Everybody yearned to please Yogiji Maharaj and be blessed by receiving some of his good virtues. Such was the personality of Yogiji Maharaj. His spiritual state was the best. He used to say, “Never let your joyous and blissful nature of being brahmaswarup be diminished even for a moment.” Only God or his sant like Yogi Bapa, who had never lost his spiritual poise of being brahmaswarup, could say this. Despite living in this material world full of jealousy, envy, lust, greed and ego, Yogiji Maharaj remained aloof like a lotus in muddy water, looking pretty and untouched by dirt.
Once, Sanatan Swami spoke to Yogi Bapa, “Please name the 64 characteristics of a true sant.”
Yogi Bapa replied, “I don’t know.”
Sanatan Swami asked, “How can you say that you don’t know? A person having money in his pocket always knows how much he has. You have all the 64 characteristics in you. Yet, you say you don’t know!”
Yogi Bapa said, “You are a shastri, therefore you know them. You can explain.”
That was his profound humility.
Another important thing about Yogiji Maharaj was his divinity, which spread throughout the entire Satsang. He gave God’s bliss and happiness to everyone who came to him. It was a transcendental experience. He gave selfless love to everyone; a love with no strings attached. This attracted many youths towards him, and some were inspired to become sadhus.
Once, we had gone for padhramanis at Vile Parle, in Mumbai. At one place, a businessman was waiting outside his house. He asked us, “Are you sadhus of Yogiji Maharaj?” We said yes. He then invited us to his home. In one of his rooms, which he was using as his puja room, there was a chair tied at a height on the wall. He informed us that Pujya Yogiji Maharaj had sat on that chair. Lower down, there were pictures of many Jain monks because he was a Jain. Then, he took us to his master bedroom. There was only one picture on the wall – that of Yogiji Maharaj. He said every night, before lying down on his bed to sleep, he looked at the picture of Yogi Bapa. This darshan gave him sound and peaceful sleep. He described Yogiji Maharaj as one who was constantly oozing with divinity.
For countless, Yogiji Maharaj’s first darshan was enough to experience divinity. When Pujya Chinmayanand Swami was asked to write something about Yogi Bapa, he wrote, “The experience I had in the presence of Yogiji Maharaj cannot be expressed in language. He is the living mass of what is to be experienced in the Upanishads. The bliss of the self-supreme exploding out of that aged body, wafting a steady fragrance of pure love, gushed into those who came near him, to fill up the hearts of others – even when they are not pure enough to receive and retain it. Hence, none wants to leave him and his presence. To such a master we can only prostrate and not write about.”
Chinmayanand Swami was a brilliant scholar and philosopher. He had met Yogi Bapa only a couple of times, yet he was touched by his saintliness and divinity.
Shri Rangavdhootji Maharaj was so impressed with Yogiji Maharaj that he hugged him. Shri Ranchoddasji Maharaj, another famous sant, gave the title of ‘Yogiraj’ to Yogiji Maharaj. He himself was a yogi. Another sant, Swami Kashikanandji, of the Sadhu Bela Ashram (Prem Puri – Chowpatty), invited Yogiji Maharaj to his ashram one evening. He requested Yogi Bapa to say something to a congregation of mostly Sindhis, who could not understand Gujarati. When Yogi Bapa sang a kirtan in his typical Kathiawadi style, the entire congregation was stunned by and became engrossed in his divine singing and speech. As soon as Bapa concluded his speech, everyone shouted, “Once more.” So much divinity had oozed from his speech! Swami Kashikanandaji was so impressed that he wrote eight shlokas in Sanskrit praising Yogi Bapa. Shri Dongreji Maharaj was very much pleased by the company of Yogiji Maharaj that he once said, “In front of a Bhagvat Sant (God embodied saint) like you, how can I speak about the Bhagvat (holy shastra) to you?” Pujya Muktanand Baba of Vajreshwari used to say about Yogi Bapa, “Oh! Here is a sant ripe with divine love!”
During the opening ceremony of the Bhagvat Vidyapith in Sola, Ahmedabad, Shri Krishnashankar Shastri, the host, had invited many great distinguished sants: Shri Rangavdhootji Maharaj, Shri Dongreji Maharaj, Shri Ranchoddasji Maharaj, Pujya Muktanand Baba and Yogi Bapa. As soon as Yogiji Maharaj arrived, there was a joyous hail of greetings and praises. Everyone was simply amazed. Shri Krishnashankar Shastriji wished to garland all the sants, so he first went to garland Yogiji Maharaj. But Yogiji Maharaj first directed him to garland the other sants. When Shastriji finally garlanded Yogiji Maharaj, the latter prostrated to all the sants. Everyone was touched by his humble and divine gesture. Yogiji Maharaj overwhelmed everyone in the audience with his immense devotion towards God and his devotees.
Yogiji Maharaj was an ‘asli’ (true) sadhu. He liked and instructed his devotees to keep away from bad mouthing (abhav-avgun) about anyone and wanted them to love and foster mutual affection. He had unfathomable love for his guru (Shastriji Maharaj) and considered his guru as God in human form. His profound devotion to his guru is worth emulating. Yogiji Maharaj’s humble and lovable nature touched everyone.
The main thing we must understand is that our guru never goes away. Even though Yogiji Maharaj apparently left for Akshardham in 1971, his nature, virtues and divinity are present in Pramukh Swami Maharaj. We are not missing Yogiji Maharaj at all because he merged into Pramukh Swami Maharaj. Our Gunatit line (successors) continues and remains forever.