Devotees of Jamalpur Days

From: "Rambabu Maurya" To: am-global@earthlink.net Subject: Devotees of Jamalpur Days Date: Thu, 26 Nov 2005 09:02:27 +0530 Baba "Toma'ke cena' na'hi ja'y..." (P.S. 2089) Purport: Baba, You are so loving and close-- even then it is not possible to recognize You. Just when I think that I have recognized You, then my consciousness gets completely enveloped by the Cimmerian darkness. Baba, Your divine Presence shifts from one extreme to the next. On the one side You are so tough and other times You are very soft and sweet. Baba, sometimes You are vehemently sounding Your sermons by the beating of the marching drum and blowing of the military trumpets; and on other occasions You are smiling sweetly and showering Your causeless grace with the flower pollen. Baba, such is Your beauty. O' Baba, in the end, in the lonely, isolated moment, I see that everything happens by Your grace. What You desire, that is what happens-- that is the final truth. O' Parama Purusa Baba, in Your grand Kingdom, everything belongs to You. I cannot boast that anything is mine; indeed to think that something is mine is a crime. Because everything is created by You-- this whole expressed universe is Your mental projection. Then how can I say that anything is mine. Baba, only You are mine; everyone is Yours. Baba, everyone longs for Your karuna'-- divine compassion. Baba, to recognize You is not possible without Your grace. Baba only with the showering of Your grace can one realise You-- otherwise not. Baba please grace me...

== DEVOTESS FROM JAMALPUR DAYS ==

Namaskar, These days more and more Baba story books are coming whereby various Marga authors are giving their perspective. And still more publications are in queue since there are several hundred or even thousands and thousands of hours worth of recorded Baba stories-- a.k.a. Sansmaran-- on tape. So from various directions these stories will be coming into print. Yet for we Ananda Margiis, Baba's own guidelines about bhakti and devotion remain as our gold bar standard-- without which some simple persons might take fall into the current of those new Baba stories. Here are some excerpts from these various Baba story books; everyone can read and review these below accounts on their own to see how far they are running parallel with Baba's own pristine teachings.

STORY #1: ATTACHMENT TO POST AND PRESTIGE

Naginaji has written in Ananda Katha, "I have always been attached to the prestige of my status and so was very anxious to save my prestige. I was not able to get leave and go to Baba, therefore I wrote a letter about my problems to Him. I also wrote in the letter that I would prefer death to demotion and was least prepared to face a downfall in my rank." Naginaji posted the letter at the post office, and it reached to Baba. And then Naginaji tells, "At first Baba scolded me on my writing about my death. "You consider death to be a plaything." "Then He (Baba) explained how promotion and demotion are part of a service career and one should not be perturbed at these. He also told that attachment to the status of a post is wrong. He advised me that it would be in my interest to accept the demotion that was coming." "I (Naginaji) was not at all ready to accept this situation." Baba tried to convince Naginaji. Baba told, "This is a samskara of your past life and it would be best to suffer it." "Even so, I (Naginaji) was not ready to accept it." "Baba then began to coax me in the same manner as parents do when a child begins to insist on something." Naginaji did not follow Baba's suggestion and he (Naginaji) furthermore wrote, "I thought over Baba's words for some time and then it came to my mind that everyone in this world wants to rise. No one ever wants demotion."

ABOUT JAMALPUR ERA SADHAKAS

As we all know Naginaji, the author of the above story, is one of those early Jamalpur sadhakas. And here is more background about that. Some margiis think that those sadhakas of the early Jamalpur days were great devotees-- that they were ideal. So thinking like this, they accept their fashion of doing as the proper way. As if everything that those Jamalpur sadhakas did was perfect or dharmic. But we have to watch and logically assess the situation and see how far their actions were truly ideal. The sense is a rational approach is always needed because otherwise a wrong conclusion misleads the entire situation. For example, in various communities many people blindly believe that everything their ancestors did was great. So with that feeling they follow all those dogmatic things done by their fore-fathers. All because they failed to use their own rationality. The key issue is that a wrong conclusion or following dogma is always problematic-- producing negative results. Keeping all of the above in view, here following is the next story for evaluation:

STORY #2: PAYING HEED TO BABA'S REQUEST-- OR NOT

The below topic is related with one commonly known Baba's story during the very earlier days in Jamalpur. The scene is that Baba wanted to do an important demonstration and execute one very needed task for the welfare of all. Since Baba's central aim behind performing this demonstration was to protect humanity from the evil minded strategies of Stalin. So in gracious mood Baba lovingly expressed His desire to one sadhaka. Baba requested the sadhaka if he would like to do this. Baba was seeking his compliance and Baba comforted and reassured that sadhaka that everything would be okay. But the sadhaka in a very blunt and direct manner turned down Baba's suggestion-- he told Baba that, 'No I cannot do this'. Perhaps it should be made clear that this sadhaka was one important margii of those early days, who was initiated prior to 1955. In our AM society that sadhaka receives a lot of respect. So here follows that fateful part of the story where this sadhaka outrightly rejects Baba's important request. "Baba was sitting in the tiger's grave in Jamalpur.... Haraprasad Haldar (commonly known as Hara da, the father-in-law of Kinshuk) was with Him. There was also another person whose name was not known. Baba was discussing something with them. Baba then suddenly asked Hara da if he would like to experience death. Hara da was afraid and refused... Baba said to him that he had nothing to fear and that he would be brought back to life. Still he did not agree." Thus in gracious mood Baba is giving this sadhaka the extraordinary opportunity to comply with one great work. And Baba goes so far as to give full assurance & guarantee that all would be well. That 100% of His grace would be with him and the outcome would be auspicious. But still that respected Jamalpur era sadhaka refused Baba. But because Baba had a strong determination to execute His dharmic task so He did this work by the following way. The story continues like this. "Then Baba called a person walking past the tiger's grave wearing Territorial Army uniform. He was a Bojpuri speaking person and Baba spoke to him in that language. Baba asked him to sit near the grave on the ground. He assumed special mudra (posture) with His hands. Suddenly that soldier collapsed on the ground. Baba asked Hara da to check his pulse. Hara da found that he was dead. Baba said that He was bringing a Vidhehi Atma or a body-less mind into that body..." Then after the great work of dharma was complete then Baba restored perfect health and life back into the soldier's body. The story continues: "He [Baba] then ordered the soldier to return to his own body. In a while there was again some movement in that dead body. A while later he woke up and sat... [And] after a short while he got up and walked away neither knowing that he was dead for a while or nor anything about all that had happened through the medium of his body." So this is one story which directly or indirectly guides us to always comply with the Lord's wishes. No doubt on the one hand when Parama Purusa desires then He gets work done by any way or any method. And that time Baba was forced into such a situation because that Jamalpur era sadhaka was not willing to cooperate. But we should pay heed to the inner sense and spirit behind all of this-- namely that that devotees should be ever-ready to respond to the Cosmic call of the Lord.

SOME OF BABA'S RELEVANT TEACHINGS

And these following teachings of Baba lead in that very direction-- that the best devotees are always ready to toss aside their unit desires and do anything and everything to please Parama Purusa, to satisfy His every request and comply with His every wish. Baba says, "What should be the nature of one's love for Parama Purus'a?.... those who are A-grade devotees will say, "We will establish a loving relationship with Parama Purus'a not so that we can derive pleasure from it, but rather so that He will be pleased thereby. Whether I get pleasure or not is immaterial." (SS-11) Then comes the famous story how the devotees of Vrindaban were ready to sacrifice their everything for the Lord. Baba continues, "There is a story that once Lord Krs'n'a fell seriously ill. Various medicines were administered, but the disease could not be cured. Many physicians were consulted but no one could diagnose the disease. Finally Lord Krs'n'a Himself was asked, "What is the medicine for this disease?" He replied, "See here, if any of my true devotees agrees to give the dust particles of his feet, only that will cure my disease." Then the sage Narada made a frantic search throughout the world to find such a true devotee, but as was expected, nowhere could such a devotee be found. Whomever Narada approached was shocked to hear such a proposal and protested, "How can we give the dust particles of our feet to the Lord? That would be the highest blasphemy, and for that we would be doomed into the lowest hell!" No such devotee as Lord Krs'n'a had suggested was to be found anywhere." "At long last Narada went to Brajabhu'mi, and there he explained the situation to the people. No sooner had they heard the news of Lord Krs'n'a's illness than they cried out in chorus, "Alright, we are ready to give our foot-dust for our Lord!" Flabbergasted, Narada asked them, "How can you say this? If your foot-dust is smeared on the forehead of the Lord, will you not incur great sin thereby?" The Brajabhu'mi replied unhesitatingly, "Perhaps we may incur sin thereby, and we are ready to enter hell for that. But if the dust-particles of our feet can cure our beloved Lord, that would be wonderful." This is the epitome of devotion, and to please Parama Purus'a we must develop this type of exclusive devotion." (SS-11) And here below Baba furthermore guides us that the greatest devotees live their lives with one goal in mind-- to serve and please Parama Purusa. Baba says, "The devotees with [the highest type of] kevala' bhakti in their hearts do not ask Parama Purus'a for anything...the devotee says, "I serve Him, I worship Him, because I want Him to get bliss from my devotion or service or worship. I don't want anything for myself. I want Him to enjoy the bliss." This type of devotion is called ra'ga'tmika' bhakti, and the type of devotee having this sort of non-attributional devotion is called a gopa.... 'A gopa is one who gives pleasure to Parama Purus'a, one whose very nature is to give pleasure to Parama Purus'a'." And there are so many guidelines leading in that direction that one should be ever- ready to always do anything and everything for Parama Purusa.

STORY #3: SOLDIER STORY REVISITED

But unfortunately the sadhaka from that early Jamalpur era acted in such a way that runs contrary to the spirit of what a true devotee should do. Here again is that story where the sadhaka rejected Baba's request. "Baba was sitting in the tiger's grave in Jamalpur.... Haraprasad Haldar (commonly known as Hara da -father-in-law of Kinshuk) was with Him. There was also another person whose name was not known. Baba was discussing something with them. He then suddenly asked Hara da if he would like to experience death. Hara da was afraid and refused... Baba said to him that he had nothing to fear and that he would be brought back to life. Still he did not agree." "Then Baba called a person walking past the tiger's grave wearing Territorial Army uniform. He was a Bojpuri speaking person and Baba spoke to him in that language. Baba asked him to sit near the grave on the ground. He assumed special mudra (posture) with His hands. Suddenly that soldier collapsed on the ground. Baba asked Hara da to check his pulse. Hara da found that he was dead. Baba said that He was bringing a Vidhehi Atma or a body-less mind into that body..." "He [Baba] then ordered the soldier to return to his own body. In while there was again some movement in that dead body. A while latter he woke up and sat... [And] After a short while he got up and walked away neither knowing that he was dead for a while or nor anything about all that had happened through the medium of his body."

A TIME FOR REFLECTION

So these are some incidents from that Jamalpur era which speak about how some of those sadhakas behaved. At the same time, we should always remember that those who are fortunate & blessed, those devotees are always ready to follow the command of Parama Purusa. They have no personal desire rather they think that the desire of Parama Purusa is everything. Parama Pita' Baba Ki-- Jai!!! Namaskar, Rambabu

NOTE 1: ABOUT SOCIAL PRESTIGE AND RESPECT

If people receive respect in the social sphere then that is one matter. But unfortunately often enough common people due to their own innocence and naïveté, they mix up social status with spiritual or devotional realisation. They confuse these two things. They think that 'he or she was this relation to Baba', or 'that way he was close to Him, or 'during that time he was GS or PA or xyz, & that is why he is great'. So in their simplicity people confuse that such social post or position automatically means that that person is a great devotee also. But this is not the case. For example, if we look into the history of the Mahabharata days then we see that the Pandavas had huge social status whereas many devotees of Vrindaban did not have such social prestige. But those Gopis had more devotion than the royal Pandavas. Baba reveals this very concept in not one or two but in several Prabhat Samgiita. In contrast, Baba hardly composed any songs related with the greatness of the Pandavas in the devotional sphere. By all this it is clear that social post has no bearing on the height or level of one's devotion.

Note 2: BABA'S ETERNAL TEACHINGS ON BHAKTI

These following quotes all lead in the same direction. That the highest grade bhaktas base their entire existence on giving pleasure to Parama Purusa. Baba says, "The final stage of bhakti develops in a spiritual aspirant. And what is that bhakti? What is that devotion? It is ra'ga'tmika' bhakti. "O God, O Na'ra'yan'a, O Krs'n'a, I love You. Why do I love You? Not for my own pleasure. I love You because I want to give You pleasure. I want my love to give You pleasure. That's why I love You." (SS-24) Baba says, "The highest-grade devotees say, "I want all my actions to give You joy. It's immaterial whether that brings joy or pain to me, it doesn't bother me at all. My only task is to give You joy". This is called ra'ga'tmika bhakti and is the devotion of the highest category. One should possess this type of devotion. "I will do those actions which will make Parama Purus'a happy, but which may or may not bring joy to me." Human beings should act in this way. (DKG) Baba says, "Only those sa'dhakas are great devotees who do not aim simply on attaining bliss but work for giving bliss to Para'matma'." (SS-19) Baba says, "Bhaktirbhagavato seva'." "I don't want anything from You, I don't want even to know You, I only want to serve You." Herein lies the excellence, as well as the superiority of Bhakti." (AVM-15) Baba says, "In the final phase of devotion, the devotee says, "No, no, no. I love You not because I get pleasure by loving You. I love You because I want that You should get pleasure by my love. That is, my love is just to give You pleasure, not to give me pleasure. In order to give You pleasure, I love You. I want nothing. And I don't want You -- I want that I should be Yours. I don't want You -- I want that I should be Yours." (SS-21)

Note 3: STORY #4: ABOUT SOMEONE'S SMOKING HABIT

Naginaji writes, "In order to prepare the constitution of this Samgha, some disciples gathered on the 25th December 1954." "In the room we spread a blanket on the floor and started deliberating on the constitution. On one side there was a small wooden bed with cushions on it. On that bed there was a photograph of Baba in varabhaya mudra, in a beautiful frame. Shri Pranay Kumar Chatterjee used to stay in this house and we were under the impression that this was his quarter. Baba had given demonstrations in the back room of this very same house during the previous month of November 1954. After some discussion the composition began and everyone asked me to write. I (Naginaji) started doing so under their dictation." "The writing continued for a long time. At about three in the afternoon I sought permission to go out for give minutes for a stretch. They sensed my need and asked whether I (Naginaji) was going out for a smoke. I replied in the affirmative." Naginaji continues, "As I was about to light my cigarette, Shrii Pranayji who stayed in that house, took away Baba's photograph to another room." Naginaji furthermore tells, "I lit the cigarette and after one or two puffs it went out. I tried to light it again, but meanwhile the last match burned itself out without lighting the cigarette." Naginaji continues, "Shri Deep Narayanji and myself (Naginaji) started towards Baba's place. When we reached there, we found Baba very angry. Just looking at His face we understood that this was His 'rudra rupa' or face of anger. I had never seen Baba in this mood before. Both of us therefore were frightened." "In this state of fear we tried to do pranam, but Baba said in an angry tone, "Get away"." "I was completely abashed." Naginaji concluded, "Baba said in the same angry tone, "Go from here now".

*************************************** Degraded Acaryas

Baba says, "Unfortunately so many so-called spiritual teachers are inculcating defective and narrow ideas in the name of spirituality to serve their own self-interests...These 'religious merchants' with their non-integral outlook-- want to divide humanity into different communities." (APH-5, p.301-02) Note: In the above teaching, Baba is indicating and making reference to those degenerated acaryas who are spreading the poison of groupism in the minds of margiis.

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