Thursday, October 30, 2008
www.totalbhakti.com
Morari Bapu was born to Prabhudas Bapu and Savitri Ma Hariyani on the auspicious day of Maha-Shivratri (1946) in Talgajarda, a small village near Mahuva in the District of Bhavnagar and State of Gujarat, India. Born into the Vaishnav Bava Sadhu Nimbarak lineage (parampara) where every male is called “Bapu” from childhood, Morari Bapu is commonly referred to as “Bapu” (meaning Father). Bapu has five brothers and two sisters, and is married with one son, three daughters and several grandchildren
Bapu spent most of his childhood under the guidance of his paternal grandmother, Amrit Ma, often spending hours listening to folk tales from her of traditional India. At the age of five, Bapu began learning the Raam Charit Maanas from his paternal grandfather Tribhovandas Bapu (who is his only Guru). Both of Bapu's paternal grandparents were the guiding force behind his upbringing and the most influential persons in his early years.
Tribhovandas Bapu, affectionately called Dadaji, was a principled and learned scholar of the Raam Charit Maanas. He would teach Bapu five couplets (chaupais) with their meaning each day. As the nearest school was approximately seven kilometres from Talgajarda, Bapu would utilize his time while walking to and from school to memorize the couplets with their meanings which he had learnt earlier in the day, often singing to the trees and the plant life on his path. Upon his return home, Bapu would recite back to Dadaji what he had memorized. The study of the Raam Charit Maanas, where Dadaji would explain the meanings of couplets and answer Bapu’s questions, took place outside their home which was adjacent to the current Ram Mandir in Talgajarda.
At a young age, Bapu was also encouraged through letters from Dadaji’s younger brother, Mahamandleshwar Vishnudevanand Giriji Maharaj, an ascetic of the Kailas Ashram in Rishikesh, to be proficient in the Bhagvat Gita and the Vedas.
At school, his teacher Ram Shanker Bhatt, remembers Bapu as a young boy who was an introvert, quiet and an independent student. The High School Headmaster, Narotam Mehta, recalls Bapu as being an intellectual student with an unusually high regard for cultural and religious values, and as a good student of the institution.
At the age of 12, Bapu began to recite the Raam Charit Maanas by heart. For his first recital to local herdsmen, he made a small mud-based platform on which he placed a portrait of Lord Ram. This location is commemorated today with a temple of Hanumanji Maharaj and named Raam Vaadi (meaning Lord Ram's orchard) in Talgajarda.
As years went by, Bapu began to attract the attention of the elder villagers who would test his knowledge of the Raam Charit Maanas, and on every occasion, young Bapu would leave the elders stunned. After graduating from secondary school, Bapu started a teacher training course at Shahapur College in Junagadh. Upon completion, he returned to Mahuva where he became a teacher at the J. Parekh High School teaching various subjects including English.
During his ten years as a teacher, Bapu often took time off to listen to prominent speakers and to meet some of India's most revered spiritual leaders. At the same time, Bapu's interest in Indian literature and poetry grew fonder and he regularly attended sessions on various literary subjects by high ranking orators. Increasingly, Bapu's quest and thirst for Raam Katha (recital of the story of Lord Raam) began to take precedence and he would sit in the Raam Vaadi in Talgajarda singing the Raam Charit Maanas and interpreting its meanings to the villagers.
Bapu's extraordinary command and oratory style quickly gathered crowds. His first month-long discourse (Maas Paraayan) of the Raam Charit Maanas was organized at the Ram Mandir in Talgajarda during the month of Chaitra in 1960. People from nearby towns and villages packed the small temple to listen to Bapu whose popularity quickly spread and subsequently led to a number of month-long discourses.
The first nine-day discourse (Navaan Paraayan) of the Raam Charit Maanas was held in Gaathila, Gujarat in May 1966. Bapu's name, command of the Raam Charit Maanas and his heart warming narrations brought people from all over India in the thousands to listen to his Raam Katha, often overwhelming listeners and organizers alike. This was the beginning of an era of orating Raam Katha to the masses from all walks of life and of all age groups. Bapu’s first Raam Katha outside India was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1976 when he was merely 30 years old. To date, Bapu has recited Ram Katha in countless places all over India and the rest of the world.
Bapu moves among people continuously. In his everyday life, one can see a conglomeration (collection) of ideals that are the basis of a good social structure, and on the other side, smoothly harmonized spiritual practices, devoid of all harshness. His entire living is to bring many different branches and sects of religion (even of other faiths), different parts of this nation with variety of languages, and the different levels of society with a panorama of cultural variation to a common ground of undivided understanding, love and unity. He shows a way of uniting not just one nation, but the whole of human race, while, at the same time preserving their individual fragrances. He refers to his Raam Katha as a prem yagna where people gather in the name of love. Bapu expressly calls out to humanity for love and respect for each other.
People who have seen/listened him for the last forty years say that Bapu's principles and ideals are not shallow, they are full of substance; he himself tries the principles in his personal life, goes through the details/process of each principle for a long period of time and when he realizes it’s worth, he shares the principle with people in katha. He suggests to his listeners not to take his words on the face value, but try and implement them practically for a better life.
In Bapu’s words, the summary of righteousness (dharma) is threefold: truth (satya), love (prem) and compassion (karuna). Bapu’s life is like the flow of the river Ganges (Ganga pravah) – similar to how new water continuously replaces the current stream, Bapu believes in flowing traditions (pravahi parampara) that evolve with the times.
Bapu spent most of his childhood under the guidance of his paternal grandmother, Amrit Ma, often spending hours listening to folk tales from her of traditional India. At the age of five, Bapu began learning the Raam Charit Maanas from his paternal grandfather Tribhovandas Bapu (who is his only Guru). Both of Bapu's paternal grandparents were the guiding force behind his upbringing and the most influential persons in his early years.
Tribhovandas Bapu, affectionately called Dadaji, was a principled and learned scholar of the Raam Charit Maanas. He would teach Bapu five couplets (chaupais) with their meaning each day. As the nearest school was approximately seven kilometres from Talgajarda, Bapu would utilize his time while walking to and from school to memorize the couplets with their meanings which he had learnt earlier in the day, often singing to the trees and the plant life on his path. Upon his return home, Bapu would recite back to Dadaji what he had memorized. The study of the Raam Charit Maanas, where Dadaji would explain the meanings of couplets and answer Bapu’s questions, took place outside their home which was adjacent to the current Ram Mandir in Talgajarda.
At a young age, Bapu was also encouraged through letters from Dadaji’s younger brother, Mahamandleshwar Vishnudevanand Giriji Maharaj, an ascetic of the Kailas Ashram in Rishikesh, to be proficient in the Bhagvat Gita and the Vedas.
At school, his teacher Ram Shanker Bhatt, remembers Bapu as a young boy who was an introvert, quiet and an independent student. The High School Headmaster, Narotam Mehta, recalls Bapu as being an intellectual student with an unusually high regard for cultural and religious values, and as a good student of the institution.
At the age of 12, Bapu began to recite the Raam Charit Maanas by heart. For his first recital to local herdsmen, he made a small mud-based platform on which he placed a portrait of Lord Ram. This location is commemorated today with a temple of Hanumanji Maharaj and named Raam Vaadi (meaning Lord Ram's orchard) in Talgajarda.
As years went by, Bapu began to attract the attention of the elder villagers who would test his knowledge of the Raam Charit Maanas, and on every occasion, young Bapu would leave the elders stunned. After graduating from secondary school, Bapu started a teacher training course at Shahapur College in Junagadh. Upon completion, he returned to Mahuva where he became a teacher at the J. Parekh High School teaching various subjects including English.
During his ten years as a teacher, Bapu often took time off to listen to prominent speakers and to meet some of India's most revered spiritual leaders. At the same time, Bapu's interest in Indian literature and poetry grew fonder and he regularly attended sessions on various literary subjects by high ranking orators. Increasingly, Bapu's quest and thirst for Raam Katha (recital of the story of Lord Raam) began to take precedence and he would sit in the Raam Vaadi in Talgajarda singing the Raam Charit Maanas and interpreting its meanings to the villagers.
Bapu's extraordinary command and oratory style quickly gathered crowds. His first month-long discourse (Maas Paraayan) of the Raam Charit Maanas was organized at the Ram Mandir in Talgajarda during the month of Chaitra in 1960. People from nearby towns and villages packed the small temple to listen to Bapu whose popularity quickly spread and subsequently led to a number of month-long discourses.
The first nine-day discourse (Navaan Paraayan) of the Raam Charit Maanas was held in Gaathila, Gujarat in May 1966. Bapu's name, command of the Raam Charit Maanas and his heart warming narrations brought people from all over India in the thousands to listen to his Raam Katha, often overwhelming listeners and organizers alike. This was the beginning of an era of orating Raam Katha to the masses from all walks of life and of all age groups. Bapu’s first Raam Katha outside India was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 1976 when he was merely 30 years old. To date, Bapu has recited Ram Katha in countless places all over India and the rest of the world.
Bapu moves among people continuously. In his everyday life, one can see a conglomeration (collection) of ideals that are the basis of a good social structure, and on the other side, smoothly harmonized spiritual practices, devoid of all harshness. His entire living is to bring many different branches and sects of religion (even of other faiths), different parts of this nation with variety of languages, and the different levels of society with a panorama of cultural variation to a common ground of undivided understanding, love and unity. He shows a way of uniting not just one nation, but the whole of human race, while, at the same time preserving their individual fragrances. He refers to his Raam Katha as a prem yagna where people gather in the name of love. Bapu expressly calls out to humanity for love and respect for each other.
People who have seen/listened him for the last forty years say that Bapu's principles and ideals are not shallow, they are full of substance; he himself tries the principles in his personal life, goes through the details/process of each principle for a long period of time and when he realizes it’s worth, he shares the principle with people in katha. He suggests to his listeners not to take his words on the face value, but try and implement them practically for a better life.
In Bapu’s words, the summary of righteousness (dharma) is threefold: truth (satya), love (prem) and compassion (karuna). Bapu’s life is like the flow of the river Ganges (Ganga pravah) – similar to how new water continuously replaces the current stream, Bapu believes in flowing traditions (pravahi parampara) that evolve with the times.
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