Devendra Ghia

Devendra Ghia (1927-2006) was a 20th-century mystic and devotee of divine mother in the form of Siddhambika Mataji. Though a householder, he is a saint of the highest order. His devotees used to fondly call him KAKA. He has composed about 10,000 hymns (bhajans) which are a treasure trove of knowledge, devotion, introspection, and can lead a true seeker to self-realization. These bhajans are published in a book called Bhaav Samadhi Vichaar Samadhi (Perfect balance of emotions and the perfect balance of thoughts). Kaka left his physical body on 26 October 2006.
Life and self-realisation
Devendra Ghia was born in Mumbai on 6 November 1927. He was initially an atheist and did not believe in god. His mother was a pious lady who followed all rituals and regularly visited temples. Devendra was an obedient child and used to go with his mother to the temples. However, he would always stand outside the temple with his hands behind his body and never would bow down to the deity. He would wait till his mother would finish her worship and would silently come back with her home without enforcing his views on her. This would go on for several years. One fine day, Devendra and his mother went to the local Laxminarayan temple in Mumbai. As usual, Devendra was waiting outside the temple with his hands behind his body when he had an unusual experience. He suddenly saw the temple enlarging and the engulfing him. He also saw the idol of Laxminarayan smiling at him and then saw the presence of Laxminarayan everywhere. In whatever direction, he looked, he saw Laxminarayan and nothing else. He was so engrossed and moved by the entire experience, that automatically his hands unfolded and came to the front of his body. Devendra bowed down to the holy presence and folded his hands and said, “Yes, I acknowledge you. I realize you exist, and you are present in the tiniest and tiniest of things in this world. This world exists because of you and you are the creator of everything in this universe. You are present in everyone and everything. “With this experience, Devendra had his first step in the path of spirituality. He now started worshipping god religiously. Initially, he worshipped God in the form of Krishna, then Ram and eventually as Siddhambika Mataji (the divine mother).
Divine Mother
Devendra Ghia (Kaka) used to worship God in the form of the universal divine mother. The image of Siddhambika Mataji is very endearing and emotive. Kaka used to converse with Mataji every day. The divine mother advised him to sit every Tuesday and help people get relief from their problems. Kaka used to sit in front of the divine mother and pray to her for divine intervention for the people and the divine mother used to fulfill his prayers. These miraculous healings brought him a lot of name and fame and people used to line up in front of his house right from early morning to get the divine blessings. Further on, the divine mother asked him to compose hymns. He would write various hymns in English, Hindi, Gujarati, and Marathi.
Spiritual practices are never complete without the grace of the divine master (guru). The divine mother would tell him that he had 2 gurus. She would show him the vision of his gurus but would not divulge their names. Kaka was always in search of his gurus and would visit several places for them but would not get their darshan. His meetings with his spiritual gurus - Siddhanath baba of Girnar, Gujarat, India, and the deathless guru Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj are stories of bygone eras and miraculous happenings.
The divine plays (leelas) of god with his devotee are full of joy and happiness. Kaka and divine mother conversations are full of divine leelas. Sometimes the Divine Mother would cajole him, sometimes order him but all the time love him. One fine day, divine mother asked him to start reading the Chandi Path (a Hindu religious scripture extolling the virtues of the divine mother and the victory over the demons). Kaka initially told her that he would not do it as the scripture was written in Sanskrit and he did not know Sanskrit. However, the divine mother persisted and kept on asking him to read it. Finally, kaka told her that he would read it with a condition that she would explain it to him. Divine mother readily agreed, and he finally read the Chandi path with divine grace. This Chandi Path, kaka used to recite several times to absolve the bad karmas of people who were suffering due to the same. Chandi path is a scripture that not only depicts the victory of good over evil, but the inner meaning is to win over the bad habits, samskaras, vikaars (perversions), and ego within us. The demons depicted in Chandi path are all within us (mahisasura -ego, Madhu - liking for flattery, kaitab - aversion to hearing the bitter truth, Chand- ignorance, mund - rigidity, dhumralochan - anger, shumbh - likes, nishumbh -dislikes, raktabeej -endless desires).
Satgurus
One day the divine mother showed him the book called Autobiography of a Yogi. As soon as he saw the photograph of Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj, he jumped with joy as he realized that the satguru whom he was searching for since so many years was none other than Mahavatar Mahavatar Babaji. Subsequently, Babaji Maharaj has visited him and showered his blessings on him.
His meeting with his satguru Siddhnath Baba is miraculous. No one knows the age of Siddhanath Baba. It is said that he is living in a cave in the jungles of Girnar for hundreds of years. It is not possible to reach his cave without his permission. One night, Kaka was sleeping in his Mumbai home. Suddenly a light appeared, and two monks materialized from thin air. They asked Kaka to come with them. They took Kaka to a cave on a mountain flying through the sky. Kaka saw a saint sitting on a seat. He had a long beard and long white hair. There were lions sitting on either side of him. Kaka soon realized that he was his guru. He was very happy to see Siddhanath Baba. Siddhanath Baba showed Kaka his Kamandal, Kaka's Asana (mat), and mala. Siddhnath baba told him, “I have kept these safely with me. These are yours from a previous birth.” He then made Kaka sit in meditation and gave Kaka a vision of his previous birth where he was a sadhu in Girnar called AVNINATH Baba. Kaka saw his own previous birth as Avninath Baba. Siddhnath Baba reminded him, that all his karmas were over, and he had been sent in this life for the upliftment of few people. He needs to go back and work for the upliftment of these people. He also told kaka that all the powers (siddhis) that kaka had accumulated had been taken away from him. Those will be given back to him whenever he needs them. After spending a few hours with Siddhnath Baba, kaka was sent back home the same night and in the same way. Subsequently, kaka spent the rest of his life for the spiritual upliftment of the people.
Philosophy
Kaka has several followers. Though kaka did not extol any particular form of worship, devotion, or ritual, he would still guide people through spiritual progress. He always used to say that “I am an engine going up. Whoever will connect with me, will go along with me.” Kaka used to say that he was taking everyone through the process called “SAHAJ KRIYA YOGA”. He said that Sahaj (meaning simple and natural) was the process of his satguru Siddhnath Baba and Kriya Yoga was the process of his satguru Mahavatar Babaji Maharaj. Just surrendering to him ensured that whatever karma, action (kriya) the devotee did was Sahaj and natural and with divine grace. This way, there were no breathing exercises, no yogic postures, no rituals. Only surrendered and faith and everything would happen on its own. This was the philosophy of Satguru Kaka.
Hymns (Bhajans)
Kaka has written about 10,000 hymns which are published in a book called BHAAV SAMADHI VICHAAR SAMADHI. This book has 20 volumes, each one containing 500 hymns. A lot of these hymns have been sung by his devotees and are available on the YouTube channel Kaka Bhajans.
Simply said, the bhajan means
Where the difference between you and I ends, this world ceases to exist,
This knowledge I get, but it does not remain forever,
Oh god! I get stuck in the illusions of this world and then I am forever wandering here and there,
Without your grace, I cannot come out of this
When I did actions, I did not think about what I was doing
Now I am reaping the results of those actions, and I cannot bear the agony
In happiness, with pride I enjoyed, forgetting you, not realizing what I was doing
Now when I am suffering, I realize it and pray fervently to you
Give me that understanding now, that all the time I remember you,
Please accept this prayer of mine with all your heart, Oh divine mother.
These hymns are on devotion, right action, knowledge, and understanding, and self-realization. These hymns used to flow with divine grace and divinity. Thus, these hymns are no less than a granth (scripture) relevant in today's times, not restricted by any religion, without rigidity.

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