Why Rebirth in Chhipri?

Before Birth 1950-1960

The village of Chhipri fell under the estate of Raja Veer Singh Judeo, the grandson of Maharaja Pratap Singh Judeo of Tikamgarh, which was part of his रियासत (principality). Thakur Mardan Singh Parmar, known as the 'Bade Kiledar' (senior fort commander) of the village, was stationed at Pacher fort. The land ownership of the village was in his hands, and his younger brother, known as the 'Nanhe Kiledar' (junior fort commander), was stationed at Mohangarh fort. At this time, the conditions of Chhipri village under the monarchy depended on the whims of the landlords. There was an atmosphere of forced labor (begari) and helplessness. Anyone who raised their head ultimately had to leave the village, and if they didn't maintain etiquette while raising their head, then farewell.

The tales of the Nanhe Kiledar's bravery were widespread. Once, he encountered a leopard unarmed, and at that time, the leopard had to lose its life, but after leaving the Nanhe Kiledar in a wounded state, he too passed away a few days later. Thakur Mardan Singh, the Bade Kiledar of the village, and after him, his son Shri Ganesh Singh, were the landlords of the village and were highly respected in the surrounding villages. Separate weekly panchayats (councils) of every caste used to convene in the village. In that separate panchayat of each caste, it was decided who would go to work for the landlords that week.

If they needed four people of the Dhimar caste to fetch water, then the names of these four would be decided in that meeting. This was the situation not only in Chhipri but in almost every village under the monarchy. No one considered it wrong; this forced labor was a custom. Even the shadow of democracy did not fall upon this village in this decade.

Up to this decade, this village, plagued by electricity and water problems, also considered looting, dacoity, and highway robbery as a means of earning a livelihood. Shri Swami Prasad Pastore, a former MLA from here, states that by the time 1970 arrived, there were only a handful of families in Chhipri who did not have any police cases against them. And amidst these circumstances, the family of a poor Brahmin named Thakur Das Mishra was growing up. Thakurdasji's actual name was Jagannath, but since another elder in his own family had the same name, people started calling him Thakur Das. Thakur Dasji was the priest of the village's landlord family, and all the rituals from marriages to funerals of their family were performed by him. Thakur Das was a simple, innocent-natured person and was counted among the gentlemen of the village. This person, who had complete faith in God, was treated very unfairly by God, due to which he was also the object of everyone's sympathy. He had two sons and seven daughters, but destiny had something else in store, as all of them, one by one, except the youngest daughter Ram Sakhi, became victims of untimely death. Thakur Dasji was broken from within by these tragedies; he now also started worrying about who would carry forward his lineage after him.

He constantly remained tormented by this worry. During this time, he came into the company of Sant Lal Ji Sarkar Paramhansa, whose place of spiritual practice was the famous ancient Hanuman temple located in the village of Sunrai, near Chhipri. The abode of Sant Lal Ji Sarkar Paramhansa was Nepal, but he often used to come to his place of penance in India.

The Paramhansa saint initiated Thakur Dasji and also consoled him for enduring the untimely death of his children.

If you try to understand nature very closely and keep a keen eye on every event, you will feel that certainly some unseen power has determined everything. We realize that unseen power during a major event or a big happening or mishap. But just as a small screw makes even the biggest machine realize its absence, similarly, behind every big event, there are numerous small things that we ignore, but if they are microscopically analyzed, one is ultimately forced to believe in the power of nature, in the existence of that unseen power.

The beginning of Ravishri's birth had started many years earlier; it was decided that Guiyan Baba of the previous birth had to take this birth in Chhipri as the son of Ram Sakhi, the daughter of Thakur Das Mishra. When Paramhansa Lal Ji Sarkar consoled Thakur Dasji, Thakur Dasji wept. The heart of the Paramhansa saint melted. He asked Mishraji to get a Shivlinga (phallic symbol of Lord Shiva) made and perform Rudrabhishek (a ritualistic worship of Lord Shiva) so that the life of his only remaining daughter would always be safe. Thereafter, he blessed him, saying, "Go, a saint will be born as the son of your daughter, before whom one day the whole world will bow its head."

Thakur Dasji returned and started performing Rudrabhishek to protect the life of his offspring. During this time, he had traveled to almost all the pilgrimage sites of India with his daughter. He was worried that God might call her back like his other children.

Here, it is also noteworthy that "despite his previous faith in Shrimat Lal Ji Sarkar, Thakur Dasji considered his blessing only as sympathetic consolation." At this time, his daughter Ram Sakhi was about 7-8 years old, and the year was 1950-51.

By the years 1958-59, Ramsakhi had reached the age of 15, and Thakurdasji began the search for a groom. He wanted to find a suitable groom who would come and live with them in Chhipri so that the lack of a son could also be filled. Ganesh Singh, the landlord of the village, also gave him the same advice. Sant Lal Ji Sarkar had another very beloved disciple – Sant Guiyan Baba Paramhansa of Mohani village. Guiyan Baba had undergone Kaya Kalpa (rejuvenation of the body) twice, as a result of which it was extremely difficult to estimate his age, but Kaya Kalpa is only done twice; hence, rebirth was necessary for renewed life. Sant Lal Ji Sarkar, telling Guiyan Baba about the blessing given to his disciple Thakurdas, ordered him to take his next birth as Thakur Das's grandson. This was nature's predetermined program.

The time of Sant Lal Ji Sarkar's Samadhi (final meditative trance) is said to be 1959; hence, all these events had occurred before that.

While going from Datia to Jhansi via Unao Balaji, at a distance of 22 km from Datia and 12 km from Jhansi, comes a village called 'Aari.' Here lived a poor farmer family named Pt. Shri Murlidhar Choudhary. Shri Murlidharji was the only son of his father Shri Nek Sai Choudhary, and his ancestors held high positions in the fourth Paltan (regiment) of Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior's army. At that time, this family was a resident of Piparaua, Bhander, district Gwalior, but for some unknown reason, Nek Sai Choudhary's father, Bhole Choudhary, had left Piparaua and settled in 'Aari.'

Farmers mainly reside in Aari village from the beginning. There is also a tradition of keeping milch animals, whose milk is also one of the main sources of income. The age of this village is more than 600 years, but this village also cannot be called a prosperous and happy village.

Here, there is a very ancient banyan tree, which has extended its lineage in a circle of 50 feet radius, which proves to be very pleasing to the eyes. The age of this tree is said to be more than a thousand years.

Shri Murlidhar Choudhary was a very simple person and a devoted servant of saints. During the period between the 1950s and 1960s, he met Guiyan Baba and soon succeeded in gaining his close association. Choudharyji had three sons. The eldest son, Kripa Ram Sharma, got a job as a Gram Sevak (village worker) in 1959, and as soon as he got the job, a stream of marriage proposals began. Choudharyji was a very simple-natured person, so he was afraid of making a wrong decision in arranging his son's marriage, and at such a time, he remembered Guiyan Baba. Guiyan Baba was a knower of the past, present, and future. As soon as Murlidhar asked, he said, "A disciple of my Guru Lal Ji Sarkar will soon come to you; your son will be married to his daughter, who is like a jewel."

Murlidharji returned happily, having received proper guidance.

Near Chhipri is a village named Barana. Karan Singh Sengar, a resident of this village, had his sister married to Janak Singh, a resident of Aari. Karan Singh and Ganesh Singh, the landlord of Chhipri, were very close friends. Besides this, Shri Harprasad Choudhary of village Tarichar Kala, under Niwari Tehsil, who was considered skilled in matters of relationships, was among Thakurdasji's good friends. Harprasadji also had relatives in Aari. When he found out that Murlidhar Choudhary's son had gotten a job, he immediately suggested the groom's house to Thakurdasji. Landlord Ganesh Singh contacted Karan Singh, and Janak Singh sent the proposal through Aari. The only obstacle in the marriage was Thakur Das Mishra's deep desire that the son-in-law would become a ghar jamai (live-in son-in-law) and take care of his property.

If you ever get an inkling of a future event through astrology, an accomplished person, or any other divine sign, then observe the coincidences minutely to see how nature accomplishes that event. Try to stop that event! You will not only fail but also be surprised to see that the efforts or obstructions made to stop those events themselves become the factors for that event to occur. All this is not only very thrilling in itself but also makes one feel the extraordinary power of the divine entity, about which it is said that 'not even a leaf can move without His will.' A philosopher says that "the best art of living life is to follow nature; first, try to find out what nature has decided, what it wants, then take steps according to its desire. By going against nature, we often fall into a deep abyss, and then, while crying, we take the direction where nature has created a plan for us. This is the root cause of people's troubles."

Murlidhar Sharma of Aari had done just that when he was worried about his son's marriage. Guiyan Baba had given him the information about what the order of that unseen power was, and then all the troubles in this matter distanced themselves from him.

He was just waiting for a disciple of Lal Ji Sarkar to come. In such a situation, when Thakur Das Mishra's proposal came to him, and he found out that he was a disciple of Lal Ji Sarkar, everything was settled in a hurry. It was nature's destiny; the puppets did their work, and the date for the marriage to be solemnized was fixed.

Kripa Ramji was employed, and Thakur Dasji said that if he wished, he could leave his job and come to manage the property in Chhipri. However, Kripa Ramji was not ready for this, and it was decided that after some time, he would get a transfer from Ratlam to Tikamgarh and then settle permanently in Chhipri.

Year 1960, Month December: The wedding procession came from Aari to Chhipri, and Ramsakhi and Kripa Ram were united in matrimony and returned to Aari after the wedding.

Year 1962-1967

Pandit Shri Kripa Ramji Sharma was posted in Ratlam and was trying for a transfer. He used to visit Aari and Chhipri occasionally, and his wife mostly stayed in Aari, serving her in-laws. Pandit Kripa Ram's efforts bore fruit. Based on the application citing the illness of his parents, he got his transfer from Ratlam to Niwari Tehsil in Tikamgarh district, where he reported for duty in the first month of 1967. This year brought joy to him, but on the other hand, he had to go through the grief of losing his father first and then, after an interval of only three months, the grief of losing his mother.

At this time, Kripa Ramji's youngest brother was only two years old, and being the eldest son in the family, the burden of responsibilities fell on Kripa Ramji. At this time, Kripa Ramji took the right decision and came to live in Chhipri with his two younger brothers. His father-in-law Thakur Dasji also had the same wish. As a result, the liveliness returned to this house in Chhipri.

Raja Narendra Singh Judeo, having won the Jatara assembly seat in Tikamgarh district for the second consecutive time, assumed the charge of Agriculture Minister, and after 1967, electricity reached every village, bringing happiness and prosperity to the people of this region. However, there was hardly any change in the social environment. The same fear, the same forced labor, looting, and violence persisted. Most villages were troubled by the combined authority of the station in-charges and the landlords.

Pandit Thakurdasji was living a happy life in Chhipri. Being the priest of the landlord family, his social image was quite good. Moreover, it was a tradition of the landlord family that the 'Kulguru' (family priest) was revered, and Shri Ganesh Singhji never let any कमी (deficiency) occur in the observance of this tradition. According to custom, the first roti (bread) prepared during meals was set aside for the priest's daughter, and only after that did everyone partake of the food as Prasad (blessed offering).

Kripa Ramji used to visit his village Aari occasionally and often spent two to three months in Aari, after all, it was ancestral land and property, and then there were the old folks. When his wife became pregnant for the first time, Kripa Ramji wished that their first child would be born in Aari. In July 1965, they were blessed with a daughter, who was named Shashi. Thakurdas Mishra was also extremely happy at the birth of his granddaughter. Her name went on to become well-known. Kripa Ramji also took full care of his father-in-law so that he would not feel the lack of a son. Kripa Ramji was certainly troubled by the terror and forced labor prevalent in the village. But two things stopped him from waging a war against it. First, his own father-in-law was the priest of the landlord family, and second, Kripa Ramji himself was in a government job. The extremely self-respecting Kripa Ramji was always afraid that his actions might cause his father-in-law to face unpleasantness. Besides, he never faced any personal trouble because the whole village respected him like a son-in-law, and despite his small job, the senior officers of the administration had a deep impression of his dedication and sharp intellect, due to which he always had their blessings, and everyone in the village knew this.

Mysterious Chhipri

The elders of the village say that Chhipri is a place of penance for ascetics and sages. Incidents of ghosts and spirits and their activities used to occur here so frequently that terror prevailed in all the surrounding villages.

Until the 1980s, many people saw an army of ghosts and spirits marching before their very eyes, including horsemen, foot soldiers, and commanders, in the form of an entire platoon, emerging around twelve o'clock at night. It is said that about four hundred years ago, an entire army was destroyed here, deceitfully killed by enemies. All the people of that army became ghosts, and their guru became established as a Siddha (spiritually accomplished being). This army of ghosts started living in the vicinity of the Siddha Baba and was what people used to see at night. This army of ghosts used to emerge with gas lamps and all their paraphernalia, and occasionally, if any villager collided with them, they would be found either dead or mad the next morning, and sometimes they would be warned and let go by the ghosts.

Those who were warned and let go would come to the village and say that at night those people go to a fort, that all of them have a lot of treasure, and many other such unbelievable and astonishing things. In the forest, where they mentioned the fort, nothing, not even a trace, would be found upon going there in the morning. This ghostly activity of Chhipri continued to be seen until 1975, then gradually stopped. The cave of Chhipri, which is famous as the cave of the Siddhas, hides many secrets within it. This cave is located on the upper end of the hill next to the gravel road, about half a kilometer ahead of the village. This cave has two openings, and there is a distance of about 5 feet between the two openings, with a stone wall in between.

If this wall were broken, it would become a cave with one large opening. Upon entering through these openings, the stone wall slopes downwards from top to bottom and almost closes. Only a small hole is visible through which a cat can easily go inside. Both openings are connected to that inner cave in such a way that it is clearly understood that there is a large cave inside, and these two are its doors. If a cat is released from one opening, it can come out from the other opening in fifteen seconds.

Regarding Ravishri, those who say that he used to go inside a cave in Chhipri, this is that very cave. The lower part of the outer cave is flat, where about 4-5 people can comfortably sit to avoid rain, and the other opening is a bit narrow, but only two people can sit inside it as well. Elderly people say that a gathering used to take place at this place every Thursday, and spirits used to possess certain individuals and solve people's problems.

Shri Ganesh Singhji, the landlord, is no more. His son, Sobran Singh, says that the spirits that used to possess people would sometimes seize a person and take them around to various caves inside the forest. Upon returning, the person would narrate seeing many great souls absorbed in meditation (nimagn).

Occasionally, Prasad (blessed offering) would also be received from those meditating saints. However, the person possessed by the spirit who held their hand and led them would remember nothing. Surprisingly, those caves were never found again upon searching, an experience many villagers went through.

About 50 years ago, when a cholera epidemic spread in the village, all the villagers gathered near the Siddha (accomplished) spirit of this very cave. Then, that holy spirit, through a possessed person, blessed the people that after that day, no one would die from this disease. The villagers believe that the village was saved then only because of that Siddha spirit.

The people of this village believe that even now, many great souls are meditating in those invisible caves in the forest. Stairs have been built by the villagers to reach the two-mouthed cave, which is about 7-8 feet below the upper end of the hill. The stairs go straight up the hill to a small flat ground. A temple of Sheetla Mata (goddess of smallpox) has been built on this ground, along with a Havan Kund (sacrificial fire pit) and two rooms.

Sheetla Mata is believed to be an extremely ancient deity here, due to which people also know this cave as "Sheetalan ki Gufa" (the cave of cooling). Descend the stairs, and further along the gravel road from the village that you took to reach this hill, you will find the platform of Shri Siddha Baba. A divinity, an attraction, is visible in the land here, even though there is nothing more than a simple platform. Fields are adjacent to one side, and on the other side of the path leading here are plains and bushes. The villagers have great faith in this platform as well; they say that whatever wish is asked for here is fulfilled.

These ghostly activities, stories of spirits, the mysteries of the caves, listening to and wandering around, it seems that there is an अद्भुत (amazing) and रहस्यमयी (mysterious) atmosphere here, which has a veil of divinity upon its head.