This beautiful message of Baba, totally resonates with what I have gone through so far and still going through!
BABA says HE has influenced changes in me through words and actions of someone and what better example can be than the most recent deep influence through the beautiful coincidence of Shri Neelkanth Varni aka Bhagwan Swaminarayan by my association with BABA in the form of Lord Hanuman of Sahrangpur!
It undoubtedly strikes a chord of Faith and unflinching Belief, that my journey in past few years has been a journey to fortify my spirits through all learnings, whether good or bad!
From being an empathic Giver, a people pleaser, trusting one and all over their face value to becoming a soul knowing self-love, discernment and having strong boundaries, its been a journey of seeing through the masks of deceptions and betrayals from the lesser mortals!
INDEED, IT IS THE Rising of Phoenix from the ashes after a beautiful destruction, guided and supervised by the Divine. And now I choose to Learn only from a place of Love and Joy, with ease under Divine Grace!
And now receiving this synchronistic confirmation the very next day of same thoughts that crossed my mind earlier, is nothing short of a divine miracle!
Every once in a while, the magnificent Universe offers us signs—little nudges that lead us to answers we've long wondered about, leaving us forever changed. Recently, I experienced such a divine synchronicity that feels as if it was nothing short of a blessing. It began with an unassuming photo frame in my home, and led me to a journey of spiritual discovery and transformation.
Years ago, I bought a beautiful photo frame from Sarangpur Hanumanji Temple. The frame held three smaller images: Lord Hanuman name written as "Shri Kashta BhanjanDev Hanumanji Salangpur", a Male Deity with Red colored round Tilak on forehead and in a beautiful traditional Indian dress - name written as "Shri Harikrishna Maharaj, Vadtal", and a spiritual teacher holding a scripture, name written as "Sadguru Shri Gopalanand Swami". Lord Hanuman’s image was instantly recognizable to me, and I could also derive of the last image as being a spiritual head of the sect. But the image in the middle—that serene figure with the red tilak—remained a mystery for me, one I found myself pondering over the years. I often wondered, Who was this individual? What was his story?
Little did I know that an answer was waiting for me, timed in the most unexpected yet perfect way.
One day, as I scrolled through YouTube, I stumbled upon a short Youtube video that immediately captured my attention. It depicted a young boy fearlessly diving into a stormy river against the advice of nearby villagers as there was floods in the flowing river, and then seen to be meditating deep below the tumultuous surface, that somehow calmed the stormy floods in the river through His mind. This single act spoke to me on a profound level. There was a magnetic stillness in the Boy’s demeanor, a power that seemed both childlike and divine, and his ability to bring peace to chaos felt like a mirror to something I wanted to cultivate within myself. The video touched me deeply, so much so that I discussed this with people I would meet and even went back searching for it again, a few days later, compelled to watch it again and again.
I needed to understand more about this Boy and his calm yet fearless spirit, and whether this was just some imaginative or a True story! My keen interest led me to research about this Boy and I found this written in the title of the video "Neelkanth Varni". With growing curiosity, I searched for this name, hoping for more information about this remarkable young boy. To my delight, I found a series of Youtube video about this Mystery Boy.
So I watched a couple episodes and slept late night. Next day I were to start working despite wanting to watch it, but it was as if Universe wanted me to take a break from the stressful routine and made me sick with cough and cold , I would only call this to be a beautiful coincidence as I took this opportunity to rest and relax to recover and watched entire series of this movie.
As I watched all episodes one after the other, eaxh episode unraveled more of the story, each one more powerful than the last. I learned that this wasn’t just a story—it was the true journey of Bhagwan Swaminarayan, who, as a child, was known as Ghanshyam and later took on the name Neelkanth Varni after renouncing his home at the age of eleven.
Once I started watching the series, I was entranced by the real life story of Neelkanth Varni. Episode after episode, I was captivated by the life , the incidents, the actions, the virtues of Neelkanth Varni who was a BaalYogi (Child Renunciate). Here was an eleven year old Child , who having read all Vedas, Puranas, Holy scriptures by this young age, in search of Truth and Knowledge renounced His home and worldly pleasure at such a tender age! This divine Child has truly walked on Mother Gaia in flesh and blood, born on 3rd April 1781 , which is only 243 years back!
Born 243 years back - 243 is yet another synchronicity for me coz 243 in language of numbers for me is Divine message - "We Love You" and I have been witnessing this number umpteen number of times recently- which is Universe telling us how much we all are loved and protected by Divine! For instance, I saw this number 2433 on different vehicles, repeatedly , just yesterday!!! Wonder if I were to find Neelkanth Varni only after passing away of 243 years of his existence on Mother Gaia, even though I exist for more than four decades on Mother Gaia!
Getting back to Neelkanth Varni, this Unique Boy reflects uncommon wisdom since being a child , and it seems to transcend ages, displaying many extraordinary divine leelas (i.e., miracles) along with compassion even in the smallest acts—like reviving dying fish with a simple touch, out of his deep care for all living beings, Teaching the lesson of 'non-stealing' to Ghasitaram in Ghasitaram's language, another unbelievable miracle wherein the Head of another village witnesses the Idol of Lord Krishna in a Temple walking across the sanctum sanctorum during the Aarti and putting HIS own garland on this Young Boy Ghansyam in front of everyone to their shocking disbelief, the impossible witnessing by elder brother Rampratap bhai and other villagers observing Ghanshyam to be physically present at many Temples at same time and so on.
Am sharing few such Shorts that give a glimpse into the unbelievable life and times of a Pure Soul that walked Earth , not very far from today!
Going further, when Ghanshyam renounced world and takes on a long uncertain journey as Neelkanth!
Neelkanth's firm unshakeable Faith in Divine that makes Him do with bare minimum essentials of just a piece of cloth below waist, His Deity in the form of a Black Stone wrapped in a cloth around His neck, His Jaap Mala, a Kamandalu and a Stand is remarkable in that He never worries or has an iota of doubt about His next Meal or place to sleep sound and safe as He considers entire Mother Gaia as His Home!
His Discipline to always carry His IshtaDev along with him, performing daily rituals of Snana followed by Pooja and Bhakti by offering food and water First to His Deity, doing his meditation and Naam Jaap everyday religiously, despite Himself being an Avatar is such an inspiration! His life was filled with such events that were both humbling and inspiring. As I watched, I felt as though my understanding of spirituality and life itself was shifting. The Two most important virtues that made lasting impact on my psyche was His Discipline and His Detachment from everything and everyone despite performing His worldly Human duties!
Through Neelkanth Varni BaalYogi’s story, another virtue that resonated with me deeply was His remarkable sense of responsibility. Even as a young boy, Ghanshyam took on every task given by His elders, with a joyful dedication and cleverness that showed a maturity beyond His age in human years. He fulfilled His role as a family member, a friend, and a helper with integrity. And when the time came, He made the decision to detach Himself from worldly attachments, renouncing His home and all its comforts in search for Truth & Brahmagyaan- for the welfare of many mumuksha beings (beings seeking salvation) that He initiated His long journey for! Such as the troubled Bear, in a dense jungle of Orissa!
But it wasn’t just His detachment that moved me; it was His resilience and firm resolve to travel far and wide against all odds- especially the long arduous journey that He traveled alone barefooted, with hardly any clothes, without any compass or equipment for directions, at such times, where there were no means of easy transport or modern facility of roads and bridges, or telecommunications/GPS and instead, most part of Earth was covered by dense jungles, or Snow clad Hills and Valleys, Melting Glaciers, Storms or difficult to cross underwater Caves and engulfing Marshlands teeming with dangerous predators, that too at just the tender age of Eleven! I cannot even imagine in my wildest dreams, a young boy of Eleven years having so much courage, fearlessness, wisdom and virtues to take up such a determined journey at such a tender age , which would take years of experience and penance for cultivation : This is surely a Superhuman Feat and I have no doubts that Neelkanth Varni is truly an Avatar taking human birth to spread and revive the pure teachings about the real meaning of Life & existence - Karma & Dharma!
And throughout this long journey, His unwavering discipline in any situation and facing any circumstances as a normal human would do, despite being an Avatar Himself, is so inspiring!. Neelkanth Yogi was fearless, undeterred by any obstacle or challenge. His journey through the wilderness on his Kalyan Yatra—the journey for welfare and liberation for souls seeking freedom—was filled with trials, yet he remained steadfast in his spiritual practices and daily routines, regardless of the circumstances. The main reason for Neelkanth Varni taking up the risky and humanely impossible journey to Mansarovar in November 1792 was for welfare of the Swans who came to offer reverence before He was born to His Parents - Shri Dharmadev and Bhakti Mata at Chhapiya village near Ayodhya. Ofcourse, this kind of firm resolve, with barely any clothes to cover the body and risking life through breaking glaciers and snowstorms with an unbelievable capacity to tolerate this kind of weather at Sacred Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar from November 1792 till winters ended in 1793, is only possible for a Siddha an Avatar!
His determination to stand on one leg in meditation (samadhi) without moving an inch, for months together is truly something that makes me wonder how it was possible and what can one do to cultivate that kind of determination! His ability to abstain from food and comforts, and his relentless commitment to his spiritual goals - humility of seeking to learn Ashtanga Yoga from a RishiMuni of that age - have left a mark on me that I struggle to put into words.
His fated encounter with the Lion at night in a village and the miraculous effect of His Aura on that Lion is such an enigma and testament to His Confidence, His Willpower, His Fearlessness and His Purity! It inspires to persevere for attaining this kind of "Peace" and "Bliss" within and the quality of "Equanimity" & "Fearlessness" under every situation!
Each moment of his story felt like an invaluable treasure unearthed, a pearl from the deep ocean of wisdom. I found myself deeply moved by his actions, his thoughts, and the profound simplicity with which He embodied virtues that felt timeless and universal.
However, at end of the seventh episode, the Boy Neelkanth Varni is seen bidding farewell to his disciple Jairamdas after leaving Shri Jagannath Puri Temple in Orissa (of which I have so many beautiful memories of divine miracles myself) and I realised that this series was only half way through real Life story of Neelkanth Varni. As I saw the concluding seventh episode of this series, an epiphany dawned upon me. The middle figure in my photo frame, the serene Individual in traditional Gujarati clothes with the red tilak, was none other than Neelkanth Varni himself. However I am still curious about this transformation of Neelkanth Yogi from this Acsetic Boy to the Form worshipped as Shri HariKrishna Maharaj aka Bhagwan SwamiNarayan adorned so beautifully. And am also very curious to know about the connection with Lord Hanuman in the form of Shri Salangpur Hanumanji with Neelkanth Varni. And I am so eager to watch further episodes about how Neelkanth Varni traveled to Gujarat and what all transpired in this Long journey from Ayodhya to Gujarat, leading to the Transformation that we see Him with many different names - Sahajanand Swami, Shri Harikrishna Maharaj and Bhagwan SwamiNarayan - all names of same Ascetic Boy "Neelkanth Varni". All in all, I am in so much love, admiration and reverence for the Ascetic Boy - Neelkanth Varni's Purity of Character, Resoluteness of Virtues, Discipline and Compassion for all Beings, even those who tried to harm Him!
In a way that felt like divine intervention, the Universe had brought me the answer to my years-long question through a series that was uploaded only eleven months ago. What are the chances that this answer would arrive just as I was ready to embrace it fully? It felt like a gift—a beautiful, synchronistic answer to a question I hadn’t even realized had been living within me all this time.
Looking at the photo frame now, I feel a profound reverence and connection with the Shri Harikrishna Maharaj of Vadtal in form of Neelkanth Varni, that wasn’t there before. Neelkanth Varni’s journey continues to inspire me, filling me with a renewed dedication to cultivate virtues like discipline, and detachment!
I am so much in awe, that I still keep revisiting scenes from this Movie series! The anticipation for future episodes and learning more about his journey is almost indescribable. His story has left a lasting impression on my soul, and it’s one I’ll carry forward with me, always. I have developed this intense desire to visit all the places visited by divine Avatar - Neelkanth Varni during His Kalyan Yaatra (Welfare Journey), even if I have visited some of them already! And the Holy Mount Kailash and Lake Mansarovar visited by Neelkanth Varni, which was already in my Bucket List, since past couple of years!
More detailed account of The Life & Time of Neelkanth Varni - BhagwanSwamiNarayan on Mother Earth and the super humane Feats achieved during that period, is mentioned beautifully on this website :
To anyone who has ever wondered about the existence of synchronicities or signs from the Universe, I share this experience as a testament to their reality. Sometimes, answers come when we’re ready to see them, in forms we could never predict. The divine always finds a way to reach us—whether through a video, a story, or even a simple photo frame—touching our hearts in the most profound way and transforming our lives forever.
