The Chief Naval Officer is Bestowed the Shelter of the Lord of All Lords

Whilst presiding in the village of Zinzavadar, the Almighty Lord Shree Swaminarayan used the example of the fraudulent sage to describe the force of the river of intense desire. He then rested for a short while. That very evening, the Chief Naval Officer, who was a Moslem, arrived in the village. He had come from Delhi to Junagadh with one of his fleets. As he entered the village, he saw an extraordinary lustre and all his thoughts and worries suddenly subsided. He thought to himself, ‘I have travelled to the most sacred sites in my religion, Mecca and Medina . I have also performed the Haj ritual. However, the immense peace that I experienced here is unsurpassed. I did not feel such tranquillity when I went on those pilgrimages. Therefore, the Lord or His incarnations must be present in this village.’ He wandered around the village looking for the cause of his extraordinary peace. He came across an old man and asked, “If there is a great spiritual person in the village, will you show me?” The old man replied, “At the edge of the village, there is a sage sitting in meditation. Go and pay homage to him.” The Officer was unaware that the sage was in fact a fraud and immediately headed for the village outskirts. On the way, he met Alaiyakhachar and told him where he was going. Alaiyakhachar decided that he would find out how sincere the Officer was in his search for the Lord and so accompanied him to where the sage was sitting. Alaiyakhachar pointed to the sage and said, “Here is the great spiritual sage in our village.” Immediately, the Officer replied, “I have come across many deceitful sages. They wander the land misleading innocent people. Rather than bestowing peace, they cause anxieties. If there is a true spiritual person in the village, I would be obliged if you would lead me to him.” Realising that the Officer was sincere, Alaiyakhachar took him to his royal court where Shree Hari was presiding amongst an assembly of sants and devotees. Alaiyakhachar said, “Look, this is our Khuda (Lord). Go for His darshan.” As soon as Shree Hari’s gaze fell upon the Officer, he fell into a trance in which he witnessed innumerable Moslem deities worshipping Shree Hari. The prophet that the Officer worshipped was also praying to Shree Hari.

After a short while, the Officer awoke from the trance. He was experiencing extraordinary happiness due to the remarkable scene that he had just witnessed. He fell down at Shree Hari’s lotus feet and emotionally cried, “Oh Khuda! Oh Lord! You are the Khuda of all Khudas. Now that I have come to Your shelter, I do not want to leave. Always keep me with You.” Shree Hari explained, “Your people will harass you and cause trouble for us all. Therefore, you must return to your home and not abandon your vocation. Do not worry. I will ensure that you are granted salvation. Abide by the regulations of this Faith but do not show any external sign of affiliation to it.” The Officer realised that this was the Lord’s express wish and his happiness rested in abiding accordingly. He bowed down to the Lord again and started to leave. Realising that his quest for the Lord was sincere, Alaiyakhachar offered him a meal and only then did he allow him to leave.

The summer season arrived whilst Shree Hari was giving darshan in Zinzavadar. The days became hotter and hotter. To please all the Kathis, Shree Hari would go to the huge reservoir on the North side of the village to bathe. They would dive from the branches of the huge banyan trees that grew besides the reservoir.

After spending many days in Zinzavadar, Shree Hari returned to Kariyani. A huge well was being built in the courtyard of Vastakhachar to provide water for the entire village. Shree Hari was overseeing the works. Many devotees realised that this was an opportunity to please the Lord and keenly offered their services to dig the well. Shree Hari showered His divine blessings over everyone who helped in this charitable project.

One morning, when Shree Hari was cleaning His teeth, two devotees, Jeeva Dave and Gangaram Dave, arrived from the village Zamzara. The two brothers placed flour, ghee, sugar, oil, and other food ingredients at the Lord’s feet. They had come to know that the Lord had come to Kariyani, which was not far from Zamrara, but was not going to visit their village. This made them very sad. Both brothers started to cry. Shree Hari asked, “Why are you so sad? What misery have you encountered that is causing you so must grief?” The brothers replied, “Oh Lord! You have travelled all the way here but will not be coming to our village. We have been saving all these foods for Your use, but now they will remain uneaten. If something cannot be used for You, what use is it?” Seeing the sincere sentiments of these two devotees, Shree Hari said, “Do not worry! We will make use of the food that you have brought here and I will also visit your village.” The two devotees requested, “Oh Maharaj! It is our wish that all the sants and devotees accompany You when You visit our village.” Shree Hari agreed. Three days later, Shree Hari went to Zamrara. The devotees were of the Brahmin caste and where therefore able to make the food and then serve Shree Hari and the sants themselves. They also served all the devotees.

When Shree Hari was about to leave Zamrara and return to Kariyani, He said, “You have fed Me so much food, I will not be able to sit on a horse. Bring Me a carriage or an ox and cart to sit on. Gangaram became extremely pleased to hear these words because he realised that it was his great fortune that the Lord was asking for something from him. For him, this was an opportunity to please the Lord. He immediately prepared a cart and laid down a new quilt over it. In preparation of the rainy season, he had bought a pair of oxen only a few days previously. He tied these new oxen to the cart and brought it to the Lord. Shree Hari became extremely pleased and said, “My devotee! These are fine oxen.” Gangaram replied, “If You like them, the oxen, this cart and thirdly Me, are in You service.” Seeing his true devotion, Shree Hari placed His hands on Gangaram’s head and said, “Your devotion is genuine. Your sentiments to surrender everything to Me have been recognised.” When they reached Kariyani, Shree Hari held an assembly in which He described the all-surrendering devotion of Gangaram. Shree Hari said, “I only said a few words to him. Consequently, this devotee has donated his oxen and cart to Me. He is also prepared to come and remain in My service. Just as in ancient times, King Bali demonstrated the utmost of devotion by donating everything to God, this devotee has donated everything to Me.” Shree Hari then commanded Gangaram to return home. Gangaram said, “Maharaj! I have said that I will give these items to You and remain in Your service. How can I now retract this promise to You?” Still, Shree Hari insisted that he went back to Zamrara. In accordance with the Lord’s express command, Gangaram returned home.