Inspired by Swami Vamadevananda of the Ramakrishna Order, Nareshranjan, after having sought the prior permission of his sister-in-law but keeping the matter away from his brother, joined the Ramakrishna Math at Bhuvaneswar on a fateful night. Boarding the Madras Mail at Howrah, he alighted at Bhuvaneswar at around 2:30 a.m. He later reminisced, " Alighting at Bhuvaneswar, I found that there were shrubs and trees all around, the dim light from a kerosene lamp in the station only making the encircling darkness more keenly felt." On reaching the Math by bullock-cart, Nareshranjan was warmly received by Swami Nirvananandaji, the President of the Math.
That very day his head was tonsured with only a tuft of hair left and his style of wearing dhoti altered to the monastic style. Nareshranjan thereafter prostrated before Swami Nirvananandaji and entreated," Maharaj, kindly bless me that I may lead this life in the proper manner." Swami Nirvanananda replied," Everything rests with you. If you can do everything perfectly, then only will that be possible." It was from the venerable Swami that the young aspirant learnt about monastic discipline with its emphasis on chanting, meditation and the study of the scriptures. From Swamis Nirvananandaji and Sankaranandaji he learnt how to perform all work in a divine spirit, paying attention to the minutest details. From then on he began to sit for meditation in the early hours, a habit which remained with him all through his life.
Swami Nirvanananda was deeply impressed by Nareshranjan's service. Brahmachari Naresh came in contact with Swami Achalananda (Kedar Baba) who was on a visit to the Bhuvaneswar Math for a few days. One day Kedar Baba told him," Swami Vivekananda would say that when you serve someone, think that Sri Ramakrishna is accepting your service through him." He also told Naresh Maharaj about regular chanting and meditation, and about maintaining a diary. Naresh Maharaj also developed a bond of close friendship with Shambhu Babu (later, Swami Akhunthananda) which remained unbroken till the end.
At Bhuvaneswar Nareshchandra studied the scriptures under the tutelage of Pandit Dinesh Shastri and Vidhubhushan Bhattacharya. He later reminisced, " I always enjoyed studying the Upanishads. There was an arrangement at Bhuvaneswar for our studying Sanskrit and the scriptures. The teacher used to hold examinations too." Swami Virajananda during his visit to the Bhuvaneswar Math at around this time blessed Nareshchandra among others with initiation.
In August 1942 when the country was in turmoil as the nation struggled towards independence, when the world had become ' wild with the delirium of hatred ', Nareshchandra was transferred by the Trustees of the Math to Advaita Ashrama at Wellington Lane in Kolkata. In between he visited the holy city of Jagannath Puri and nourished his spiritual self.
Kolkata was then rife with revolutionary activity as the country struggled to throw off the British yoke. The Quit India Movement had begun, the national leaders were being imprisoned and communal harmony was ever under threat. The world was at war. There was overall an atmosphere of political tension in Kolkata, so different from the relatively quieter atmosphere in Bhuvaneswar. Even the activity of the Advaita Ashrama was so very different from that of the Bhuvaneswar Math.
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