13 - Miracle Of Kali Talawadi

It so happened on a hot summer day. All the friends were sitting under a tree. Kunvarji said, ‘There is no fun playing under the sun.’ Gangji proposed, ‘Let us play in shadow.’ Kesra objected, ‘What can we play sitting at one place?’ Dhanji teased, ‘Abjibhai can play sitting at one place. He can meditate.’

Vashram suggested, ‘Let us go to lake.’ Abjibhai agreed, ‘Let us go for a swim in the lake, so that nobody feels hot.’ Jadavji was excited, ‘Yes, let us go, it would be fun.’

All of them proceeded towards the lake. For some time they swam. Kesra said, ‘Let us dive under water.’ Abjibhai challenged, ‘Let us see who can remain longer under water.’ Vashram was thrilled, ‘Wow! that would be interesting!’

Dhanji announced, ‘Abjibhai, I will win this game. I am good in diving.’ Kesra declared, ‘I will remain under water for longer time then you.’

Gangji proclaimed, ‘Water is my kingdom! I am an expert. I will definitely win this game.’ Kunvarji said, ‘I can not hold my breath under water for a long time. Therefore I will keep count about who comes out of the water first.’

Jadavji asked, ‘Abjibhai, why are you quiet?’ Abjibhai replied, ‘Each of you say that he is an expert. So What can I say? Let us see what happens.’

All of them dived under water. Abjibhai also recited, ‘Jai Swaminarayan’ and dived. Kunvarji came up in a short while and waited for the next one to come out.

After a while Vashram came out. Kunvarji asked, ‘Arre...! You have come out so soon?’ Vashram informed, ‘I was feeling suffocated under water. So I came up.’

Kunvarji said, ‘Let us see, now who comes up.’ And in a moment Kesra came up with the sound Oh! Oh!....

After coming out he said, ‘Phew! I would have fainted, had I remained under water any longer!’ Vashram and Kunvarji started laughing, ‘What? You were supposed to remain under water for a longer time than Dhanji!’ Kesra said defensively, ‘Because both of you were talking, I thought everyone has come out of the water. Therefore I also came up.’ Vashram said, ‘Don’t you boast. You would have fainted, had you not come out.’

And there came up Gangji.They made fun of Gangji, ‘Hello! King of water! Still Dhanji and Abjibhai are under water. Why did you come up so soon?’ Gangji could not utter a single word. He sat down in a corner with a long face.

Now Dhanji came out. Looking at them he boasted, ‘See! I told you. I told you. I was going to remain under water for longest duration. Everyone has come out. I am the last one to come out.’

All of them spoke in chorus, ‘No.... you are not the last one. Abjibhai is still under water.’ Dhanji was crest fallen. He could not say anything. They waited for Abjibhai. Kunvarji said, ‘You all were praising yourselves. Abjibhai did not speak a single word, but still he has not come out!’

Gangji noticed, ‘Jadavji, you have put on your clothes!’ Jadavji replied, ‘No, I did not dive under water. I do not know how to dive.’ They all laughed.

Some more time elapsed. Abjibhai did not come up. Gangji was concerned, ‘Abjibhai has remained under water for such a long time. Still he has not come up.’

Dhanji shouted, ‘Abjibhai, please come out you have won. All have come out.’ There was no response. They were waiting. Kunvarji was worried, ‘It has been a long time. Why Abjibhai has not come out?’ Gangji was anxious, ‘I am worried’. Dhanji suggested, ‘Let us shout together.’

They shouted together. But Abjibhai did not come up. Jadavji panicked, ‘I am scared. I hope he has not drowned.’ They were frightened.

Kesra proposed, ‘Let me dive and check up.’ Kesra came up. They stared at him. Kesra announced, ‘I could not locate Abjibhai.’ Vashram had a doubt, ‘I hope he is not hiding somewhere after coming out.’ They searched for him.

They couldn’t find Abjibhai. Dhanji was desperate, ‘Let all of us dive under water and look for him. They all dived, but Abjibhai was seen no where. They were frightened.

Gangji was distressed, ‘What shall we do? What shall we inform his parents?’ They were very nervous. Jadavji and Vashram were on the verge of crying. Kesra suggested, ‘Let us pray to God.’ They started praying. O Lord! O Merciful! Please bring back Abjibhai.’ They prayed vigorously. Tears were rolling down while praying. And behold....

Abjibhai come out of the water saying, ‘O Lord! O Merciful!’ They screamed with joy together, ‘Hey.... Abjibhai has come out!’ Kesra hugged Abjibhai. His eyes were full of tears.

Dhanji broke down, ‘Abjibhai, where were you? How long we searched for you!’ Gangji said, ‘ You were seen nowhere. We were frightened.’ Jadavji said, ‘We thought you had drowned.’

Abjibhai explained, ‘All of you dived praising yourselves and I dived remembering Maharaj. I had Darshan of Maharaj and I went for a pilgrimage to Gadhda, Chhapaiya, Vadtaal etc. places with Maharaj.’

Kunvarji asked unbelievably, ‘How is it possible? You were under water.’ Abjibhai replied, ‘By God’s grace everything is possible. You wouldn’t believe, but I visited the places of pilgrimage.’

Gradually everyone had realized that Abjibhai was an Anadimukta. So they believed him.

Difficult words:
To recite - To repeat loudly
To boast - To exaggerate
To elapse - To pass by
Distressed - Extremely unhappy
Vigorous - With lots of physical or mental energy

Points to ponder:
- Maharaj has instructed in Shikshapatri that one should not praise ownself.
- Abjibhai proved his ability without praising himself.
- By the grace of God, God-realized Muktas can visit a number of places by physically remaining at one place.
- We should also try to prove our ability by performing a task rather than praising ourselves.

Exercise

Answer the following questions:
1. Where did they go to play due to heat?
2. Which game did they decide to play in the lake?
3. What was Gangji boasting about?
4. Why were Jadavji’s clothes dry?
5. Why did everyone panic?
6. What did Abjibhai say after coming out?
7. Who came out of the water last? Why?

Fill in the blanks:
1. _____________ can play sitting at one place. He can _____________.
2. Let us play to ________ under water.

Who speaks the following statements?:
1. Abjibhai, I will win this game.
2. Water is my kingdom.
3. Each of you says that he is an expert, so what can I say?