|| Shri Swami Samarth ||
Akkalkot was a capital city but it was still unknown. Maharaj brought fame to Akkalkot. He stayed there for over twenty years and brought to it the prestige of Amravati, the capital of Indra. There was happiness in all four directions.
The advent of Shri Swami Samarth brought economic prosperity to Akkalkot. Trade grew a thousandfold. Horse-drawn carriages could be seen all around town. A minimum of five hundred visitors began arriving by train daily.
It could be that as a fruit of Malojiraje's good deeds in his past life, Maharaj came to Akkalkot to bless and purify his subjects and him and also anyone who visited.
Malojiraje was able to face many difficult circumstances because he had the grace of Shri Swami Samarth.
Maharaj was well known all over Bharat, from Kashi to Rameshwaram, and hundreds of thousands came for His darshan. He would bestow his blessings based on the spiritual caliber of the recipients.
Swami would perform some miracle or the other for every devotee. Unfortunately, not everything was documented, and future generations will never know many of the miracles he performed and the lives he positively impacted.
Maharaj wore a brass kada on His wrist. It was engraved with images of various Gods and Goddesses. Whenever any devotee came to Shri Maharaj, he would point to the image of the God or Goddess that the person was supposed to worship. Many people had that experience.
Maharaj also had with him measuring cups made of wood and ivory. He would pour grains from one cup into the other as a play.
Maharaj would never sit still in one place and would move around ten to fifteen places within Akkalkot in a day.
Four types of people would come to for Maharaj's darshan: Aart, Jignyasu, Artharthi, and Dnyani. Most people would be seeking a way out of some problem or would be desirous of some material gain. Few would be spiritual seekers and even fewer were people who had some spiritual realization. No one returned empty-handed. Maharaj fulfilled their desire no matter what it was.
For people Shri Swami Samarth was God. They did not want to leave His side and always wanted to be with Him. Such was Maharaj's glory.
Devotees used to offer aarti to Shri Maharaj in the morning or evening wherever He was, in the jungle or in the garden. It was such a beautiful sight to behold. Sometimes, if Maharaj was angered, He would not allow anyone to perform the aarti. His attendants and devotees always followed through with His desires.
During the aarti Maharaj would sometimes hold up one, two, three, or four fingers. This was to indicate how many stanzas of the aarti the devotees should sing. When Maharaj was in a good mood, he would allow the full aarti to be performed and would happily accept any form of seva that was offered, and would converse very sweetly with his devotees. If he was not in a good mood, not even a powerful king would dare come within hundred feet of Him. However, Maharaj was not truly angry with anyone. This was just part of His leela.
|| Shri Swami Samarth ||
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