Test of devotion through debate

Once, Mr. Kulkarni went out for a walk with Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar in the evening. While on their walk in Machnur, Baba suddenly stopped and said, “The dirt of nature has been dredged up to the surface. Now nothing good will happen. We will have to wait a long time. Maybe even hundreds of years!”

Baba then asked Mr. Kulkarni about his opinion on an ongoing public debate. This was not out of the ordinary for Baba, as he would often ask provoking questions to test or seek out the true thoughts of the spiritual seeker. 

At the time, there was a huge debate in Maharashtra, about whether humans could take a photo of Saint Dnyaneshwar Mauli’s sanjeevan samadhi. Some claimed that if such a photo of could be obtained, then proof could be obtained about both the ability to use yogic power to keep one’s body alive for hundreds of years, and about whether Saint Dnyaneshwar Mauli is truly still there in the samadhi state.

In response to the question, Mr. Kulkarni simply said, “What will they take a photo of? It is not possible to take a photograph of pure consciousness (chaitanya). Besides, a photo of Saint Dnyaneshwar will only appear by his own will, not by anyone else’s.”

Baba liked this answer, but rather than showing it, he seemed to voice the defensive position, “All you crazy people. What do you mean you’re opposed to investigative research? This research must happen. That way it can be firmly established that many people are placing their faith entirely and only in their feelings. If we can find evidence that a body can be kept alive for hundreds of years, then the study of Saint Dnyaneshwar's yoga will begin occurring in many countries. It will spread across the world. India will have an honored status globally.”

Mr. Kulkarni said, “Global study of yoga will occur, but only to understand how to increase physical lifespans. But prolonging the physical body is not the ultimate goal. Once knowledge of the true self is obtained, it makes no difference whether our physical form continues to exist, or not. If it is for the rampant spread of negative mental distortions that the study of yoga will occur, it is better if it doesn’t happen.”

Baba was very happy to hear this answer. He would sometimes take the other side in a debate with someone and argue, testing their devotion to principles of life. 

In Divyamritdhara, Saint Baba Maharaj Arvikar writes about science and philosophy. He says that both the philosopher and the scientist have access to and are looking at a collection by the same author: god. The only difference between them is that the scientist reads only one of the books from the collection, the one on the universe and its secrets, while the philosopher reads both the one on the cosmos and one on divine intention. It is because of this distinction that the scientist, one who has only studied the physical world, can discover vast secrets of the universe, but is limited and unable to use them towards transforming life into a noble endeavor. This can make the lives of scientific researchers dull and terrifying. It is only with the addition of the study of divine intention that the lives of philosophers help to make the world noble, making their ‘study’ complete. This study brings completeness to the lives of philosophers, while the lives of scientists remain incomplete.