Shri Swami Samarth offered spiritual guidance to many even though majority of the people came for material benefits. Deo Mamaledar was one such devotee who came for spiritual benefits and he was a very strong devotee of Swamiji when Swamiji was at Mangalwedhe. Deo Mamaledar was a government official working under the collector. Deo Mamaledar had a spiritual and charitable mind. When the people in Thane were suffering from food crisis and people were dieing because of starvation. People did not have jobs and money to buy grains from the government granaries. One days many people gathered in front of the office Deo Mamaledar hearing about his kind nature.
The Collector’s Action
The government had not done anything for this. Deo Mamaledar felt pity for the people and opened the government granary and distributed ten thousand rupees worth of grains to the hungry people. People were grateful to Deo Mamaledar and left the scene. People complained to the Thane collector and the collector came to audit the accounts and situation. The granary was opened in the presence of Deo Mamaledar after he confessed that he had distributed the grains to the needy. The collector was not ready to buy the points made by Deo Mamaledar and ordered to audit the accounts andthe cash in the locker.
The collector was shocked to see that the accounts were all correct, including the account of ten thousand worth of grain. The collector realised that Deo Mamaledar had spiritual backing and praised him. Deo Mamaledar knew that the unfriendly Government atmosphere was not friendly for his spiritual path and resigned from the job. Swamiji never liked ego and punished the people with ego. Ramdasibuwa was the chief of a Mutt near Mangalwedhe. This person had very high opinion about himself in spiritual matters. Swamiji visited this Mutt and went off to sleep inside the Mutt after the afternoon meals.
No Lock for Swamiji
Ramdasibuva waited for the Swamiji to wake up so that he can lock the Mutt and go out. Swamiji continued to sleep and Ramdasibuva got angry and locked the Mutt with the Swamiji still sleeping inside. He went to the town and was boasting to his friends about how he locked Swamiji inside and came off. After going back Ramdasibuva was shocked to see Swamiji sitting near the river. The people around started questioning Ramdasibuva and found the Mutt still locked from outside with Swamiji missing inside. They all started making fun of Ramdasibuva and started questioning his spiritual accomplishments. To prove that he had really locked Swamiji inside he brought a pundit called Parshurambhat. Everybody changed the attitude and rushed to the river side to get the blessings of Swamiji. This helped Ramdasibuva to part with his ego.
