Muchkund Rishi’s Ashram and Dwaraka

RAMDAS occupied this Ashram and remained in it for 10 days. He would light a small fire and squatting before it perform Rambhajan all the night. The place was full of bats and doves. Since it was a deserted and frightful place, the people of the town and Sadhus were considering it a privilege to visit the Sannyasi dwelling in such a place. Some of these well-intentioned friends at first apprised him of the supposed fears of the place. They were all told that when the all-powerful Ram protects, there was no room for any fear. Here Maganlal and Kantilal were paying him visits daily. They procured for him from Muslim friends an excellent translation of the Holy Quran in English by a well-known Moulvi of Lahore. The Quran is indeed a grand work. Ramdas derived great benefit by a study of these teachings of the great Prophet Mohammed.

Then Ramdas received the command from Ram to leave the place. Accordingly he left Junagadh by the midnight train and, after a change at some junction, reached the station of Porbandar. From the station he went to the city of Sudamapuri. The blessed Saint Sudama, the great Bhakta of Sri Krishna, had lived here and hence the name Sudamapuri. Here he was reminded now and again of Sudama’s humble offer of beaten rice to Krishna and the loving acceptance of it by Him, and also how Sri Krishna on one occasion washed the feet of Sudama, which brought to Ramdas’ mind the famous line of Swami Rama Tirtha: “A slave is a slave because he is free.”

In the company of two Sadhus, he visited the temple of Sri Krishna, said to have been erected at the spot where Sudama’s cottage once stood. The same evening he and the two Sadhus, who were joined later by two more, in all forming a party of five, started on foot towards Dwarka. It was quite a jolly party of whom an old bearded Sadhu – with a big turban on his head, a thick Kambal on his back, a pair of wooden sandals in one hand and a broken brass pot in the other, a wooden arm-rest hanging by the shoulder, a quilt jacket on his body, and a Kaupin round his loins – was chosen the leader of the company. He was a simple, unassuming good-natured and harmless old Saint. Merrily the Sadhus walked mile after mile, each narrating to the other some bits of experiences. Ramdas was all the time engaged either in listening to the stories or repeating Ram’s sweet name. A halt was made for the night in a small wayside village, the residents of which treated the Sadhus with great hospitality.

Next morning, very early, the Sadhuram, the leader, gave the call for a start. Shaking off sleep, the Sadhus rose and shouldering their respective bundles set forth on their journey. Thus they travelled on, breaking journey at midday and at night in villages until they reached the old shrine called Muladwarka, covering in all a distance of 20 miles from Sudamapuri. Here, there was an Ashram of a Sadhu in which was found always an assembly of twenty to thirty itinerant Sadhus. Here the new arrivals mingled with the Sadhus of the Ashram in happy association, and then visited the old temple. It is said Sri Krishna had made his first stay at this place before he changed to Dwarka proper, or Bet Dwarka, as it is called.

After travelling a little further the party reached Gomati Dwarka. This shrine is also considered an important place of pilgrimage on account of the sacred river Gomati which flowed here at one time but has since dried up. Now remains, in place of it, a tank in which pilgrims consider it a great merit to bathe. After obtaining Darshan in the big temple of this place and spending a day there in the society of many other travelling Sadhus, who visit in hundreds everyday, the party strode on under the orders and lead of the venerable Sadhuram. Arriving at the railway station, they got into a train which was already fully occupied by other Sadhus. This carriage was called “Sitaram” carriage. It was really generous of the railway company to permit Sadhus to travel on this line free of charge. It was an uncommon blessing of Ram to have secured for Ramdas the company of nearly forty Sadhus, all mixing with each other in perfect amity and innocence like small children at play. Each Sadhu was busy opening his bundle or bag to exhibit to his neighbour Sadhu his articles of curios, such as conches, shells, Rudraksha, small framed pictures of gods of various shrines, all collected during his pilgrimage all over India.

At last the train carried them to the railway terminus – a small station. Alighting here, they proceeded to the seashore where they were allowed to board two steamboats belonging to a Mohammedan. When the permission was granted by the boat-owner, there was a cry from all Sadhus in one voice – “Mohammed Ki Jai!” The gulf was duly crossed and the Sadhus reached the island of Dwarka. It was night, when they arrived. Resting in a Dharmashala for the night, the next morning the party visited the famous temple of Dwarkanath. An indescribable feeling of rapture and joy was experienced by Ramdas, when he stood in front of the idol of Sri Krishna. He remained inside the temple for nearly two hours in a state of complete and blissful abstraction. He next wandered on the seashore, jumping from rock to rock, all the time absorbed in the meditation of Ram. The party of Sadhus stayed here for two days. On the third day, at the command of the Sadhuram, the company started on their return journey.

Now, an incident occurred which must be noted down. The party as usual stopped at a certain village for the night and at the command of the leader all started before daybreak. The Sadhuram awoke rather too early. It was still dark – and the Sadhus grumbled that they could not properly see their way. There were also two more Sadhus who had joined the party at the village. These were young men – one of them totally blind led by the other who was blind in one eye. The Sadhuram assured the party that the sun would rise soon. But for nearly two hours they walked on in the dark, stumbling, grumbling and missing the way now and again – still daybreak was as far off as ever. They all took the leader severely to task, but the old Sadhuram was silently treading the path and did not vouchsafe any reply to the adverse criticism passed by his friends. He was himself groping in the dark with great difficulty and was at every step becoming more and more conscious of the fact that he had lost the way, and that he was leading all in an unknown direction.

On and on the party went. Now they came upon wet ground, then on muddy soil. Farther and farther they went and at last found themselves in mud, knee-deep. Now there was a furious cry of halt from all. It was yet pitch dark. Everyone was straining his eyes – except of course the poor blind Sadhu – towards the horizon in expectation of signs of the rising sun. But the sun was still a long way off. Again some of the Sadhus grumbled and asked the Sadhuram as to what they should do next. The Sadhuram never replied. After fruitless discussion for some time, they arrived at the unanimous conclusion that they should wait there until daybreak for, to attempt to move might invite a worse fate – perhaps a fall into a ditch or a deeper descent into mud.