It is a miracle when a tiny seed grows into a thundering tree! Each and every time for this miracle to happen, it demands a good potential seed with an unfaltering effort, a fertile soil and its patient cooperation, the mutual effort of its surroundings and the climatic condition during that time, the ability to escape from its predators and the strength to break all the barriers on its way while growing.

For a single tree to grow tall and high and touch the sky, the trials and challenges it faces and the time it takes to win over all those trials are aplenty. But,

The word ‘legend’ cannot be used for every individual as the path to deserve it cannot be achieved by every one. It is bestowed on those, whose roots have come from tears, sweat, never ending suffering, hardship and sacrifices for other’s wellbeing.  

Though it is possible for us to not know the names of our grandparents, the names of many legends continuous to ring in our hearts. These legends may not be even related to us through a bloodline but we still celebrate and get inspired by such real life heroes who lived generations ago. It is because they managed to touch humanity with their actions. They dedicated their lives for others and the betterment of our society. Our world celebrated, celebrates and will keep celebrating those people who have contributed something to others’ lives.   

But are legends born or are they made?? Does history happen only in the past or does it keep happening in the present??

Legends are born with a divine purpose and every incident that comes their way brings out the greatness in them. Everyday they live in this present is another chapter that will be written in history for the future.

Krisnagiri
It is a place that grew from mere negligibility to an astonishing enormity. A city that was not much known is now popular and spoken about by various sects of nationalities, religions and people abroad. It has become a city that has made the World turn to it.  More importantly, it has become a city of hope for many.

WHO transformed this small town into a place of World wide attention within a matter of few years?

5,143 is the area in square kilometer of Krishnagiri
15,46,700 is the population of Krishnagiri as per Census 2001
3 is the number of major languages spoken: Tamil, Kannada & Telugu

He is a divine embodiment whose name is being chanted by millions and millions of devotees around the World. A saint who has instilled a belief in his devotees that nothing ever is impossible in life. A mother form for millions whose touch replaces sorrow with joy. An ocean of compassion and grace. An oasis in the lives of many. It is His holiness, SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI.

“I travel in solitude through the deserted lands, sowing the seeds of joy and peace. For one day the World will enjoy its fruits”
SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI 

Shrimati Ugama baai and Shri Keval Chand were the blessed parents of GURUDEV JI. Their married life started on a negative note when Shrimati Ugama baai met with an accident on the very next day of their wedlock, by tripping into a well. She fought for life and later faced major physical and psychological injuries. As she slowly started recovering, the couple started leading a normal life. They gave birth to six children. His Holiness was the sixth and last child for the couple and was named VASANTH KUMAR as they intuitively knew that he was going to bring sunshine in the lives of many. 

“Mother is the crux of all religions and a miracle science can never replicate”
SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI 

GURUDEVJI’s life journey began from sorrow and misery. His blessed parents had to fight so many battles before giving birth to the divine soul. The couple did not realize that their son was the incarnation of God during his growing years. His transformation from a mortal to a master made him constantly walk on a bed of thorns. Like how a caterpillar painfully cocoons itself to become a beautiful butterfly, this divine soul accepted his adversity with complete faith on God.

For a child, a mother figure is always its source for blind love and complete support. But due to his mother’s health instability after the accident, he became a mother to his mother. When other children played and led a normal happy life, he was tending to his mother with utmost care and devotion.

At a tender age while he already took responsibilities that grown ups falter with, he was also forced to witness the demise of his two sisters and a brother which shook him to his core. With a family that was on the verge of crashing, His holiness became the anchor of support and held the family together from falling apart with his divine grace.

It was the year of 1986 and GURUDEV JI was traveling to Chennai. As he was crossing the city of Kanchipuram, his car suddenly broke down. Getting outside the vehicle, GURUDEV JI realized that the car had stopped outside the Kanchi Mutt and also exactly at 5o’clock, which was right on time for the daily darshan of Kanchi Maha Periyava (The Great Saint of Kanchipuram). Sensing this miraculous coincidence, GURUDEV JI decided to go in for the darshan.

As soon as he entered, he felt the darshan hall was ablaze with an unexplainable energy. The aura and the exuberance were tangible in the presence of Kanchi Maha Periyava. GURUDEV JI’s eyes filled with tears of joy and his heart bubbled with exuberance once the seer started his puja. There started a transcendental interaction between the two great souls when GURUDEV JI poured out all his grievances through his mind and heard in his heart the magical words of the Maha Periyava saying, “Why do you worry? You will lead a blessed life”.

Three days later, GURUDEV JI had a dream of Maha Periyava seated on a golden throne and uttering thrice the “Perform Anna Dhan” (distribution of food to the needy). In a state of trance, GURUDEV JI waited for three more days for some indication about his dream. That was when he came across the seer’s booklet ‘Deivathin Kural’ which stated any axiom that is read thrice, strengthens it. The same day Maha Periyava himself whispered into GURUDEV JI’s ears that the dream he had three days back was a message that he wanted GURUDEV JI to fulfill. After this message, GURUDEV JI fed thousands by performing anna dhan.  

GURUDEV JI’s Spiritual journey rose to tremendous heights, as Maha Periyava powered the young soul with many mantras, which were astoundingly uttered thrice in all his dreams. As he had boundless respect and devotion for Maha Periyava, he visited the Kanchi Mutt often. GURUDEV JI was showered with blessings during all those mystical interaction with Maha Periyava. 

 
GURUDEV JI has conducted innumerable functions, distributing free food to the needy. The biggest of them was conducted on 15 March 2009 where in a 10,000 square feet kitchen, 300 cooks used more than 4000 kilos of rice, 3000 kilos of vegetables and 1000 kilos of cereals to cook breakfast and lunch for 20,000 school children.  

These were the words GURUDEV JI heard in his dream from the Maha Periyava one night. As he was pondering about this dream, Maha periyava reached Mukti a few days later. Though GURUDEV JI was devastated, he knew in his heart that the blessings of the Maha Periyava will always stay with him.

Maha Periyava reached Mukti at 2:58 p.m on January 8, 1994. Exactly at that time, the Kanchi Mutt clock stopped working. The clock is still in display at Kanchi Mutt.  

Time passed by and life made him get into family life. He had two children and was also taking care of his business. This was the time when one of the most prominent saints in Jainism, Mahasiddhi Acharya Sri Bhuvan Bhanu Suri, with his 20 disciples, visited VASANTH GURUDEV JI to stay at his home during a pilgrimage.

As soon as GURUDEV JI set his eyes on the Acharya, he knew this was the great saint he was asked to follow. GURUDEV JI being an excellent painter was given a few pictures by the saint to be painted during that time. He waited patiently during the three days of the holy saint’s visit but there was no sign of any initiation.

While the Acharya was about to leave on the third night, he fell ill and had to postpone his trip by one more day. That night, he called for GURUDEV JI and taught him mantras to do puja to the sacred picture of Sri Shankeshwar Parshwanath that was given by Acharya himself.

That was when GURUDEV JI understood the true meaning of Kanchi Maha Periyava’s artistic words! “That that life obeys that that dharma” meant “Follow Jainism, the dharma you were born in and attain spirituality”.

GURUDEV JI knew that it did not matter which path one takes or which religion one follows during the span of one’s life. What matters most is whether one reaches the feet of God which is the end of that journey.

He placed the holy picture of Sri Shankeshawar Parshwanath on a wooden box in his puja room and lit a divine lamp close to it, which was constantly filled with oil for it to burn day and night.

To see the light of God, he brought all his senses under control and drowned himself in meditation. All his chakras aligned to transport him to the kingdom of God. GURUDEV JI who used to see God as the path of his life started seeing God as the light of his life.

In a state of bliss and harmony, he realized himself in that divine light of God.

 
Not many know that GURUDEV JI is a very good painter. He is a great art lover and being an exceptional artist, he has designed many idols in the Krishnagiri temple.

Meditation does not bear wisdom as its fruit all the time. Without truth and righteousness as its foundation, life leaves only scars as its result. GURUDEV JI being the epitome of goodness and righteousness reached the pinnacle of timeless wisdom with his meditation and devotion. What are frequently termed as miracles in the lives of mortals, are frequent incidents in the life of GURUDEV JI.

One such incident took place when one night GURUDEV JI saw two serpents dancing on a bed of kunkumam in his bedroom. But every time he got up, they would miraculously vanish without leaving any hint of their presence.

Many nights passed by and GURUDEV JI watched the serpents with amazement and wonder. His subconscious knew this occurrence was happening for a reason and his intuition asked him to wait to learn that reason.

Isn’t everything that GURUDEV JI’s clear sub conscience and sharp intuition predicts, always right? To give him his answers, Goddess Sri Padmavathi Devi, the mother of mothers, visited him in his dreams.

She said, “Oh pious one, The Great Lord Parshwanath you worship everyday was born in the holy pilgrim Kasi 2850 years back. The serpents that you see every night are Lord Nagaraja and Me blessing you.”

Saying this, the deity disappeared giving GURUDEV JI diksha. As every second of GURUDEV JI’s life is meaningful, every dream of his also carries along with it a significance.

The following morning, GURUDEV JI made a silver idol out of the image of Goddess Sri Padmavathi Devi he saw the previous night in his dream and started worshipping the deity with complete devotion. Many a times kunkumam and chandan have poured from that idol.

After this incident, miracles became a part of the great saint’s life, SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI.

During one Navratri, there was a rain of kunkumam in the Krishnagiri temple. The devotees were astounded and later when they collected the sea of kunkumam across the temple, it weighed approximately 500 kilos.

It was GURUDEV JI’s daily practice to perform aarati and puja to the sacred idol of Goddess Sri Padmavathi Devi every evening.

One day when he made a short outstation trip, he got delayed to return back home and it was also raining heavily. He had to park his car somewhere till the rain subsided.

He heard a warning bell in his heart that it was already time for aarati to his Goddess Sri Padmavathi Devi and he was still stuck in the outskirts. GURUDEV JI is a saint of great discipline and spirituality, so he had never failed even a single day to perform his daily ritual of performing aarati and puja to the deity and received her blessings.

He cried his heart out in the pouring rain saying, “Amma, Mother of all mothers, Sri Padmavathi Devi! From the time I surrendered myself to your feet and started worshipping you, nothing has ever stopped or delayed my daily aarati to you. But today it looks like the rain would delay it. Isn’t everything that happens your making? Why are you making me go through this misery?”

That moment there was a streak of lightning that turned itself into a gigantic, shimmering serpent floating on air, swaying slowly to both sides. Red coal embers made its eyes and they pierced into GURUDEV JI’s being. The swaying serpent slowly lifted its entire body that scaled sky and land. It evaporated into thin air to become the image of a glowing, tremendously beautiful Sri Padmavathi Devi, whose luminous presence smiled at GURUDEV JI with love and affection to bless him. As GURUDEV JI was transfixed with amazement and bliss, the image of the Goddess disappeared as abruptly as it appeared, to replace the raining suburb that was back in view. GURUDEV JI could not move for sometime as his entire being was stunned by Sri Padmavathi Devi’s purest energy form and a force stronger than the strongest lightning.

With every miracle in GURUDEV JI’s life, the supreme mother tells him “I am your mother; you are my son; look no further and come unto me.”

During 1996, one night he heard a heavenly voice.

“Son, the time has come to take up higher responsibilities. The time has come to embrace the entire world as your family as my son. Wait no more!”

He paid heed to the words of the supreme mother and swam from the life of a family man to become a holy saint.

“Sri Parshwanath Upsarg Haarini Saasan Devi Padmaavathi Maatha” was a book written in Gujarati that GURUDEV JI received from a devotee. It was a remarkable book that was written on Sri Padmavathi Devi. But as GURUDEV JI did not know Gujarati, he could not read the book.

Disappointed that he could not read something that was written on his supreme mother, he lay down near Sri Padmavathi Devi’s idol keeping the book near him.

While he was sleeping, he was gently woken up by the Goddess. As he woke up surprised, he heard her supreme self saying,

“Wake up my son. Go read the Gujarati book written on me.”

He immediately ran to fetch the book. As he was skimming through its contents HE WAS ABLE TO READ IT. It is scientifically impossible for a person to read a language fluently that he/she was not aware of within a few hours. But he read Gujarati with the ease and panache of a born Gujarati.
This miracle made GURUDEV JI realize that nothing was impossible when Sri Padmavathi Devi sat in the throne of one’s heart.

Finding The Holy Land
One night, when Goddess Sri Padmavathi Devi appeared in GURUDEV JI’s dream, she ordered her son to build her a temple in a vicinity that was very close to her heart. GURUDEV JI was puzzled. From where and how would he find such a place?

Always knowing the heart of her disciples, the Goddess answered him by saying,

“VASANTH KUMAR, my most favorite son! To find my abode, turn right from the blessed city of Krishnagiri. At exactly the 5th kilometer, there will be a path on the right side of the road and Lord Nagaraja will be waiting there for you.”

With no further delay, GURUDEV JI left for Krishnagiri to find the home of his supreme mother. As advised to him, at exactly the 5th kilometer from that city, there was a path on the right side of the road. In-between two palm trees, there was a hooded snake, as if it was waiting for his arrival. GURUDEV JI was immensely happy and thrilled that he found the spot.

It was a 24 acres land with one acre that was used to cultivate herbs for the cure of cancer.  The remaining 23 acres was barren and a waste land. As per divinity’s orders, all the 23 acres were purchased to build the temple.

When the temple construction work was about to begin, they dug the ground to fit a bore well. When they had dug only about 9 feet, there was water already bubbling out from the ground. It rose to a magnificent 40 feet and flowed like a beautiful water fall.

The neighborhood was stunned. When they had tried earlier to dig that area, even after drilling the land beyond 600 feet, there was no water underneath to be pumped out!!

This incident made the whole locality say only one phrase.

Sarvam SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI Namaha!

Nothing is Impossible
It was the divine mother’s orders for the temple consecration (kumbhabhishekam) to be conducted on 05.05.2003. But do you know when she had given those orders to GURUDEV JI? 27.03.2003!

Though the time she gave to build the temple was very short, GURUDEV JI did not find any reason to feel scared or worried. He set complete faith on his divine mother and started all the arrangements immediately without faltering in any way in his efforts.

To even begin this divine effort the amount that the architect demanded was rupees twenty seven lakhs and GURUDEV JI did not have that much money. In spite of this situation, he asked the architect to collect the money the following day and the architect also duly agreed.

After the architect left, GURUDEV JI wondered, “On what basis did I ask him to collect all that money tomorrow!?” He could not find an answer. But his unshakable faith on the Goddess never wavered.

During that time, one of GURUDEV JI’s ardent devotees from Bangalore had come to visit His holiness. The devotee cried his heart out to GURUDEV JI that his wife was suffering from uterus cancer and was fighting for her dear life.

Hearing this, GURUDEV JI took the holy ashes from the yaaga gundam and held them in his divine palm. Praying with all his heart to Sri Padmavathi Devi, he gave the contents to his devotee asking him to mix the holy ashes with water every one hour and make his wife drink it. The devotee left with the prasad.

The next day, as told by GURUDEV JI, the architect came to collect the said amount to begin the temple construction work. GURUDEV JI was perplexed as he did not know what to do. Exactly at that time, the devotee who had come the previous day crying about his wife’s illness also entered the room.

“Swamiji, as advised by you yesterday, I gave the prasad from your yaaga gundam as per your directions to my wife. What a Miracle! She has completely recovered now. I took her to our doctor for her test last evening and the reports said she did not have any cancer cells in her uterus anymore! The doctors themselves were shocked seeing her report! My wife’s life was saved only because of you. I cannot find words to thank you!” were the devotee’s words.

GURUDEV JI was happy hearing the news and thanked his divine mother for her miracle.

The devotee also added, “GURU JI, as a sign of my gratitude I want to donate some amount for the construction of your temple.” Saying this he quoted an amount that amazed everyone around. It was the twenty seven lakhs that was required for the construction. Unbelievable!

Such are the miracles in the life of our GURUDEV JI.

The construction work began, to build the temple for Goddess Padmavathi Devi and Lord Shakti Parshwanath. It was rising to a magnificent 85 feet structure from the ground. It was indeed magnificent in its height… Magnificent in its beauty… Magnificent in its tranquil spirituality…

As per the orders of Devi, the construction work got over by the said date, and the temple stood with all its beauty, ready for the consecration (kumbhabhishekam).

Anyone who listens to these stories gets astounded.

How did GURUDEV JI achieve finishing the construction of such a big temple in such a short span of time?

The answer though, is simple. GURUDEV JI was born to achieve! This divine saint’s thinking and his thoughts are much faster than even the speed of time. What we call a day, is just a minute in his mind processing. Therefore, the time it may take for us to finish a deed in one day will take only a minute of his time span to complete the same deed.

If what is said above is not true, then how will you explain getting a stadium built with a capacity to comfortably seat 1,000 people and also get a stage built that could hold around 100 people, in just 20 days!? No one can accomplish such a big feat other than GURUDEV JI.

He can because he is the divine personification of Sri Padmavathi Devi!

It was the last day for the arrangements to be carried on to inaugurate the magnificent temple of krishnagiri, when Sri Padmavathi Devi visited GURUDEV JI in his dreams. She said,
“Do not buy saffron”

Giving this order to GURUDEV JI like a riddle, she disappeared.

In the religion of Jainism saffron is an important element in their pujas. How could his supreme mother place such an order on the day before the inauguration of the temple?

GURUDEV JI was perplexed!

The next day, he received a list of items to be purchased for the puja from the pandit. The first item to be purchased in the list was 1 ½ kilos of saffron. GURUDEV JI could not discern what course of action to pursue. He pleaded with his divine mother in his heart “Amma, what decision do you wish me to make?!”

The minute he raised the question, like a divine coincidence, his answer came in the form of a big parcel from the courier office. He opened it to find a packet with saffron and a letter attached along with it. The letter was sent by one of his ardent devotees from Rajkot. The letter read,

“My dearest, His holiness SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI,

Your blessings, your advice and your very presence have made me lead a blessed and happy life. As a token of love and respect to you, I have couriered 1 ½ kilos of saffron for the temple pratishta as my contribution. Kindly bless me by accepting it.”

GURUDEV JI realized why Devi had given such an order in his dreams. She knew her son’s heart would ache with misery if he had not been able to use his devotee’s offering. After all, offering to her son was equivalent to offering the supreme mother right? GURUDEV JI blessed the devotee and accepted the saffron.

There are some whose lives are filled with miracles. There are some others, whose life by itself is a miracle. GURUDEV JI’s life is miraculous indeed. Such are the lives of truly blessed souls.

 The saanp ke bil (Putru/Anthill) behind the temple guesthouse is one of its kind. It is in the shape of a lotus and has 108 bil (holes). GURUDEV JI found this abode of Lord Nagaraja the day after he heard the voice of the lord himself in his dreams, asking GURUDEV JI to meet him behind the temple guesthouse. Everyone was astonished, as the construction work had been going on for months and not even a single person had seen it before.

Wearing red robes, as it is Sri Padmavathi Devi’s beloved colour, GURUDEV JI underwent the most difficult kashta mouna vrata for 240 days. The reason why it is so difficult is because the person holding the vrata cannot use any kind of physical action or writing or even use sight as a mode of communication with another person.

From the 48th day the vrata began, till the 72nd day, Devi appeared in 23 forms giving GURUDEV JI many spiritual and philosophical explanations during each one of her darshans. On the 240th day which was the last day of the vrata, Devi gave her tremendous vishvarupa darshan with 108 hands to GURUDEV JI.

Only a blessed soul can withstand its power to survive while watching Devi in her most magnificent form.

Later, GURUDEV JI made idols of all the 23 forms of Devi and the Supreme mother’s vishvarupa he witnessed. The serene idols were placed in the blessed temple of Krishnagiri for his devotees.

To live during the time when such a great soul is living on earth by itself is a blessing we should be thankful for.

The Messenger of Peace
In the city of Jharkhand, GURUDEV JI went in search of the place where Lord Parshwanath attained moksha. He visited and stayed there for many days in a place called Sammed Shikhar where 20 Tirthankars had attained moksha. During that time he received priceless wisdom and siddhis. Lord Bhairav on his mount gave darshan to GURUDEV JI.

After that, in a quest to attain the ultimate truth, he went to The Great Himalayas to penance. There, he found answers for all his questions. He learnt the ultimate truth and attained immense power. He realized his inner self in the midst of Mother Nature.

It is true that ‘The rebirth of pure people will always be pure’. During his penance, he realized who he was during his previous births. He learnt that his life karma was destined to take a spiritual path during all his lives because even in his previous birth, he was a staunch Shivayogi.
 
After attaining the ultimate truth, he visited Kasi. There, his inner voice ordered him to lead this world towards peace.

From that day, this saint has single handedly made mammoth efforts in leading this world filled with war and terrorism to peace and happiness.

May we all chant SRI SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI Namaha in our hearts for the greatness of his soul. The Supreme Mother will bless us with abundance and joy.

GURUDEV JI left to Himalayas when he heard a divine calling from his Guru. There, GURUDEV JI acquired diksha, yoga sadhanam and several secret mantras through his aathma sadhanam. GURUDEV JI’s spiritual journey began from Rishikesh and extended till the caves of Mana. In some of those caves, the temperature dipped even below 0 degrees Celsius. During this challenging journey, GURUDEV JI understood the purpose of his life journey.   

The Supreme Mother’s blessings on GURUDEV JI are immense!

GURUDEV JI’s divine picture pours out kunkumam in the houses of devotees who worship and perform puja to his photo. Red kunkumam given from the holy palm of GURUDEV JI turns into golden chandan. The inscription ‘Sri SRI SRI VASANTH GURUDEV JI Namaha’ smudged with kunkumam, appears by itself on the walls in the houses of many devotees across the world.

She succeeds any deed that is begun by saying GURUDEV JI’s holy name.

The miracles that the divine mother performs for her son and his devotees are countless. GURUDEV JI’s love and affection has engulfed the lives of many and blanketed them from the harsh problems and troubles that they face.

One may want to ask whether they can also be blanketed by his love! Whether they deserve to get drenched in his shower of affection!

Anyone with true conscience, right thoughts, a pure heart and boundless faith and devotion deserve his boundless blessings. They deserve his limitless love.

People from different religions and various nationalities, forgetting man made boundaries, throng in the temple of Krishnagiri to receive his blessings. They want to be a part in the life of a God-made miracle. GURUDEV JI is,

In a few years, GURUDEV JI will finish building a temple that will tower 365 feet from the ground and signify that all the 365 days in a year are holy days to worship God. By being the biggest temple tower in the continent of Asia, it is going to make us and our country proud.

His every action makes history. His every deed becomes an achievement. His life brings a ray of sunshine to our lives. Let us all chant,