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PART TWO. SATSANGS AND MEETINGS

After we’d done the interviews presented above, I received translations of many of Vankhandi Maharaj’s satsangs into Russian. These satsangs revealed deeper information on topics we had only briefly touched upon in the interviews and elaborated on many things we hadn’t discussed at all. But most importantly, in these conversations, you can hear Maharaj’s living voice, his flow, his vibration. And the stories and parables he tells read like an engaging literary work. «Truths are well conveyed through fairy tales, parables, and fables,» he says. «We should more often clothe them in literary form. Perhaps this way people will understand faster and begin to implement it in their lives.»

Anupriya left on the fourth day of our stay at the ashram, and I no longer had the opportunity to talk with Maharaj, as there was no one around to translate. Therefore, I could only absorb the light emanating from Maharaj and read these satsangs, in which his living voice was clearly heard.

Burn with Soul, but Stay Aware

Swami Vankhandi’s speech is simple and accessible to everyone. It lacks philosophical sophistication but contains something elusive that instantly pierces the heart, making one listen with a frozen and thought-free mind. He often quotes sacred Scriptures and holy poets and frequently tells stories from his life or from the lives of Indian saints. Sometimes he tells the same stories and examples from satsang to satsang. He repeats the same teachings. And these repetitions are important, as the Master’s guidance is absorbed deeper and deeper each time.

«In cold weather, burn the leaves. Collect them and burn them on the fire. I burned many fires. Lived long at the roots of trees,» Vankhandi Maharaj speaks quietly, adjusting with a large stick the smoldering mountain of leaves collected from all over the ashram and brought to the backyard, where they are either burned or left lying until some special time suitable for burning. This time is determined by Maharaj himself, guided either by some inner intuitive sense or by signs known only to him, connected with natural and climatic cycles. In his ashram, many things are generally subject to such orders, aligned with nature but often completely incomprehensible to newcomers. Maharaj smiles as if something pleasant or amusing flashed through his memory. «Naga ascetics (’naga-baba’¹⁶) often come here, they don’t cover themselves with anything, even when it’s cold like now. They don’t need any blanket.» Maharaj begins to tell those gathered around the fire a short story from his life.

Vankhandi Maharaj: I spent three months in Tihar prison. People from Vishwa Hindu Parishad (World Hindu Congress, VHP) sent help once a week. I always had a bottle of milk. They provided tea and everything necessary for the dhuni fire¹⁷ to the imprisoned sadhus. I would accumulate two to four kilograms of firewood. The VHP people helped a lot in general.

I’m talking about the time when there were powerful protests and demonstrations against cow slaughter in India.

They brought entire trucks of semal tree branches to us in prison as a sign of support for the dhuni fire. It was important to separate the wood from this tree’s bark. All the movement participants in prison kept dhuni fires burning. I threw the tree bark into the fire, and my dhuni burned beautifully, while others couldn’t get their fires going. Everyone was surprised. But I knew the secret that only the bark of the semal tree burns, while the woody core doesn’t burn. I remember sharing this bark with everyone. I spent three months like this – November, December, January. In February, we were all acquitted and released by Supreme Court order. Everyone was declared innocent.

The released movement participants were outraged, filed claims against the government as wrongfully convicted, demanding huge compensation. Some demanded hundred or even two hundred thousand rupees in compensation. I didn’t file any claims. What difference did it make to me where I got my daily bread – inside behind bars or outside. I didn’t have any property anyway. What losses! I left prison and went to Haridwar…

During the peak of the protest movements defending cows (Goraksha), sadhu ascetics marched and filled the square from Red Fort to the parliament building. Everyone shouted slogans: «We’ll give our lives but protect the cows! Our country and dharma, the cow is our mother.» There were leaders of the Shankaracharya tradition, Muslim leaders, Jains, and many representatives of other directions.

Question: What, Muslims also demanded cow protection?

Maharaj: Yes, they also contributed. But the naga ascetics were the most vocal.

Ashram, 2015

The crowd of demonstrators sat opposite the parliament building, occupying a huge square. Swami Rameshwaranand was with us too. Ministers from the Congress party came. Indira Gandhi gave a speech.

People wouldn’t leave. The police chief ordered to shoot, but initially the police refused to follow this order and even threatened to throw down their weapons and leave if they were forced to shoot at the ascetics. It was a really powerful movement.

But then the shooting started anyway. Many were wounded, some in the face, some in the stomach. They just started spraying us with bullets. Major politicians hid in their cars. They cleared the entire square in front of the parliament building of people. We knew and were prepared: if they start shooting, you need to lie on the ground. That’s what happened. We had a group – eighteen people, and we all lay on the ground right in front of the parliament entrance. Then the Minister of Internal Affairs arrived, inspected the square, and ordered to remove the corpses. Trucks arrived. The wounded and dead were transported in separate vehicles. I lay motionless, they picked me up and carried me to the truck for corpses. I started saying: «Where are you taking me, I’m alive!» I even waved my hand for clarity, so they would better understand. (Listeners laugh.)

They took away protesters by truckloads. Those who managed to escape the bullets were sent to prison. This event went down in history. It was a powerful movement. Subsequently, Tihar prison, where the protest participants were held, was nicknamed Mahakumbha, by analogy with the triumphant procession of millions of sadhus at the Kumbha Mela festival.

Question: What year was this?

Maharaj: Around 1965.

Kalpati ji also participated in our movement. The words «Burn with soul, but stay aware» belong to him. That means living life fully, giving your heart completely to the cause you serve, while always remaining in a state of awareness, in contact with the Supreme. You’ll see this inscription here in my ashram. «Burn with soul, but stay aware.» Kalpati used to say that even in sleep, the mind should be kept aware. «Live honestly – live without fear.» You’ve also seen this inscription in my ashram, it’s a revelation from heaven.

There were many attempts to expel me from here, they offered a reward of 10,000 rupees. So much was undertaken, but I always knew: if you’re honest and sincere, if you carry Truth and believe in it, then there’s nothing to fear. And whatever will be, will be. Live honestly, in unity with Truth, in harmony with God, and nothing will happen to you.

Back then, there were no buildings here. I lived simply under a tree, such a house – without windows and doors. Lived without worry. There were stones, flowers, and three trees growing. I built the temple on this spot. And everywhere I wrote: «Burn with soul, but stay aware.» And this phrase became a mantra for me, descended from heaven. There was no fear at all.

Five-six years I lived and worked here, didn’t sleep day or night. A Nepali settled nearby, he cooked food, roti, carried water for me from below. I kept water in a large jug. Once a bullet hit the jug, all the water spilled out…

People came here to intimidate me… I asked why they came. They named various reasons – their cow got lost, or their goat got lost. They looked for any excuse to evict me from here.

This used to be part of the Himalayas. I don’t live on this land by my own will. I was told to. Rishi Markandeya¹⁸ said so. He’s still alive. I’m fulfilling his will. He said: you need to live in the world, in samsara, come down. I asked him to allow me to settle in some secluded place where there’s no one.

The first six months I lived in Munsyari. Then moved to Kapkot, Bhawali, Bhimtal. In Bhimtal, temple construction began, many people bustled around, and I was seeking solitude. I realized that this place wasn’t suitable for me either, too much hustle and bustle. And I needed quiet and solitude.

Back then I heard a lot about these places, about Sattal. They said it was a deserted place, few people settle here. And I decided to come here.

I came to the village of Chintamini. Local workers guided me up the mountain, helped me climb up. We walked for a long time, it was already dark. And I decided that since I had climbed so high, I would stay here. I made a fire and sat all night under a tree.

Sat like that for forty days. Gathered firewood for the night fire.

Question: Maharaj, you mentioned Rishi Markandeya. Is this the famous ancient sage? You said he’s still alive. Where did you meet him? What was the nature of your relationship?

Maharaj: Markandeya is a great rishi, a yogic ascetic, a tapasvi. He usually doesn’t meet with anyone. He grants his darshan to very few. He came to me once in the Himalayas, at the place where I sat by the dhuni. He then told me to go into samsara and live among people.

Such yogis can appear in various forms and guises. And often, even if people see them, they still don’t recognize or realize who they are. In ancient times, great rulers and rajas held large yagna ceremonies to which they invited holy sages. Markandeya also came and conducted such yagnas. He could come in any form. Not everyone could recognize him.

I saw him only once. Only once did he give me his darshan, during which he inspired me to go into samsara.

There is a place called Rishikand in the Himalayas. He lives there. People try to reach there to see him, but he doesn’t show himself to anyone. Sometimes he might meet a simple village person somewhere on the road, but they won’t even understand who is before them. But those who try and specifically seek to meet this rishi cannot see him.

There are situations in life when we meet holy people. For example, I once met Jesus in a cemetery. But this always happens unexpectedly, it’s not predetermined. It happens when Divine grace descends upon you, you don’t expect it and don’t think about it. It’s always a surprise and unexpected. If you try specifically, it won’t work.

Meetings with saints do happen. One baba came to us here; he didn’t approach the dhuni, and went straight to the temple. He entered the temple and came out after some time. He held a katori with prasad in his hands. Some saw him, some didn’t. It depends on how fate favors you. Someone might later say that a baba came to us, we drank tea with him, ate potatoes. And someone else will say: «I didn’t see anyone.»

I don’t have any specific connection or relationship with Markandeya. Markandeya is a holy rishi from Uttarakhand who has been granted immortality. In past yugas, rulers and rajas invited him to large ceremonies and yagnas. When the Pandavas held the Ashwamedha yagna, Lord Krishna himself sent Bhima to deliver an invitation to Rishi Markandeya to participate in this ceremony. Krishna instructed Bhima: «Go and bring Rishi Markandeya. Just don’t bother him with talk, spend time with him in silence.» Bhima went to Rishikand. There in Rishikand, he found Markandeya and was surprised to see that he lived in a pasture, raised goats, cleaned goat dung, and ate right there under a shed. Bhima said: «I’ve come to invite you to Hastinapur.» Night had already fallen, it was too late to set out, and Bhima stayed overnight with Markandeya. In the morning, they prepared for the journey, and here Bhima was surprised to see that the holy man didn’t perform his morning ablutions but set out as he was, unwashed. He wore only goatskins for clothing. They walked all day and stopped for the night in Ranibagh. And in the morning, the story repeated: Markandeya got up and, again without washing, set out on the journey. On the third night, they stopped in Mirath, which is near Hastinapur. Here in the morning, Markandeya washed once. When they arrived in Hastinapur, the holy rishi went to the river and washed for a long time and very thoroughly.

Bhima approached Krishna and expressed his displeasure: «I think this man isn’t holy at all, he’s just pretending. I spent three nights with him, and he never washed. Only in Mirath did he deign to wash. And as soon as we came to Hastinapur, he immediately started washing himself thoroughly.»

To which Krishna replied: «Well, Bhima. Then I ask you to return to those places where you stayed overnight with Markandeya and bring soil from each of these places.» Bhima obeyed, went back and brought soil from all three places where they had stayed in separate bags. When they opened the first bag with soil from Rishikand, instead of soil, there were pearls and diamonds. When they opened the second bag, they saw it was filled with pure gold. When they opened the third bag, there was silver. But this silver already had a slight tarnish. When they opened the bag with soil from Hastinapur, from the place where Markandeya had washed most thoroughly, all this soil was teeming with worms and insects.

And then Lord Krishna said to Bhima: «Why wash where your earth is pearls and diamonds? Why wash where your earth is all pure gold? But silver with black tarnish already needs to be cleaned. And earth teeming with worms needs to be washed off every day.» This was the teaching Lord Krishna gave to Bhima. And since then, the sages-munis have called the mountain where Markandeya lived Hiramoti (which means «Pearls and Diamonds»).

One whose body and mind are soaked in dirt needs to wash and clean off dirt constantly. But one whose mind is pure, holy and righteous can well do without ablutions. God, after all, looks into your heart; he doesn’t look at the body. When the mind and heart are pure, dirt on the body doesn’t play a big role.

Take Barahi Baba, who lived in our ashram. Did he wash? He didn’t wash at all. But his body never emitted a bad odor. A common person living here, if they don’t wash, will start to smell unpleasant after two or three days. But this didn’t apply to Barahi. Barahi didn’t even pay attention to what he was wearing.

God looks inside you, he sees your mind and its state. If the manas is pure and full of holiness, then God doesn’t care about your external appearance – God doesn’t pay attention to this. The body is temporary and transient. The heart should have purity, the mind should be calm, pure, and bright.

Barahi always pulled some rags over himself, but even these rags didn’t smell. And he didn’t smell of sweat. Yet, often it happens that someone sitting nearby smells of sweat. Barahi had a pure manas, and he didn’t pay attention to the external world. He was pure inside.

For saints in the Himalayas, the process of ablution happens differently. There’s crystal clear air and fresh wind there. It’s enough to open the door, go outside, breathe fresh air, and you’re already clean, as if after a bath. After all, you can wash in different ways. Some wash off the dirt accumulated during the day with water from a bucket or under a shower, while others, if there’s no running water nearby, make do with simple wiping. The body is cleaned with grass or a wet cloth.

In the Himalayas there’s a lot of snow and you can wash with snow. There’s such purity there that this is enough. The body doesn’t get dirty. If you approach a saint in the Himalayas, you can catch the aroma of roses or mountain flowers emanating from him. This is the natural smell of his body.

In samsara, people care a lot about body cleanliness but don’t monitor the cleanliness of thoughts in their head. They dress the body in beautiful clothes, pour perfumes over it and think they’ve gotten rid of dirt. But their mind and thoughts are full of impurities. But God doesn’t look at your body, he looks at the manas. The manas should be crystal clear. Lord Rama said, «I am with those who are pure in soul.»

So yes, I met Markandeya. He honored me with his grace. He gave me darshan and said: «Now go into the world, bring goodness to people in samsara. And do seva.»

He meets with few people. He walks the earth alone.

But other saints came here to our ashram. Vivekananda came here to our ashram. Although no one recognized him. While such people are among us, we might not suspect anything, and only later, when they leave, comes the realization of who it was. Information comes during meditation, dhyana. Vivekananda lived here with us for three days. He, like everyone else, did seva, cleaned paths of leaves, swept.

Swami Vankhandi in his young days, archive photo

How and why such darshans happen is a mystery. A mystery that’s not easy to uncover; it can’t be described in words. Such phenomena are beyond simple verbal descriptions. It’s beyond words. And if it can’t be expressed in words, what else can I tell?

The Gift of Fearlessness

There isn’t a shadow of fear in Vankhandi Maharaj. And this is a sure sign of a paramhamsa and maharaj who truly has nothing to fear because everything belongs to him, moreover – everything is him. The word «maharaj» translates from Hindi as «great king,» and Swami Vankhandi is indeed a maharaj: all his behavior is always regal and filled with the authority of inner strength, which is distinctly felt both when he, smiling like a child, jokes with devotees, and when he strictly gives them everyday instructions. And when he, illuminated only by rare flashes of fire, sits in the twilight by his dhuni, leaning on his staff and staring intently at the glowing coals, he resembles some king or rishi from ancient sacred Scriptures – perhaps even Indra, the king of gods himself.

Question: Maharaj ji, tell us about your life.

Vankhandi Maharaj: My life is before your eyes.

Question: Tell us the story of your life! What happened to you in the past?

Maharaj: I don’t even recall the past. I don’t remember it. What was has passed. What’s the point in digging through the past? Let the past go, and one should look to the future, feel it, and move forward. Of course, memories sometimes come flooding back, but I don’t hold onto them, don’t savor – what happened exactly where and when.

Vivekananda left behind memories, described his travels, life experiences. Rajneesh said that one who walks the path of yoga doesn’t look back, doesn’t get fixated on what happened in their past.

The life of yogis is so complex and difficult that not everyone can trace this path. For some, it’s completely inaccessible. It’s like climbing up a sheer cliff. After all, life’s story isn’t connected to just one of your births. A person’s life story can only be understood in combination with their other lives – like a link in the chain of many rebirths. Experience gained during one birth isn’t enough to grasp the entire meaning of one’s existence.

Rama said: «You will know God when God Himself manifests in you as Knowledge and the meaning of all that exists.» If the meaning of words and phenomena is inaccessible to you and you don’t see clarity, harmony and rhythm in them, turn directly to God, and by His grace He will manifest in your heart and reveal all meaning to you directly.

There are fruits that can be picked and eaten immediately, in their natural form, as nature created them. And you can process them, change their structure, and they will still be edible, but this will be a completely different, unnatural product, with different quality as a result of artificial intervention. So it is with knowledge. You can receive it directly from God. The road has been shown to you. Here it is. Go straight along it, don’t turn aside. And it will lead you to the goal. Or you can make yourself dependent on others, seek help from intermediaries, subject your consciousness to processing, but this will be a different experience, a different quality of knowledge.

People fear death most of all. People are ready to spend hundreds of thousands of rupees to extend their existence even for one day. They go abroad seeking treatment for what is incurable. But what is our life? Two days! One day we come, another day we go. And these days are predetermined. So what is there to fear! Nothing can be changed anyway. Neither the date of birth nor the date of death. Not even for a moment.

Those who fear death and die in fear are doomed to wander through various circles of hell, reaping the fruits of their karma. Those who don’t fear death are either reborn in a human body or go to heaven, enjoyably tasting the fruits of their righteous life.

A person gripped by fear can’t concentrate on anything. Fear blinds their eyes. They don’t even notice their children. The fear of approaching death paints terrible pictures before their eyes. Death, just before the end, appears to them as a frightening figure with a sword, in clouds of smoke and flame. Consciousness becomes clouded. A person in such a state can’t even recognize themselves. Their mind wanders in darkness.

Those without fear don’t see such pictures before death. After all, we create fear ourselves, it’s a product of our consciousness. Fear can make a person lose the gift of speech or lose the ability to recognize relatives.

A person leaves life with the baggage of values they formed during life – what they held onto, what they believed in, what they prayed to, that’s what you die with.

Mahatma Gandhi in childhood was afraid to be alone in a room, afraid to move from one room to another without a nanny’s accompaniment. Until he received wise advice: to constantly repeat God’s Name – Rama. One who constantly keeps their attention on the Divine Name fears nothing. Mahatma Gandhi followed this advice all his life, achieved perfection in this practice and lived to the end of his days with God’s Name. In the hour of death, «Ram-Ram» became the last thing that came from his lips.

Now, we live in a free country, and still, people grab firearms in moments of danger. Gandhi lived in times of colonial slavery and violence, yet he walked everywhere without any fear with just a staff. He went to England and spoke freely before the English, wearing only a dhoti. Fear forever left his life.

There was a time when Nathuram Godse threatened Gandhi with murder to his face. And Gandhi, who had a small child sitting on his lap at that moment, calmly responded to the threat: «Wait, let me remove the child from my lap, then shoot.» When the real hour of murder came four years later, and Godse put several bullets in his chest, Gandhi managed to say «Ram-Ram» and departed to the other world.

Maharaj in Russia, july 2024

Fearlessness is a great gift. An even greater gift is to free others from fear. And to live so that birds and animals aren’t afraid of you. This is a wonderful criterion. If birds and animals aren’t afraid to approach you, it means there is no fear in you. Only a coward emanates and instills fear. A person free from fear doesn’t transmit fear to others. One who threatens, frightens and inspires terror is deep down a coward themselves and full of fears. If you try to intimidate another, it means you can be just as easily intimidated.

If you turn off the power button, all devices stop. If you turn it back on, everything will work again. Humans also have such a switch. The button of dharma and adharma.

Everything in the world has its opposite. Truth-falsehood, dharma-adharma, sin-virtue. Each phenomenon is balanced by its opposite. If there is happiness, there is sorrow, if there is harm, there is benefit. That’s how the world is arranged. The pinnacle of dharma is kindness, love and compassion. Kindness is the foundation of dharma. It nourishes dharma. One should love everyone, even the smallest bug, ant, animals, birds. A mosquito shouldn’t be killed, it should be pitied and understood. How much harm can it do? It takes away a drop of your blood, that’s all…

The Ramayana says: «Whoever has come under my protection, even the biggest scoundrel, I will forgive him, not reject him. Even if he is a thief and robber, I will take him under my protection and responsibility. You cannot betray the trust of those who seek your protection.» If a bird, insect, forest creature has come to you for protection, they must be protected. Dharma is based on kindness and compassion. Sin is based on ego and self-love. And, without God’s help, a person can’t eradicate their ego. Only when you turn to God, bare your soul through concentration, repentance and love, and God penetrates your consciousness and becomes part of you, does enlightenment, purification and rejection of ego occur. Only God helps a person atone for sins planted by self-love. Only God can root out human ego, free His devotees from the burden of self-love and ignorance.

It was excessive ego and self-love that caused Ravana’s death. The King of Mathura, Kamsa, was also destroyed by ego and self-importance. Even in the recent past, the British had to leave India forever, and the reason for that was their immeasurable ego. After all, initially, when they governed the country sattvically, benevolently and fairly, no one resisted them. But as soon as their attitude changed and they began to lord overegotistically, harshly and contemptuously, they had to flee in fear. A country renowned throughout the world for its might was forced to leave India in disgrace…