The Life and Sadhana of Mota Maharaj (Bhagat)3

The Life and Sadhana of Mota Maharaj (Bhagat)

This is an excerpt from a 99 page document put out by the Hariwani Trust entitled “Pujya Mota Jeevan Darshan”. This document is a full biography of Mota, complete with pictures. The author is not mentioned. Their website is www.pujyamota.com.

Guru of Mota: Balayogiji
Guru of Mota: Balayogiji

 

Gurudakshina
Balayogiji stayed with Chunilal at “Hajimanzil” first for about a month and a half and then for about two months and a half. As his Gurudakshina (fee for spiritual enlightenment), Balayogiji asked Chunilal to take him on a pilgrimage. (Pilgrimage means: Formerly, students were not charged anything for any kind of tuition, but after they completed their courses they would give a gift according to their means. Here, in fact, the Guru himself pays the fee for his tutorship.) But he knew Chunilal was in financial straits and, going out of his way for one single day, he accepted gifts from those who came to him to darshan (holy sight). From that amount Chunilal decided to take his Guru to Dakore – a famous pilgrim center, not far from Nadiad. Balayogiji would often speak in a secret language that went over Chunilal’s head, but somehow he pulled on with his Guru.

Pujya Shree Mota Maharaj
Pujya Shree Mota Maharaj

For instance, when they started on their pilgrimage, the Guru asked him to show him ‘a crocodile.’ “Crocodiles there are in Gomtiji, (a very large pond nearby) but not at my beck and call”! And really no crocodile obliged Chunilal by coming up on the surface. With anxiety, therefore, Chunilal pointed out a distant slightly visible floating creature.   “You are an idiot”,   Balayogiji broke out in anger “and want to make a fool of me too!” And he proceeded in a huff. Chunilal was sorely perturbed and, not knowing what else to do, he mutely followed the Guru.
On the bank of the Gomtiji, there was a dharma-shala (a rent-free lodging house. Provision of such free house has been traditionally regarded a ‘dharma’ = duty). At a lonely spot on the verandah behind the back wall of that ‘dharma-shala’ there stretched out at full length a tall, vigorous, half-naked man. When they came to him, “See! This is a crocodile,” said Balayogiji. A kick from him awakened ‘the crocodile’ from his samadhi. He opened his eyes, at first suffused with anger at the disturbance, but seeing Balayogiji he softened and greeted him with a smile and joined palms in the Hindu fashion. Both of them fell into a mystic talk. “Where are you now?” asked Balayogiji, “In akasha (the sky),” replied the ‘crocodile. Thus the talk was more or less a puzzle to Chunilal who was then only a beginner in dhyana   (mediation).     At the end  Balayogiji pointed at Chunilal and said, “I have initiated this boy in sadhana. I will soon go away from here. If he is in a fix on any account and comes to you, don’t dismiss him curtly. Give him a satisfactory reply.” And Chunilal did go to him three or four times thereafter. The visits were all fruitful.

Nathuram’s Eccentricities
That adept’s name was Nathuram. His habits would look quaint, even repulsive to a casual on looker. He was careless in dress, strange in action and rough in manners. If somebody gave him some money, he would sometimes eat, not bread but, pungent bhajias (small fried balls of gram flour). Sometimes he did not care to eat even bhajias, but gave away the whole amount to a bandmaster and enjoyed the band’s music. Who can fathom the mystery of yogis who have gone beyond hunger and thirst, beyond joy and sorrow?

Nadiad Ashram Banyan Tree where Mota would chant Hari Om
Nadiad Ashram Banyan Tree where Mota would chant Hari Om

While staying at Nadiad, Balayogiji and Pujya Shree Mota went at Shedhi river side were there was a Banyan tree. The atmosphere near that banyan tree and the river was so beautiful that Balayogiji decided to stay for some days there for sadhana. Pujya Shree Mota then Chunilal made provision for every day food. At night Chunilal would stay along with Balayogiji and did sadhana. Balayogiji would make Chunilal sit on one of the branch of that banyan tree and asked him to chant “Hari Om” mantra. Once when Chunilal was sitting on the branch chanting Hari Om mantra, suddenly he felt asleep resulting, stop of his chanting. Balayogiji seeing this threw a stone which hit Chunilal and said, chanting should be done at fully awaken state. Chunilal then began to chant  heartily.

One of the solitude rooms at Nadiad ashram
One of the solitude rooms at Nadiad ashram

One day, Balayogiji called Chunilal and said, “Son, at this place you will make a Ashram and with which heartily and rigorously you are chanting now, afterwards thousands of sadhaks with love and concentration would chant here.”
Chunilal was astonished hearing this and thought, he has no money to travel between the two villages, how could he construct an Ashram ?