SWAMI SHRIJI
P.VINODCHANDRA PATEL
Sadly, we lost P.Vinodchandra Patel, fondly known as Vinoobhai who departed for Akshardham on Tuesday 11th July 2017.
A lot can be said and written about him and this feature might not be enough or do him justice to describe the ‘character ‘ of a devotee whose virtues were endless.
He entered the ‘satsang’ through his beloved wife Rashmikaben, back in the 90s and immediately, our beloved Guruhari Pappaji Maharaj took him under His wings by occupying a special place in Vinoobhai’s heart. In short, Vinoobhai realized that Pappaji Maharaj was his ‘saviour’ and the controller of his soul and that he would live according to His wishes. In 1993, again with the grace of Pappaji Maharaj, our friendship took on a new relationship. He became like a younger brother to me and looked up to me, for reasons that only Pappaji Maharaj knew.
For the last 24 years, our spiritual bonding became stronger and stronger. He automatically or by default took on the role of becoming my assistant. He would be by my side in all respects – singing bhajans, conducting prayers sessions, organizing seminars, comparing large functions, just to name a few. I, in turn, became more reliant on him for everything possible that I would think of – leading and conducting all ‘sabha’ discourses in my absence, taking over any administration work that needed to be done etc. It looked to me as if our close relationship was destined to be.
He was a man of few words and yet, soft spoken with impeccable manners and with his own unique brand of humour. His one-liners and the natural ability to ad-lib made him a very likable person to all the Gunatit Mission members and the ‘Samaj’ as a whole. Everyone loved him and looked forward to his speeches, where he would come up with a ‘deep’ spiritual message, delivered with light humour.
He was also a trustee and a Committee member of our religious Charity – Gunatit Mission, who he served with integrity and devotion until he became unwell last year. Regrettably, his illness took ‘hold’ and he passed away after suffering for 10 months during which time, he remained ‘chirpy’ and full of life.
He will surely be missed by all devotees as a true disciple of Guruhari Pappaji Maharaj. His sudden ‘demise’ is really a ‘shock’ to the system and to the Samaj as a whole, for years to come.
In this time of need, I pray to Lord Swaminarayan and Guruhari Pappaji Maharaj to give strength to P.Rashmikaben, and to his children and their families, to bear this ‘loss’.
Dilipbhai Bhojani.
Jai Swaminarayan.