Salutations to Ganesh !
Oh you Waman, the son of Kashyap,
Oh Narayana, in the form of the dwarf,
You accepted the gift of Bali
And fulfilled his life.
You accepted from him
The kingdom on the earth.
But you gave him
The kingdom of the nether world
You gave him a coconut
And accepted a small amalaki,
You were pleased with his devotion,
And you became a sentinel
At his gate.
Bali will be the ruler supreme
Of all the gods after this manvantara.
That will be so, as you gave him the boon.
How great is your glory!
You recited the four Vedas
In a couple and a half hours.
You incarnated yourself as Shrihari
On this earth and you did
Not kill any one.
You were honoured
In this incarnation
By both, the danavas and devas.
You made both happy.
You maintained your divinity
In this incarnation as Waman.
My salutations to you!
Place your benedictory hand
On my head and bless
This humble Dasaganu.
Balgangadhar Tilak,
A Kohinoor of Maharashtra,
An expert in politics,
And a man of vision.
How is it possible
For me to describe his greatness?
He fought for the freedom,
He struggled to the last,
Like Bheeshma, for the
Upliftment of our nation.
He had unparalled penmanship,
And he was a born orator.
He spoke like Brihaspati.
He shook the British emprire
By his strong leadership.
He earned the beloved titleLokmanya.
People revered him as a great leader.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Was invited to preside over a meeting in Akola
On the occasion of Shivaji Jayanti.
All the people of Vidarbha
Were happy to know this.
Shivaji had close ties with Vidarbha
His mother hailed from Sindkhed
In Shivaji, Vidarbha and
Maharashtra were one.
People were, therefore, happy
Over the ensuing celebrations.
Some said, "It shall be fine
If Maharaj would come over there
And would bless Tilak
Even as Samarath did bless Shivaji."
Other did not like this suggestion.
They said, "Maharaj’s presence
Will spoil the serenity of the occasion.
Maharaj will move among people
And may even strike Tilak."
At last the residents of Akola
Came to Shegaon to extend
An invitation to Maharaj.
Maharaj saw Khaparde as he came,
And told him that he would
Come to the public meeting
In the honour of Shivaji,
That he would behave there
Like a sane person,
And he would not do anything
That would dishonour
The great leader.
Maharaj said that Tilak
Was a leader supreme,
That he was anxious
To see Tilak and his friend
Anna Patwardhana disciple
Of Nrisinha Saraswati of Alandi.
Khaparde was overjoyed
To hear this. Kharparde said
To Kolhatkar, "Look, what
The crest-jewel of all the sages says!
He has known what we talked.
He has a deep regard for the national leader.
We were not required to request him
To come and bless the gathering there.
Let us now bow before him
And proceed to Akola."
People were anxious to have
Tilak come to Akola.
It was an Akshaya Tritiya day.
It is a day when
Food is offered to the manes.
Even when people were thus preoccupied,
They assembled for the national celebration
In large numbers.
People had come
From far and near to see Lokmanya.
The pandal was filled to its capacity.
Everyone was anxiously equiring about Maharaj,
But Maharaj had already come
And occupied his seat in the pandal.
A sadhu never lets his word down.
Maharaj had been given the highest place on the dais.
Tilak was seated at the forefront,
Annasaheb Patwardhan sat beside him,
Khaparde sat on the right hand side.
Damle, Kolhatkar, Bhave and
Vyankatrao Desai all were
The organizers of the meeting.
The meeting commenced.
After the preliminary speeches,
Lokmanya rose to speak.
Said he"Blessed is this day!
We are observing a day of remembrance
For Shivaji who led
A war of independence
Against the tyrant rulers of Delhi and Vijapur
He was blessed in his efforts
By Ramadasthe dynamic saint of Maharashtra
It was a powerful combination
Of valour and wisdom.
The nation needs today
The same combination of forces.
The saint supreme of Shegaon
Has arrived here
To bless us all
In this war of independence.
Ever since we lost independence,
The clouds of slavery
Are enveloping us.
To arouse the people
From the deep slumber of ignorance
What is necessary
is the right education.
The British will not give us
The man-making education."
In his speech
Tilak criticized the British Government.
Maharaj knew that the Government
Would not spare Tilak,
Maharaj said, "Such a speech
Would ensnare the speaker."
Maharaj sang his usual song
"Gana Gana Ganat Botey"
The public meeting proceeded peacefully.
Tilak was lauded,
But during the same year
Tilak was charged for sedition,
He was arrested and was tried.
Dadasaheb Khaparde was
On his way to Bombay
To defend Tilak.
At Akola, Kolhatkar met him
On the railway station.
Khaparde asked Kolhatkar
To go to Maharaj and pray to him
For Tilak, so that the latter
Would be released.
Kolhatkar left for Shegaon
and came to the math.
Maharaj was asleep
For full three days.
Kolhatkar waited till Maharaj awoke.
Would anyone show such a perseverance?
Kolhatkar wanted Tilak to be saved,
So he sat there continuously for three days.
How deeply did he love Tilak!
On the fourth day
Maharaj got up
And told Kolhatkar
That all efforts would be in vain.
"Ramadas backed Shivaji", said he,
"And yet the latter was
Imprisoned by the Mogul Emperor.
Unless the virtuous
Are tortured long
By the tyrants,
No power is generated
To topple the tyrants.
Look back at history
Right from the days of Kansa.
Even then take this bhakar
And let Tilak eat it.
He will achieve a great deed
With the strength derived from this bhakar.
He will go far away;
But that cannot be helped."
What Maharaj said
Caused anxiety to Kolhatkar
He, however, bowed down before Maharaj
And took the bhakar given by him
Most reverentially and hastened to Bombay
There, he told Tilak what Maharaj said.
Tilak smiled and said,
"What Maharaj has said is true indeed!
The government would insist on its own way
And would not act in accordance with justice.
Maharaj has said that I shall achieve
A great deed. Let us see what it is.
The sage can know beforehand
The events which take place later.
We ordinary men
Cannot know the intricate ways of Fate."
Tilak ate the bhakar
After breaking it soft,
His mouth was toothless,
And he had no mind
To abandon the Prasad.
Tilak was sentenced
And was transported to Mandale.
He worte the Gita Rahasya,
While in jail far away in Mandale.
This was a great achievement,
So well-predicted by Maharaj.
The prediction of Maharaj came true.
There had been
A number of commentaries on the Gita.
All the acharyas interpreted the Gita
In accordance with the period and the place.
Some interpreted it on the lines of duality,
Some emphasized the Karma aspect,
Some emphasized the knowledge aspect
Tilak’s interpretation was unique.
That is why Maharaj regarded it
As a great achievement.
The Gita Rahasya madeTilak immortal
And made him known all over the world.
Had he succeeded in achiving independence,
He would not have been remembered
All the time and all the places.
Freedom is not eternal
It can be gained and it can be lost.
The Gita, however, is an everlasting wisdom.
It leads one to liberation,
It integrates the social life of a nation.
Bal Gangadhar Tilak
Will be remembered
Everafter on account of the Gita Rahasya.
One Shridhar Govind Kale
Hailed from Kolhapur.
He came from a poor family.
He studied in an English school
Passed his matriculation examination,
But failed at intermediate examination.
He, thereafter, moved from place to place.
Once he read in Kesarithe life of Oyama and Togo.
Oyama and Togo were two Japanese men.
They went to England
To learn mechanical engineering.
They returned to Japan
With the new knowledge
And served their motherland.
Shridhar Govind Kale
Went to Bhandara to see his friend
Who was a teacher in Munroe High School.
The friend agreed with him to go to a foreign country,
But he was also penniless.
Wherefrom would they bring money
To proceed to a foreign country?
Both decided to return to Kolhapur.
On the way, they got down at Shegaon.
They wanted to see Maharaj.
They kept their baggage
At postmaster’s and went to the math.
They fell prostrate before Maharaj,
Maharaj read their minds and said,
"Oh fools, why do you
Think of going to a foreigh country?
Everything is here,
Do not go after material prosperity,
Dive deep into the life spiritual."
Shridhar remembered one Swami
From Kolhapur, who had similar views.
He could not know how Maharaj
Was thinking on the same lines.
He got a bit confused.
"Don’t go away from Bharat,"
Said Maharaj. "It takes long
To be born in Bharat.
Love this land,"
This was an eye opener to Shridhar,
His mind changed.
Sages are great,
They can reverse the current of thought,
They know the truth.
Maharaj advised Shridhar
To return home as his wife was anxious.
Shridhar returned and studied further,
Later he was appointed
As the principal of a college in Shivpuri
In Gwalior State.
Saints are the living Gods on the earth.
Their blessing can work out miracles.
Shridhar Kale rose to a high position
By the blessings of Maharaj.
India is great,
Sages abide in this land.
The trees of a celestial land
Won’t grow elsewhere.
May the Gajanan Vijay of Dasaganu
Show the right path to the devotees
END OF CHAPTER FIFTEEN