Guidance by H.H. Dr. Athavale

Today is the Bhau-bīj (Bhaī-dūj) day of Dipawali festival. As our Sanatan family is huge, many of us are participating in today’s  Bhau-bīj celebration. Wishing all of you a very happy Dipawali! I am particularly happy for this opportunity to speak to the seekers both here and overseas after a gap of over 4 years.

Convocation Ceremony of the ‘Spiritual University’ !

1. ‘Spiritual University’          

One of our seekers donated 12 acres of land in 1989. In a pamphlet published about a ‘Spiritual University’ that was to be built on that land I had written the following words-“I am going to begin a ‘Spiritual University’. The graduates of this University will not be given degrees on a paper. They will pass out from this University as Saints.’ Since at that time I myself was finding my way through Spirituality, my friends were surprised at my statement. Even I was surprised. At the time I had prepared a plan for the University. In that, I had fixed the places for the various sections like Bhaktiyoga (Path of devotion), Dnyānyoga (Path of Knowledge), Yog-sādhanā (Path of meditation), Cow-sheds and Yadnya-shāḷa(place of fire-sacrifice). Even the names of the roads leading to the respective sections were fixed beforehand. The road leading to Bhaktiyoga section was named as ‘Maharshī (Sage) Narad Marg’; as He wrote ‘Bhakti Sutras’. The road leading to Dnyānyoga section was named after ‘Jagadguru Shankaracharya’. Similarly, the road leading to Yoga section was named ‘Patanjali Marg’ after Sage Patanjali who wrote the Holy text ‘Yogadarshan’. During that time I did not even get the thought of naming the roads after Gandhi, Nehru etc.

1A. Spiritual level of the students of the ‘Spiritual University’ and the corresponding example in the worldly life

2. Chronology of the Sanatan’s seekers attaining Sainthood

Twelve years after the establishment of ‘Sanatan Sanstha’, that is, in 2002, seekers started attaining Sainthood. In the following 9 years 7 seekers became Saints.

3. Realising that the number of seekers attaining Sainthood is very less for transforming the mankind

This is a very small number compared to other Universities. This is because other Universities teach how to become proficient in earning money. However, the ‘Spiritual University’ teaches about ‘How to renounce everything’. Since the number of atheists is more in Kaliyuga, hardly anyone has the desire to realise God. Against this background, I felt happy that at least some seekers have become Saints. Later I realised that many Saints are needed to neutralize the effect of Kaliyuga. At the above mentioned speed it would be impossible to transform mankind on earth as with the increasing effect of Kaliyuga even doing spiritual practice (Sādhanā) in future will become difficult.

4. As per my wish, by God’s grace seekers progressed spiritually and in 2011 5 seekers attained Sainthood.

When I became aware of the above statement God started fulfilling that wish too. On the Bhau-bīj Day of Dipawali, Kaliyuga Varsh 5113 (Year 2011) the following seekers of Sanatan attained Sainthood. Thus, God  relieved me of the worry that ‘What will happen in future if barely a seeker attains Sainthood in a year’.

Today the four chairs kept besides me are empty. Perhaps some might think that since the expected guests for the program have failed to turn up the chairs are not occupied. There is a program on TV, ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati?’ You can think on similar lines that, ‘Who will sit on these chair today?’

Now, I will call those who will occupy the chairs one by one. I will felicitate them and narrate their unique qualities. In the next stage they themselves will express their thoughts and later their family members and other seekers will express their experiences about them. (Later H.H. Dr. Athavale called the four seekers who had attained Sainthood and felicitated them.)

4A. Mrs. Prema Kuvelkar Aji, Goa (78 yrs)

Aji considers me as her brother. On this day of Bhau-bīj, I intend to give her a gift that so far no brother must have given to a sister and the gift is –‘I declare that she has become a Saint.’ She had received a premonition about it last year. She is the lone example of a seeker who has become Saint by performing only vyashṭi sādhanā for past 18 years. Household responsibilities prevented her from leaving the house for performing sēvā. Despite that she performed sādhanā like Eklavya to attain Sainthood and by bringing into practice the teaching of H.H. Bhaktaraj Maharaj that ‘We can perform sādhanā despite remaining in mundane world’, she has kept an ideal before the seekers who complain that they cannot do samashṭi  sādhanā. Her son Manoj is in sādhanā since 1993 and he too attained 60% spiritual level in 2008.

4B. Mr. Baba Naik, Ramnathi Ashram, Goa (71yrs)

Baba is illiterate. In the first standard he attended school for only eight days. He can only read. He is in sādhanā for the past fifteen years. He became Saint on the strength of his virtues such as yearning, humility, perseverance etc. while doing sēvā in construction section of the Āshram. Moreover, in his section he developed four seekers who attained 60% spiritual level; this number is comparatively more than any other section of Sanatan.

4C. Dr. Mukul Madhav Gadgil, Ramnathi Ashram, Goa (48yrs)

Though his hearing is impaired despite using hearing-aid, he achieved Sainthood due to the virtues such as humility, promptness, love without expectations etc. He is in sādhanā for the past 11 years. His love for others is visible on his face and that is why everyone feels closeness towards him. His father Mr. Madhav Parmanand Gadgil who stays in Devad Āshram attained a spiritual level of 61% today morning while the son Mr. Mukul achieved  a spiritual level of 70% today to prove the adage ‘Bāpsē Bētā Sawaī’ (Son is much ahead of the father) true. His wife Mrs. Anjali Gadgil has also followed on his footsteps and has attained a spiritual level of 62%. Thus, she is also following her husband in sādhanā unlike just following him in the seven steps in the marriage ritual known as Saptapadī.

4D. Mr. Sandeep Alshi, Ramnathi Ashram, Goa (37yrs)

He is the youngest Saint of Sanatan. In 1992, he started coming for sēvā at Shiv (Sion) Sēvā Kēndra, at the very young age of 19 years. He is in sādhanā for past 19 years. He developed such an expertise in compilation of Sanatan’s Holy texts that for past 5 years none of them can be taken up for printing until he gives them a final touch. So far, 43.5 lakh copies of Sanatan’s Holy texts and booklets have been published. I am not able to compile any new Holy text in its final stage due to poor health. It is because of him that I am not worried about the publication of the remaining 825 Holy texts. Besides Holy texts, he is involved in preparing posters, hoardings etc. and providing guidance to the Arts section of Sanatan.

4E. Ms. Anuradha Wadekar, Devad Āshram, Panvel, Maharashtra (38yrs)

She also attained Sainthood at a young age. She came to stay at the Shiv Sēvā Kēndra in 1997 when she was just 24 yrs old. She is in sādhanā for past 14 years. Despite suffering from severe negative energy distress she has become Saint on the strength of her virtues like yearning and Prīti (Unconditional love). She has proved that it is possible to attain Sainthood despite having severe negative energy distress. This should remove any doubts in the minds of the seekers with negative energy distress about their spiritual progress.

All these Saints have a common virtue and that is, intense  yearning for God realisation. They attained Sainthood by performing different sēvās as per their temperament only because of this yearning.  

5. Ensuing sādhanā for these Saints

We do not change a medicine when a disease is getting cured by it.  We do not change a business if it is running well. Similarly, the seekers have to continue with the same sādhanā or similar type of sādhanā which helped them attain Sainthood, till they realise God. We do have examples of Saints like Saint Kabir, Saint Gora Kumbhar and Saint Sawata Mali who continued with their previous sādhanā and life style even after becoming Saint.

6. Seekers narrating premonitions about the above mentioned seekers attaining Sainthood

6A. Prema Kuvelkar Aji

Last year on the 7^th November 2010 (Bhau-bīj day), Kuvelkar Aji felt like performing the ritual of waving a lamp around me just as a sister does to her brother on this day. He saw me coming to her house in the subtle. That time I told her that I was giving her the gift of 70% spiritual level as she has performed the ritual of waving a lamp as is done for a brother. After the ritual I gave her a copy of the Sanatan Prabhat in which it was printed that she had attained a spiritual level of 70%!’ Similarly,  Pujya Rajendra Shinde felt yesterday that she has become a Saint.

6B. Dr. Mukul Gadgil

He himself had received a premonition about attaining Sainthood some 15 months ago which was published in Sanatan Prabhat also. Two days ago Mrs. Shraddha Pawar told him, ‘Your face indicates that you have attained a spiritual level of 70%’. Yesterday, Mrs. Arati Puranik told him, ‘I am unable to look at you as before as a lot of energy can be perceived in your eyes.’ Yesterday Pujya Rajendraji felt that Mr. Gadgil has attained Sainthood.

6C. Mr. Sandeep Alshi

Ms. Bhavini Kapadia had the premonition that Mr. Sandeep Alsi has attained Sainthood on 1^st October 2011. Another seeker Mr. Sanjay Mulye who does sēvā in the same section as Mr. Sandeep,, had written an article about him before he left for his home for Dipawali and had remarked that it should be published only after Mr. Sandeep became a Saint.

6D. Ms. Anuradha Wadekar

Ms. Sandhya Mali had a premonition about Ms. Anuradha attaining Sainthood which was published in Sanatan Prabhat 2 weeks back on 14^th October 2011. Similarly Mrs. Shraddha Pawar and Ms. Priyanka Swami had expressed that Ms. Anuradha would soon become a Saint.

It is commendable that the seekers get premonitions about them or other seekers becoming Saints.

-          H.H. Dr. Athavale (Kārtik Shukla 1, Kaliyuga Varsh 5113 [27^th October 2011])