Maharaj
Omniscience · Omnipresence · Omnipotence · Other Divine Lilas · Mahasamadhi Lila · After Mahasamadhi
Divine Reality
Vision of Swami Shivananda
Wandering as a sadhu through the hills, I arrived at Kainchi ashram from Shivananda ashram, Rishikesh, and had the darshan of Baba Neeb Karori. When he saw me, he said, "Are you coming from Rishikesh?" I answered yes and he said, "What is a guru?" Automatically I said, "Guru is Brahma; Guru is Vishnu; Guru is Maheshwar [Shiva]; Guru is Eternal Spirit; Salutation to the Guru." At this, Baba said, "There is no purpose in merely reproducing this sloka [a stanza in Sanskrit verse], you go back right now." I could not understand the significance of his command then. Perhaps at that moment Baba's vision was concentrated on my guru, Swami Shivananda, who had suffered an attack of paralysis, and whose condition was worsening.
Baba asked one of his attendants to take me to the Hanuman temple, which was under construction, and give me prasad. He brought me a plate full of vegetables and puris, some of which I ate, the rest of which I put in my begging bowl. When I went to return the plate, I again met Baba. He said, "You have kept food for the journey also?" I was surprised, for he had not seen me eating my meal. A devotee had offered Baba a kilogram of laddus made from gram flour, which he also put in my hands for the journey. He then told me to go sit on a rock under the tree.
Sitting there on that rock, the vision of the Himalayas, the Ganges, and of my ashram in Rishikesh suddenly flashed before my eyes. I saw my gurudev, Swami Shivananda, coming towards me, supported by two people. The scene changed, and it was Baba Neeb Karori himself who was coming towards me. I was back in Kainchi ashram. He gave me my guru's darshan through himself and asked, "Does your Shivananda walk in this way?"
After this, devotees gathered around Baba again. One of them was an army officer who asked me to tell them something about Saint Tukaram. As I am from South India, I expressed my inability, saying I could not speak Hindi well. Then Baba asked me to give a discourse, and by his power, I spoke well. Baba then asked me, "Have you seen any other place like Kainchi ashram?" I mentioned Kandy, a place in Sri Lanka. Baba said, "There are betel nut and coconut trees there and elephants come there to bathe." I was surprised to hear this because it was exactly what I had seen.
Among the gathering there was also a Christian from South India. Baba took twenty one-rupee notes from one of his disciples and gave half of them to the Christian and the other half to me. I said, "I have money." Baba said, "I know. Still, you keep it." (That money is still in my purse as his prasad, and since that day, my purse has never been empty.) He then instructed the army officer to take me to Haldwani in his car and put me on a train. Baba himself came out with me and said, "Go, sit in the car. Go back directly now." I wanted to stay in Kainchi for some time, but Baba would not permit it. At the station in Haldwani, the army officer asked me which train he should buy the ticket for. I told him that I would stay in Haldwani. He gave me thirty rupees, saying that Baba had asked him to buy my ticket. I stayed at Haldwani, Bareilly, and Izatnagar for seven days.
In Izatnagar I went to the house of a devotee of Swami Shivananda, where I had left my suitcase containing my money. The mistress of the house appeared very sad. When I asked her what was wrong, she asked me if I had not heard about Gurudev. She could not say more but showed me the daily paper. There was news of the critical condition of Swami Shivananda. Baba Neeb Karori's words immediately came into my mind. He had already told me all about it, but I did not understand. When I realized this, I cried. I told the mistress of the house that Baba had asked me to go to Guru Maharaj at the time of my departure from Kainchi. He had shown me a glimpse of him, and even then I had wasted a week. I left for Rishikesh by train that same night and arrived in the ashram on 1 July. Two weeks later Guru Maharaj took Mahasamadhi.
Baba asked one of his attendants to take me to the Hanuman temple, which was under construction, and give me prasad. He brought me a plate full of vegetables and puris, some of which I ate, the rest of which I put in my begging bowl. When I went to return the plate, I again met Baba. He said, "You have kept food for the journey also?" I was surprised, for he had not seen me eating my meal. A devotee had offered Baba a kilogram of laddus made from gram flour, which he also put in my hands for the journey. He then told me to go sit on a rock under the tree.
Sitting there on that rock, the vision of the Himalayas, the Ganges, and of my ashram in Rishikesh suddenly flashed before my eyes. I saw my gurudev, Swami Shivananda, coming towards me, supported by two people. The scene changed, and it was Baba Neeb Karori himself who was coming towards me. I was back in Kainchi ashram. He gave me my guru's darshan through himself and asked, "Does your Shivananda walk in this way?"
After this, devotees gathered around Baba again. One of them was an army officer who asked me to tell them something about Saint Tukaram. As I am from South India, I expressed my inability, saying I could not speak Hindi well. Then Baba asked me to give a discourse, and by his power, I spoke well. Baba then asked me, "Have you seen any other place like Kainchi ashram?" I mentioned Kandy, a place in Sri Lanka. Baba said, "There are betel nut and coconut trees there and elephants come there to bathe." I was surprised to hear this because it was exactly what I had seen.
Among the gathering there was also a Christian from South India. Baba took twenty one-rupee notes from one of his disciples and gave half of them to the Christian and the other half to me. I said, "I have money." Baba said, "I know. Still, you keep it." (That money is still in my purse as his prasad, and since that day, my purse has never been empty.) He then instructed the army officer to take me to Haldwani in his car and put me on a train. Baba himself came out with me and said, "Go, sit in the car. Go back directly now." I wanted to stay in Kainchi for some time, but Baba would not permit it. At the station in Haldwani, the army officer asked me which train he should buy the ticket for. I told him that I would stay in Haldwani. He gave me thirty rupees, saying that Baba had asked him to buy my ticket. I stayed at Haldwani, Bareilly, and Izatnagar for seven days.
In Izatnagar I went to the house of a devotee of Swami Shivananda, where I had left my suitcase containing my money. The mistress of the house appeared very sad. When I asked her what was wrong, she asked me if I had not heard about Gurudev. She could not say more but showed me the daily paper. There was news of the critical condition of Swami Shivananda. Baba Neeb Karori's words immediately came into my mind. He had already told me all about it, but I did not understand. When I realized this, I cried. I told the mistress of the house that Baba had asked me to go to Guru Maharaj at the time of my departure from Kainchi. He had shown me a glimpse of him, and even then I had wasted a week. I left for Rishikesh by train that same night and arrived in the ashram on 1 July. Two weeks later Guru Maharaj took Mahasamadhi.
-Swami Nirmalananda
