There was a scholar called Vishnubua Brahmachari who was a vedantin and very good orator also. He was quite popular and the King of Akkalkot was very impressed with the skills of this great scholar. The king invited the scholar to his palace and in the court he put a very complex question in Vedanta to Shri Swami Samarth. He asked Swamiji to explain what Brahmatadaakaara vritti is. Swamiji just smiled and did not answer anything. Swamiji just kept quiet and Vishnubua thought that it was not proper to call Swamiji a “swami’ or “master” because he had not answered the question.
The Dream
According to Vishnubua a person who cannot answer his question cannot be called a swami or master. He went outside and started telling publicly that Swamiji was not able to answer his questions. Swamiji just kept quiet and he did not mind it. After few days Vishnubua dreamt that thousands of scorpions were moving towards him and one of them even stung him. He was very frightened and screamed loudly. A Parsi devotee who was sleeping near him asked the reason for his screaming and Vishnubua explained the dream he saw. Vishnubua let go the dream from his mind and continued with his activities.
After a few days, Vishnubua again visited Swamiji and asked him what “Brahmatadaakaara vritti’ meant. Swamiji again smiled but this time told him that he screamed seeing the sight of thousands scorpions in a silly dream. How can he speak about Vedanta? Swamiji also asked him whether he considered Brahmatadaakaara vritti as a simple thing. He told Vishnubua that it cannot be attained through expressive speeches or with the juggling of verbal sounds. Swamiji was very angry with the scholar and asked him to get out from his sight. Vishnubua understood the situation and left from Swamiji’s presence.
Realisation
Vishnubua had realised what Swamiji said was true and visited Swamiji again after few days. This time Swamiji explained to Vishnubua the metaphysical concept coherently. Swamiji presented to him the actual experience and made Vishnubua a saint. Vishnubua then realised that Swamiji was the avatar of Lord Dattatreya and Vishnubua was also sad that he underestimated Swamiji. Vishnubua layer became a true devotee of Swamiji and was with him till the end. This way Swamiji had corrected the ego of many scholars also. Swamiji treated everyone equally and he never had mind block of rich people or poor people. Swamiji was the true incarnation of Lord Dattatreya.
