Sunday 1 May 2011
D A V College(lahore)
Affiliated to : kurukshetra university kurukshetra
Location
Veer Ji Ki Kutiya वीर जी की कुटिया
Veer Ji Ki Kutiya वीर जी की कुटिया
Prakash Dev, better known as Gita Nand Ji Maharaj
(Veer Ji) of Ambala City, was born on 20.11. 1929 in village Kamalia of
Lyallpur District (which is now in Pakistan).
Gita Nand Ji was born into a well-known Gosain
(upper caste Brahmin) family to Shri Nand Lal Gosain (Father) and
Bhrawan Bai (Mother).
Gita Nand Ji's grandfather Shri Sheetal Das
Gosain was a highly acclaimed and spiritually advanced personality and
the spiritual life and conduct of his grandfather and grandmother had a
significant impact on young Prakash Dev.
Prakash Dev was about 7-8 years old when the
first signs of his later life as an Awakened and 'God Realized’ saint
began to emerge.
One day, while playing with friends from the
neighborhood, he caught the sight of another child carrying a chunk of
sweet-meat in his hand. Overtaken by sudden emotion and hunger for the
piece of delicacy, the young Prakash ran towards the boy and snatched
the sweet-meat out of his hand to eat it.
Prakash's mother was watching this little episode
the whole time and grabbed her son by the hand before he could savor the
taste of the dessert. One tight slap and the admonishment that followed
embarrassed the little boy. The incident registered deep within and
catalyzed the links that he had already established with a higher
intelligence.
Prakash would sit quietly in a corner of the house
and play the whole episode related to the sweet-meat in his mind time
and again. Prakash belonged to an affluent family and he was constantly
bothered by the question that if he had everything in his own house,
available to him without anyone questioning him, why and what led him to
go after something so 'blindly’.
Being the only son and born the youngest to six
elder sister, Prakash was pampered and deeply loved by all in the
family. Several pet names like 'Nikka', 'Manga', 'Kaka' were gifts of
love given to him by near and dear ones.
This too would confuse and later amuse young
Prakash. He would wonder how one person could be addressed and
remembered by so many names. This trait of constantly questioning and
pondering deeply on even the smallest events became the one 'constant'
thing in Prakash's life.
This trait was further fuelled by leading a
disciplined life and attending to both school and house-hold duties with
equal aplomb. Discipline, respect for elders, rising early and taking
bath before sunrise and the reading and recital of Shrimad Bhagwad Geeta
before sitting for breakfast were some of the 'rules’ that were set by
Gita Nand Ji’s father.
And everyone, including Prakash, followed the
rules religiously and without questioning. As the saying goes, 'Coming
Events Cast Their Shadows Before', Prakash showed signs of being aloof,
self-centered and displayed sharp intelligence even in performing the
smallest of tasks.
That he was a topper in studies and was a favorite of all his teachers came as no surprise.
His father would often repeat the words, “If one
has to live happily in our home, he must follow the rules of the house.”
These words would always hit the 'bull’s eye’ and Prakash would often
sit and keep repeating these words in his mind.
Gradually, the 'rules of the divine’ or the 'ways
of the divine’ were building a place inside Prakash’s being. He would
constantly find that 'material’ things around him were changing without
any 'visible’ hand coming to change them.
Simple day-to-day incidents reminded young
'Prakash’ of a divine force that was constantly in play. He would watch
agog and replay each incident in his mind to try and understand the
'subtle’ laws of this divine force.
Whether at school or at home, he was taking his
first lessons that would help him during his later life as a 'God
Seeker’ and help him lead a monastic life. Small anecdotes that later
turned into 'big’ ideas as he embarked on his journey 'inward’.
1. He would carefully watch his mother follow a
few simple steps to separate milk into curd. She would cover the
container and then leave the milk to set in a warm place. And everyone
in the family knew that the container was not to be touched or moved,
lest the curding process be disturbed. Prakash’s mother would often say,
“If you want to savor good quality curd, shut the container with warm
milk very tight and do not move or shake the container.” Prakash would
watch with interest every time his mother would pull-out 'almost solid’
chunks of curd. He would wonder how milk had transformed into curd
over-night. And his mother would repeat for the sake of further clarity
that 'do not shake the container’ and you get chunks of 'almost solid’
curd.
Prakash (or Gita Nand Ji Maharaj) would later say
to all his disciples, "Do not let your belief be shaken. Your 'inner
environment’ should not be stirred or shaken if you want 'solid’
results."
2. Around the age of 12, Prakash was witness to
the marriage ceremony of his eldest sister. Everyone in the family was
very excited and so was young Prakash. As the date of marriage
approached, relatives, and friends and near and dear ones flocked to his
family home. Prakash could not quite fathom the hullabaloo linked to
'going away’ of his sister to someone else’s house.
The day of the marriage, Prakash was shattered as
he finally came to terms with the fact that his sister will not be able
to live with his family any longer and would only 'visit occasionally'.
He questioned his parents and his sisters about the tradition and
everyone looked very comfortable with the idea that 'one day every girl
has to leave her parents home to live with another man and another
family’. He ran back and forth exclaiming that if his sister had to
leave then why she was given so much attention in their family after
all. Everyone should have treated her like a 'guest'.
These small ideas and incidents left a deep
impression on Prakash's mind. He decided that he would never be a part
of the marriage ceremony of the rest of his sisters and he would treat
them only as ‘guests’.
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