Bhagwan Swaminarayan

Passing through the snowy paths, shrubbery, and valleys of the Himalayas, Nilkanth Varni arrived in Shripur, a village established by Naradji. Outside the village stood a hermitage, the Kamleshwar Math (monastery). Nilkanth Varni decided to sit on a small platform nearby. The villagers were drawn to this child brahmachāri, whose body, though emaciated by austerities, radiated a divine glow. The Mahantji of the math also rushed to see Varni. It was evening time. The Mahantji said to Varni, “Brahmachāri! Please come inside the math. It is dangerous to stay outside; there are wild animals. It is not wise to sit on the platform.” But Varni remained silent. Thinking he was observing a vow of silence, the Mahantji gently shook Varni and said, “Maharaj! Listen to me. If you do not want to come inside the āshram, please go to the village and stay there the night because there is imminent death here.”

Varni, peaceful and content, replied to the Mahantji, “I do not stay where there are many people. I prefer to live outside a village, in a place like this and under the sky. I am not afraid of death. Hiding from death does not prevent it.” The Mahantji found Varni’s words stubborn and returned to the āshram. Varni calmly sat in a meditative posture. But the Mahantji was restless with worry for Varni. He frequently glanced at Varni from the āshram window.

The sun had set. Two prahars (six hours) of the night had passed, there was complete silence everywhere. Suddenly, breaking that silence, an earth-shaking roar of a lion was heard. The Mahantji and the villagers woke up hearing the deafening roar. Roaring fiercely, the lion, with paws as large as plates, stamping its feet, swinging its huge tail, its eyes glowing like molten copper, slowly approached and stood before Varni. Nilkanth Varni glanced at the lion. As soon as his gaze fell upon it, the lion became motionless and experiencing the divine bliss of samādhi, lay down at Varni’s feet.

Fearfully, the Mahantji opened the door of the window. He and his disciples stood outside the window, watching in astonishment. After a while, Nilkanth Varni began to stroke the lion’s body. With Varni’s touch, the lion woke up from its samādhi and became conscious. It began to lick Varni’s feet. All the disciples and the Mahantji looked at each other in awe and exclaimed in unison, “This is no ordinary human being, but an incarnation of Bhagwān!” This lion, which kills humans and animals and whose roar would tremble the hearts of many, had become like a docile cow before Varni!

As dawn approached, the lion bowed its head to Varni and disappeared into the forest! The Mahantji ran to Varni and with folded hands, said, “Brahmachāri! You are very valorous person. I wish you stay in our ashram. I shall make you the mahant. We have an annual income of Rs. 100,000.” Nilkanth Varni interrupted him and said, “Look Mahantji! If I was interested in āshrams or income why would I have left home? I have to visit many pilgrim places and redeem countless souls. And I want to explain to the world about true satsang.” He spurned the offer of mahantship and proceeded towards the mountains. The Mahantji and the villagers watched him go as he slowly vanished into the distance, convinced that “This Varni is the manifest form of Bhagwān, who has come for the welfare of all living beings.” In this way, Nilkanth Varni fearlessly continued his vicharan.

In Vachanāmrut Gadhadā II-55, Shriji Maharaj says, “When I renounced my home, I did not even like to keep clothes. In fact, I liked to stay only in the forest, but I was not the least bit afraid. Even when I came across large snakes, lions, elephants, and countless other types of animals in the forest, there was not the slightest fear of dying in my heart. In this way, I always remained fearless in the dense forests.”