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Reminiscences of past life
FIVE PLACES OF PRAYERS AND THREE ROUND CIRCUITS
The pilgrims as a rule have to say prayers at five places and take three circuits round the main temple before paying homage to the presiding deity. The places of prayers are:-( 1 ) Shantinath temple, (2) Naya Adeswar temple,. (3) Adeswar foot-print dome, (4) Shrimandir temple and (5) Poondrik Swami temple. When we went to say prayers in these places successively, the boy told us that he had worshipped in the first three places and not in the last two.
THE BOY'S DEVOTIONAL ATTITUDE IN THE PRINCIPAL TEMPLE
On our entering the gate of the courtyard of the main temple and while ascending the flight of stairs leading to the courtyard the boy at once proclaimed enthusiastically pointing at the central image as being the Adeswar Bhagwan worshipped by him in his past life. He was overjoyed. Having entered the main hall of the temple we repeated prayers at the end of which the boy stood in Kawoosag (meditation) just like a statue, full of meditation. His wide open eyes, without the least twinkling, were directed towards and fixed upon Adeswar Bhagwan. He remained in that meditative posture, careless of himself, careless of all that passed in the temple, unmindful of the hum and noise of moving throng of hundreds of pilgrims round him and the songs that vibrated in the vaults of the temple for nearly half an hour. Good many monks and nuns, laymen and women were very much struck to see the young boy's mode of Darsan and meditation. After watching the boy during his half an hour's uninterrupted and enchanted gaze I tapped him on his shoulders when he startled from his trance and regained his senses. It was beyond his power to explain the heavenly bliss he had during his meditation. Shantmoorti Muni Kapoorvijayaji who was all along watching the boy sitting near him disapproved of my action in unnecessarily checking the boy in his higher flights.
THE SMALLER MARBLE ELEPHANT
From amongst four or five Poojaris the boy recognised one old .: 182 :.
[Shree Atmaramji
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