Jalaram Bapa | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1799-11-04)4 November 1799 |
| Died | 23 February 1881(1881-02-23) (aged 81) Virpur,Virpur State, British India |
| Spouse | Virbai Thakkar |
| Children | 1 |
Jalaram Bapa (4 November 1799 (Samvat 1856) – 23 February 1881 (Samvat 1937), was aHindu saint fromGujarat, India. He was born on 4 November 1799,[1] one week after theHindu festival ofDiwali, which is associated with hisIṣṭa-devatā LordRama. He is mainly worshipped in Gujarat. Thursday is the day that is associated with him in Hinduism. Images of Jalaram Bapa usually portray him as wearing white, with a stick in his left hand and atulsimala in his right hand. He is always dressed in simple clothes which is a symbol of purity.
Jalaram Bapa was born inVirpur,Rajkot district, Gujarat,India in 1799, on the seventh day of theKartika month. His father was Pradhan Thakkar and his mother was Rajbai Thakkar who belonged toLohana clan. He was a devotee of LordRama.[2][3]
Jalaram Bapa was however not willing to live a householder's life and continued to take care of his father's business.[4] He was mostly engaged in servingpilgrims,sadhus and saints. He separated himself from his father's business and his uncle Valjibhai asked Jalaram Bapa and his wife Virbai to stay in his house.[3][5]
At the age of sixteen, in 1816, Jalaram married Virbai, the daughter of Pragjibhai Thakkar (Somaiya) ofAtkot.[1][6] However, he was inclined to completely withdraw from materialistic life and become an ascetic, Virbai proved to be an asset to him in his works of feeding poor and needy.[6]
At the age of 18, soon after returning from pilgrimage toHindu holy places, Jalaram Bapa became the disciple ofBhoja Bhagat ofFatehpur, who accepted him as his disciple. Jalaram was given theGuru Mantra andjapa mala in the name ofRama by hisGuru Bhojalram. With blessings of his guru, he started "Sadavrat", a feeding centre, a place where all sadhus and saints as well as the needy could have food any time.
One day, asadhu who came to his house gave him a deity of Lord Rama, forecasting thatHanuman, the monkey-god and devotee of Rama, would follow soon. Jalaram Bapa installed Rama as his family deity and after a few days, a deity of Hanuman appeared out of earth, on its own. The deity of Rama's consortSita and his brotherLakshmana also appeared.[7][8] Due to a miracle the container in the house of Jalaram, where grains were stored, became inexhaustible.[2] Later other devotees and village folk joined him in his works of human welfare.
Jalaram bapa’s fame spread as a divine incarnation. Whoever came to Virpur, whetherHindu orMuslim irrespective of caste, creed and religion were fed by Jalaram. This tradition of feeding people continues to this day in Virpur.[2]
It is believed that once a tailor named Haraji, who was suffering from severe stomach-ache came to him to get himself cured. Jalaram Bapa prayed to God and Haraji was cured. He fell at Jalaram Bapa's feet and addressed him asBapa. Since then he was known asJalaram Bapa.[3] Soon his fame spread and people came to him to get rid of diseases and problems. Jalaram Bapa would pray for them in the name of Rama and miracles happened. Both Hindus and Muslims became his disciples. In 1822, Jamal, son of a rich Muslim merchant fell ill and doctors gave up all hope. At that point of time, Haraji, told Jamal of his experience (parcha). Jamal, prayed from his house, that if his son is cured of the disease, he would give 40maunds of grain to Jalaram Bapa forsadavrat. His son recovered and Jamal visited house of Jalaram Bapa with cart load of grains and called himJalla soAllah!.[1][6]
It is said that at one time, God in the guise of an old saint told Jalaram to send Virbai to serve him. Jalaram consulted her and with her consent, sent her with the saint. But after walking some miles and reaching a nearby forest, the saint asked Virbai to wait for him. She waited but saint did not return. Instead, she heard anAkashwani stating that it was only to test the hospitality of the couple. Before the saint disappeared, he left aDanda [staff] andJholi [cloth bag], with Virbai. Virbai returned home to Jalaram, as instructed by the celestial voice withDanda &Jholi. ThisDanda andJholi are still at Virpur and kept on display in a glass enclosure.[5][9]
Jalaram Bapa died on February 23, 1881, at the age of 81. Some of his devout followers believe that even after his death, Jalaram Bapa would make unusual miracles happen. One of these being that he fed one of his sisters water, a few hours after he breathed his last.
Jalaram Bapa and Virbai had a daughter named Jamnaben from their marriage. Jamnaben's grandson Harirambhai was adopted by Shri Jalaram Bapa and his direct descendant, Giridhar Bapa and his son Jaisukhram Bapa and Raghuram Bapa now head thegadi of revered Virpur shrine of Jalaram Bapa.[10][11]
Virpur was the workplace of Shri Jalaram Bapa. The main shrine of Jalaram Bapa is located at Virpur. The shrine is actually the house complex where Jalaram lived during his lifetime. The shrine houses the belongings of Jalaram and the deities of Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman worshipped by him. It also has on display theJholi andDanda said to have been given to him by God.[5] But the main attraction here is the portrait of Jalaram Bapa. There is also an actual black and white photo of Jalaram Bapa, taken a year before his death.[7]
The temple is one of a kind in the world in a way that it has not been accepting any offerings since February 9, 2000.[12]
Devotees ofJalaram[13] believe that if they pray to the saint sincerely, he blesses them and fulfils their wishes. These experiences are known asParchas. They pray to Jalaram Bapa and if their wish is fulfilled they[14] fast, and visit a temple on Thursday.[15][16][17] There are many devotees of Jalaram Bapa who worship him like a God, similar toSai Baba of Shirdi.[18]
So far, there is only one book written on Shri Jalaram Bapa's Tales of Miracles by Author Chirag Sheth & Yuvraj Sheth, which is available on most online websites.
Jalaram Bapa's birthday is celebrated on 7th dayShukla paksha of the Hindu month ofKartika asJalaram Jayanti. It falls on seventh day fromDiwali. On this day, devotees are served meal asprasad. There is a huge fair and festival at Virpur on the occasion and millions of devotees visit Virpur, on this day to pay their respect to the saint and haveprasad of chieflykhichdi withBundi and popularfarsan itemGanthiya.[7][8][19] TheJalaram Jayanti celebrations are also held at all Jalaram temples across India & abroad with festivities, where devotees participate to pay their respects and haveprasad.[20]
One of the famous temple of Jalaram Bapa is Located at a small town named Vansda in District Navasari. People follow good work done by Jalaram bapa here and whole heartedly pray daily in the temple. Trustees made a rule since inception in 1992 to feed poor people on every thursday and that has been tradition ever since.
The idol of Jalaram Bapa is shown as a smiling man holdingdanda and wearing often a whitepaghadi and whitedhoti-kurta.[21] The deities of his patron deities Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman are also mostly found along with his idol. Temples of Jalaram Bapa today can be found in several big & small towns across India.[22][23] Outside India, his temples are located in East Africa,[24] the United Kingdom,[25][26] the United States of America,[27][28] Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[28]
In Mumbai, there is a crossroad at Mulund West Colony, called 'Jalaram Chowk'. This chowk is next to Jalaram Darshan.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
