It is said that a Gnani Purush (one Awakened to the Self or Enlightened Being) does not exist in the current time cycle. This is not so. Those who are well versed in scriptures are not Gnani's. A Gnani Purush is not only Self-Realized, but has spiritual presence and is also able to enlighten others. Only a Gnani Purush who is liberated from all worldly attachment has the power to liberate others. Self Realization or liber
ation cannot be acquired through reading scriptures, even if the scriptures themselves were the words of a Gnani. Self Realization can only be acquired through direct contact with the living Gnani. Such a being, a Gnani Purush, not too long ago, existed amongst us. He came to be known as Dada Bhagwan.
His name was Ambalal Muljibhai and he was a contractor by profession. He became a Gnani Purush in 1958. It was towards dusk one day in June, while sitting on a railway bench on platform 3 in Surat, waiting for a train, amidst the commotion of jostling crowds of travelers that a natural and spontaneous phenomenon occurred. ‘Dada Bhagwan’, the Lord within Ambalal Patel began to manifest.
This manifestation of the omniscient was no ordinary phenomenon. This divine revelation is a phenomenon so rare, that it occurs only once every million years! It is a short-cut path to enlightenment that requires no traditional rituals of penance, renunciation, worship or reading scriptures, surpassing all other traditional paths.
Nature had created a divine spiritual wonder! Within just one hour he acquired the vision and knowledge of the entire universe. He experienced the answers to questions such as: Who am I? What is God? What is God’s role? Who is the doer? What is karma? How is karma created? How can one be free from the bondage of karma? What is liberation? What is the true nature of this world? Countless spiritual questions of this world and the universe were solved during this natural process.
Through the medium of Shri Ambalal Patel, nature brought to the threshold of this world the unparalleled vision and science of Akram. From that moment on, the ego within Him vanished completely and he became a Vitraag Purush – the liberated one.
When asked, “Who is Dada Bhagwan?” he used to say, “What you see in front of you is not Dada Bhagwan
Dada Bhagwan is the Lord of the fourteen worlds, who resides within you, me and everyone else. But within you he is not manifested,
whereas here, within me he is completely manifested. I am not Bhagwan (God) myself, and I too, bow down to Dada Bhagwan, who
is manifest within me.” Dada always maintained that the knowledge he acquired was the collective knowledge of the Vitraag Lords (Tirthankars) and that he was merely the instrument through which this knowledge was flowing.
Through the divine power within Him, He bestowed upon others the knowledge of the Self through a spiritually scientific process called the Gnan Vidhi. That (Atma Gnan) which cannot be acquired in countless lifetimes can be acquired in a matter of just two hours, simply because this path is Akram. Dada refers to it as the ‘elevator path’ as opposed to climbing stairs, where the seeker progresses one arduous step at a time through rituals and austerities, as prescribed in the traditional paths.
It was Dada’s most cherished wish that all mankind acquire salvation through attaining Atma Gnan. He traveled extensively both in India and abroad, at his own expense to give satsangs and bestow the knowledge to all who came to him. Although the Gnani Purush is not living today in a physical body, his ‘Knowledge of Self’ is His Living Presence, and his process of self enlightenment still continues today, with his grace, flowing through the medium of Pujya Deepakbhai Desai. His spiritual work for the world’s salvation has gained tremendous momentum and every year, thousands of seekers acquire Self Realization and their experience of internal liberation grows day by day.
Not only has Dada bestowed upon us Atma Gnan, but he has also taken a unique step towards destroying conflicts and discrimination amongst different religions. He initiated the construction of temples of Lord Shri Simandhar Swami, Lord Shri Krishna and Lord Shiva under the same roof. Dadashri’s reasoning behind this was that unless people became free from their biases and prejudices towards religions, they would not acquire the true knowledge of the Soul. Several of these temples are now established in India.
During His spontaneous enlightenment Dadashri also made a connection with the living Tirthankar Lord Shri Simandhar Swami, who is currently in Mahavideh Kshetra. He often communicated through his astral body with Simandhar Swami for answers and clarification of questions proposed to him.
Dadashri said that today direct liberation from the planet Earth is no longer possible because of the effect of the current time cycle; however the path is still open from Mahavideh Kshetra. Having acquired Self realization, the soul begins its journey towards its ultimate liberation. Hence the next life for a Self-Realized being will be in Mahavideh Kshetra, where after the darshan of Lord Simandhar, the soul will begin its final journey to Moksha.
