Come, Let's Talk…

If we collectively consider what Ravishri told people about his सिद्धियाँ (spiritual powers) and his पुनर्जन्म (reincarnation) up to the age of nineteen, it clearly emerges that Ravishri was never a child in his mind. Rather, by taking advantage of being perceived as a child by people, he concealed his own supernatural personality and attributed whatever miracles he performed up to this age to the grace of some other सिद्ध आत्मा (accomplished soul).

Before studying in the 6th grade, i.e., up to the age of thirteen, he told Kadore Kachhi, who was close to him, that he met a horseman near the siddhas' cave who took him to another cave. He told Head Master Mathura Prasad Tripathi and his wife Savitri Devi that an old Mahatma he met on the siddhas' platform had blessed him that from that day onwards, whatever he asked for, he would get.

Once, when Ravishri was severely beaten by his father for playing hide-and-seek with children in a field where the green wheat crop was swaying, causing the entire crop to be flattened, he clung to his mother and cried, saying, "After a few days, I will leave this house, then whom will you beat?" This was completely ignored because children aged twelve or thirteen often start talking about leaving home when scolded or beaten.

Once, when his mother scolded him for constantly asking for salty snacks and biscuits, Ravishri said, "When I go somewhere, you will keep crying, and you are not feeding me biscuits now." Then his mother asked, "Where do you have to go?" He avoided the topic.

Kadore Kachhi says that once, when he was beaten by his father for not going to school, he came to the field and clung to me crying, saying, "I will not stay in this house for long." Then Kadore Kachhi also understood that children often say such things in childhood. Kadore says that we also mentioned this to his family at home, but everyone dismissed his words as childish talk and laughed it off.

When he came to Liddhaura from Chhipri to study from 1981-1987, when his classmate Sudeep Pastore and his school teacher Shri Kamal Ahirwar asked him, he said, "Near the siddhas' cave near Chhipri, I met a siddha Mahatma. It is by his grace that all these miracles happen." At this time, he once told Sudeep Pastore, "I don't have to stay here for long; I will go very far away," but he didn't say where he would go.

In 1982-83, he met 65-year-old Zalim Singh Yadav of Antpura, and whenever he stayed the night here, he would sleep with him. Regarding miracles, he initially kept attributing them to the grace of the siddha of Chhipri. Then, after a few days of getting along well, he started saying, "I am a siddha from a previous birth. I have to go to my place of previous birth. My place is in Bhind district; my belongings are kept there. I will stay there, and I will take you with me too." During this time, Ravishri also used to go to the temple of Siddha Hanumanji in Sunrai. Here too, he told the Avadhutji (ascetic) about the grace of the siddha of Chhipri's cave upon him, but he did not discuss Bhind or his previous birth.

When Ravishri came into contact with 65-year-old Kundan Luhar of Jewra in 1984, Kundan and other villagers say that he used to say, "I have the grace of the siddha saint of Surai." Here, he said that when he used to go to Liddhaura to study in the seventh grade, he once went to Sunrai, where a siddha with a white beard gave him darshan and said that from that day onwards, whatever he asked for, he would get 'that'. Kundan Luhar says that when they became quite close, he would sleep with him at night. While sleeping at night, he would repeatedly stomp his feet, sometimes wave his hands, then sit up and say, "Look, Dada, these people are not letting me sleep; they are troubling me."

Kundan would also sit up, asking, "Who is it? We can't see them!" Then Ravishri would say, "Hey! They are standing right here; these are the people who are not letting me sleep."

Kundan thought, 'Accomplished souls trouble this boy; they are the ones who make him perform all these miracles.' Around this time, when Kundan was seen troubled about getting a well dug in his field, Ravishri said, "Dada, these souls trouble us; let's get the well dug by them." But Kundan himself was a simple and straightforward person; he just wanted these souls not to trouble the poor boy. Kundan said, "We don't need to dig a well, and you also go to the Hanuman temple and offer a coconut so that these souls don't trouble you."

Ravishri also told Kundan many times, "Dada, you scold me today, tomorrow you will yearn to meet me. My siddha place from the previous birth is there, and I will go there, then I will call you there too. Don't tell anyone. I am a siddha saint from a previous birth; my place is in Bhind district." Kundan says that on one hand, he would say these things, and on the other hand, he would again shout at night, "Look, Dada, these people are not letting me sleep." Then he would play and jump around with twelve-thirteen-year-old children. I didn't understand his words as anything but gossip, treating him as a child, sometimes scolding him, sometimes just saying 'yes, hmm'.

Ravishri's childhood friend from village Jitkora, Manohar Singh Yadav, also has an experience similar to Kundan Luhar's. He says, "He often slept with us at night, and I used to be very troubled by his miracles, wondering how he did all this. I would insist on learning, and he would explain with such seriousness as if he was very troubled. He would say, 'Hey! You don't get into all this; I have a lot of problems. These powers that stay with me don't let me sleep.'"

Manohar narrates about sleeping at night, "I would close my eyes and observe his actions. Sometimes he would say, 'Go and count the leaves of the tree,' sometimes he would say, 'Go and count the pebbles of the river.' At that moment, I would get up and ask, 'Who are you saying all this to?' Then he would say, 'I have jinns with me; I have to tell them the work.'" Manohar had heard a lot about jinn lore by this time, so he understood and calmed down, thinking that he definitely got all the miracles done by jinns.

Bhaiyan Yadav from village Yara says that he told me many times, "We have to go to Bhind; that's where our previous birth was, my belongings are kept there. We are siddhas from the previous birth." Bhaiyan also believed that what he was saying could be true. But Ravishri didn't say anything further about where that place was in Bhind, nor did Bhaiyan ask.

From the age of sixteen to nineteen, i.e., from 1984 to 1987, Ravishri went to many villages and met many people. Among these, those who became very close to Ravishri were told by him about being a siddha saint from a previous birth, about having a place in Bhind district, and about his belongings from the previous birth. However, most people did not believe that what he was saying was true.

A saint named Ramsharan Vyas, a reciter of the Ramayana from village Jewra, says, "When I met Ravishri at that time, I understood that he was a reincarnation of an awakened Kundalini saint because, besides asking for prasad, when he told Dada about the younger brother of Kundan Luhar being lost that he would come on such and such day, and he did come, it was such a miracle that it was not within the power of jinns etc., but could only be the feat of a siddha supernatural being."

During this period, 'Ravishri' also met hypocrites in the village who spread their shopkeeping on the strength of small siddhis and claimed to be sadhaks (spiritual aspirants) and tantriks (occult practitioners). It would not be appropriate to name those people, but I saw that all those people initially harbored animosity towards Ravishri after hearing about his miracles. But when Ravishri came into contact with them and calmed their ego by saying that he only knew how to ask for prasad, and he attributed it to the miracles of jinns to some and the grace of a siddha to others, only then could those hypocritical tantriks tolerate him. Ravishri never admitted to them, "I am a Paramhansa saint from a previous birth," otherwise, it was very possible that fearing the closure of their shop, some tantrik might have gone after his life.

When Ravishri went to a person who claimed to be a 'spiritual scholar', that person took him along for seven-eight days. If anyone asked him about Ravishri's powers, that scholar would say, "I am teaching him; he has come to take initiation from me." Even today, when I asked the said scholar, "What do you think Ravishri had? How did he perform all these miracles?" his reply was that he could only get prasad etc. by the power of a jinn, and he could not do anything else. Other people in the village said about the said scholar that he kept Ravishri with him in the चक्कर (pursuit) of "buried treasure" but could not gain any benefit.

From the very beginning, an अद्भुत (amazing) ability to change his style according to the mental makeup of different individuals was seen within Ravishri. The लोक-व्यवहारिक गुण (worldly-wise quality) of presenting himself according to the mentality and perspective of those individuals was included in his personality from childhood itself.

He would show his powers or miracles according to the nature of the person in front of him. Along with this, it is seen in many places that he presented himself as extremely small and दीन-हीन (humble), especially in front of people wearing the मुखौटा (mask) of a 'so-called spiritual scholar' or a 'great tantrik'. When these 'masks' became convinced that there was no danger to them from this child, that he was nowhere in their league, only then did those people stop paying attention to him. Here, I would like to give advice to my friends who want to turn towards the life of a साधु-संत (saint) out of fear of unemployment, considering this life easy. Friends, there is extreme competition here. These great tantrik sadhus and 'so-called spiritual scholars' wearing masks will not let you enter easily because if they see even a slight danger of their shop shutting down or if they feel that this boy is in competition with them, then you can get into trouble.

Ravishri narrowly escaped these masks because he had 'सहज - बुद्धि' (innate intelligence). Meeting these people was part of his objective to assess social situations. It was the wonder of this 'innate intelligence' that Ravishri never allowed inabilities to interfere with abilities. Ravishri's inability was that he could not stoop to the level of those masks who wanted to demean him. Because of this, it was entirely appropriate to leave there as दीन-हीन (humble). These masks keep their appearance so भ्रमक (deceptive) that apart from the innocent villagers, even educated people easily fall into their trap. (What should be done with such people is that they should be legally mandated to be packaged like packets of food items, and it should be written what and in what quantity is inside them.)

Besides wandering in the villages, Ravishri also used to frequently visit Tikamgarh city. His uncle Shri Laxminarayanji, who is posted here, says that from 1984 to 1987, Ravishri came here many times, and during this time, he would insist on seeing the tehsil (administrative office), court, college, park, etc. He would often go alone to many places and sit for hours. Upon asking in the evening, it would be found that he had been sitting in the court all day, watching people come and go. He would keep asking his uncle about lawyers, the working style of officers, and the working style of the police. When his uncle would scold him, "You don't have to study; why are you asking all this?" Ravishri would reply to this, "Uncle, sometimes work comes up, so one should know everything."

His uncle narrates, "He had a special attachment to the Kundeshwar temple. Whenever he came to Tikamgarh, he would insist on going to Kundeshwar. The information about the self-manifestation of the Shivling (phallic symbol of Lord Shiva) in the Kundeshwar temple, which I did not even know despite living there for three years, Ravishri acquired it as soon as he went to Kundeshwar for the first time. Returning from the temple in the evening, he would say that it is difficult to find such a सिद्ध (sacred) temple on earth! Imagine, Shiva himself manifested! When I asked who told him, he would say that the pandits (priests) there were telling him.

Apart from Kundeshwar, he also used to go to the Jain temples of Papauraji and would stay for two or three days before returning. When his uncle asked, he would say, "The people there stopped me; what could I do?" Laxminarayanji says, "Many of his things never made sense to me. How did people stop him as soon as they met him for the first time?" The information that no one ever told me despite visiting Kundeshwar many times, how did he find people who would tell him in the first meeting itself? Even in the tehsil, people would mingle with him in a day or two as if they had known him for years.

This talent was present in Ravishri from the beginning that people would become captivated by him in the very first meeting, whereas he never openly displayed miracles to everyone. Especially in front of his uncle's and father's acquaintances and friends, he always avoided showing miracles and even refused to acknowledge that he knew anything like that. It is said, 'Talent itself is a kind of magic, and the importance of this magic lies in its revelation.' Ravishri has an unprecedented talent for 'presenting acquaintance in a true way', which gives birth to true love, and true love is a universally known वशीकरण मंत्र (spell of attraction).

Recalling an incident from this period, Sobran Singh of Chhipri says that our uncle, who was called 'Thakur Kakka Ju', went to Tikamgarh from Chhipri for some work. While returning, he gave money to Ravishri for the bus ticket. Ravishri bought a ticket up to Digoda, a town twenty kilometers east of Chhipri, whereas the bus passed near Chhipri, so he could have gotten off there as well. Anyway, when Thakur Sahib asked the reason for getting off at Digoda, he said, 'Walk from here; we will buy salt with the five rupees that have been saved.' After walking twenty kilometers, when Thakur Sahib mentioned Ravishri's frugality to his father, the father, laughing, asked Ravishri, 'When you take orange candies instead of your bag and distribute them among the children, doesn't the thought of saving money occur to you then?'

The father was always saddened by Ravishri's miracles. He kept trying till the end that he should stop doing all this. The tension between Ravishri and Kripa Ramji was famous not only at home but also among relatives, in the village, and in the surrounding villages. The seriousness of Kripa Ramji's mental stress can be felt from the fact that he says, "During times of stress, I would even start thinking that either I should commit suicide or kill him."

In addition to this, many people in the village say that Ravishri seemed extremely restless during this period. Not staying in one place for long, being lost in himself, not caring about eating or drinking, not worrying about clothes, tangled hair, no oil, no comb, it was not even necessary for him to have shoes or slippers on his feet. Seeing all this, it seemed that perhaps he was a deranged child, but on the other hand, he was always at the forefront of playing and jumping with children. This mixed nature was incomprehensible to anyone, and most people dismissed him as सिरफिरा (eccentric).

An incident from this period that Ravishri himself narrated among his devotees, one of those devotees says, 'A person came to the Rawatpura temple from Chhipri in April 1998 and during the conversation said, 'Maharaj, everyone used to consider you mad in your childhood.' Then Ravishri said, 'It was the summer time of 1983. I was sitting outside my house at night chanting 'Om' when a gang of about ten-twelve men came to the village with the intention of robbery. As soon as some of them noticed me, they were startled, thinking, 'What is he doing sitting on a stone so late at night?' Those people called me to them with the intention of asking something. As soon as I reached them, looking at me and my condition, some of them started saying that he looks mad and chased me away without asking anything. After that, those robbers left without doing anything for some reason. Ravishri says, 'This madness saved me that day.''

Father Kripa Ramji says, "From 1984 to 1987, he mostly stayed outside Chhipri, but wherever he stayed, someone would give me news that Ravishri was at such and such place. People would say, 'Get Ravi married; maybe he will improve,' but I would think that it shouldn't happen that 'one more girl's life gets ruined.' Seeing Ravishri's simplicity, the father was always worried about how his life would ultimately pass?"

In 1982, Kripa Ramji had resigned from his job due to tension with senior officers. Most of his acquaintances say that this resignation was given due to excessive mental stress behind Ravishri. Whereas Kripa Ramji says, "It is true that at that time I used to be very worried because of him. But it is not true that the only reason for resigning was Ravishri's stress."

Anyway, wherever the discussion of previous birth was made by Ravishri, it was certainly not the result of any accidental event. Very सहज ढंग से (naturally), he only told those people who had come very close to him that he was a saint from a previous birth and that his next stop was towards Bhind district.

Other examples of पूर्वजन्म (previous birth) that we see often involve children who, upon arriving in a new place, are bewildered, wondering where they have come. Their immature minds cannot comprehend that they have been reborn. They do not accept the relationships and place of their new birth, and it is through their immature minds that we come to know about their past relationships, past places, and past deeds, indicating that they have brought memories of their previous birth with them. Ravishri never spoke anything surprising about his previous birth at home. No incident ever occurred with him where he suddenly remembered his past life. The discussion of 'previous birth' by him was done around the age of fourteen or fifteen, and that too never at home. These things clearly show that his mind was fully mature at all times. He realized, "I have taken rebirth, and as long as I am a child in body, none of my words will be accepted." Waiting for his body to mature was his compulsion and perhaps also the pleasant feeling of going through an अद्भुत (amazing) experience.

In the story of Ravishri's past life, you will see that he was very fond of playing with children. He wanted everyone to treat him like a child. People believed him to be a बालरूप के संत (saint in the form of a child) in his previous birth. This also clearly explains why Ravishri did not discuss his previous birth in his childhood. If people had understood that behind the miracles performed by him was not someone else but his own सिद्ध संत (accomplished saint) nature hidden, that he was a child only in form, then as soon as this was revealed, Ravishri would never have gotten the joy of childhood.

The crowd that gathers today at the Rawatpura temple would probably have started gathering in Chhipri from his childhood itself. Then, bound by the rules of the काल-चक्र (cycle of time), we also have to move our steps accordingly.

Ravishri spent his own childhood as a दृष्टा (observer). When people, astonished by the small miracles performed by him, said that 'these are like the miracles performed by a siddha saint,' considering him a child and treating him like one, he felt the need for the name of a siddha Mahatma. Because if he had said that he himself was that siddha, people would have stopped considering him a child, and Ravishri absolutely did not want this. He spent every moment of his childhood in the fear that no one should find out that he was a Paramhansa, otherwise his childhood would be lost. The desire to enjoy the happiness of childhood was perhaps one of the main reasons for his rebirth. Ravishri always attributed his miracles to the grace of some siddha or the feats of jinns. Saying that his miracles were his own सिद्ध (accomplished) nature would have taken him away from childhood on one hand, while on the other hand, it would have become his compulsion to tell the story of his previous birth. If he had told anyone his own story behind these miracles, what would they have understood? All his abilities were related to yoga and spirituality, not to tantric practices. In such a situation, he would give appropriate and accurate answers according to the mentality of the person.

Manohar of Jitkora and Kundan Luhar of Jewra believed in jinns etc. So, as soon as Ravishri pretended in front of them that 'it becomes possible for him to perform these miracles through jinns, and jinns ask for work at night,' they accepted this.

The platform of siddhas is recognized in places like Chhipri and Antpura, so the story related to that was immediately understood by the people there.

Ravishri also wanted people not to dissect the miracles happening through him because then many signs would start pointing towards his own supernatural nature, and Ravishri's troubles would increase.

Now, if the same people are asked whether they still believe that Ravishri only has the grace of a jinn, a Brahmyakshini (a type of female spirit), or some siddha, everyone smiles and says, 'What to do? We used to think the way he made us think.' Ravishri himself, despite showing supernatural events to people, hid himself by acting like a child. In addition to this, a hereditary trait of this family was helping him in this task, and that was 'late growth of beard and mustache'. Due to this trait, Ravishri hid not only his age until 1987, i.e., the age of nineteen, but also until 1990, i.e., reaching Rawatpura. Although even this age was not a mature age from the perspective of people seeing him as a supernatural saint. Yet, wherever Ravishri went, the people there could never accurately guess Ravishri's age. In Yara, where you reached in 1984, your actual age was sixteen, while Bhaiyan Yadav says that at that time he was about twelve or thirteen years old, and when he left here for the last time in 1988, he was about fifteen or sixteen years old.

A person whose departure is not fixed and who keeps meeting like the children of the house, especially in villages, does not attract much attention regarding how old he has become. In the village, people mostly guess from the line of the mustache that the boy has now grown up and is of marriageable age.

Manohar Singh Yadav of Jitkora says that he looked younger than us in age, around fourteen years old, whereas Manohar Singh Yadav's age was the same as Ravishri's. Similarly, wherever Ravishri went, everyone's age estimate was wrong, and this was the very reason why, despite seeing Ravishri's supernatural abilities, people were absolutely unwilling to believe that he himself was the possessor of a capable, supernatural, and extraordinary personality. Ravishri also kept turning this doubt of people into belief by responding according to their mentalities, that we have the grace of some siddha or that we have a jinn like Aladdin.

Looking at his actions, miracles, childishness, etc., and then seeing his restlessness on top of that, people would sometimes call him सिरफिरा (eccentric) and sometimes पागल (mad), and he would smile inwardly at this childishness of people, thinking... these children... they consider me a child, they consider me mad...

As the poet says:

इन्हीं पागल दिमागों में, घनी खुशियों के लच्छे हैं

हमें पागल ही रहने दो कि हम पागल ही अच्छे हैं..

(In these mad minds lie thick strands of happiness,

Let us remain mad, for we are good only as mad...)