Appeal To Sadhaks

Hari Om Dear Sadhak,

Saprem Sadar Pranam to Pujya Gurudev! In the recent unsettling wake of the unfortunate series of events regarding our beloved Ashram, the natural questions that arise in anybody's minds - especially in those of Pujya Gurudev's faithful followers may be:


What really happened?


Why did it happen or how could it happen?


So, what should we do? How should we handle this situation?


These questions may be objectively answered at two levels; one material and the other spiritual. This message is to consider responses to the questions in a series of facts presented here.


In early July, two precious children from the Ahmedabad Ashram's Gurukul died in a drowning accident in the nearby Holy Sabarmati river. This was an inconceivably sad incident which moved the hearts of all Ashram Sadhaks. Contrary to the biased reports unfairly publicized by a majorly opinionated section of the media, the Ashram had been taking tireless measures all along to get to the bottom of this horrible incident. Ashram's efforts to this end are well-documented and were made openly available to all for in-depth scrutiny. As shocking as it can be, in late July two more just as precious children died in the Chhindwada Ashram's Gurukul. This was beyond comprehension of any Ashramwasi, but it had to be accepted and dealt with.

No words ever spoken or written by any Sadhak will ever describe the unfathomable pain felt at the core of the hearts of Pujya Bapuji and His followers on account of these sudden and sad deaths of four innocent children. The cause of deaths of the Chhindwada children has now been determined making it evident that no Ashram Sadhaks had any connection with either of those, just as in the case of the Ahmedabad children. This does not downplay the sad losses, however, it absolves the Ashram of the mightily wrongful allegations of the unscrupulous section of media attempting to falsely connect the Ashram as having essentially murdered the children! There is not one spec of doubt in the minds of Pujya Bapuji's Sadhaks worldwide that there is a premeditated and carefully crafted conspiracy at work, especially given the way sudden attacks were launched alongwith vandalism and bullying in Ahmedabad during the most sacred Guru-Poonam celebration. The defensible facts and figures related to those events have been posted on the Ashram's website at http://www.ashram.org  and all are strongly encouraged to frequently visit the site to obtain first-hand information updates rather than naively relying upon the untrustworthy media coverage.

For a long time the Ashram has been braving much opposition from some political and non-Hindu fractions in response to Pujya Bapuji's direct, vocal and fearless championing of India, her glorious culture, and the profundity of Sanatan Dharma (the "Original Duty"). Ill-wishers of India and her vibrant heritage have commonly seen Pujya Bapuji as the biggest threat to their ulterior motive of vitiating Hinduism. It seems that certain such negative elements may have taken opportunistic disadvantage of the most difficult and trying moment for the organization and launched a terrorizing attack with the aid of traitor-sold section of the media to serve their political and pseudo-religious objectives. This is the Ashram's belief based on numerous experiences and all its supporters - literally tens of millions in number, across the globe - stand fully behind it.

While the Rajokari (Delhi) satsang was in progress, Pujya Bapuji's deep pain upon receiving this horrific news was self-evident and squeezed the pining hearts of devotees. There was not one God-loving soul present without wet eyes at that time. As a matter of fact, Pujya Gurudev was so intensely grieved at this, that the moment He heard about the second death He publicly resolved to fast indefinitely (Anna-Tyaag) as a non-violent means of insisting for the truth to be brought out (Satyagraha). As of this writing, the cause of death of the second set of children has been officially identified. Consequently, Pujya Bapuji has mercifully accepted food while urging Sadhaks to intensify prayers to The Almighty with ceaseless chanting of the "Om Hrim Om" mantra to enable truth, inner strength and all-pervading peace. Hundreds of Ashrams and thousands of Samities (Sadhak-groups) worldwide have begun prayers and silent meditation by lighting diyas as vigil to commemorate the four beautiful souls lost in such a short period of time. Tens of thousands of Pujya Bapuji's followers in all major regions of the world stand-by to help the situation in any constructive manner possible.

Spiritually, the media's injustice against Ashram and false accusations against its Sadhaks do not come as a surprise. Through times immemorial, not one Saint and even Avatar (incarnations such as Sri Ramji and Sri Krishna Bhagwan) was spared by the ruthless public at large. History is replete with a plethora of examples citing how the sanctity of men of God has been brutalized by evil societal elements. Sant Kabir, Guru Nanak Dev, Sant Tukaram, Sant Eknath, Sri Gaurang Prabhu, Meerabai; as well as popular saints alive in India at the present time have all become victims of malicious "kuprachar".

The truth never fails to prevail in the end though..! Truth has always risen to the top in the past and so it shall in the future too. In the case of Pujya Bapuji too, the truth shall emerge - never mind the unprecedented level of effort put up to suppress it. However, accepting this disturbance in the equilibrium as "Daivi-Vidhan" (Divine Will) for the present moment, us Sadhaks must remain composed and self-restrained while relentlessly rejecting false accusations. Following in the peaceful foot-steps of our Great Master, we must display unperturbed temperament (Samata) while the neutral world judges us based on every move we make. We should continue to genuinely sympathize with the families who lost their beautiful children and be ever-prepared to help them and others as best as we can. We must continue to acknowledge the incidents and be sincerely sorry that those happened, no matter what the cause. We should be vigilant and fiercly guard against any mistakes in the future. We should be prepared to tirelessly explain our side of the story but never try to oversell it, for there is no need for it as truth is on our side! Since we trust for the whole and complete truth to come out shortly, we should be fearless like our Guru Maharaj.

We must follow our Gurudev's instructions and maximize our prayerful chanting of the "Om Hrim Om" mantra for sustained peace of the departed souls, inner strength for their loving families, and more tolerance for ourselves. If Guruji says that the Mantra will protect us all, then it will - where is the doubt?

For the last forty years Pujya Bapuji has upheld Truth, Non-Violence, Service, Sacrifice, Self-Restraint, Humility, Moderation and above all, Love of God as our core values. He has been going around the country practically non-stop in order to inculcate these virtues into the masses through enlightening Satsangs regardless of any distinction amongst His audience. Since accepting Pujya Bapuji as our Revered Guru most of us have experienced a dramatic paradigm-shift in our behavioral pattern, an inner transofrmation away from outer matter and migrating toward the inner Spirit. This is a priceless gift that only an exalted Mahatma can impart to others. Having such a Maha-Purush in our lives in the form of Pujya Bapuji, why should we loose our balance if the ride has gotten a bit rough for a short-while?

We have not committed a crime or purposely wronged anyone. Why should we then not stand tall holding our heads high and walk straight, gracefully facing the calamity befallen upon us? Beware brothers and sisters - this is a test of our faith - now is the time to remember what our Swami has taught us, "Kadam Apne Aagey Badhaata Chalaaja..." remember? Today we must remind each other what Bapuji often quotes, "Gum ki Andheri Raat Mei, Dil Ko Na Bekaraar Kar - Subah Jaroor Aayegi, Subah Ka Intazaar Kar"... We must hang in there never losing our Shraddha but further strengthening it, "Dheeraj Sabka Mitra Hai, Kari Kamaai Mat Khoy". For countless lives we have been struggling desperately to collect precious tiny little droplets of Shraddha, Faith in God, in the fragile vases of our seeking hearts. We must protect it at any cost, never allowing anybody to rob us of it. So long as we have faith and hope, so long as we have Guru and Govind, nothing and nobody can deter us from the righteous path to God as shown by Pujya Bapuji.

Dear Sadhaks, contemplate deeply upon this message. With a sincere mind just think about the absurdity of this ridiculous campaign put forth by opposers of our noble purpose. Contrast those accusations against the mountain of good work that the Ashram has uninterruptedly performed without tooting our own horn ever! Judge the situation from your hearts based on your own experience with the Ashram, fellow Sadhaks and Pujya Bapuji. You do not need the pretentious side of media to paint any juicy picture for you. Simply meditate for a few short minutes to reach in the deep quietude of your own soul and the answer shall come - loud and clear - that this is a rumorous scandal, a sensational stunt staged to overthrow the growing prowess and popularity of today's Lok-Sant Sri Asaramji Bapu.

If you wish you could do something about this, you can - by registering the complaint against media on Govt. of India's grievance portal at www.pgportal.gov.in and by simply clicking on the following link (or copy and paste in your internet browser). Provide feedback and request Pujya Bapuji's Satsang to be reinstated on Sony TV by visiting http://www.setindia.com/feedback.php.

Finally, remember that Gurudev's single-most famous message throughout the glorious decades of his hundreds of discourses has been, "Sadaive Sama Aur Prasanna Rahena Hi Ishwar Ki Sarvopari Bhakti Hai", "Equanimity And Cheerfulness At All Times Is The Greatest Worship Of God". Our Merciful Guru has compassionately led us on the path of worship of God, so we must remain even-minded and ever-cheerful; never frustrated, never depressed. Our Guru is Samarth and the All-Knowing Lord is with us. So fear not, all will be set right in time. Goodness always prevails in the end. With us too, Justice shall be served.

Asato Maa Sadgamaya, Tamaso Maa Jyotirgamaya, Mrutur Maa Amritamgamaya... Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.

From the unreal toward the real, from the unclear toward the clear, from the unsubstantial to the eternal... Let here be peace, let there be peace, we pray for peace.

Jai Gurudev,
Ashram Parivar