A yogi who can walk on the water

[Guest guest]

I met him twice in my life. I was eleven years old when I first met him. I

met him in River Krishna, literally. The next time I met him was at Nasik

railway station, where there is trayaMbakESwar Jyotirlinga. Nasik is also

famous as the birth place of the great river Godavari. I was 21 years old

when the next time I met him, while I was wandering through India... I was

sleeping at the railway station bench and he woke me up early in the morning

hours...

 

I consider myself as a good swimmer. Swimming is some thing which my father

taught me in my early childhood. I still remember my father taking me for

an early in the morning swim in River Krishna. I used to follow, walking

along with my father, while he was teaching me the slokas " suklAMbaradharaM

vishnuM SaSivarNaM caturbhujaM " , all these slokas are bi-heart to me by the

time I was five years old I guess. My father is a good swimmer and I

learned swimming from him. I never miss the opportunity of swimming.

Swimming is more than an exercise for me. I enjoy swimming. I used to swim

1KM width of River Krishna and used to take bath at the other bank, where

there is no crowd. By the way, River Krishna merges into the ocean barely

ten miles from Repalle, where I lived through my childhood days.

 

It was exactly the same day, 21 years back, when I first met him. Today is

" Kshiraabhdi dwaadaSi " , an auspicious day for Lord Siva. Though I regularly

go alone to the river, during the month of Kartika (this month), I used to

take my sister Madhavi Latha with me to the river. That day, my maternal

uncle Srinivas, my mother's younger brother, who was then 14 years old, also

joined me. He didn't know swimming. That day, River Krishna was it's

full vigor. As usual, I left my sister at the bank and left for the other

bank for swimming. My uncle was there with my sister. He was sitting on

the steps constructed on the bank and my sister was taking bath, before I

left them.

 

I swam and went to the other bank and started offering Arghya to the Sun

God. Then I saw him. At first I thought that he was sitting on a wooden

log or some thing which can float. He appeared yonder and with in no time

he approached me. I couldn't believe my own eyes because, he was sitting in

padmasana (a yogic posture) on the top of a Banana Leaf! He was floating on

River Krishna. It is not possible to sit like that on the River. He sat

closing his eyes for some time, I was observing him with awe. Because, I

know that the place where he is sitting on the banana leaf is minimum two

meters deep. Slowly he opened his eyes and looked at me, I felt as if some

thing as taken me with shock. Then he smiled at me. Got out of the posture

and literally stood on the top of the water. Anybody who has seen the Jesus

Chirst's movie could get the picture what I am writing here. Any way, I

think I was too young to understand that it is the power of Yoga. Actually,

these demonstrations have given so much strength to my spiritual life that I

never doubted the power of any saint.

 

He walked towards me, walking on the water as if walking on a plate of

glass, the water was splashing below his feet. I am still looking at him

with awe. He came and spoke to me in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a language that

I learned to speak in early in the childhood. I attended a school called

Sankara Sanskrit School. He asked me " how are you " . I honestly replied

that I am afraid... Really, I was afraid... He told me not the worry. And

then he said, " Madhava, I came to tell you that we have to meet again, I

shall meet you when you are in a position to understand... "

 

While saying those words he looked in to my eyes and said " Madhava! I think

it is the time that you return to the other bank where you left your

sister " . At first I did not understand why he was saying that... But then

he immediately said " your sister is in trouble, she is about to drown, go

and save her " . Hearing that I rushed to swim across the river. It will

take time to swim to the other bank. But then he offered a helping hand. He

dragged me in no time half the river. I think literally I was airlifted and

dropped in to the middle of the river. While he was helping me, he also

told me " ask Srinivas (my uncle) to be careful with water, water doesn't do

good to him " ...

 

I swam and reached the other shore. I was too scared to look at the people

who are all standing on the bank, they were too many, they are all staring

at the river. Everybody seem to have been afraid to enter in to the river

which is in full vigor, gushing to meet the ocean. They looked at me

approaching the bank and yelled " there your sister, there your sister " , I

could see my sister's hair, she was drowning. There is a place where there

is whirlpool in the river. Even expert swimmers never dare go there. She

was about approaching the whirlpool. People started yelling at me, knowing

that I am going to reach her, " don't go! don't go! " , I didn't listen to

them. I rushed to save my sister. Finally, I was able to catch her hair,

but by that time the power of the whirlpool was dragging us both. I thought

we both are going to die. But then I saw him again, he literally pulled me

catching my cumber and I pulled out my sister. He helped us reaching out of

the whirlpools power. I was able to swim again and all this is over in ten

minutes. In front of my eyes, he disappeared again. My sister was

unconscious and a few fishermen, came for rescuing us, finally we both

reached the shore. People thought I saved my sister. Next day, the local

news papers have prised the brother for saving his sister, who was drowning.

I think my mother collected those clippings.

 

I told my uncle Srinivas to be careful with water. Exactly after 3 years,

when he was seventeen, he died because of drowning in the sea. The place

where he was taking bath in the sea was supposed to be quite safe, but a

tidal wave suddenly appeared and dragged him and two of his friends. His

body was thrown on to the shore the next day. I am too much emotionally

attached with my uncle Srinivas. It was a great friendship we had, though

he was elder to me in age, we used to go for adventure trips together. At

one time we ran away in to woods thinking of meeting the saints. I shall

write about that later. I lost him. But then it was predicted by a man who

could walk on the water.

 

Life went on for quite a few years. I went to the ashram and studied at the

Lotus feet of my guru. After completing a course called Dharma Veer, I

thought of joining the social service. I went to the Center of Science for

villages near Sevagram (Mahatma Gandhi's Ashram), Wardha. I stayed there

for three months and learned " Low Cost Housing Engineering " . Before

returning to the Social Service, I thought of wandering through a part of

India for a month and half. I could have asked my parents for money, but I

thought of doing it with out much money. I had money to buy the ordinary

coach tickets for a train journey. And my food is taken care by various

pilgrims and my shelter was the benches of any railway station. It was

quite a painful journey though! There were times that I starved, there were

times that I could not sleep for not finding a proper place. India is full

of ordinary people, especially they are abundant on railway stations and

occupying those benches. Now, sitting in a luxurious office, enjoying all

the best I could, retrospectively I still remember those days and often

wonder about the man who underwent all those.... I think that the man is

still there, albeit the scene in the drama has changed quite a bit...

 

Any way, I was on my way to Shirdi, the place of a great Yogi, still

blessing his disciples from his samadhi. That night I slept on the bench of

Nasik Railway station. Early in the morning some body woke me up, it was

him again. Smiling at me. I remembered him the moment I saw him. How

could I forget that yogi who helped me in saving the life of my sister, who

has prepared me mentally for the mortal separation of my best childhood

friend Srinivas! I touched his feet and said " Swamiji after long! " . He

smiled and said, " nothing compared to the lives that we live through... " .

He hasn't changed a bit. The same pure white clothes and black beard, a

heavily build man with muscles. In ten years I expected a bit of change but

he is the same... A true yogi.

 

Then he accompanied me to the Trayambakeswar Temple. We hicked the mountain

of Nashik and saw the birth place of River Goadvari. We talked a lot.

Mentioning every thing that we talked would be very lengthy but I wanted to

mention some thing that might be of interest to you. I shall write the

dialog that took place between us, since I have studied the path of

knowledge by the blessings of my guru, I was able to converse with him :

 

" The powers that you posses are of Yoga, aren't they? " I asked

 

" Yes! "

 

" But then I belong to the path of Jnana. I belong to the path of Advaita.

How does this relate to your path? " I questioned

 

" There is no difference in deed! The path that the Yogis undertake is

visible. They know what they are doing. They witness the awakening of

Kundalini. They witness every possible aspect of the Yoga. All the Astha

Siddhies (Anima, garima, mahima, laghima, eeSitva, vaSitva, prApti,

prAkAmya) are acquired by yogis because of their effort. But, the same

Astha Siddhies are possible in the path of Jnana as well... But a true

Jnani never aspires for any of these. How ever, he also undergoes the same

awakenings, it is nothing different. "

 

" Then why do they say there is nothing comparable to Jnana? Why do they say

that Jnana alone can lead you to the path of liberation? " I asked.

 

" Very true! In the path of Yoga the seeker knows what will come as a result

of his affort. He is aware that he posses the power of healing, the power

of flying in the air, the power of becoming so little. These siddhies are

highly addictive. Since he is aware of these powers, at any meek moment he

might try to demonstrate these powers to the ordinary people who gets

deluded and start adoring him. Having shown his powers to the public, he

will get caught in the whirlpool of Samsara. A true seeker is always

compassionate. And a yogi who is compassionate can never decline a plead

from people who are in trouble. That is where most of the Siddhas get

caught. Remember what Gita said " yatatAmapi siddhAnAM kascit mAM vEtti

tatvataH " ...

 

" Fine, but you did not tell me what is the course of a Jnani " ..

 

" As I told you a Jnani also will undergo the same course. But he either is

not aware of the Powers he posses, which is true most of the times, or he

just doesn't prefer to demonstrate the powers having the highest goal

called liberation in his mind. "

 

" The what about Shirdi Baba, whom I am about to visit? Is he a Jnani or a

Yogi " ?

 

" Good question! He is a Jnani as well as a Yogi. He knows what he is

doing. He understands the sufferings of people, yet he is detached from

their sufferings and attached to their universal upliftment. A yogi who is

truly detached from the fruit of action is in deed a true jnani. As I said

earlier, there is no difference. People who follow the path of Yoga think

that he is a Yogi, where as people who are the followers of Jnana find him

as a Jnani of the highest order. The one who leaves up the fruit of action,

can do anything as per the --- universal will ---...

 

 

Hari Om! Tat sat!