Bhaguji was a staunch devotee of Shriji Maharaj, and he served as Maharaj’s personal bodyguard. He was considered to be a lion amongst men. He had given up all his wealth just to serve Maharaj. Though he seemed to be like any other ordinary person to those who saw him, he truly possessed a mountain of courage and strength. Criminals would shake in fear when they heard Bhaguji’s name. In serving Shriji Maharaj, he did not care about himself at all. Shriji Maharaj once appointed him to protect Dada Khachar’s farmland. His duty was to prevent robbers from stealing the crops.

Meanwhile, the Darbar (chief) of Bhadli, a village near Gadhada, offered a big piece of land and lots of money as a reward to anyone who could kill Bhaguji. He thought that many people would take up his offer, but to his surprise, no one did! Finally, two brothers, named Khabad and Mataro, accepted the challenge. Both of them arrived with their men where Bhaguji and the parshads sat guarding the farm. Bhaguji had nine other parshads, while these brothers had 150 men!
And so, a small but fierce battle began. Khabad wounded Bhaguji deeply, but the fearless and courageous Bhaguji quickly tied up his wound. Then with just one single, powerful stroke of his sword, he sliced Khabad and his horse in half! Mataro continued the fight, and this fight went on for quite a while until Mataro ran away, fearing his defeat at the hands of Bhaguji. In the end, Bhaguji suffered 18 wounds on his body. It did not look as if he would survive. When Maharaj heard of this he was very pleased at Bhaguji’s valour. Maharaj himself took care of Bhaguji. He would dress and treat Bhaguji’s wounds everyday till he recovered.

Maharaja Vajesinh of Bhavnagar heard about Bhaguji’s bravery. He thought, “It would be great if I could get Bhaguji to serve in my kingdom. I will offer him a high position in my army and pay him 300 rupees a month.” In those days, 300 rupees was a lot of money! But Bhaguji politely declined and said, “I do not want anything. I only wish to serve Shriji Maharaj.” Hearing this reply, Vajesinh felt even greater respect and admiration for Bhaguji.

Such was Bhaguji’s dedication. He had only one goal – to serve and please Shriji Maharaj no matter what hardships came his way. Through this incident we can see that Bhaguji risked his life to please Maharaj, and Maharaj personally took care of him and protected him. Similarly, we too may come across some difficulties in following Bapa’s agna or niyam-dharma, but if we fight our mind and keep courage like Bhaguji, Maharaj and Swami will also protect us