Salutations to Ganesh !
And Raghao Ram be victorious.
With the grace of Ram
The monkeys could crush Ravan
And his golden Lanka.
Oh Ram, Your grace will
Always make me victorious.
When I look to myself,
I find that I am very miserable.
I do not have intelligence.
I do not have devotion.
I do not have faith.
How can such a doubting sinner
Get you grace?
But in know
That you love sinners too
And liberate them.
This has been recorded
In a number of Puranas.
If you liberate the victuous,
It is no miracle,
But he is great
Who liberates the sinful.
So please do not hesitate.
This humble Dasa Ganu
Beseeches Thee. Be merciful to him.
Khanderao patil was
The chief organizer of the Hanuman festival.
The worship of Ganesh was prevalent
In his line. He was rich and
Had enough gold and grains.
His ancestors were virtuous
And served the sages and sadhus.
The ancestors were fortunate enough
To get the rights of revenue collection.
Mahadaji Patil had two sons.
The elder was Kadtaji.
The younger was Kukaji.
The elder had six sons,
The younger had none.
In course of time, Kadtaji
Became the village headman.
When he died,
Kukaji looked after
His six newphews,
And brought them up as if
They were his own sons.
The family prospered
In the lifetime of Kukaji.
Khandu became the head of the family
After Kukaji’s death.
Khandu was all powerful.
His five brothers ¾
Ganpati, Narayan and Maruti,
Hari and Krishna were all athletes
And wrestlers too.
All those brothers harassed others.
The festival was in the name of Hanuman.
But the Patil brothers enjoyed themselves
And used to have a lot of fun.
The people used to sing glories
Not of Hanuman but of the Patils.
Once the Patil brothers
Came to the temple
And teased Maharaj.
Some one would say ¾
"Oh you Ganya,
won’t you eat Kanya?"
Other brother would step forward
And would ask Maharaj
To have a wrestling bout with him.
He teased him thus,
"Oh you great yogeshwar,
Why don’t you wrestle with me?
Shows us your prowess,
Or else we shall knead you well."
Maharaj used to hear
All what they said
And used to laugh it away.
The things went on this way.
Tried of this,
One day, Bhaskar Patil
Came to Maharaj
And requested him to
Accompany him to Akoli.
Maharaj said to Bhaskar,
"Oh Bhaskar, have patience.
The Patils are not humble
And refined in manners,
Yet I love them.
As they have been born in
This line of the Patils,
Who had been my devotees,
They are jameendars
And it behoves them to be
Sharp and pungent with their tongues.
Can a tiger show the temperament of a cow?
Can the steel of a sword be as soft as butter?
Or rather, can fire be as cold as ice?
This rudeness of the Patils
Will vanish after a time,
Even as the muddy water of a stream
Becomes crystal clear
As the rains recede.
One day Hari Patil
came into the Hanuman temple
And threw a ganutlet at Maharaj.
He coaxed him to come to the gymnasium
To wrestle with him.
He said to Maharaj,
"Don’t sit here
And sing your usual song
"Gana Gana Ganat Botey"
Come and have a trial of strength
With me. If you make me
Fall flat, I shall give you
A big prize."
Maharaj agreed and both
Went to the dug out square
In the gymnasium.
Maharaj crouched on the ground
And Hari tried to turn him
So as to make him fall flat.
But all his efforts were in vain.
Hari tried his best
And with all his might
He could not budge Maharaj
From his position.
Beads of perspiration
Appeared on his forehead
And began to trickle down
From his shining muscular body.
All his wrestling skill
Was of no avail.
Hari said unto himself,
"Verily this man is
As heavy as a mountain
He looks thin and supple,
But has the strength of an elephant.
Take heed of a jackal,
Or a tiger
of an ordinary cur?
Whatever it be,
Now I must bow down
Before him.
Never before did I bow down
To any one."
Maharaj simply smiled
And asked Hari
To give him his prize.
Maharaj said to Hari,
"Wrestling is a good sport.
Krishna and Balaram
Indulged in it,
When they were young.
Did not Krishna and Balaram
Killed Mushtik and Chanur,
Who were bodyguards of Kans?
Health and Physique rank first,
Then one’s home
And then come money and respect.
Was not Krishna, the Patil of Brindavan?
Did not he train all the cowherd boys
And made them strong wrestlers?
You should also follow him,
And make the local boys strong.
If you do this,
I shall feel rewarded."
In this way Maharaj
Humbled Hari.
Hari said to Maharaj,
"Surely these boys
Shall become healthy and strong,
If you will so wish."
From that day onwards
Hari became docile.
And he ceased to harass
Not only Maharaj, but all others.
Hari’s brothers noticed this change
In Hari’s attitude and
Said they to him,
"Hari why have you become
So much afraid of that pseudo yogi?
We are sons of Patil,
And collectors of village revenue.
Why do you prostrate before that naked fakir
Greatness has been thrust upon him.
He is a mad man.
We must show him his place
And alert the simple people.
If we won’t do this,
Who else will?
How can we tolerate the hypocrites
Robbing the people of the town?
Is it not our duty
To caution all the men?
Gold is not accepted
Unless tested on a touchstone.
The episode of sugarcanes
Was the crucial point in Tukaram’s life
Which manifested saintliness in him.
Jnyaneshwar was acclaimed as a saint,
Only when he made the buffalo
Recite the holy scriptures.
Let us now test this naked mad."
So saying, they entered
The temple with a bundle of sugarcanes.
Hari did not say anything.
Others said, "Oh idiot,
Do you want sugarcanes?
We shall give you;
But on the condition that
We shall thrash you with these canes.
Let no mark appear on your body.
Then only we shall accept you
As a yogi."
Maharaj was silent as usual.
Why should he say anything
At the childish prattle?
Maruti said,
"He is afraid of the beating;
that is why he is silent."
Ganpati said,
"Don’t you know
That silence is a half consent?"
The others three
Appreciated this
and came forward to beat Maharaj.
When men and women who were in the temple
Saw this, they ran helter-skelter.
Bhaskar did not run.
He tried to stop these brothers.
He said unto them,
"Please do not beat
This god intoxicated man with sugarcanes.
We have been born in the live of the Patils.
The Patil is one who protects,
Not one who kills.
A good marksman
Shall aim his weapon
At the tiger and not at a cockroach.
Maruti set Lanka on fire,
He did not set ablaze the huts of the poor."
The other brothers, hearing this,
Asked him to keep quiet.
Said they, "People call him yoga-yogeshwara
We want to see whether
He is a real yogi.
Please do not join us if you wish so,
But see the fun.
So saying, all of them attacked Maharaj
With sugarcanes, hard and thick.
They beat him as a farmer would
Beat the sheaves of wheat,
In the late winter.
Maharaj was all happiness.
He looked at the boys
And smiled.
In spite of such a severe beating
There was no perforation on his back.
Seeing this, the brothers were surprised
They sank down and lay prostrate
Before him saying "Really, you are a yogi,
You are a yogeshwar."
Maharaj said unto them,
"My boys, you have laboured hard.
You are tired.
Let me give you some juice.
So saying , Maharaj took canes
And squeezed them dry
With his own hands
And collected the juice
For the boys to drink.
All the canes in the bundle
Were exhausted.
There was enough juice
For all of them to drink.
This was a yogic feat.
Maharaj wanted to bring home
To the Patil brothers
That yogic strength is better than physical strength.
The boys went home
And told Khandu Patil
The yogic feat exhibited by Maharaj.
So Khandu Patil came
To have darshan of Maharaj.
As was the practice with Patils,
He was often curt in addressing Maharaj.
He used to call him "Ganya"
When a child calls its mothers,
Or when a mother speaks with her child.
No Honorific terms are used.
So also when the village headman
Addresses anyone in the village,
He also does not use any honorific terms.
Although Khandu Patil
Was curt in addressing Maharaj
He loved him still.
Once Kukaji said to Khandu,
‘Khandu, you often visit Maharaj,
And say that he is a realized soul.
Why do you observe silence in his presence?
You have grown old
And you have no issues.
I wish to see my grandson play in my lap.
Why don’t you ask Maharaj to bless you with a son?
If he is really a great yogi,
He will fulfil your desire,
And my desire also will fulfilled thereby."
Khandu, then, at once went
To the Hanuman temple where
Maharaj stayed,
And supplicated to Maharaj
In the following words,
"Oh, Ganya, my uncle is old
And desires to see a grandchild
Play in his lap.
People call you a sadhu,
And one who fulfils.
Why should one whose
Head bows down before you daily
Should suffer the pangs of childlessness."
Maharaj simply smiled, and said,
"It is good that you have wished
Something from me.
You have enough wealth,
You believe in your own efforts.
Why then, you ask me to favour you?
You say, wealth and strength
Are enough to conquer the world.
Why then can’t you achieve this desire?
You have a large property.
You are owners of shops and mills.
None disobeys you and everyone
In Vidarbha honours your word.
Why not ask Brahma
To bless you with a son?
Khandu said,
"It is true that
Crops grow when it rains.
But can man with his own efforts
Cause rain? In that case
How do famines occur
And the parched land cracks?
So man’s efforts can produce corn
Only when god will cause rains."
Maharaj smiled and said,
"Now that you beg me a son,
I must do something.
If you beget a son,
name him Bhikya.
Surely I shall pray God,
To bless you with a son.
I know, God will listen.
You just do one thing,
Throw a feast to the Brahmins.
Let Mango juice be served.
I know from within
That you will be blessed with a son.
But continue to feed the Brahmins
Mango juice every year."
Khandu returned home
And told Kukaji everything.
In a few days Gangubai,
Wife of Khanduju conceived.
Khandu Patil was all joy.
Kukaji also was very happy.
They distributed wheat and jaggery
And sweets to all children in the town.
A son was born
And was named Bhikya.
Khandu celebrated
Cradle-ceremony of the child.
He threw feasts to the Brahmins
And served sweet juice of mangoes.
The practice is carried on
By his successors even this day.
There subsisted rivalry
Between the Patils and the Deshmukhs.
This is a scourge
Of many villages in Vidarbha
They try to outwit each other.
It is not true
that two shastris or mantris
Or two armed men
Or two specialists
Or two dogs,
Do not confront each other
Without growling?
The rivalry between the Patils and the Deshmukhs
Was ever irreconcilable.
Later on Kukaji passed away.
Khandu Patil was all sorrow.
He felt forlorn.
Seeing Khandu steeped in sorrow,
The Deshmukhs tried to implicate him.
I shall narrate that story
In the next chapter.
Be attentive and listen.
END OF CHAPTER SEVEN