Bhagawan Nityananda & Swami Omanand Saraswati (Om Baba) ~ Om Baba was a very spiritually inclined person. He was an active member of INC (Indian National Congress), and took active part in the partys efforts to gain independence for India. Later, he became a Builder/Interior Decorator in Bombay. ~ During this period, Om Baba also toured the whole of India on foot, in search of a spiritual guru. Finally in 19??, frustrated at being unable to find a guru who could inspire him, he went up the Haji-Malang hill in Thana near Mumbai. The hill is named after a renowned Sufi saint who meditated there many centuries ago. While climbing the hill, he thought of ending his life by flinging himself off the summit, as he felt that life was meaningless if he could not find the one guru he sought who could set him on the spiritual path hed chosen to pursue. Dusk was approaching, and as Om Baba neared the summit, a man clad in white robes riding a white horse approached him. The man said: Do you think committing suicide will get you a Guru?. Om Baba was astonished to hear this man - whom hed never seen before - say this. How could this stranger know what he was thinking? Surely, he must be an enlightened being. As Om Baba was pondering over the event that had just unfolded, the man spoke again, saying Your Guru will be found in #Ganeshpuri, go there!, and saying so disappeared. Om Baba was now convinced that this was divine intervention at work. ~ Never having heard of Ganeshpuri before, Om Baba went back to Bombay and started making inquiries about Ganeshpuri while also attending to his business. One day, while having breakfast at a South Indian Shetty restaurant, he saw a photograph of a yogi on a wall there. He asked the owner of the hotel,Madanna Shetty, as to who the yogi was, and was told that the photo was of Bhagawan #Nityananda of Ganeshpuri. Om Baba immediately asked Shetty about Ganeshpuri, and how to get there as he was very eager to meet Nityananda. Shetty stated that he was going to Ganeshpuri the next week, and that he (Om Baba) could accompany him. ~ The next week Om Baba went to Ganeshpuri with Shetty; the moment he set eyes on Bhagawan Nityananda, he immediately took him as his Guru. He sat outside Kailas - the residence of Nityananda - the whole day, remaining there even as Madanna Shetty went back to Bombay. As night fell Nityananda came out of Kailas around 8 pm, and told him that he should go back to Bombay, as it was unsafe to remain there in the night considering that tigers were known to frequent the area. To this, Om Baba replied I am at my Gurus feet, what can a tiger do to me?. Hearing this, Nityananda Bhagawan went inside Kailas, leaving Om Baba to sleep outside in the open. ~ The next day, Om Baba awoke at a surprisingly late hour - 10 a.m., and was filled with remorse at having risen so late. He thought to himself - Here I have come to my Guru, and have woken up this late! What will my Guru think of me? Is this how a Shishya (disciple) should be? Surely, Nityananda must be wondering what a lazy disciple hes got!. Thinking so, Om Baba rushed to have a bath, and then went to pay his respects to Bhagawan Nityananda. ~ As Om Baba bowed to him that morning, Nityananda Maharaj grunted in his characteristic fashion and said: Not here. Omkareshwar. Tapaa, Tapaa!. Om Baba understood that Nityananda Maharaj was telling him that he should go to the temple at Omkareshwar and perform penance & sadhana there. He bowed to Nityananda and went back to Bombay, to tend to his business and wind it down so that he could follow his Gurus instructions. He resigned his position from the Congress party, donated all his money and left for Omkareshwar. He joined the monastic order and took the name Swami Omanand Saraswati. ~ Om Baba spent many years performing penance in the caves near the temple at Omkareshwar as per Nityanandas instructions and by whose grace and blessings he gained tremendous spiritual prowess and was called Avadhut Omanand. In 1966, Om Baba came to the village of Ghoti in Maharashtra and established the Shree Nityanand Ashram, Ghoti as a tribute to Bhagawan Nityananda - his master. Over the years, many flocked to him from all across India, and the list of his devotees grew. On 26th of January, 1983, Om Baba took Samadhi. ~ sOurce: divinehealing.info
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 10:22:47 +0000