It was the year 1921 and the mango season in India. However, in the dry countryside of Saurashtra, rich fruits like mangoes were hard to come by. Even in the greener Charotar region of Gujarat, they were not a daily item; they were rare treats for special occasions.

Knowing this, Bhagwandas Sheth, Jashbhai, and Kashibhai specially sent baskets of mangoes from Mumbai to Anand for Shastriji Maharaj. When Swamishri arrived in Anand, he saw that the devotees had chosen the best mangoes – hafus and other types which were famed for making ras. The devotees had sent these especially to Shastriji Maharaj for him to enjoy. But, Swamishri had something else in mind. He was thinking of his sadhus in Sarangpur. They worked hard, sweating in the burning sun, cutting, lifting and moving large stones for the mandir. For them, khichdi or rotla was all they got. In the past, they had even lived off grams and raw flour. Today, when these fruits were in his hand, Swamishri did not think of himself; he thought of those sadhus. He decided to send two baskets to Bochasan and he took the other two on his head and went to the station to go to Sarangpur. The two sadhus travelling with him were young – they could barely manage their own things. Swamishri, at 60, carried his potlu, other packages and these two baskets on the train.

After a few hours ride, the train stopped at Botad station. Swamishri and the two sadhus got off. A devotee, Manilal, saw them and was surprised. He hadn’t been expecting Shastriji Maharaj. Manilal did dandvats and helped them carry off the luggage. Then he arranged for a horse cart to take Swamishri to Sarangpur. On the way, Swamishri ran into Kothari Shankar Bhagat and Harikrishnadas. The two were stunned. They fell flat on the road to do dandvats. Swamishri stopped them and told them to join him in the cart. When the two jumped in, still in awe at the darshan they were having, Swamishri said, “I’ve brought mangoes for you. Today, we’ll sit down and eat together.” And so, smiling and laughing, they made their way to the mandir.

At the mandir, Swamishri called the bhandari sadhu, Bhaktivallabhdas, and told him to make a full meal with ras and rotli – a feast of sorts. Bhaktivallabh Swami hesitantly said, “Swami, the khichdi is already made. It’ll all go to waste.”

“Just cover the kichdi and keep it aside. Its eaters will come later; it won’t go to waste. But today is a special day, Maharaj returned to Akshardham today, I want to prepare a feast and feed Maharaj and these sadhus.”

Bhaktivallabh Swami quickly prepared everything. Thakorji was offered thal and then the sadhus sat to eat. Swamishri himself served each one. Some, like Aksharpurush Swami, he served with special attention. He fed Aksharpurush Swam ten large bowls of ras! Then seeing all the sadhus happily fed, Swamishri sat to eat. After his meal, Kothari Shankar Bhagat came to meet Swami, “Swami, you have really shown your compassion for us.”

Shastriji Maharaj smiled a smile that swept into everyone’s heart. “Sarangpur is tied to my soul and Sarangpur’s sadhus are my life-breath. So why wouldn’t I bring all this?”

The sadhus sitting in front of Swami, mentally bowed to their guru. They realized that these weren’t just baskets of mangoes; Swamishri had given them baskets and baskets full of his love.