16th June 2019, a mystical silence rang in the early hours of the dawn at the Sadhu Vaswani Mission, Pune. The morn knew too, it was Beloved Dada J. P. Vaswani’s Mahayagna and descended to embrace his divine spirit with the shafts of luminous sunlight.
As the day dawned, so did Beloved Dada’s dear ones, his devotees, awoke to resound the Mission with their renditions of soft and soulful bhajans of invocation, yearning and love… The havan fire flared bright and brilliant in the Anjali Samadhi as the Master shone in his divine radiance. One by one, devotees offered their ahuti and circumambulated Beloved Dada’s Samadhi. Significant and deep is the practice of circumambulation which says, ‘may my life be centered on you.’ And, so many and many more, have taken the vow of centering their life on him and his teachings and his living.
The afternoon session came about with bhajans, kirtans and seva. As the bhajans and kirtans continued, on the sides of the Satsang Hall, continued sevas wherein the little ones of Sadhu Vaswani Gurukul, Manjri were blessed with new backpacks, books, stationery and more ahead of their soon approaching academic year.
On the other end as the bhajans gave way to the reading of Nuri Granth, a vachan from it was read that spoke of the pain of longing and pining for the darshan of saints and dedicating one’s life in the service of saints. Apt for the day, tears trickled as the devotees longed for one glimpse of their Master- Beloved Dada. His presence is all-pervading but the physical form, of his, everyone missed. His smile, his chuckle, his voice…
In this regard, a few were requested to share their personal experiences with Dada and as they spoke, the memories came to life.
Mr. Bharat Kokal, a Chartered Accountant, spoke on the observance saying, “I believe, each one of us must imbibe his qualities and take forth his teachings.”
Mrs. Aarti Patil, Principal, Sadhu Vaswani International School, Pradhikaran, said, “I met Beloved Dada for the first time during my interview. Yes, I was selected but what ensued was a life-transformation. To this day, ring in my ears the words of my father, ‘My child, today you have met Saint Dnyaneshwar.’
A teary-eyed, Dr Haresh Mirchandani, shared his experience saying, “To everyone Beloved Dada was a saint. But to me, he was a living, walking God! Yes, he is present in the spirit but I miss the touch of his loving hand, the caress of his palms on my cheeks, I wait and I know not, when I shall have the blessed moment again.”
Mrs. Dhanashree Ganatra, the quintessential singer, said, “I had bought my first car and since there is no one elderly in my house to seek blessings from, I placed the keys on the hands of Shri Krishna and childishly thought, ‘I wish Krishna would drive my car’. With that thought, I came to Mission to show Dada my car and he immediately asked for the keys and there I was with Krishna driving my car!”
Following these heart-rending accounts was Beloved Dada’s recorded upadesh. It was on the topic ‘What is the purpose and meaning of life and this endless adventure of existence?’ He spoke on how we are living in separation from God and hence peace eludes us. To bridge this distance and attain unity with God, is needed, His grace and His grace alone. It is only at God’s Lotus Feet that true joy and peace can be found. He also spoke on how we must pursue perfection and be a better version of ourselves with each passing day. Nevertheless, he ascertained, it is impossible to do so without God’s Grace and that we should pray for His Grace.
The afternoon session concluded to the serving of langar.
The evening session, yet again, resounded in melodious renditions. A recorded upadesh of Sadhu Vaswani was played on the topic of, ‘The Perfect One!’ and how one must aim to be perfect. He spoke on the three kinds of maya- illusions that elude one from attaining perfection; pleasures of the body, pleasures of wealth and possessions, yearning for fame and popularity. He said a Perfect one is not bound by any of these forms of maya and has after several births of sufferings and privation finally attained oneness with God.
The evening concluded with serving of prasad and the Mahayagna with 10pm- 10:30 pm satsang at the Sacred Samadhi.
