The Young Saint Meets Devraha Baba

Acharya Gangaramji Shastri, approximately eighty-five years old, is considered a profound scholar of astrology and spirituality. He used to reside in Senvdha, district Datia, but nowadays lives permanently in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh.

He narrates, "In January 1987, I went to Allahabad to bathe on the occasion of the Ardh Kumbh (half Kumbh Mela). There, after bathing at the Sangam (confluence of rivers), I learned that Deorahwa Baba was also there at that time, and his machan (elevated platform) was nearby. My heart yearned to have darshan (holy sight) of the great divine being, and my steps moved towards his machan. Upon reaching the machan, I found out that Deorahwa Baba himself had gone to the Sangam to bathe, and people also said that 'Deorahwa Baba goes to the Sangam and remains समाधिस्थ (in a meditative trance) inside the water for about three and a half hours.' Hearing this, I was curious as to how this was possible? The thought of staying inside the water for three and a half hours seemed unbelievable, so I thought I should go and see for myself. Upon reaching the Sangam, I inquired and found a place where there was tight police security. I learned that Deorahwa Baba was absorbed in समाधि (meditation) inside the water at that very place and would come out after about three hours. It was around nine-thirty in the morning, and as I watched, it became twelve o'clock. I told a constable, who was part of the tight security around him, that I wanted to see Deorahwa Baba when he came out of the water. The constable pointed with his finger to a spot in the river and said, 'Keep your eyes fixed on that spot, and as soon as you see continuous bubbles rising from the water there, immediately come to me and have a close darshan.'"

By this time, thousands of people had gathered there with the aim of directly witnessing this ability of the great yogi, many of whom were seeing this miracle for the second or third time. Finally, around one o'clock, bubbles of air started appearing in the water at the spot where the constable had pointed. The entire crowd and I were staring intently at that spot. The bubbles stopped rising, and after about ten to fifteen seconds, the great divine being emerged from the water!! Everyone was astonished and was staring intently at him. He slowly walked towards the machan, wearing only a white cloth which he had wrapped around his body in front for modesty.

A control line was created around the machan at a distance of about a hundred feet with ropes. Devotees would stand near these ropes and have darshan of Deorahwa Baba, and he would bless everyone from a distance by raising his hand. Being part of the crowd, I too was staring intently at him from a distance.

At this time, 'a boy' who was only sixteen or seventeen years old somehow reached near the machan and started talking to him. 'The boy's body had a dirty kurta and pajamas, dusty and scattered hair, no shoes - no slippers.' 'That boy' stood below and remained busy continuously conversing with Deorahwa Baba, and Deorahwa Baba, standing on the machan and leaning down, kept giving him instructions, which 'that boy' was trying to understand by nodding his head. It was an unusual thing that the divine being with whom prime ministers and presidents yearned to speak was talking to 'an ordinary boy' with such intimacy and absorption. Discussions about that boy had also started in the surrounding crowd, due to which the image of that boy got imprinted in my mind. After about half an hour, I left from there. By this time, the conversation between the ordinary boy and the divine being was still going on."

Shastriji further narrates, "In 1993-94, when I learned that there was a saint in Rawatpura who called himself the incarnation of Guhiyan Baba and was young in age and extremely miraculous, I came to Rawatpura to meet him. I was acquainted with Guhiyan Baba because 'during his time' my residence was in Senvdha, which used to be Guhiyan Baba's area. I had a good intimate relationship with Guhiyan Baba. Remembering Guhiyan Baba's image again in my mind, as soon as I reached Rawatpura, I found out that Ravishri was about to go somewhere but stopped saying that an old devotee of his was about to come. As soon as I arrived, a person loudly asked, 'Who is Gangaram Shastri from Senvdha?' Astonished and with the expectation of seeing a face resembling Guhiyan Baba, as soon as I reached in front of Ravishri, I was stunned despite hearing about his young age because in the very next moment, I remembered the face of 'that ordinary boy' from Allahabad, who was none other than Ravishri himself, hundred percent. Going through these divine experiences one after the other, I felt extremely thrilled. Finally, I also confirmed this with Ravishri, 'I had seen a boy near Deorahwa Baba in Allahabad on the occasion of Ardh Kumbh, perhaps it was you.' Ravishri smiled and nodded his head in agreement."

According to Acharya Gangaram Shastriji, Ravishri's said meeting with Deorahwa Baba took place in January 1987. At this time, Ravishri was wandering in villages like Chhipri, Yara, Antpura, Jitkora, Jewra, etc., in Tikamgarh. Besides this, he used to frequently visit Simthari and Chirgaon, his sister's in-laws' places. He finally left his home district Tikamgarh in February 1988, but during this one year and even afterwards until reaching Rawatpura, he did not tell anyone that Deorahwa Baba was his guru.

Everyone who met Ravishri had the same answer to the question of whether they ever asked him about his guru: "He used to say, 'There is a cave near Chhipri; it is by the grace of the सिद्ध आत्मा (accomplished soul) there that I have these powers.'" Ravishri did not utter Deorahwa Baba's name 'as a guru' until he reached Rawatpura. That is, for four years, he did not even discuss this with anyone. This is Ravishri's endless seriousness, which he concealed with ordinary intelligence. And this unique confluence of his सहज बुद्धि (innate intelligence) with a रहस्य वादी गम्भीर प्रकृति (mystical serious nature) is extremely unique and astonishing from a psychological perspective.

As Josh Malihabadi says:

कहता है जोशे दरिया से .... ये समंदर का सुकून ।

जिसमें जितना जर्फ है...... वो उतना ही खामोश है" ।।

(The calmness of this ocean speaks of the passion of the river.

The deeper the vessel, the quieter it is.)