Post No 1948

Written by London swaminathan

Date: 22 June 2015

Uploaded in London at 20-16

If anyone is a sincere devotee and surrenders to God completely, God helps that person without fail. All of us know the story of Draupadi who was helped with endless metres of saris when Dussasana tried to disrobe her in public. There are similar stories in Hindu devotional literature.

In the following four anecdotes, three different saints with the same name Ramdas appear:  Samartha Ramadas, Bhadrachalam Ramadasa and Swami Ramdas of Anandashram.

1.Samarth Ramdas

Shivaji, the greatest of the Hindu kings in the Moghul period, was a great devotee of Saint Samartha Ramadas and Saint Tukaram. Very often he attended the Bhajan sessions and discourses of saint Tukaram. Moghuls who were after Shivaji tried to attack him wherever it was possible. Once they came to know that Shivaji was attending a discourse of Saint Tukaram. They surrounded the hall where the saint was lecturing. The saint also knew by Jnan Dhrsti (through the eye of wisdom) that the Muslim soldiers were waiting outside to kill Shivaji. Saints can do many things simultaneously. He prayed to god to distract the soldiers. Immediately god came in the guise of Shivaji and jumped on the horse like Shivaji and sped towards the jungle. Seeing that fanatical soldiers followed the horse and were led into the thick jungle. They lost their way and god disappeared! When Shivaji was about to leave he came to know what happened in that area through his spies. He thanked the saint and the god.

When you are in Gods service it is his duty to give you security.

2.Bhadrachalam Ramadasa

Following was posted by me last year:

“Hindu saint jailed for 12 years”, posted on April 8, 2014

Bhadrachalam Ramadasa built a temple for Lord Rama with the tax money due to the king Tani Shah. Though Ramadasa’s intention was good, he violated the law of the land. God never asks anyone to go out of the way to propitiate him. He says in the Bhagavad Gita that even leaves or flowers or water is enough for him to bless a devotee. Ramadasa was jailed for 12 years. But yet lord Rama answered Ramadasa’s intense prayers after twelve years! He and Lakshmana dressed as guards of a revenue officer went to the king and paid the big amount that was due. Both of them asked the king to release Ramadasa and disappeared. When Ramadasa came to know about it he told the king that he did not send anyone with the money. Tani Shah was happy that he had the darshan of Lord Rama. Those were the days when Hindus and Muslims lived supporting one another. Tani Sha’s ministers were Brahmins.

Ramadasa was very sad that Lord Rama and Lakshmana appeared before the Muslim king but did not give ‘Darshan’ to him. He sang in Telugu naming the Muslim king Tani shah in one of his compositions. Later he also had ‘darshan’ of Lord Rama.

3.Story Told by Swami Ramdas

There was a soldier in the service of a State. He was put on duty as guard at night. One night, when he was as usual on duty as a sentry, he saw at a distance devotees going in a procession singing God’s name. At this the soldier was overcome with devotional fervour. He ran giving up his duty, and joined the Kirtan party and started singing God’s name in their company. The whole night was spent in the Kirtan and the soldier returned to duty only in the morning. Soon after, he was ordered to appear before the commanding officer to answer the charge of absence from duty the previous night. The soldier explained what had happened. Though the charge was a serious one, he was let off with a warning.

The following night also he was on duty and again the same Kirtan party was seen passing nearby. The soldier could not resist joining the Kirtan party again. The next morning he returned to duty. He thought it would be better for him to report it to the officer before he called him. But the commanding officer could not understand what the soldier was saying. He said, “Why do you say you were absent from duty? Thinking that last night also you would absent yourself from duty and join the street singers, I myself came at midnight to the security post to check if you were there. And I saw you there on duty. So where is the question of absence?”

At this the soldier was stunned. He could guess how God was so gracious to him as to stand sentry, assuming his form, so as to save him from punishment. This incident completely changed his vision and life. He renounced everything and dedicated his life entirely to God.

Rama, recently discovered in Hampi, Karnataka

4.British Collector who saw Lord Rama

During the British rule, Colonel Lionel Blaze was the collector of Chengalpattu District near Chennai. Madurantakam, a nearby town has a huge lake. Every year the monsoon rains filled the lake and many a time it overflew or its banks breached. During his collectorship between 1795 and 1799, Col. Blaze camped there to oversee the repairing of the banks. When he saw big granite pillars in the famous ancient Rama temple he told that it could be used for strengthening the banks of the lake. The priests objected to the proposal saying that Rama would protect the town. But the collector insisted that if God could protect the lake why it breached several times. But he wanted to wait and see what happens in the next few days’ rain. The lake was full to the brim. Worried collector was supervising the banks at the dead of night. Suddenly he saw a flash of light and there stood two people with bow and arrow walking on the banks of the lake. The rain also stopped and nothing untoward happened. The collector knew that it was Lord Rama and his brother Lakshmana who were guarding the lake. He had seen those pictures in the local temple. Collector Blaze’s name is in the inscription in the temple and the temple was renamed as Eri Kaatha Ramar in Tamil meaning ‘Rama who saved the Lake’ temple. It is on record that Col. Blaze along with Robert Clive had donated jewellery to the temples in that area including Kancheepuram.

Photos are used from news papers and face book friends;thanks