CHENNAI: Sandeepak assured his guru and soon he took him to Kashi. They lived there at Kambaleshwar to the North of Mankarnika ghat. The muni took a bath in Mankarnika and worshiped Vishweshwar and began to suffer the pangs of diseases. As time passed, leprosy developed all over his body and he became blind losing his eyesight.
His body was paralysed and pus, blood and germs oozed out of it. He began to have fits also. Still Sandeepak took all pains to nurse his guru with great devotion. He used to bring alms daily for his guru, fed him and served him, thinking him to be Kashi Vishweshwar himself.
Veda Dharma being in a diseased condition, became peevish by nature and often was enraged and spoke harsh words to his disciple, Sandeepak. Some day he would not take food, some day he would abuse him cruelly for bringing insufficient alms and also complained that they didn’t taste delicious. Some day he would throw away the food in anger and despair.
Sometimes he would even beat him severely. Another time he would complain that he did not clean his body, he did not clean his wounds. His clothes were smeared with stool and urine and consequently he was much troubled by flies. When Sandeepak was attending on him, he would patiently say why did he not go out for alms. In this way Sandeepak was harassed every now and then.
Yet Sandeepak tried his best to bring good delicious food and vegetables as directed by his guru. Though he was living in Kashi, he never went to the Vishweshwar temple to worship and see the most holy shrine of Vishweshwar.
Similarly he did not think of any other thing but he solely devoted himself to the nursing and giving best service to his guru, whom he respected as god Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma. Though the guru got enraged off and on, he did not retort harshly.
Seeing such devoted service to his guru, Kashi Vishweshwar was so pleased that he appeared before him and told him to ask for some boon or blessing.
Sandeepak replied, “Without the approval of my guru, I cannot ask for your blessings.” He then came to his guru and said “Kashi Vishweshar is pleased to offer me some blessing. If you permit me, I shall pray him to remove your physical pangs and give you sound health.”
Hearing this, Veda Dharma was enraged. He told Sandeepak, “Do not pray to Vishweshwar for my health. If I do not suffer these pangs now, I will have to suffer in the next birth. This will abstract my path of salvation.”
Sandeepak returned to Kashi Vishweshwar, and told him, “My guru doesn’t like me to accept any blessings from you.”