It was the auspicious day of Ram Navami, and thousands of devotees had gathered like a vast ocean to have darshan of Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan. After the morning celebrations in Vadtal, Maharaj expressed a desire to visit the serene Dharusar lake.
A grand procession followed Him. After bathing in the cool waters, Maharaj took His seat under the shade of a tree. To His left sat the santo and to His right sat a sea of devotees. Maharaj began to speak, His voice calm and steady, weaving together the complexities of knowledge and detachment.
The Skeptical Warriors and the Monkey
In the middle of the discourse, a monkey swung down from a nearby tree and sat perched on a branch, chattering away. The Kathi Darbars—the fierce, noble warriors known for their wit—looked at the small creature and chuckled.
“Maharaj,” one of them said playfully, “we read about Hanumanji and the great vanar army of Lord Ram. They say those monkeys defeated the mighty Indrajit and carried mountains. But look at this little fellow! Was the ancient army really made of monkeys like this, or were they something else entirely?”
Maharaj smiled. “By nature, they were exactly like this. But when the Will of Bhagwan flows through a being, the small becomes mighty.”
The Kathis weren’t convinced. “If that’s true, Maharaj, prove it! Make this little one do something extraordinary, or our hearts will remain full of doubt.”
The Transformation
With a subtle flick of His finger, Maharaj signaled the monkey. To everyone’s shock, the wild animal hopped down and sat obediently before Shree Hari. Maharaj handed him a mala (prayer beads). The monkey didn’t bite it or throw it; instead, he began to turn the beads with his fingers, his lips moving as he sang the verses of the Ramayan with perfect melody.
The assembly was stunned, but the Kathis pushed further: “He sings well, but how could such a tiny body lift a mountain?”
Maharaj turned His gaze toward the monkey. Suddenly, the creature began to grow. His muscles rippled, and his stature expanded until he looked like a colossus capable of lifting the earth itself. Before anyone could blink, the giant monkey leapt into the clouds and vanished into the blue sky. The skeptics fell silent, realizing they had just witnessed the unfathomable power of Bhagwan.
The False Ascetics
The peace was soon interrupted by a group of Nagada Bavas (naked ascetics). They walked into the assembly with pride, demanding food and rations. “We’ve heard your name, now feed us!” they shouted.
Maharaj looked at them with compassion but spoke with total candor. “A true renunciant isn’t someone who just wanders without clothes or begs for food,” He said. “True renunciation is in the mind. If you still crave money, if you still lust after the world, or if you use drugs like ganja to dull your senses, you are no different from a donkey in the wild.”
To show them the power of true devotion, Maharaj turned to a devotee named Ratno. At Maharaj’s glance, Ratno entered a deep state of Samadhi (trance). He fell still, his breathing stopped, and his pulse vanished. The Bavas, terrified and amazed, tried to find a heartbeat but found nothing. They realized that Maharaj held the keys to life and soul. Some of them, moved by the truth, shed their pride and joined the santo. Others, gripped by their ego, took their bags of grain and left in a huff.
The Lesson of the “Shoe-Watcher”
As the sun began to set, Maharaj noticed that some of His own devotees had been distracted by the rowdy Bavas. He used this moment to deliver a final, stinging piece of advice on focus.
“Many people sit in a temple,” Maharaj remarked, “and they chant ‘You are my mother, You are my father’ to the murti of Bhagwan. But their minds are outside the door, worrying about whether someone is going to steal their shoes!”
He told them the story of a Brahmin Judge who sat in silent prayer. When a clerk came to ask what to do with a convicted murderer, the judge—still pretending to be in ‘holy silence’—grabbed his own sacred thread and mimicked a noose to signal ‘hang him.’
“That is not worship,” Maharaj warned. “That is a performance. If you want to find Bhagwan, your eyes and your heart must be locked on Him like an archer locks onto a target. If your gaze wanders to a passing dog or a distraction in the crowd, you aren’t a seeker—you’re just a spectator.”
The assembly grew hushed. Every eye turned back to Maharaj, fixed on Him with newfound devotion. Having cleared their doubts and stilled their minds, Shreeji Maharaj rose and led them back to the mandir, leaving the lessons of the day etched into their souls.
This prasang has been documented by Acharya Shree Viharilalji Maharaj in Shree Harililamrut Kalash 8, Vishram 5.