I am reading these days Dadi Nirmal Shanta's autobiography (see: Downloads). At the date of this first edition in English, 2007, translated from Hindi and Bengali versions into a very strange English, Pardadi ,who was called by Dada Lekh Raj with love Palu (a sweet Mango), she was 90 years old. The publisher Atam Prakash is pointing out in the "Acknowledgements" that the composition of this book has been possible with the help and co-operation of several spiritual brothers and sister.ex-l wrote:I wonder if they are going to deal with the whole Narain Shewakram/Golden Circle/wrong age of Dada Lekhraj issue and all the anomalies etc.
What I don't understand and want to ask is, why is the leadership of BKWSU waiting to publish the biographies of the most important witnesses of Om Mandli days like Dada Vishwa Ratan, Dada Chandrahas and Dadi Nirmal Shanta until they are 90 years old and senile? Is one of the reasons, that at that age they don't understand or can not oppose the changes made in their biography?
Pardadi was even ten years ago a sweet senile lady dancing on the stage with intoxication. As I saw her last, she was singing on the stage.
Despite of the many hands of censorship, very interesting memories are still there. She tells that she had no interest in studies but because of Baba's reputation, the teachers liked her. Dada Lekh Raj let her wear a lot of jewels, he said that his girls are goddesses and was letting them wear new ornaments as a model for their customers. I am quoting exactly as it is written in the book:
Dadi Nirmal Shanta wrote:page 32
I was able to answer simple questions, but found it difficult to solve the complicated ones as they gave me too much stress. Then when examinations came, I used to play a trick to pass. As Baba gave me a variety of jewellery to wear, I gifted a ring or something to my teacher before the examination. Thus by presenting gifts, I always obtained pass marks, which made not only me, but also my family members happy. Actually as I was so weak in my studies, I only studied up to third or fourth standard, but then the spiritual knowledge of Baba turned me amazingly knowledgeable. Now I am respected in India and abroad as a great teacher.
She says that according to her horoscope her life span was prophesied to be 25-30 years.page 36
When customers including some foreigners used to visit the shop, Baba would show them the samples and catalogue. After seeing all the samples, they often used to say, 'Lakhiraj Babu, make us the same jewellery as is worn by your daughter'. Baba's partner once asked, "You give new ornaments to your children to wear and then sell the same to customers. Why do you do so?" "See Sevak Ram", Baba replied."These girls are goddesses. A single girl, a Virgins (Kanya) is better than a hundred Brahmins, so the ornaments worn by them fetch higher prices. Undoubtedly Sevak Ram was Baba's partner, but he could not pay much attention to the detail of business as did Baba.
She tells about their family's move with Dada Lekh Raj from Calcutta to Karachi :page 55-56-57
In the early years of Yagya, no doctor was called if anybody fell ill. Treatments were administered with domestic medicines or a trance messenger would ask for the correct medicine from Shiv Baba. Once I fell very ill. I was a chronic patient of asthma and remained awake the whole night. Baba and Mama saw my plight and asked the trance messenger to go to Almighty Baba to inquire the appropriate medicine. She returned with the message that the remedy for my asthmatic problem was to bathe in icy water.
Baba at first remained silent because I had never even touched ice, yet I was to bathe in icy water. Eventually he told me that Shiv Baba had sent a message that I would have to bath in icy water. At once I said,"Baba, Meera was asked to drink the bowl of poison and it turned into nectar. If Shiv Baba advises me to bathe in icy water, I will." Ice was bought from the market and it was put into a bucket. I sat in the bathroom to obey the order of Supreme Baba. I had determination and firm faith in Baba. However, again, Baba sent another trance-messenger to confirm the message from Shiv Baba.
Almighty Baba said that the message was the same and the medicine for my asthma was also the same even though Brahma Baba assessed that there would be hardly any chance of my survival after this. Nevertheless, he had no option but to follow the message from the Almighty. One sister was ready to pour the icy water on me. Baba left us immediately and went and sat in the office. As the sister was about to pick up the bucket of water to pour, she was suddenly pulled into trance. Almighty Baba has stopped her from pouring the bucket of water and said to her that the child had undergone the ordeal in order to substantiate her faith in Baba and she had succeeded. Then the messenger led me to Brahma Baba and told him that it was the Almighty's advice that the child should eat an apple a day then her asthma would be cured.
The sister then told me the larger secret behind it: Shiv Baba had given me the test because according to my horoscope my lifespan was short. Baba said that at the same time an old woman was suffering from pain in a temple. She was praying to God to free her from her old body because she was in deep grief. Baba transferred the remaining part of that old woman's life to me and she was liberated from the old cage of her body but the symbol of that old woman's grey hair was also given to me and my hair became grey at the age of thirty. Now I am 90 years old.
She tells about the beggary part in Brij Kothi which continued few years after they moved on the 5th May 1950 from Karachi to Mount Abu. She describes also that 'Baba' managed to elevate her Father's mental level. She tells:page 26-
We spent fourteen years in Karachi and served the Yagya. Although our family had remained close by, there had been a complete change in Baba's attitude. He might suddenly break his conversation with, "Child, who is before you? With whom are you talking?" It seemed strange and uncommon that our Father, who nourished and looked after us, was talking in such an unusual way, but Baba had increasingly hinted towards a great change.
From these memories of Dada Lekh Raj's very beloved daughter Palu a different picture of Brahma Baba than the official one is emerging in front of me:page 68-
As an indication of the lofty position he held, he would some times seem to forget my name when I would go to bid him farewell. He used to ask,"Child, where have you come from? What is your name? In front of whom are you standing?" It seemed to me that Baba was in some other world while only physically present in this one.We often witnessed such scenes of his soul-consciousness.
In this picture Dada Lekh Raj is a clever business man who knows how to use his very small daughters as models for his jewelry business; a pragmatist who does not care that his little daughter passes the exams by bribing the teacher with jewels and he is happy with the result. A blindly obsessed man by the spirits, ghosts or Shiva from Karachi times onwards, he is channelling and asks through trance messengers, so that he obeys even the orders of the spirits to bath his very sick daughter with icy water although he is well aware that this action would kill her. Afterwards he accepts the message from the spirit that his daughters life span is exchanged with a poor woman's life. Since Karachi times, a senile man seeing hallucinations asking his daughter with whom she was talking, who was in front of her. And in Mount Abu, i.e. after 1950's, asking his daughter who she is, where she comes from, what her name is.
Which Dada Lakh Raj is the new movie maker BKWSU planing to show to the public?
Tom