Verabhai lived in the small village of Upleta. He was addicted to alcohol, ate meat and would harass and kill innocent people. Everyone in and around the village was afraid of him.

One day, some sadhus visited a devotee living near Verabhai’s house. The sadhus would sing aloud bhajans every morning during their bath. Hearing them, Verabhai experienced instant bliss and longed to hear them again and again. One day he followed the sadhus to the assembly. The villagers were shocked to see Verabhai there and were also impressed that the sadhus were able to have such an effect on such a horrible man.

When the sadhus asked Verabhai about his background, he responded, “I lead the life of an animal.” Hearing this, the sadhus immediately remarked, “Bhagwan Swaminarayan is in Gadhada and if you go and pray to him, you will have peace of mind and your troubles will vanish.”

A great change was brought over Verabhai and he began sitting in the assembly regularly. He soon began to ask for forgiveness for all of the cruel deeds and sins he had committed. He would even cry thinking of the awful life he had led. When Verabhai approached the sadhus revealing his thoughts, they said, “Maharaj forgives those that ask for forgiveness and changes their life. He has the power to destroy all your sins.”

The sadhus left Upleta leaving Verabhai longing for Maharaj’s darshan, and soon he went to see Maharaj in Gadhada. All-knowing, Maharaj knew of Verabhai’s past and also his regret for his sins. Maharaj comforted Verabhai and stroked his head with love.

As time passed, Verabhai would carry out even the smallest chores to achieve moksha and please Maharaj. The transformation of Verabhai attracted many others to Satsang. Everyone was shocked that Satsang could change a beast into a devotee of God.

One day Verabhai stayed the night in a field. Upon waking up, he broke off a twig from a tree and started to brush his teeth and then after bathing he did puja. All of a sudden, he realized what he had done. He apologized to the owner of the field for taking the twig without permission. The owner forgave him and was also very impressed with his honesty.

Verabhai’s business did well and his large family also became satsangis. However, within two years, twenty-two members of his family passed away. The rest of his family blamed Satsang as the cause of the deaths. However, throughout these difficult times, his faith did not waver and he stayed strong in satsang and his niyams.

He sold all of his belongings and offered the money to Maharaj asking to become a sadhu. Maharaj was overjoyed and accepted his request, naming him Parmanand Swami.

There were some bawas that were attacking and killing many Swaminarayan sadhus. When Parmanand Swami saw this, he could not resist the instinct of fighting. He found a sword and began attacking as well. When Maharaj heard of the attacks, He went to Parmanand Swami, who had not even noticed that his ear had been cut off, and asked for an explanation.

Parmanand Swami admitted to what had happened and Maharaj became unhappy as he had ignored the proper conduct of a sadhu. Maharaj questioned his ability to be a sadhu and gave Parmanand Swami the white clothes of a parshad. Vera Bhagat realized his mistake and he spent most of his time in devotion. Maharaj blessed him for all of his efforts.

As a result of Maharaj’s divinity and compassion, he was able to change the lives of even the wickedest people like Verabhai. Verabhai was able to stay firm in his devotion after his transformation regardless of all of the hardships he went through.