He was ajanubahu (arms extending up to his knees). His effulgence was so brilliant that it was impossible to stare at him for an extended period of time. When devotees came for His darshan, they would put their heads on his feet, as for them, he was God. Sometimes, just before their heads touched His feet, He would say, "Hat" and the frightened devotee would fall down.

Maharaj's darshan was divine. Lecherous women would especially be afraid of appearing in front of Him. He would chastise them with expletives, calling out their behavior, in front of everyone else. He would also announce the names of the men that they had been with.

Once a married lady, of high standing, from a reputed family, with the desire to beget a son, came to seek Maharaj's darshan and blessing. She had a large entourage.

She said, "Bless me Maharaj with a son."

Maharaj replied, "Why do you come to me for a son? Your lover can give you a son!" It then came to light and the woman was engaged in an extra-marital affair with a man from her entourage.

Kings and beggars were all the same to Him. The Collector, Judge, Police Chief, and even the King of Akkalkot had received a slap from Shri Maharaj. 

Maharaj would sometimes, in His divine play, remove and throw away the turban he was wearing and verbally abuse those gathered using foul expletives. However, no one dared speak up as everyone was in awe of him, and was afraid of the consequences of saying anything.

Those who saw Maharaj for the first time were immediately convinced that he is God.

The interesting thing is that Maharaj would behave, in what we would consider, as a mad man. However, no one was ever harmed or injured in any way, shape, or form, because of his acts, and always kept his Kripa Drushti on his devotees.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

006. The Brahmin's chronic stomach-ache is cured

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was a Brahmin by the name of Sridhar, from Karnataka, who was suffering from chronic stomachache. He was staying in Gangapur with the hope that he would be cured of his illness.

One night, Shri Datta appeared in Shridhar's dream in the form of a Yati and instructed him, "Extract the juice of the leaves of the shripur plant, mix with suntha (dried ginger) and saindhav (rock salt), and eat. Your stomachache will be cured!"

The next morning, he remembered the dream but did not know the shripur plant. He consulted the vaidyas and senior people but none of them had heard of the shripur plant. He was now worried but continued reaching out to people asking for their help in identifying the plant. The next night, Shri again appeared in his dream and instructed, "Shri Paramhansa Swami is at Akkalkot, he will show you the shripur plant."

The next morning Shridhar left for Akkalkot and reached in a day. Shri Samarth was seated in the Maruti temple near the new well.

Shridhar placed his head on Shri's feet and then stood with folded hands in front of Maharaj. 

Looking at him Maharaj said, "The neem tree is called shirpur. Extract the juice from the leaves, mix suntha and saindhav, and have for three days so that your illness will go away!"

Shridhar did as instructed, and in three days' time, just as Maharaj had said, his illness disappeared. He then, very happily, left for his hometown.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

005. The story of the Brahmin from Vai

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

A Brahmin from Vai was staying in Gangapur, offering service for many days. On hearing the glories of Shri Swami, he decided to make the trip to Akkalkot to receive His darshan. When he arrived in Akkalkot, he was joyous on seeing Swami's leela. 

One day when he was seated near Shri Swami, he narrated to Him an incident where he had been cheated.

The Brahmin said, "Some days ago there was a man who had come to Vai to perform some rituals and to fulfill his vows. After completing the rituals, he planned to serve meals to Brahmins, which is known to be pleasing to Lord Dattatreya. "

"However, he was short of money, and he asked me for twenty-five rupees, which I promptly lent him. He assured me that he would return the money in one or two days once his hundi came through but he left without paying me. I was cheated."

He then continued, "I gave him the money in your name. Is it right that I am cheated!?"

Maharaj did not reply but in the crowd of people who had come to seek his darshan, he pointed to one person. 

When the Brahmin from Vai looked in the direction that Swami was pointing, he saw a miracle. The man who had cheated him was amongst the crowd. He got up and held the man and they got into a heated argument. Finally, he admitted that he had cheated the Brahmin of twenty-five rupees but said that he did not have that amount of cash.

Govindrao Tol and some other gentlemen mediated between them and the man handed over his cap, Gurucharitra Pothi, tambya, pela, and some other items to the Brahmin in lieu of the amount owed.

The Brahmin then asked Maharaj, "By your grace, I have received my money. Please instruct me on what I should do with it."

Maharaj replied, "I don't know, go your way!" The Brahmin promptly left.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

004. The Brahmin is cured of leprosy

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was a leper who was offering service at Gangapur for many days hoping that he would be cured of leprosy. He then had a vision instructing him to go to Akkalkot. He obeyed, and immediately on arriving at Akkalkot began offering seva to Shri Swami. He continued to do this for many days. 

A day came when his suffering became unbearable and he prayed to Shri Swami, "Maharaj, I am unable to bear the pain. I would gladly face death than suffer more of this agony."

Swami Maharaj felt compassion for him and ordered him, "Veshta gheun angas laav!"

He said he would obey and offered his obeisance to Shri Maharaj and began his search for his medicine. Maharaj had instructed him to apply human excrement as an ointment. He then thought to himself, "If I have to apply human excrement to my body, why not the excrement of Shri Swami Samarth!?"

Thus, he applied Shri Swami Samarth's excrement on his body, left it on there for some time, and then washed it off. After doing this for four days, the wounds on his body healed completely and his skin had healthy glowing skin.

He stayed in Akkalkot for some days, and then after taking permission from Shri, he left for his home and continued to offer service to Samarth.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

003. Thakurdasbua

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There is a famous Devasthan in Mumbai called Thakurdwar. On the right side of this Devasthan on a small altar are the portrait and paduka of Swami Maharaj. The daily ritual offerings and the Thursday palanquin seva are conducted with great devotion regularly. This institution was established by Shri Krushnabua, also known as Thakurdasbua.

Thakurdasbua had been a Shri Datta upasaka from childhood and he regularly visited Narsobachi Vadi and Gangapur to offer his seva. He was an excellent kirtankar.

By the law of karma, as the fruit of some act committed in his past lives, Thakurdasbua was stuck with vitiligo (shweta kushta) and he developed white patches on his body including his face. He felt that he was beginning to get unbearable to look at and this caused him great mental anguish. He underwent treatment for twenty years but the disease was not cured nor was the spread halted. A completely dejected Thakurdasbua resolved to spend the rest of his days at Kashi kshetra where he hoped that he would not have to face anyone that he knew.

With arrangements made, Thakurdasbua arrived for the darshan of the paduka at Gangapur before he left for Kashi. He had brought along with him kasturi to offer at Shri's paduka. He received darshan and with great devotion offered his worship, with great attention to all details, except that he forgot to offer the kasturi he had brought along. Then he served brahmin bhojana and also performed kirtan in the evening. Before resting for the night, he offered his prayers to Shri's paduka and sought permission to leave for Kashi.

That night, bua had a vision in his dream in which he was instructed, "Got to Akkalkot and receive darshan from Shri Swami Samarth so that you will be rid of your disease!" When bua woke up the next morning, he remembered the vision and immediately after completing his morning snan, pooja, and sandhya, he left for Akkalkot with his family. In three days' time, bua reached Akkalkot.

On enquiring about where he could find Swami Maharaj, he was told that there was a prostitute who had come from out of town and was now staying in Akkalkot, and Maharaj was at this time at her residence. Bua went there promptly and upon receiving darshan from Maharaj, placed his head on Shri's feet.

Maharaj looked at bua and said, "Give me my kasturi right now!"

It was then that Thakurdasbua remembered that he had forgotten to offer the kasturi he had brought along with him and was overjoyed that Shri Swami Maharaj had reminded him of the miss. He ran to where his family was staying and found the kasturi in his pooja materials. Bua then ran back to where Maharaj was and handed it to Him. Laughing loudly, Maharaj distributed it to the children who were gathered there.

Thus, Thakurdasbua believed that Maharaj knew the minds of men. Krisnabua then stayed in Akkalkot for some days offering seva to Shri Swami. 

One day bua went to receive the darshan from Maharaj. There was a dhuni burning nearby. Maharaj picked up a burnt piece of wood from the dhuni and threw it at bua. The devotees who had gathered there cheered and said to bua that his desire would be fulfilled.

The next day, bua ground the wood on a stone slate, added water to make a paste, and then mixed the sacred bhasma from Gangapur in it. He applied this as an ointment on the white patches on his body and face. After doing this for a few days, lo and behold, the white patches disappeared and his normal skin was restored.

Thakurdasbua's wife, Radhabai, was a devotee of Shri Samarth. They had a seven-year-old daughter. Once at Akkalkot, Radhabai prayed to Maharaj for a son and in answer to her prayer, He took off the cap He was wearing and dropped it in her hands. She was overjoyed and offered her obeisances to Maharaj. Within a year, she delivered a son. He was named 'Gurunath'. Per the instruction of Shri Swami Maharaj, Gurunath's vratabandha (sacred thread ceremony) was also performed at Akkalkot in the presence of Shri Swami.

In the shaka year 1972, in the month of magh, when Thakurdasbua was performing kirtan at Akkalkot, Maharaj took off the cap He was wearing and put it on Gurunath. Thakurdasbua eventually became a full devotee of Shri Swami. Going forward, during the Gurupratipada festivities at Akkalkot, Thakurdasbua performed kirtan.

Thakrudasbua installed Shri Swami Maharaj's paduka at Thakrudwar in Mumbai. After Thakurdasbua passed away, his son Gurunathbua, continued the devotional service to Shri Maharaj.

After Thakurdasbua was cured of shweta kushta he always went to Akkalkot and performed kirtan and offered pooja to Shri. 

Once when in Shri's presence, bua thought to himself, "If only Shri Swami would offer me guru-upadesha." No sooner did this thought come to him than Maharaj in extreme anger said, "Hamku kaiku satata hain, hum pantojipan nahi karta | Gathke guru, bathke chele kum karte nahin dekhe |"

The next year bua resolved that even if it meant death, he would seek and receive anugraha (spiritual initiation) from Shri Swami Samarth. With his mind fixed on this goal, he stood in front of Shri Maharaj. Shri Maharaj said, "Nikal jao, joota marenge!" 

On hearing these words, bua was reminded of the conversation between Ramanand and Kabir from the Bhakti Vijaya. As soon as this thought came into his mind, Maharaj said, "Tera Kabir jhak marta hain | Hum kuch parva nahi rakhta | "

Bua was utterly convinced that Maharaj knew the minds of men and that He was Datta Murti, Himself. With this resolve, he continued to serve Shri Swami Samarth till the end.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

002. The munja (sacred thread ceremony) of the Brahmin's son

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was a brahmin from the ghats who had made a vow to Shri Narasimha Saraswati that if he begot a son, he would perform the munja (sacred thread ceremony) at Gangapur. 

Soon, after the grace of Shri Dattatreya, he begot a son, and as vowed, he left for Gangapur with his family to perform the thread ceremony of his son. By the time he reached Akkalkot, he had exhausted all the money that he had brought with him. 

He prayed to Shri Swami Samarth, " I am unable to go to Gangapur and fulfill my vow. You are a Datta-Avatar; please arrange so that my vow is fulfilled here at Akkalkot."

When Maharaj nodded his head, the brahmin was overjoyed and bowed before Him. Soon thereafter he also received some money and was able to perform his son's munja. Shri Dattatreya also appeared to the brahmin in a dream to assure him that his vow had been fulfilled.

Datta Jayanti and Guru Pratipada are celebrated with great pomp and fanfare at Akkalkot. 

Many devotees at Gangapur receive drushtanta for visiting Akkalkot.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

001. The Pujari from Gangapur receives darshan

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Shri Swami Maharaj is recognized as the full incarnation of Lord Dattatreya and his previous incarnations were Shripad (Shrivallabh) Swami and Shri Narasimha Saraswati.

Sri Swami did not become famous in Mangalvedha. Since he believed that Gangapur was his main place, he decided to stay nearby, in Akkalkot, where he would achieve fame and recognition.

All devotees of Shri Swami believe him to be an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya and worship him as such. The following stories will reinforce this belief.

Gangapur is well known because of Shri Narasimha Saraswati's stay there. Datta upasakas offer seva there and have experienced that their heart's desires are fulfilled.

From the time when Shri Swami Maharaj appeared at Akkalkot, many devotees from Gangapur have received instructions in divine visions to visit Him at Akkalkot.

When asked, "Who are You?", Maharaj, if in a happy mood would reply, "Dattanagar mool purusha vadache zaad!"

He would also utter, " mool mool."

Once, the priest at Gangapur came to receive darshan of Shri Swami Maharaj. After the darshan, Samarth asked him, "Who is your God?".

The priest replied, "Maharaj, my God is known by the name Shri Narsimha Saraswati." 

On hearing this, Swami Maharaj said, "My name is Narsimha Bhan."

In many instances Maharaj would say, " I was Ram, I was Krishna."

It is these utterances that lead us to believe without a doubt that Shri Swami Maharaj was an incarnation.

Rajshri Chintopant Tol met Maharaj in Solapur before Maharaj came to Akkalkot. He was an ardent devotee of Maharaj and believed Him to be an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya. He had known five to seven years in advance of meeting Maharaj that he would get to meet Him. That story is as follows.

From 1843 to 1847, Rajshri Chintopant Appa Tol was the collector at Solapur. His clerk was on leave and was in Satara. When the clerk was on his way back to Solapur after his leave, he made a stop at Pandharpur.

There was a great Siddha by the name of Gopalbua in Pandharpur and the clerk sought His darshan. When Gopalbua asked him, "Who are you? Where have you come from?", he explained who he was and that he worked for the collector of Solapur. To this Gopalbua said, "I need to send a letter to your collector. Go get some ink, pen, and paper." The clerk promptly complied.

The letter instructed Chintopant Tol that in some time he would get to meet and spend time with Lord Dattatreya. Around seven to eight years after the letter was written, Shri Samarth met Chintopant Tol who was fully convinced that Shri Swami was an incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.

Many devotees who have their desires fulfilled after taking a vow of service or offering before Shri Narasimha Saraswati at Gangapur, come to Akkalkot to fulfill their vow with service or offering to Shri Samarth.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||