We have many thousands of thoughts every single day. Because our mind is constantly being pulled in so many directions by our friends, mobile phones and various other worldly distractions, we struggle to even concentrate on one topic for longer than eight seconds. How remarkable is it then that there is someone on this earth who is able to dedicate every moment of his life to a single thought without ever losing focus? Pramukh Swami Maharaj had devoted and Mahant Swami Maharaj is devoting every single breath and every single thought of his life to Bhagwan and his gurus. His bond with Bhagwan is unbreakable, and ultimately unmatchable.
On 13 June 1988, Pramukh Swami Maharaj was invited to the Canadian Parliament in recognition for his relentless spiritual and humanitarian work. This was a special occasion for BAPS. Swamishri and the accompanying sadhus arrived while the parliamentary session was in progress. They were immediately ushered into the VIP gallery. John Fraser, the Speaker of the House, introduced Pramukh Swami Maharaj. “We are very honoured to have a saint like Pramukh Swami Maharaj present with us today,” he announced, motioning towards the VIP gallery.
There was pindrop silence in the Parliament house. All the diplomats craned their necks to get a look at Pramukh Swami. However, nobody stood up to receive the welcome! Swamishri was instead busy trying to get the attention of his sevak sant who was holding Thakorji. Only after the Canadian politicians got proper darshan of Thakorji did Swamishri himself humbly stand up with folded hands.
This is the type of bond that Swamishri had with Bhagwan. No matter what the situation, his thoughts were constantly directed towards God and tending to him first.
Imagine if we were in such a situation, receiving the extremely rare opportunity to be honoured by the most important ministers and diplomats of Canada. Our mind would be racing a million kilometres per hour, concerned more by how we look, what we should be doing, and what we should say when we are welcomed. Swamishri’s bridge to Bhagwan, however, was singular and transcended such worldly bounds.
On 22 January 2017, Mahant Swami Maharaj arrived in Sarangpur at approximately 8p.m. He was sick with an infection. Additionally, he had spent over three hours in a car coming from Ahmedabad. He was late for his scheduled dinnertime. The sadhus in Sarangpur advised Mahant Swami Maharaj to eat and go to sleep early so that he could recover properly from his sickness. However, Mahant Swami Maharaj insisted that he could not eat or go to sleep without doing darshan of the murtis in Sarangpur.
Reluctantly, the sadhus arranged for a golf cart and took Mahant Swami Maharaj to the Yagnapurush Smruti Mandir and guru parampara murtis. They hoped that he would be satisfied with the darshan and agree to eat afterwards. As soon as Mahant Swami Maharaj got back into the golf cart from the Smruti Mandir, he did not mention anything about eating. He requested that he wanted to have Thakorji’s darshan in the main mandir. For quite some time, Mahant Swami Maharaj patiently had darshan at each and every shrine in Sarangpur mandir. Swamishri’s bridge with Bhagwan is such that he also does not lose focus in times of physical hardship.
In a world of constant distractions and a fast-paced life, let us learn from Swamishri’s life and laser sharp focus on and devotion to Thakorji and his gurus. He has created a connection like nothing on this earth can offer. If we can derive even a drop of inspiration from Swamishri’s bridge with Bhagwan in our own lives, we will experience ultimate peace and inner joy.