Sandhya Tai and Balkrishna Maharaj

First of all, let me introduce myself briefly. My name is Mrs. Sandhya Jitendra Bhobe from Mahim (Mumbai).

As a homemaker, like every other housewife, I have the responsibility of managing my household. I must be a strong support to my husband, take care of my children and ensure their proper upbringing, and fulfill the various responsibilities of family life. Amidst all this, I also have my own desires and wishes. Every homemaker has to fulfill some of her dreams while setting others aside. In my life, while managing my household, I often felt a desire to escape into solitude or to go to the Himalayas (though such a desire may not be common among regular women).

However, practically speaking, this wasn’t possible, and I had to return my focus to family life. During this time, I unexpectedly met an spiritual guru, Shri Balkrishna Maharaj, who came into my life, bringing a wonderful (unique and miraculous) art form that started changing my life gradually.

Thus, my spiritual journey began. Before this, even Shri Sai Baba had guided me to complete the reading of Shri Sai Charitra, from which I had many experiences and even received ‘darshan’ (divine vision) of Shri Sai.
However, for ordinary people like us, understanding this is difficult. We feel amazed by such experiences and miracles, but at the same time, doubts arise in our minds: can this really happen?
Such questions come to us, and we start thinking along those lines, wondering if I truly had a vision of Shri Sai. When doubts like these arise, it means that the ‘clay is still soft,’ implying that our foundation is still lacking.

As life went on, with the arrival of Shri Balkrishna Maharaj in my life, I began to understand the true meaning of spirituality, and the questions I used to have stopped. A genuine spiritual journey had commenced. Each of us receives guidance from a teacher like Shri Balkrishna Maharaj at the right time in our lives. Here, it doesn’t matter who the guide is, how famous or miraculous they are. What is important is that we recognize and follow them. Readers should remember that the guide (more than the guru) is crucial, and it doesn’t matter whether the guide is male or female, as long as we have faith and trust in them.

Shri Balkrishna Maharaj made me understand that God tests us and shows us the path to reach our guru and true teacher. When our practice becomes steady, the guru will search us out and guide us toward liberation. This is understood through experience, not from bookish words, which every true seeker comes to realize.
With this understanding, I began to find joy in spirituality. I expressed gratitude to God and, with Shri Balkrishna Maharaj as my guru and Shri Sai as my first guide, my path turned towards Shri Shankar Maharaj, and I became fully immersed in Shankar Maharaj.

There is a deep similarity between Shri Balkrishna Maharaj and Shri Shankar Maharaj, and their histories share certain parallels. It feels as though Shri Balkrishna Maharaj is indeed Shri Shankar Maharaj. Over time, I became increasingly convinced of this, and many good events began happening in my life.
Later, another great teacher entered my life: Shri Datt Maharaj. This happened in 2017 when my friend Hema Tai and I joined a tour to Girnar Parikrama and Guru Shikhar organized by Shri Naresh Dada’s Datta Dham. During this journey, I had an experience where I suddenly felt the presence of Shri Shankar Maharaj. Hema Tai was with me at the time and was frightened to see me like that, but she was informed that it was a state of divine connection.

The arrival of Shri Datt Maharaj, Shri Shankar Maharaj and Shri Balkrishna Maharaj in my life has proven to be incredibly significant. Then, in 2020, due to the lockdown, Naresh Dada started an online Purnima Girnar Yatra, which we all participated in. Following this, by Shri Datt’s grace, the ‘Shri Satya Datt Guru Kul Group’ was established. For the past four years, our Satya Datt Gurukul group has been continuously moving forward under the guidance of Shri Balkrishna Maharaj.

Each month, Shri Balkrishna Maharaj gives us a mantra dedicated to Shri Datt Maharaj. We all virtually climb the 10,000 steps of Girnar during the online Purnima Yatra, chanting the mantra and bowing at each temple along the way. Through this yatra, all of us devotees receive some divine experiences from Shri Datt Maharaj.

In this way, Shri Balkrishna Maharaj also participates in the yatra with us whenever he can. During the journey, we gather on Zoom, and we listen joyfully to his insightful words.
During this time, new seekers have joined us, expanding our Gurukul family. Through this community, we began visiting various sacred sites associated with Shri Datt Maharaj, and our community has continued to grow.

Truly, this is only the beginning, and the practices given by Shri Balkrishna Maharaj to our Gurukul seekers to help form the Gurukul are bearing fruit and continue to do so. The experiences of our Gurukul seekers testify to our unity, and I am grateful to all of them. I would especially like to mention that in my spiritual journey, when the Gurukul group was formed, the youngest seeker was Riya Phadnis, who was in the 9th grade. She would make videos of the group’s events, handle recordings, and serve in this way, with the help of her sister Vallari Phadnis, who also assisted in sharing information about the group on social media.

Special thanks for contribution towards the ashram. to Pratibha Tai , Usha Tai, Hema Tai, Vishakha Tai, Sanjay Dada, and Bravish, along with all the Gurukul seekers, have provided consistent support.

I am very grateful to all.