The Supreme Spiritual State of Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale

The rising Sun dispels darkness, and the rising Moon brings joy. On 6th May 1942, time gave birth to a great individual. Like the Sun, this great being Incarnated to destroy the darkness of unrighteousness and to establish Sanatan Dharmarajya (The Divine Rule or the ‘Hindu Rashtra’). Like the Moon, He Incarnated to shower seekers and devotees with the delightful grace of the Guru and to grant them Moksha (Final Liberation).

We present here an excerpt from the Biography of that great being – Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Jayant Balaji Athavale (addressed respectfully as ‘Gurudev’). The Co-compiler of this Biography is Sanatan’s Saint – Pujya Sandeep Gajanan Alshi. The prime objective of this Biography is that humankind should understand Gurudev’s greatness, perform sadhana (Spiritual practice) according to His guidance, and experience Anand (Bliss).

For Articles in the Series on Gurudev, please read previous Issues.

Distinct traits reflecting the Spiritual State of Gurudev

1. Experiencing manolaya (Dissolution of the mind) : Param Pujya (Dr) Athavale is in a spiritual state where His mind has dissolved. Hence, no thoughts related to the self arise within Him. The thoughts that do appear are received from the Universal Mind, which is the Mind of God. Whenever a thought arises in His mind, it is invariably for the welfare of the world – be it for the spiritual progress of seekers, protection of the Nation, or bringing about awakening on Dharma. Otherwise, for most of the time, He remains in a state beyond thought.

2. Taking decisions through the Vishwabuddhi (Universal Intellect) : Param Pujya (Dr) Athavale’s intellect too has merged with the Universal Intellect, which is the Intellect of God. He does not take decisions through individual reasoning, but through the Divine Intellect. Because His intellect has merged with the Universal Intellect, the answers He gives are identical to those received from the Universal Intellect. Many seekers have experienced that the answers given by Param Pujya (Dr) Athavale and those received in the subtle from Shrikrushna are the same.

– Dr Vasant Balaji Athavale, Chembur, Mumbai, India. (Year 2013)

Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale’s Spiritual States

Gurudev’s spiritual states continue to evolve progressively over time. There are, however, limitations in expressing these states in words.

Yet, to intellectually understand to some extent the nature of these changes, the spiritual state a Saint experiences at a particular spiritual level, the table ahead presents Gurudev’s spiritual changes as observed a few years ago.

2A. Gurudev instructing Shrichitshakti (Mrs) Anjali Gadgil to tour Nepal in 2013, and later the reason being revealed : In 2013, Paratpar Guru (Dr) Athavale instructed Sadguru (Mrs) Anjali Gadgil to tour Nepal. He said, “A time of calamities – floods, earthquakes, and even a great war will arise in future. Before that, go to Nepal and document the temples and historical monuments. There is no certainty whether these places will survive the period of adversity”.

As instructed by Gurudev, Sadguru (Mrs) Gadgil, along with a few seekers, travelled to Nepal in March 2013 and documented its temples, Divine sites, and historical monuments. Two years later, in April 2015, a massive earthquake struck Nepal. Many temples and historical monuments were destroyed, over 9,000 people lost their lives and 35 lakhs were rendered homeless.

– Mr Vinayak Shanbhag (Sanatan’s seeker serving alongside Sadguru [Mrs] Anjali Gadgil), Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. (6.2.2019)

(‘Two years before the earthquake, Gurudev had the thought of touring Nepal. This made the preservation of these sacred visuals possible. It is a beautiful example of how Gurudev functions through the Universal Intellect.’ – Pujya Sandeep Alshi)

3. The Chaitanya in Gurudev inspires even animals and birds to enter a meditative state in His presence : In Gurudev’s presence, even animals and birds (such as dogs and parrots) become silent and motionless as if they are absorbed in meditation. This occurs due to the Chaitanya (Divine consciousness) in Gurudev. Two incidents illustrate this.

A. A parrot that came to the Ramnathi Ashram perched near Gurudev’s feet. It tucked its beak under its wing and stood on one leg, motionless as if in deep meditation.

B. A dog named Khandya sat silently at Gurudev’s feet in a meditative posture for thirty minutes.

– Pujya Sandeep Alshi (Year 2021)

4. Omniscience

4A. Speaking by recognising the thoughts in others’ minds : ‘One day I was remembering Gurudev intensely. My bhav awakened and I cried out to Him from the heart – O’ God ! Have You forgotten me ?’ Barely half-an-hour later, I received a phone call saying that I had been invited to Ramnathi Ashram. When I went there and entered Gurudev’s room for a satseva, He looked at me and said, “I have not forgotten you”. He had perceived the exact thought from my mind. I was stunned, and was momentarily speechless.’

– Pujya (Smt.) Suman Naik, Kapileshwari, Ponda, Goa, India. (29.8.2021)

5. Command over the Panchamahabhuta (Five Cosmic Principles)

5A. Rain halts for 4 hours, allowing uninterrupted satseva : ‘In 1995, a grand Amrut Mahotsav (Platinum Jubilee Celebration) was being organised in Indore in honour of Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj. A large entrance arch in the shape of a dafli (A large tambourine) was to be constructed. Seekers including Mr Rohan Bhojne (now [Late] Rohan Bhojne) and Mr Sadanand Panchal were working on the structure on the terrace of the Sion Seva Kendra in Mumbai. Since Rohan Bhojne had the day off on Sunday, he intended to dedicate extra time to this task. It was monsoon season and sure enough, heavy rain began that morning. The seekers asked Gurudev what to do. Gurudev asked, “How many hours will you need to complete the satseva ?” Rohan Bhojne replied – “Four hours”. Gurudev said, “Then it shall not rain for four hours. We will tell it so.” Miraculously, the rain abated, and did not resume for four hours. All of us silently offered gratitude at Gurudev’s Holy feet.’

– Mr Vishnu Kadam, Taluka Devgad, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra, India (15.2.2024)

Param Pujya (Dr) Athavale’s journey of progress in spiritual practice

1. Attainment of Sainthood : In 1991, Dr Athavale’s spiritual level reached 70%, meaning, He attained Sainthood.

2. Attainment of the state of Jeevanmukta : In 1993, by the blessings of His Guru Saint Bhaktaraj Maharaj, Dr Athavale attained the state of Jeevanmukta (Liberated when still embodied). Since then, the entire period of His mission has become a golden era for seekers’ spiritual upliftment.

3. Activation of the Incarnate Principle : ‘After the Year 2010, Gurudev became a supreme Incarnate Principle, who embodied the divinity that progresses towards the nirgun (Non-materialised). Under the shelter of His grace, many processes such as sankalpa (Various resolves), objectives for welfare of the samashti (Society), the rising graph of seekers’ spiritual progress are being seen succeeding extensively. Param Pujya (Dr) Athavale’s mission appears to be taking place automatically with the help of the nirgun (Non-materialised) Principle. In this, throughout the Universe at the level of time, and as per God’s planning, activities related to bringing about awakening on the Nation & Dharma are seen spreading through the medium of Chaitanya (Divine consciousness) in the form of the Incarnation’s objective to bring about the welfare of the samashti.’

– ‘A Scholar’ from the subtle world (Through the medium of Mrs Anjali Gadgil, 17.2.2012, 8.03 a.m.)

(Ref.: ‘Brief Biography of Sachchidananda Parabrahman [Dr] Jayant Athavale’ – Text available in English, Hindi, Marathi)

Sachchidananda Parabrahman (Dr) Athavale is in a spiritual state where no thoughts related to the self arise within Him !

Note :

Individual spiritual experiences of seekers published here are according to the Principle – ‘Where there is bhav (Spiritual emotion), there is God’. It is not that every individual will have similar experiences.

Subtle : ‘Subtle’ is that which is beyond the comprehension of the five sense organs, mind and intellect. People who have progressed spiritually can perceive the subtle vibrations. Various Scriptures contain reference to subtle knowledge.

Sanatan’s Texts available in various Indian languages : Marathi (347), English (201), Kannada (201), Hindi (199), Gujarati (70), Telugu (54), Tamil (46), Bengali (30), Malayalam (25), Odia (22), Punjabi (13), Nepali (3) and Assamese (2).