Santbal A Saint with a Difference

SR No.: 001181
Original Sutra Author: N/A
Author: T U Mehta
Publisher: Navjivan Prakashan Mandir
Publication Year: 1996
Total Pages: 152
Language: English
Classification: Book_English & Biography
File Size: 9 MB

Page 123

Next morning the youths who had heckled him went to him, regretted for their attitude and asked to be forgiven. The Saint assured them that they were already forgiven on the spot.
A Defamatory Pamphlet:
In 1956 Santbal was passing his Chaturmas in Dholka. At that time Gujarat was a part of the bilingual State of Bombay and hence the popular movement for the creation of Maha Gujarat was vigorously going on. Santbalji was propagating the view in favour of a bilingual State. As usually happens during such movements, feelings were running high and tolerance for the opposite view was the casualty.
During this time some body issued a pamphlet highly defamatory of Santbalji in dirty language. One pedlar on the railway station was distributing this pamphlet shouting the defamatory banner lines as a train arrived at the station. A group of passengers called the pedlar and purchased the pamphlet. The pedlar sold a copy to them and again started to hawk by shouting the defamatory words. The passengers knew who Santbal was and so hearing the defamatory words being shouted in that manner, one of them became angry and thrashed the pedlar who fell down on the platform. The train immediately started. One of the persons who witnessed this incident, and who had also purchased the pamphlet, narrated this incident and showed the pamphlet to the party of Santbal who was camping there for Chaturmas. All the persons who read the pamphlet were agitated. They showed it to Santbal and narrated the incident of the Railway Station. Santbal smiled but did not utter anything and since it was evening time to offer prayer he finished his "Pratikraman". Thereafter he called Manubhai and asked him to write a letter to the people of his Ashram at Gundi advising them not to get agitated if they came across the pamphlet and to see that nobody caused any injury to the pedlar who distributed it.
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