The 330th ‘Mahanirvana Parva’ of Shri Guru Ram Raiji Maharaj was observed in the traditional way with faith and devotion like previous years. Sajjadanashin of Shri Darbar Sahib carried out special worship to mark the occasion.
The prasadam comprising fruits were distributed among the Sangats coming from various parts of India and also from abroad. Besides, the Sangats were provided free treatment at Shri Mahant Indiresh Hospital. Speaking on the occasion, Mahant Devendra Dass Ji Maharaj urged the Sangats to be extremely particular about cleanliness so that deadly diseases like malaria and dengue can be avoided. A voluntary blood donation camp was also organised with the participation of the Sangats.
Shri Guru Ram Rai Ji Maharaj was born in the year 1646 on the panchmi of Chaitra. In the year 1676, Shri Guru Maharaj Ji reached Dehradun. The city of Dehradun derived its name from the word ‘Dera’ established by Shri Guru Ram Rai Ji Maharaj in Dehradun.
It is well-known that in order to rid some ladies of the grief they were suffering from, Shri Guru Ram Rai Ji Maharaj left the human body under the care of Mata Punjab Kaur. Before leaving, he instructed Mata
Punjab Kaur to take care of his body and not to allow anybody to touch it. Mata Punjab Kaur put a lock outside the room where Guru Maharaj Ji’s body was lying. Whenever people came to Shri Darbar Sahib to avail the Darshan of Shri Guru Maharaj Ji, she used to say that he was not around having gone outside for some works. People pouring in in their thousands, a huge crowd gathered outside the room of Shri Guru Maharaj Ji. In the end, the Sangat urged that the door of Shri Maharaj Ji’s room must be opened. Eventually, some people peeped into the room through the window and saw Shri Guru Maharaj Ji lying over the bed there. The room was forcefully opened by the huge crowd and they found that Shri Guru Maharaj Ji was no more. They started performing the last rites of the saint despite resistance from Mata Punjab Kaur. The crowd put the body of the saint to flames with Mata Punjab Kaur failing to stop them. Suddenly, Shri Guru Maharaj Ji came back to life to find his body being burnt. He then descended into the flames. On Bhadrasudi 8 Sanwat (4th Sept. 1687), he is supposed to have merged in God.
The Sangats assume the soul of Shri Guru Maharaj Ji immortal and carry out the Sewa of his Samadhi. This day has been celebrated as ‘Mahanirvana Parva’ since then.