140. Ram Upasak Kashikar Swami

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was once a swami from Kashi who was learned in Mimamsa, Nyayshastra (law), Vedanta, Mantra-Shastra, and other streams of Indic scholarship. He had a very sharp memory and by nature was a very calm and detached person. Not only was he a polymath, but also a polyglot, as he spoke serveral languages. He focused not only on intellectual development but also on physical fitness and had good strength. 

This swami had taken Sannyas at Jagannath Puri and spent most of his time in meditation and silent contemplation. Though he was a learned man and spiritually advanced, he still had some doubts. He tried to get these doubts resolved by meeting other Sannyasis at various holy places and discussing with them, but he still remained confused. 

Once, when the was returning back from Rameshwaram, he had a vision and was told, "Come to Akkalkot!"

He had no idea of where Akkalkot was but was determined to get there as soon as possible. Asking around and finding out the location, he set out the next day with his few belongings, out from Rameshwaram, and in the month of Paush, on the eleventh day of the dark fortnight, in the shaka year 1799, arrived in Akkalkot.

On seeing Shri Maharaj, the learned swami was ecstatic and tears of joy rolled down from his cheeks. He stood still for some time and then offered his obeisances to Shri Swami Samarth. He stayed in Maharaj's service for some months.

Maindargi is a village near Akkalkot. About one mile from the village there is a Natha math and Shri Samarth was seated there one morning with around twenty devotees in attendance. The learned swami, after completing his morning prayers, had come to offer his obeisances to Shri Maharaj. 

We do not know what he saw but it must have been miraculous because as soon as he saw Maharaj, he began offering obeisances and standing up and then offering obeisances again and standing up again. He did this multiple times, all the while tears of joy flowing from his eyes, and his body shivering. Not one word was said between them but it was certain that some great spiritual communication was underway.

The next morning, when the Kashikar Swami met Dattatreybua Puranik he mentioned that all his doubts had been cleared. Some days later, with Maharaj's permission, he returned to Kashi.

We may be able to surmise that Kashikar Swami had reached such an advanced stage of spiritual unfoldment that for him to advance further on his path he needed direction from none other that Shri Swami Samarth himself. Such is Maharaj's compassion. 

It does not matter where you are in your life's journey, Maharaj always has his eye on you and will bring you to closer to Him at the right time,  and grant you the momentum in the right direction for progress, both material and spiritual.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

139. Sitarampant Nene

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Sitarampant Nene of Garode was a devotee of Shri Ram and had been diligently and strictly performing upasana with the goal of having sakshatkar of his ishta.

Having heard about Samarth's glories, he came to Akkalkot to receive darshan, and after having received darshan, was immensely satisfied that he had met his Ram. He then decided to stay in Akkalkot, and serve Maharaj. For sustenance, he would beg for alms.

He decided on a protocol of worship. He would beg for alms and eat whatever he received; then he would sit before Maharaj and perform Shri Ram naam japa; and would not speak with anyone.

Then one night Shri Ram appeared in his dream and granted darshan. He cleared Sitarampant's doubts on spiritual matters to his satisfaction. When he awoke, he remembered all the instructions he had received, just as if he had been instructed when awake. 

After staying in Akkalkot for some days and he returned to his village singing the glories for Shri Swami Samarth.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

138. Cholappa gets one hundred and twenty five rupees

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Ever since Maharaj had come to Akklakot, Cholappa had been faithfully serving Shri. However, for the entrapment of man, Brahmadev has created two things: gold and woman. Cholappa was entrapped by gold and began looking for means to acquire it. Thus he began lacking in his service to Maharaj.

Once, Maharaj picked up a cloth that was nearby and tied knots into it, and said aloud, "Alakh!" One hundred and twenty-five rupees appeared within those knots. Maharaj handed over the cloth and the money to Cholappa and said, "Cholaya, all debts are now fully paid up!"

From the time that Cholappa had begun serving Maharaj, he had accumulated around sixty to sixty-five thousand rupees in cash and some valuable items. Perhaps all that was lacking was these one hundred and twenty-five rupees that Maharaj gave to him.

Some days later arrangements for receiving, safekeeping, and recordkeeping of amounts offered by devotees to Maharaj were made by royal decree. One clerk and three guards were appointed in the service of Maharaj explicitly for carrying out this task. From that day, Cholappa and Sundarabai were kept far away from the gifts and cash that Maharaj was offered. 

There is only one Master, and the rest are all servants, equal in His eyes. For those that can muster up the strength to even try to surrender to Sri Swami Samarth, the most compassionate Maharaj will free him from his bondages and ego.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

137. Pandurang Bapuji Jadhav begets a son

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Pandurang Bapuji Jadhav had been struck by great misfortune. All four of his sons had died in a period of two months, and he was grief-stricken.

His wife Bhagubai, a devout woman, happened to hear about Shri Maharaj and felt great devotion towards Him and began her pooja and naam-japa in front of a picture of Maharaj that she had acquired. She would feel great sorrow if anyone interrupted her worship.

One night, Shri Swami Samarth appeared in her dream and gave his darshan, He asked her, "If I give you a son, what will you give me in return?" 

In her dream, she promised, "I will offer my son at Maharaj's feet and will make him a Brahmachari!"

She conceived some days later and the couple's joy knew no bounds and they began preparing for the baby's arrival.

However, in the seventh month, an aberration happened. She had her period. This scared her. She thought to herself, "Would the baby be fine?"

In great anguish prayed to Maharaj, "Do not betray me Maharaj! Please pay proper attention to me! You are my family, my mother, and my father!"

That night, Maharaj appeared in her dream and reassured her, "Do not worry!"

Nine months later, in the Shaka year 1716, she gave birth to a healthy baby boy. 

Some days later, Bhagubai again had a vision in her dream. She saw that Maharaj was seated on makhar made of banana leaves and that two servants were offering Him seva.

Maharaj said to her, "You now have a son! As promised, you must offer Him to me!"

We do not know if she offered her son to Maharaj, but we do know that she continued to serve Shri Swami Samarth with great love and devotion.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

136. Advice to the attendants

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Once when Maharaj was in the Ram temple, the skies became dark with the gathering of rain clouds and it started pouring heavily.

Just then Maharaj ordered, "Bring the planquin!" 

Those attending Maharaj humbly suggested, "Maharaj, it's raining. Everyone will get wet." Maharaj did not relent. They all set out in the heavy downpour and everyone was drenched. 

Maharaj laughed out loud and sang, "Indra Maharaj chale idal mein, bijli chamki badal mein!" as they made their way to Cholappa's house through Khasbaug.

One day Shri Samarth was in Khasbaug and around fifty people had gathered around Him. Maharaj said to them, "Come with me, I will show you a great being."

Everyone followed Maharaj who brought them to an anthill. After some time a great naaga, with hair on its body, appeared from the anthill and started to make its way to another place. Maharaj walked with the naaga for some distance and then said to those gathered, "Mark my words, this is a great being."

Everyone then offered namaskar to the naaga and everyone returned with Shri Samarth. 

On some days Maharaj would say, "Kugram vasti kulheen seva!" or "Sangati sangadoshena sati cha mativibhrama! Ek ratra prasangena kashtaghanta vitambana."

He sometimes said, "Laxmi majhi gand dhuvat hoti!" which translated meant "Laxmi used to wash my bum."

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

135. Taming the bull

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

One morning, a raging bull went and stood on the wellhead. Around twenty people and its owners tried the entire day to get him to climb down but they were unable to do so even till sunset. They had to be careful as they did not want him to fall into the well but when they went near him, he would shove his horns towards them angrily.

The bull's owner approached Maharaj and prayed to Him to help tame the bull. Maharaj asked, "Your bull does not allow you to come near!?"

The owner replied, "Yes Maharaj. If I go near him, he gets even more angry and moves forward to hit me."

Maharaj then went to the bull and held its ears, and, as if it was a little lamb, handed it over to his owner. From then on, the bull was always very tame.

Once two women were chatting with each other near Maharaj. One said, "Do you plan on going to Kashi for the darshan of Shri Vishweshwara?"

The other replied, "Why go to Kashi when Shri Swami Samarth is Shri Vishveshwara himself."

On hearing this Shri Swami Samarth roared with laughter and said to her, "If you are so spiritually realized to truly understand this, why are you spending time cooking bhakri at your home!?"

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

226. Narayandas' wife has a safe childbirth

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Narayandas was a Gujarati Brahmin who was staying around Mengalai in a village called Beed-Pattan. His wife was heavily pregnant and their child was to be born any day now. 

One day a Brahmin, who was on a tirtha-yatra, arrived in the village and stayed for a few days. This Brahmin and Narayandas began conversing and they soon found themselves discussing great spiritual masters. The Brahmin said that he had seen a sadpurush yogeshwar at Akkalkot. 

On hearing this, Narayandas said, "In this Kaliyuga, many sadhus, sants, sannyasis can be found wandering as a means to provide for themselves. They do this to make a living. Does performing tricks qualify them to be called an Avatari!?"

The Brahmin, slightly offended, said, "You should refrain from ridiculing mahapurushas without reason", and then got up and left.

Just then, Narayandas' wife went into labor. The contraction was unbearable but the childbirth was complicated. Narayandas was scared for his wife and unborn child and thought to himself, "I mocked Akkalkot Swami in front of that Brahmin. Is this my punishment?"

Then convinced of his offense he offered his obeisance and prayed, "O Lord! Deliver my wife from this suffering. I surrender to You. Do not turn me away!"

Just then Maharaj, who is a karunanidhi, appeared before Narayandas.

"So, You were the one mocking me before the Brahmin weren't you!?", said Maharaj.

Narayandas pleaded, "Maharaj! Please forgive me. I committed this offense out of ignorance. Have mercy on my wife who is suffering. Show us a way out!"

Samarth said, "If you are truly in need, go to Akkalkot and offer Rudrabhishek and then offer brahmin-bhojana by spending a thousand rupees."

"If my wife safely delivers by this evening, I will surely do as you instruct", promised Narayandas.

On hearing this Maharaj suddenly disappeared from sight. Everyone present who saw this happening before their eyes were mesmerized.

That day, before sunset, a son was born to Narayandas. His wife delivered a healthy baby and she was also in good health. Narayandas' joy knew no bounds.

By the time the boy turned five months old, Narayandas had forgotten about this vow. When his wife reminded him of it, he started suddenly started behaving as if he had lost his mind. He ripped apart his clothes, began jumping around like a madman, yelled out expletives, and became a terror for his family.

His wife and mother finally, with much effort brought him to Akkalkot. When he was brought in front of Maharaj, Shri said, " Tell me! You've become arrogant! Do you want more?", and then got up and walked away.

For four months, the entire family stayed at Akkalkot and offered service to Maharaj to their fullest ability. Then slowly, but steadily, Narayandas regained his sanity and began behaving normally. He then spent a thousand rupees in offering Rudrabhishek and brahmin-bhojana to fulfill his vow. Then, with Shri Swami Samarth's blessing, he returned home with his family.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

200. Pandit gets his eye-sight

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was a blind Brahmin by the name of Pandit who had been to the Jagannath Yatra. He had heard of the miracles where Shri Swami Samarth had freed people from their diseases. 

When the arrived at Akkalkot, he offered his obeisances to Maharaj and then with folded palms prayed, "Maharaj! I have come here on hearing your glories."

"You are Dattatreya Himself. You are able to destroy and recreate universes."

"I pray to you to grant me eyesight so that I may be graced by Your darshan, else, I shall end my life at Your lotus feet. This is my only desire."

He then washed Shri Swami Samarth's lotus feet. 

Shri felt great compassion for him and removed the flower garland that He was wearing and placed it around Pandit's neck. 

Pandit, elated at having received Shri Samarth's prasad, touched the flowers to his eyes. Lo and behold! His eyesight was restored. He could now see the beautiful form of Shri Swami Samarth with his own eyes. Swami was now standing, hands on His waist.

Pandit, with tears of joy in his eyes, held onto Shri's feet and glorified him. He said, "I was blind from birth but now through Your grace, I can see. Allow me to serve You!"

Then after serving Maharaj for some days with utmost love and devotion, he took Maharaj's permission and returned home.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||  

128. Ravanna is saved from snake venom

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

One day Shri Samarth went to bagehali accompanied by around fifty people. He stayed there for some time and then at noon got up and began to walk away. 

Maharaj said to those accompanying Him, "Pahanyas gammat, khanyas namatt chala!" 

Those following Him had not had their meals. On top of that Maharaj was walking in the scorching sun. One by one, the followers stopped following Him and began turning back. Eventually, only a handful of people stayed with Shri. One of those who stayed with Maharaj was Babasaheb Jadhav. 

Finally, at around three in the afternoon, Maharaj arrived in the Idgi village and went and sat in the Maruti temple. The villagers offered Him a hookah which he did not partake in.

The same day, Ravanna was toiling away on his land at Idgi village. At around four in the afternoon, he was bitten by a snake. The sharp tingling sensations began throughout his body as the venom spreading through his body began taking its effect. By the time his friends brought him before Maharaj, Ramanna was dead. 

Babasaheb Jadhav picked up Maharaj's shoes and placed them on Ravanna's head, hoping that this would alleviate his suffering. The most compassionate Bhaktabhimani Samarth takes to the logical conclusion any action that His devotees perform.

On seeing His shoes placed on Ravanna's head, Maharaj, who was lying down, immediately got up, and angrily said, "Hat thujhya aaila, gadhya, gadhva, why did you keep the shoes on the corpse!?"

A barrage of expletives followed with Babasaheb at the receiving end. There was a crowd gathered inside the Maruti temple but dispersed as soon as they saw that Maharaj was angry. The scared Babasaheb stepped back and stood far away from Maharaj while two men continued to hold on to Ravanna.

Maharaj then removed his cap and flung it away and then ripped his loin cloth and stood digambar. He then called Babasaheb closer while showering him with the choicest words, "Ye Bhosadichya, ye chodichya!"

A hesitant Babasaheb, who was now standing in the corner, began inching closer to Shri who said, "Bhosadichya, who asked you to keep the shoes on the corpse's head!?"

Babasaheb had no answer.

Maharaj then asked Babasaheb to remove his turban and thrash it on the floor. After he had done this, Shri then asked him to remove his shirt and thrash it on the floor. Babasaheb obeyed. 

Babasaheb feared that Maharaj would make him stand digambar as punishment but nothing of the sort happened.

Maharaj instructed Babasaheb, "Call out Ravanna's name into his ear!"

There was no response.

Maharaj then told Babasaheb, "Call out Ravanna in both his ears!"

When Babasaheb did as he was instructed Ravanna suddenly opened his eyes and began looking around at the folks gathered around him. He then asked for something to eat. Maharaj then instructed them to feed him kheer made from botwe (wheat flour).

Shri Samarth was offered the kheer and other preparations for naivedya, which He instructed to offer to Maruti, and then told Babasaheb to eat it as prasad. Maharaj fasted the entire day.

Ravanna was fed some of the kheer as prasad and was soon completely fine as if he had never been bitten by a snake.

Everyone glorified Shri Swami Samarth. 

It is generally said that anyone suffering from snakebite should not be given milk but where life-giving Samarth is present, even poison will act as an anti-venom!

All this took place because Babasaheb placed Shri's shoes on Ravanna's head and the most compassionate Deendayal Swami bestowed life upon the poor man.

No mortal can understand or expound the glories of Shri Swami Samarth!

The next day Maharaj went to Rampur. There, He was offered a ritual bath and worship. It was only then that He accepted naivedya.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

186. Laxman fisherman's ship is saved

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was a fisherman (Koli) named Laxman who lived in Thane. He was a devotee of Shri Swami Samarth and had been to Akkalkot a few times for Swami's darshan.

Once, when he had taken his boat into the sea during the storm, the sea became very turbulent. Everyone on the boat was scared that it might capsize. They felt that their doom was near. Just then Laxman called out to Shri Swami Samarth, "O Mother who resides at Akkalkot, Save us! We are helpless to save ourselves and our boat is about to capsize!"

At that time Shri Swami Samarth was seated on a cot in Cholappa's house at Akkalkot. He suddenly got up and touched his right hand to the ground and then lifted it up while uttering "Hun Hun Hun!" Then he sat back on the cot. 

For some time, a flow of saltwater streamed from his hand. When his attendants asked Him about the water, He said, "Did I not lift the boat in the ocean!?" No one present understood what He meant.

Here in the sea, Laxman and his sailors had felt as if some unseen power had lifted the boat from the water. They were able to navigate to safe waters and then finally to shore. A grateful Laxman took his family to Akkalkot and after receiving darshan from Maharaj, narrated the entire incident to the attendees. That is when everyone understood Maharaj's actions, his words, the flow of saltwater, and how He had saved His devotee.

Laxman continued to bring some people from his fishing community to Akkalkoti regularly.

|| Shri Swami Samarth || 

127. Babasaheb Jadhav

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Babasaheb Jadhav was a government employee who was childless. When his wife passed on, he sought permission from Shri to remarry. As he did not get permission, he did not remarry. 

He offered all his wealth at the lotus feet of Maharaj and adorned only a loin cloth. He continued to receive a monthly pension of ten rupees which was sufficient for his sustenance.

Once Shri Swami Samarth was in the lakadkhana which was near the sarkarvada. It was noon and Maharaj said to Babasaheb, "Kumbhar, there is a letter with your name on it." Maharaj used to address him as Kumbhar.

As soon as he heard what Maharaj had said, fear gripped him and he saw the ferocious kaal-purusha standing before him. 

He composed himself and tightly held on to Shri's lotus feet and prayed, "Maharaj, I do not have any material desires anymore. However, I still want to serve you to my heart's content. Samarth should show his grace and not send me away for now!"

Shri was moved by these words of prayer and he returned the letter. 

There was a large bull standing nearby. 

"Go to the bull!", commanded Maharaj and the bull immediately fell to the ground dead.

Babasaheb was happy that his life was spared for the moment.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

126. The crop in Narsappa's field

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Once, Narsappa Sutar was on his way to his jowar field when he saw Maharaj seated in a shop along the way. He supplicated before Shri, "Maharaj! There is an excellent crop this year in my field. Please come and have a taste!"

On hearing these words Samarth said, "Motherfucker. When had you sown the crop? And who owns the field?"

Sutar understood his mistake and humbly said, "I was mistaken, Maharaj. It is Your field. Please come and have a taste of the crop!"

Then Maharaj, accompanied by His attendants went to the field.  Narsapa had arranged for sugarcane to be brought to the field. After eating the sugarcane, Maharaj stuck the remaining cane into the ground. Narsappa thought that this was an instruction from Maharaj to plant sugarcane and he did just that. 

With the blessings of Shri Swami Samarth, he had a great crop yield and he earned twenty times what he normally would.

Will there ever be anything lacking for one who has received Shri Swami Samarth's grace!?

Maharaj would stay at Sutar's place for some days and Sutar would have to forego having to go to the field. Once, when Shri had stayed at Sutar's home for eight days, in his heart, Narsappa felt that he would suffer losses if he left the field unattended. 

Maharaj knows what is going on in everyone's heart and the next morning, at around four in the morning, He got up to leave. Narsappa prayed for Him to stay but Maharaj said, "Me staying here is an inconvenience to you. Hence, I am going."

Narsappa slapped himself to repent and placed his head on Maharaj's feet but Maharaj had already decided and did not go back to Sutar's home that time.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

125. Narsappa Sutar

 || Shri Swami Samarth ||

Narsappa Sutar had a buffalo that always gave birth to a stillborn calf and hence never gave milk. This had happened around five or six times.

Once when Maharaj was at his home, the buffalo gave birth to her calf but the calf struggled for its life and its eyes immediately turned white. A teary-eyed Narsappa narrated the history of the buffalo and prayed to Maharaj to save the calf. The most compassionate Maharaj got up and went near the calf, stroked it with his foot, and then went and sat down.

It was a miracle! The calf lived. Soon the buffalo also gave milk. Eventually, when she gave birth to other calves, they all lived.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

123. The vow to feed a thousand people

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

There was once a Brahmin who had made a lot of money in the share market. He had no son and when he was visiting Gangapur, he made a sacred vow to Shri Dattatreya that he would feed a thousand people. Then, within a year, by the grace of Shri Dattatreya, a son was born to him.

Soon thereafter, his fortune took a turn for the worst in the stock market and he was soon bankrupt. His financial reputation took a hit, and eventually, the stress got to him, and he passed away. His widow, a devout lady, had not forgotten about the vow but now that she was without a husband and money, she worried about how was she to feed a thousand people and fulfill the vow.

An acquaintance of the widow, a kind-hearted old lady, advised her to go to Gangapur with her son and offer seva to Shri Dattatreya. If she pleased the Lord with her service, he would arrange for the vow to be fulfilled. This seemed like the right thing to do and the Brahmin widow took her son to Gangapur.

After many days of service, one night she had a drishtanta of Shri Dattatreya, "Go to Akkalkot and serve a meal to Shri Swami Samarth. Your vow will be fulfilled!"

The next day the widow and her son went to Akkalkot and sought His darshan from afar. Maharaj called her near and said, "Serve me a meal!"

The woman promptly made arrangements and served Maharaj, who ate to His heart's content. He then belched loudly and said, "Your vow of feeding a thousand people is fulfilled. Now go!" The woman was elated and offered her obeisances to Shri Swami Samarth. She then narrated the incident to the attendees, and after serving Maharaj for some more days, took his permission, and returned home with her son.

No matter who we are, where we are, and in what circumstances we are, the most compassionate Maharaj will find a reason to bring us to Him, and will then fulfill our desires. Thousands of people have experienced this and continue to experience this.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

122. Harishchandra Gopalji

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

A Brahmin had absconded from Baroda with two thousand rupees that belonged to Harishchandra Gopalji. He made many efforts to find the thief but did not succeed. Some days later he arrived in Akkalkot for Maharaj's darshan. When he asked Maharaj about the thief He replied that the thief was in Mangalai in so and so village. True enough that is where the thief was apprehended and Gopalji recovered his money.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

121. The Jewish Doctor

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||

Once, a Jewish doctor had come to Akkalkot for Swami's darshan. After offering his obeisances to Maharaj, he stood with folded palms before Him. 

Maharaj asked him, "How many eyes have you burst?"

The doctor, who specialized in eyes, was surprised and asked one of Maharaj's attendants, "How did he know that I am an eye doctor!?"

He then said to Swami, "Maharaj! I am fully convinced that you are an Avatari."

Then, after offering his obeisances, he returned home. He returned many times to Akkalkot, accompanied by his family.

People from various religions, Hindus, Muslims, Christians, and Parsis, all worshipped Shri Swami Samarth. Maharaj had the same love and compassion for everyone.

|| Shri Swami Samarth ||