Historic Merta City in the Nagaur district of the state of Rajasthan was the site of the third event in Maharaji’s recent tour in India. Founded in the fourteenth century, Merta is regarded by many as a holy city, the birthplace of Meera Bai, whose devotional songs are still sung today. Though it is a small city (population 40,000 in 2001), the literacy rate is higher than the national average. Yet over 16% of the people living there are under the age of six.

The event with Maharaji was held on open grounds opposite Government College. People from Merta City and nearby villages were surprised and excited that Maharaji was coming to their small city. By 10:00 AM, the area had begun to fill rapidly, men wearing Rajasthani turbans and ladies in colorful chunri saris. Besides local people, others came from adjoining districts: Ajmer, Bhilwara, Pali, Jodhpur, Ganga Nagar, Barmer, Hanumangarh and others. Soon over 3,500 had assembled on the grounds that had been prepared by volunteers in the previous three days.

On November 22, 2009, Maharaji spoke in a village near Chandrapur, Maharashtra, for the first time. Situated in central India in eastern Maharashtra state, Chandrapur is known as the “City of Black Gold,” due to the large number of coalmines in the vicinity, and the Chandrapur Super-Thermal Power Station is the largest of its kind in India. The event was held at the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation grounds, about 8 kilometers outside the city of Chandrapur.

Unsuspecting villagers woke up on the day of the event to the surprise of a huge influx of people coming to hear Maharaji. One local man simply said, “I don’t know who is coming, but he must be great man.” By noon that day, over 30,000 people had arrived from all walks of life, dressed in all possible colors. Several of them had attended the Nagpur event the previous day and had come to this one, too. Others came from the neighboring states of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, and Andhra Pradesh, and as far north as Uttarakhand, besides several districts of Maharashtra.

This event was held in Narkher, a city in the Nagpur District of the state of Maharashtra in western India. People came from all over India—from as far north as Jammu and Kashmir (the most northern state in India) to south India and throughout Maharashtra in the west. The last time Maharaji visited Nagpur was almost seven years ago.

The program area was huge, and fortunately, it was free of any kind of pollution. Many who could not get in watched from outside the event grounds, hoping to hear what was said.

All in all, over 10,000 people were able to enjoy the event, which had only been announced a few days before. It was due to the hard work and effort of many people in this area that the event ran smoothly.

Maharaji first spoke at an event in Kanpur in 1966. In 1970 he spoke to a crowd of several thousand people over the course of three days. He was just twelve years old, and some found it hard to believe that a child could inspire people to experience the self within. Yet that is what many said happened. Four years ago, in April of 2005, he came again, this time to address over 250,000.

When he returned this year, people came early to be ready for the event, which was to begin at 9:30 a.m. Another huge crowd of people had come to listen to Maharaji. Every moment, the number of people was increasing because, once again, the Ambassador of Peace was coming to Kanpur. Before the event began, over 185,000 people had gathered on the event grounds, having first heard that Maharaji was coming less than two weeks earlier.

The venue was the Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) grounds, approximately 10 kilometers from Grant Truck Road. Many people had come from as far away as 200 kilometers, but they were all exhibiting a spirit of enthusiasm. The volunteer staff did a wonderful job maintaining an atmosphere of calm and order so people could listen peacefully to Maharaji without distraction.