MISSION INDIA 1

Today we are standing at the crossroads of our national evolution when we must make a choice. It is not merely a political choice through the ballot but a selection far more crucial that involves our entire beings for in it are pregnant the seeds of our future possibilities as a nation and as a vast people, a veritable continent of communities and races. The Britishers have departed truncating our Motherland on either side along communal lines which were never so divisive as they were under the overseeing of the British. India gained her freedom but the birth-pangs were so excruciating that even today we can hear the echoes of the operation along the borders and in the very heartland of the Motherland. A permanent wedge it seems has been driven into the body of our Mother and she suffers and suffers and we her children do nothing about it. So, I said, time it is to take stock of the situation and take a stand on what we choose to do about her future and how we choose to go about achieving it.

A nation is being built from the ashes of the dead past. We are the descendants of the ones the foreigner held in bondage till the other day. We are the inheritors of their legacy, their suffering, their sacrifice. Our forefathers have passed on this precious gift of our Motherland to us in fullest faith that we will be worthy of our inheritance, that we shall overcome all challenges and keep our Mother in our safe-keeping. Indian independence was not won solely by non-violent means although non-violence was the major force operative behind the cohesion of the freedom movement. A lot of blood did flow out of the bodies of our martyrs and of those who did not find favour with the God of India's destiny to become martyrs. India bled to freedom. And India bleeds even today for the seeds of dissension that were sown in days of yore are bearing their fruits now.

A new generation of young aspirant Indians are coming up from the womb of Time with dreams of a brighter future for the Motherland. Their hopes and aspirations are changing the face of India and tending to usher in a new age of prosperity and light for all. But the country is beset with a million maladies and these will have to be treated before a brighter dawn may set in and the nation may bask in the noonshine of her glory. Thus had I mentioned at the outset that we need to seriously make a choice as to what ought to be the character of our nationhood and accordingly chart out the course of our future national evolution. Jai Hind !

BUDDHA 1

The world is in turmoil. Where is the Buddha, the man of peace and universal compassion? The land of his birth has banished him for rejecting the Vedas. Time it is to bring back the lion-heart devoid of the negatives of the past, for our very survival as a race depends on it.

Do you think it is possible to understand a Ramakrishna or a Vivekananda without comprehending a Christ or a Buddha? No, it is an impossible dream for the greats ever are bound in kinship of spirit beyond the pale of our human dissensions. The Divinity that manifests as the Avatar (divine incarnation) in every Age is the same being.

The culture that is woven round a divine incarnation is at times more real than the personality of the incarnation itself from the historical standpoint and herein lies the importance of preserving every religious tradition even if it is largely built around myths and miracles and the personality cult thereof. While it is true to say that these myths are central to some of the major religious traditions of the world, it is equally and emphatically true that such is not the case with the Buddha and Buddhism. Superstitions abound in every religion and Buddhism is no exception but these are later accretions rather than the central tenets of this grand religion.

The bare facts of the Buddha's life are well documented historically and here we are strictly applying historical rigour and not subscribing to mythological evidence as adequate proof of historicity. The Buddha then is a historical figure beyond doubt and that, as a starter, is proof of his stupendous greatness with respect to the likes of Rama, Krishna and Christ whose historicity is shrouded in myths and legends of immeasurable value doubtlessly, yet, not comparable to the inestimable worth of the actual historical existence of the Tathagata.

The Buddha stands as the Northern Star in the spiritual firmament of the India of antiquity, not as the initiator of spirituality but as the fulfilment of an age-old tradition that had gone awry. His real-life form dwarfs the mythological characters by far and shines as the beacon of peace, wisdom and compassion for all sentience. Our reverences to him on his birthday, our prostrations at his feet and our fondest hope and aspiration that he will return to the land of his birth and sit enthroned in the hearts of Indians in the rightful way, in harmony with the ancient spirit of the land and not in supposed opposition to its pristine principles of life and truth. Buddhang sharanang gachchhami (I take refuge in the Buddha). Om!

FRIENDS OF THE MISSION 2

The present political scenario is so vicious that it is now surely an imperative for citizens to help the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission build the country along Vedantic lines as envisaged by Swami Vivekananda. Although the task seems on the surface to be beyond the capacity of the Mission to achieve, given the smallness of its monastic numeral strength, yet a closer look into the workings of the Mission will reveal that it will surely achieve this stupendous task at no distant a time. National reconstruction and the spiritual regeneration of the world were the twin objectives of Vivekananda's spiritual ministration on Earth. Both seem today like distant dreams. But the Prophet's Word cannot fail. The Divine will devise means for the spiritual inundation of the world whereby a new civilization will be built along Vedantc lines and India shall spearhead this world spiritual movement. She herself will have to be rebuilt as per the master plan of the Rishis as rediscovered in this Age by Swami Vivekananda. The work is on but the support system backing the Mission is as of now weak, to say the least. People criticize every good thing that happens initially. This is in the nature of things, in the dynamics of a movement, especially a spiritual movement. Public indifference is followed by persecution when all seem to be lost before the dawn of acceptance, so said Swami Vivekananda in a variant note. Today, the Mission has been accepted in principle by our countrymen but not much supported in its efforts to rebuild our country in terms of tangible material help.

Vivekananda had wished that there should be a Ramakrishna Centre in each and every village of India. That was his plan to revitalize India. This is a daunting task and apparently impossible of fulfilment. But as I earlier said, it too will be fulfilled. The Prophet's Word is Law. In the coming decades and centuries the world will see a revival of spiritual culture like never before. It may even so chance that the Avatar and his Apostles will make another appearance on the stage of this Earth. Be it however it will be, it cannot be gainsaid that the hour comes when we must pledge our all in support of the Mission's Nation-building and World-welfare activities if we are to call ourselves the children of Ramakrishna. Lest we miss the grand opportunity of serving the Cause, it is meet that we pull in all our resources, and they are considerable for the Mission has millions of devotees, and galvanize the whole movement with a fresh lease of energy. The Ramakrishna Math is for the monks who have joined the Order and they are supposed to run it. But Vivekananda had entrusted the householder disciples of Sri Ramakrishna to participate in a big way in running the Ramakrishna Mission. His dream has not been fulfilled. The householder disciples and devotees of Ramakrishna have over the last century taken the back seat in this connection and left the Mission's activities as well to be run principally by the monks. This must change. Not in the sense that the monks will not give the leadership or will give up the controlling power in running the organization but that the lay devotees must sink in their ploughshare of work for the Mission. Idle prostrations and passive piety must give way to a dynamic faith, the faith which calls out the inner fire and summons one to action. Vivekananda had waged a lifelong battle against tamas (inertia). It is time we respond to his clarion call to build the nation instead of waiting for some 'miracle leader or government' to do the job. And this is the manhood he expected of us.

The Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission has done so much for us. It has given us spiritual peace, education, health facilities, an ideal to live by and, most importantly, hope to see a better future for every word of Vivekananda is fraught with that message of the future glory of India and the spiritual inundation of the world. 'Give and take' is the law of life. It is in strict conformity with the Energy Conservation Principle. it becomes our duty then to give back to the Mission something by way of service, something more by way of material support for the numerous projects they have undertaken, most or all of which get inordinately delayed in completion owing to lack of funds and man-power. If millions of the Mission's devotees join hands and start helping the Mission our country will be rebuilt in no time. I, therefore, exhort all devotees and friends of the Mission to come forward and help the Mission knowing it to be their very own. May Thakur-Ma-Swamiji bless you all with a discerning mind, a feeling heart and a generous disposition is the prayer of this servant of theirs! Victory to Ramakrishna and his Mission!

FRIENDS OF THE MISSION 1 ... SPARE A THOUGHT

St. Augustine had self-questioned," What have I done for Christ? What am I doing for Christ? What may I do for Christ?" In a like manner we, the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna, may ask ourselves as well,"What have we done for Sri Ramakrishna and His Mission? What are we doing for Sri Ramakrishna and His Mission? What may we do for Sri Ramakrishna and His Mission?"... And there is much to do, so much we can do, so very much we ought to do.

FRIEND 9 : RESPONSE TO THE COMMENTS OF FIVE FRIENDS

Dear devotee, by Thakur's grace this piece has indeed been written by me as all the other pieces on this page as well. But who can lay claim to any composition of his own as his own when the Divine composes all the while through each composer ? My bliss it is to envision your happiness on reading the piece which inspires me to write further. May Thakur-Ma bless you and yours !

Dear friend, your exultation on reading the piece has buoyed up my spirits as well and adds fillip to my efforts in propagating THE WORD. Thank you for reading the post and enjoying it. I shall look forward to you reading my future posts as well. May Thakur-Ma bless you for ever and ever !

Thank you noble one for reading through my post. Few alas comprehend the very theory, fewer still get to realize the Principle enshrined therein ! So says the Geeta. Your humility is ennobling and shines brighter than the literary adornments of the piece. Thank you for your sincere appreciation and your devotion to the aesthetics involved.

How crisp your comment is, a lyrical word that defines it all ! Brevity is the soul of wit, said Shakespeare. Indeed, economy of expression is an art that communicates best, goes straight to the soul, something that I might well strive to learn to keep the interest alive in my literary pieces. Thank you dear reader, you have shot the arrow right in the eye !

Thank you my artist friend. That one word says it all. Your refined sensibility has been touched by my writing. What more can I add to what you have said than to say that I paint in words what you in colours so beautifully bring to life.

DREAM NO MORE 1

The surface mind is an illusion. Consciousness is deep. It is an integrated being within. It does all the work and dispenses the fruits to itself. The prism of Maya refracts the rays of the Sun of Truth along variant paths, producing the optical spectrum the phenomenal universe is. We are the trapped beams of light, dispersed into flora and fauna, the radiant hues of the Bright One that knows no dimming nor darkening like our lot is here, lost on Earth. The Ocean waveless lies beyond cognition of the faculties that the senses provide. Supersensory is the Truth percolating through sensory modes. The vast universe is the play-field of the Divine, the realm of primeval ignorance, Maya's dream. The infinite trapped in the finite --- how preposterous a proposition, how impossible the event! And yet, the impossible is made possible, and this is Maya. Souls we are but are duped into believing we are bodies. Unstructured free beings we are but find ourselves hopelessly bound in mortal coil crushed by the wheel of Fortune. Worst of all, so deep is the inebriation that few realise that they are caught in a nightmare, that they are wakeful dreamers and that life is but a passing dream of no substance whatsoever save the opportunity to break through the network of Maya and emerge mighty lions that have overcome this dreaded delusion.

Ordinary folks, let us leave them aside for a while. Even men of genius are souls trapped, however tall their creative stature, however pretentious their philosophical posturing. The whole world is in bondage. We are bond-slaves of Nature at her beck and call. Dare we say we are free citizens of the world when the world holds us in terrible bondage? Sense-bound, sense-clad, sense-duped creatures, dare we assume to dictate terms to Nature when she holds us at her mercy at will? No, such pretensions will not work. Hypocritical stances must be shed if we are to emerge into real freedom far beyond the domain of the senses, beyond this very universe which is but the shadow of the Divine. We must assert our real nature if we are to be free. The cross linkages of Maya we must break through, not by force for the very reaction of it will hold but by deft dealing with the wiles of the Enchantress Divine, by advancement through the maze of Maya along the freedom routes which are the exit paths in this intricate network of the Cosmic Web.

This world is a numeral construct delineated along coordinate axes whose intersection is the Origin of life, the focal point of phenomena, yet transcending it, for the Origin exists in principle, never in phenomena which revolve round it. It is not a hypothesis, it is the Reality, not a concept but the core, the substance behind this Ancient Poem, the dream of the One that knows not a second, the One Eternal Being, alone, alone through all eternity without hope of company from any for none else is but the One that is. And yet the multiplicity abounds but for whom? Not for the Ancient One but for the many. The many 'exist' for the many for a long but limited time, stretching across vast but limited space, a continuum that is self-manifesting and self-dissolving in cyclical order without beginning or end. To this realm of ignorance belongs the mind whose construct this all is and which is self-constructed. The Self remains beyond, ever-free, Consciousness Absolute, Existence Absolute and Bliss Absolute, ever a Unity and never the Trinity that dreams it all. Infinite is the dreamer dreaming finite dreams, to quote Vivekananda with a variance.

So, dream no more. What value do you attach to this momentary motion called terrestrial life that does not in essence derive from your infinite Self? So, smash the dream. Let bonds go and with it bondage. Let all earthly affections dissolve in the Brahman which is the source of all love. May all that you receive and all that you renounce find fulfilment in oblation to the Cosmic sacrificial fire that devours it all to light up the night sky, the screen of this dualistic delusion that hides the Radiant One! May your souls purged of all earthly dross stand revealed as the luminous beads of the Rosary Resplendent whose orbits about the Cosmic Core keep the universe in its cascading rhythms! May you all merge in your final fall into the shoreless sea of radiance whence there is no return! May all souls dissolve in the One that is the Self of all! Om Tat Sat Om!

DEFENCE OF KARMA YOGA 23

IN RESPONSE TO THE CHARGE LEVELLED AGAINST ME BY A DEVOTEE THAT I HAVE TRANSCRIBED KARMA YOGA 23 FROM THE FOUR YOGAS OF SWAMI VIVEKANANDA :

DEVOTEE : Sugata Bose, did you write Karma Yoga 23, or did you transcribe from Swami Vivekananda's Four Yogas?

ME : Dear Friend,

These writings are all my own including KARMA YOGA 23. However, I live in the shadow of the great Swami whose writings have shaped my life, philosophy and thought over the past 30 odd years. It is a great honour for this humble piece of writing to be elevated to the status of the transcription of Swamiji's Four Yogas and I offer you my thankfulness for that. However, as they are my own reflections and reproductions thereof, I cannot but humbly beg to dissociate myself from this accolade to do justice to the honour of the great Swami whose disciple and child I beg to remain.Thank you again for reading KARMA YOGA 23 and I will remain obliged to you if you will likewise go through the other writings on the same yogic discipline as well, namely, KARMA YOGA 1-22. May Swamiji bless you for evidently you are a student of his works and so a friend of mine !

Yours sincerely,
Sugata Bose.

DEVOTEE : Sugata Bose, I appreciate your honorable response, and recognize one devoted to the purest Samkhya/Adwaita-Vedanta continuum rendered in a most flowing prose inspired by the Lion of Vedanta himself. As one who wishes your identity to disappear in the Wisdom of the Great One, you honor the Smarta and Adwaita traditions! It is an honor to read you.

Sugata, now I read the part where you reference the Gita, the Four Yogas and the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna... One point that seems to be overlooked by some who admire the Four Yogas, at least here in the West, is that though Bhakti, disciplinary Dhyana and Jnana seem to be spontaneous exercises for many, few have a practical plan devised for Nishkamya Karma Yoga.

Inspiration of such great One, leaves devotees immersed in Loka Sangraha. I enjoyed your writings immensely, as Swami Vivekananda's inspired. Om Tat Sat!

ME : Dear Friend,

It is an honour to associate with one as erudite and perceptive a devotee as you are, bonded in kinship as we are across continents by the common thread that runs through us all. Your devotion to the study of Indian thought and your efforts at realizing the essence of the same which is the sameness of things, has moved me and inspires me to carry the message of Swamiji to the West if ever the occasion arises. This is a sacred trust that I carry, along with countless others who are the foot soldiers of our great general, and I hope that we may prove worthy of the trust that he has reposed with us. You, my friend, have devoted your life to the pursuit of Truth and it is meet that you reap the harvest of your labour of love in the fullness of time. Till then we may remain friends of the Spirit before we dissolve in the Brahman when the knots of our heart are sundered and our doubts all dispelled.

Yours sincerely,
Sugata Bose.

DEVOTEE : Sugata Bose, I feel endlessly blessed. Your pure hearted devotion to promote the message of living Gods and Goddesses from India, from the highest peaks where Ganga trickles the Mahavakyas, to her tributaries nourishing all religions of the world, is most appreciated, it is your meditation for Loka Sangraha. There is no life richer than one dedicated to the promotion of the works of Sages and Saints.

I would feel most blessed to remain in communication with you, Sugata Bose. Om Tat Sat!

THE RAMAKRISHNA NAME

Q. I wish there were a pill that could reduce worldliness and all its concomitant maladies...(Question asked by a devotee).

A: There is such a pill dear devotee, THE RAMAKRISHNA NAME. The dosage of the pill is 108 repetitions with all your heart twice daily at dawn and at dusk. 

Warning : This pill is potent and must be taken as per the spiritual doctor's (Guru's) prescription. The potency may gradually be increased from 108 repetitions to more. This pill is finally addictive and advanced users of it testify that they cannot get rid of it, such is the bliss it gives the taker. The world, on the contrary, complains that this pill is counter-addictive as it drives off the addiction of the world. For all the wonderful benefits of this wonder drug, my friend, do regularly take this pill and advise others to do the same.

Yours truly,
Sugata Bose,
Marketeer of this pristine pill,
THE RAMAKRISHNA NAME.

FRIEND 8

Brilliant, my dear friend ! I marvel at your magnanimity. The range of your sympathies is truly catholic and the sheer sweep of your references indicative of the width of your personality. Your melodic prose, so noble in its bearing, your style, so lofty, without tinge of malice for any and suffused with love for all makes your writings spiritual reading, elevating the mind and quelling its chaos with peaceful vibrations of the great ones you ever refer to. I am at peace when I read you and this, my friend, is your greatest gift to me and perhaps to many others whose voices reach me not but whose pulsations of heart I feel in the blood that courses through my veins, through my ' arteries of immortality ' for one indeed we are, we are all the rays of the same effulgent sun, the Atman.

GAHANANANDA 8

Times were turbulent in West Bengal and the unrest spread to every section of society. The working class people were subject to all sorts of nefarious influences and the staff of Seva Pratishthan was no exception. A section of the staff brought about a great deal of unrest in the hospital at a time when the day-to-day running of the hospital was greatly affected by the financial stringency that had to observed owing to an acute shortage of funds. During this period Swami Gahananandaji's fortitude and great strength of character were evident as he dealt with the most difficult situations with remarkable dexterity, never losing control of himself or the situation, never for once losing his fabled poise, and invariably bringing things under control through the sheer force of personality and, no less, his overflowing love for his, so to say, adversaries who always felt humbled in the end as realisation dawned on them that they ought not to behave in the way they were doing. Maharaj's extraordinary calmness in a tense situation saved many a day for the Mission when the least indiscretion of any sort in tackling a trouble-shooter might have had grave repercussions on the functioning of the hospital, not that, at any rate, there was not trouble enough to at times paralyse the working altogether. Still, it was the imperturbable nature of the Secretary Maharaj that carried the day eventually for the Mission and saved the hospital and its inmates. His brother monks were rattled by the worker unrest at times but trusted their Secretary Maharaj's leadership and awaited a brighter dawn.

Swami Gahananandaji had developed a most efficient method of work in the Seva Pratishthan, a method which he had himself imbibed from Most Revered Sankaranandaji Maharaj when he had been engaged in service activities under him. The method was as follows : when taking up a new assignment, a monk was to learn the details of the job from the person who was in charge earlier.This ensured a smooth transition to the new post by the newcomer and no diminution in the efficiency of work. If anyone expressed eagerness to take up added responsibility of work, Maharaj used to dissuade him saying,"Wait! Do not increase the work." If anyone erred in work, Maharaj would never censure him in public but would privately have a word with him, explaining his fault in an amicable way. He ever ensured that the dignity of the individual was never undermined for was not the individual a veritable representation of Thakur who was the Chosen Ideal of Maharaj?

Adapted by Sugata Bose from Swami Gahanananda, a Belur Math publication, 16 November, 2007.

GAHANANANDA 7

A monk of the Ramakrishna Order has made this perceptive observation: "The leadership of Revered Swami Gahananandaji was a quality to imbibe --- his distribution of work, shouldering responsibility in difficult situations, giving refuge to the downtrodden and standing by the side of any monk or lay devotee giving them the assurance of fearlessness during perilous times. Whenever a worker fell sick, Revered Gahananandaji would be at his bedside offering him solace and expressing concern for his speedy recovery. He would thereafter seek to know from the concerned doctors about the treatment in great detail as was his wont and only then feel reasonably satisfied. Naresh Maharaj was never seen to lose his temper or to use harsh words. He was cool-headed and had a deep and genuine concern for all. All the requirements of the hospital were at his finger-tips." Here, it must be mentioned that those were troubled times and often the most unseemly situations would precipitate where a lesser mortal might have reacted in quite a different manner. But such was Maharaj's self-control that despite the utmost of provocations, not once did he ever lose his poise.

Naresh Maharaj was a liberal at heart. His adherence to discipline and order notwithstanding, he was sympathetic to his fellowmen and at times even indulgent towards their common failings and frailties. It so happened once that a lay worker of Seva Pratishthan, whose misdemeanour had irked everyone around decided to marry. On account of this he approached the cashier and requested for advance payment of his salary that he might be able to meet the expenses for marriage. The cashier duly refused. Word reached Naresh Maharaj who was the Secretary of the hospital. Maharaj heard the case and granted his request despite his poor past behavioural record, observing with his characteristic gentleness, " Let him behave as he does in the office but on that score , shall he not marry ?" Insignificant incident perhaps but how catholic the spirit of the Swami !

Swami Gahanananda was a true karma-yogi. He worked hard to bring up the hospital and literally looked upon his work as worshipful service to Thakur. He used to say," I feel better under great pressure of work." When a monk sought permission for an hour's rest after lunch, Maharaj said," It should be enough if you take rest by taking your meals slowly."

A monk was seriously injured in a traffic accident. He was brought to the Seva Pratishthan and placed under the care of orthopaedic surgeons. When the patient had recovered somewhat and was able to move about with the help of a crutch, Naresh Maharaj allotted for him some light work to infuse in him mental strength and instil self-confidence. He would also pay him visits to inquire about his health and would often carry for him fruits, sweets, health drinks and the like. Gahananandaji's personality was a beautiful blend of karma, jnana, bhakti and yoga, the type that Swamiji had set up before humanity as the future model of the perfect harmonic being.

Adapted by Sugata Bose from Swami Gahanananda, a Belur Math publication, 16 November, 2007.

GAHANANANDA 6

In the year 1932, with the aim of providing proper health care to pregnant women and infants, a unique institution was founded by the untiring efforts of Revered Swami Dayanandaji Maharaj in a small tin shed, ' Shishu Mangal Pratishthan '. Swami Gahanananda was now transferred to this maternity hospital. Here were spent the next 27 years of Naresh Maharaj's life, as the Assistant Secretary for the first 5 years and then as the Secretary for the next 22 years. Many years ago Sri Ramakrishna had articulated his golden principle of ' Shiva-jnaney jiva-seva ' and Swamiji had in a flash discovered in it the grand formulation of Practical Vedanta which in later years he immortalized as ' Atmano mokshartham jagadhhitayacha ' and made it the motto of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. Gahananandaji now in the thick of it, learning the intricacies of Karma Yoga, Seva Yoga, Practical Vedanta, Work as Worship, call it what you may. Swamiji had experienced the misery of India in his travels through the length and breadth of the land and vowed to raise Her, this Motherland of ours, to Her pristine position in the comity of nations. Here in this hospital, Swami Gahanananda came across such misery of disease, death and suffering that it became for him a veritable schooling in the ideals of modern monasticism as laid down by Swamiji, his golden principles of ' Renunciation and Service '. India met him at his doorstep in the hospital in all her naked necessities and the monk in meeting such needs of his Mother evolved into the sage whose mercy in a'fer years knew no bounds.

From 1958 to 1963 Swami Gahanananda was the Assistant Secretary of Shishu Mangal Pratishthan. Thereafter, he was appointed the Secretary of the hospital and during this period dating from 1963 to 1985 he brought about profound changes in the hospital such that from a small maternity and child-care medical facility it became a large 550 bed general hospital renamed ' The Ramamkrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan '. Naresh Maharaj's vision and untiring labour brought about this transformation largely. Today, another 50 beds have been added and a modern annexe building called ' The Adhish Chandra Memorial Building ' which Gahananandaji in his last year on earth inaugurated before seeking final rest in his celestial abode.

Thakur, it seems, had chosen Gahananandaji for a singular mission, to serve him in the sick and the diseased. Following Swamiji's vision, Maharaj also built up Seva Pratishthan gradually into a premier medical facility of the city, a full-fledged general hospital from its initial hesitant beginnings as a maternity and child-care unit. Difficulties were many that he had to overcome, monetary as well as administrative, especially staff turbulence at times, but through it all, the inspiration of Thakur-Ma-Swamiji and the venerable Swami Dayanandaji carried him along in his endeavour to reach out to more and more of the suffering mass of humanity in the city. The departments of Medicine, Surgery, Gynaecology, Neurology and a few others came into being one by one.

Gahananandaji felt that the Seva Pratishthan could be a premier medical institution only if it provided, along with medical treatment to patients, university education to would-be doctors and nurses, and research facilties to advanced medical students. The fruition of his vision was the birth of the ' Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences '. Besides this, a high quality Nurses' Training Course and several Paramedical Courses came into being. Each of these endeavours have over time grown from their humble beginnings into institutions of repute.

Gahananandaji also organized services such as the treatment of the poor ailing people in remote villages using the Mobile Medical Unit, Eye Operation Camps, Relief Work during the Gangasagar Mela, and, at a most critical period in the sub-continent's history, treatment to countless refugees who crossed over to West Bengal during the Bangladesh War.

Adapted by Sugata Bose from Swami Gahanananda, a Belur Math publication, 16 November, 2007.

PRESIDENTS OF THE ORDER 1

Seated at the centre is Swami Vijnanananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the 4th President of the Order. His household name was Hariprasanna. Swamiji used to affectionately address him as Peshon. He was a civil engineer and was it was under his supervision that the embankment of the Ganga at the Belur Math was done. Later, the new Ramakrishna Temple at Belur was also constructed under his supervision. Swami Vijnanananda spent his days at Allahabad where he remained a reclusive monk, a Self-realised soul, ' the hidden Brahmajnani '. My prostrations at the hallowed feet of this venerable incarnation of Jambvantji of the Ramachandra Play, a fact attested to by no less a personality than Sri Ramakrishna himself.

GAHANANANDA 5

One day Swami Gahananandaji addressed a brahmachari who had joined the Shillong Ashrama just a few days before thus: "Whenever you used to come here as a devotee, we used to say,'Please come, do take a seat, help yourself to a little prasad, etc.'  But from now onward, you will not get that treatment. Now, you are our younger brother in the Ramakrishna family. If need be you will be chastised and you will also receive affection due to a younger brother. If you expect the earlier treatment, you will be sorely disappointed. Remember this."

The aforesaid brahmachari used to pluck flowers from the Ashrama garden to adorn Sri Sri Thakur's image in his room. When it came to the notice of Gahananandaji, he spoke to the brahmachari thus : "Is it not a fact that you will have a good meditation if fragrant flowers are kept in your room? But, never pick flowers in the garden for your personal benefit. Know for certain that all the flowers in the garden are for Sri Sri Thakur in the temple and not in your room. Moreover, Sri Sri Thakur walks about in the Ashrama enjoying the fragrance and the beautiful sight of the flower-laden plants and trees. I have heard that Revered Raja Maharaj used to say so. Therefore, keep this in mind, won't you?" These words were a revelation to the young aspirant and acted as a beacon in his spiritual life.

Remarkable were the ways in which Gahananandaji taught spiritual lessons to the young brahmacharis. Once a group of devotees from a far-off place arrived at the Shillong Ashrama without prior intimation, weary and hungry. Quite some time had elapsed yet, they had not been provided any refreshment. When the matter came to the notice of Gahananandaji who was the Manager of the Ashrama, he was very aggrieved. He immediately summoned the brahmachari who looked after the kitchen and asked him to make arrangements for food for the devotees without delay. The brahmachari said that as the Bhandari Maharaj (the swami in charge of the kitchen) was at that time not at the Ashrama, he would be incurring his displeasure and wrath if he acted thus without his permission. With much gravity in his tone Swami Gahananandaji said, "This Ashrama belongs to Sri Sri Thakur. The devotees who come here are His guests. Go, feed them, for is it not our responsibility to look after Sri Sri Thakur's guests? If on that score the Bhandari gets vexed, let him. Sometimes it is better even to take the blame on oneself for the good and welfare of others."

A senior monk of the Order, speaking of his Shillong days, said, "Revered Naresh Maharaj was my main adviser and helper in good times and bad times. He helped me in so many ways ever giving me sound advice on perplexing issues that I can only say I can never repay his debt. I literally learnt from him the rudiments of the congregational life. Truly, it was his inspirational personality and life that cemented my resolve to become a monk."

In 1954 the birthday of Swami Vivekananda was observed at the Shillong Ashrama on the holy Sankranti day, largely due to the enthusiasm of Swami Gahanananda. Lay devotees and monks all joined hands to make the celebration a grand success. The programme was held in the Quinton Hall where Swami Vivekananda had lectured on his visit to Shillong.The President of the function enthralled the audience when he mentioned that many years ago he had had the blessed opportunity to garland Swamiji during his reception in Shillong. The same year the birth centenary of the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi was celebrated at the Shillong Ashrama with much festivity. A three-day celebration also took place at Shella. Gahananandaji and others carried with them rice, potato and other items to help the festival organizers at Shella. Special worship of Shiva, Chandi and other local deities was performed to mark the occasion. In later years Gahananandaji reminisced, "It was a mart of joy, those three days of the Mother's birth centenary celebration at Shella. On the day of our return from Shella to Shillong the women-folk wept as if they were on their way from their parental house to their in-laws' after marriage."

Adapted by Sugata Bose from 'Swami Gahanananda', a Belur Math publication, 16 November, 2007.

FRIEND 7 ... PRITHWIRAJ SARKAR

Dear friend, you have a rare command of the English language and are putting it to the grand cause of serving the great ones which is the noblest way in which you may use your considerable literary gifts. Sri Aurobindo seems to have permeated your nerves which is why you have such an overwhelming influence of his style of writing in yours. You have a rich oriental style of writing, ornamental and full of literary effusions so very characteristic of the Asiatic school. You are precocious and so hold the promise of an a'fer fruition which I thrill to behold in my mind's eye. Schooled as you are in the great sage's integral philosophy, your thoughts are profound too. But what is original about you despite stylistic influences of Sri Aurobindo in your writings is the softness of your literary approach which can only be ascribed to your own individual personality trait percolating through your prose as the poetry of your soul lending a singular beauty and authenticity to your compositions.

And herein they pass the test of time,
Waltz through the portals of life sublime
Till words do melt in mood divine
And the empty chalice overfills with wine.
To such a dawn my friend,
I send these lines tonight,
They'll waft through the starry skies
To welcome you with the light.

BHASKAR SEN SHARMA, A FRIEND IN DELIGHT 3

As always dear friend, your comments add flavour to my writings, replete as they are with perennial words of wisdom flowing through your maturer self, thoughts seasoned in the light of your life's realizations. Your impeccable English embellishes my posts in the form of your luminous comments and renders whole what perhaps, my friend, would have otherwise been an exercise half-done, a labour lost in lonesomeness, a self-inspiration recoiling unto oneself bereft of the joy of the knowledge of communion with kindred spirits. Thank you ever, dear noble one, for being who you are, a towering strength, a power that derives its sustenance from the sublimity of the Self, the sufferance of the soul and the innate genius that attends the being that has blossomed to fullness and for whom the trials of life have matured understanding to a degree where the icy chill of untimely waste has freshened into a forest of flora with its riotous hues, a springtime of harvest shared by all. Dear Bhaskar, the cycle of life runs true for all, the Wheel of Karma none can elude, the Dharmachakra ever revolves as we wend our way Godward. Pain, suffering, misery, the three sisters visit us all but few, alas few, can read into what they say and so stand clear in the sunshine of life where it is an eternal day and the shadowy world recedes with its misty dark into nothingness. No small privilege, dear friend, to have you amongst us, a stellar being in the vast unknown, the far reaches of forgotten space, a beacon in the tempestuous ocean of life and an efflorescence, fair and fragrant, in the midst of our desert-heart. May God preserve you to carry on with your noble work, His mission which He has enshrined in you!

FRIEND 5 : RESPONSE TO A QUERY

Q : Can you possess something where you are not ?

A : We can dear friend. This is no material possession. This is SELF-possession. The SELF brooding on the SELF is SELF-possessed. Also we are ' most ' there where we are ' not '. Our ideas about existence are so phenomenal that we tend to measure our infinite status by relativistic standards and here the limitations imposed by language, nay, expression plays truant. It is the lower self with its universal baggage that is dissolved, not the Real SELF which forever is. Self-dissolution is SELF-possession. The eternal debate on the merits of the two cases, namely, the nihilism of Buddhism and the theory of Maya (Mayavada) of Shankaracharya continues though with no solution yet as to the final validity of either to the invalidation of the other. Therefore, your observation is very deep, your comment most perceptive, noble one, and my thankfulness to you for it. My re-comment is by no means a contradiction of your observation but an elaboration on the idea rather. God bless you great one !

FRIEND 4

Dear friend, your erudition, your lyrical expression thereof of your spiritual emotions and the sheer conviction which is so very explicit in your writings makes me wonder about the depth of your prodigious talents and of the grace which the Divine surely has showered on your being. I earnestly wish you will come along with us in the mission to propagate the Word, to spread the message of the Lord and of the good news as they say of the advent of God only the other day at Dakshineswar in the garb of a brahman priest. Blessed are you my friend that the Vak has descended on you in torrents of bliss that you may assuage the grief of this storm-tossed world a bit by your heart's sincere feel, your soul's sublimity and by the music of the words that are spelt through you by the Ancient Poet who sings, oh, He sings through you His ancient song, " Come ye all that are heavy laden and I shall give thee refuge." Noble one, yours is a gift from God and you must spend your while serving Him who giveth it all. I wish you well and I pray you will serve the Great Cause for which Swamiji lived and died and for which we, his children, who have inherited his all must in the final analysis account for to our own selves. May Thakur-Ma-Swamiji ever guide your steps as you scale the precipitious path of Maya even unto the summit of realizations, Brahman.

FRIEND 3

Dear friend, I feel utterly humbled by the rapidity of your responses to my posts in the form of your illumined comments and wonder how well-informed you must be that you can fill in so much data in so short a time. Your comments are more in the order of enlightened commentary on the posts replete with references and instances which makes me wonder as to which is worth reading more, my original text or your comments thereof. They highlight the role a constructive critic plays in the flourishing of a literary piece as opposed to what a dastardly critic often does to it to satiate his malicious intent. Bhaskar, the essential goodness of your being shines through your comments and inspires me to tune in once more to my inner self that I may do justice to readers when I word my thoughts. Thank you dear friend for your magnanimity and for all your support. May Thakur ever hold your hand and lead you to freedom is the earnest prayer of this servant of his.

FRIEND 2

I exhort you, dear friend, that you use your considerable talents for the propagation of the message of Thakur-Ma-Swamiji. It is an unfailing wonder to me how you write so well, with such felicity of expression and with such rich input of content. One more thing and that is the movement of your language, buoyant, vibrant, symphonic and resonating to the rhythms of the soul. It lifts the reader to a blissful realm which is the greatest gift he may receive from his writer and this singular feature of your prose, so lyrical, so full of ecstatic love for the divine, the words flowing with gay abandon, overflowing with the rapture of the heart, raises your work to artistic altitude where beauty abounds which is the essence of true poetry. My dear friend, your prose is poesy, what more need I say ?

BHASKAR SEN SHARMA, A FRIEND IN DELIGHT 4

Dear friend, your erudition and expression thereof sets you very high in my estimation. I genuinely feel you should seriously consider the divine mission of propagating Thakur-Swamiji's words or, as they say in Christian parlance, THE WORD, THE GOOD NEWS of the advent of the Lord. My deepest regards for the sheer spontaneity of your literary flow as also the richness of content therein. Your mellifluous style renders your writing a melodic measure which makes reading a harmonic, healing experience and settles the soul in a peaceful mode, serene, blissful. This is the great gift, dear friend, you are giving, perhaps unconsciously and thankfully so, to the world and this it is that is binding me and many a reader, for sure, in loving bond of readership to you and friendship thereof. The pulsations of love and peacefulness that permeate your writing are expressive of the nobility of your soul and they make your words vibrate with sattwa which is the pervasive fragrance of your being. Thank you, dear friend, for reading and appreciating my feeble posts and thereby greatly encouraging me to carry the work forward. My mission it is to spread THE WORD. Do help me in this grand endeavour for alone I can scarce achieve the objective. May Thakur guide your steps is the prayer of this servant of His and this friend of yours!

ELUCIDATION 1 : Blows are what awaken us and help to break the dream...Vivekananda.

Blows of the world smash this ephemeral dream that life is. We cling to the world seeking joy and repose in it. But this world is a contradiction in terms and will give us no rest. When happiness visits us for a while we are trapped by the wiles of Maya. We believe that this joyous state will continue for ever. But grief is the reverse of the same coin whose obverse joy is. And soon it comes in the wake of the joy we are immersed in to awake us to the unreality of this world. Grief is intense and its concentrated force jolts us hard in our midsummer night's dream and we awake to our real Self which is imperishable. The phenomenal universe is a dream, nay, a nightmare. It is a discontinuous, fractured structure, full of fault-lines that collapses under its weight when Revelation Time comes ( Kalenatmani vindati ).The Self is effulgent and  must in the fullness of time reveal itself. When this time will be is unknown to any except Mahamaya. She alone nurses the soul and nourishes it with myriad experiences of Maya till She deems the soul's time to be up and then She releases Her hold on it. And lo, the dream breaks under the sledgehammer blows of Maya, the clouds disperse, rent apart, blown off by the wind of discrimination that follows in the wake of the thunderbolt of misfortune and Dame Fortune smiles on the aspirant soul releasing it unto its true identity, THE SELF.

GAHANANANDA 4

A few days into his stay at the Shillong Ashrama the consecration of the Sri Ramakrishna Temple there was scheduled to take place. To grace the occasion, Swami Sankaranandaji (President of the Order), Swami Madhavanandaji (General Secretary of the Order) and many other venerable monks had assembled at the Ashrama. One day a devotee chanced to address Swami Sankaranandaji thus:"Maharaj, you are going to install the image of Sri Ramakrishna."Instantly, Swami Sankaranandaji corrected him saying," No, because He will reside here, I had to come." This simple remark made a profound impression on Swami Gahanananda's mind as he pondered over its vast significance. His monastic ideal stood transfigured into a life-long consecration of worshipful service to his Chosen Ideal Sri Ramakrishna who was now, more than ever before, a living ideal permeating the Order, not merely in figurative terms but in terms tangible, the soul and substance, the spirit and essence of the Order. The sage gave utterance to the Word, the young aspirant plumbed the depths of its oceanic significance. And thus is the Word carried from the luminous preceptor to the befitting recipient. The consecration ceremony was duly performed and the Shillong Ashrama became a mart of joy. To Swami Gahanananda it was Sri Ramakrishna's advent indeed at the Ashrama that had ushered in the supernal bliss.

In Shillong Swami Gahanananda used to conduct relief services along with Swami Soumyanandaji and some lay devotees.

Worship of the Divine Mother was prevalent among the local Khasi people. Once, Swami Gahanananda gave a discourse on Mother worship in a local village and spoke at length on the profundity and sublimity of such worship. This so appealed to the simple village-folk that they said to Maharaj, "You are the first one of all who have visited us who says that our way of worship is right. Those who have come here before you have all said that our worship is all wrong."

Naresh Maharaj had witnessed how much the Khasi people loved his cousin, the great Ketaki Maharaj who had given his life for the uplift of these people. One day, the simple hill-men had come and sung ' Guru kripa hi kevalam ' to the ailing Ketaki Maharaj, then in his final illness, and paid their last respects, so to say. The incident made an indelible impression on Naresh Maharaj's mind and forever endeared him to the people of Meghalaya. They became his kith and kin and he drew closer to them than the more sophisticated people among the so-called educated classes.The simplicity of their being was the flavour of their souls. Swami Gahanananda would reminisce, "I was in Shillong for only four years and a half but the memory of working in the midst of the hill people is still undiminished. The joy one got by serving them could only be compared with the joy one derived by providing drinking water to a thirsty person. The mind would fill to the brim, even unto overflowing."

Many young aspirants joined the Shillong Ashrama at this time. Naresh Maharaj inspired them with the high ideals of monasticism and upheld before them the glorious tradition of the Ramakrishna Order.

A novice, within a few days of joining the Ashrama, was down with severe B-coli infection which resulted in frequent urination with bleeding and excruciating pain. There being no attached bathroom, Swami Gahananandaji used to lead him, holding him by the hand, to the bathroom which was at a distance from his room.The Brahmachari recovered in a few days from his illness.

At the dining hall one evening, Gahananandaji noticed that a certain Brahmachari was absent for dinner. On enquiry he came to know that the said person was suffering from an upset stomach. Maharaj affectionately asked him if he had seen a doctor. But the Brahmachari said that he did not think it necessary to see one as he thought he would be alright in a couple of days. At this Maharaj pointed to the Brahmachari's body and asked, "Whose body is this?" The Brahmachari replied, "It is mine." With firmness born out of conviction Maharaj replied,"Yes, this body was yours, but from the day you joined the Ramakrishna Order, it is the property of Sri Ramakrishna, and you have no right to neglect it or misuse it."

Adapted by Sugata Bose from Swami Gahanananda, a Belur Math publication, 16 November,2007.

GAHANANANDA 3

The Advaita Ashrama had been set up by Swami Vivekananda to propagate the pristine philosophy of non-dualism of the Vedanta. Thus, there were no provisions for ritualistic worship of Sri Ramakrishna there in those days when Brahmachari Naresh joined the Ashrama. It was a publication office with just a meditation room on the top-most floor. However, the sphere of activity here was large and Nareshchandra came in contact with monks of the different centres of the Order . Maharaj later reminisced, " Because of publication work, Advaita Ashrama had contacts with many countries and I became exposed to an international outlook and culture.Even at that time, huge was the work arena." 

On February 25, 1944, Nareshchandra was initiated into the vows of brahmacharya by his Guru Swami Virajanandaji. He was named Brahmachari Amritachaitanya.

Naresh Maharaj was an ideal karma-yogi. He would never cower under the pressure of adverse circumstances and shy away from the performance of what he understood to be his duty. An instance that highlights this feature of his personality occurred during the post-partition communal riots in Kolkata. From the top-floor of the Advaita Ashrama Maharaj discovered the plight of a hapless Muslim family, starving and in mortal peril from the rioters. Through sign-language they communicated to Maharaj that they had nothing to eat. Thereupon, risking the riots, Maharaj nonetheless took food to them daily in a tiffin-carrier till the day they were escorted by the police them to a safer place.

In November 1945,Naresh Maharaj went to Deoghar on a month's leave.From there he visited Hrishikesh, Kankhal and Varanasi. He met senior Swamis of the Order, Atulananandaji, Premeshanandaji, Saradeshanandaji, Jagadanandaji and others. From Varanasi he returned to Kolkata.

In 1947 he went on leave to the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati. He would later reminisce," My stay in Mayavati was one of immense joy. Raja Maharaj used to say,' To be a monastic worker in Mayavati means a prize-posting.' Truly, Mayavati has no parallel---holy atmosphere, snow-clad peaks of Himalayas, and then Swami Vivekananda stayed there. Mayavati is a place of tapasya(austerity).At 2 or 2:30 a.m. I would wake up, with no need of further sleep, fully refreshed. Japa (chanting) and meditation was easy there. One night, I was seated on the first floor verandah covering myself with a woollen blanket when I saw a strange sight --- huge trees standing quiet and motionless. The scriptures say, ' Vriksha iva stabdhah ' (the trees are motionless as if in deep meditation). On another occasion he said, " Those who are engaged in sadhana and devotional practices will derive immense benefit by staying in Mayavati."

Brahmachari Amritachaitanya returned to Kolkata in February 1948. On 12 March, the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Virajanandaji blessed him with the vows of sannyasa. He received the name 'Gahanananda'. Another 4 years and 3 months he remained a monastic worker at the Advaita Ashrama, Kollkata. In June 1952 he was transferred to the Bagerhat Ashrama in erstwhile East Pakistan. There he served for 6 months before he was transferred again, this time to the Shillong Ashrama, Meghalaya in the North-East Provinces in the last week of February, 1953. Swami Soumyanandaji was the President of the Shillong Ashrama then.

Adapted by Sugata Bose from Swami Gahanananda, a Belur Math publication, 16 November,2007.