12
M., THE BHAGVATA PANDIT
The Morton School. 50, Amherst Street, Calcutta. M. is living in a room on the fourth level. That’s why many bhaktas and sadhus assemble there regularly. The shower of the nectar of the Word and the current of jnana, bhakti and prema have been there for the last half a century. The bhaktas come here daily looking for spiritual intoxicant. Most of them are employed on different jobs. The bhaktas regularly come there to bathe under the showers of divine words inspite of their engagements and tiring work. Just as the body is cleansed of its dirt by bathing in the water of the Ganga, similarly the showers from the white water bearing cloud of M. cleanses the dirt of the mind. The bees of the bhaktas come in search of the honey of peace and happiness. The compassionate M. is ever-ready to dole out the honey of Sri Ramakrishna, night and day, little caring for the ills of his body.
Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna has kept M., the Bhagavata pandit in the household by giving him the badge of authority to speak of the Bhagavata to the man afflicted by the ills of the world. He asked the Mother of the universe for a kala (1/16th) of power to him, so that he could preach to humanity. M. prayed to his master any number of times to let him embrace sannyasa. But to comply with the wishes of the Mother of the universe, the Master appointed him on the job of a teacher while living in the household. So bowing to the command of his master, M. has constantly been showering the nectar of the Word for the last forty years without distinction between the eligible and the non-eligible persons.
M. announces to the man that He who is Para-Brahman, Indivisible Existence-Knowledge-Bliss beyond word and mind, came to the earth as Sri Ramakrishna in a human body. He reminds everybody of Sri Ramakrishna’s promise: ‘Hold on to me. You will attain just by thinking on me. Who I am and who you are, when you know this you will attain. I swear, he who will think on me, will inherit my glory just as the son inherits the wealth of his father.’
M. has not been keeping well for some days. But this does not bother him. This morning when he had severe pain, he once said to Antevasi, ‘What is the cure?’ Antevasi had massaged his back with a medicine inspite of M.’s protests. On one hand he had such a severe pain, and on the other he was showering the nectar of the Word. Antevasi notices that while showering the Kathamrita, M. forgets his bodily pains and gets immersed in the bliss of Brahman. He teaches even without speaking that the Kathamrita is the only medicine for the parched lives.
It is 5 p.m. M. is seated on a double bench on the third floor, facing west. In front of him, a duree has been spread on some benches for sadhus to sit on. To the south and north of M., the bhaktas are seated - Shanti, Manoranjan, Jagabandhu and others. The honey has attracted the bees of bhaktas.
In no time a special bee comes in the form of Swami Shantananda. He is an ascetic with a sweet temperament. Sometimes he says, ‘Come on, brother, let us go (to M.) to forget the world.’ One forgets the world within five minutes when one is with M. He holds the mind of the visitors without his knowing and takes it to the shore of the bliss of Brahman.
M. is very fond of Shantananda ji. So he asks him to come and sit close to him as a token of love and regard for him. But he does not sit on the same seat with M. out of regard and reverence for him. Instead he sits on a bench in front. He has been visiting many places of pilgrimage for quite some time. After offering his pranam and making polite inquires he begins to talk of the holy places as desired by M.
Sw. Shantananda — I visited the shrine of Amarnath in Kashmir. This Shivalinga (phallic symbol of Shiva) made of bluish ice increases and decreases in size by itself. This Shivalinga is formed in a huge cave. The top of the cave of Amarnath remains covered up with snow for a long time. When the snow melts the water drips into the cave. This cave is situated at a height of thirteen thousand feet. The top is seventeen thousand feet above the sea level. One has to go across a stream of ice. It is very cold there.
"There are no temples, nor is there any place where one can live. One has to live in a tent at Panchatarni, five miles away. It is situated at a height of eleven thousand feet. Swamiji (Vivekananda) also visited it. He bathed in the cold stream of that river wearing a loin-cloth in Panchatarni. Sister Nivedita was with him.
"Pahalgam is sixty miles away from Srinagar. Amarnath is twenty-seven miles from Pahalgam. The journey is very difficult. That’s why people say that it is not Amarnath (the lord of immortality), but Maran-nath (the lord of death). (Laughter). Sheshnag is a lake. Its water is milk white, a very beautiful spot at a height of twelve thousand feet. The Mahaguna Pass lies beyond it, at a height of fourteen thousand feet.
"Swami Vivekananda went into samadhi in the Amarnath cave. Lord Shiva appeared before him and granted him a boon - the boon of death at will."
M. — Mother Kshir Bhavani also appeared before Swamiji, so they say. She said to Swamiji: ‘My son, do I protect you or is it that you protect me? It is by My will that they have broken the temple.’ A great change came over Swamiji thereafter. His tendency to work went down - he was mostly surcharged with spiritual emotion. The Master had told him after he had gone into the Nirvikalpa samadhi, ‘I have locked you in. Go and work for the Mother.’ The Kshir Bhavani incident can be taken as opening the lock. It happened in 1898. Just after this incident he went to America for a second time. Now Swamiji was in a highly surcharged state. Within some four years of this he breathed his last.
M. — Did Swamiji visit the four dhams (the four ancient centers of pilgrimage founded by Adi Shankaracharya)? You have been there to all these.
Swami Shantananda — No. Swamiji did not visit Badrinarayana. But I have.
M. — The Master said: ‘He has created centers of pilgrimage, temples and sadhus in every little valley - for those who want Him.’ Shankaracharya made these four centers. The principle vow of a Hindu’s life is to visit these four places. Sri Ramakrishna’s father went to Puri and Rameshwaram. The Master used to say, ‘Many a sadhu visit only three dhams, missing Dwarika so that they may think of Dwarika at the time of death.’ Thinking of Dwarika means thinking of Sri Krishna. How many ways there are for the devotees to play with God.
Swami Shantananda — What a beautiful spot, the Mayavati Ashrama! How solitary! The right spot for sadhan-bhajan. Swamiji founded it for the jnani bhaktas.
M. — Are you going to Kashi now?
Swami Shantananda — Yes, I wish to stay there for some time undistracted by anything.
"There is another sadhu residing in the hut in the Kashigiri garden. We shall have to look for some other hut."
M. (to all present) — There is no place like Kashi. The Master saw the vision of Vishvanath (the Lord of the universe) whispering the ‘Tarak Brahman Ramanama’ into the ears of the spiritual aspirants and the Mother Annapurna cutting asunder the bonds of maya. What a fire of tapasya has been blazing there since ages! Countless bhaktas are receiving daily their fuel of yearning there. People from the whole of India flock there. That’s why Kashi is known as the queen of all pilgrim centres.
M. — The Himalayas are also a great source of inspiration. Their very sight brings the name of God to the mind. Not only it has secluded places but it also is the place of tapasya of rishis and munis. The Lord says in the Gita: sthavaranam Himalayah (10:25) - of all the firm things I am the Himalayas.
"Swamiji said to me, ‘It was my desire that I should spend my life in meditation on Him in the Himalayan silence. But what to do? It was as if somebody was forcing me to do all this work holding me by the neck.’ He said this on his return from America. And then he said in Almora, ‘All my inclination to work is silenced when I am reminded of the Himalayas. The Himalayas are the birthplace of philosophy.’ Oh, how great!
"His inside was full of Brahman. His inner desire was to remain merged in samadhi like Sukadeva, but the Master put him to work. Otherwise how could the sport of the Lord be propagated? And how could the world be benefited? There was nothing unfulfilled in him - he was an ever-perfect God-man, one of the seven stellar rishis.
"The Master once asked him what he desired. He replied, ‘I wish to remain merged in samadhi like Sukadeva.’ The Master said, ‘No, the Mother will grant you a higher state than this.’ What is it? To be able to see His lovable presence in all, from Brahman to a tiny insect. He always manifested this in his person. To remain merged in Him is the same as seeing Him in all creatures - only the latter is a higher state.
"Had Narendra remained merged in samadhi, who would have preached to this world of pain and sorrow? Every creature is God - sarvam khalvidam Brahman.
"It is said that Shankaracharya wanted to propagate this great dictum of Vedanta outside India too. It is Shankar who made Swamiji do this by entering into his mind. All this is a part of one grand plan. The world outside thinks that Shankar was other than Swami Vivekananda. But the fact is otherwise. All things are different manifestations of the same one great Will."
M. (to all present) — That ‘Himalayan silence’ had as if overpowered him - he was always longing for it. The Advaita Ashrama of Mayavati is the outer manifestation of this desire.
"Though he had immersed himself in the sea of activity in America, Om tatsat Om was always reigning within him. The Song of Sannyasin is the outer shape of his inner state of Brahman. Says he, pointing towards the Himalayas, ‘Where worldly taint could never reach where rolled the stream of knowledge, truth and bliss.’ Oh, what a deep insight! What a great experience!"
M. (to Mohan) — ‘Were you inspired on seeing the Himalayas?’ the Master asked me this. I had just then returned from Darjeeling. I said, ‘I felt such a joy that I began to weep on seeing the Himalayas from Siliguri. It was as if my mind had got submerged in an ocean of peace.’
"Such is the glory of the Himalayas - sthavaranam Himalayah.
"I had read Kalidas describing the Himalayas as devatma Himalayah.(the Himalayas as the divine spirit) in his ‘Kumara Sambhava’. But its deep significance had eluded me then. But on hearing Thakur’s question, Whether I felt inspired by the sight of the Himalayas, I realized its significance. And add to it my experience of peace and joy. I then understood why the Himalayas were called the divine spirit. In Indian culture, the joy of Brahman and the Himalayas are synonymous."
Swami Shantananda — Did you climb the mountain?
M. — I did climb the Ojla Hill. I went up by a hill train, a little more than a mile.
"But Thakur had not seen the Himalayas. The Holy Mother had seen them when she visited Haridwar, Rishikesh and the Lakshman Jhula. It seems that even Shashi Maharaj did not see the Himalayas. He certainly did not do so later on. But whether he saw them as a student, one does not know. No, he didn’t. He didn’t even go to Haridwar."
It is the twilight hour. As soon as the lamp is brought in M. stops talking and takes to meditation. He is seated on a chair on the roof facing north. In front of him and to his right are seated the devotees. They also meditate - the Elder Jiten, Shukalal, the Elder Amulya, Bhaumik, Balai, Amrit, the Younger Nalini, Jagabandhu and so on. The Doctor and Vinay arrive a few moments later. Because of over work, the Elder Jiten has not been there for the last two days. He is a bench clerk in the High Court. M. resumes the conversation after the meditation.
M. (to the Elder Jiten) — It appears you are over busy.
The Elder Jiten — Yes Sir, a lot of work is pending. There is only one judge that is why there is so much of work. I could not come for two days because of this. Does work leave you the time for meditation? It makes you forget.
M. (laughing) — What did you say?
The Elder Jiten — Work makes one forget everything, brings in so much of confusion.
M. — I don’t agree. Why should you say that you will meditate when all work is finished. Why must one take off one’s clothes and put on a silken dress on his return from the office? Why is it necessary? One can meditate in one’s office dress.
"It is nice with the Muslims - they offer Namaz five times a day. As soon as it is time for it, they start praying, wherever they may be. We have seen it at the Gole Dighi. They may have come for a walk, but they would offer Namaz there too. Even the coachmen, masons, would stop the coach or stop work and offer Namaz. In the court-room or the train it can be the same. A beautiful rule this is!
"That’s why the Master became a Muslim - he was in this state for three days. Mohammed has laid down this rule, to offer Namaz five times a day, to give up all work and call on Him. And they also have to perform vazu even when no water is available.
"So they take up a little of it (acting as if washing the hands) and do like this. This cleanses them.
"Can anybody lay down this rule unless he has an insight into the human character? What a deep insight! He knew that there was many an obstacle in such virtuous acts. So he gave this simple prescription."
A particular Bhakta — The mind feels restless unless one has washed one’s mouth and hands properly.
M. — Of course, that is so. It is because of one’s habit. Both the inner and outer cleanliness are necessary. But why shouldn’t one meditate on God when a wash is not available? If one spends the whole day in trying to take a bath, when will one find time to meditate on Him?
"Do whatever is possible at a particular time. Where all facilities are available, one should take a good wash and meditate on Him comfortably. Where it is not possible meditation should be carried on with whatever is available. The aim is to meditate.
"Maybe that the outer self has remained unclean because of the non-availability of some thing, but then why not cleanse the inner self by repeating His name?
"By such miscalculation the man falls a prey to cleanlism. He keeps himself busy with outer cleanliness. But the essential thing is the remembrance of God whether it is achieved by external cleanliness or otherwise. To keep oneself busy with the means and forget the end is not correct."
M. (to the Elder Jiten) — It is the same with work. When there is too much work, one should still find time for meditation. Otherwise meditation will never be possible - one will come to the end of one’s life without ever finding time for meditation. So one must call on Him even during the storms and stress of life. One must at least fold one’s hands to offer pranam at the time worship; or one may mentally offer Him pranam. And when one has more time, one may carry out the regular sadhana.
M. (to all) — One must practise both these alternatives. Practice makes every thing possible. Those who are weak physically have a number of pretexts. The world is not for them. If one has the strength of ten thousand elephants, one can live a worldly life. Otherwise one must stay under a tree.
"Determination is needed - the determination to repeat His name. It will not do to give it up. When one is very busy one should hold it with one’s teeth - with a bull dog tenacity as Swami Vivekananda said.
"The waves of the world do toss every thing up and down, night and day. He who can hold Him inspite of a hundred of obstacles is indeed a hero. Only he will attain. So the Vedas says, nayamatma balahinena labhyah - the weak cannot attain the knowledge of Brahman.
"The Master taught: ‘You should work as the time demands; you should work the way it is needed and you should conduct yourself with others as due.’
"Oh, How practical the Master was! By being so, one can keep one’s mind on Him even while living a worldly life - true to the kindred points of heaven and earth."
Calcutta,
Friday, 1st August 1924
10th of Shravana 1331 (B.Y.)
The first day of the bright fortnight, 51 dandas/58 palas.