'Yugpravartak'

The Aniruddha Pournima (Tripurari Pournima) this year (2008) witnessed about.... shraddhaavaan be blessed with the darshan of Sadguru Shree Aniruddha (Bapu).Doctors, engineers, lawyers, professors, professionals and other shraddhaavaan fromseveral walks of life came not only from distant suburbs of the city of Mumbai but remote towns of the state of Maharashtra, from the nooks of India and in fact fromthe world over and could, saying ‘Hari om’, offer their reverence before SadguruBapu. Their heart full of love, they came all the way for the one blessed moment, thedarshan of the Sadguru.No saffron clothing, no kamandalu, no mala round the neck, no rosary in thehand, not even a tilak on the forehead and in fact with a clear and explicit view that‘miracles are jugglery, the tricks of magicians’, how then, is Aniruddhabapu the Sadguruof millions of highly educated and thinking bhaktas? How come? All the specialmoments of grace that these bhaktas have experienced have led them to believe thatBapu is indeed the Paramatma. Just like every other function in the year, the Aniruddha Pournima was a day that millions spent in an ambience of bhakti. The sight ofmillions queuing up for seven or even eight hours, calm but disciplined, writing theRamnaam book of ‘The Aniruddha’s Universal bank of Ramnaam’ through theirwait, reciting a mantra or a stotra is bound to arouse curiosity, interest about Bapu inthe mind of any person stepping in here for the first time.Who indeed in Sadguru Aniruddha (Bapu)? Despite the fact that there isnothing conventionally spiritual about Him, how come the bhaktas belive that He isthe Sadguru? The volunteers of the organisation participate in the seva-activitiesunder the guidance of Sadguru Bapu; the zeal with which they do so and in no waycompromisng on their family responsibilities, on their occupation is truly astonishing.How come this huge following and that too without any deliberate effort atpropagation? What does Bapu say? What exactly does He want to do? Why does Hewant to do all these seva activities? These are some of the questions that crop up inthe mind of the new-comer here.Dr. Aniruddha Dhairyadhar Joshi i.e. Shreeaniruddha (Bapu) is an M.D., aprofessional medical consultant. A perfect family person, through His own conduct,Bapu communicates that it is very much possible to achieve the highest purpose inlife without turning away from worldly life. Spirituality is not escapism. And shruggingoff responsibilities, giving up home, walking away from the family and smearing thebody with ash just cannot be the means to achieving the highest goal in life. ‘Misplacednotions of worldly life indicate equally misplaced notions concerning the Higherpurpose’; and leading man on the path of the purushartha, this is what Bapu sayspointing to the following verse in the Shreesaisachcharit:Yugapravartak (English)

(Explanation: Alertness in worldly affairs facilitates the achievement of the Highest purpose in life. Do not therefore have apathy for your worldly duties, keep striving for the purushartha) (Shreesaisachcharit, chapter 14/27)It is this verse that contains the answers to questions like what does Bapuintend to do? and what does Bapu really wish? That every human being,walking onthe path of the purushartha, attain the ‘oj’, is what Bapu wants. The attainment ofthe six purushartha of dharma, artha, kama, moksha, bhakti and maryada, is indeedthe highest fulfilment of the human birth. It is in order that both the worldly life andthe achievement of the Highest Principle become sources of true joy and at one andthe same time, in other words so that every human being walks firm and consistenton the path of the purushartha, that Bapu through His own Word, caused the Work,‘Shreemadpurushartha Grantharaaj’ to come into being.Spelling out the purpose of His work, Shreeaniruddha states in clear terms inthe Shreemadpurushartha Grantharaaj,
“My dear friends, I, Aniruddha, your Friend, your Mate, have just the onemission in life - to get the entire universe to fulfill this purushartha of maryada, toteach and establish this purushartha - that is My aim and without the fulfilment andthe establishment of the purushartha of maryada, the Ramrajya, the reign of Shreeram,the reign of the maryadapurushottam (the ideal, the only complete and perfect beingwho was the epitome of maryada) can never be ushered in.....and that is precisely why, ‘to imbibe and cultivate the purushartha of maryada,to nurture it and while doing so, to allow it to develop unrestrained’, is My resolve.”Bapu connects with every shraddhavan in the role of a friend. He never callsHimself an avataar. In the Shreemadpurushartha Grantharaaj, He states with Hissignature and very clearly -
‘I am your Friend.’‘I am not an avataar, not of anybody. I was always Aniruddha, I am Aniruddhaand Aniruddha I will always be.’‘I am a warrior and I enjoy teaching the art of warfare to all those, who wishto fight their destiny.’The three volumes of the Shreemadpurushartha Grantharaaj, the‘Satyapravesh’, the ‘Prempravaas’ and the ‘Anandasadhana’ were released and in simplewords Bapu opened for us, a means of realizing progress in its entirety, walking allalong, the path of the parameshvar. ‘Call Me what you like but it is this one role thatI wish to live. I am your Friend, a Friend who never betrays, a Friend who wants tosee you happy.’ That indeed is Bapu, that is Bapu’s stand.In explanation to the purushartha of ‘dharma’ Bapu says, the supreme divineprinciples of Truth, Love and Joy that stem from purity - their base; and whose oneand only decisive norm is purity, are the true dharma. ‘It is the path of maryada thatgrants the aishvarye of the parameshvar to the human dharma’ adds ShreeaniruddhaBapu in the Shreemadpurushartha.All the saints of India have upheld the path of bhakti that was always a part ofthe ancient Indian values. An excessive and unreasonable inclination towards cessationof worldly engagement as also a way of life essentially motivated by material, selfseekingactivity, both classify as extremist thought and are largely responsible for theimbalance in individual human life as well as that in society. Science and spirituality areby no means contrary or conflicting, they are complementary. It is by striking anaccord of the two, that human civilization can make progress, emphasises Bapu.Bapu instituted the ‘Panchasheel examinations’ based on the great work‘Shreesaisachcharit’ and in order to shed light on various aspects of bhakti, He includedin them, practicals relating to scientific principles indicating thereby, the path of theaccord between the two.In the Shreemadpurushartha Grantharaaj, Shreeaniruddha talks cearly aboutHis five Gurus. ‘Dattaguru is My Lord and Master, Gayatrimata - My vaatsalyaguru,Shreeram is the Doer, Shreehanumanta - My Protector and Shreesainath - the Director.’Time and again Shreeaniruddha refers to works like the Manache shlok, theBheemaroopi Maharudra Stotra, the Daasabodh all by Samartha Ramdas Swami asalso the following by the great saint Shreetulsidasji viz. the Sunderkand from theShreeramacharitamanas, the Hanumanchalisa, the Sankatamochan Hanumaanaashtak,indicating to us the path of bhakti of Shreehanumanta, the ideal of those on thepath of maryada. All those who were with Bapu as part of the ‘rasayatras’ to Shirdi,Akkalkot, Dehu-Alandi, Goa (Mangesh-Shantadurga) as also of the bhaavayatra toPandharpur have experienced ever so many blessed moments to cherish in theirhearts for ever. The Ganesh festival is celebrated in Bapu’s own home, which thenhundreds of thousands of people visit. The procession for the immersion of theGanesh idol is a huge sea, a sea brimming over with bhakti.Visiting sacred places of worship, doing different upasanas in these places hasdrawn the Indian psyche since ancient times. The Gurukul at Juinagar, theGovidyapeetham at Kothimbe near Karjat, the Atulitabaladham and theSadgurupunyakshetram at Nimbagaon near Dhule are all realizations of ideal sacredplaces of worship that happened under Bapu’s guidance. Also under His graciousguidance and blessings happened the installation of the dhyaanamoorti of Shreesainathat ‘Sai Nivas’, Bandra, the home of Hemadpant, who penned the Shreesaisachcharit.Hemadpant’s grandson and the present Pipa Appasaheb Dabholkar along with hiswife Meenavainee were the ones through whom Bapu got this beautiful deed done.As for the Shreeaniruddhagurukshetram at Khar, Mumbai, all one can say is that it isa sacred place of Supreme eminence, the zenith, the tiara of all sacred places that be.What every single person coming to Bapu invariably feels, isShreeaniruddhabapu’s ‘pure, sheer love’, love not loaded with any motive whatsoever-His very essential aspect. Neither does He expect nor does He accept anything fromanybody, never - leave alone the day of Gurupournima, just never. It is not evenmandatory for those attending His pravachan (discourse) to offer the namaskar toBapu. The discourse too is a guidance in simple words as to the attainment ofprogress on the path of bhakti without turning away from worldly life.Every Thursday Bapu, while doing the pooja of Shreedattatreya, recites alongwith all present, the fourteenth chapter of the Gurucharitra. He then does the‘Aradhanajyoti’ upasana with the bhaktas present and even participates in the gajarssung at the time. Bapu says that bhakti is the supreme strength and so He initiatedthe ‘Aradhanajyoti’ upasana that will equip the shraddhaavaan to face and successfullytide over the difficult times lying ahead and help achieve development and progressin his life. In order that His friends become aware, alert and prepare well in time forthe horrific era awaiting the world, Bapu penned the work ‘The Third World War’ forthem. This work does not tell the future, it is a visionary’s study of the past and ofthe present that led to an assessment of the future.This work contains multiple aspects: an evaluation of the two world wars thatoccurred, a explanation to the phenomenon of war, the event of the third world warin the context of the current international scenario, biological and chemical weaponry,several means of warfare and many more. The Dattajayanti of 2006 saw the releaseof this work in Marathi and English and now the Hindi version too is out on thestands. Be it the scheming strategy of China or incidents in the middle-east or anyother events for that matter; reading this work through, will confirm all of these aswe have indeed experienced many of them in the recent past.Facing the horrifying era of the third world war, calls for equipping andstrengthening the shraddhaavaan at all levels. ‘Defence is defeat. Attack is the bestform of defence’ was the core directive of the ancient Indian Balavidya and focussingon this very principle, Shreeaniruddha revived the ancient Indian martial arts, theMudgalvidya and the Sooryabhedanvidya. He also established the ‘Aniruddha’sAcademy of Disaster Management’ (A.A.D.M.) that would train and prepare Hisfriends to face all kinds of natural and man-made disasters, save their own lives andeven that of others; in sum train in disaster management.The above project also happens to be part of the 13-point programme thatBapu gave to us on 3rd October 2002. These training courses that include variousrescue methods and CPCR techniques etc. are offered free of cost. To date, theDMVs (disaster management volunteers) have made a valuable contribution towardsmanaging disasters. The unusual downpours of 26th July 2005, the landslide at Sakinaka,the serial blasts in Mumbai’s local trains on 11th July 2006, the bomb blast at Ghatkoparon 2nd December 2002 - DMVs had rushed to offer help at the site of all of thesedisasters and were part of the rescue operations. They even manage crowds everyyear at the time of the Ganesh festival. Similarly the DMVs manage and controlcrowds at annual fairs at Mandhradevi, Jyotiba and even at Nasik at the time of theKumbha mela.Under the guidance of Shreeaniruddha Bapu, several seva projects areimplemented as part of the 13 point programme. A health and hygiene campaignhas been implemented for the last five years at Kolhapur-Karanjphen. This year(2008) about 16,300 students and villagers availed of medical examinations. Accordinglymedecines were distributed and treatment advised. Many were given spectacles. Testslike the ECG, the sonography, X-ray, etc. and even dental check-ups and treatmentare conducted free of cost. Besides, 7634 students were examined medically andwere then given uniforms (2 sets each and so 15,268 sets), sports material, caps,slippers, etc. all free ofcost and so that they attend school regularly. The uniformsthus distributed are made from the fabric woven from the yarn that results from the‘vastra project’ (charkha project) under the 13 point programme. The volunteersthemselves spin the charkha and the yarn produced is used to make uniforms for theneedy students. Till date, 4000 charkhas have yielded 1,58,700 metres of fabricresulting in 71,376 uniform sets that were received by 35,683 needy students.The ‘Annapoornaprasadam’ project offers to students of the rural and tribalareas a mid-day meal. The volunteers themselves cook the food and serve it to thechildren. As of today 3100 students belonging to 32 different schools avail of thisseva. The Kolhapur-Karanjphen project could offer mahaprasad (food) to 40,000adults and children in the region. here again it was the volunteers who cooked andserved the food with love to them.The eco-friendly Ganesh idols, another innovative project is a significant measuretowards protecting the environment. Ganesh idols are made by volunteers from thepulp of the paper of the Ramnaam book that the shraddhaavaan bhaktas write. Thisyear (2008) about 3200 Ganesh idols were taken home and worshipped.Moreover, other projects include provision of foodgrains, medicines, clothes,material required in school, etc. to persons suffering from leprosy. These persons alsoreceive guidance as to possibilities of earning their livelihood. Seva is als offered ininstitutions for the mentally challenged, the mental hospitals. Students residing inremote places difficult to access are also provided with articles of everyday use, schooltext books, etc.In the year 2005-2006 the cattle numbering 400 - 500 of the famine-struckregions in Purandar taluka of Pune district received a regular provision of a truckloadof fodder for one whole month. This seva on the part of the organization reachedthe cattle at the right time averting the possibility of starvation. The volunteers thenput in their time and physical energy to help the residents of this region to successfullyface the paucity of water. Also, under the ‘Old is gold’ project of the 13 pointprogramme, a survey was conducted in the taluka of Purandar and essentials weredistributed free of cost among the people.As the volunteers participate in the various seva projects, they never lose sightof the fact that Bapu always emphasises: He says, bhakti is the essence, the core ofseva. It is devotional services that we offer. The term ‘bhakti’ stems from the rootverb ‘bhaj sevaayaam’. Thus ‘bhakti’ implies seva offered with love and affection.Neither can bhakti be complete without seva nor can true, heartfelt seva happenwithout the foundation of bhakti. Bhakti keeps us firmly grounded, it does not allowthe ego to take root, says ShreeaniruddhaBapu.‘Preach only what you practise’ or rather ‘Practise first and only then preach it’is what Bapu actually follows. Every single day Bapu spins the charkha, He writes theRamnaam book, walks for an hour as part of the exercise regime, takes up Hischildren’s studies, reads a chapter of the Shreesaisachcharit, two from the Gurucharitra,he reads the Vishnusahasranaam, the entire Sunderkand of the Shreeramacharitamanas,the ‘Ramrasayan’, recites the Dattabavani, reads a chapter from the work ‘Dattamahaatmya’ by Vasudevanandasaraswati and also the Ramaraksha.He keeps saying, ‘If at all you wish to give me something, give Me the Ramnaamjap, the Ramaraksha stotra jap. I will deposit it in My Dattaguru’s bank but for yoursake, not mine and put it to use when you are in real need. Give your time, give yourefforts for the seva of your needy brethern, for the upasana of the bhagavant. Youneed to offer at least twenty-four minutes out of twenty-four hours in bhakti of thebhagavanta. It is this that is ultimately going to be useful. In the horrific times of thethird world war, it is this reserve of bhakti and seva that is going to salvage you.Bhakti is the path of the valiant not of the coward. It is a totally misplaced andwrong notion to define for oneself ridiculous associations with bhakti like beingshabbily dressed or being foolish or uncaring about worldly affairs. Modern technology,science, an alert yet ethical worldly and material life, being tidily and neatly dressed areall needs of the hour and one just has to move on with time.’In the preface to the work ‘The Third WorldWar’ Sheereaniruddha Bapu says,‘There is no doubt that over the next twenty to twenty-five years, conflict will becomean aspect of everyday doings and in every region on earth. In the coming times, theequation of today might not be valid tomorrow and what was valid at seven in themorning might be flung right out of the window after its purpose is served and atfive minutes past seven. The calendar is released every once in a year because there isa definite kind of mathematical formula and construction involved. The calendar ofthe coming ‘third world war’ is however, going to be a new one everyday.’Dwelling on India’s role in the work ‘The Third World War, Shreeaniruddhabapustates in detail that it is indeed going to be a significant one. In explanation He says,‘What is most important is that the task of salvaging the world on all fronts as alsothat of its post-war rehabilitation will, in all probability fall to India’s lot.’Shreeaniruddha strongly believes that no matter how big the destructive power,it is as slight as a blade of grass, just no match for a pure, positive and constructivepower. Besides, for the purpose, He is ever willing and committed to undertake amorally worthy and constructive task complying with the norms of the parameshvar.In His role of a Friend, Shreeaniruddha is ever at work, ever willing to take alongwith Him all the shraddhaavaan on the path of accord mentionned earlier, the paththat leads beyond any conflict whatsoever.... to usher in the new era, an era of love!An era of the human, the humane dharma! An era of pure friendship!He cherishes in His open eyes, the beautiful dream of the dawn, the dawn ofthe new era. His relentless and infinite effort will mark the break of dawn.The one singular focus and aim, the one life mission of the One, who willcause the break of dawn, the sunrise and light the way is,I shall fill this world with happiness andabound with joy, all that be.
- Dr. Yogindrasinh Joshi

HARI OM