Raidas Ji always had a wooden utensil in front of him. He used to do all his work with it, and great mystic powers manifested from it. This was because he used to chant the holy name of God while doing all his work. Powers that would surprise even great ascetics would manifest from the water of that utensil. His mind was always engaged in the remembrance of the Lord.
Humility Of Raidas Ji
A Pandit Ji asked Raidas Ji; you pretend to be a great devotee; bathe in the Ganges sometimes. Raidas Ji said, you have time; you go to the Ganges Ji daily. I have so many services that I don’t get to go. Can you give these two bananas to the Ganges and convey my regards? Pandit Ji was shocked that he did not bathe in the Ganges even after his request. I don’t know what kind of a devotee he is. Pandit Ji took the bananas and went to the Ganges. After bathing there, he said, Ganga Ji, Raidas Ji has sent these two bananas for you. On hearing this, Ganga Ji’s hands appeared to take the bananas, and she accepted those bananas with her own hands. Ganga Ji gave a gold bangle to Pandit Ji and asked him to give it to Raidas Ji. Pandit Ji became greedy and kept that bangle to himself. Now, whichever street he went through, he would stop at Raidas Ji’s door. This miracle was of continuous chanting of the name.
Effect Of Water From The Bowl: Story Of Raidas Ji and Guru Gorakhnath Ji
Once, Guru Gorakhnath Ji came to meet Raidas Ji at the request of Kabir Das Ji. Raidas Ji gave him water to drink from the bowl. Gorakhnath Ji saw that he was washing leather for his profession with the same bowl. He did not drink that water, took the water in one of his vessels, and returned to Kabir Das Ji. He gave the water to Kabir Das Ji’s daughter, Kamali Ji, and asked her to throw away that water. Kamali knew Raidas ji’s exalted position, so he drank the water.
After some time, Kamali ji got married. After a long time, one day, Gorakhnath ji reached her city while wandering. Guru Gorakhnath ji said, can anyone fill this bowl of mine? I will eat food at the house of the person who fills it. When someone puts food in it, that bowl eats up all the food and instantly empties. People tried to put a lot of food in the bowl, but all the food would get emptied immediately. When Kamali ji heard this, she invited Gorakhnath ji to her place. Gorakhnath ji extended his bowl and said, “Can you fill it?”. She took a handful of food and put it in his bowl, filling it.
Then Gorakhnath ji asked her, “From where did you learn this miracle?” Kamali ji said that all this is the miracle of the water from that bowl of Raidas ji, which you thought was water for soaking leather. Gorakhnath ji was shocked and regretted not drinking that water. Immediately, Gorakhnath Ji went to Raidas Ji and asked him for the water. Raidas Ji gave him water and said, “Now this water will be ordinary; it was a different matter then.”
The Miracle Of Raidas Ji’s Bowl
Similarly, Raidas ji gave water to a king from his bowl. That king, considering it disgusting, pretended to drink it and spilt it on his clothes, thinking others did not notice. When the washerman tried to remove something from the king’s clothes with his teeth before washing the clothes, he experienced divine bliss by drinking the remains of that water. He became blissful, and tears started flowing from his eyes. What was the miracle in the water of that bowl? Raidas ji used to do all his services while always chanting the name.
raam bin sanshay gaanthi na chhootai
kaam krodh mad moh maaya, ini panchanee mili lootai
Raidas Ji
If the name of God is not chanted, then no matter what you do, the knot of doubt will not be untied.
Challenge Of Scholars Of Kashi To Raidas Ji
The great scholars of Kashi decided that Raidas Ji should be punished because he served the deity of the lord even after doing the unholy work of leather. They conspired and told the king that such kingdoms were destroyed where such unholy work was done and an unauthorized person served the deity of the lord. After this, Raidas Ji was called to the royal court.
The king told him, you do not have the right to serve the lord, but you still do it; there can be famine in our kingdom. Raidas Ji said the lord Himself wants service from me; what can I do? The king said, just making up stories will not work, what is the proof of this? Raidas ji said, I will make my deity sit here, you can call Him, if He comes and sits in your lap then I will accept that what you learned people are saying is correct. And if He comes on my call, accept that He accepts my service. All the Brahmins accepted this in front of the king. All the Brahmins started calling the lord by reciting the mantras of the Vedas, but the lord did not come to anyone.
Dhruvdas ji has written that the Lord is not as pleased with the Vedic mantras as He is with the loving call of the devotees. When Raidas ji called the Lord with tears flowing, the Lord came and embraced him. Seeing this, all the Brahmins were surprised and said, “This is so because it’s his deity. We will bring our deity, then we will see.” Raidas ji agreed to this also, but the same thing happened again. Raidas ji called, and the deity came to him.
Importance Of Chanting Of The Holy Name
Unless there is chanting of God’s name in life or feelings towards the Lord, no principle can subjugate God. No matter how much meditation or spiritual practice you do, vices like lust, anger, greed, attachment, etc., will rob you of it. We do not realize it and remain empty from within, devoid of love and peace.
Guidance By: Shri Hit Premanand Govind Sharan Ji Maharaj
