It was neither day nor night; simply, dusk. Bhagwan Swaminarayan, also known as Shriji Maharaj was astride Manki, his mare, trotting on the main street in Gadhada. His sadhus, parshads and devotees were singing bhajans while they followed him. The procession terminated at Dada Khachar’s house, where a group of Shrimali Brahmins were awaiting for Shriji Maharaj’s darshan. They had gathered for an annual occasion to commemorate the death anniversary of a kin. They decided to come to Dada Khachar’s house after learning that God was present here. Shriji Maharaj saw the Brahmins and dismounted. He gave his mare’s charge to Bhaguji and said, “Bhaguji, feed the mare.” Then Maharaj sat on a cushioned seat on the verandah of the east-facing room of Dada’s house. He welcomed and honored the Brahmins with a smile as they entered the assembly. The Brahmins were pleased. Some even took the vows of initiation and became his disciples.
Among the group was an eight-year-old Brahmin boy. He had seen and heard Maharaj dismount from Manki and say, “Bhaguji, feed the mare.” The occasion left a deep impression on him. Decades later, when the boy had reached his twilight years, at 78 years, he stated, “The gesture and words of Bhagwan Swaminarayan left such an indelible impression in my mind that I have not been able to forget them.”
That child was Gujarat’s legendary poet and literary giant, Dalpatram. The occasion marked his first and last darshan of Shriji Maharaj. But amazingly, even after 70 years, during which his life was filled and impacted with so many varied mundane incidents, his experience of Shriji Maharaj’s darshan was fresh and vivid. From this one can surmise the magnetic personality of Shriji Maharaj.
The famous Gujarati poet Nanalal, the son of Dalpatram, opines about Maharaj’s divine, arresting personality, “The Swaminarayan Sampradaya has got at one go a slew of religious wealth like the Vachanamrut, Shikshapatri, and traditions of dharma, poets, sadgurus, festivals and celebrations. All these are a great fortune for the Sampradaya and the country. But if they were to be placed on one (weighing) pan and put Shriji Maharaj’s personal magnetism on the other, then the latter would come down. His saint-poets have described it on many occasions and many times” (Kavishvar Dalpatram Part 1).
Truly, Shriji Maharaj’s personality inspired a unique attraction and cast a spell. Wherever he went, people swarmed to him like bees to flowers. So many became mentally lost and absorbed in his divine presence. Adharanand Swami, a disciple of Sadguru Muktanand Swami, describes Shriji Maharaj’s personality in his work, Haricharitramrut Sagar, “After fixing one’s mind on one part of Bhagwan Swaminarayan’s murti one cannot fix it on another. If one wanted to shift one’s gaze from His eyes to his nose, then it would be like moving the Himalayas.” Such was the divine beauty and magnetism of His form.
– Vivekjivandas Swami
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha
