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’.