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The Blessed Baba Raghunath Das 21
A wealthy old lady from South India once
came to Ayodhya. After bathing in the Sarayu
she wore old and tattered clothes and with a copper
water-vessel went in search of a real saint.
She went to various ashramas saying: ‘I have
only this copper vessel with me. I wish to feed
the monks of Ayodhya with the money to be secured
by selling it.’ Hearing this people laughed
and others drove her away thinking her to be
mad. She reached the ashrama of Baba Raghunath
Das and paying obeisance to Babaji showed
her copper vessel and expressed her wish. Babaji
asked someone to sell the copper vessel and purchase
asafoetida. He instructed him to mix it
with the curry and give it to everyone. There were
warm acclamations in her name for the wonderful
curry. After wards the old lady returned to her
residence and came back to the ashrama in her
expensive clothes and accompanied by her maid.
She offered twenty thousand rupees to Babaji,
who instructed his attendant to arrange for a
feast for three more days. Happy and contented
the old lady returned to South India.
PB July 2011
Acquiring Additional Land
As the number of monks, devotees, and spiritual
aspirants went on increasing, the place in the
ashrama became insufficient. Babaji thought that
if Mother Sarayu would give some additional land
by shifting herself a little further, it would solve
the problem. After meditating on Sri Rama for a
while, he asked for sugarcane juice and milk. He
then went to the bank of the river and offered
the same to Mother Sarayu with devotion while
chanting her glory. At night the river started shifting
towards the north, leaving the southern side
dry. By the time it was morning she had vacated
almost two miles of land. Amazed and overwhelmed
with joy the people started singing the
glory of Sri Rama with great enthusiasm.
The king of Gonda, Sri Krishna Dutta, accompanied
by his wife, went to meet Babaji. After
they had paid their obeisance Babaji blessed them
and enquired about their well-being. The king
noticed that the roofs of all the cottages were
made of straw and leaves. So he proposed to construct
a new temple, kitchen, store, and huts for
the monks. Babaji accepted the proposal. At once
the king arranged for thousands of rupees and
placed the money at Babaji’s disposal. A foundation
laying ceremony was fixed on an auspicious
day. Promising to be present the king returned
to his palace. Later Babaji thought: ‘It is due to
my prayer that Mother Sarayu has given this land
and it is also quite possible that in my absence she
may take it back. In that case all the money donated
by the king for the construction will be lost.’
Consequently, he decided to utilize the money in
a way as would make the king’s name immortal.
He called the manager and asked him to make the
necessary arrangements for feeding saints, monks,
and poor people. Cartloads of food were brought
from the market. On receiving word from Babaji
the king and the queen came to the ashrama along
with the courtiers. The ashrama was crowded with
sadhus and devotees. The food was ready. When
the guests started eating Babaji told the king: ‘You
see, the stomach of a saint is blessed ground, his
heart is heaven, and the food offered is the mortar
that will strengthen the foundation of the temple
and make it permanent. Such a temple will remain
forever.’ After the feast the king again requested
Babaji with folded hands for the construction of
the temple. But Babaji was not in favour of constructing
a temple with only bricks and mortar.
The king then liked the idea. He requested Babaji
to arrange feasts for the sadhus for seven more
days. With the permission of Babaji all the monks
and saints of Ayodhya stayed there for seven days,
chanting and singing the sacred name of Sri Rama.
The royal couple returned to their palace after receiving
Babaji’s blessings.
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