Friday, May 31, 2013


92. Paul Brunton. Part Four

There are two spiritually noteworthy episodes during his travels in Egypt (‘a search in secret Egypt’). One is an account of the night he spent in the Great Pyramid and the other is his meeting with an Adept.

Night in Great Pyramid. Brunton spent a night in King’s chamber. The place was pitch dark and there was oppressive death like silence. Brunton was a psychic. He soon felt implacably hostile forces surrounding him. At first he could not see them, but could only feel them with absolute certainty. The atmosphere became uncanny and frightening. With intense concentration of mind he became able to see them. At first there were shadows flitting in shadowless room. Soon they took form. Malevolent faces took form quite close to his face. A dark apparition advanced, looked at him sinisterly, and raised its hands menacingly.

After some time the climax came. Monstrous elemental fiendish creations surrounded him and filled him with unimaginable revulsion. In a few minutes he suffered such torment that he could not forget it for the rest of his life

Atmosphere suddenly changed to peace and benevolence. He was soon aware of two tall beings clad in white robes and sandals. They appeared to be high priests of some ancient Egyptian order. One of them said, in a voice “why dost thou come to this place, seeking to evoke the secret powers? Are mortal ways not enough for you? ”

“They are not”

The priest warned him of the dangers, but Brunton was adamant

“He who gains touch with us loses kin with the world. Are you prepared to walk alone?”

“I do not know” Brunton replied

“So be it. Thou hast chosen. There is no recall………” And he left.

The other priest made him lie flat on the stone sarcophagus. He did something. Brunton felt an ascending paralysis, which started from his feet and rose to his brain. He was conscious but completely paralyzed. He felt like being going out of a hole and passing out in space.

He was free.

He had changed into a mental being. He felt blissfully free, in this fourth dimension.

Somebody turned him from a horizontal to a standing position. He was both standing and floating simultaneously.

He gazed down upon the deserted body of flesh and bone, which was lying prone and motionless on the stone block.

He noted an umbilical cord like faint silvery string connecting him, the new him, to the motionless body on the stone.

A distinct idea formed in his mind;

“………..now I have proven that I am a soul. I do not need convincing anymore. I can exist apart from my body.”

The priest appeared at his side and said prayers “O AMEN, O AMEN……………….”

Then he said “thou hast learnt a great lesson. Man whose soul was born out of Undying, can never really die…………”

The priest told him some other things and also took him to a secret chamber.

The reader can read the details in Brunton’s book.

He regained consciousness. He had fever for three months.

Meeting with an adept. Brunton was doing studies in the Valley of the Tombs of Kings. One morning, he climbed up the Theban hills with his donkey.  On the summit he saw a man sitting on a low boulder. When the man looked at him, Brunton was so impressed by the stranger’s eyes that he became speechless. He became aware that he was in the presence of an utterly unusual man. The eyes were large and beautiful, perfect circles of luminous color, and the whites were so pronounced as to give supernatural depth to the jet-black pupils. They were penetrating and hypnotic. Brunton felt that they read his soul and then ruled it.

Suddenly Brunton saw a radiant spoked wheel of light revolve before him ………..at high speed. With its working there was a receding of his physical moorings………

“Sir, I feel sure that you will understand a peculiar experience which I have just had whilst standing near to you”

“I do”

Brunton said something else.

The stranger said “I deliberately wanted you to have this experience. I willed that it should silently carry to you a certain message; and it has”.

“You mean----?”

“That now you recognize the Order to which I belong”

The Adept told him that this was not a chance meeting, but a higher power had first ordained and then arranged it.

The Adept told him about himself and the ways of fellow Adepts. They preferred to work in secrecy. They could communicate with each other at will and at any distance. They could temporarily take over the body of a willing person-------usually a disciple.

They hold the spiritual welfare of mankind at heart, and battle against the dark forces at their own level. They are not permitted to destroy evil forces or evil men by Nature’s laws. Their powers were restricted to protection of persons and institutions which were under their shield.

The purpose of this meeting was, for Brunton to warn mankind, through his writing, that with digging of these ancient tombs, evil spirits which were captive in these tombs for thousands of years, were being released. The people buried in some of these tombs dealt in black magic. These malevolent forces were going to harm humanity, and if the digging was not stopped, mankind will have to pay a price ( this warning was off course ignored by governments. Few years later there was 2nd World war in which over 60 million people were killed, over 2.5% of the world population.). However, there were good sages too. Pharoah Akhnaton , who preached one God, 3500 years ago, was one such.( see footnote)

In their next meeting the Adept gave this astonishing statement, that some of the Adepts of ancient Egypt were still alive!

Their bodies were buried in secret tombs. Their bodies were intact. To all intents and purposes, they were dead , with no respiration or heart beat. Their tremendous spirituality protected their bodies from insects and decay. But they were not dead but entranced. Their spirits roamed freely in the world. They communicated with each other and alive  Adepts

There was one Adept who was in his tomb since 260 B.C., another more than 3000 B.C., and still another for 10,000 years. They were all working very actively in secret for the spiritual welfare of mankind.

As I am writing these lines, a strange thought comes to me, that maybe Data Gunj Bakhash ( blog 62-4 ) is an Adept just like those described above. His intense interest for welfare of humanity and active help to needy for a thousand years, resembles those of Adepts who are dead but not really dead.

Who knows such sublime secrets, certainly, not this unworthy mote.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Note. Some times after Brunton’s death his son had a dream. In the dream Brunton said that over here his teacher was Amenhotep. His son, after some search, found out that Amenhotep was the original name of Akhnaton (in ‘ Paul Brunton, a personal view by Kenneth Hurst )


Wednesday, May 29, 2013


91. Paul Brunton. Part Three

 

One day, while motoring, he saw a holy man and his disciple by the road. The holy man was meditating. He was dressed in a loin cloth only. Something in the man’s face attracted Brunton. He offered them a ride to the nearby village. The yogi’s name was Chandi Das, and according to the disciple, was gifted with exceptional powers. They had been wandering, village to village, now for two years.

At night, he interviewed the yogi. During the interview the conversation turned to time. The yogi asked Brunton if he was sure there was such a thing as time. Brunton implied, that there was present, past, and future, therefore, there was time, because, otherwise, past and future should be here at this time, but that was not our experience. The yogi countered that such was Brunton’s experience, not necessarily true. Puzzled, Brunton asked Chandi Das whether he could see future. The yogi replied “if I wished……yes.”

Then he uttered this sentence, which this mote has thought about for years.

Only in part. The lives of men do not move so smoothly that every detail is ordained for them.”

In the discussion about fate versus free will, this sentence carries great significance, because this pronouncement was uttered by somebody who knew what he was talking about.

The yogi told him many things about his future. Some of them had already come true by the time the book was written while others still waited the verdict of time ( see footnote )

One of the things, the yogi said, was that to achieve his goal; he must turn his car back to Bombay. He also said that he will get his wish before the next full moon. A sage awaited him, with whom he was tied by ancient ties. (These predictions came true).

Brunton followed the advice. After great mental conflict and ill health, he decided to cancel his berth in the ship, sailing next week to England, and returned to Maharishee in Arunachala.

Brunton asked Maharishee to become his master. Maharishee refused, and said, “You must find the master within you, within your own spiritual self.” He spent several weeks with Maharishee. Sometimes Maharishee would visit his hut. One day he told Brunton, “The same force which drew you to this place from Bombay, drew me to it from Madura (his hometown )”.

Brunton would get ineffable tranquility by sitting for a while in the neighborhood of Maharishee. Maharishee was not a yogi in the orthodox sense, he had never studied any system of yoga, and he had never practiced under a teacher.

One night, while sitting in the hall, Brunton got his first smadhi. It lasted for about two hours. He lost all consciousness of his surroundings. He felt rapture. He found himself outside the rim of world consciousness. Earth disappeared.  He found himself in the midst of blazing light………………………..

Brunton has described his experience in six pages of his book.

His friend, sitting next to him, told, “the Maharishee watched you closely all the time………” Brunton lost his power of speech for fifteen minutes.

Maharishee returned to his divan and looked intently at Brunton. Their eyes met. Their eyes were locked, across the room, for the next forty minutes. They did not exchange a word. His eyes, as always, had a strange luster.

Brunton reminded himself that never had he met any man with such remarkable eyes. In so for human eyes could mirror divine power, it was a fact that the sage’s did that.

Brunton was happy to achieve certitude. He was also happy that he did not sacrifice his rational way of thinking to blind credulity (also called faith or belief in religion)

What was the purpose of Maharishee’s life, which many Westerners would consider a waste?

This mote thinks his life served three purposes:

1. According to Brunton, people like Maharishee, ensure the continuity down history of a divine message from regions not easily accessible to us all. They make us believe in God

2. They tell us of a method to reach God, or one’s own self. They tell us  what self was and what were its characteristics, and why should one try to reach it. Why is such quest the noblest of all quests?

3. Maharishee, in his own invisible way, applied balm to the wounds of tortured souls, everyday. He imparted peace and tranquility upon them. Even his close disciple , Ramiah, had this power, as experienced by Brunton himself, in his hour of distress.

Remember in blog 89, Brunton stated, that not too long ago, he thought of God as a delusion. Let me quote from his book, “ a hermit in the Himalayas” published in 1937:

‘ I think the final news which I bring…………………….that of God’s reality. The highest power is no mere article of belief to me, but a verity…..authentic, undeniable and supreme………..’

‘ His language is nothing else than this stillness………….we must learn His language……………..’

‘ be still, and know that I am God’                                         

To be continued
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note. Chandi Das said that Brunton would not again meet a saint in Bengal, who Brunton was planning to meet, that he would leave India by the next  solstice, that he would become very sick as he left India, and that the would visit India three times in his life.
,

Tuesday, May 28, 2013


90. Paul Brunton. Part two

Next day the swami took Paul Brunton to the hill of Arunachala where the Maharishee lived. The Maharishee had come to that hill about thirty years ago, as a young man of seventeen, and never left that place even for a day. A mysterious force pulled him from his home. He left family, studies, and arrived at Arunachala without money. He sat in meditation, naked, near the temple, and talked to no one for three years. He was persuaded by the priests to wear a loin cloth. After sometime he moved to a cave in the hill and pursued his trance like state for several years. He would go to the village and beg for food. His fame spread. He now lived in a shed (hall). He talked extremely little and sat and slept on a divan in a corner of the hall. Visitors came everyday and sat in semicircles on the red-tiled floor at a respectable distance from the Maharishee.

Brunton saw a man seated in a rigid posture on the divan, completely immobile, gazing outside. After one hour, Brunton was convinced that the Maharishee was in a trance. After one hour of sitting in the hall, Brunton became aware that a deep peace had come upon his soul. All the questions he had prepared in his mind to ask from Maharishee were gone. He did not feel any need for questions.

Brunton had two interviews with the Maharishee. He asked the Maharishee whether he could help him to experience enlightenment, or if his search for Truth was a mere delusion?

After some preliminaries, the Maharishee replied “there is only one thing to be done……look into your own self……..”

He further added “Through deep reflection on the nature of one’s self, and through constant meditation, light can be found.”

Brunton asked that what was the average time required for such a quest.

Maharishee replied that there was no average. It depended on the maturity of the seeker’s mind, gunpowder lighted at once whereas much time was needed to light coal.

That night, in the hall, Brunton fell in half-sleep and had a vivid dream:

‘He had become a boy of five, and was holding the hand of Maharishee, who had become a tall towering figure. They climbed the hill of Arunachala………………………………….Maharishee looked at him and he at Maharishee………………he felt a change occurring in him………………………..all his previous fears, desires changed into nothingness……an indescribable peace fell upon him………………………………….

Maharishee bade him look down. To his astonishment he found the Western hemisphere sprawled far below, with millions of people………………

Maharishee’s distinct voice comes in his ears: ‘ when you go back , you shall have this peace which you now feel…………………..but you shall have to forget your self…………….and turn it over to THAT’

He woke up. He met Maharishee’s eyes. Maharishee was fixedly looking into his eyes.

On his second interview he learnt some more pearls of wisdom:

‘Maharishee said that every person was ever wanting happiness. …………………………Therefore man’s true nature was happiness…………………….his unconscious search for happiness was the search for his true self. The true self was imperishable; therefore when he finds it, he finds everlasting happiness.

When a man finds his true self, something else arises from the depth of his being, which takes possession of him. That something is eternal, divine, and infinite.

Happiness and true self were identical.’

He also became fully convinced that a mysterious power arises from the Maharishee which imparts peace and tranquility over others

 

Brunton resumed his travels of India. In Benares, one of the holiest cities of Hinduism, he heard of an astrologer who was very good in his craft. Since Brunton did not believe in astrology, he was intrigued, and decided to give it a test. He went to the astrologer’s house with a friend. He was startled by the death-like countenance, incredibly lean body, and unearthly slow movements of Sudhei Babu, the astrologer. They discussed some subjects. Sudhei Babu invited him for more talk, next day.

Sudhei Babu told him that he was in possession of some parts of a thousands of year old book called Brahma Chinta, written by the sage Bhrigu. It taught a different form of yoga than any other. In this yoga, the spirit of Bhrigu guides the practitioner. One does not need any teacher; one’s own soul becomes his teacher.  The purpose of this yoga was to go into a ‘Holy Trance ‘. In that condition, man becomes free from his surroundings. He discovers the soul as a real living thing within himself; its bliss, peace and power overwhelms him. When one enters into the sacred trance, a kind of vacuum is created in the mind; God…………………………the soul, the higher power, fills this vacuum. There is intense happiness. One feels a great love for the whole of creation.

“Once, during the sacred trance, I saw Jesus.”

Sudhei Babu taught Brunton this secret yoga over the next several days

To be continued

 

 

 

Monday, May 27, 2013


89. Paul Brunton. Part one

Paul Brunton went to India in search of Yogis and Fakirs, in early nineteen thirties.

He had heard that in remote areas of India and Tibet, there exist very very few men who had trained there mental and physical faculties to an extraordinary degree and possessed occult powers. He was determined to find these supermen, if they still existed. The thought of finding spirituality, or divine light was not his main aim, although he considered that too. It is not clear from his book, which he published in 1934, whether he believed in God before he went to India. He writes in the first chapter of his book (‘a search in secret India’) that not too long ago he thought God a hallucination of human mind.

This book is one of the most delightful books to read. It is full of suspense and adventure. The author writes beautiful prose, each word fits nicely like a jewel. It is a story which reminds one of explorers like Magellan, and Columbus. The destination hidden and uncertain.

Brunton landed in Bombay and met a real magician, who had thirty disembodied entities at his command. The magician demonstrated his powers by showing him examples which defied any logical explanation.

His first encounter with a genuine Fakir was with, a hundred or so, years old woman (Hazrat Babajan ), who was famous in that area. She was sick and bedridden. She gazed in Brunton’s eyes and said that he has been called to India. At that time he did not believe it, because he had come to India at his own free will, but at the end of his journey he was not so sure. One other person, subsequently, said the same thing.

He met his first Yogi, Brama, who was still in training. He practiced Yoga of body control. He could stop his heart for few seconds. He could go in trance like condition and stop his breathing. He claimed that his master was four hundred year old. His master was several hundred miles away, but he could communicate with him. His master told Brama that in previous life Brunton was one of them, but now he had come in white skin, and to tell him that soon he will meet a master. Light will come to him after that, and that was certain. He will not go from India empty-handed.

Brunton learnt of a yogi who lived alone in a cottage in strict seclusion. He spent his days in deep trance like condition. He had come to that place eight years ago from nowhere. He squatted in yoga posture, in a piece of wasteland which was close to a field where now his cottage had been built, in the suburbs of busy Madras city. He talked to no one. He did not change his posture. He had no overhead coverage. So he sat there under burning sun and pouring Monsoon rains, clad only in a loincloth. He would sometime go for begging food. One time street boys started beating and persecuting him regularly, but he would never say a word, and undergo the maltreatment patiently. Once police came to know they stopped it. Eventually his fame spread and somebody built this cottage for him. He was a disciple of a famous Fakir, Marakayar, who had since died. He had come to that wasteland at the orders of his master, who had described this place to him, and told him to practice yoga over there till he became perfect.

Brunton saw the man sitting, unmoving, like a statue, on a dais, in a yoga posture. What struck him most was that for two hours that Brunton watched him, he did not blink! His eyes were open, staring straight ahead. Finally he showed signs of awareness of his surroundings. Brunton introduced himself and posed questions. The mystic gave this answer:

Seek your own self, and you shall know the Truth which is hidden therein

This mote is struck by the fact, that two other mystics, Sudhei Babu and Maharishee Ramana whom Brunton later met, said exactly the same thing. All three talked of self and not God! Is God and self the same?

There was another swami sitting, he told Brunton to meet his master who could answer all his questions. The swami also said that it was his master’s power which had drawn him to India!

Next day, unexpectedly, he met the spiritual head of South India, His Holiness Shri Shankara Acharya. He told His Holiness that he wanted to meet a high caliber Yogi, who could give some sort of proof of his attainment. His Holiness replied; that he knew of two such men . One of them was a recluse, but the other was the same master that the swami had mentioned.

That night he suddenly woke up around three. The atmosphere seemed to be charged. The room was totally dark. Suddenly he became aware of a bright object at the foot of the bed. He saw the face and form of His Holiness Shri Shankara!

Lips smiled and seem to say “Be humble and then you shall find what you seek!”

To be continued.

 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013


88. Indra Devi. Part 2

She entered Sri Aurobindo and Mother’s ashram in 1949, at the age of 29. She had multiple smadhi experiences. Generally, they were two types:

1. She would feel being drawn inwards. She would feel complete absorption, but consciousness was not completely lost. She would experience ecstasy or yearning. Sometimes she felt viraha (pangs of separation).  She would, occasionally, dance in rapture. Such state is called bhava smadhi

2. She would experience an electric current, starting from the base of spine and shooting upwards to the crown of head. Then she would feel like head opening up, and setting her free, floating in the space. There would be peace, waves of ecstasy, thoughtlessness, and freedom from time and space. Yet she would remain conscious of her personality, her I-ness. Such state is called savikalpa smadhi.

3. Three times she was blessed with the experience of nirvikalpa smadhi ( the highest form of smadhi )                                   It started with waves traversing from the base of spine to the head, feeling of opening of the head, and  floating in space. But, additionally, she completely lost her identity. I-ness was gone. There was nobody to experience. No God, no devotee. She had lost all consciousness to become consciousness. There was just bliss and one vast Reality……………………………………………………………………………..

Miracles. She displaced many psychic feats. She could, at times, see events hundreds of mile away and predict future happenings. However she once showed this powerful miracle:

Her guru sang a song which put her in deep smadhi. As soon as she came out of smadhi, she asked the others whether she should get some prasad (consecrated candy). None was available. She walked down the steps and got some sandy earth. She took it in her folded hands and went into smadhi. It turned into granulated prasad. It was distributed to the three persons encircling her. Then she folded her empty hands and went again into smadhi. When she opened her hands there was some more prasad. Dilip put the remaining prasad in an envelope. He also stored the sandy soil, which was originally been given to Indra, in a separate envelope. They went for dinner. After dinner, Indra, told Dilip that the soil has also partially turned into prasad. Dilip rushed to his room. Envelope was opened. Part of the mud was still mud, the rest had turned into prasad.

Mirabai. Mirabai is one of the most famous saints of India. Her songs of love and yearning for Lord  Krishna have been sung by devotees for the last five centuries. Her spirit started communicating with Indra. Indra became a ward of Saint Mira. Mira sang her songs in original Hindi of that time to Indra, who would then dictate them to Dilip, who would then sing them back to Indra. She eventually dictated more than eight hundred of such songs. The songs were in a language that Indra did not even know!( her folks spoke Punjabi and Urdu, although Urdu is similar to Hindi ).

Some thoughts. 1.:  "If one has read all the scriptures in the world………………….learned all the postures, killed all desires, learned to sit still for hours…………..yet his bigotry is intact……………………he feels other religions, other prophets, other modes of worship are wrong and only his way is right, then one may be anything but he is not a yogi."

2. Her love for her Beloved is the reality of her life. It is like air to her. Whether or where she shall arrive is not very important because all she needs is to love Him and seek Him. There is no urge to become anything at journey’s end.

Her prayer is to give herself completely to Him. It is not her aim to help or better the world. Everything which comes from God is a blessing: joy or pain, love or rejection.  “Only reveal to me Your will and the way to do it……………………………………………………………………….good or bad, whatever I am, belongs to You………………………………………that You draw me closer to You is all I ask”

 

87. Indra Devi . Part one

Indra Devi was seven years old, when she picked up the fallen walking stick of a fakir ( a Muslim mystic ), and handed it back to him in Ziarat ( Baluchistan, Pakistan ). The fakir said that this was not their first meeting and it won’t be the last, and that he will come to her in her hour of need.

She was fifteen years old when she was bitten by a dog and developed rabies (a universally fatal disease at that time) and hydrophobia (fear of water). As she was near death, her brother happened to meet the same fakir, who came to her bedside at once, and cured her. His name was Rajib Sain, and Indra saw him later, a few times, in her inner vision.

In May 1935, at 3 am, a female voice woke her up from sleep and told her to get up and leave the house at once. Voice came repeatedly. She left the bed and ran outside, and told some relatives to do the same also. An earthquake came and house collapsed. Thirty people from that house died.

Soon she realized that she was different. She had a deep aversion to sex. In 1945, when her son was five years old, things began to happen rapidly. She realized that she could read other person’s thoughts, unconsciously. But she could not read any one’s thoughts, deliberately. Twice she saw a skeleton, instead of her face, in the mirror. Then a voice stated telling her; “Why have you come? Have you come for this?..........”

She had a vision of Jesus Christ:………………………………………..A few men with heavy clumsy clothes………..there was someone bent double, dragging on his back a roughly hewn tree shaped like a cross. It was too heavy for him……………….She pushed her way through the crowd, and drawing near the person, dragging, cried out: “Oh Lord, why do you allow them to do this to you?” she went down on her knees and wept. He who looked so frail and weary looked up at her, and she saw that His eyes were not sad……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….”

Her friend told her that she was psychic

She met her guru, Dilip Kumar Roy ( see blog 86) in 1946. When she first saw him an electric current shot up from the base of her spine to her neck. He refused to take her as his disciple and advised her to come and visit Sri Aurobindo’s (guru of Dilip) ashram and take him as her guru. She had no idea of an ashram, and dreaded ashram life. She was a rich, modern, , vivacious, cultured, educated woman who loved to dance.

In February 1949, when her second son was one year old, she finally went to visit Pondicherry and had the darshan( seeing a holy person or place ) of Mother and Sri Aurobindo. Her whole body went cool and numb.

Dada ( elder brother, Dilip Kumar Roy ) told her that she was ‘called’, but she had to choose to be chosen. She decided that she should go back to her home and see if the ‘call’ was real.

She went back to her family and was very happy to see everybody, but next day she felt desolate.

Next day she sat down for meditation, for the first time in her life. An electric current rose from the base of her spine to her head.  Peace like a block of ice descended on her. Her body became numb. There was no thought, no prayer, and no ecstasy. Next he felt somebody shaking her. Five and a half hour had passed. She soon became God-intoxicated. That state lasted for three months. She would also have period of intense sadness and despair.

One day, as she was meditating, an electric current shot up from the base of her spine and went up to her head. Her head opened, as it seemed to her, and she found herself floating in the air. She could see her body seated on the floor (compare with St Teressa of Avilla, blog 76). There was no thought, just peace and bliss. This was savikalpa smadhi

She started feeling the presence of God around her all the time.

She had the most amazing experience of black magic in August 1949. A sadhu (monk) of extremely beautiful features came to her and asked her to be her associate. He said that, jointly, they could achieve great things. Indra refused. He threatened her. His voice, blood -shot eyes would come in her vision. She became dangerously sick. It turned out that the magician, through her maid, was poisoning her. Dilip Kumar Roy and Sri Aurobindo were contacted. Sri Aurobindo wrote back that she should immediately come to his and Mother’s ashram for protection, and that she was in mortal danger and would otherwise die. She left her house on a stretcher. The magician did not leave her even in the ashram. He tried to choke her. She found bruises and fingerprints on her throat. The magician appeared in her bathroom in the form of Dada. She cried out loudly for her guru. Immediately the spell was broken and she saw that the form was of the magician. He shoved her into the bathtub.

Next day she was told during meditation that the magician’s hold on her will cease by the next full moon.

Within a month the magician had a paralytic stroke and died in great agony.

To be continued

Wednesday, May 15, 2013


 86. Dilip Kumar Roy

 

Dilip Kumar Roy, was a lover of music. Music was his life. He was highly educated for his time, graduated with first class honors in mathematics and studied in Cambridge University, England, in 1919. He became friendly with famous men like philosopher Bertrand Russell, novelist Romain Rolland, leader Mahatma Gandhi and revolutionary Subhash Chandra Bose. But he was restless, some other world was calling him. A different world. God was calling him.

He chose Sri Aurobindo his Guru, and entered his ashram in 1928 and stayed there till his Guru’s death in 1950, or longer. He remained a singer, poet, and musician. He started an ashram of his own and wrote over sixty books. He also became a mystic, as the following episodes prove it:

His aunts and grandmother wanted him to marry, while he was tempted and repelled, simultaneously. He had taken a vow in front of the picture of Sri Ramakrishna to stay celibate. His greatest wish was to meet Lord Krishna, face to face. The matchmakers invited a girl of exquisite beauty and culture for afternoon tea, and asked Dilip to sing before the audience. Dilip loved to sing and show his talent.

He was torn in dilemma. Finally he prayed in front of a picture of Sri Ramakrishna, with tears rolling down his cheeks, to help him.

Suddenly he heard a distinct voice inside him, saying; “ Leave at once. Do not be here in the afternoon”

He took a taxi and went to a friend. He remained, forever, celibate

              

               Once he was taken , by his grandfather, to Swami Brahmananda( Sri Ramakrishna used to call him his spiritual son ). The Swamiji asked him to sing some song about the Mother. Dilip was overjoyed. As he sang, the Swamiji became oblivious to time and space and went into smadhi. When the song ended, among other things, Swamiji said, “ do you know when he was singing, I saw an aura of protection around him……..Thakur’s( Sri Ramakrishna ) aura…………..and I know what I am speaking about.”

 

               The second time he saw Sri Aurobindo and the Mother (Madame Mira Richard ) together, in 1928, they blessed him and put their palms on his head, he had an ineffable descent of bliss and peace. He was one with the sky, the trees, the sands. He sat on the beach, stunned. He felt a beloved Presence. He just sat there in ecstatic half-trance, in silent happiness.

 

               On January 31, 1969, in his midnight of despair, he received his greatest boon, the vision of Lord Krishna’a lotus feet.

               On May 5, 1972, he had an experience of annihilation of I-ness, ahatma. It is called Shunyam in Hindu mysticism. It is considered a major experience.

 

               On February 28, 1954, as he started meditating, a profound peace coursed down his body, in waves, from the crown of his head to the base of his spine. He had this experience before, but it used to last no more than 24 hours, this time it lasted for more than a month. As if it was being fed by a secret source.

 

               His greatest desire was to see Krishna’s Feet ( which he did in 1969 ). He had, in October 1951, no hope, that his wish will be granted, because the sun of his life, his Guru, had died nine months ago. Now there was nobody to rescue him. He was in deep despair. He did not have a spiritual experience of his own. He wanted a sign from God, that He was there, listening to him.

He said, if You are a redeemer of the derelict, don’t let me peter out in frustration after more than 20 years of yoga; away from my home, my friends, my relations and everything that men cherish.

               He had a piece of art  in the form of Figures of Lord Krishna and Mira in his prayer room. It had a three pronged plug. The figures would light up when the plug was inserted in the socket on the wall. Every night before going to bed, Dilip would diligently remove the plug.

               As he was praying, he heard a clear voice saying, “ go and see, He has lit the bulb”

He at once went to the prayer room. Lord’s figure was alive with light! The plug was back in the wall.

After a while doubts start assailing him again. What if he had not taken out the plug in the first place ?

He carefully let the figures stay luminous by keeping the plug in the socket and started praying again for Lord to show him the miracle again by removing the plug.

A voice said; “ doubting still; go, the plug has been taken out.”

He went to the prayer room. The plug was out. The figures were in darkness!

 

               In April 1943 he was party to a wonderful event. He was visiting his friend Sri Krishnaprem in Mirtola, India.  In the evening he was singing to his three friends a deeply spiritual song, written by him, with deep emotion. The song is “ Krishna: the evergreen”. As he reached the last line, he forgot himself, and tears started flowing down his cheeks.

When the song ended, a deep silence ensued. Some eyes were teary.

One of them said, “ You know Ma was standing, listening, at the door”

They were horrified, because Ma ( guru of Krishnaparem ) was deathly sick and bedridden

They rushed to her room. She was sitting in her bed, oblivious, in smadhi.

When she came out of smadhi, she asked them. Did you see Him?

“ See who?”

“ Krishna was here. First he came for a second in my room……and stepped across the threshold……I could not follow Him that way…….till I reached the verandah……..and saw Him standing beside You (Dilip), listening…….Yes, Baba …..I did see Him, with open eyes….as I often do…….You didn’t see?”

“No, Ma, but I did feel…….”

But she went on…… “And He was standing…..beside you……..in person……looking so…..so tenderly…..at you……And I….I appealed to Him: “ O Thakur, give him the blessed boon of vision…so ..so he may see You….You Yourself have come down to hear his song….blessed blessed boy”

I bowed down, kissed her feet and wept.

Krishnaparem said later, that he also had  felt His presence vividly

 

 

 

 

Thursday, May 9, 2013


85. Swami Ramdas. Part Four

Ram’s protection. Here are two incidents (out of dozens) of the protection afforded to Ramdas by Ram. He was staying in a small deserted temple in a Jungle for one and a half months. He would spend whole night, sitting or resting on a mat, singing Ram-bhajans or meditating. There were a number of wild creatures in the jungle surrounding the open door of the temple: 20 to 30 wild pigs, and long black serpents. He would freely walk through the so called ferocious pigs at night, none molested him. In the morning when he would shake the mat of his seat, there would be a number of scorpions beneath

Once Ramdas climbed to the top of a hill. He was standing on the brow of a huge precipice; the bottom of the hill was several hundred feet. Walking over this vertical cliff was an act of madness, but it attracted Ramdas. He was walking with both hands holding dry grass. Suddenly the dried grass in his left hand came off and his left foot slipped. Now he was dangling, by the side of the precipice. But he was unruffled, repeating the name of Ram. With great effort he pulled himself up, by Ram’s help. That night his mind kept on going over that incident, again and again, and the miraculous power of Ram’s protection.

Miraculous events. There are many strange incidents narrated in his trilogy of books. He could heal patients by laying his hands on them and praying to Ram for their recovery. Many would recover, but in one incident the recovery was temporary. One time people saw him, from a distance, on a hill with two devotees and a little later in a nearby village. Once a woman saw the vision of a monk seated at the bedside of his deathly sick husband. The husband (a friend of Ramdas ) recovered. The woman, who had never seen Ramdas, gave a clear description of Ramdas, and instantly recognized him as the same monk who was sitting by her husband’s bedside that night.

Ramdas himself said on his world tour, in response to a question, that he has often seen that a very depressed person, becomes peaceful after he spends some time in his company.

I have omitted dozens of fascinating events, but I cannot ignore the following incident. It touched me at the core:

In a village, Ram ordered him to go door to door for foodstuff. Ramdas had stopped doing this type of begging for some time, because he did not cook. If somebody would gave him food, he would eat, otherwise stay hungry. But this was Ram’s command. After 2-3 hours of begging he got some wheat flour, dal (lentil ) and one anna ( 16 annas make one rupee ). A merchant standing on a balcony called him and said, that if he wanted food, he could come at 12 o’clock and have food served to him. Ramdas accepted.  It was about 10 am. He was sitting on a verandah of a house, waiting, when he saw an old man begging for alms in hot sun. He called him and gave the proceeds of his begging. The man fell on the feet of Ramdas, and said:

“At last God has shown Himself to me. I have been praying for years to see God. Is this a dream? I have been begging whole day and got only half an anna. I have a sickly wife and two children. They were going to starve”

 

Vision of Jesus. Ramdas was in a cave in Himalayas. He had been fasting (except water) for 5 days, thinking incessantly of God. There was no light in the cave. Suddenly, one night, the cave was filled with a strange light. Ramdas opened his eyes, and found a shining person sitting before him. Something in him at once told him that this was the great prophet Jesus Christ. He was dressed in a long chocolate colored robe. Locks of hair were falling on his shoulders. His face showed utmost sweetness and serenity, glowing with divine radiance. Most prominent were his eyes which glowed like stars. Ramdas was transfixed and went into ecstasies. There was another man with Him. Christ spoke a few words, but Ramdas could not understand him. This vision lasted for maybe few seconds. Ramdas was lost in ecstasy for the whole night

Vision of Krishna/Ram/God. After his blessing from Maharshi Ramana, he returned to his cave. Suddenly he witnessed Ram, as Lord Krishna, dancing and dancing on His flute. Ramdas was seeing him with open eyes. But Ramdas was not satisfied. He knew the vision would soon end and he will revert to darkness. So he begged “Lord it is all very well but it won’t do”.  He begged for the ‘great vision’ the ‘vision of visions’, which stays forever, never leaving.

And it came one morning apocalyptically: the entire landscape changed. All was Ram, nothing but Ram, wherever Ramdas looked! The trees, the shrubs, the ants, the cows, the cats, the dogs, the inanimate things. Ramdas danced with joy, like a boy who has been given a lovely present. He embraced a tree because it was Ram. He caught a man (I have written earlier) who became scared.

               The bliss and joy became permanent, like a torrent of water rushing downhill and changing in a level stream.

A comment. Ramdas is a sweet saint, a humble saint, a lovable saint. He is a not a mighty saint like St. Augustine. He has given the most candid and detailed account of his struggles, his methods, and his conclusions, much more than any other modern saint. He wrote many books and started an ashram which is still working.

He did not achieve God-realization by secret yoga techniques, not by concentrating on spiritual eye, not by breathing exercises (pranayama), not by following a guide (guru), not by adherence to the tenets of any religion. Then how did he get it?

In this humble mote’s opinion, it is by complete surrender to God. This is the last step one must take to achieve God-realization. The closest phrase in Islamic mysticism which describes it is called Twakkal.

84. Swami Ramdas. Part three

One day they arrived at the temple of Jagannath( human incarnation of God Vishnu ) in Puri ( see blog 5 ). There was a great crowd of pilgrims at the entrance, pushing and shoving each other. Entrance was impossible. Ramdas said “ Oh Ram , how can your poor slave have Your darshan ( a term used for seeing a great person or an idol of some deity ). Sri Jagannath murti (statue ) was inside the temple.

Suddenly a tall stout Brahmin, standing at the entrance, came to Ramdas, took him by the arm, and using all his strength, forced his way through the crowd, and took him inside. Soon he was standing by the big idol of Lord Jagannath. He was shown the temple. All this time Ramdas was filled with ecstasy, tears flowing down his face. At the end Ramdas asked the Brahmin priest, that why, he, a poor nobody, was chosen by him. He replied, that only Lord Jagannath knows the answer. When he saw Ramdas a sudden desire impelled him to take Ramdas inside.

In Kalighat  (near Calcutta ), there was a big image of goddess Kali in black stone, with big red tongue hanging out of her mouth. Tears flowing, Ramdas asked the Mother of the Universe to have mercy on Her humble slave.

They had to spend a night in intense cold. As it was close to the river, there were lot of mosquitoes.

Sleep was impossible. Sadhu-Ram said that in Tirupati there was only cold which was relatively bearable, but here one has to contend with the stings of mosquitoes also.

Ramdas said that the Ram should be praised even more to make arrangements for them to stay awake and to perform Ram-bhajans. By meditation Ramdas stayed in a state of unawareness of his body the whole night.

Next he wanted to see  the room where Sri Ramakrishna lived and performed his austerities ( see blog 19-24 ). As soon as he wished it, a young monk appeared and asked them whether they wanted to visit the places where the great saint lived few years ago.  Ramdas replied that Ram brought his humble slave over here for that very reason. As he entered the room, he felt the electric like air in the room. ( this mote’s Hindu friend felt the same way when he visited that room ). He went into great ecstasy. Waves of bliss ran through his body. He lost his body and started rolling on the floor. He was still rolling half an hour later.

On Ram’s command he spent 8 days in a cave, in solitude. He would sing loudly Ram-mantram. Birds, squirrels, goats, and bullocks would listen.

One day he was having discussions with a friend about a religious movement. That friend supported it while Ramdas opposed it. The friend became abusive and left. Next day he came, very anxious and agitated. He was unable to speak!. His throat had choked up. He asked Ramdas for forgiveness. Ramdas said that it had nothing to do with him, and God never punishes.

Suddenly, he took hold of Ramdas’s hand and put it on his throat.

Strangely, his throat cleared, and in a few minutes he was as good as new.

In the Himalayan tomb of Badrinath, he could not get entrance into the temple due to the crowd of pilgrims at the door. There was a smaller side door reserved for the sick. The gatekeeper told Ramdas that he could go inside if he pretended he was sick. Ramdas said, that he would not lie. The gatekeeper then changed  his mind and took him inside.

He was directed to visit Ajmer, where there is the tomb of famous Muslim saint, Moin-ud-din Chishti (see blog 63 ). As he descended from the train at night, he landed up in sleeping in a corner of the railway compound. When his nose touched the bare ground, he could smell urine. He slept in that ground, praising Ram, for showing him his worth. All for his own good

Next day as he was walking in the city, a tall and stout Muslim approached him and signed him to follow. Ramdas obediently followed . He took him to the tomb of the great saint. The Muslim friend asked him to kneel and enlist himself as a chela ( disciple ) of Muhammad ( peace be upon him ). Ramdas did as he was told  . He also told the friend that he had always been a chela of Muhammad (peace be upon him )

To be continued                 

 

Sunday, May 5, 2013


83. Swami Ramdas. Part two

 

With his new life, the new clothes, the three vows, his restlessness ceased. A peace came upon him, as if Ram Himself had put His hands on his head. He got three gifts: emancipation from sorrow, pain and anxiety; never to return (at another place he lists freedom from fear, also). He became carefree; a child of Ram.

From the start of his journey till the end, about one year later, guides appeared to him all the time, and took  him from one place to another and took care of his needs. He called all of them by the same name; sadhu-Ram ( monks sent by Ram ).

A sadhu sitting next to him asked him where he was going. Ramdas could not give an answer. The sadhu offered to take him to a famous temple. He had by this time 9 rupees left. He gave them to sadhu-Ram. The money was changed to smaller coins, and distributed to all the sadhus begging by the steps of temples. Now he was free of money.

After visiting that temple the guide left him; his duty over. He took the train to another famous temple.  He was without a guide. He could not gain admission to the temple because he did not have the admission fee. He wandered in the ruins surrounding the temple. Noon came. Sitting on a stone he started reading Gita.  A man came and sat next to him. Have you eaten anything? He asked. Ramdas replied that he had not, but there was nothing to worry because Ram will provide. What kind of food you take? He enquired. Plantains, Ramdas replied ( because he had few or no teeth ). The man brought a dozen plantains.

Next morning he went to the station. He had no guide. He saw a train standing. As he was going to enter the platform a railway official prohibited him on entering because he did not possess a ticket. Maybe it was the wrong train. Ram knew best.

Ramdas meditated till midday. A train came. Ramdas boarded the train. No official stopped him this time. On the train he met a sadhu-Ram who offered to take him to a certain town. Two educated young men, sitting across, talked between themselves , in English ( feeling sure that the uneducated looking Ramdas won’t be knowing English ), that how Ramdas was a fraud sadhu wearing the robe of a renunciant to eke out a living amongst the gullible villagers. Ramdas assured them, in English, that they were right. The two, were ashamed and repentant. They offered money for Ramdas’s food  to sadhu-Ram (Ramdas had not eaten anything for the whole day )

               Sadhu-Ram took him to to see a famous saint; Maharshi Ramana . This is the same saint who was the mentor of Paul Brunton. This mote will write about Paul Brunton and Maharshi in future. Brunton’s books had a great impact on this mote. Maharshi lived in a thatched shed. There was great peace upon his face, a passionless look of tenderness in his eyes. He spread an aura of peace and joy in the hearts of people surrounding him. Ramdas asked the saint for his blessing for this humble slave.

The saint looked into his eyes for few minutes, and shook his head indicating that he had been blessed. A thrill of great joy ran through the body of Ramdas. His whole body shook like a leaf in the wind.

Now Ramdas wanted to meditate on Ram and sing Ram-bajhans in solitude. He chose a small cave and stayed for almost a month. He was filled with pure joy and bliss. He became mad, Ram mad. He would go to a nearby village every day and beg. When his lota would get a little more than half full he would return. He would boil his rice in the same lota by lighting a fire with few twigs.

One day he saw a man standing near the entrance to the cave. He thought that was Ram. He ran to him and clasped him in an embrace. “Ram! You have come “ he exclaimed. The poor man was frightened to no end, but then felt reassured that this was a harmless mad man since he was toothless. He saw Ram in everything

One day Ram’s command to move came. He went to the station and caught the first train. On the train a sadhu-Ram took over and took him to a temple on a hill. They climbed over 700 steps and walked three miles. By the time they reached the temple it was close to midnight. Cold was intense. They joined some sadhus sitting by a fire. They had to abandon the fire as the temple was closing. They spent a miserable night, shivering and sleepless.

Sadhu-Ram was grumbling about the cold and lack of sleep. Ramdas said, that it was all for the best, because now they had more time for singing the glories of Ram