Dada J.P. Vaswani is regarded as one of India'sspiritual luminaries and in this book some of his experiences are narrated that made an impact on his mind and heart. These accounts have been derived from Dada'sheat-to-heart talks in the satsang (religious discourses) as well as his conversations with his admirers and friends.
Once, a holy man advised Dada Vaswani to walk on the path of life in complete obedience. With great reluctance and persuasion, Dada decided to take to this path as he needed a lot of convincing. On another occasion, the holy man asked Dada to tell a fellow disciple that he was doing the wrong thing and thus mend his ways. But Dada was reluctant to do so, as he did not want to hurt his friend'sfeelings. However, he went to this friend'shouse and to his joy; found that the friend was away to another town and thus Dada was saved from pulling up his friend.
Another day, the disciples of the holy man were assigned different duties while J.P. Vaswani was asked to collect 10 thousand rupees as donation. He could not sleep that night, wondering how he would collect so much money. He went to a Dr Boolchand who, before Dada could make his request obvious, said, ?Last night, the thought came to me that I must make a small contribution to the Gita Mandir that is being built at our Mission,? and he placed a cheque of exactly 10 thousand rupees before Dada. This prompted Dada to advise his followers that even if any task is difficult, unpleasant, complicated or embarrassing, all that is needed ?is the will to obey ? and God will take care of the rest.?
Often when going out for walks with the holy man, Dada found the latter greeting everyone who passed by. Dada somehow did not like the attitude of some persons who failed to acknowledge the holy man'sgreetings. He was, however, happy to see the salutation returned by many others. Nevertheless he asked the holy man why he greeted all and sundry and those who were so discourteous as not to bother to return his greetings. The holy man'sreply was, ?But I did not salute the individual; I saluted the Divine in the individual!?
The author also talks of the great acharyas, gurus, saints and sage of India who were the chosen trustees of Sanatana Dharma and entrusted with the sacred task of spreading the message of ancient Hindu scriptures. ?Their utterances, their sacred writings, their commentaries and discourses are indeed priceless. But even more valuable is their message conveyed by their life – how they conducted themselves; how they adhered to the values of dharma and truth; how they demonstrated the virtues of love, forgiveness and compassion in life.?
?M.G.
(Sterling Paperbacks, A-59 Okhla Industrial Area, Phase II, New Delhi-110020.)
Leave a Comment