Sri Sadguru Mahime

Author: Charana Dasa

Translator: Shri.Ganesh Prasad

Chapter 113 :  Last days

About two months prior to leaving his body, Gurunatha used to tell “Another month or so I will not be here, it is becoming difficult to work keeping this body”. He used to cryptically ask how many more day lights he may see. He was not traveling far from house. Wherever he went he was returning before 10.30pm.

About a week earlier, he called all women who were part of Soundarya Lahari reciting team. He got them to recite Soundarya Lahari at his home, offered his respects to them through flowers, fruits and clothes. Later he called one of the members and told her..”See one week from now, I will not be here. At 2 am a person will ask Charanadasa who can console Amma and be with her, he will take your name and he himself will come to your house. Please be ready”.

In between this, Gurunatha had performed Paduka puja at a devotee’s house in Chickmagalur. Though Gurunatha had asked her to get him the ‘Prasada’, she had not turned up.

About 48 hours prior to leaving his body he made me call her and tell her “ I will send the car, please come, it will extend my life by one year, I still have a lot of work to do, I need to get eight marriages arranged for my devotees. Please come”.

She did not respond properly, later Gurunatha said “See if you do not come now, you will not see me alive 48 hours from now with these words he hung up”. I looked at Gurunatha as if to ask what he meant by that. He said, “Sometimes we have to frighten people”. But, his face was devoid of emotions quite unlike when used to joke.

As a part of my job at his house, I was arranging the coconut leaf base which I had gathered from his farms. This year I had gathered an unusually high number of them. Looking at me Gurunatha cryptically said “Arrange them well, will be useful”. I did not read much into what he had said at that point. Later they were used to burn his body. Then it descended on me as to what he was hinting at, months before.

During this time once Gurunatha asked me to visit an advaitha peetha at about 80-100 kms distance from Sakharaya Patna.

I lost my temper and told him. “I have so much work here and you are asking me to visit the math. Instead of making me roam around like this, just get my job done and send me from here once and for all”.

Then Gurunatha in his usual calm disposition replied “Nobody can be with the other forever, then how come you shall be with me?”

Tears rolled down my eyes when I realized my mistake and I told Gurunatha, ”No not like that, I only meant.. How can I leave when l have so much work here?”

He only said “It’s fine”. All these events in hindsight indicate that he had made up his mind about leaving his body.

A few years before itself, he had called a few of his devotees and said “I am an ‘ichha marani’ (one who can decide when he wants to die). Whenever someone writes about me in newspapers, eight days from that day I will be no more”.

One Sunday an editorial appeared in a newspaper with Gurunatha’s photo under the title “How a Guru should be” which described his life. Eight days after that he left his body.

About a week earlier, a couple who happened to be upasakas of lord Ganapathi came to Gurunatha’s residence, he welcomed and offered the couple his respects and told... “I know it is lord Ganapathi who has come, tell something about me”

They replied, “You shall live only for about a week from now”, and so it happened.

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