Ghanshyam Maharaj

Looks to the West for Aspirants

As a child Maharaj had indulged in divine play with his friends, family and village folk. However, He was biding his time to start His mission, but occasionally He gave hints about His true mission. On the outskirts of Chhapaiya there was a pippal tree that Maharaj would often climb. He would sit there for a long time looking in the direction of the West.

On one particular occasion Ghanshyam had abruptly interrupted His play with His friends and climbed the pippal tree. With seriousness and concentration He was again looking to the West and sat there until late into the evening. His friend Veni, approached Maharaj when He came down from the tree and asked Him, “What are you looking at in the western direction, sitting all day in that tree...” Ghanshyam replied, “My dear friend, I am trying to see in which direction devotees who aspire for salvation are found... in the western direction is situated the land of Gujarat and Kathiawad (Northwest Gujarat). Many saintly souls, yearning to meet the Lord are living in that country. I propose to go there... The devotees of that place are calling Me. I have to answer that call.” Veni, could not comprehend the words of Ghanshyam but in this way Maharaj had revealed His future plans.

Ghanshyam reveals His divinity

Shreeji Maharaj reveals in the Vachanamrut (Kariyani 5) that in order to fulfil the wish of His devotees, He manifests Himself on the earth. He gives divine love and acts out divine episodes so that people can reminisce on these. God's motive is thus: by giving the murti of the living (manifest) God it is easier for people to constantly remember that tangible and real God and so it is easier for them to dedicate their lives to Him. As such Ghanshyam provided proof on a number of occasions that He Himself was the supreme God.

Rampratap sees Ghanshyam in many temples

One day Ghanshyam failed to return for lunch. At Hanumangadhi the Ramayan was being read as usual, Rampratap went straight there expecting Ghanshyam to be there. Sure enough Ghanshyam was sat there totally engrossed in the reading. Rampratap asked Ghanshyam to return home; Maharaj said that He would follow shortly. On the road to Dharmadev's house there are a number of temples, as per Indian culture Rampratap decided to briefly visit the temples for the darshan of the deities there.

When Rampratap went to the first temple, to his surprise he found that Ghanshyam was there too, listening to the reading of the Ramayan. Rampratap wondered how Ghanshyam could have come to this temple so quickly, so out of curiosity he went back to Hanumangadhi to check. Low and behold, Ghanshyam was also there listening to the Ramayan!

Rampratap went to all the temples on his route home as quickly as possible to make sure that Ghanshyam wasn't playing some type of trick, but at each and every temple there was Ghanshyam; Rampratap became in awe of Ghanshyam's divine power.
Sixteen signs of God

The Dharmadev family had gone on a pilgrimage. In the village of Gonda at the local temple, Dharmadev took Ghanshyam and His brothers (Rampratap, Ghanshyam's elder brother and Ichharam, His younger brother) for the evening arti. Ghanshyam stood in front of the murti Krishna Bhagwan, as the arti started to be sung the entire congregation witnessed that the murti of Krishna appeared to have come alive. Krishna Bhagwan stepped down from his shrine, went to meet Ghanshyam and then placed the garland of flowers that was around his own neck over Ghanshyam's neck! Krishna Bhagwan returned back to His shrine. Some also saw Ghanshyam Maharaj along side Krishna Bhagwan's murti. The news spread throughout the village, all witnessed Ghanshyam to be none other than Krishna Bhagwan Himself.

This divine episode reached the regional king Gumansingh. The king was fascinated by the story but wanted to see proof for himself; he summoned Dharmadev and his three sons to the king's court the very next morning. The king thought that if this child is truly God incarnate then he would test him in two ways: first the scriptures say that God does not cast a shadow, and second that there are sixteen sacred signs on God's feet. If the Ghanshyam would pass these simple tests then the king would accept Him as manifested God.

When Dharmadev and his sons arrived at the palace, the king asked Dharmadev to identify the boy with the so-called divine powers. The king called Dharmadev and Ghanshyam into an open compound where the sun was shining brightly, and low and behold although there was a shadow from Dharmadev where he was standing, there was no shadow where Ghanshyam stood. The king became bewildered by what he had seen and wondered whether this child really could be God. The king then quickly asked Ghanshyam to sit with both His feet out stretched. Maharaj obliged, the king was amazed to see the sixteen signs of God; these are as follows:

Ghanshyam seen as Rama Bhagwan

Ghanshyam and His friends went to Meen lake near Chhapaiya to bathe. They played games with each other as children typically do. Maharaj proposed that they play a game of chase where they have to catch each other. As they played, no one could catch Ghanshyam; He was able to swim very fast and dive deep into the water. After a while His friends were getting annoyed that no one could catch Him and so He kept on winning.

Maharaj knows how to play at people's heart strings; He dove deep into the water and then did not emerge. His friends started to really worry, had Ghanshyam been swept away by some animal or had He over stretched Himself and drowned? In a state of panic the friends ran to a washer man who was near by and explained the situation. The washer man plunged into the water to try to find Him. Time, time again he dove in all directions but to no avail; there appeared to be no trace of Ghanshyam. Totally exhausted the washer man could not swim any more. Some of the children had gone back to village to summon Dharmadev and the elders. When they reached the lake the scene was one of complete desolation and grief. Had they lost forever their beloved Ghanshyam?

In the meantime, Maharaj was sitting at the bottom of the lake. He was fully aware of the hovac He had created and decided to end His divine leela. Slowly Ghanshyam came up so that people could see that He was alive and safe. His parents, friends and village folk became ecstatic with joy. As Ghanshyam swam closer to the shore suddenly He stood up and started to walk on the water! The watching crowd became transfixed at the amazing sight, but even more so when the entire village witnessed Ghanshyam as Rama Bhagwan; He was dressed as a King with the trademark bow and quaver and a halo of divinity shining about Him. Everyone stood with joined palms praying to the Supreme Lord.

As Ghanshyam reached the shore He reverted back to His present manifest form of a child. He bowed to His parents and asked, “Why were you so worried? I was sat the bottom of the lake to do some work of my own.” Everyone was grateful and felt fulfilled at the divine darshan that they had experienced but also understood that this it was difficult to comprehend His divine leela.

The Universe at His Feet

Ghanshyam's bhabhi (Suvasinibhabhi) was very fond of Him and was a sincere devotee of God. Although appreciating that Ghansyham was a special child with divine qualities, she did not fully understand His true self. In a similar fashion to Krishna Bhagwan, Ghanshyam would be mischievous with His bhabhi especially as she was so fond of Him; she would serve Him hand and foot.

Once Ghanshyam was being naughty and would not wash His hands and feet, He wanted His bhabhi to do the honours; so Ghanshyam's bhabhi gave in to His demands. Whilst both scolding Him but also lovingly tending to Him, Ghanshyam re-assured that He would be there for anyone who would remember Him. To His bhabhi it sounded like Ghanshyam was planning to leave; whilst pondering this she suddenly saw the whole universe on the soles of His feet. As if inspired by the Lord Himself she said,” You will become a King (Maharaj) and one day the whole world will follow You...”

In these ways Shreeji Maharaj showed His own divine self to be the Supreme God, the master of the universe and the present manifested form of the previous incarnations of God, namely Krishna Bhagwan and Ram Bhagwan.