Sadhvi Kalp Lata
The birth place of Acharya Bhikshu is situated in the midst of ‘the village Kantaliya. After Swamiji’s renunciation, his mother Deepaanji spent her entire life in the same house. After this, the house had been deserted. Nobody was there to take care of that house. Roopchandji Sethia, an ardent devotee, looked after the house for years. In V. S. 1972, when late Acharya Kalugani went to Kantaliya, the birth place of Acharya Bhikshu exited quite safe.
After a few years, Kantaliya was stricken by an epidemic, which forced the local people to leave the village for their safety. Slowly the entire village was deserted. The epidemic was not just the reason why the people left Kantaliya. The other main reason was the growing tension between the Thakur and the local people. Two years later, people started returning back to the village and soon the village was populated again. However, only broken walls have remained as signs of Acharya Bhikshu’s house. Formerly this house was in the custody of Jasharajaji Sakalecha who belonged to the fourth generation of Acharya Bhikshu. Thereafter a local devotee, Roopchandji Sethia took it under his custody. Years passed away, but nobody thought of reconstructing the house. In V. S. 2017, Acharya Tulsi came to Kantaliya. At that time, the attention of the devotees was drawn towards this house which was totally ruined.
In those days Muni Lalchandji belonging to Sthanakavasi sect started by Acharya Jayamalji said in his sermons to the people of Kantaliya, I3 You have a great devotion for Acharya Bhikshu, but lam amazed and shocked at the dilapidated state of his birth place. There was a lot of discussion about this issue but no concrete step was taken.
During the visit of Acharya Shree Tulsi, Jugarajji Sethia from Kantaliya was determined to reconstruct the birth place of Acharya Bhikshu.
After the Orissa tour was completed successfully, Acharya Shree Tulsi went to Raipur, and Jugarajji reached Kantaliya. Jugarajji faced a lot of difficulties related to the area close to the birth place. After talking to the Thakur and the local people, he came to know that the nearby areas were occupied by people who were not the actual owners. So Jugarajji had to construct firewalls immediately to keep the birth place safe. Jugarajji called twenty-five labourers. When the foundation was laid, they needed water to fill the area. Jugarajji was well aware of the water problem in Marwar, especially in the summer. That year a pot of water cost one rupee. As there was so much difficulty in getting drinking water, it seemed almost impossible to get water for construction. Jugarajji could not find solution for this problem.
The labourers wanted to leave as they could not work without water. Deep in devotion, Jugarajji addressed Swamiji, “Swamiji! My dignity is in your hands. If this work is left incomplete, along with ruining my dignity, it will even affect the dignity of the Terapanth sect.” For a little while Jugarajji forgot himself as he was deeply engrossed in his meditation.
It was afternoon. The sun was shining brightly. Jugarajji looked towards the sky and suddenly he saw some clouds. He stopped the labourers and asked the people around to collect as many pots and pans as they could and place them in front of the drains of each house. As soon as this work was done, it started raining heavily. The labourers started working immediately.
Sethiaji started chanting Bhikshu’s name. After hours of chanting, it began to rain again. This happened three times and it amazed the people of Kantha region. Jugaraiji‘s faith and the resulting rain was like a miracle to the people. In due course of time, the four walls were built and today it has been transformed into Bhikshu Kalyana Kendra, which is a religious place for the devotees to visit.
