Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan
It was around six, one evening in June 1958, a gentleman was sitting on a bench on platform number three of Surat railway station in Gujarat. The platform was bustling with people and trains on other lines. He was waiting for another train to take him to Vadodara. His name was Ambalal Muljibhai Patel. This is when nature unfolded a phenomenal spiritual world within Ambalal. At the end of this spontaneous internal enlightenment, Ambalal came to be known to the world as Gnani Purush Dadashri. Dada Bhagwan the fully enlightened Self had manifested within Him.
This Lord ‘Dada Bhagwan’ expressed naturally within the temple of Ambalal Muljibhai by a natural event. This was the culmination of His spiritual seeking and efforts of many previous lives. The expression of the spiritual knowledge was complete and spontaneous and this science has now come to be known as Akram Vignan. The vision of the universe was attained in an hour. The answers to all questions of spirituality were seen in this vision and all questions were dissolved completely. What is this world? How is it governed and run? Who am I? What is karma? What is bondage? What is liberation? Countless such answers and explanations unfolded in this process. Thus nature laid to the feet of the world a supreme and unparalleled spiritual vision through the medium of Shri A.M. Patel, a respected member of the community of Bhadaran, a married man conducting a business of construction contracts. Despite being a worldly person, this was no ordinary human being in whom the supreme desire to understand, know and experience the eternal existed ever since childhood. In such a human being the extraordinary new science of ‘Akram Vignan’ had manifested.
The creation of and existence of a natural miracle within Ambalal Patel is a phenomenal event. Even more miraculous and phenomenal is the wonder that what happened within Him, the vision with which He saw, knew and experienced, is the vision that was associated with the power and energy within that enabled Him to transfer and give the same to all seekers who came to Him! To attain total liberation and leave this world quietly may be many, but to liberate hundreds of thousands of other human beings along with one’s own liberation are only called Tirthankaras or one exclusive Gnani amongst innumerable Gnanis.
The first and foremost identifying mark of a Gnani is His speech: It is Absolute and free from all attachment. There exists no other mode or measure in our age. In the days gone by, there were people so highly developed in their spirituality, that by just a mere look into the eyes of the Gnani, they could recognize His vitragta – His state void of any attachment towards worldly thing, including His physical body. Not even for a split-second is the Gnani bereft of vitragta.
The Gnani should be recognized through His outstanding qualities. But how can an ordinary individual understand such qualities? There are 1008 qualities of the Gnani, of which four are exclusive in the Gnani.
1) The Gnani has the dazzling majesty of the Sun-God. He is the symbol of the infinite luster and strength of the Pure Self. This strength is visible in His eyes. Only on experience does one feel the Divine energy behind it.
2) The Gnani has ‘the coolness’ of the Moon in His un-surpassing love and compassion. Everyone in His presence feels the bracing tranquility of this ‘coolness.’ It is so soothing that one would not wish to be away from the Gnani even for a moment. The power of His coolness is enough to ‘melt’ the radiant heat of the sun - a person may come to Him, tormented with rage and anger but with a mere glance into His eyes – the splendor of serenity within will sooth and calm him.
Radiant splendor and soothing ‘coolness’ of compassion - these two virtues exist simultaneously in the Gnani alone. Some have the splendor of strength without ‘the cool’ of compassion and some have ‘the cool’ without the ‘splendor’ of the Pure Self. But the Gnani has the splendor in one eye and coolness in the other.
3) The Gnani has the depth of serenity of the ocean. He accepts and absorbs anything offered to Him, regardless of its quality and contents and blesses the giver.
4) His stillness and steadfastness is comparable to the mountain of Meru. No external circumstances or events dare shake His inner poise or steadfastness. His steadfastness must not be mistaken for psychic or physical fortitude or stubbornness. Many will hold their palm over a burning candle without flinching - that is not steadfastness; it is stubbornness or obstinacy - the expression of ego. But the Gnani is completely free from ego. He is natural and spontaneous in His reflexes or routine activities. Steadfastness has nothing to do with physical fortitude or rigidity. The Gnani would not put His hand where there is a possibility of getting burnt and if by chance He does, He would immediately retract it. His physical being is quite normal and natural but His omniscient inner poise is unparalleled. No events or circumstances would upset or affect even a single atom of His inner harmony; that is real steadfastness. Steadfastness is where the tranquility within is never perturbed or never is there a hint of inner turmoil. The physical pain is a natural property of the body and has nothing to do with the equanimity or steadfastness of the inner Self.
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Ambalal M. Patel was a civil contractor by profession. In June 1958, spontaneous Self-Realization occurred within Ambalal M. Patel. From this point on, Ambalal became a Gnani Purush, and the Lord that manifested within him became known as Dada Bhagwan. A Gnani Purush is One who has realized the Self and is able to help others do the same. Param Pujya Dada Bhagwan used to go from town to town and country-to-country to give satsang (spiritual discourse) and impart the knowledge of the Self, as well as knowledge of harmonious worldly interactions to everyone who came to meet him. This spiritual science, known as Akram Vignan, is the step-less path to Self-realization.