At whose Holy feet Shrilakshmi stands ever ready to serve … !

On the 82^nd Birth Anniversary of Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Jayant Athavale

Shri Lakshmi is present in the form of money required for Gurudev’s extensive mission

The Principle of Shrimad Narayan descended on the Earth in the form of Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale, (meaning in a human form). However, Shri Lakshmi is not present in human form; instead, She is present in the form of financial assistance to His mission of reinstating Dharma.

H.H. (Dr) Athavale commenced spiritual practice and offered everything, including His savings, at the Holy feet of His Guru, Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj. With the blessings of His Guru, He founded ‘Sanatan Bharatiya Sanskruti Sanstha’ in 1990, and commenced working towards accomplishing the mission from His residence in Mumbai.

Commercially speaking, starting any project requires enormous finance. Entrepreneurs take loans from banks for their businesses. H.H. (Dr) Athavale had no such financial support. In such a financially critical state, He had taken on the vast task of spreading Spirituality all over the world. This shows His immense faith in God. He believed that this is God’s mission and God will not allow Him to fall short of money to accomplish it. Such was the intensity of His ultimate (this word is also too small) faith. He decided to publish Texts on Spirituality besides organising discourses, satsangs, study classes, through the medium of ‘Sanatan Bharatiya Sanskruti Sanstha’. The manpower required for this task was obtained spontaneously and donations too came on their own.

Each mission was equally noble and awe-inspiring. As a result, many devotees would donate for the mission without any hesitation. It would only be a surprise if Shri Lakshmi was not pleased with the mission initiated by One in whom the Principle of Shrimad Narayan is active.

Gurudev’s mission is constantly progressing

In 1998, H.H. (Dr) Athavale started the Weekly ‘Sanatan Prabhat’. This Weekly not only became a medium to spread Spirituality but also a medium to create awareness against corruption, misappropriation of public funds, adulteration, etc. in society. Thereafter, with the aim of establishing the Divine Rule, He started the Daily ‘Sanatan Prabhat’ in April 1999.

During the Freedom Movement, some dedicated journalists started newspapers with their own resources. Even after Independence, there were a few such newspapers; however, they could not withstand the competition against rich newspapers that came later and lost out to them. The cost of publishing a newspaper is not recovered from the price printed on it. For this, it has to a large extent depend on Government or other advertisements. ‘Sanatan Prabhat’ is a Daily that expresses itself boldly. Who will advertise in such a Daily other than a few religious and patriotic donors ? When the Daily ‘Sanatan Prabhat’ started,
some people in society felt that due to shortage of funds, it will have to close down sooner than later; but God’s
plan was different. ‘Sanatan Prabhat’ has completed 25 years by now.

In this period, the number of pages in it increased and the quality of the Daily continued to improve. Isn’t this God’s Leela (Divine play) – to be able to start a Daily without any commercial goal, for social upliftment, with topics related only to Spirituality, Nation & Dharma, and continue to improve uninterruptedly for 25 years ?

Even if an entrepreneur decides to start a Daily for commercial purposes (and not to serve the Nation & Dharma), he would take the decision considering the finances he has, the daily expenses, the advertisements he might get, etc. The example of Daily Sanatan Prabhat is given here merely to highlight the Incarnate nature of Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale and the immense grace of Shri Lakshmi on Him.

Even today we receive funds in the form of donations for Sanatan Sanstha, Sanatan Prabhat Group of Periodicals, Sanatan’s Ashrams, Sanatan Almanac, activities conducted in society, etc., and each task is carried out successfully.

The society helps by providing auditoriums for programmes free-of-charge at many places, free food, refreshments, etc. to seekers/activists, offering the use of their vehicles, etc.

In the last 25 years, the mission started by Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale has grown tremendously and is spreading across the world. There is not a single case where the mission has stopped or a project has shut down due to financial crisis. The global nature of this mission, which started taking inspiration from Him is being seen as well as experienced.

All this is possible because of His human qualities such as unmatched sacrifice, indomitable will as well as His Incarnate nature. Let us remember this at every step of our journey and decide to save every penny and make appropriate use of the resources at hand.

We express gratitude a million times at the Holy feet of Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale and Goddess Shri Mahalakshmi, who is helping His mission.

– Mr Virendra Marathe (Managing Trustee, Sanatan Sanstha, 17.4.2024)