The art of composing prayers was one of the many holy skills that adorned him. Hisprayers and devotional songs are famous and even Mahatama Gandhi choose his compositions like ‘Jangal Vasaviyo Re Jogie’, ‘Janani Jivo Re Gopichandni’ and ‘Tyaga Na Take Re Vairagya Vina’ as his prayers at Sabarmati Ashram.
Swami Nishkulanand adopted a lifestylethrough which he proved that if wealth were wrapped in wisdom, even a rich man’s camel could pass through the hole of a needle.
Lalji, the childhood name of Swami Nishkulanand, was born into a very wealthy family in Samvat 1822 in the prosperous town of Shekhpat, a gateway for pilgrims and saints to travel onward to Kutch area of Gujarat State in India. His father Rambhai who belonged to the carpenters’ community was not only a rich landlord but also an architect and sculptor. He was skilled in wood carving, stone carving and creating artistic designs.
As a child Lalji would accompany his father on his visits to Guru Swami Ramanand. At this tender age Lalji expressed his desire before the Guru to be initiated as a saint. Ramanand Swami asked him to wait for the right time. Taking a cue from this his father got him married to Kamkoo, a beautiful girl and yoked him to worldly life but slowly and steadily he was turning his helm towards the life of a saint. To understand this idea of renunciation, he would every night go to the nearby town of Bhadra and enjoy philosophical discussions with Mulji Sharma, a great devotee of Bhagwan Shree Swaminarayan. Mulji Sharma was later known as Swami Gunatitanand.
In Samvat 1843 Swami Ramanand initiated him into five fundamental vows – Pancha Vrataman. At first he hesitated to accept Shree Hari as God incarnate but Swami Ramanand asked him to go to Loj and pay holy respects to Him. The visit convinced him about the Godhead of Shree Hari who blessed him with the words: “Your renunciation will be supreme like that of Shuka Muni.”
Ramanand Swami appointed Shree Hari as the head of the Swaminarayan way of life at a grand function and here Lalji presented Shree Hari an exquisitely carved wooden box and a bed-roll stand (damachio).
Lalji’s family had now grown to include his two sons – Madhavji and Kanji.
Lalji once accompanied Shree Hari on a journey from Shekhpat to Kutch. Anticipating any emergency he hid twelve Koris (silver coins) in his shoes but Shree Hari revealed this to thugs who had come to loot them. They had dispensed away their food and water to beggars on the way. Thirsty Laji started digging a hole in the sand only to find saline water. Shree Hari turned this in to sweet fresh water. At the end of that semi barren desert Shree Hari rested himself under a thorny Babul tree. To his horror he saw the thorn pricked legs of his Master. As he kept removing those thorns he saw sixteen divine signs on the soles of his Master, an attestation to his divinity.
On reaching the outskirts of the village Adhoi while still on their journey, Shree Hari clipped the tuft of hair on Lalji’s head and also trimmed his moustache. Here he got him dressed as a saint and named him Nishkulanand Swami. Now Shree Hari instructed him to go begging for food in the village. This village was where the family of Lalji’s father-in-law lived. Having no shame, he obeyed and his actions shocked the relatives.
In Samvat 1860 Lalji was ceremoniously initiated as a Saint at the age of 48 years. The artistic marble frame on the door of the sanctum sanctorum of the temple at Dholera sings about his artistic achievement. He was also the planner of Shree Hari’s room (Akshar–Ordi) at Gadhada. The memorable Swing-Jhoola with 12 doors speaks volumes about his artistic talents.
His elder son Madhavji was initiated as a Saint by Swami Gopalanand and named as Swami Govindanand. The younger son Kanji remained an agriculturist. For 44 years he continuously served Swaminarayan way of life and died at the age of 82 years at Dholera. Shree Hari in one of His sermons at Gadhada praised his self-control. He worked for 18 years after the departure of Shree Hari.
Nishkulanand Swami composed superior literature. He was equally good at poetry and prose. Many of his couplets have become proverbs in Gujarati.
Description about some of his works:
His other compositions are: Yamadanda, Chinha, Chintamani, Pushpa, Chinatamani, Lagna, Shakunavali, Vritti Vivah, and Shiksha Patri Basha.
Some of his well-known quotes are:
This saint’s immortal wise words uplift the distressed human soul and in solitude provide the intellect to discover the light.