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A· LIF~ DIVINE

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Short Life-Sketch, Divine Activities & Messag~s of . . ·'

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Yoga'charya Sri Sri Bhupendra~at.~.;·s_a~y~l Maha~~Y· · .. ·. . . • < · · . · By ~.ti.• ·:·.,! · ..

SRI SUNIL KU'MAR.Q8'9SHt B;L. CALCuf~A: . ,,.

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. . All Rights reserved by Sri Sunil Kumar-Ghosh B.L • . ·. . ....

48/2A, Ramtanu BoseLane, Catctitta~6 ·. . .

Published by :

Sri Sbovan·Kumar Ghosh.

48/2A, Ramtanu BO£e .~ane, Calcutta•6

· Printed by . . . ' .

Sree Tar-a Press

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1993

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Bio&raphic Serie,s

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· LIFE DIVlNE :. : ' ·.,_,_

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•· ;SrLSunil Kumar Ghosh. B. L. · . ' ' .

Hony., Secretary......:Gll!udham Bhratri Sangha •. ~' ' Editor-:-Bilwadal Patrika (Bengali) · , · · ·

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First Edition, 1993 ., '! ·:

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48/2A, Ramtami'Bo~e Lane_. <;alcutta-700006, India

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Invoca-tion

Most favourite verse frequently recited by

Sri Sanyal Mahasay . . ·. ;: :: .. ·: . ,·)' · ..

Sri Krishna Govinda, Hare' Muriiret, . . ' . .-.

Het Riima Nar.ayana, Biisude~va, .

Sri Guru·Chait!anya, ~e~,A.tmadec:va,

He(·Matah Durge, Hara Viswaniitha •.

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Oh Lord Krishna, Thou art Govinda and the Reliever,

Oh Lord. Riima, Naray.ana and Basudeva ( Krishna >.• Oh

Guru the . Supreme Consciousness, Oh my Lord of the

Soul, Oh Mother Durga and Lord Viswanatha.

lai Guru

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List of JUnstrations

Cover- Sri Sri Bhupendra Nath Sanyal

. . .. . . Mahasay Inside 1st Pictut.e- Do (Tricolour)

" 2nd " · ....,.. YogiraJ Sri Sri Shyama

. 't 3td

. 4th

. Charan Lahiry Mahasay '' -Rabindra Nath &

. · Bhupendra Nath Sri Sri Babaji · Maharaj

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PREFACE Page­

l 3 CHAP- I PRELFMINAlRY

-Birth of Sri Sanyal Mabasay -His early life

-:-Contact wJ\11 S.ri Labir,y ,Mabasay -Initiation·. · -Some Messages -Self-Realisation

CHAP. II SANTINIKETAN EPISODE 8 -History of Santin~t.etan -GoJ)tact wi~h ..Maharshi De·vend.ra Natb -Some letters of Rabindranat'h to S::~nyal

Maba,say ..

CHAP. lll .PURl ]:})?l$0PE . . . .: , · l'S : .~ -Visit of Sri Lahiry Mahasay · · -Privat~ ty~orship at Taherpur Raj Estate, -Letter io sm. Priyabata ~D·ebi -Story of Prof. A •. B. Das -Death of Mother Sm. BhubaneswartDebi -Freedom Movement in lndia

CHAP. IV MANDAR EPISODE 21 ,, V THE LAST Jy!INISTREL 23

VI DMNB ACTIVITIES .24 " ,, VII SO-~E TiACHINGS 31

INVQC.ATiON 32

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Betlieation

Dedicated to Sri- Guru)f, who

helped us hear the Lord's Flute

and follow the sam~ as correct

. patTi~ to realise God.

with

All Humility and Respect.

Sunil Kumar Ghosh

Author

Sri Ramkrishna Birthday

23td February 1993.

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Preface

Sri Sri ~mtra.\:N~ Situ~ M:ahasai)'i 1~1.\t his ·Jmlftat b:o:dy en ··ltStfil J~~Uy 1i96i!.: Sinc-e then, ~k:tiy yeMSI ba;v-e; passed! but u.nf;Gfturmt~ely. a e~bensi:v.c' Riag'llapky; etl;. bist

' eilt:ber' m B'engdt 611' in;. 'IBn'liP.its:h G't in, H!Ddt is· no*. a:\lM.l~te: yei. · The 'holt tm<m:ed' S'authi!p.tm lLlmnl Gaitbai Wimi· W'Fi~~en.c

. by. Sfi: ·lw!lta fmsad 1l~y,. eidet' di~ ef Sri: Sa&lfl'lil Malta~ay anc.f. i;rubfJ:S~ . im: t9~~ ~:miinm ·&Dly. a;.. ·sfu>a.r~ biography a•i! S!rl San•ywt M:>a~ i.rr. Hindi ud.8.Qllm: lf:tltel\S both in Hindi and Bengali. Of course difficulty was that there was scarcity of authentic materials on record. Sri Tewari &nd Sd Nikhil Nif:tli Dey were the two principal discipl~s who lived- all along with Sri Sanyal Mahasay taking ~u personal cares of him in all respects. Sri Tewar y's book of course is a valuable contribtrti~ctn irr t:b~ ti:~.mt. .... ··"J)Je

otliet majdr· conmoution was made by late Sri l¥~ Chandra Gupta in various a.rticles written by him~ Its Edit0t

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of the Bilwadal Patrika and Hony. Secretary of Tbe Guru..: dbam Bhratri Sangha of Calcutta I had the gooa fortune to come into contract with many devotees and to collect their personal experiences, written and published in the said.' patrika in series entitled 'The Master As 1 Saw Him''.

There is no reason to disbelieve them nor belittle their fortunate ~xperiences. The want of a compr~hensive

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2 Life Divine

Biography of ~anyal Mallasay i~ being felt by many non, Bengalees and foriegn devotees or interested persons, and who would like to have an E.nglish version. Besides it is also n~cessary at least for .the pul.'pOSi:1 ohhaintaini:ng a record;

. Although ~nfit. still by the grace of. Guruji the duty of editing and compiling this work lias fallen on :my hum hie lot. A· more or ·tess comprehensive Life·Sketch ~of Sri Sanyal

· Mahasay is already wdttetiin Bengali arid is awaiting publi.;. cation~ :Large • parts·' of this. .book :are ·atrea(ly published ~o the ·said Journal. Now for ·tbe. convenience Of all a Short :L~·fe·Ske'tclt:with divine acti...,!i~ies ~nd)nva~u~bl~ teachings ar~ introduced- ·in English· not ;Only .in. the sai!i P.atd~a .but als·o. separately in a: book with bettqt; .paper~ an.cL pJ;inting·:~m9, a: number~ ·.of· pholos. ; although, I chedsh Jl;desire of publishing thi;l Biography comprehensively in English· if I get· suppo~t *na response sufflcietitly. Ophiion.s~are: welcome. ~ .,

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Jai Guru . . ,.

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Jai Gul'u

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Life Divine

CHAPTER 1'

PRELlMlNAR.Y-We all know that holy or saintly persons do not disclose their spiritual attainments and: their inner tf?mperament or character to public unless they t.bemselves so desire. Available materials on the life and! activities . of Sri Sanyal Mahasay are very scanty and scattered. So everytbip.g has bad to· be collected from bis. own statements as recorded by some or writings and personal experiences of devotees. .lt was .acknowledged by. all who· ~me in contact with him that be was always God-consciou&. anQ. Love, personified .and· fully detached from all worldly affairs, ,His .life and teachipgs are essentially needed to be­fotlow.ed by those who want to build up their mental consti­tution and character for the pqriiication of self. and ulttmate: st;lf.,realisation.

·· BIRTH.Ol? S}.U SAN;'IAL:. MAHASAY'7.""To describe the . ordinary·· ·qay~to·day life-h,is~o~y of. saintly ·persons is an absur4 id~a bepal,l~e wh~theF,;their body remains or not they .ahvays r~maip.,, they ftre immortal and ;:tbo.ve :life .and death • . so we, can ;tl.atrate q~Jy th~ir. :J,.ilas i.e. tbeir divine activities whi9h: are; s0met~me~ ~q.pernatural ~nd .. gep.erally .meant.for . Jb~. ·;upliftmyn~ , of. h.uman .. b~i.ngs • .; So far ,as Sri. Sanyat M~h!l~ay is conce~:ned., hl~ exact date ~f :birth .was n(jt .known by anybody not. ~'1/~P. PY. bjmself .. Wifre Qf Sri :Simyal.Mahasay

·4 Life Divine

'Whom we eall The Mother, once said that she heard from .the elders that the day was the Sital Sasthi i.e. the sixth day ·<>f the lunar period of Janu~u;y ·bu~. e.xact date was not known. .By verifying this date With almanacks the exact date was ·found to be 8th Magh 1283 B.S. or 20th January 1871, .Saturday. The horoscope of Sri Sanyal Mahasay as drawn .by late J. C. Gupta confirms this view.

. · HIS EARLY LIF.E.-Sri Sanyal Mahasay w~s born in a :small village known as Sadhanpara in the Pistr!ct of 1\l'adia •.iu West B<.mgal in a very devout family.-. Father. was Kaila~h <Ch~pdra Sanyal .and mother was Sm .. Bhubaneswari Debi. {ais f~ther was the Manager of-a Zamindary estate ~~d had ~four so,ns. and three daughters, Sanyal: Mahasay being the ~ou~gest ·son.· . Later Kailasb· Chandr.a had to shift to place '. pf ~1s ma.ternal uncle at Sahebganj in Dt,. BhagaJpore, Bihafl. .lt ~s clel;l-r that from his very childhood Bhupendra Nath :ha:.d -:very hard.times. ; Although he had. great; talent, inw'Uigenqe ~nd, mempry, he had no luck of having: Un:iver.sity education •more.than the Entrance. Examination~ .. though he ;studiea \later up to F. A. class. B.ut as there were many le.arn~d ·men in the family he ~ad no difficulty in getting ver~ 'bigh ·educationalm~st in all subjects and patticulady in Sanskrit .Janguage and hterature. He was devout· and teligious but •not fanatic though conservative. He was very truthful 'and ~honest:so much so that once a Muslim: student of the school .i~ which he studied,was in course of a quarrel amongst them: ·selves· assaulted by some other students. The Head·Master, of .au students, .requested only· Bhupendra Nath to narrate the ·~hoi~ fact to him. lt was found that be frequently. would '~t stdl,and ~Diet or sing Kirtan ( religious songs) ·or ·siome-·•tuue:s dance In ecstasy imltatirig othet devotees. . • . ·•. •

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SANYAL MAHASAY'S CONTACT WiTH SRI LAHIRY NIAHA,:s·Ay'--Bhupendta ·for ·the first time -:sa vic Sr.i L-a,hir.y '·Mali~ay. a:f 'tlie :liouse· M his elderJsister Sm. Rakshada :De:.bi at ~Bish'nupbrein Dt. ' Baakur.a wlie.n Sri L·ahiry Mahasa,y wp:p.t td· visit his niany disciples there, .including the. elder sister. Bhupendranil:th · was then aged only 10/11 years and so being too young he did not venture to ask for initiation or .Piksha .. Once he escaped from the bouse and went to :Beneras at the age of 13/14 years with the idea of having !',,) .; -, , ·; - , r. . -, , . - , - ,

0Iksh!,~. from 'Sri Labi'ry Maha:say and thereafter lead an 'asb~tic Ufb but the plan ·'failed as· he· was soon found out. ~Ih Bene:ras,tle·~~ine. in cont,a~t with swamy Krishnan~nda who advised him to go back and':. he · obeyed. Later ~Kilsh~a~a~da ~ngaged hii:n as Heid of the Jogasram lnstitu· .~ihri and where he, ,be~att'his writings on the yogic inte~preta­·~tion of·S'rf}Lahiry Mab'asay Ot;l Bb.agavat Gita and which:is a ··untq6 cGntribution of his; From ·early boyhood Bhupen­-~raii~th;tiscdto si:tffer "liery nnidh ftom malaria •. ·So his elder ·si«tefte:quested:·~ahify·!Ma:hasay· . to do something· for • ~is '~elief~iit:thd latter replied,~ ic'ithere is ·:tio' need to worry about ~bim~;tYe ffi~.lnofgoitig tO'' die now-:and b.e has a lot of work 'to -4b"''. :ana \vh'ich·proved. 'true;· ·· · : · · ; ·, · ,

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·:' .. IJ:NITIATiON-Bhupenoranath obtained ·Diksha from Stl La'hiiy Mahasayat the age ·of 16 · ·yrs; '3 months·· on 23rd June 1'893. Within <fne year . · of· Diksha · · Sri Sanyal · Mahasay ·~ecame adept in atmost all '·Kriyas 'and got permission ·ef ~1rirtiatbig othets at·this young age. But he did· .n:ot get 'Visit '.ftom his Guru Jl10re than 3]4 times but contact by ·eones-

. pondence was nn\intained all along. · Once- ·he was· 'sitting ~t'5D;g ·vtitli Labir'y Mahasa y an~ · others' when suddenly Sri ··'LahH.Y{Ma1la.Sa'i s~ia that his 'Guru !Sri' 'Ba'fuili M-tth-ara3 ~'hs :.' ;,'~;·. d . , . I , , ·• ~

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come and , so h.e is ; leaving them for a few minutes,

Returning after a few minutes be asked them whether they saw his Guru. Alt answered in the negative except Sanyal

Mahasay who said that he saw a bright light going ou~ of the room and nothing else.

After two years of Sanyal Mahasay's Diksha Sri Lahiry Mahasay left his mortal body at Benares. Qettin~ the repcitt San~al Mabasay immediately started for Benares hut o~ arriving there he found that all have gone away taking the dead body for cremation. Not finding his Guru he began to weep. After sometime he saw GuruJi b~fore him who said that there is rto need to be so much upset bec;iuse .; .. !Je. will,... alwa~s remain near him though be will give .visit only wqep be tbmks. necessary •. ( Own statement ). When be was 18]1~ ye~us of age Sri SanyaJ Mahasay could reach the stat~· of . Samadhi i.e. state of Tranquility or after-effect-poise ~i Kriya wbe.n all becomes just one supreme consciousness.

f'A'ner hjs return to Sahebganj from Beneras, he devoti~ a~l his energy for the culture of Basudeva Dharma i.e:, Religio~ of Love and Courage and Devoti9n amongst everybo~y. Many persons and youths gathered round him for training-. . , to c1_te only a:few~Prafullo Ch. Mazumdar, Jatindra Mohan .Gupta, ~~nail~l Gu'pta, Jatindrf!. Mohan Biswas and others • .He organjsed- a club na~ed as B~sudey Clut> ·(B~sudev bei~g l}aJ:Pe of: l,:.,ord Krishpa) .for 1 buil~ing .up youths physicaily and m~ntally. He ~tarted · an Assocj~tiop na~e~·,s~nitl . Sil,·D'!harini Sabha i.e,, Association ,for spreading culture an!i m<>;r:~lity and,;or ~pititual l:).ll;d easthetic d·ev~lop~ent ~f: the ·youths,~ v.;rh,o .1:1sed. to t~ke. bath)n the Q~n.ges. ·e~ery ea,rly· ... ·1DQr;nin:g a~p. ther~~fter .sit .. foT medjtatian: on tlie river bank and recite verses from the Vedas etc., ·and th~n comin~ ho~e'' 1

1:-ife.:t;>jvixte, 7

attcna lectures·on Gita and other· Scriptures,. thus helping them in ·alf possible ways. . He la.id, down the ideal state of a Society thus..;..."'l was being . inspir.ed: to build up a great and

unlimited Society. I informed my friends that the idea is not to live separately in separate famiHes. All must be one and united because unless we get a sense of equality and unity .in e'l.erything, it will not be possible for us. to realise "EKAMEBADWITlYAM" i.e., the great mysttc oneness prevailng in the entire Univers. I told everyone that we are all one and same and unless: we build up this feeling of one-ness, it will not'be possible to realise the implication of the. statement of 06&-hShivoham Sarvabbttteshu" i.e., 1 am

Siva, exist in all oration". ~"Jyf

~ . MARR1AGE~At this ti~e Sanyal Mabasay's ~arents and relations, became eager for his marriage, but Sanyal Mahasay was reluctant.; He says "when 1 beard that · t;1lk abo~t my marriage was going on 1 became. very much worried. and thought that 1 will, in that case, forget God . and . get entangled in •the mesh of family life. So 1 escaped from the the·house but 1 waS' found .out· and was married in 1898 at the age of -20/21 years''.. But although married be generally

led a detached and disinterested life.

SIDDHI OR SELF-REALISATION-He attained success in Kriyas and t~alised the Self and God attaining full tranquil state of mind only a.t the age of 24/25 years at

~ahibganj. \ During this period nationwide Freedom :Movement \'{aS going on under the. leadership of Mahatma Gandhi thtonghout India. Sanyal Mahasav then opened a s.wadeshi ( indigenous ) store at Bh3:galpore producing an4 selling indigenous. products and boycott\pg British goolis.

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CHAPTER II ''

. Santini:ketan Epis~<r:E!l ' .... ·, .. '

.. ·', H:r~t~~Y. OF SA.NTINIKETAN~By God;s, ~lll ~a~;~~ Maba~a_y. wa-s brougnt 'to: B'o'lepiir·. where Santhiiketlfn of ·~odd. famo~s p'oet .. and phil~soplier . Rabindranatli . ·Tag~re: ~as (!St~bhsbe'd · and which w.as later·· kri<n~n. as Bi&w.a Bharatil UniVersity~. ·Mab~trshi Deve.r::rdranath fath.er .. of df Rabi~dr~itath came ·into contact with. ·many . riah and respectable persons while he ·was. on tour· for prcipagatillgc B~ahmoisin. At that time he came into. contact with the.; Silibas of R'aiimdn the District of Birbhum; anti who. were: Zamindars. (Mr. s. P. Sinlia'ofthe said.·family was selected a Lord of the British House of Lords ). Being charmed with v'as't tract· of clear vac·ant land with one:or two; chatim trees here a tid there, he purchased: 20 Bglias of., land · from thee Sinhas at nominal price in 1259 B. S.'i.e,,: 1862,

Rabindranatb was only two years old at that time. Later Devendranath 90nstructed a small structure there 'which was. ti~ed · as • a · restbouse .... He' used· to practise meditation under' the· ehatim' tree and in course · of ·time got · Self~realisatiou•:

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Asranri:ii'December 1'90Ltin the said. spot'. and 'w.hidh.later~, became the great Biswabha:rati University.: Brahmachatylt J~ the anciant ideal of not only having education . living with· tlie ()ri.ru:but Irving rn resfraiat and discipline and celibacy.

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CONTACT Wl'i'If RABIND'RANATH-In the fi~st ba~ht bf studeri'ts ·or Brahmacha·1'Va' Vidy·atay·there was a ·brothe~:•s. son · 'of· Sanyat.M:aba.say wbio ·suddenly · became .vcny:. itl'l1nd: had to go backl:t&'lromb ·at Si\hebganl It was in 1902-tl:rit'Sd 'Sati'YafMaliasay welit to Santinil!leta:n to bring t~~ gobas:le£t' by;his .. brotber"s. ·son ·a'S· . a:l.se.a Certifi'(\)'ate of tnc Soboal· ·At Sant1niketail the talk between him ·and ·Rabindra N~ih·'l:)ec;ame loris· S:tid in- tne ·meantime • Rabindra:nath got fii~lly·pal'iie:illtns'Ubaut· Sanyal Mahasay· f<rom a eommon ir~ end'• 'Rli:bindr:anath . told: . hfm'""":"'~'l. know you are. about. to s'tari a BrahmachatyaVidyal&y. at y€mr place thea .wih,y ttofl

start itlier6'. 'I ~isn.you v~ry much to.·take charge ot: i$ whiah is- alreidy started bbt.e arid you wiU get gO:od. deal of e~tperi ence.''.

. ·Sri SanyalMaba'say replied-'1 ba've a.swadeshi ~tore at Bhagalpore besides I have· been entrusted to settle ·a dispute of Mazumdar · Library of Calcutta". Rabindra-nath said ,_.''These can be· managed by others but there is no one here fit to·.take charge of Brahmayacbarya Asram'. Ultimately Sanyal Mahasay was glad to· accept the offer. Beforethts. visit Sanyal Mahasay met Rabindranath at his Jorasanko· ·bouse at Calcutta being acquainted through Srls Chandra Mazumdar, a family friend, from whom Rabindranath got aU particulars ofSanyal Mahasay. He was interested because at this time Maharshi Devendranath was very. ill but be was.

· to Sant1niketn Episode

very· please-d when he :heard' .. religious . an:d Jf;94l¥: ,d,i~.cu,~~ip.p~ alid said ·that Sanyai Mahasay having; talked· of. spi~~i~!ll~sm . .and Ood·attliis time, was, a· teatfriend~ ·. :

. . ... ; ; .. ';· ln Santiriiketan ·sanyal: Mab.asay as , b~ad of . the~ lnsti~u·;

ion used to mix with the students freely and they also. took him as orie ·of: their own. One · inei.dent, in· this . connec~Jon -<:an b·e referred e.g. Among the students there. wa.s ,a, not(Jrious . one who used: to get punished. almost ·daily. for .. his n;~iscqie-:-c vous conduct.• ·• ~oticln8 this ·Sri Sanyal Mahasl'l.Y conclud~d; that the proper,attitude· that.would .. cbange'the bad .. mep.tality. of the student iS'.na:t.adopted. : ~9 h.e toqk charge of th:e:b8Y ~nd began:to.love. and· care· for·. him;aJ:td fqr. whJcb. t~~ .)bgy was impressed.· He :told. the. bQyJh!lt .if.he_r,e~Ilyloy~d,·l,ljm then he should· not do anything unpleasant so as·toc;leserve punishments. This gave good inspiration to the boy who thereafter dally informed Sanyal .¥a.hasaY.sayi~g '',Sir,;; 1 ~n;t a:trigbdd day". In course . :of2.0/2S; da,ys . th~ .. ;.bO,y} Vl!li\S thoroughly: changed and everybody: includi~g ·R~bip:dr:a1;1a~h .. became very happy. ·' , :•

Although it was decided · ·by R:abindr'anath that' the,· 'Students:should lead a life o(Brahmachari i.e. c.:libate:asin. the olden days; but it was found that it would , .be too hard for ail the boys to follow; so · it' was· deeided only a·few students to be selected and initiated tolead·otbers. l:(athitt· -drana:tli son of· R abindranath was initiated by: Mqhit Bab:u . the then Headmaster and. Saroj .Chandra by, Sri Sa.ny.al Mabasay a'nd Santosh Chandra by Rabindranatb . ., This .at iirst gave good results but did.not.endur.e long. Rabindra·na.tll :also had hatnral talent for ·musie and· art which he imparted ;to,the students.

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. ( Sri Sanyal Mahasay .followed the principle of scif-help ~;y. ~trictty ~o ~u~h ·so th~t he used to do ~If his own works i~clQding. cooking •.. himself, Tliis was not out of any sectarian or fana~ict feeling. and this was highly appreciated by Rabindranath himself •. But ~his· practice . sometimes put Sanyal Mabasay into some inconveniences which.ofcourse he ignored. Dy.rijendranath was the elder brother of Rabindranath and who was also a highly cultured and prolific writer a:s also· a' devout one. He. would not: rest content until be showed his writings to Sanyal Mahasay everi when the tau~r was bussr co.o1dng his food: aud. whieh it\ course of . discussionS', would burn down. .This. was stopped owing to jnfervention of l{abindrana~h. Rabi.ndranath could not r.emain steadfastto an)' rule t(ramed by him for long; New ideas frequently cropped up in , his. brain . causing upset in many things, and' it was .difficult for S:anyal Mabasay to. act according to plan and further, caused pecuniary losses.

·· Sri .Sanyal ' Maliasay ]'oiried Santiniketan · lri 1902 and ~orked there up to 1909~ Rabil'ldranath was a Bi'ahrrio by religion and man:y people thotigbt that Brahmoism is anti .. Hindu ·arid the Scnool is a Brahmo School; . although difference between the two is very little or nothing. There were only a;to students at first. But when evetybody saw that a conservative:' Hindu Brahmin · viz., Bhupendranath Sanyal joined the Institution as its head, number of students began to rise. ·When Sanyal Mahasay left Santiniketan in 1909 number rose to 90, Before lie IcH"t Santiniketan he also furthet helped to improve the standard of Santiniketan by bringing Khitimohan Sen and Pundit Bidhu Sekbar Sastri.

' . In th'e meantime co-education has also. been started in the

ividyalaya and whiQh was not very. much. to the liking of

: •, ·' ~ :·· . • • ' ... , ., ': •'" , .. ~ . .. . ... -~ . . ' 1' "': . ' ,.

Sanyal:M:anasf,ty; oec~us~. in :his opinion· Brafimactiaryk or celibacy·~:fid. ~o-~d·ucation can: not go hand' in barid. 'ln about' f90S/9 he ~bddbtity felfvery ill and .• be came back 'to Burdwail:i where his mtittier. toOk !Jre~t caie of him. • Rabfndranath: al'so ~M'ted him . at Burd~an several times • arid ··made aU atrangebients for his treatment ~md care:

. . I .

It was stated'by;SrfSanyal Mab.asay that in ci:>urse bf this. S'erious illness he' ·was~ apprehending his end but sudd~nly in i one miattiglu he saw animage or.a lady .on the wan onhe-- I room ·and whom .he ca'Hed;as ·Mother·J-agad:ambat who: asked I hiin' "~by wori·y; :am·· I riot. on the other side; o.f. life ?:: [',. However . do ·not 'worry" a·nd· vanished. Therceafte.r hei rec<:>verea· gradually.· After' 1909 h~ did· not go again to.. . 1 S'antinik'etan to 'join the ~er~ice but' planned to organise· hisi 1 awncA~hrams and B~ahm'a'chatya ··vidya:laiin suitable places,. r There is-no oout:it :that both had great love· and respect:. f

fior e11ch .other. Ev.en ·long aft~r ·hi:s retirement many personal 1·.

and rather CQnfidential letters containing hight.y spiritual,an4 . cultural statements. passed between the two. for many yeats~.· One~ Sanyal Mahas,ay asked R a.bindr.anat:h that it is apparent tp~t: Rabindranath is ch~rmed. with the beauty a~d purpose of nat:ure ort~e l]ni;verse as expessed in his so many writings I and poems and as h~, dail¥ reeites Gayatri Mantra with great

~ devotion towards G0,d. has he realised the Supreme?· Raoin­dranth replied-"not yet. but you ?" Sany11l .Mahasay also said '.'not yet'' • · Then Rabindranath said that 'whoevet:. of us will first realise Him shall inform the other.' After~~rds Saf.\yal Mahasay said that Rabindranath has realised but it is not possible for him to remain attached constantly . w.ith the treatised Tranquil condition as is done by a SadhaR:a or an acce'tiic because· htds a::. Karma · Yogi i.e~ a Yogi wli&

-, (,

,. ·• .- 11 r ·•

S'in'tih'rRe~a·d Epis:6d'Il

realise the Self through vru-io\:ts }uplifting activities out of devotion for God and Love! for everything in this Universe. .A~tuaily.lat~rit a'pp~~rs fi:Q~ ~.tetter • dat~q .. lltii. Mntch 1931 wrtt~n t~- on~ Salle~. Gho.sh .. wherein he 'said~ ''it wa:s ndt pos~ihle f~r me ·to ·remah:i- -isolated and: fully m~rgedin·my o~n( cons~fence.... ..:.i· am a~tually a Co•existebtiatis~ ( S~rbastJb~4i.)' everyb~qy · ~~ils DJe• . I prefer the; entirety~ .. ~ {qance,.i sujg, teac:h stu4ents, col{ect joy fr.om ·trees, flo":ers; s~y,oceans etc~Although gr~~t qbstacles con:'e from the ,somety,. there ia so m\l,Ph- complications, so much opposit~?n to every­tbfngl do,'uiah tb;ere w~ll.be no e~~.ofc my attempts to sol~~

f, I .'' ' • _, • '

them ever. ,· . - \

:, ~

.... ··, ;

A FEW LETTERS PROM RABINDRANATH TO'

SANYAL MAHASAY ...

( 1 )

With humble greeting, · ... -~It seems that the boys an~ gitls are not getting sufficient:

food. Please see that they are fed well befote the start of the vacation, There is no doubt that the ca1;1se o~ their loss,

of we~ght an_d increasing wef1knesses i~ no other than lack of.

nuttit1on ...

u:

31st Bbadra 1314 Yours·

Sri Rabindrariath Tagore.

114 Santiniketan . Episo4~

( 2 )

.... you are having a lot of troubles, but endure everything with a happy_ mind. What is to happen will happen. Over and above that if we keep our niind worried, it· would be like giving up the helm because the waves are rising. Do not allow the mind to be carried away by external .factors. l(eep the mind fixed steadfastly with the eternal sanctuary that is lying within our control and let happen what will happen. Only ~ee that our connection with him is properly .!llaintained···"SANTAM SHIVADW AITAM'' i. e:, "Sbiva or God is One and Still' .... '' Keep the mind· fixed on this so long as you can, then only the mind will remain calin and tranquil whether the situations are happy or not and the low or immoral fascinations shall not be able to divert ·us from gooq to evil.

28th Aswin 1314.

Yours Sri Rabindranath Tagore, Bolepur.

( 3

With Greetings.

For a long time I am nurturing a desire viz., to tour around the whole of India along with you, nay·, if possible, the whole world with you. Methinks that after I get your letter, this desire of mine will not go in valn. It is my ardent desire to finish the Journey of this life in such a way. I expressed this desire only because this time you have ,encouraged me,; I have no wish at all to remain tied with

f I. t

I.

Purf Episode 15

a.ny sphere of ~ctiVities. It is very necessary to m~ve . aw~y from the turmoils uhhis life. But so. long as 1 will hve 1t wdl­be criminal to dissociate from welfare activities. So the· mind requires to be adjusted by travel. But just as the Iadie~ brtng jarful of waters from the shores for the fa~ily members, sc) also whatever · perfection of the mmd I gain I shall have to utilise it for bet~efi:t . of my very young. friends here. But this is just an imagination, long way off. Atthe outset it is necessary for us to till up ourselves from the ocean of Truth. with this end in view where shall I get a. company 'like you ·t 1 have no right to make any claim. If any good comes to me it wilf be .. your virtue also. The starved claims food only on the strength of his want, my ciaim is' also like that: .•.. u ..

j J •

8th Baisakh 1310 B.S.

yours Sri Rabindranath Tagorer

c: :~

PURl VISiT OF-s'I~I: LAHIRY. MAHASAY.;_Art~r; his ~~ retirci~ent· 1 froD:i "santifiik'etaii he came·to 'Put~ (Orissil) in abo"ut·I910. His id~a \\las to 'establish a:n Asram Temple· therc:ri() prbp~ghte th~ t"eacliings of his ~uru1r. ( p~h.lci~auy th~ kriya yoga· alia ~h"<>: in bls'lifetiuie could" nof"c~trie .. tb· Puri. Before the teiilple was co·nstrbcted Srl"Sanyat Mahasay

.I~ .

d .I

i! ,, I I,

I! --.·,

1 'I

I

I I !

16

1!Yt11~11y Sil:o/ ~~e yisio[lof Sri ~a~iry. Mahasay standiG.C .at :~ :tJ.artic~llay spot { lo,ng after Lahiry Mali~say's '¢ie,mise'), ., it j;S ~t that very. spot Sanyal .Matiasay buiit. the teg:Ipfe·· or Sri

~ . .Lahiry _Mahasay who said that 'I am ani her~~.' ~. · ~

. Const~uction of the Temple house really . commenced i~ about 191~ when at first only a small hut was. built. It i~. reported that suuddenly one day a traveller . came ther'e a:nd ·said that 'I want to see the Mohuntji. Please inform him.'. He pould no~ tell the name of the Mahantji but he · knows that the Mahuntji ·resides there, · He would n'ot wah as he is .coming on foot from Rajasthan~ long way off and he will'go f!-Way again on foot at great distance. ln the meantime Sanyal Mahasay came there and they looked a·t each other· as l if they were known to each other and talking silently. 'The I stran_ger immediately asked for Diksha which he had and .soon' after w5

erit; away. •,/ A ''o0o 0

In Puri Asram many persons were tnitiated some of whom reached a very high level. ·

AT TAHERPUR RAJ ESTATE-At this time at the request of Taherpore Raj he accepted .Private tutorship of the prince Sakti Sekhareswar Roy, He was a nice boy and was loved very much by Sri SanyaJ Mahasay but unfortunately the prince died suddenly at this early age causing grieat ,gr.ief to Sanyal Mahasay. A baby deer used to live. in the ,Asram. Oa.rd.en and who would come running as soon as it iheard Sanyal Mahasay's voice and WQUld not take, any fo.od if: Sanyal M'ahasay was ever. indispol!ed. According to ·him ,tl,lis p~l>y-.~~er;'was,in previous birt~ a K:riya Yqgi' ,'but dlie 1?.~o~~1 ~i'~~edf. o,r ~is he. is. ?orn:.as .a d~er. ;r ''

17

,, .... ln..1912 he c~me ip.tt;t co.ntact, ~ith two . w~qor~~ .•. tadi~s, ... ~~ .oi them ·~a~· Priyabala De~i. wife. of a h~gh,. . G,overmp~nt '.offici~l who 'suddenly died ieavi:t;tg his old mother . ~nO. the ~~id ~ido~.'and..several . .Yom1g ~ons. · The 'other wid~w :Sm. ·N~nda~ani ':Debi .was.her ·sister-in~law and both were in a bit :aiffic~t~ sit.p~tion a~~ the~e· was n~~e to look .. after them • .Sd.San:y~fMahasay after b.ear~ng .i:hem gave . t~em :·oik:shas ''and took. charge of their well being. Priyabala Debi was a \~re~t devotee; and became a good kriya )iogi. Her respect for Saayat . Mahasay' 'wos so much that. She would wait

.batefgot when ·lfe. wonld return from the Taherpur Raj Palace ;~ fe~ miles distance from Swargd.war of Puri, berefoot in ~th~ hoi. sun ·a~,d. ~ver hot sands of sea beach, S~ny~l Mahasay ~wo~l~.~ay tbp.t ".VI!h~~ev~r ·.I·walk .. on hot san~s. me .thinks :H~·tr~ats 'me with love 11nd I feel so happy". '{·· . . ~'. ; .: ,' . ''' ' '' : ' . .

" ; .; PtRlYA.:a!ALA D~Bl J AND l}.RA.H~A:G QPALJI~ri . Sri ;~faohmagopal.isra.n.o~he:r nhme of Lord:K.t•islina., The :adve,nt.o,f ;Sri Bt:abml:\gopalji,l:ltthe h.ou~e of:P.riyab.ala D&bids romantic ,aJ!.d_Jbdllins;i ~o\lt 80/BOr~ears~:ago·(e~antdate n~t :kilaw.n) an American' couple went to tour in South India and b~ watching in a shop dealing with statues and doll~ of marbles ·~w~ ... iqoJp.dius: ~14 . s.tatues. c(>llected from, vadoDs, ;,p.lp.ces. .lb~y;fo~d .tlJ.isJ>IaQI{slo.ne hnage . ot •Bra~~gqpal abo1:1t ta .;fp_q~;i~ qeigbt, "'tth ;Vf;J'fl brjgh·t features sp ·· much s9 that: it .~e.tlled to: t.h"'~ t.hat the ~pll J~ok~ .al; .·• ;th~m · stead~astl.y ~nd .tP.ey w~re.,chaqne.d. ;So th~y put;~hased the same and \)ought .. ~)le Sf\I)l~.~nd;Jm::rQght !t to ~heir qome in Amer.ica, . But the ilady fotind in. til~ -midnight tb.at the .c;loll.v.:as. walking • arqund Jt.be;ro~Jll. asJf:se~klng.so·methiQg. · A-t· this .gbqstly. ,attitude ;;th:e• la9y .. b.e~al,lle ·~rY: n~~r1{9~~ and .~o ;both want~d to get :ri~ of it. Conrlng to London they found a. friend .:who: ·a.f~,r

'~i I

1~ Pllri Episode

hearing these facts wished to have it and had )t. The same thing occur~ed in his house too although-the doll was put ib

• , • I

ashow case. The London friend ·round a Hindu Sannyasi · ~ho was impressed with its appearance and brought it to India and then at Puri before Sri Sanyal Mahasay who seeing it said at once that this image is •living' i.e. Chaitanyamay

I and kept Him, along with a doll of Sri Radhika ·the· consort ' of Sri Krishna. But surprisingly it was . seen in 'the early ~ morning that doll of Radhiks is lYing broken to pieces.

Then Sri Sanyaf Mahasay said that the doll will show his . \ _divine activities only as Gopal i.e. unmarried boy Gopal and I be wit~ have to be treated like that.. Before. coming to P~ri l the deaty was sent to Dacca but th.ere also . the lady of the I house told Sri Sanyal Mahasay that proper care of the deity I is not being taken, so he r~turned it to Sanyal Mahasay. ~ Priyabata Debi having asked for the same out of'tove the ·

·deity was handed·. over her about 40/50 years hac~ where die · f~ deity remains calm, and quiet with · many; activities benefittng the family great deal even now. at the Salt Lake, _.

1

_ house.

A LETTER TO PRIY ABAI.;A DEDI-Dated-·. 5th Ashar l 1330 B.S. He wrote-• Do not let your respiration go-- ·in yain. I

Always keep your mind fixed on it~ This is most important lf

·(remembering Him with every breath ). 'You must • stick· to -it and you will never have to think lof anything else. You will hear His flute in all thoughts· 'and works. ·Lord has · said· "I am taking 4 kinds of· food as ·Vaishvanor · i. e. God I of·Fire-, from the body'ef men. So You see dear. tliatthe fo~d we are.·taking is not simply<' foOd; iHs. worshipping Gad

. ~esiding within as fire.''' .• !.

..... ~ .. -......... '" ~ .-.. ··~-··· ____ .,., ' . " ..... , . .......... '" ·-·· .. -- ---- --· -

i.

,. ··--

\ .

· Puri Episode 19

Sitting at the Ptitftemple Asram Sri Sanyal · Mahasay wrote many religious articles, songs, poems & on Kriya Yoga and for this his reputation as a writer spread far and wide • Once the head. of Sankaracharya Govardhan Math at Purl offered· him the said post but he humbly declined.

STORY OF PROF. A. B. DAS-Abani Bhusan Das, a Physics Professor of City College of Calcutta became very much upset on sudden death of his wife. Somebody advised him to contact Sanyal . Mabasay whom at iirst he did not fully believe. He wrote to Sanyal Mahasay-''Do you believe really that there is God and do you really have the power to instiii·GOd-corisciousness or Self-Realisation to others (Then. let me have it ). If you do not succeed with me, your hypocrisy·willbe exposed and your Profession of Guruship· will be affected'~ Sri Sa:nyal Mahasay accepted the challenge. A fewdays later when Sri Das entered his Thakur Ghar ( Puja Room) in Calcutta he saw to his surprise that Sd Sanyal Mahasay was siting on the platform meant for the diety. Thereafter his doubts vanished and took Diksha from Sanyal Mahasay~becoming a serious devotee.

It is also a known fact that the . spirit of Sri Lahiry Mahasay frequently· met Sanyal Mahasay and had talks

·between them. Besides a few per~ons actually saw or felt the presence of Lahiry Mahasay in Puri Temple Asram.

: 'AT NURSINGH oARH RAJ ESTATE-IIi 19It he' was .. appointed a pri~ate tutor or'tlie Pdnce' of Nilrsi~g Garh Raj

iii cc\nb:al-India. He had to 'stay there 'trp to • about· 1925. During. this· pedod . he progressed very. much spiritually . an.d was reluctant to' do job's o_ther' thi:u.l; Kriyay(>~a.: He wrote-

. . :' ~ ; . 2

!

20 A Life .. Divi~e

·'•Nursing Garh--,.20~12-38 B. S. "It was my plan n.ot to accept any service any more. If I live long I may adopt the life of a Sannyasi (mendicant) and then 1 will. not ask or ·want anything from anybody and accept gracefully whatever is offered to me, as the Scriptures say.' He returned to Puri in about 1925~ In 1929 on the Akshoy Tritiya Day he built the temple of Sri Lahiry M:ahasay with marble statue on the same spot where he has seen Sri Lahiry Mabasay. ·This particular Day is observed every year with great eclat and festival at Puri (In about May} June).

DEATH OF HiS MOTHER SM. BHUBANESWARI DEVl-In about this time Sm, Bhubaneswari. Debi mother -of s·ri Sanyal Mahasay beca.me very much :ill practically on ·deathbed. She loved this her youngest son very much .and desired very much to see him at Rajmahal where she •was staying with her eldest son. News was se.nt to Sanyal ~M,ahasay who was then at Nursingh, Garh, a lo1;1g way off. ·Pis,tance being long. and time too short, nobody expected. ··Sanyal Mahasay to arrive there before her death but sui:pri· ~singly he arrived just in tirue to his mother~s satisfaction. -who died then peacefully. ·

In 19211he Freedom Movement spread far and wide hi 'India. A Professor of! Bhagalpore College, a disciple of ~sanyal Mqbasay decided to give up job and join the cmovement but before that he asked. th<e oph;tion of Sanyal :&fa?~say who s~at~d a~ follows 'If; at a~y time . ~;q~ ,:c~ll, · for -sacnf1q~ f~r the sake of observil}g Truth, arf~~~ thc:ui ;wbatev,~ll

_:e j~~~~:~!r~r~ot~~~~~;e:::edt::r ::~e~a~e.!~~ c9u~iiY' o~!i;

. _Mandar E:pisode 21

"Conscience should be. clear enough. to respond to the .caB of Tr-uth whether or not there is any encouragement or

l . agitation from outside. Those who. sacrifice their lives for \ the country, they are no doubt great souls but they who go . on silently working and without expecting anything, for the

welfare of the people, only as a behest of God, are greater. U the.love for motherland is opposed to Universal Broth­erhood and Love~then one ought to oppose such nationalism. No good can come out of it'.

Swami Ha·~jllarananda ·Giriof Karar Asram, Puri, got 5th and 6th kriyas from Sri Sanyal Mahasay . and also his

l ·permission for giv:ing dikhsas {S. Manna -Kriya Yoga Barta).

~- .

t f I

I CHAPTER IV ..

Mandar Episode

ETABL1SHMENT OF MANDAR ASHRAM-The Ourudham Ashram at Mandar is situate at about 6}8 miles distance from the small town of Mandar Hill also known as Madhusudan Nagar :(where the Mandar Hill is situate nearby) :and the place of ~he Asram is now known as GURUDHAM. 'The Mandar Hill itself is medium sized hill with grooves

· all around it measuring about 6 ft. in width ·.:and ab?at ~ inches in depth shewing that in very ancient ·days thts Hill was used as a stirrer te pick up the nectar from the ocean by the Gods in battle with the Asuras. i.e. the .devils.. There is temple .ef Sti Ma4husudanjiu visible from

22 A Life Divine

far awa~ and . which is stated to have been worshipped by Sn . Chaitanya on his way to Gaya. · Before the constructiOn of Temple Asram at Gutudham near Mandar Sanyal Mahasay saw in meditation, his Guru Sri Lahit;

Mahasay along with some other holy saints at a particul~;tr spot. ·

CHAPTER-V

The Las-t 1VIinistre1

THE END-The wife of Sri Sanyal Mahssay Sm. Kali La:e~ when he came to Mandar he had no difficulty iil recogmsmg the spot. In 1929 Gurudhaani Mandar Asram was started. In 1945 Veda Vidyalay was established. AU these Ashramas at Puri and Mandar are managed by Guru­~~m Trust Board, Gurudham, P.O. Baunsi-Dt-Bhagalpore j

1 ar. Gr~at helps were rendered by brothers Rudranaraya~ and. Ku~dtp Narayan Tripathy. Every year, the Annual . . Festtvelts held at Mandar on the birthdate of Sri Sanyal JYiahasay. whi.ch is . Sukl~·Sasthi day i•e. the day after the Saraswatt PuJa whtch is aenerally held . J . , .. t f "' m anuary, with

· Dasi Devi died on 7th Nov. 1959. After this Sri sanyal Mahasay's health also broke down and he breathed his last on 18th January-1:962 at 6-24 A.M. or 4th Magh 1369 B.S. at the age of 85 years. Till the last date he gave benedictions to all. A few days before his death his talk to his disciples may be taken as his last message which is important in many ways and reproduced mostly as follows:-

Sri Sri Baba-(To S9.tya:1>rain ) Look after this Temple yourself and you will be h:1ppy. 1 want this work to be done effeciently by a disciple of mine. 1f you offer only one or two flowers daily. even then Sri Lahiry Mahasay and myself will be happy. ( T~ Raman Bhai) 1 shall be very happy if Sheba-puja is also daily performed at Puri. You all are disciples or sons of Sri Lablry Mahasay. lt is my wish that Sri Lahiry Mahasay is regularly worshipped at all these places. Let nothil)g be brought from Puri to this place. He was actually staying at the said place. So let that Temple Asram of Puri remain there, this one is for you alL ...... Do not quarrel amongst yourselves my son. Do not discriminate between a Bengalee, a Bihari, or a Marwari etc .• Sri Thakur ( Lahiry Mahasay ) does not like it, he belongs to all aud all are his sons. Do not ask anything from outsiders. You all have some cult.ivable lands, contribute from it whatever is convenient to you.Give food to everybody who will come here.

great ec at or several days. Many holy Saints and Sadhus and . devotees assemble there and observe all religious fu?cttons properly. Sanyal. Mahasay's chief disciples were Sn Jwala P:asad . Trivedi and Sri Nikhil Nath Dey. His eld~st son Sn Kasipati Sanyal was also one of the t Knyabans. opmost

· •..

' \. I

24 A Life. Divine

Give something to me also (on being asked as to how he may be recognised) ... I may come in any form.~ ...... Before you die, give the charge of this temple to some one who would be able to shoulder the responsibility fully. When 1 shall come again, I will he happy to see how big this has become.

Even if anyone comes after 100 years from · hence he will find this has become so. great. (He began to weep saying) Save some money. I could not do any welfare work for the good of humanity because when I came here I was poor. Know this that whoever has sought Him, got Him. All are same, all are born equal. Whatever is desired by Sri Thakur, happens, consider Sri Thakur as God. Let all your mhid become one and same. Let us not forget that he has given us such a thing by which we can attain higher sphere, I can say this and that is why I came No one but one amongst you shall be able to do it (kept silent}. Call all of them who are present here. Let God's blessing be on all of you. Give this message whomsoever you meet that I have blessed him. God Bless him."

CHAPTER-VI

· Divine .Activities

A few personal and real experiences of some ~isciples from amongst many are reproduced hereunder ....

1. Sri Jwataprasad Tripathi-He was the principal Chela or disciple of Sri Sanyal Mahasay along with Sri Nikhil Nath

Divine activities · 25

Dey who stayed with him and served him in all respect all' along. He said that a few days before his demise Sri Gutu told him "I did not· come to this world alone, We_ were 9 persons who came all together.· latin Biswas, Satish· Chandra Sinha and others.· All of them have gone away. I am waiting for one of them to born again and then 1 will depart. Now I understand he is born and I will have to go. He. wm be a leader in this line and :disclose his identity in proper time~ In a letter to Sm. Khagendra Bala Dasi ·he wrote: "I will come agai'l:t, ~

2. SRI SANYAL MAHASAY~S VISIT TO PUSHKAR (HOLY HILL TEMPLE IN GOA ):-The Holy Hili Temple· at Pushkar in Goa in Western India contains the idol of Goddess Savitri. As stated JJy Sanyal Mahasay and noted by Sri Tewari-"Many years ago in summer I went up to the hi:ll to have a visit of the Goddess Savitri but after going to a considerable height in bot sun and the hilly tracts consisting of thorny bushes I became ethausted and had to lie down with great thirst. I could not move. After. a few minutes a. lady brought a jarful ()f water and told me Hyou are very' thirsty, drink this water". Without considering anything else I drank the water. Tbe lady took the jar and went away. At that moment I did not even think that a thank should be· given to bet. But as soon ·as she left I began to wonder

wherefrom she came because no one lived on or around the· hill for considerable distance. Then he went up the bill to

· the temple and narrated the incident to the priest asking him wlio the lady might be. The priest told me ''Have you become mad 1 How can any lady come here when nobody around this . Hill for miles aroundt live here. It must be the­do·ddess Savitri herself who offered you the water."

26 A Life Divine

3. BEFORE A WILD BUFFALOE ON SAHBBGANJ HILL :-( From a statement of Sanyal Mahasay -)-While in Sahebganj Sanyal Mahasay one day went up to the Hill where th~re is a temple, and the path of which was very narrow and steep, on one side was the hill and on the other deep gorg~s of sometimes more than 50ft depth. Not more than one P~rson could walk on it. While he was going up he heard some people are shouting ''Go away, go away, wild butraloe is running downward". Sanyal Mahasay was at a fix, there was no space at all to move aside. He saw the buffaloe coming running down with red eyes and moving its big thorns. He stood quietly at one side with folded hands and lookino at

"' the. buffaloe told it, "I am very much afraid, please P.ass on.,. The buffaloe stopped and touched Sanyal Mahasay•s shoulder with its mouth and went away calmly. .

4. A LAME MAN WALKS :-Just after the temple at Mandar was established many persons were invited from all over India to attend the inaugural ceremony. Large nn~ber of people gathered at the temple even 10/15 days before. 12000 poor people will be fed was also announeed. But it was found 3 days before the function that Sri Sanyal Mahasay had no money at all and everybody became worried. But Baba said that everything will be arranged. He then went ao visit Sri Madhusudan lieu at the temple of Mandar and while returning he was accosted by a Marwad disciple on the street and who was going on a wheel chair because his feet were paralytic and could not walk and who told Sanyal · Mahasay tha~ .he ~ill be highly pleased and obliged if Guruji kindiy pernnts h1m to perform Sheba and entertain all the guests. at the said function at his own expense and that he can serve food to all by his own hands. Sany~l ¥ahasay agreed and

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DiVine Activities 27

t.o the . surprise .of aU he actually walked on foot and served everybody to his great joy.

5. STORY OF'RUDRA NARAIN TEWARI~Sri Rudra NarainTewari was one of the Zamindars in Bhagalpore and he was a great devotee of Sri Sanyal Mahasay, but he neglected to manage his own affairs. Now when his daughter's

· marriage was fixed up he had no money. He told this to his· Gu~uji a~d asked for his advice. Guru]i told him to deeply remember Him~ and proceed. Thereafter there was no difficulty. Rudranarain prayed to Guruji so that he may have a visit of Guruji at the time of his death and to which

· Guruji agreed. This promise. was duly fulfilled in spite of many obstacles •

6, HAR NARAIN LAL'S STORY-He said ... one Mobitda, a disciple or Baba went to see Baba when he was at Benares. Arriving at ~the bouse where Baba lived, he found that Baba and Sri Ma were quarrelling with each other" over petty things. Mohitda, it seems, was a bit pessimistic. .Seeing thus he. became disgusted, he did not see Ba'ba and caine back and thereafter went to the temple of Vishwanath at Beneras. When he was about to pour Ganges water on the Siva idol he saw in place ·of Sivalinga it was Baba who was sitting there. Thinking it an hallucination, he tried several time from separate doors but it was all the same. At this he became very much ashamed and did not go to Baba again but returned to Bhaga1pore. ( It sems that the quarrel between Baba and Ma which he has · seen, was a show for reasons best known to them, to avoid the visit.)

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28 A Life Divf:ne

7. RAI BAHADUR SARAT CHANDRA ROY CHOW­DHURY'S STORY-Rai Bahadur was a government servant posted at Bankura in 1934. At this time his daughter's. marriage was settled there. But ~all on a sudden an order came from higher authority for his transfer. He was in a great fix; and was afraid that the settled fact of marriage may be unsettled. and so worried. He came to. Sri Baba and told his worries. Baba blessed him and told him not to worry. Surprisingly the order of transfer was cancelled and every­thing passed of peacefully. In 1936 Rai Bahadur was operated upon for gall Bladder" He bacame very. nervous. and always thought of Baba who advised him not to worry, Just after the operation he saw in a dream that a bird was taking away all the stones from his stomach at;~d every thing was alright.

8. SRI ATULANANDA GUHA'S STATEMENT-"! was given Oiksha by Sri Baba long ago but rarely thought or remembered him, In 1910 while in Dacca (now Bangladesh) I fell very ill. Baba was then at Mandar. Pain. becoming unbearable I began to think of Baba and sent several letters. One day one of my assistants came with a gentleman who

informed me that Sri sanyal Mahasay had come to his house

aud told me to meet him. I did and everything became·

alright. In 1950 while in Dacca severe Hindu-Muslim riot

was going on and I was suddenly stabbed on my chest by a

Muslim and was sent to Hospital. Regained consciou_sness

after 4 days. Nobody expected me to live. But then I received

a letter from Baba in which he said "Do not worry. every­

thing will be alright" and it was so."

Div~ AcUvities. 29'

9. SUNIL KUMAR GHOSH'S STATEMENT-I got Diksha. in 1957. Before that I had no idea of these things whatsoever. I was busy with my legal profession and sports and various. other public activities. My father died in 1956 and my wife­fell sevedy ill thereafter. I was in. a fix, when she recovered a bit I took her for a change at Mandar at one of my friends' house. Visited Madhusudanji and prayed for relief. Just thereafter accidentally I was introduced to Gurudbam Temple Asram of Sri Sanyal Mahasay and thereafter to Sri Sanyal Mahasay'when he came lo Calcutta and where I got Diksha-It was as if SriGuru has pulled me to himselfJn196lsuddenly I fell. seriously ill with severe stomach paln.Doctors suspected it was appendicitis but for operation I shall have to wait a. ·rew more days. During this time one day I suddenly began to feel vei:y severe and unbearable pain in my stomach specially in midnight. Then I looked at the photo of Sri Guruji in my room and asked "what have 1 done to deserve so much punishment". A few minutes after that I felt a sudden excruciating pain b'ut I fell· asleep. Next morning the Doctor could not feel the appendicitis, prescribed· some medicines and everything became alright. I did not know then that Sri Guruji was present in Calcutta at that . time and only for three days. It is needless to say that many of us frequently fall into serious troubles or distress fraught with danger to our lives, which was also the case with me,. many times, and 1 was miraculously saved by unseen band. It is always better to remember Him through Sri Guru and it

cost~ us nothing.

10. SRI TAPANDHAN MUKHERJEE SAYS-"In 1911-12 I went t() Pori where Sri Baba was staying. Some cave like small rooms were constructed for practising Kriyas. One:

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30 Divien Activities

morning Sri Baba entered into such aroom after telling us not to disturb him or call him so long as he will remain in said rc.~om. There· was one wind,ow which also was closed. Many 'hours passed but Baba was not coming out. So we became a bit worried. We suddenly found a black snake entering into the room through a small hole. We became n .. ''"US ·and· anxious for Baba. Then disregatding his instruction one of us slightly opened the window and found that the snake was lying near the feet o£ Guruji who was stroking the head ·of the snake as if for consolation. Later when asked, Sri Baba said that this snake, in its previous life, was a human being and his disciple but owing to some bad propensities . of his he died early and was born as a snake and is still suffering a lot of mental troubles having no peace. So he asked for relief and that is granted. The snake died next .day.

1~. Sm. MONISHA RAY SAYS-In 1954, one day my husband suddenly returned from his office with great pain in stomach. Doctor advised operation immediately. 1 wrote to Sri Baba asking for his advice and thereafter 1 went to his photo and wept, In reply Baba told not to worry and hold in patience and to report to him. The .Doctors were prepared but they could not diagonise and operation was not performed, but they wanted permission fOr probing, by operation. The situation being critical I had 'to· permit it. · In midnight, as if in dream, l saw Sri Bab'B standing with. a a stick in band and said "I have come, don't worry" operation pas performed and then it was alright. In 1966 I went to Lond~n with my husband,. arrived in. airport in midnight amidst heavy,rainand darkness. We knew nothing

Some Teacnings 3]

of London an'd were in great fix, we became very nervous and prayed to Guruji~ · Suddenly from nowhere a gentleman appeared and asked for our destination. On being told he said that his destination was· also near that so he escorted us safely, In spfte of our efforts we could not fin'd'him again. Again when returning from London we had to halt at Paris for whole night which meant a lot of expense and trouble. We were allowed to have small amount I, of money with which it ·was not possible to meet all expenses. We always were thinking of Guruji and our trouble. Suddenly a lady appeared before us and said that we seem to be known to her and then showed a photo of Sri Lahiry Mahasay. We also showed photos and all were pleased to find the reason for such close intimacy. She gave us 10 Dollars knowing that W:)·

cannot have so much . money with ourselves and gave her address ~f Canada where she resides. On our return to India we remitted the money .but it came back as "Not found''

CHAPTER. Vlf

Son:~.e Teachings

l. Guru the Master is a bodyless entity, all pervading. So also .y.ou consider that you are not your this body only or the mind oi:tly and. meditate on it repeatedly and'tb:en you ~ill kn~~.who y~u are. · Nobody can give· you' this· Self.:

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Realisation from his hand to your hand. You will have to iind it out yourself. Guru only shows the way.

2. You are connected with your Guru since eternity from many previous births. There is no need to take any trouble to find him out or to seek him. He will find you out. in . proper time. 1t is all pre-arranged;

3. God helps those whose objectives are good.

4. Analyse everything always and you will find gradually 'that your interests in those are becoming lesser and lesser to ,nil and then you will know what is actually good or what is evil.

5. 1 t is not difficult to realise him, what is difficult is to crave for him. ardently and seriously.

6. ·So long you do not know thyself this game of life and . death goes on, but as soon as you know thyself then this game is vanished.

1. You can not have Self-Realisation or realise God by ,practising Kriya for a few days or months. Go on practicing Kriyas that 1 have given you consistently for sometime and then you will get his blessing and then Him.

8. Keep it in your mind that your service to your elders <, ·.and towards your sons .and daughters :are ·all your service

•to the Supreme Mother Goddess.

9:. rr~ i~ ~aking each of us play according to .. his ,"'fi.~~~:~': ,~m,4 w,e- s~~~,l have t~, g~ on pl~~l~~ it; N~ ~~e .~?~~k~e~ ~9$.59 a~ ~J:.OtfpJpsom,,e or pamf1,1L Q~ly ~9 ~~ S!lflP:~,!~~O~ ffiY

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Some Teachings 33

Master, go on making me play as much: as you can. only please do not keep forgatten from yourself and your lotus feet.''

10. His sins are vanished whose heart becoine eager for the redress of others' griefs and sorrows. Unless yau behave in

this way, your body and soul will not get purified. And this is the greatest aim of human life ..

11. The greatest sorrow of this life is not to know Him and believe Him.

12. He who sees God"s mercy or ndness only when he saves us from a distress, is surely a poor soul.

13. We can crave for Him arid love or worship Him only ·when He gives us the blessing, otherwise not.

14. The ''1" that is within myself is also outside me. Oh . Mother you and I ai:e same .

15. "Jo Cbaha So paya'' ).e. he who craves, gets.

16. There is no need to ask anyone the path or address of God, only remember Him, feel in your heart the trend of His flute i. e, the direction towards which you are being pulled or drawn. ~nd then swim away to Him. This is the story of the path which is very secret that I have told you.

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