Pujya Shri met Swami Lilashahji in Haridwar in Vikram Samvat 2028, & by the commands of SadGuru, in order to provide a goodexample to common householders, Swamiji entered the life of a householder. It was the day of Guru Poornima in Vikram Samvat 2028 when Pujya Shri reached Ahmedabad after staying in solitude for seven years. Bapuji lead a life similar to that of saints like Kabir and Ekanath. Bapuji chose a peaceful place in the Motera village on the banks of Sabarmati river. Later on some of the devotees constructed a small room for Swamiji which is very well known as "Moksha Kutir".
Though the village of Motera was very famous for its thieves and bootleggers, Bapuji lived there submerged in the joy of communion with Atman. The fragrance of this beautiful spiritual flower spread in all directions inviting to sip the nectar. Thousands of people started coming to Motera to get solace from their worldly afflictions and to get peace at the feet of Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu.
Slowly that place has become a great spiritual center. It is now called Sant Shri Asharamji Ashram. All sections of people come there to get peace and spiritual solace. Many new Ashrams & Yoga Vedanta Samiti's have also evolved since then. The Ashram conducts several spiritual retreats, yoga camps & humanitarian work.
Divine personalities like Krishna, Buddha, Rama, Jesus and Mohamed influence the lives of millions of people for centuries. Their influence is not limited by time. Nay, it undergoes a process of time enlargement : with the passage of centuries the Flurry of these prophets, instead of decreasing, goes on increasing.
Each saint or world teacher comes as the embodiment of the dominant ideal of a particular age, and his life becomes the highest moral standard and ideal for the people of that age.
Man has been continually discovering new ways of exploiting nature and improving the means of production of food, clothing, other necessities and also the means of transport and travel. Each epoch with its changed condition, throws new challenges to the people. These external challenges can be met only by mobilizing the inner spiritual resources of the people. It is through ideas and ideals that the inner energies of man get mobilized. Certain charismatic individuals who become masters of new religions or new religious movements develop the new ideals necessary for each epoch.
It is to this class of saints and world teachers that Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu belongs. Swamiji's advent was a historical necessity. There was the need for a charismatic individual who could create and vitalize the basic ideals of the present age. Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu's exemplary life has fulfilled this requirement. Pujya Bapuji is the source of energy which is emitting great Vedantic ideals in the present age for the welfare of mankind.
Beyond the bare rudiments of literacy, Shri Asharamji Bapu never had formal education. Most of Swamiji's youth was spent in the intense practice of spiritual sadhana. Pujya Shri virtually lived the life of a monk depending solely on God's grace. How can such a man be regarded as the ideal man for the modern age which idealizes film stars, sportsmen, politicians, and now for a change, miracle-working yogis? See any newspaper, or magazine and you will find almost every page displaying pictures of men and women in all kinds of dress and posture who project idealized pictures of contemporary society. No other age ever allowed lust and greed to dominate the minds of the people so completely as the modern age has done. Everything in modern society is valued for the sake of money. Can Shri Asharamji Bapu who is a sage become the ideal for the people of such a society?
The answer is that an ideal stands for perfection & imperfect individuals cannot give these ideals. Western cultures consider beauty, truth and goodness as the criteria of perfection. However physical beauty is only skin deep, and is as evanescent as youth itself. Truth is sought through science, to another mystery beyond. The basis of goodness is unselfish love, but in the market oriented culture of modern society unselfishness is the scarcest commodity.
Perfection must be sought in the right place. Thousands of years ago it was discovered in India, that perfection could not be found in the external world, which is impermanent and full of contradictions. Freedom from all limitations is the Vedantic criterion of perfection. Immutable Truth, unity of existence, boundless bliss, this is what is meant by perfection in Vedanta. There is only one thing, which is free from all limitations of time, space, causation: It is absolute consciousness. It is in the depths of consciousness, that perfection is to be sought. It is this total freedom that is the Vedantic criterion of perfection, and the individual who has attained this freedom is the ideal of perfection. He is known as the Bramavit, knower of Brahman.
Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu is the embodiment of this ancient Vedantic ideal of perfection. The ideal person according to Vedanta is one who after attaining liberation for himself strives for the liberation of others. Such a fully illuminated soul is called a Rishi. It is as a perfect Rishi that Sant Shri Asharamji Bapu is said to be the ideal man for modern age.