One morning Shri Jasuswami went to his field and found his oxen missing. He did not know it, but Brajvasi thieves had stolen them in the night. What he knew was this: a pair of oxen stood in his field, ready to work. Shyam Kripalu had quietly replaced them with an identical pair. They ploughed beautifully. In fact, Swamiji grew even more fond of these new animals than of the old ones.
A full year passed. Then those same thieves came to market, saw both oxen at Swamiji's place, and froze. "Who brought these here from our house?" They hurried home. Their stolen oxen were still tethered there. They came back. The same pair stood with Swamiji. They went back and forth two, three, four times, unable to make sense of it.
Finally, they asked Swamiji directly. And in that moment, understanding struck. Prabhu Himself had given the swami identical oxen. The thieves' hearts broke open. A deep bhav flooded their hridaya, and they fell at Swamiji's feet.
Hearing their utter humility, seeing their longing, the compassionate Swamiji took them under his shelter. He gave them the upadesha of Bhagavan's mantra. They abandoned thieving forever. Their minds became clean. They brought grain, milk, and curd to the guru's place for Bhagavan and the sadhus. They served with deep anuraga, remained always in sadhu-sang, sang the glory of bhakti, bhakta, Bhagavan, and guru, and lived in supreme ananda.
Sadhu-Seva as the Core of Bhakti
Jasu Swami chose a singular resolve as his path: sadhu-seva, the service of saints and sadhus. He understood this not as an occasional act of charity but as a complete way of life. To honor this sankalpa, he farmed the fertile land of Antarveda, the region between the sacred rivers Ganga and Yamuna, so that grain could flow continuously to the sadhus who came to his door. His hands worked the earth; his heart remained fixed on Hari. This is the teaching: bhakti does not require one to abandon the world. It asks that every ordinary activity, farming, cooking, feeding, be consecrated as an offering. When the intention is pure and the seva is real, the Lord Himself becomes the silent sustainer of that service.
Bhaktamal, tilak commentary, kavitt 246
Ramji's Bullocks: The Lord Sustains What Is His
When thieves stole Jasu Swami's bullocks, the Lord quietly replaced them. The Swami did not notice any gap in his service because Shyam Kripalu, the compassionate Lord, had already provided a fresh pair before dawn. For a full year, fields were ploughed, grain was grown, and sadhus were fed, without any interruption. The devotee's seva continued without a pause. This episode holds a deep assurance: when a life is genuinely offered to Bhagavan's service, the Lord takes responsibility for that service. He does not let it falter. He provides what is needed, often invisibly, often before the need is even felt. The devotee's duty is simply to keep working with sincerity. The supply is Ramji's concern.
Bhaktamal mool verse and tilak, entry 162
When a Devotee Speaks, the Lord's Hand Becomes Visible
After discovering that the same pair of bullocks appeared at two locations simultaneously, the bewildered thieves went directly to Jasu Swami and asked for an explanation. His reply was one sentence: 'The bullocks have always been at my Ramji's place, ploughing the fields.' He did not explain a miracle. He simply stated the truth as he had always known it. In his understanding, the field, the animals, the labor, all of it belonged to Ramji. This kind of speech, calm and matter-of-fact about the Lord's involvement in everything, is itself a form of upadesh. It does not argue or persuade. It simply names the reality. And the thieves, upon hearing it, felt their inner world shift. Such is the power of a word spoken from genuine anubhava, lived experience of the truth.
Bhaktamal mool, doha closing entry 162
Mamata, Mada, Moha: The Three Knots That Bhakti Dissolves
The closing doha of Jasu Swami's entry names three inner conditions that he had moved beyond: mamata, the sense of mine-ness; mada, pride; and moha, delusion. The Bhaktamal presents these three as the obstacles that prevent a life from becoming transparent to the Lord's grace. Mamata would have caused him to rage at the loss of his bullocks. Mada would have caused him to publicize the miracle. Moha would have left him confused and grasping. Because none of these knots were present, the whole episode moved through him like water through open ground. His sukh, his inner joy, is described as an ocean of chidananda, consciousness-bliss. This is the fruit not of dramatic tapasya but of a quiet life lived with a clean heart, absorbed in Hari-guna-gram, the treasury of the Lord's qualities.
Bhaktamal mool doha, entry 162
The Grace That Transforms Those Who Come Near a Bhakta
The thieves who stole Jasu Swami's bullocks did not encounter a saint who lectured or condemned them. When they surrendered at his feet, broken open by what they had witnessed, the Swami received them with daya, compassion, and gave them the upadesh of Bhagavan's mantra. The tilak commentary records what followed: they gave up theft entirely, their mati, their understanding, became vishuddha, pure. They began bringing grain, milk, and curd to the ashram for Bhagavan and the sadhus. They sang of bhakti and the bhakta, and they lived in paramAnanda, supreme bliss. The proximity of a genuine devotee, one absorbed in Hari-nama and free of ego, carries a transforming shakti. The thief becomes a seva-kar. The broken life becomes a new one. This is the quiet, recurring miracle of sadhu-sang.
Bhaktamal tilak commentary, kavitt 247, entry 162
Hindi text from OCR scan (Khemraj Shrikrishnadas Prakashan, CC0). May contain errors.