|| Om Manasamarthyadata Shree Aniruddhaya Namah ||
||HARI OM ||
About Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Bapu
An accomplished medical doctor, Mumbai-based Aniruddha Joshi is today revered by millions as the reincarnation of the Sai Baba of Shirdi. Credited with having performed many miracles, he nevertheless advocates a practical blend of spirituality and science.
Born in 1956, Aniruddha Joshi studied at a school in Parel, before following in his father's footsteps, by opting for medicine. A brilliant student and gold medalist, he gained his MD, specializing in Rheumatology. A lecturer in Nair Hospital till 1985, he later started his private practice in Dadar and Parel, which he continued till 1998.
A married man with two children, Dr Joshi led a normal life, until around 1981, when he started studying ayurveda from Vaidya Antarkar and experienced a radical shift in his thinking. The doctor began to realize the superiority of this system of Indian medicine over allopathy. It also made him mull over what had gone wrong with the system. Why had ayurveda stopped progressing? Looking for answers, he had an insight into the role of spirituality in society. Social progress, he realized, was hindered as spiritual values ceased to be important.
But the transition from Dr Aniruddha Joshi to Aniruddha Bapu has an interesting story behind it.( Before taking samadhi in 1918, the Sai Baba of Shirdi had given three of his personal belongings to Govind Raghunath Dabholkar (also known as Hemadpant), a close devotee of his, assuring him that he would return one day to claim these articles back. The articles, a shaligram (holy stone used in puja), a small trishul and a rosary passed on to Hemadpant's son Gajanan Govind Dabholkar, who in his last days gave them to his son Appa Dabholkar. This fact was, however, a closely guarded secret, known only to the family.
Sai Niwas, the ancestral home of the Dabholkars in Bandra, has always been associated with Sai Baba. The Sai puja, held here daily since 1911, draws hordes of devotees. Dr Joshi, himself a Sai bhakt, thus came first to Sai Niwas in 1993. Known then to the Dabholkars as an eminent doctor, he immediately made an impression on them by his modesty, his simple and joyful ways and his profound, yet lucid explanation of religious scriptures.)
On May 27, 1996, Dr Joshi went to Sai Niwas, and asked for the articles belonging to Sai Baba. "We were stunned. We bowed in reverence as we saw him manifest in the form of Shirdi Sai Baba," recalls Dabholkar, whose wife and children were also present to witness the event. However, they were asked to keep this encounter to themselves, till Bapu gave them permission to talk about it in 1998. "This was not the first occasion on which Bapu declared his divinity. It had been predicted to his great-grandfather that Lord Vitthala would take birth in his home and thus his family was always aware of his divine status,” maintains Dabholkar.
As word spread, believers started flocking around Aniruddha Bapu or Sadguru, as he came to be known. Today, lakhs of devotees in and outside Maharashtra and even abroad consider him to be the avatar of Mahavishnu. Nandamata, Bapu's wife, is also worshipped as Laksmi Avatar. A former student of his, Dr Suchit Dada, is worshipped as Sheshnag avatar. Dr Dada's clinic draws many patients seeking a cure and Bapu is supposed to work his miracles through him.
For the Dabholkars, their devotion to Sai Baba had borne fruit. The Sadguru had once again entered the lives of the family in human form. "He is full of prem (love) and karuna (compassion) and forgives easily. He teaches that though men make mistakes, they can always be corrected. He remembers the name of every devotee he meets, even children, whom he especially loves. Not only humans, even animals are drawn towards him. Cows come to him when he calls them by name and when he talks to them they have tears in their eyes. Today we are privileged to experience 'GOD' in the human form," Dabholkar says.
Harking back, perhaps to his training as a doctor, Bapu strongly advocates an intelligent and scientific approach to life. This blend of spiritual wisdom and pragmatism especially appeals in today's increasingly materialistic world with its fast-paced schedules and slackening spiritual mores, and perhaps explains the presence of a large number of youth among his devotees.
A crusader against superstition and blind faith since his medical days, another facet to Bapu is his role as a social reformer. He has often spoken about the need to eradicate social ills such as caste discrimination and the low status accorded to widows, even declaring that if Manusmriti (Manu's laws) cannot benefit all it must be discarded. At Ramnavmi Mahotsavs organized by him, the puja is conducted by volunteers, including members of the lower castes. Widows, traditionally debarred from religious ceremonies, also take part in auspicious rites.
Bapu exhorts his disciples to read Sai Satcharita, Sai Baba's biography written by Hemadpant. To ensure the scientific study of this message of Sai Baba, he introduced the Panchasheel examinations: a set of five exams including practicals at the final level, held twice each year for which thousands of students appear.
In 1999, Aniruddha Bapu established a gurukul at Juinagar, for the propagation of Ayurveda and Mudgal Vidya, the martial arts of ancient India. Also, the Govidyapeetham, established in Karjat, near Mumbai, aims to study the rearing and breeding of cows, combining modern veterinary science with ancient techniques.
For the establishment of 'Ramrajya' by year 2025, Bapu instituted the Aniruddha Samarpan Pathak and the Sadguru Shree Aniruddha Upasana Trust (SSAUT). Inspired by his words "Tu ani mi milun ashakya ase hya jagat kahihi nahi" (There is nothing that you and I together cannot achieve), volunteers involve themselves in social work including rehabilitation of leprosy patients, holding blood donation camps, working for the blind, running de-addiction centres and cleanliness and hygiene awareness. A welfare centre for earthquake victims opened in June 2001, in Kharoi village, Kutch, has a team of volunteers, including qualified medical professionals, administering treatment. As part of the rural development scheme, a few villages in Dhule, Maharashtra, have been adopted by the SSAUT.
P.P. SADGURU Shree ANIRUDDHA BAPU firmly believes that it is possible for any person to balance family life, work and other pursuits along with Spiritual development, so long as these are with in the realms of the three basic principles of the Almighty, i.e. Satya, Prem and Anand. --HE leads by example; HE preaches only that which HE HIMSELF has practiced.
He believes that pursuit of Bhakti alone can provide supreme strength to attain all the other purushartha’s. To meet this purpose he initiated the “Aradhana jyoti” upasana which is performed every Thursday by him along with his devotees.
Bhakti implies Seva offered with love and affection. He says that neither can Bhakti be complete without seva nor can true and sincere seva occur without the basic foundation of Bhakti. He also adds that it is Bhakti which keeps us firmly grounded and does not allow the ego to take root. Hence all the seva activities conducted under his guidance are “Devotional Services”.
He neither insists nor requests that we walk this path as He acknowledges the human ‘free will’. But all those who wish to walk it and with a firm step, are welcome, welcome to the new era, the era of pure love, of human – humane dharma, an era of pure friendship, of Joy. He cherishes in His open eyes, the beautiful dream of the dawn, the dawn of the new era. His relentless and infinite efforts will mark the break of dawn.
The one singular focus and aim, the one life mission of the One, who will cause the break of dawn, the sunrise and light the way is,
I shall fill this world with happiness and Abound with joy, all that be.
I shall fill this world with happiness and Abound with joy, all that be.
Shree Aniruddha Bapu envisages “Ram Rajya” by the year 2025. Ram Rajya represents the time when there will be true justice, freedom, peace and prosperity across the globe with no disasters, misery and no sins committed by any human.
On Every Thursday of the month, our Dearest Sadguru Shree ANIRUDDHA BAPU gives a discourse in Marathi on one ‘naam’ (name) out of the “VISHNUSAHASRANAAM” and then in Hindi on the great sacred work ‘SHREESAISACHCHARIT’. He then participates in the gajars and aarti that follow. His discourses are a guidance in simple and lucid words as to the attainment of progress on the path of bhakti but without turning away from worldly life.
II SHREE RAM II
Kindly follow the link below to learn more about P.P. SADGURU SHREE ANIRUDDHA BAPU
http://www.aniruddhafoundation.com/
http://www.manasamarthyadata.com/
