My Father as I knew him

For my Yoga Friends and Family

I am fully aware of my limitations in writing this life sketch of

my spiritually realized father. However, being a serious Yoga
student from my childhood and due to my association with
my father for around 30 years, I feel it appropriate for me to
take this challenge. Actually, I have been postponing this
writing for many years, but have been extremely encouraged
by two of my Yoga students, namely Vanessa Saldanha of
Virginia, U.S.A. (Vaneesha) and Teresa Nuvola of Napoli
(Kusum), Italy, to start this project sooner, rather than later.
Due to documentation in 2014 of the AdhiyogaDarshana,
formulated by myself in 1998 (Authentic Yoga System of
Neel Kulkarni®, U.S.A.), I feel it is a good time to offer my
father’s life portrait to”my Yoga friends and family”.

For the past 40 years of my Yoga study and teaching, I have

purposely avoided exposing my father’s Yoga background.
Because, I did not want to use his name as advertisement of
my Yoga instruction. Though I fully attribute the success of
my Yoga work to his blessings alone, I did not wish to use his
name as a profitable means for my Yoga classes. However,
now I feel it appropriate for me to let my Yoga friends and
family know who and what the source of my Yoga knowledge
is. This book contains some facts that I am expressing for the
first time, to others.

It is not my intention to give the entire biography of my father.

I do not know it in entirety. He wrote his own biographical
sketch in hardly two pages as a part of his writing about his
Guru, Shree Krishnanath Maharaj of Mirajgaon.
Mr. Dattatreya Kulkarni, a disciple of Shree Das Kisan

1
Baba(a younger brother disciple of my father), wrote a book
containing the biographies of Shree KrishnanathMaharaj, my
father (Shree Vinayak Rajaram Kulkarni), Shree Das Kisan
Baba, and Damayanti Tai (a disciple of Das Kisan Baba). That
book contains my father’s biography, but I think it is not
suitable for my Yoga Friends and Family. Therefore, I plan to
write mainly those details that, I believe, shall benefit my
Yoga friends and family.

When it comes to mystical experiences and miracles, I have

tried to limit myself only to those where I am associated or I
have sufficient first hand knowledge, and where they are
relevant to my Yoga family.

Also, there are places where I am writing about my mother.

This is because I feel it is relevant to my father’s biography.
My mother’s spirituality contributed tremendously to my
Yoga study, but I am not including that in detail in this book.

I have given many photos at the end of this book. This will
surely make the book interesting to my yoga friends and
family.

I apologize for the fact that the writing in this book appears to
be my own biography at places. But, I was not able to avoid
this, due to the necessity of making my point relating to my
father, or due to my limited writing skills.

Please forgive me for any inadequacies in my humble attempt

to write this difficult book. I hope this book helps some of my
spiritual friends and students. Since I am writing this book
mainly for this specific audience and since I do not know any
suitable person who could write a foreword for this book, I
have excluded the same.

2
However, with my fortune, I found three yoginis who helped
me with the English language of this book. I am extremely
thankful to Sharon Gordon of Spain (whom I have not met
yet!), Angela Norwood (Laxmi) of California and my
spiritual sister Marisol Fuson (MerrySoul) of California.The
scholarly writer, Mr. Hemachandra Kopardekar, who
reviewed each line of the Adhiyoga book carefully was out of
touch with me for a prolonged time. I had decided not to
bother him with this particular book at his old age. However,
to my surprise, he met me only a couple of days before the
book went to printing. He insisted that he reads the draft and
to my delightful surprise, he reviewed each line of this book
overnight! I have incorporated all his suggestions. I feel his
appearance at the last moment is a parental blessing
(Ashirvada) for me in the reality.

OM ShantiH
Neel Kulkarni
Gurupournima, 2016

3
 His Childhood

My father, Vinayak was born in 1906 of a Brahmin couple in a

small village in the Satara district of Maharashtra state in
India. His mother, Ganga was known to be an extremely pious
lady, and his grand father, Bajirao was a saintly person. His
father, Rajaram was not greatly spiritual, but he had
performed an austere practice of reading a particular scripture
for 5 continuous years with the wish of getting a son, as
directed by his father Bajirao. At the end of this practice, my
father was born. [Illustration 1: Family Tree].

When Vinayak was 5 years old, his grand father Bajirao was
extremely ill. His British physician, Dr. Wills, had inspected
him. After this inspection, Bajirao invited 21 Brahmins from
the nearby village of Wai and took their blessings, giving
them donation (Dakshina) and food. On this occasion,
Bajirao called Vinayak and his parents near him, and stated
that Vinayak shall become a great saint in the future and he
should be looked after properly. Then, Bajirao uttered his
Mantra three times and left the body.[1911].

Vinayak was extremely interested in learning and education.

However, his family wanted him to do the family work of
farming and to skip education. Unfortunately, his mother died
shortly after his grand father’s death. Due to the opposition to
his educational desire, frustrated,Vinayak ran away from the
family at an early age of 12. He went to Mumbai, worked very
hard to make a living with menial jobs and completing his
high school education. From the age of 9, Vinayak practiced
devotional surrender to Shree Dattatreya (three headed Indian
deity) as per the family tradition. He used to read Ramayana
and Mahabharata to his coworkers in the cloth mills in
Mumbai.[1918].

4
Young Vinayak’s life was very hard in terms of food, clothing
and shelter. He washed cars, sold bananas, and worked in
cloth mills. He used the Madhukari system for food (visiting
five houses to beg for food, carried on by the poor Brahmin
boys). At one time, he was somewhat frustrated and tried to
end his life at a beach in Mumbai. But, a Yogi suddenly
appeared on the scene and told him that much work was left
for him before his life ends. From that moment, Vinayak’s
spiritual practice and progress multiplied. Certain mystical
changes took place such as; he was able to tell people their
future without any analysis or previous knowledge of a
person [1925].

Due to extreme harsh living conditions, he became severely

ill. Some of his friends brought him to the family home in the
Satara district. At this point of time, his family arranged his
marriage with Sumati, a daughter of a wealthy businessman
in Pune. Sumati herself was extremely spiritual from
childhood. She read entire Mahabharata treatise several
times, from the age of 9 till the end of her 88 years of life. She
used to tell me the stories from Mahabharata in my childhood
and this partially but surely formed the basis of my Yoga
studies later. One astrologer had told Sumati’s family that
hundreds of persons shall bow to her in the later life. This
prediction came true after she was married to my father.
(1928). [Illustration 2 and 3: Pimpode, place of birth].

Vinayak completed school-teacher certification course and

obtained a job as a school teacher. This gave him the name
Master, meaning teacher in Marathi. This name stayed with
him till the end of his life. [Illustration 4: My father after
wedding but before meeting his Guru. Standing at the
back right side.]

5
 His Family Life

Vinayak had very little material resources at the starting of his

marriage. Therefore, he had to work very hard to make a
living. My mother came from a wealthy family and she was
not used to working hard. Since getting married, she had to
work very hard and manage with the difficult financial
situation. Vinayak would do two full time school teaching
jobs and also private tutoring to supplement the income.

Though life was physically hard, Vinayak and Sumati were

both very spiritual and considered life as a spiritual practice.
[1928 to 1968].Therefore, they were able to tolerate all the
hardships. In spite of hard work, they spent many hours in
ascetic spiritual practices such as reading scriptures in a very
disciplined way and performing worships in a particular way.
For example, my mother walked barefooted to Someshwara
Temple in Shukrawar Peth of Pune each Monday, for several
years.Tears used to flow from their eyes while my parents
read scriptures. All this had a tremendous effect on my
general life. There is one interesting event that may be
mentioned here. There is no single photograph of my father
and mother as a couple. Once my mother pleaded for such a
photograph and when this photograph was taken, Shree Sai
Baba’s image appeared in the middle of them. This particular
photo is in possession of Ingle family in Pune.

Though Vinayak was ascetic by nature, he was equally

loving, kind hearted and selfless. Therefore, he always put
others’ needs before his own, as far as material needs are
concerned. However, when it came to spiritual matters, he
was introvert. His internal spiritual practice was hardly seen
by others, except when it burst out in the form of some kind of
miracle. He never professed his method strongly or tried to

6
proselytize. In later life, he helped and taught hundreds of
people, solving all kinds of problems, but that was done to
obey his Guru’s orders. All the help he gave to others was
within the framework of his Guru’s orders.He never went to
people, but they came to him. [1939 to 1988].

My parents raised four daughters and one son (myself). The

first child, a boy was still born. My mother very much wanted
a boy. Therefore, Vinayak and Sumati went to the
Tryambakeshwar Jyotirlinga (one of the 12 important shrines
of Shiva called Jyotirlingas) and prayed for son with some
worship-promise called Navasa. I was born in exactly 9
months and the child had all the astrological signs associated
with Shiva as well as Yoga. In fact, my father had a dream
before my birth where a Yogi Sanyasi appeared and told him
that he would be born into my father’s family soon. (I only
learnt this fact at the age of 18 as my father and my sister
casually mentioned it only a couple of times in my life.) The
child was named Neelkanth based on the astrological signs
and the calendar. I was interested in Yoga and associated
subjects from very early childhood. My father was 50 years
old when I was born. [1956].

Vinayak’s family life was full of financial difficulties. He was

extremely good at his teaching job and was praised for his
work. But, he could not focus his attention on making money,
either due to his spirituality or due to his knowledge that he
was destined to be financially poor. He had to incur many
insults due to his low income. But, his peace of mind and
courage never abated. It seemed that the outside world did not
affect his inside, but at the same time he behaved like an
ordinary person. With his total faith in God and his Guru, he
was able to fulfill his duties towards the family, in spite of his
extremely low income. This can be called a miracle because,

7
if one does calculations of his income in the light of family
needs, there would be no logical explanation for this
fulfillment. [1939 to 1988].

Vinayak’s three daughters were married and bore children.

He was able to fulfill all his duties in that respect. However, as
I observed, he never got entangled in his daughters’ family
affairs. His fourth daughter was born with low intelligence.
This was due to the difficulties that my mother faced during
her pregnancies (cf:Miscellaneous). Vinayak loved this
daughter and never treated her harshly. But, after her age of
18, she had to be put in an institution for the mentally
handicapped.

His son (myself) was extremely promising in his studies.

Vinayak loved him dearly and always inspired him to study
well and become financially stable. My father noticed my
strong inborn interest in Yoga and associated subjects. He
seemed to know almost everything about my future. He told
me very clearly that I should focus on my studies and stability,
and that I did not need to worry about progress in Yoga as that
was automatically going to happen. His words came true,
fully, after 40 years.

My studies progressed at high speed and my ambitions

demanded expenses that were multiple times my father’s
income. However, he never stopped me from my studies and
he told me that all the arrangements for my studies would be
fulfilled due the blessings of Shirdi Saibaba (who was my
father’s main deity after the meeting with his guru, Shree
Krishnanatha Maharaj). From my age of 13 onwards, till my
master’s degree graduation in Aerospace Engineering, I never
had any problems with money needed for my education. This
arrival of money was extremely miraculous and my father

8
seemed to know it fully. He assured me that I should focus on
studies without worrying about money. It was almost natural
for me to trust my father’s words in this respect. In hindsight,
it seems there were many miracles put together,allowing for
multiple incomes of my father to be spent on my education. I
lived like a very well to do person whereas rest of my father’s
family was economically poor. Some of this is described later
in this book.

After my education was complete, my father did not interfere

much with my marriage and expected nothing from me for his
welfare. He behaved with me like a friend and he never
complained about anything. Whenever needed, he was
always there for my guidance and the same is true till to-date.

To have a father like him is the greatest gift my life has

given to me. His blessings provided me with the material
needs to the fullest and also provided me with the spiritual
guidance that seekers can only dream of.

9
 His Working Life

Vinayak was trained to be a school teacher. He worked in few

schools and also tutored privately to supplement his income.
He worked in a school named Alegaonkar School, but I do not
have much information about his work there, except that he
had to go on bicycle a very long distance to this school. Later,
he worked in Gopal High School in Pune. He was well known
in Gopal High School as a good Mathematics and language
teacher. But he was more wellknown as Bua, meaning saint
amongst the teachers of Gopal High School. I was a student at
this school much later, after my father had left that school.

Once there was a school inspection by the municipal

corporation of Pune City. The education inspector, noticing
the quality of my father’s teaching, and knowing the poor
economic condition of my father, recommended his name to
Saint Ornella’sHigh School, in the camp area of Pune. He was
offered a better salary and also made Principal of the middle
school. However, the Christian authorities of the St.Ornella’s
school wanted to use him to spread the Christian religion, as
Vinayak had many spiritual followers. My father had to go
through a lot of harassment from the Christian authorities of
the school. Ultimately he resigned from the teacher’s job.

When Vinayak resigned from the teacher’s job at the age of

66, he was offered a supervisor’s position in an incense
factory owned by one disciple. Later we shall see how this
disciple rose from economically poor condition to a rich
status due to Vinayak’s blessings. Vinayak accepted this job,
but as fate would have it, Vinayak had to work very hard as a
laborer in the incense factory at a very late age. He was treated
very harshly as a laborer and it took toll on his health. He was
also insulted in many ways by some members of the disciple’s

10
family. However, Vinayak tolerated all this with calm mind.
The work place was just below our rental apartment.I was a
high school student. I met my father each time I went out of
my home and came back to the home, without missing even a
single instance. During these short meetings my father gave
me inspiration to study well, to find my stability, and he also
told me how his hard work is a part of his spiritual austerity.
He told me twenty years before his death that his hard work
will later be held as his tolerance and forgiveness to his
disciple. During those meetings, he gave me a good outline of
my future life and he told me that my good studies would pay
for itself long into my life. He also told me that I would never
suffer any poverty and I will become very well known. All the
statements he made came true. [Illustration 5: My father
while working as a laborer, with his colleague,
Mr. Diwekar]

My father’s health deteriorated due to the hard labor in the

incense factory. But, he continued to work to feed the family.
He was never lazy or inactive. His appearance was that of an
upright person. He took his illness and financial difficulties
like a game. I could clearly see that he was detached from the
material, while being in the material world.

After I went to the Engineering College, he could not work

any more. But, he always did some activity such as helping
my mother, advising his disciples, and also doing household
chores. His economic condition was so bad that he could not
afford to purchase vegetables. But, he never let that affect my
studies and always encouraged me in studies. [Illustration 6:
Rare photo of my father and myself after my father
stopped working in job.]

11
 His Spiritual Evolution

It is a privilege to be born in a family where a person like

Vinayak took birth. Vinayak’s grandfather, Bajirao, was a
saintly person. His story has appeared earlier in this book
(cf:His Childhood). There was a tradition in the ancestral
families to visit Pandharpur Temple during the Ashadhi
Ekadashi procession. However, once one of my father’s
ancestors found a statue of Vitthal (the deity at Pandharpur
Temple) on the farm. Vitthal appeared in his dream instructing
that no pilgrimage of Padharpur be done thenceforth. But,
one of the successors disobeyed this instruction and since
then no boy has been born in that family thus terminating the
family tree.

Vinayak’s parents did not have a child for long. So, his father
Rajaram was asked by his father Bajirao to do Cyclic Reading
of Shree Gurucharitra (known as Parayana in Marathi
language) as a Tapas (austerity) to get a son. Rajaram did this
reading regularly for 5 years. Vinayak was born to the delight
of the family. Vinayak’sbecoming a future Saint was
predicted by Bajirao at the time of Bajirao’sdeath. This story
was described earlier (cf:His Childhood).

The loss of his mother at a very early age must have made
Vinayak very introverted though very little is known about
his childhood. I observed that my father’s eyes were very
shiny and penetrating, as if he seemed to know about you
when he looked at you. My mother once told me that during
his young married life, he was able to move a door just by
looking at it. But, at the same time, there was something
introverted about his eyes. (Though I myself had no power
like my father, I can understand my father’s power. Because,
when I was an Engineering student, I practiced very strict

12
celibacy for some time and during those times my eyes
became sharp to the extent once my Professor told me in the
class that I was breaking the classroom blackboard with my
penetrating vision.)

My father was extremely tolerant when it came to hardships.

He was able to live on a very small amount of food. He was
able to sustain very high fevers and pains. I have witnessed
such illness so many times that I was not worried even when
he appeared to be close to death due to extreme illness. My
mother told me many times and also,he himself told me a few
times that he took upon himself the illness of others to help
them. Only a saint can do such a thing. I attribute this
tolerance to his hardships as a young lonely boy working hard
to make his education happen in the midst of Mumbai city,
and to his love for others.

After the episode of the attempt to end his life and a Yogi’s
appearing on the scene, my father had developed an intense
spirituality. He had started reading the well known scripture
called Shree Guru Charitra while maintaining perfect
celibacy. During this period, he also worked in cloth mills of
Mumbai. He used to read Ramayana and Mahabharata to his
fellow workers. However, he never told me stories from these
two epics. My mother told me the Mahabharata stories. She
was very good at telling stories and they used to make me cry.
I clearly remember of crying when she told me the story of
Sudama, the poor friend of Shree Krishna. I had formed an
image of how Sudama looked and now I remember that he
looked like a roadside newspaper salesman with short
trousers! There was a constant feeling in my house of my
father’s presence as a Yogi even in the midst of quarrels
between my father and mother, or in the midst of any financial
problems, or in the midst of family fights or enjoyments. With

13
all apparently positive and negative events, there was always
a strong feeling of energy due to his presence that used to give
us courage that everything shall be fine in the end. And, that is
what happened!

My father’s school days were spent in extreme hardship and

he was economically always poor throughout his life, except
he was probably somewhat well to do for a few years after his
wedding and before he had the third child. He ate very limited
food. In fact, I can honestly say that he is the only person I met
who had complete control over the tongue when it came to
food. But, I could never understand how his build was so
strong. He had very broad shoulders and his chest was also
well built. His arms were strong, his wrists were big and his
fingers were strong. I never ever saw my father lying in a lazy
way in the entire life. He took rest only when he was tired or
when he was ill. It may be worthwhile to mention here a
surprising thing that until my father’s passing away, my
mother never became ill to the point of needing to take a break
from her work. She used to help people who had contagious
diseases. But, she never contracted one illness, not even a
simple cough and cold. My father told me several times that
my mother had a chronic asthma in her Karmic constitution,
but he had arrested it till the end of his life. This was true.
After my father’s death, she lived for 13 years, gradually
suffering more from Asthma. She had to sit at nights with
Asthmatic attacks and dry cough.

While on the subject of illness, it is worth mentioning that it is

true that a saint will many times suffer the devotee’s illness.
My father used to become ill without a notice and his
suffering was at times unbearable for others to watch. He
would get a terrible fever and a rash on the face. And, when his
period of suffering was over, he became well,the following

14
moment. And, he would behave as if he had not been recently
ill. My mother hadseen my father vomiting a bucket-full of
waste while he had not eaten much food at all. Also, I myself
have witnessed his suffering an illness that indicated his death
is approaching. But, then he became well, the following
moment. On some such occasions, he had told me that he
would know the time of his death sufficiently before the
actual death. In 1988, he was admitted to Prayag Hospital. He
told the doctor that no attempts to save him would work. He
was in coma for a long time and I could not see him. He told
people around not to bother me with the knowledge of his
condition as I was in New Zealand then.

Actually, during one such illness of my father, I was

emotionally carried away. This was just after I received my
Master’s degree in Engineering and I had come from West
Bengal to work in Mumbai. As I have indicated earlier (cf:His
Family), I was an established celibate for some years of my
Engineering studies. So, no one had ever talked about my
marriage though I was a very sought after candidate for an
arranged marriage. I was working in Mumbai, but I was
visiting Pune for a short time. I witnessed that my father was
so unwell that he might die. Then, a thought overcame my
mind that I should marry since I was the only son of my
parents. But, I could not dare to say it openly. I wrote a small
letter to my father that I am prepared to marry and I would like
to marry the first girl that appears in the arranged interviews. I
was apparently making a promise that I will marry whoever
the first girl appears for such interviews. (I wish I had that
letter with me today!) Surprisingly, my father became well
within a couple of days. One girl’s family had approached my
father to become a mediator for meeting with one of my
father’s disciples for the purpose of arranged marriage of the
girl with the disciple’s son. My father delayed this meeting, as

15
he knew the future of the boy. It happened that the boy later
committed suicide and the girl was saved from that marriage.
Later, the father of that girl arranged a meeting between her
and myself. I agreed to marry her in the very first meeting.
She was also impressed with me and wanted to marry me
against her mother’s wishes. My father suggested that I
should reconsider the decision. I was adamant on my decision
and previous declaration to marry the first girl I see in the
arranged meetings. My father also tried to explain to me
through another student of his, Mr. Natu, who was extremely
spiritual and an advanced practitioner of spirituality. Mr. Natu
had to travel a long distance to visit our home that day. On
seeing that I was adamant on my decision, my father indicated
that I had to reap the consequences and I foolishly nodded
positively. My marriage lasted for 24 years, but it was filled
with many painful incidences, mostly due to my follies and
mistakes. That means, I am not blaming others for the pain I
had to bear. I had a wonderful marriage in many other ways.
My father never blamed me for this in his entire life. In fact, he
always inspired me to be as good and happy as possible.

My father’s financial condition was very poor throughout my

educational life. But, he always encouraged me to study well
and he told me that education is the key for me to come out of
the financial suffering and also to succeed in Yoga. He never
suggested that I should study only to get a job and start
earning for the family. My ambitions were very high and I
started getting scholarships from grade 9 and I continued to
get full scholarships until I completed the Master’s degree.
The amount of scholarships I received was, at times,more
than my expenses and I used to give all the leftover money to
my father, though it was not a very large amount. My father
used to smile when I did so and I knew exactly what his smile
meant. It meant that I would get several times more than what

16
I gave to him. I got thousands of times more as a matter of
fact! My financial standard of living became hundreds of
times higher than that of my parental family. When this fact
came to my mind for the first time, I was in the USA, my
father had passed away already, and I went through a short
period of suffering agony. I would like to disclose some of the
events during my educational life that clearly establish my
father’s spirituality and also yogic powers. I am disclosing
many of these events for the first time, even to my own family.

Since my early childhood, I was exposed to and became

interested in Spirituality and Yoga. There was no need for me
to go to any Yoga class as I felt the practice was totally visible
at home on a daily basis. My father’s influence, stories about
his Guru and associated personalities, mainly from my
mother, had built a strong belief system. But, also there were
experiences that stabilized this belief. And, I think that is the
key to my practice and progress in Yoga and Spirituality,
whatever that is.

During my childhood, there were many Kirtan programs,

Bhajan programs and Arati prayers that I had opportunity to
attend. These created an intention of spirituality and
especially love for chanting and memorization that became
part of my Yogic practice. I remember my mother singing
while making the Roti bread almost daily during my school
days, and while serving me the hot bread. I could consume
any amount of food that was served by her without feeling
heavy. I never wasted any food and due to this, I was blessed
by my father with never going hungry in my life.

I remember my father sitting near his Guru’s photo during the

Kirtan programs where a professional Kirtan maker used to
deliver the Kirtan. At times, tears flowed from my father’s

17
eyes and at other times, he was smiling in a way he was
talking with his Guru.

During the Thursday Arati prayers, there was a time portion

when devotees can sing a song one by one. I tried to sing on
some Thursdays. I was very primitive in the singing, but it
served to give me the confidence needed for teaching
Chanting in Yoga classes. I remember clearly my father
smiling, some times a little audible, when I would sing on
those days.

When, I was eight years old, the sacred thread ceremony

(Maunji Bandhan) was performed. During this ceremony, a
priest is supposed to initiate the ceremonial boy into the
Gayatri Mantra. This is done inside a tent of cloth where the
boy secretly receives Gayatri Mantra from the Priest. When
this event was about to start, my father told the priest that my
father himself would impart the Mantra to me. Both of us
were covered by cloth. My father gave me the Mantra only
once or so. He told me to recite it 12 times a day. To my
amazement, I was meditating on the Sun automatically when
I used to chant this Mantra. I continued that chanting for 40+
years. Of course, I have received great benefit from it. But
during my entire life, my father never enquired whether I was
doing that chanting and I also never discussed that subject
with anyone ever. This sounds amazing to me as a Yoga
Teacher that I continued that practice so long and I thought it
was totally natural to do so.[Illustration 7: My sacred
thread ceremony.]

For my first four years in the Primary School, I was an

ordinary student with average or below average grades. I used
to sit at the side or back of the classroom. There were two girls
in our class. One of them always came first and the other one

18
always came second in all the exams. But, since my father
used to be a teacher in the same school, all the teachers used to
know me and loved me.My father was respected in the whole
school, not only as a teacher but also mainly as a Spiritual
Master. The teachers used to bring me goodies to eat.

But, when I went to the 5 grade in Gopal High School (This

th

school exists to-date!), I was put in the Division B. (Division

A is for the best students. B is for middle quality students and
C is for the low quality students.) At this time, my father
started praising me a little from time to time. I do not
remember the details. And, the subject English language was
introduced in the 5th grade. I also started going to the Tilak
Maharashtra Vidyapeeth, an institute that gave tuition in
Sanskrit, English, and Hindi after school hours. These
tuitions were very low priced and of high quality. I met my
Sanskrit Teacher, Dr. Thite at this place in 1968 and he is still
my Sanskrit teacher. He is the one who did the Sanskrit
portion of my book, Adhiyoga – The Authentic Yoga System
of Neel Kulkarni, published in 2014.

I felt some kind of surge of energy in me in the 5 grade. I

th

clearly remember my father praising me, my Gayatri Mantra

chanting, and my becoming suddenly very good at studies. I
felt as if I automatically became better each time my father
praised me. It was infrequent, but it was sure each time. I
came first in the Division B of the 5 grade. Thereafter, I came
th

first in the Division B till the grade 7 . For the 8 grade, I was
th th

transferred to Division A, where one of the two top students

from the 4 grade class was studying. She was still the topmost
th

student. In the 8 grade, I came second in the Division A. I was

th

considered a top student of the school, next only to the girl.

Until 8 grade, I studied in the Gopal High School where my

th

19
tuition fees were waived due to my father’s previous teaching
in that school. But the rules were changed and I was supposed
to pay the tuition fees from 9 grade onwards. My sister, who
th

also studied at the Gopal High School had just completed her
11 grade (high school diploma). She was a great student as
th

well. She started studying in the Sir Parashurambhau College

in Pune city. She forced my family to transfer me to a superior
school, New English School, as a 9 grade student.
th

My father suddenly had to pay the two tuition fees and he had
resigned from the Christian Missionary School due to
problems with the management, as described earlier(cf:His
Working Life). In fact, my father’s financial situation was at
the lowest at that time. One of his disciples offered him a job
in the incense sticks factory owned by the disciple. This
factory was just below our apartment. I clearly remember my
father’s stature at this time. His face was totally peaceful and
without any worries. The shine on his face was not affected.
He was able to take this job in the incense factory of a disciple
after doing the principal’s job in the school and after being
considered as a great teacher. This is very rare in India. In the
new job, my father was appointed as a supervisor, but very
soon he was turned into a hard laborer. This was a surprise to
all our friends. Because, my father was considered to be a
Saint and also he was approaching 70, with all the hard work
behind. My mother was furious at times. But, my father
tolerated everything with a smile. He worked in that job for
approximately 10 years.His eyes had to be operated on as they
were damaged due to the fumes from the incense sticks. He
was insulted frequently and had to do hard labor work. It was
a surprise and fury for several people to watch such an
honorable saintly person being treated harshly by such
circumstances, but keeping totally calm. But in fact, no one
came forward to offer any alternative. The world, including

20
the spiritual one, is indeed a selfish one! During this period,
my father became ill several times and he was even surgically
operated on the eyes. But this did not affect his peace of mind
in any way.

The biggest advantage of my father’s above mentioned job

for me, was that I was able to see him each time I came out of
my house and each time I entered my house. He insisted that I
meet and even talk with him during this entry and exit. It is
now surprising to me to remember that not only did I met him
each time, but also I touched his feet each time. Touching his
feet must have happened four to eight times a day for the high
school 3 years. During these meetings, my father gave me so
many ideas about educational progress, his suffering, his
future, my future, and the need for my focus on studies, his
Guru, and my future Yoga progress. When he talked with me,
tears used to roll down my eyes and I was becoming focused
on studies and the Yogic subjects were automatically opened
up to me. There is no question that those meetings with him
formed a large portion of my educational and yogic
personality.

I became a top student in New English School. During the

high school studies, I had very high quality teachers. My
father encouraged my studies always. I was offered
scholarships that paid for everything. It is interesting that the
scholarships were offered to me as a good student, but the
prime reason was that my father was highly respected by the
decision makers! I passed the high school with flying colors
and got admission into the Science College, where my
scholarships continued. During the high school as well as the
college studies, there was some sort of connection between
myself, my studies, my father and my spirituality, such that I
felt I was climbing the heights of education and spirituality at

21
the same time, with total confidence and without any doubts.

At this stage, it will be most appropriate to tell the story of my

Engineering studies in the esteemed institute called Indian
Institute of Technology (IIT Kharagpur). When I was in the
last year of High School, I had a friend who was top at studies.
Our regular connection was somewhat broken as we joined
different Science colleges. However, he used to play
volleyball at the Sir ParashurambhauCollege, Tilak Road,
Pune. I used to go to play also as the place was close to my
house. After one year, he suddenly disappeared when I was
studying in the second year of college studies. One day he
returned to the Volleyball court and I happened to meet him.
He told me that he joined a very reputed engineering institute,
called Indian Institute of Technology. I was then in the second
year of science college preparing for admission to the College
of Engineering, Pune which also is a very reputed college.
But, I learnt that IIT was considered the best institute in India
and there were only 5 IITs in the entire India. I was attracted
by the IIT and wanted to try to get admission there. I started
preparing for the entrance examination with great inspiration.
My father encouraged me to study for this examination
without asking what IIT meant and without any discussion
about it. Only top students appear for this examination and
only a small percentage get admission there. But, myself as
well as my father held a general belief that I would be
awarded an admission into IIT. When the results of the
examination were out, my name was in the selection list, but
unfortunately I ranked towards the bottom of the list. I knew
the reason for this. I had absentmindedly forgotten to answer a
part of Physics questionnaire.

Anyway, we enquired through our friends at IIT Mumbai

about my chances of getting a good placement in IIT. I was

22
told that I would not get admission to any Engineering Branch
at IIT Mumbai, which was the closest to my parent’s home
and also I would not possibly get admission to highly
regarded branches of Engineering in any of the 5 IITs. I was
highly upset. But, my father assured me that everything
would turn out to for the good with Shirdi Saibaba’s grace. I
did go for my admission interview to Mumbai with my elder
sister who was very smart, but was not at all knowledgeable
about Engineering. I was able to get admission to any branch
of Engineering study in the highly respected College of
Engineering at Pune. But, I was interested in a highly sought
out branch of study in the IIT. We were hosted at one common
friend’s small apartment within the IIT Mumbai research
scholars’ quarters. This research scholar was a brother in law
ofone of my father’s disciples (Mr. Shashi Patwardhan). I was
finding it difficult to rest at night due to my poor ranking in the
IIT selection results. Ultimately, I slept in the early hours of
morning. I had a dream where Shirdi Saibaba appeared and
told me that I was going to be admitted in IIT. This made me
happy. Next day, we went for the actual interview. No
Engineering branch in Mumbai was available. The only
Engineering branches available were Agriculture and Civil in
IIT Kharagpur. This IIT was located in West Bengal. We had
no idea of this place and it was the farthest from Pune. And, I
was not happy with these two branches. I talked with the Dean
of Admission, Mr. Chandiramani and told him my
dissatisfaction. On seeing my situation, he told me that I could
only get into these two branches and that I should accept Civil
Engineering. He said that there was a likelihood of one person
with a higher ranking who hadjoined the Aeronautical
Engineering studies, but who may relinquish it later due to his
going elsewhere. Mr. Chandiramani told me that he would
offer me Civil Engineering as a confirmed branch of study
and Aeronautical as a provisional branch to be confirmed in

23
case the above mentioned person relinquishes his seat. I
accepted this offer. When I came out, I told my sister that I had
accepted admission in IIT Kharagpur, West Bengal. She was
shocked and held herself responsible for my going so far
away from Pune, for the first time in life. When we reached
Pune, all my friends and family were shocked at my decision
to go so far from the family. But, my father and mother both
supported this idea. I remember my father stating several
times that I will be blessed by the Natha Yogis who visit
Bengal more frequently. I did not know what that meant then.
But now I find that my stay in Bengal for 7 years contributed
highly to my Yoga studies! I had a chance to study the lives of
Ramakrishna Paramahansa and Swami Vivekananda in
details. I also visited their places of stay on numerous
occasions. There was a group of Spiritual students in IIT
Kharagpur that I had a privilege to be member of for 5 years. I
was able to study Yoga and Spirituality in isolation for several
years. In short, my stay in IIT Kharagpur is a major period in
my Yoga study. It is amazing to think of going to an advanced
institute of Engineering and being able to add spiritual studies
to that. It was a blessing in reality! My father wrote to me so
many letters during this period and they inspired me in my
Engineering studies, material well being and at the same time
guided me properly towards my spiritual goals without
falling into ditches of confusion, doubt and dependence on
others for material sustenance, the things which I find among
many Yoga students that cross my path.

I wish to elaborate a little bit on my admission into the

Engineering Institution, IIT. When I accepted admission into
the IIT at the interview in Mumbai, I was not aware of
expenses for that education. How naïve! When we returned to
Pune, one close friend of my sister gave us the information

24
that expense for the IIT would be approximately Rs. 300 per
month whereas my father’s monthly salary was Rs. 100 for
his labor job at the age of 70. So, I was totally upset for a day. I
was so furious that I was mad enough to lock myself into the
house and kept my father and mother out on the verandah for a
night. I heard my parents talking outside where my mother
was really upset with my stupid and arrogant behavior,
whereas my father was laughing with whatever feeling he
had. Next day, I opened the doors for them to enter. My anger
subsided. My father told me that I had done my job of
studying and getting admitted. I should leave the expense part
to Shirdi Saibaba who would definitely take care of me. It was
a very courageous and farfetched assurance. My expenses at
the IIT would be three times the income of my father! To our
amazement, the following things happened. Rivers of tears
are not enough to wash away the feelings that arise when we
read the following lines.

Next day, one old family friend visited us. He was actually a
priest at one temple where my father used to perform
Thursday Arati prayers long before my birth. He learnt about
my admissions and then he informed this fact to one of his
clients at whose house he used to work as a professional
priest. That client was the owner of Brihan Maharashtra
Sugar Cyndicate, a large Sugar Manufacturer. They had a
scholarship for promising students of a different caste than
mine. But, he agreed to pay for my entire Engineering
education. In fact he invited me to his office in a day and gave
me cash for the entire year. Though this was a miracle, neither
my family nor my father took it as anything special. They
actually paid all my expenses for the 5 years of the
Engineering studies and they also promoted my PhD studies
in USA, which I could not join due to an unknown visas
situation. [Illustration 8: Jagannath Pujari, the priest,
1953.]
25
Additionally, I was offered two more scholarships, both due
to my father’s disciples’ references. These paid for all other
expenses such as travels, educational supplies, entertainment,
clothes, luggage, and everything else. In fact, I received
sufficient money for my all expenses and was also able to give
my father a small amount that was left over. As I wrote earlier,
any small amount that I gave to my father was returned to me
in amounts 100 times of that later in the life. This is a typical
of stories from the life of Shirdi Saibaba.

I completed the Bachelor’s degree as well as Master’s degree

at the IIT. During that period, in the first two years I found
myself to be much lower in intelligence and grades as
compared to my colleagues, some of them were superstars
beyond imagination. I was considered great in my small hole
in Pune, but found myself to be negligible in IIT. I went
through agony for almost a year. Life was not enjoyable. I
wrote to my father. He gave me courage and I focused a lot.

In the third year, I started shining and I fared 4 in my class for

th

the Bachelor’s degree and 2 for the Master’s degree. I was

nd

considered a top student in my class and I had full confidence

regarding studies, job, health, fitness and my Yoga studies at
the time I graduated. During this period, I always felt my
father’s presence. I used to run to the dining hall to see
whether there was a letter from my father. On receiving any
letter, I used to close my room and very carefully read each
line of the letter several times in the same way as some
animals take their food to a corner and eat it. I also did some
mischievous things during this period and I later found out
that my father knew about them. He watched me and also
forgave me. He was very kind hearted indeed. I can guarantee
to any Yoga student that a real saint never gets angry and

26
never punishes a devotee for any mistake. A student should
love and trust in a real saint and the God without any
hesitation.[Illustration 9: Neel Kulkarni at IIT
Kharagpur, 1979].

During the second year of my Bachelor’s degree course, I

learnt that Aeronautical Engineering students do not find job
in Aeronautical Engineering. Some of them go to the U.S.A.
for advanced studies and most of them find non-Engineering
jobs. This caused me a lot of pain as I felt I shall not get a job
after all this big show of studies and my family’s idea of
improving our status will fail. This thought bothered me for a
long time and it was affecting my happiness and studies.
Ultimately, I wrote to my father explaining my situation. He
wrote to me a short response stating that I should focus on
studies and job will be a God’s job. He wrote a statement
saying that I shall get my job with Tatas, a corporation that has
nothing to do with Aeronautical Engineering. I was curious to
know how Tatas would offer me a job. But, I had total trust in
my father’s words. So, I kept quiet and became happy. Later, I
forgot all about Tatas. When I completed my Bachelor’s
degree, our family situation was really bad financially. My
father was also much older and becoming ill at times. All
friends and family were looking towards my employment and
income. I went to a few job interviews. For one of the
interviews, I had to go to Banares area. I took advantage of
this situation to visit the famous Kashi Vishweshwar Temple
in Banares. My father wrote to me to visit a specific family
and also encouraged my going to Banares. I was not chosen
for the jobs. So, I applied for a Master’s degree progam. My
father supported my doing this study though his financial
situation was bad. During the Master’s degree studies, I was
offered a teaching assistantship to do PhD studies in the USA.

27
I was very interested in this. My father supported this
wholeheartedly. But, I was not offered visas. My father told
me to stay happy and continue the task at hand. He said I
would get an opportunity to go out of India later in life. I had
not applied for PhD studies in Indian universities and was
concerned about my future after the Master’s degree
education. Interestingly, Tatas Corporation did arrive in the
IIT Kharagpur to employ candidates for the Software
Development jobs. They chose 65 students from various
branches of Engineering, who were top students only, for
their selection process. They did not choose any Aeronautical
Engineering candidates for this process. But, the head of the
department of Aeronautical Engineering pleaded withTatas to
allow at least one Aeronautical Engineering student to appear
in this selection process as no jobs were coming for the
Aeronautical Engineering graduates. They accepted to allow
only one candidate with the Aeronautical Engineering
degree. The first ranker was not sure about accepting job if
chosen, so I was sent for this process. Out of 65 only 9
candidates were selected based upon the written exams and
oral interview by the panel of four. I was chosen! I was offered
a job with Rs. 1300 per month stipend, 13 times the salary of
my father. All of us felt happy, except I hated working in
Mumbai. Also, I found that I could not help my father with the
money at all from this stipend as Mumbai was expensive and
also I liked to enjoy expensive things. My father never asked
for money and never discussed this issue. But, I did get the job
in Tatas as he had mentioned only once 5 years beforehand.

28
 His Influence on Me and My Work

Now, let me turn towards my migration to countries outside

India and my stay in those countries. During my last years of
University education, I was obsessed with the idea of
studying in the USA. As described earlier, I had applied for
and was offered admission with financial assistance to PhD
program in two universities. But, my visas were rejected on
the ground that my father had no property and that my interest
would be to stay in the USA beyond education. In my opinion,
it was totally unfair treatment, but I accepted it with happy
face after one week of disappointment. My father’s prediction
about the job in Tatas instantly put an end that
disappointment. And, I got busy with my job.

After two years of employment, my employer offered me to

go to New Zealand to work there. I called my father in Pune
who told me to accept the offer. My father had come to the
airport to see me off. It was a feeling of joy that I got a chance
to go to an affluent country and my wish of going to the USA
was fulfilled in some ways, if not exactly. By now, I had
forgotten about my past obsession with the USA. At the
airport, my father held my hand after I touched his feet with
my head and told me “do not think this is your only travel
abroad. After some time, you shall go to the USA and you will
travel to many countries in the world”. I listened to this but did
not think about it much later. I had to focus on the work at
hand and all challenges appearing. But, inside my heart, I
knew my father’s word has to come true. After two and half a
years, I visited India for 5 months, during which I studied with
the world famous Yoga Asana Teacher, Guruji BKS Iyengar.
After this period, I migrated to New Zealand. After another
couple of years, I visited the USA for vacation to visit
Disneyland near Los Angeles. During this visit, I renewed my

29
attraction to USA in some fashion and then started applying
for work in USA through postal mail. One organization
visited Wellington, New Zealand for recruiting people for a
particular project. Though I had not applied for this job, but I
happened to meet the interviewing officer coincidentally and
she interviewed me. I was chosen. And, my visa procedures
for USA started, as a candidate from New Zealand.

I remember that my father asked one of his close disciples to

connect to me by phone. That was the only call my father
made from India to me. On the phone we could barely hear
each other. My father asked me how I liked my visit to USA
and I told him it was great. That was the last time I spoke with
my father. Some months later, I received a telegram stating
that my father would likely die in two weeks and I had a
chance to see him if I wish. My visas were being processed
and I was concerned that my visit to India might spoil my
chances of going to the USA if the visas were processed in the
Mumbai office rather than in the Wellington office. I did not
go to Pune. My father passed away on 21 January 1988. I went
to the USA in May 1988. Later, I was fired from my job for
being outspoken and had to return to New Zealand with my
wife and two children. We went through 3 months of extreme
hardship and then I worked in Australia for two months,
where I feel I was misled or cheated by my employer. I kept
my Yoga practice alive throughout all this time and I was able
to secure another job in the USA in October 1988. This job
later resulted in my becoming US Citizen in 1997. I worked in
Information Technology industry very actively till 2006. I
held very good positions, enjoyed all goodies of life, travelled
to many places within USA, put my daughters to highest
quality sports and schools. I can honestly say I experienced all
the material enjoyments to my satisfaction. But, most
importantly, my Yoga studies became stable, and my ideas

30
related to Yoga became more and more established. It was as
if my father was always there with me. I did not need any
other teacher as a mentor. I also had a chance to study other
modern sciences such as health science, biology, nutrition,
fitness, public speaking, etc. All this improved my profile for
teaching Yoga.

In 1998, I experienced extreme dissatisfaction with the

Information Technology industry including its environment
and discrimination against non-Europeans, etc. But, I always
got most loving, friendly and generous colleagues throughout
the U.S.A.. They also encouraged me to teach Yoga on a
professional level. Though I was teaching Yoga free of charge
for a long time, I started teaching for income from 1998 due to
recession in the software industry. I was recognized as a very
good teacher within a couple of months.

My Yoga activity grew very rapidly. I enjoyed the freedom of

working without a binding supervision. I formulated the
system, Adhiyoga – The Authentic Yoga System. This
became a respected system. In 2012, I had to visit Australia
and New Zealand to see my daughter who had joined a
Master’s degree course in New Zealand. I was offered to
teach Yoga in these two countries. Later, I was invited in
Hawaii, California, Norway, Italy, Germany, London and
also, in many parts of India. My work is growing in Europe
and is likely to spread to South Americas and other countries.
My first entry into Europe was in Norway. It was very
interesting, but I do not wish to elaborate it here. When I got
an invitation to teach in Norway in 2013, I remembered my
father’s words at the airport when he saw me off to New
Zealand in 1984. Predicting by reading lines on the palms or
reading a horoscope with probability of things happening and
discussions thereof, are different from a one line statement of

31
a thing that is to happen after so many years later, and then
never discussing that statement later,these are two different
things. That is how I came to know what a real yogi saint
means! I think I have been offered more than what I deserve. I
should never be stupid to think of repayingfor such an
impossible offer!

I would like to mention, but only in short fashion, that I had

some extreme difficulties in my Yoga practice during my
Engineering education. All these were resolved mostly by
praying to my father. In one case, I started a practice on my
own without others knowing it. But, it took me to a
neurological condition that was creating stress during my
studies. I kept it secret till it became unbearable. Then, I wrote
a letter to my father to be handed over in person through a
person who was traveling to Pune. I was hundreds of miles
away from my home with no phone communication. My
father replied in writing that I should have studied such a
subject only under an expert supervision, but everything
would work out fine for me. After reading that letter,
automatically I became peaceful and my neurological
condition disappeared. Also I progressed in that very Yoga
practice.

In most of the letters that my father wrote to me during my

educational career, there were some common guidelines.
And, also during my visits home during the vacations, my
father gave me several guidelines about my spiritual practice
as well as about my limitations. All these were given without
much discussion or talk. These later formed the basis of my
Yoga system. He spoke very little, but whatever he spoke
seemed to be without any analysis or logical thinking or guess
work. It seemed to be Pratyaksha i.e. as if he knew it first
hand. When he spoke about spirituality, there seemed to be

32
zero doubt in his mind about what he spoke. This is how I
realized what a saint is, as compared to a Yoga Master, or an
ordinary Yoga Teacher like me.

My father was always very watchful when he found me

reading some spiritual books, yoga material or even health
material. He dissuaded, but in very short sentences or without
much repetition when he found that the material I was reading
or studying was not authentic. Very seldom, but surely he
even told me not to read certain world famous person stating
that the source is not authentic or is problematic. Later, I
found that the source was either incomplete or bogus.

I met my first Hathayoga teacher in Kerala during my

apprenticeship training at Indian Space Research Center. I
studied only 10 hours with him. His name was Pandit
Balakrishna Sharma. He told me that I was a very dedicated
Yoga person and I will become established in Yoga. My father
supported my studying with him and also my later keeping in
touch with him including sending some donations. Also,
during my five months vacation in 1985, Guruji BKS Iyengar
and his son Prashant invited me to study Yogasana with them
due to a certain event. I had an opportunity to study Yogasana
for 5 months, almost 6 hours a day. My father highly
supported this activity. He once asked me whether I obtained
everything I was looking for. I said, “no, I obtained good
knowledge of Yogasana, but not everything what I was
looking for”. I clearly remember my father’s smile approving
my statement, which reflected in my mind that I could not
reach my final goals without my father’s grace. I think he
even told me this explicitly once or twice in my life, but I do
not remember this exactly.

I had a habit of purchasing books on Yoga and Spirituality

33
even if my funds were very low. My father told me that the
books would not provide what I was looking for. But, I could
not resist the temptation. He did not object or resist me much.
I used to disobey my father on more occasions than obey him.
I found that when I disobeyed, it wasted my energy and time.
And, when I obeyed I did get the result he stated. I think I
would have become better if I had obeyed. But, of course, I do
not feel regret as I did explore things myself without his
objecting.Anyway, I did obey some very important things he
told me. But, it is also true that when I disobeyed important
things that he told me, I had to go through a hell of troubles.
But, my father was very forgiving and he never reiterated
others’ mistakes making them feeling guilty. He would rather
encourage making the best of the situation at hand. I never
saw my father negative in his entire life. He was always
positive. It seems he knew everything and so he was peaceful
about everything. Such an experience can be somewhat
painful for those who are not able to digest the peace, but it is
very useful to a spiritual aspirant. I have been on both these
paths and therefore, sometimes I can guide a person in
difficulty.

At this stage, I would like to comment on the association of

My Father with money. As described earlier (cf:His
Childhood) my father’s educational life went in extreme
poverty and hardship. Later, he had a financially lower family
life with many children. But, on the other hand he always
blessed his disciples with the sufficient money. Almost all of
my father’s disciples, even extremely poor ones, owned their
own home at one stage. My father was not able to buy a home
for himself. Though he had extraordinary skills in teaching
and he had hundreds of rich students, and also some very rich
devotees wishing to donate money, he never got into money
and remained very poor throughout his life. He encouraged

34
me to become financially stable and better, and also enjoy the
material enjoyments. This may be due to his knowledge of my
Karma. However, he himself never became financially very
good. But, somehow he was able to lead his entire life without
owing anybody any money. When he died, he had only a sum
of 50 dollars in his account. His entire property was some
papers, one golden ring with a yellow Safire, and some
spiritual items. I never saw my father attached to money. He
was the master of his mind and money could never create
worry in his mind. However, he always tried to get whatever
was needed for my education. It was interesting that money
would flow in for my education whenever there was a need.
After I got a job, for whatever reasons, I was not able to
provide sufficient money for my father. He never asked for
money from me. And, when he died he came into my widow
mother’s dream and told her that she would always be
provided for. This happened exactly. My father told me a few
times that his destiny does not have ownership of housing
property though he was able to help hundreds with their
problems. I think a similar thing took place in his Guru’s case.
And, Saibaba of Shirdi shows the same traits. It is interesting
to mention that my father had a royal look even when he wore
the simplest clothes. There was something about his
personality that made him look in charge of himself, a real
king indeed![Illustration 10: My Father in 1953].

My father had told me only a few times, but in a relaxed mood,

that he had a special ability to request Shirdi Saibaba for
welfare of a person. But, my father never ever asked anything
for himself. Only a saint can do such a thing!

When Shree Krishnanatha Maharaj, my father’s Spiritual

Guru, recognized the end of his life, he had gathered his main
disciples giving them a direction of further events. At that last

35
moment, he asked my father what he would do for his Guru
after the Guru leaves the body. My father told him that once
Krishnanatha Maharaj passes away, my father would spend
most of the time in the company of the downtrodden and
suffering people and shall consider them as his very own. On
listening this reply, Krishnanatha Maharaj embraced him and
said that his (KM) life became successful in totality due to this
reply. I have witnessed that my father’s most devotees came
under this category. Hundreds of downtrodden people visited
our home and they were benefited by my father’s blessings.
He never showed reluctance towards them. Sometimes, my
mother was somewhat frustrated with this event. But, she
knew my father’s status, and her frustration was only
superficial.

Eyewitnessed Miracle: My father was a teacher in Saint

Ornella’s School at that time. He used to correct answer books
late at night after the dinner. Once he was doing this and I was
sitting next to him. Also, my sister Manda was sitting there.
He asked both of us whether we want some Pedha sweet. We
immediately nodded yes. Then, he joined his palms facing the
photo of Krishnanatha Maharaj on the opposite wall. And,
after this he raised his palms up towards the photo. A small
Pedha landed on his palms and he gave it to two of us. He did
not eat it himself. It was very tasty no doubt. Interesting thing
is we felt it was quite natural for him to do so. Now, I
understand that he had a power that is described in the Yoga
Scriptures. That event is very vivid in my mind even today.
.
During my Engineering studies in Kharagpur around 1800
Kilometers away from Pune, I used to visit my family in Pune
three times a year. In those days, there was no phone or online
communication possible with my family. Only postal mail
was the means of communication and it took approximately

36
two weeks for a letter to reach its destination. On one
occasion, I had reached Pune without prior notice to my
family. As I reached the home, my mother opened the door
and was delighted to see me. My father woke up from his nap
and sat on the bed he usually occupied in those days. My
mother was inside the kitchen gossiping with one Gujarathi
lady. I did not know this lady then. When I washed my feet
and sat in the kitchen to drink tea made by the mother, my
mother introduced me to the lady. The lady looked very
simple and not educated. Only in the future, I learnt that the
lady was married, but that her husband had left her. The lady
was very spiritual and had some spiritual powers as well. She
considered my father as her big brother and she took some
guidance or blessings from my father. Anyway, my mother
asked the lady whether she would be willing to give her
blessings to me. I did not know what that meant. At this, the
lady washed her feet and stood in front of the small shrine in
the kitchen. She closed her eyes and prayed something. Then
she raised her palms towards the shrine. To my amazement, a
ray of red colored powder (called Kumkum) travelled from the
shrine onto her palms and a good amount of powder landed
onto her palms. After a couple of minutes, she opened her
mouth and my mother put a burning wick from the Niranjan
(an oil lamp with burning wick) inside it. She closed the
mouth and immediately she opened her eyes and came back to
normal consciousness. I was amazed at this. I was an
Engineering student and I have no doubt about what I saw.
She gave the powder to me as a blessing. I have kept that
powder with me to-date! This lady was coming to my father
for some advice or blessings, but I never knew what her real
problem was.[Illustration 11: Shrine in the kitchen]

37
 His Own Spiritual Life

The circumstance of my father’s birth and education have

been described earlier (cf:His Childhood). At the end of his
education, he was brought to his native village due to severe
illness. Soon after that he was married to Sumati. We have
also seen how a Sanyasi Yogi touched him when he had gone
to the beach to commit suicide. Since that event, he had
started some kind of spiritual practice on his own. It was
intense for sure, but all the details of this practice are not
available, partly due to the avoidance of popularity by my
father. But, we know that he read the Gurucharitra Scripture
several times, he kept strict celibacy for a long time, he
developed some spiritual powers and he was also very
kindhearted to the suffering community. Initially he was a
devotee of Shree Vishnu and Shree Dattatreya. But, on
meeting Krishnanatha Mahraj, he became devotee of Shirdi
Sai Baba. We shall now describe my father's meeting with
Krishnanatha Maharaj.

My father was around 33 years old then. He had one daughter,

who was my eldest sister. He was a school teacher, but he also
did private tutoring in order to supplement his income. He
used to live in a small and very old apartment in Pune. I was
very lucky to be able to visit this place during one of my visits
to India from the USA. I took pictures and video. The place
may be demolished by now. Here he lived in a small place
where kitchen, dining area and bathroom totaled probably 10
foot by 10 foot. There was a small living area separated from
this room. And, there was one room upstairs at the roof
accessible by an extremely narrow and delicate staircase. My
father used to do some kind of spiritual practice in this rooftop
room. At this time, he used to tutor one girl named Kusum, the
only daughter of Mr. Paradeshi, a lawyer. The family included

38
the girl, the parents and the mother of the father. This family
cherished the desire to have a brother for the girl. But, there
seemed to be no chance. Even the astrologers indicated the
absence of a son in their fate. My father used to tutor the girl
regularly. Once, a reputed astrologer visited the Pune city and
Mr. Pardeshi wanted to visit him in relation to getting a son.
The lawyer’s mother consulted my father and asked my father
to accompany Mr. Paradeshi to Astrologer’s visit. My father
suggested that they should pray to God if they wanted a son
and not visit anyone. The lawyer expressed to my father that
he already prayed in so many different ways and performed
various rituals too, but with no effect. My father suggested to
him to read the Navanatha Scripture in an austere way with
particular observances, total 9 times. These observances were
going to be impossible due to the health condition as well as
job situation of Mr. Paradeshi. My father also told Mr.
Paradeshi that after completion of the nine repetitions, a Yogi
would bless their family with a son. The lawyer started this
observance and he was surprised that all difficulties in
performance of this reading were removed, like a miracle.
[Illustration 12: My father’s home in 1939]

After completion of the promised reading, the lawyer’s

family performed a closing worship with celebration. That
night someone knocked at the door at 11 p.m. This event took
place in 1939 when it was very uncommon to be out of home
after 8 p.m. On opening the door, Mr. Pardeshi saw a Yogi
with long matted hair and beard. Yogi said that someone had
already told about his arrival. The lawyer obviously
remembered my father’s words. When the lawyer’s wife
bowed to the Yogi, the Yogi immediately made a blessing
mudra (Abhaya Mudra) and said, “May you bear a son”. She
delivered son within 9 months. The Yogi spent that night in

39
the lawyer’s home.[Illustration 13: Krishnanatha
Maharaj]

The next day, Mr. Pardeshi and the Yogi visited the
neighborhood temple of Shree Shanidev (Saturn) called
Shanipar Temple near Pune’s main vegetable market called
Mandai. This temple is still present at the same place. At the
same time, my father was in the temple. He used to visit there
just after his tutoring at the house of GovindaDaji Joshi
(Lakade) opposite to the temple (This house stands there to-
date). On seeing my father, Mr. Pardeshi tried to introduce my
father to the Yogi. My father immediately felt attraction to the
Yogi and prostrated on his feet. The Yogi told Mr. Pardeshi
that he had known my father for the last five births and he had
been guiding him. My father instantly felt totally satisfied.
The Yogi asked my father to meet the Yogi at night on that day.
From that moment, my father became devotee of Shirdi Sai
Baba. Krishnanatha Maharaj blessed my father with self-
realization experience! [Illustration 14: Shanipar Temple,
where my father met his Guru, Krishnanatha Maharaj]

Some period after the first meeting, Shree Krishnanatha

Maharaj asked my father to start a Thursday Arati prayers
where other devotees could gather and get a benefit of their
spiritual development, and resolve their problems.
Krishnanatha Maharaj himself attended many of these Prayer
events and my father continued this Thursday prayer till the
end of his life. I was lucky to attend all the Thursday prayers
during my two decades stay in Pune during my father’s life. I
myself witnessed some people who were helped and then I
heard of some stories from my mother. Also, some mystical
events took place that I am very well aware of. There are
possibly hundreds of such events that can be described. But, I
shall describe only a few of them.

40
My father used to give a small discourse during these
Thursday prayers. He told me himself that on several
occasions he himself did not know what he was saying. But
later he learnt that he had described some things that he had
not read or heard of. These statements automatically sprung
from his speech. [Illustration 15: an example of my
father’s discourse]

There was one atheist police officer in Pune (I do not

remember the name.) who condemned all sorts of worship.
During one Thursday prayers, my father stated that that very
officer was performing a Satyanarayana Puja (an extremely
popular worship ritual associated with Shree Vishnu) worship
at his home. On hearing this, one attendee of the Thursday
prayer actually went by bicycle to the home of the officer and
noticed that the officer was indeed performing the worship.

This is a somewhat serious story. On one occasion, a girl who

was nearing her death was brought to the Thursday prayer.
She was shown to my father for possible survival. However,
when she entered the shrine of the temple the girl suddenly
died. There would have been a commotion followed by
possible legal enquiry on this matter. At this time, my father’s
eyes were full of tears for a long time and he was praying
silently. Nobody knew why he was in continuous tears. He
prayed to his guru Shree Krishnanatha Maharaj for help.
Suddenly, the girl stood up as if from sleep and she said loudly
asking for Udhi, the sacred ashes. My father immediately
recognized the voice of his guru, as the girl spoke with guru’s
male voice. My father handed ashes to her and her parents. He
asked them to take the girl to home immediately, which they
did. After some time, the girl died at her home and my father
telepathically learnt that his guru had then left the body. Such

41
is the connection between the true guru and
disciple![Illustration 16: My father’s Guru, Shree
Krishnanatha Maharaj of Mirajgaon. 1945]

Many times during the Thursday Arati prayers, my father

received a blessing from Shirdi Sai Baba in the form of Pedha
sweet or Udi (sacred ashes). He will then give it to the ones
who were present. This signifies that the devotees should
partake of the blessing and they would be protected by Shree
Sai Baba. After he moved to Mr. Limaye’s place, the
incidence of this blessing was reduced for some reasons. I
myself have witnessed two of such incidences, in the first one
a big Pedha was distributed and in the second one, burning
ashes were placed in the Dhoti garment of my father and there
were dry rose flowers in them. There was no indication of the
ashes anywhere in his Dhoti clothe or on the floor when the
ashes appeared. He placed them onto the plate in front of the
shrine. The smell in the entire room was so powerful and
unusual. But, my father never showed that this was anything
special neither did the people feel it was something unusual
for my father. There were no incidences of other objects
coming in these blessings. It was only Pedha or ashes. Also,
on no occasions my father used these events to promote
himself. No photograph of any such event was taken. And, my
father never told people that this event would solve all their
problems. He had explained in one of his discourses that this
event was not his wish, but it was the wish of Shirdi Sai Baba
and his Guru.

Baburao Patwardhan was an attorney in Bagalkot, Karnatak.

His son, Shashi, was studying in Fergusson College, Pune. He
lived at his maternal uncle’s home in Shukrawar Peth. He
regularly attended the Thursday arati at Shree Siddhamata
Mandir. Thus, he became our family friend. One year, during

42
the festival of Shree Ganesha Chaturthi and Shree Gauri
Poojan, my mother was having her monthly period.
Therefore, my father had to do the preparation for the festival,
including cooking. Shashi Patawardhan visited my father that
day. My father prepared the prasad (holy food), and offered it
to Gauri goddess with a prayer. And, lo behold ! At this
prayer, the food vanished from the plate. Shashi Patawardhan
witnessed this event. Then, he understood that my father was
a great devotee and Yogi. Shashi became a devotee of my
father. It was Shashi Patwardhan’s brother in law who had
hosted me and my sister when we went to Mumbai for my
interview for admission to the Indian Institute of Technology
where I did my Bachelor’s and Master’s education in
Engineering. (cf:His Spiritual Evolution).

He invited my father to visit his house at Bagalkot and stay

with them for a week or two. He was very insistent, so in
1949, my father, mother and Mr. Limaye went to Bagalkot.
Patwardhans owned a big house and farm. The farm produced
lot of peanuts. Therefore, Patawardhans wanted to start an oil
mill with an electric oil press. They had already purchased the
necessary machinery. It was decided that my father would
inaugurate the opening of the mill.

There was a very old well near the farm, but it was dry. My
father asked Patwardhans to perform Puja at the well and he
prayed to Sai Baba for help. Instantly, ashes appeared in his
palms. When the ashes were put into the dry well, fountains
of cold water started coming up. This helped the nearby
community.Mr. Limaye had written his experiences with my
father in a notebook. It includes this visit to Bagalkot and
Vijapur. [Illustrations 17-18: Mr. Limaye’s notebook of
experiences with my father]

43
One clerk working in the Armed Forces of India, then under
the British government, with name Mr. P.G. Natu was
financially very poor, but he was extremely strong in his
spiritual goals. He had made a pilgrimage of Badari
Narayana in Himalayas without any possessions (Badari
Narayana is considered as one of the seats of Shree Vishnu).
He had one small baby son and lived several miles from the
Pune city, where the Thursday prayer took place. When his
formal guru, Dattananda Maharaj took Samadhi, he asked
P.G.Natu to go to Vinayak Kulkarni (my father) for guidance.
Mr. Natu used to walk a long distance to attend the Thursday
prayer. He was frustrated with the worldly life and he had
made a decision to escape to the Himalayas for the spiritual
practices. He had also applied for resignation from the
employment. When he visited the Thursday prayer in this
situation, my father asked him to wait till the prayer was over.
After the prayer, my father told him not to escape to the
Himalayas. Mr. Natu told my father that he had already
resigned from the job. My father told him not to worry about
the resignation. It turned out that his resignation was rejected
and Mr. Natu stayed with the family. Later he had a second
son, he progressed materially and spiritually. He visited my
father for at least for 50 years and he also helped me several
times during my educational period. His visiting at the time of
my arranged marriage meeting is described earlier (cf:His
Family). I met Mr. Natu several times during my life
including the time after the death of my father. He was always
cheered with meeting me and also offered me useful spiritual
practice tips in almost each meeting. The grandson of Mr.
Natu told me that Mr. Natu remembered his Guru at the time
of his passing away. The grandson of Mr. Natu owned a
Printing business and most of my books were printed
there.[Illustration 19: Mr. Natu]

44
My father was working as a laborer in the incense factory
below our apartment, at a very old age, and this caused him a
lot of hardship. During those days, once I overheard my father
telling Mr. Natu that he had completed 1 crore (10 million)
Japa while counting and packing incense sticks during that
job. It was amazing to know how he made use of such a job to
complete his japa. This had a definite impact on my spiritual
practice.

The Thursday prayer used to be held in one temple where a

priest named Jagannath Pujari lived. He was the same person
who visited us at the time I was selected for admission to the
prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, described earlier
(cf:His Family Life).

My father lived in his father in law's big apartment complex in

Shukrawar Peth for some time. The Khaladkar family lived
next door to him. The Khaladkars were impressed with my
father’s calm nature, habit of helping others and devotion to
Shree Shirdi Sai Baba. Khaladkar family was financially
very poor. Ambutai Khaladkar, the mother, started going to
Thursday Arati prayers. Ambutai’s husband Madhavarao was
employed as a contractor in the Military Engineering
Services. He used to go to Delhi frequently for his work. He
had memorized the entire Bhagavadgita and recited it each
day before taking any food. Once when he went to Delhi, his
four years old son, Ram started crying, missing his father. He
would not stop at any cost. So, Ambutai brought Ram to my
father. My father placed his palm on Ram’s head, and Ram
stopped crying because he was able to see his father in Delhi.
Due to my father’s blessings, the financial condition of the
Khaladkar family improved. They purchased a big house in
Shaniwar Peth, which is still their home and is named Sai
Krupa. Ram got a very good job, and later had the opportunity

45
to visit U.S.A., Japan, Germany, etc. in the days when such a
travel was very rare. He got a valuable knowledge through
these visits and later he started his own big business. He
helped his younger brother Shrikantto succeed in studies and
business. Ram was married to a very pious and devout lady.
His sons are well educated and well to do.

Ram had many troubles with his business partner at one time.
When he expressed his troubles to my father, my father
prayed to Sai Baba to save him. He escaped the troubles.
During the old age of my father, the Khaladkar family took
full care of him. When Shree Krishnanath Datta Mandir was
finally built in a big way, my father became the chief trustee,
and Ram the second. Now, Ram is the chief trustee, and he
performs the service in the temple on a regular basis.
Additionally, Ram Khaladkar helped me several times during
my education. Also, he lent me the money to purchase tickets
for my first journey to New Zealand. This later opened doors
for my further progress. I am extremely grateful to him. He
was one of the guests of honor when the book Adhiyoga
(Authentic Yoga System of Neel Kulkarni) was published in
Pune. [Illustration 20: Ram Khaladkar]

One Mr. Laxman Limaye used to visit the Thursday prayers

since 1948. He was extremely poor. He had a very good
handwriting. He even worked at the hospital to write the
names on the corpses due to his good hand writing. He had a
liking for perfumes and making incense sticks. He used to sell
his sticks to the attendees of the Thursday Prayers. He pleaded
to my father for improvement in his conditions. My father
blessed him and he became a very wealthy and successful
businessman. He was able to purchase a very huge house with
several apartments. Our family lived in one apartment in that
building for 50 years. He was very money minded, but at the

46
same time a very hardworking and devoted man. I had several
encounters with him including friendly ones and quarrels,
too. He was very strict in his behavior, but he was very
focused on his work. He had a good singing voice as well as
acting talents. He became somewhat egotistic due to his
financial growth, but he always respected my father as his
guru. On one occasion, he went for Banares pilgrimage
without my father’s consent and he passed away in the train
on his return journey to Pune.

On one of the Thursday prayers during the life of Shree

Krishnanatha Maharaj, the attendees of the prayer were
waiting for Shree Krisnanatha Maharaj to arrive before they
could start the prayer. He arrived a few hours late for some
reasons. When asked why he was so late, he told them he was
not late and they could check their watches. All the watches
showed the correct time for the starting of the prayer. Of
course, it was just a fun display of his powers and nothing
more. Krishnanatha Maharaj lived a poverty stricken life. He
never made a single use of his powers to make money, name
and fame. This trend was exactly the same in my father’s life.
Though he had several rich devotees, he never used them for
his own benefit. In my father’s case, I personally feel that he
was somehow extremely skilled in helping others, getting
things done, and at the same time stopping himself from
getting famous. [Illustration 21: Krishnanath Maharaj]

During my life, the Thursday prayers were held in the house

of Mr. Limaye, our landlord. I never missed this prayer during
my schooling. On most occasions, he used to make me hold
the flame, a part of Arati Prayers. I was next to him and I used
to focus in a meditative way during the Prayer. My father used
to smile and sometimes softly laugh. I almost felt sure that he
knows what events are going to take place in my life. 22:

47
Sometimes, he quickly mentioned such an event and then
immediately he kept quiet and never described it again. It
seems to me that it is one thing to know other’s destiny, and it
is another but more difficult thing to be able to keep it secret.
My father seemed to know far more than what he ever
disclosed ! [Illustration 22: Shrine in Mr. Limaye’s house,
before my birth. 1953-1956]

I shall now describe some things that my mother informed of,

relating to my father. It is interesting to know that my mother
used to have quarrels with my father regarding his negligence
in owning a house and in not making a larger income using his
connection to the devotees. Also, she never bowed to my
father even during the Thursday prayers, when each and
everyone present would bow to him and touch his feet. But,
when it came to describing my father’s spirituality, she
seriously described him as a master, with confidence. To get
recognition as a spiritual master by one’s own wife is a rare
thing! [Illustration 23: My mother after passing away of
my father, blessing me for the Spiritual Goal]

My mother had mentioned to me that though they gave birth

to six children in all, the actual physical sexuality between the
two of them was quite infrequent. What she meant was that
my father was naturally inclined to celibacy.

She told me that my father used to suffer illness for his

devotees. On one occasion, he was extremely ill and was
unable to get up due to swollen legs and go to the Thursday
prayer location. At this point, a medicinal herb (Muli)
emerged out of the photo of Shirdi Saibaba in the shrine
worshipped by my father. On making a paste from this root
and applying it to my father’s legs, the swelling subsided
immediately and he was able to attend the Thursday prayer.

48
She also told me that when the Sai Padukas (symbolic
sandals) were donated by Pandit Panshikar of Mumbai (This
event shall be described later. cf:Miscellaneous) in the
Tulsibaug Rama Temple, my father had raised his right hand
and hot sacred ashes (Udi) were falling from his hand for a
prolonged time until all the devotees completed their Darshan
and took blessings. Around 10000 devotees attended this
program. [Illustration 24: My father receiving Padukas in
the Tulasibaug Ram Temple, 1953]

My parents celebrated the Gauri Ganapati festivals in the

Indian month of Bhadrapada each year. Shree Ganesha was
installed for 10 days and Gauri was installed for 5 days.
During one such celebration, my mother was having her
monthly menstrual period and that prevented her from
making the Prasad food and Arati prayers for the Gauri. She
told me that my father cooked the food that day and did the
Arati prayers. Gauri consumed the food when my father
prayed to her. My mother was not a person who always
praised my father. She fought with him on many occasions
even calling him by names. So, her telling this story to me
carries a special significance. She told it without much
ornamentation, but confidently. Also, Shashi Patwardhan
witnessed this event.

This is not about my father, but about his guru Shree

Krishnanatha Maharaj. My mother used to read the Scripture
(Pothi) almost daily throughout her life. This reading had a
profound impact my own practices and personality. She told
me that several times Shree Krishnanatha Maharaj used to
visit the home. He would ask my mother, “Do you want a
goody?” When she said yes, he used to pray and a Pedha used
to travel through air and land it on her Scripture (Pothi). This
was so common that she felt it was nothing special. My father

49
once gave me Pedha in this way and that is described earlier
(cf:His Spiritual Evolution).

It was very interesting to see the relationship between my

father and my mother. On one hand, she loved him dearly and
also acknowledged his sainthood. But, on the other hand, she
was finding it hard to be tolerant, peaceful and patient as
much as he was. She would loose her balance often and
complain about his not providing for what she wanted for the
family and not for herself. She would also complain that he
had the capability to obtain more material things, but he was
ignoring it. She would complain that he was not strict with his
disciples who took undue advantage of him and who were
rude to him. But, in the end, she accepted his status in the
spirituality and also served him with love till the end of his
life. She told me that she was the only person present near him
when he left his body. She also was confident that he would
provide for her after his death till the end of her life and she
would never have to look to people for her needs. Also, my
father had told me several times that my mother was fiery and
would stay somewhat unstable during his life. But, she would
become calm only after he dies. This did happen. I know for
sure that my father loved my mother and he helped in many
house chores when it was not common for an Indian husband
to help his wife in those days and even today. He almost
shared half of the house chores.

50
 His Relationship with His Guru

Let me now describe the relationship between my father and

his guru Shree Krishnanatha Maharaj. Very little is known
between what communication went on between the two,
about spiritual teachings. It is interesting how my father did
not describe the core communication on this topic ever in his
life. His relation in the spiritual matters with his guru was just
like the one found between Natha Sampradaya gurus. But,
one thing is very clear from his life, after he met his guru, he
obeyed each word of what the Guru said. Before he met his
guru, he never used to bow to any human, but he bowed only
to the God. And, after he met his guru, he did not need any
guidance on spiritual matters from anyone else. He was
complete. He became the master. [Illustration 25: A
biographical sketch of Krishnanatha Maharaj, by my
father. 1953]

It is probable that my father took advice from his guru when

he needed it badly on serious decisions. I have seen him,
though on very few occasions, talking with his guru whose
bones were buried in the Samadhi Temple at Parvati, Pune.
The story of this temple shall be described later. When he
needed such an advice, for example about a problem with one
of his disciples, he would pray to his guru and ask for advice.
He never took ownership of any work during his life. He was
very skillful to pass all the credit onto his guru and Sai Baba of
Shirdi, and pass away without getting caught in the name and
fame. I feel pain when I realize that I did not know my father
anywhere close to what he was.

The story of how my father met his guru is described earlier

(cf:His Spiritual Evolution). Very soon after the first
meeting, Krishnanatha Maharaj took my father to Shirdi for a

51
visit. During this visit a few others were also accompanying
them. They stayed at Shirdi for a few days in Dixit Wada, at a
walkable distance from Sai Baba Temple. My father was
reading the Gurucharitra Scripture as a ritual to be completed
in few days.While he was reading the Gurucharitra on one
day, all others including Krishnanatha Maharaj went to the
Shirdi Sai Baba temple shrine where the Arati Prayers took
place. After exiting the residence, they latched the door from
outside so as to cause no disturbance to my father who was
reading inside. A while after they left, my father felt that
someone was calling him to the temple shrine. As this calling
became profound, he stopped reading and went to the temple.
When he reached the temple, he learnt that the door was
latched from outside, but it became open for him to reach the
shrine. So, he was a little confused. At this Krishnanatha
Maharaj told him that he knew who had called him to the
shrine. When my father approached the shrine, the garland
from the Samadhi Shrine of Saibaba flew from the shrine into
the hands of my father. At this Krishnanatha Maharaj told my
father that Shirdi Saibaba was very pleased and had blessed
my father. My father became very happy. At the night,
suddenly someone woke my father and he saw Shirdi Saibaba
present in front of him. He was very confused as well as
scared. At this Krihshnanatha Maharaj told him not to worry
and that Sai Baba would be graceful to my father always. This
made a permanent connection of my father to Shirdi Sai Baba.
And, he became a devotee of Sai Baba over any other gods
and goddesses! He did continue to worship other gods, but Sai
Baba was his whole and sole. Whenever he prayed to Shirdi
Saibaba with invocation, Saibaba would immediately be
present there, not just philosophically. The Yoga Shastra
(spiritual science) talks about development of such one-
pointedness. My father had mentioned to me during my chats
with him that one does not start a real spiritual journey until
one develops a single ideal.
52
When Krishnanatha Maharaj was alive, my father always did
important things based on the direction he gave. Krishnanatha
Maharaj had told people that my father was a Sanyasi (monk)
in the previous to the present life. And, he had a wish to
experience a householder life. Due to this wish, he was reborn
as a householder. But, in this life he would be liberated as he
had reached the peak of spirituality. I had heard this story a
couple of times from my mother. But, I learnt about it in an
amazing way. When my father passed away in 1988, I was in
New Zealand and I moved to USA as noted earlier (cf:His
Family Life) just after his death. My widow mother learnt
about my move. One of our immediate neighbors in Pune,
Kusum Atya Ranade, was visiting the USA from Pune at that
time. My mother sent to me a letter attached with a biography
of my father’s previous life, in the hands of Kusum Atya.Until
then, I had no idea that such a text existed. This biography is in
the original handwriting of my father in the previous life. It
was a surprise that she gave me the actual text only after my
father passed away. This may be what my father had told her
to do. I never asked her why she sent me that text at the time
because I was in the USA then and I stayed in the USA for 11
years before my first revisit to India. This text was in my
worship shrine in the USA from 1988 till 2006. My mother
passed away in 2001. [Illustration 26: My father’s
handwritten biography of the previous life]

After 2007, I started spending more time in India and

traveling around the world. In 2012, I started traveling to
Mysore, India, to teach Yoga. I noticed that my mind gets very
pleased and focused on the way to Mysore between Kolhapur
and Dharwad. I thought it was just a coincidence. However,
when I was traveling in a car from Mysore to Pune in 2013, I
suddenly felt like reading that text which I was carrying from

53
Mysore to Pune in my luggage. To my surprise, I was able to
understand the text as it was in Marathi, though it had an
unusual style of writing. I noticed that my father was born in
the previous life in the same village as in the present life. He
walked from there via Ainapur to Murgod, where he met the
saint Chidambar Dixt who was an incarnated Saint.
Chidambar Dixit blessed him with the Samadhi State, and
later my father also traveled upto Shirsi. The text clearly
mentions the names of villages that my father walked
through. I searched the internet maps and actually found the
same villages on that route. All this area is close to the route
Kolhapur to Dharwad. That solved my riddle about my
mental status while on this route.

In 2014, when I returned from Italy with one of my Italian

Yoga students, we took a lot of trouble and found the village
where the saint Chidambar Dixit lived. We were extremely
thrilled to find that the original temple is still present, and the
feeling at the place made us delighted. The joy of visiting the
place of my father’s guru of the previous life made me feel
extremely special. This feeling cannot be described. I also
met the present successor of Chidambar Dixit and had a
chance to discuss with him. I decided to publish this book at
this sacred location. (Illustrations 27-30: Chidambar Dixit,
Temple at Murgod).

Just before leaving the body, Krishnanatha Maharaja called a

few of his close devotees near to him and told them that he
was about to leave the body, and a temple of Shree Dattatreya
(a three headed deity in India) be built and the water from the
feet of Shree Dattreya statue should flow into the Samadhi
Shrine (tomb) of Krishnanatha Maharaj which contains his
bones. My father had worshipped the bones of Krishnanatha
Maharaj at his home till a small temple was built with the help

54
of donations, as the temple was for the benefit of the people to
obtain the blessings of Shree Dattatreya and Krishnanatha
Maharaj. My father never ever obtained a single dime for
himself through this temple. This should be noted. This
temple was founded in 1944. Mr. Gokhale of Trio Furniture
Company donated a statue of Shree Dattatreya, but a hand of
the statue broke off during the installation. So, a small silver
statue was installed.[Illustration31: Krishnanath Maharaj
towards the end of his life]

My father worshipped in that temple till 1988. He had to

struggle to keep the temple going. These struggles cannot be
described in these pages. Only those who saw the times know
them. My father went through extreme financial troubles
almost throughout his life after this temple was founded.
However, he never left his dedication and kept worshipping in
the temple throughout a period of 44 years without swerving
from his devotion. [Illustration32: Shree Krishnanatha
Datta Mandir, Parvati, Pune, 1944]

55
 His Guru’s Temple

In 1988, the devotees of Shree Das Kisan Maharaj (younger

brother disciple of my father), whose story shall appear later,
built a proper temple at the same site. My father’s final task
was done and immediately after this, my father left his body,
while I was in New Zealand (cf:His Family Life). The fully
built temple stands now at the bottom of Parvati Hills. Only a
person with total dedication, devotion and realization can be
patient for the task to be completed after 44 years.

It may be appropriate to describe the story of how the above

temple was re-built in 1988. But, before that one should know
the story of Das Kisan Maharaj, a brother disciple of my
father.

Das Kisan was a merchant who sold caps in a small shop very
close to my father’s dwelling in 1940s. My father used to wear
caps at that time and frequently visited Das Kisan’s shop. Das
Kisan was very impressed by my father and also with the fact
that Krishnanatha Maharaj had blessed my father. He
requested my father to introduce him to Krishnanatha
Maharaj. My father agreed to help and pleaded with Maharaj
to accept Das Kisan as a disciple. Krishnanatha Maharaj
accepted this request and blessed Das Kisan with the Spiritual
Realization. In the course of time, Das Kisan became
spiritually realized. He moved to Mumbai. He was a good
singer and therefore many a devotees of Sai Baba were
attracted to him. Ms. Damayanti Mahadadalkar (Taiji) of
Girgaon, Mumbai, became his disciple and received a deep
understanding of the Bhakti path from him. His devotees
helped my father to build the temple at Parvati, Pune in 1988.
This story is described next.

56
The devotees of Saibaba in Mumbai who were disciples of
either Das Kisan Baba or Dasi Damayanti (Taiji) decided to
build a temple in the honor of Das Kisan Baba, called Sai
Mangal Dham at Malad, Mumbai. The place was purchased
and the temple work was to begin. At this time, Taiji had a
dream in which she was indicated that the temple of Shree
Krishnanatha Maharaj that was in inadequate state should be
renovated properly before the temple in the honor of Das
Kisan Baba, a disciple of Krishnanatha Maharaj could be
built in Mumbai. She was asked to find Mr. Vinayak Kulkarni
(my father) who was the chief trustee of the Pune temple. So,
a disciple of Taiji, named Mr. Kripalani was sent to Pune. He
found out my father and it took more than 10 years to get
permission to build, but they finally built it. There were many
obstacles they had to overcome. However, my father was
extremely patient and seemed sure that the temple would be
built. I myself have met Mr. Kripalani and seen the trials my
father had to go through till the rebuilding of the temple. This
fantastic temple stands at the bottom of the Parvati Hills in
Pune. I know for sure that the temple is vibrating with the live
energy of Shree Krishnanatha Maharaj. I myself have
witnessed many joyous devotional festivities here. Also, I
have witnessed miracles happening here. This is where my
father’s dead body was brought before its cremation. I was in
New Zealand. But, this temple shall serve as the biggest
testimony of my father’s presence and work. My father’s
Guru’s Tomb with his bones was built in this temple in 1944
as described earlier. These bones were previously worshipped
by my father at his own home. Along side the Guru, two
disciples are worshipped in this temple. Also, Shree
Dattatreya statue is worshipped so that the water from his feet
runs into the tomb of Shree Krishnanatha Maharaj. Shree Sai
Baba of Shirdi and the Guru of Krishnanatha Maharaj
namely, Shree Vakratunda Maharaj are also worshipped.

57
[Illustration 33A-33D: Renovation of and Renovated
Krishnanatha Datta Mandir, Parvati].

My father did not make a single dime for himself throughout

the life using this temple. His guru also passed away without
any property. They both had hundreds of devotees who were
helped by them. Both of them kept totally away from the
publicity and their spiritual realization was not in words, but
in action.

In connection to the Parvati Temple, I clearly remember one

incidence. There wasArati prayer due to some occasion that
day. Many people were in the temple. This is before the
renovated temple was built. Thus, the older temple was filled
with people. After the Arati was over, people were talking
outside. My father was also outside. Suddenly he ran inside to
the shrine of Krishnanatha Maharaj and put his ears to the
shrine, as he used to do when he communicated with his Guru
on rare occasions. At this time, my father was going through
very hard times financially. But, he never showed
dissatisfaction. He always kept positive attitude and
encouraged me to go further. But, of course the tiresome
experience was seen on his body. That day, after the crowd
was cleared, my father told me clearly as I remember it
vividly, that his guru asked him whether it was too much for
him to bear and whether he would like to be relieved of his
current life. This was so because my father had some Karma
left and was on the way to liberation in the present life. If he
wants to take another birth and end the present life’s suffering
was the question his guru asked him. My father told this to
me. He wanted me to understand that I need to study well and
progress well so that I could come out of the poverty and be
self-sufficient.

58
My father had one disciple named Mr. Gadgil. He went
through many difficulties in his young days and his very old
mother asked my father to protect her son. My father had
given him guidance and also practices. His financial situation
truly improved later and his sons were educated well. He used
to go to Alandi temple, around 50 km from Pune, on bicyle.
This was hard. He also wanted to visit Shirdi Temple. My
father told him that he should continue his prayers and
worships in the Parvati temple as it was near to his home and
his wishes to get blessed by Shirdi Sai Baba would be
fulfilled. He worshipped at the Parvati temple for a prolonged
time and one day he noticed that the marble stone of the
Parvati temple shrine was developing black spots. He
continued to review these spots and after a prolonged period,
these spots changed into a very clear sketch of Shirdi Sai
Baba. He was delighted with this. My father told us that this
miracle proves that Shirdi Sai Baba is always near
Krishnanatha Maharaj. [Illustration 34: Shree Sai Baba's
image that appeared on the tomb of shree Krishnanatha
Maharaj]

59
 His Devotees' Experiences

It may be appropriate now to recall the experiences of some of

the devotees who approached my father and were benefitted.
We shall only consider some examples.

As far as I am concerned, I can surely make a statement that

most of my success in education, Yoga and spirituality is due
to my father’s guidance and blessings. Thus, I have no doubts
or second thoughts about this topic.

We already sited the examples of Mr. Natu and Mr. Limaye

(cf:His Spiritual Evolution).

The daughter of Mr. Shripad Wagh, a disciple of my father

and an employee of the Armed Forces Accounts Office, had
served my father during my Engineering Education. Her
name is Shobha. She helped my mother and father in various
ways. She was finding it hard to get married and was sad that
she was crossing the age then considered the maximum age
for the marriage. My father had noticed her sadness and one
day he told her that he would pray to Shirdi Sai Baba to find
her a good life partner. He also told her that she would find
such a person within a week. This actually happened. She
found a person who was better than her expectation, she led a
very happy family life with him, she bore twin sons, and a
beautiful daughter. All these became highly educated and
financially well off. The daughter became a recognized
doctor and is now settled in Australia. Shobha’s financial
condition improved rapidly and she is very happy
grandmother today.

In 1950, one young unemployed young person came to Pune

in search of an employment. He searched hard for work and

60
ultimately foundwork in a grocery store, but with very low
income. He performed daily worship to God. One day, he read
a small biographical sketch of Shree Saeebaba, written by
Mr. Ramanath Modak. He could not afford to purchase the
book and therefore he wrote down the entire book. He became
a devotee of Shree Shirdi Saeebaba. Mr. Gandhi used to go
Mr. Sopanrao Pawar’s haircutting salon. Mr. Pawar knew
about Thursday Arati Prayers conducted by my father.
Mr. Pawar and Mr. Gandhi attended the Arati. Mr. Gandhi was
moved by the atmosphere and became a devotee. Later,
Mr. Gandhi had to face a financial difficulty. He had a job in
the Pharmacy but with extremely low income. He prayed to
Sai Baba’s photo with tears in eyes. When he opened his eyes,
he saw the image with hands showing blessings and with a
message, “give up your job”. Later, Gandhi was visiting
Shree Muralidhar Mandir in the evening. By coincidence, he
met my father outside the temple. My father enquired about
his welfare. He explained his whole story to my father. My
father said confidently, ‘henceforth, do not worry about your
financial situation. Leave your work and start your own
business. You will become owner and you shall have people
working for you. That is the instruction of Shree Saeebaba for
you’. Gandhi returned to home and prayed to Shree Shirdi
Saeebaba and offered an incense stick. He purchased a
grocery store owned by Mr. Oak for Rs 500. He inaugurated it
with my father as a chief guest. He named it ‘Vinayak
Provision Store’ after my father’s first name, Vinayak. This
shop progressed so well that Mr. Gandhi became financially
rich and he continued this business for more than 42 years
without any loss. He also had a very pious wife and two
beautiful sons. He enjoyed a long life, family and devotional
life. I visited Vinayak Provisional Store from my childhood
and even after my return from the overseas. I think
Mr. Gandhi is no more alive. I knew him for around 45 years.

61
One day, when I was a high school student, I noticed a new
person came to the Thursday Arati prayer. His name was
Mr. Korde. I observed that he was very sincere, but serious
while doing the prayers. He also bowed to my father in a very
devout way after the prayers. He started coming each
Thursday since then. One Thursday, when we returned to
home after the Arati prayer, my father told me that
Mr. Korde was a Palmist astrologer. He had a desire to go to
Mauritius where he wanted to evaluate the palms of blind
people. He was attending the Thursday prayers to get
blessings from my father and those of Sai Baba via my father,
so he could get an opportunity to go to Mauritius. My father
told me that Mr. Korde had noticed three horizontal lines on
my father’s forehead and knew that my father was a fully
realized Yogi. My father told me that a person who has these
three lines completely from the left to right on the forehead is
a very advanced Yogi indeed. I found that the lines on
Krishnanatha Maharaj’s forehead were extremely strong. I
met Mr. Korde after 10 years. By then he had visited the
Mauritius. He was very keen on seeing the lines on my palms,
so I showed my hand to him. I think on the same occasion, my
father told me that there are two types of astrologers. The first
one is created by studying hard and makes prediction based
on lines on the palms or horoscope showing the planetary
positions. The second one, which is superior, are those who
can tell you the future just by seeing you. And, he also told me
that there is one kind of advanced Yogi who can change the
future via prayers to God. Of course, my father was the third
kind. But, he never advertised himself and never made use of
his ability for money, name and fame. I know for sure that the
ability of such non-usage is one of the most difficult things for
any accomplished Yogi.

62
 His Teachings useful to My Yoga Family

Now, we should go to the teachings of my father as the final

part of this book.

My father was a living example of peace of mind and

steadiness of intellect. Throughout his life he had financial
difficulties and many times a humiliation from his friends,
relatives and even disciples. However, I never saw him
perturbed and angry. He never cursed for their misbehavior.
And, he also did not fight with anyone ever. He tolerated
everything with a peaceful attitude. He told me a few times
that people would recognize his quality after his passing
away. I myself realized this quality when I became a
householder and an employee. It is very difficult to tolerate
insults from others. I myself would not tolerate such insults in
my own case. But, I can fully understand that a yogi who has
reached stabilized state of mind and who is steadfast in
spirituality only can do such a thing as my father did. My
father was a living example of “Sthitaprajna Yogi”
described in the Bhagavadgita!

Also, I never saw my father confused about anything in his

whole life. When there was difficulty, he accepted it. When
there was a decision to be made that seemed totally
unreasonable to average people in a given situations, I found
him totally confident of his decision. Please refer to his
decisions in the case of my education (cf:His Family Life).
Most of his letters to me while I was in Engineering Institute
specifically mention that peace of mind and steadiness of
intellect are the basis of any achievements including spiritual
progress. I understood this fact fully very late in my life and I
found that on understanding this fact, my progress was rapid.

63
My father taught me one lesson so many times, but I have not
been able to put that into practice fully even to-date. He told
me not to hurt anyone’s mind. I have never seen my father
hurting anyone. This is unbelievable to me even after
experiencing it for almost 25 years. This quality is much more
profound than Ahimsa mentioned in the Yoga Sutras for me.

One more thing my father displayed was his total trust in his
guru and his deity. He never needed to learn spirituality from
any other source after meeting his Guru. He seemed to know
everything about spirituality. Though he did not strongly
object to my studying from books or other sources, he did
mention to me that the final spiritual realization occurs only
when a true master blesses the disciple. But, a true master
cannot be found with search by a disciple. But, when the
disciple is ripe, the true master comes searching for the
disciple. This happened exactly in my father’s case and also
his guru’s case. My father also suggested that one should stick
to one deity as the main deity.

My father told me to remember the guru and deity in so simple

words that it is difficult to believe it to be so profound. He said
one should remember them after waking up, while eating, and
during some daily prayers. The catch was that one should
never forget this routine in their whole life. I can say that I
have experienced this fact to some extent. It is more important
to do a single determined practice, even a small one, on a daily
basis until it becomes a part of your life.

Another thing my father told me several times was that god,

that is the chosen deity and guru always protect their devotees
and never let them alone in suffering. They always see that the
devotee gets all the basic necessities of the life, but they may
not always grant riches.

64
One lesson that my father gave me and that I did not follow it
for more than 50 years of my life was that one should spend
less than what one earns. My father protected me even when I
did not follow this advice. However, at some points in my life,
I did have to go through troubles when I did not follow this
advice. After several mistakes, I took this lesson seriously and
I found my life became joyful and spiritual studies became
smoother when I followed this advice.

Another lesson that my father repeated several times, but that

was hard to follow, was that one should have sufficient
control over one’s eating. The way he stated this was, “the one
who does not have control over the mouth cannot have control
over the anus”. My father made most of his teaching in
extremely simple words. He did not repeat one advice many
times at one single sitting. And, he did not force one to follow
his advice. He kept aloof in a way. However, he did protect me
even when I was making mistakes. I do not know why.

Sometimes, I used to praise certain people who looked

praiseworthy to me, in front of my father. My father told me
that one who is spiritually great can do sacrifice for others and
I should check whether the person I praise is attached to the
material wealth. If the person can sacrifice for others, only
then he is a real saint. This is so true!

My father taught me that spiritually average people such as

myself should become financially self reliant in the modern
times. Otherwise, he/she could go through a very hard time.
This was one of his advices that I was able to follow and I
reaped the benefits beyond any doubt. Therefore, I give the
same advice to my yoga friends and students.

65
My father emphasized that I should take care of my health in
order to succeed in my work. Since health and fitness were my
passion, I followed this teaching automatically.

My father taught me to respect the elders, authorities,

teachers, and such people when I meet them. I followed this
advice almost always. This has helped tremendously in my
education, career and social life.

My father told me not to be extravagant in my yogic practices.

He told that different people are born with different
capabilities. And, some people such as Swami Vivekananda
are born incarnations. One should not try to imitate their
practices. One should perform spiritual practices within one’s
reach. I was interested in such practices. And, I never knew
what my limit was. I do not think that I performed practices
beyond my capacity, either.

66
 Miscellaneous

Now, I shall write some miscellaneous things that I

remember.

There was one large wooden chest that was kept in the room in
the incense factory of Mr. Limaye, where my father worked at
the end of his working life. This chest had several books. I did
not know about this chest till I became 15. But, one day, a big
barrel of perfume oil spilled and the oil was absorbed into the
books, and therefore the chest was brought into our house.
This chest had some books on astrology, yoga, religion. I
particularly remember, a copy of Bhagavadgita, Vyavaharika
Yoga, and Kamasutra. When I opened the book Vyavaharika
Yoga, it immediately caught my attention and I started
reading it at night. It had chapters on how the author got into
Yoga due to some kind of bad habits and then became adept
with a strong practice with one great Yoga Teacher. I used to
read this book at night when all others went to sleep. On
noticing that the light was on, my family used to ask me to go
to sleep. This reading affected my life intensely as far as Yoga
practice is concerned. I tried some practices in it and later
developed them. It was interesting that the practice of Vajroli
Mudra given in the book remained in my mind and that led to
my celibacy during the college days. I also tried it just after
my wedding foolishly. That is why I advise my students to
lead a proper sexual life and not have excessive expectations
in today’s world. Nevertheless, I am sure that the book helped
me grow fast into Yoga and my father fully knew that I was
reading that book. My father knew how to keep a control of
how much practice I should do.

After the passing away of Krishnanatha Maharaj, my father

was carrying the yogic powers given to him by his Guru for

67
the benefit of the poor and downtrodden. My father never
used his powers either for his own benefit or for gaining
name, fame and money. However, a close relative of
Krishnanatha Maharaj became extremely jealous and tried to
defame my father through newspapers. I still have the
newspaper articles of that time i.e. before 1955. This
incidence caused my mother extreme agony and her
pregnancy was affected to the extent that my next eldest sister
was born with down-syndrome. She was in mental institute
towards the last 25 years of her life. My father’s peace of mind
and patience was fully tested during this period. He privately
mentioned to me that peace of mind is the main contributor in
the spiritual as well as material advancement.

Mr. Vasantashastri Panashikar (Aba) was a Sanskrit Scholar

in Girgaon, Mumbai. He was into performing Kirtans and had
seriously taken the path of devotion. He had decided to
establish silver Padukas (symbolic sandals) of Shirdi Saibaba
at 11 places in where he notices a strong devotion of
ShirdiSaibaba. In 1952, he was going to establish such
Padukas in Phanaswadi, Girgaon, Mumbai. He had various
difficulties. He learnt about my father and requested my
father’s help in resolving these problems. On the resolution of
these, he established in Girgaon in the presence of my father
and another Sai Baba devotee, Swami Sharananandaji.
[Illustration35: letters from Aba Panashikar to my father
in 1954]

In 1953, Abaji decided to establish the second Padukas in

Pune at my father’s home. He was extremely delighted to find
such a devotee of Sai Baba. He, with the help of his devotees
group, donated such Padukas to my father on 2 September
nd

68
1953, at TulasiBaug Shree Rama Temple. 10000 devotees
were present. The then Mayor of Pune was present on the
occasion. There was a big celebration. My father had
accepted this big responsibility after aobtaining consent from
Sai Baba. He worshipped these Padukas throughout his life.
Later, my mother worshipped them. During my Pune stay, I
had a blessed chance of worshipping them on a few
occasions. After my mother’s death, I took them to the U.S.A.
and worshipped them for 8 years approximately. Later, I
donated them to Shirdi Sai Mandir, Chantilly, Virginia. They
are now worshipped there and are accessible to all visiting Sai
devotees. Receiving of these Padukas was a big milestone in
my father’s life, but moreover his worshipping them for 30
years till the end of his life was proof of his total devotion and
commitment. Interesting thing is he never advertised this
event in his entire life.[Illustrations 36: Shirdi Sai Baba
Padukas in Pune, 1953]

69
 Epilogue

To conclude this book, I would state only two things:

One, my father was a mental and spiritual support for

hundreds on whom they could count with surety and
confidence. Those who did this always succeeded in their
goals, whether material or spiritual. All of them were led to
spirituality in some proportion.

Two, if there is one thing that I should state that a yoga

student should learn from my father’s life, it is “peace of
mind and steady intellect”.

OM ShantiH.

70
I feel pain when I recollect not obeying you
I feel pain when I recollect ignoring you
I feel pain when I know I did not understand you
fully
I feel pain when I see how you forgave me always
I feel pain when I see how much I gained by
following even the smallest of your teaching
I feel pain when I wonder when I shall pass the
test you wanted me to
I feel so much, father!

71
Illustrations

72