Somewhat short biography of B.V. Narasimha Swamiji (1874-1956), Great Apostle of Shirdi Sai Baba, based on other blog sources

Last updated on 23rd Feb. 2021

Sri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji, Great Apostle of Shirdi Sai Baba

Pic courtesy: http://omshirdisaibaba.blogspot.com/2012/06/apostle-of-sri-sai-baba.html

https://bonjanrao.blogspot.com/2012/08/b-v-narasimhaswamiji.html (referred to later as Bonjanrao blog post) has a detailed account of the life and work of Shri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji (BVNS) who is viewed as the 'Great Apostle' of Shirdi Sai Baba, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sai_Baba_of_Shirdi . This account has been written by Late Shri Bondada Janardhana Rao, Shirdi Sai Baba pracharak (preacher/disseminator). [5th June 2018 post, https://bonjanrao.blogspot.com/2018/06/sad-demise-of-compiler-of-this-blog.html, by a Shri Murali Krishna informs us of the sad passing away of Shri Bondada Janardhana Rao on 12th May 2018.]

I first would like to convey my gratitude to Shri B. Janardhana Rao, pracharak of Shirdi Sai Baba, for the above account of Shri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji and for the many other posts related to Shirdi Sai Baba on his blog.

http://shradhasaburi.blogspot.com/2019/10/remembering-shribvnarasimha-swamiji-on.html (referred to later as shradhasaburi blog post) provides us some additional info on BVNS. I thank the author of this blog post for sharing this info.

I have given below a summary of the life & work of Sri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji based on above mentioned blog posts.

Sri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji (BVNS) was born on 21st August 1874 at Bhavani in Tamil Nadu. His parents were Sri Venkatagiri Iyer and Smt. Angacchi Ammal. He was named Narasimha. As sometimes the native place town name is added to the name, his full name was: Bhavani Venkatagiri Narasimha Iyer.

BVNS did his schooling in Salem, Tamil Nadu and got a degree in law (B.A. and B.L.) from Madras (now Chennai) in Tamil Nadu, after which he returned to Salem to start his legal practice (perhaps in 1900).

He had a flourishing legal practice and acquired wealth. He was married and had 5 children - 2 sons and 3 daughters.

BVNS associated with politics and was elected as a member of Madras Legislative Council in 1912, and continued to be a member till 1920. He also was president of Salem municipality.

He was associated with Annie Besant's Home Rule League and was one of the three persons sent to Britain in 1917 to present India's case for Home Rule.

In 1921 BVNS faced a terrible calamity when two of his children died by accidentally falling in a well and drowning. This shock resulted in BVNS turning to spiritual life. He finished his family responsibilities, gave up legal practice and political career, and then totally gave up family life in 1925.

In search of a spiritual guru, BVNS first went to Ramana Maharishi (1879 to 1950), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramana_Maharshi , in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu in the year 1925 when BVNS would have been 50 to 51 years old. He practised meditation there and also wrote a biography of Ramana Maharishi under the title “Self Realisation” in English, first published in 1931 which led to several people in India and the world knowing about Ramana Maharishi. The book is available on amazon: https://www.amazon.in/Self-Realization-B-V-Narasimha-Swami/dp/8188225746 . Note that this book on Ramana Maharishi was written when he was alive and so the author may have had the benefit of Ramana Maharshi directly providing him details for the book. [I placed an order for the book on amazon.in as I think it would be very interesting to read what BVNS says about Ramana Maharishi with whom BVNS seems to have had personal interactions. It was published in 1931 when Ramana Maharshi would have been around 52 years old and a good 19 years before Ramana Maharishi's samadhi.]

In 1928, BVNS moved out of Tiruvannamalai. Later he visited Pandharpur in Maharashtra and worshipped Lord Vitthal there. From there, he went to Khedgaon near Pune and saw Sadguru Narayan Maharaj there, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayan_Maharaj .

Sadguru Narayan Maharaj seems to have advised BVNS to meet Meher Baba, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meher_Baba, in Meherbad near Ahmednagar. BVNS stayed with Meher Baba for some time.

Meher Baba seems to have told him about Upasani Baba/Upasni Maharaj, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upasni_Maharaj , and also about Shirdi Sai Baba who had bodily passed away in 1918.

In 1933, BVNS first went and stayed with Upasni Maharaj (1870 to 1941) in Sakori, Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra. After some time, he left Sakori but then returned back to Sakori. He seems to have stayed in Sakori for around 30 months totally. He wrote a biography on Upasni Maharaj titled, "Sage of Sakori", https://books.google.co.in/books/about/Sage_of_Sakori.html?id=WleZHAAACAAJ , which seems to have been first published in 1935. In all probability, Upasni Maharaj himself would have provided some details to BVNS for this book. A 1948 edition published by Upasni Maharaj ashram is available for free download at https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.59159/page/n3/mode/2up . It has positive reviews of the book from some publications in India like Sunday Times, Madras, The Hindu Mind, Kumbakonam and Scholar, Palaghat as well as by noted persons like S. Radhakrishnan, who was then Vice-Chancellor Andhra University (1931-1936) and later became President of India (1962-1967), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarvepalli_Radhakrishnan .

I had a quick browse of the book and was struck by the excellent English, good understanding of Hindu traditions & philosophy, quotations that BVNS provided from Western literature including figures like Menenius Agrippa, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agrippa_Menenius_Lanatus_(consul_503_BC), and the great details he provides of Upasni Maharaj's life.

[Some of the paragraphs below are also put up as a separate post (with some small modifications possibly): Wise old lady of Kalyan's advice to starving and woeful 19 year old Upasni Maharaj around 1889 on devotion to God even in such situations, and on begging food at back door of houses rather than front door, https://ravisiyer.blogspot.com/2021/02/wise-old-lady-of-kalyans-advice-to.html ]

As an example of these details, BVNS describes the period (in late 1800s) when Upasni Maharaj at the age of 19 (which makes the year around 1889 as Upasni Maharaj was born in 1870), had to live on very little food got by begging, and sometimes had to pass "several days with nothing at all to eat" (page 19). When he was begging for food at houses of "Brahmin officials" in Kalyan town in Maharashtra, a well known town in those days in those parts of Maharashtra, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalyan , he seemed to have initially not got much success.

BVNS writes about an old Maratha lady in Kalyan who took pity on the 19 year old boy Kashinath (name of Upasni Maharaj then) who seems to have been starving as he did not get food, and so drank some water from a well "and lay under a tree bemoaning his sad fate - tears all the while streaming down his face". [Maratha, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maratha_(caste) , is a major Hindu caste of Maharashtra famed for protecting Hindu life & traditions over centuries from invading forces that threatened Hindu communities and Hindu way of life.] The lady told him a Marathi (native language of Maharashtra) verse she had learned from her father, (only English translation is provided) "Maintain life, even on water, &c. (if you get nothing else). Love God. Endure your lot. Bear up misfortunes. Should Fortune smile, reject her. Burst the bonds of desire. Forsake not saintly company." Kashinath learned that by heart and kept repeating it to himself! It is awesome to read this. Maharashtra is a land of saints with very strong devotional and spiritual traditions.

BVNS frankly states that Kashinath would not accept food from the wise lady due to "caste scruples" (he only accepted wisdom from her)! Note that Upasni Maharaj himself was born and raised in a (Hindu) Brahmin family. [Please note that I am sharing the caste prejudice realities of those days that are captured in the book. I certainly do not support such caste prejudices in Hindu society in our times now.]

The wise old Maratha lady then gave him "a few tips on the art of beggary". She said, "It is the stern-hearted male at the front door that gave you the rebuff, but go to the gentler sex at the back-door, and there you will find sympathy and food." BVNS then writes, "Acting on this clue he went once again to those (Brahmin) officials' houses - this time by the back door, and gladly discovered by the food he got, how accurately the Mahratha lady had judged her own sex and the world."

Now I have lived many years of my life in Dombivli, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dombivli , which is close to Kalyan (now Dombivli & Kalyan are administered together by a municipal corporation), and I have visited Kalyan many, many times. So these details are of great interest to me about life in late 1800s in areas that I have lived in or frequently visited (around a century later in late 1900s and early 2000s).

The book covers the interactions between Kashinath and Shirdi Sai Baba. Kashinath had by then become an Ayurvedic doctor and the book refers to him as Pandit Kashinath. In 1911 Pandit Kashinath had visited Bombay to visit Sri Narayan Maharaj, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayan_Maharaj (same Narayan Maharaj whom BVNS visited as mentioned earlier). On his way back from Bombay he met Yogi Kulkarni (again) of Rahuri in Ahmednagar district. Yogi Kulkurni had earlier requested Pandit Kashinath to go to "Avalia Sai Baba at Shirdi for further advancing his spiritual interests." But as Avalia and Sai words indicated Muslim saint (Sai word today indicates Hindu holy persons as well), Pandit Kashinath had not been interested. However on this visit to Yogi Kulkarni when Yogi Kulkarni insisted on him (Kashinath) meeting Shirdi Sai Baba, Kashinath agreed. Pandit Kashinath (Upasni Maharaj) visited Shirdi on 27th June 1911 and had his first interaction with Shirdi Sai Baba.

The book gives a fascinating account of interactions between Shirdi Sai Baba and Pandit Kashinath (Upasni Maharaj). Shirdi Sai Baba took particular interest in Kashinath ordering him to stay in Shirdi for some time. The book states on page 52 that Shirdi Sai Baba told Pandit Kashinath, "There is Rinanubandha (mutual obligation) between us. Our families have been inter-locked by mut(u)al obligations for centuries, nay - for a thousand years. So there is no difference between you and me." Shirdi Sai Baba gave instructions to Pandit Kashinath on what he should and should not do, and essentially played the role of a Guru with Pandit Kashinath. Shirdi Sai Baba asked Pandit Kashinath to stay in a Khandoba temple in the outskirts of Shirdi village and "Sit quiet" and "Have nothing to do with any one". The book details many experiences Pandit Kashinath had of Shirdi Sai Baba's supernatural powers, which were used to spiritually uplift Pandit Kashinath. Pandit Kashinath also faced lots of difficulties and torment from some in his life at Shirdi which is covered in detail in the book.

Pandit Kashinath left Shirdi on 25th July 1914.

Now let us get back to story of BVNS. As per shradhasaburi blog post, BVNS left Sakori on 29th Aug. 1936 with the intention of going back to Madras to stay with his son, but was accosted by an old man who advised him to visit Shirdi Sai Baba's samadhi at Shirdi. So BVNS went to Shirdi (which is close to Sakori) and around 11 AM on the same day (29th Aug. 1936) had darshan of Shirdi Sai Baba's samadhi which had a profound effect on him. As per bonjanrao blog post, at the samadhi BVNS felt that Shirdi Sai Baba "spoke to him in eloquent silence and bestowed spiritual bliss on him. He expressed utmost joy at that time and also expressed that he got from Baba more than what he could take in spiritual matters. He had thus finally discovered his Sadguru in Saibaba." 

BVNS then met with many devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba who had personal experiences of (bodily form) Shirdi Sai Baba and gathered details of their experiences with Shirdi Sai Baba, which he later published as a book. To better interact with these devotees most of whom seem to be Marathi native language persons, BVNS made efforts to learn Marathi and was later able to read Marathi books & articles on Shirdi Sai Baba including Sri Sai Satcharita (main book on Shirdi Sai Baba by Hemadpant Dabholkar which is now revered as Shirdi Sai Baba scripture) and Sai Leela Masik. Note that at that time, English versions of these books and magazines seem to not have been available. That BVNS learned Marathi and later read these books and magazines in Marathi is an indicator of how devoted he had become to Shirdi Sai Baba.

As per bonjanrao blog post, "Till 1936, the number of persons visiting Shirdi was very small, not more than a dozen in number." ... "Then with Justice M.B.Rege and Justice Avaste, he toured several places in Maharashtra and addressed mass meetings in English and Marathi. Meanwhile, he wrote a series of articles on Sai Baba in the 'Sunday Times' of Madras till 1938-39. His inspiring articles were published in Sunday Times, in about 30 to 40 issues ( in all 20,000 copies) of the journal. This sparked off and became the foundation stone for several thousands of devotees across India to know about Baba, his mission and his miracles."

...

"Immediately after Baba's Mahasamadhi, the restaurant run by Sagun Meru Naik just opposite to the Masjid was also closed temporarily due to lack of visitors to Shirdi. That was the situation which was later transformed into a busy area after the publicity efforts of Swamiji."

"He then started at the age of 66 years, an All India Sai Samaj in Madras in 1940 with the object of spreading Saibaba’s mission, miracles and messages among the people. During his visits to the Sai bhaktas, he collected from them lot of information and their statements and published books under the name “Devotees Experiences of Sri Sai Baba” in English and Tamil in 1940-41. This was a monumental publication which carried the mission, miracles and messages of Baba across the country".

Thus BVNS did intense preaching work about Shirdi Sai Baba's life, miracles and teachings which resulted in great number of Indians knowing about Shirdi Sai Baba and start visiting Shirdi for darshan of and prayers at Shirdi Sai Baba samadhi. BVNS had not had darshan of Shirdi Sai Baba when he was in living form! BVNS became a devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba in 1936, 18 years after Shirdi Sai Baba samadhi (bodily passing away), and seems to have very quickly got into preacher role, creating a big impact by 1941 which is just 5 years after he become a devotee. I think that is an extraordinary preaching accomplishment if the above accounts are accurate.

As per bonjanrao blog post, "To give further impetus to Saibaba movement, he (BVNS) felt the need of holding All India Sai Devotees' Conventions annually. The First All India Sai Devotees' Convention was held for four days in May, 1946 in Mylapore, Madras. More than two hundred delegates and devotees attended the convention." .. "Several participants of the convention narrated their experiences as Sai devotees. After the first All India Sai Devotees' Convention, other conventions followed in subsequent years."

Bonjanrao blog post states that BVNS "had miraculous powers by the Grace of Baba" and used that to help Shirdi Sai devotees. It details one case where BVNS cured an ailing lady by placing his palm on her head, giving her Baba's udi (vibhuti/holy ash) for applying (externally) as well as taking "internally with water", and asking her to chant a particular mantra.

BVNS passed away in October 1956 at the age of 83. He had been a devotee of Shirdi Sai Baba for 20 years (from 1936) and was also a great preacher of Shirdi Sai Baba for most of these 20 years. Bonjanrao blog post states, "Swamiji's (BVNS) relentless efforts in popularizing Baba, started bringing innumerable crowds to Shirdi to have darshan of Samadhi Mandir. Swamiji was a blessed and saintly soul, who was thus mysteriously drawn to Samartha Sadguru Sai Baba. He dedicated his entire later life and energies to the task of ceaseless and vigorous propagation of the mission, miracles and messages of Sri Sai Baba across the people throughout India.

His Holiness Sri Narasimha Swamiji's portrait was unveiled in the Samadhi Mandir in Shirdi along with those of other ardent devotees on 26th January, 1966 by Justice M. B. Rege, an ardent devotee of Baba, who got blessed by Baba when Baba was in mortal coil in Shirdi. Unveiling of his portrait in the Samadhimandir was a glowing tribute to his efforts in effectively carrying the message of Baba across India and also the world. He was acclaimed as Sai Baba's Apostle."

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Perhaps some readers may not know this and so am providing this info. His major works on Shirdi Sai Baba are public domain works and so available freely on the Internet. Just googled for it and got these two links.

BVNS authored Devotees' Experiences of Sri Saibaba:  https://literature.saibaba.com/books/devotees_experiences/index.html .

BVNS authored Life of Sai Baba: https://literature.saibaba.com/books/life_of_saibaba/index.html

I have read some parts of one or both of the above works in the past, but have not read them in full.

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In my Facebook post: https://www.facebook.com/ravi.s.iyer.7/posts/3069581959925027 associated with this blog post, in response to Terry Reis Kennedy's comment: "Thank you, Ravi. Well done work!", I wrote:

Sairam Terry Reis Kennedy. One of the reasons I thought the post would be of interest to you, is the angle of the history of the apostles of great masters/avatars like Jesus Christ, Shirdi Sai Baba and Sathya Sai Baba.

Especially after the physical (bodily) passing away of the masters/avatars, the life, miracles and messages of these masters get disseminated in a big way by such apostles!

Historically, there seems to be a significant lull in the numbers of people visiting the shrine/places where these masters were based, in the immediate years after their bodily passing away.

St. Paul's story is very interesting from this perspective. As you would know, he persecuted the early Christians after the crucifixion of Christ. Later he had a miraculous experience on the road to Damascus, transforming him from persecutor to a great preacher of Lord Jesus Christ! I think that Peter and Paul are viewed as the major apostles of Christ. So Paul's story is very noteworthy.

I find it historically revealing that there was a similar lull in devotees visiting Shirdi in the immediate years after Shirdi Sai Baba's bodily passing away.

And then came this "Great Apostle" of Shirdi Sai Baba - Sri B.V. Narasimha Swami - who, like St. Paul for early Christians perhaps, was instrumental in spreading the life, miracles and messages of Shirdi Sai Baba across India, resulting in a big surge in devotees of Shirdi Sai Baba, and in visitors to Shirdi.

So I felt the story of this "Great Apostle" of Shirdi Sai Baba would be of interest to you, as you are a writer about our beloved and revered Gurudev, Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

I would like to add that I hope and pray that such a "Great Apostle", or multiple such "Great Apostles", of Sri Sathya Sai Baba emerges now, who spreads the life, miracles and messages of Sathya Sai Baba among ***new*** devotees. The general impression I have is that the number of ***new*** devotees of Sathya Sai Baba are rather limited in this period of close to a decade after his Mahasamadhi (bodily passing away). So it will be really great if some powerful preacher(s) emerges who is able to attract many new devotees to Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.

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I had shared the above comment on Terry Reis Kennedy's share of my Facebook post:  https://www.facebook.com/terry.reiskennedy/posts/10226103808280528 . There, Terry wrote in response:

Yes, Ravi S. Iyer, that would be a great miracle. It is an important time now for a "Great Apostle" to emerge.

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[I thank the authors/publishers of bonjanrao.blogspot.com and shradhasaburi.blogspot.com, and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extract(s) from their blog posts on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever. In a similar way I thank authors/publishers of omshirdisaibaba.blogspot.com for the picture of Sri B.V. Narasimha Swamiji I have used from that blog, and presume they will have no objections to me using it here.]