A spiritual person does more by way of living a silent life of absolute purity than hordes of preachers who have no experience of the truths they preach. The spiritual current flows from the being of the one that has austerity and purity as the basis of his life and a converse current of materialism flows from the surface consciousness of the pretender to piety. Hence, austerity, purity and truth form the foundation of the spiritual life and one who lives such a life alone has the necessary arsenal to fire upon the world gone mad with material cravings. His words carry the fire that catches the imagination of his audience and ignites their being into living lives of a like spirituality. Those that do not have such a foundation in truth and light have no business to teach or preach for they confuse and confound their audience more than they lead them in the direction of righteousness and truth, and, more often than not, wittingly or unwittingly land up blocking the way to their perception of higher spiritual truths by leading them astray with their imperfect knowledge of the truths they preach but have not realised.
Kalipada Maharaj (Swami Putananda) was one such austere monk who lived a life of silent communion with Sri Ramakrishna even when engaged in his work in educational institutions like the Deoghar Vidyapeeth and the Purulia Vidyapeeth. When in later life he was made manager of Balaram Mandir, his blossoming spirituality brought life to many an aspirant and he was instrumental in leading many to the fold of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement. He headed the local Bhava Prachar Parishad for many years and spread the message of the Master among thousands. Many local ashramas came up in the vicinity of Kolkata inspired by Kalipada Maharaj and being guided by him.
Yet, this man of God was averse to seeking the limelight as was evidenced in his refusal to being appointed the Secretary of Purulia Vidyapeeth where he gave his selfless service for 23 years so much so that he had come to be identified with the institution completely. To the students there and their guardians the Purulia Vidyapeeth meant Kalipada Maharaj and vice versa. Such self-effacement is what constitutes the core of spiritual life and it is dependent on renunciation alone and not bombastic words sprayed about in grandiloquent speeches.
Kalipada Maharaj who was a foster-mother to the boarding students at Deoghar and Purulia was a rare soul, a monk who became illumined through his selfless and silent service and who never cared for organisational position and its consequential power. He remains a beacon for the thousands who came under his care when young, boys whose lives he changed with his tangible spirituality manifesting as love and who have in later life not forgotten him, so deep was his influence on them.
After matriculation the boy Kalipada came under the influence of Swami Maheshwarananda (Baikunthha Maharaj / Dactar Maharaj) who had established the Bankura Ramakrishna Math. The lad was fired up by the Swami into eventually adopting the monastic life and he joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1947 after seeking spiritual initiation with Swami Virajananda, the sixth President of the Order. He joined in Deoghara Vidyapeeth and served there for 16 years whereupon he was transferred was to Purulia Vidyapeeth in 1963. Here Kalipada Maharaj served for 23 long years till 1986 when he was made Manager of Balaram Mandir in Kolkata.
Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission were then involved in a legal case over the possession of Balaram Mandir and it was under Kalipada Maharaj's expert guidance that eventually its possession came into their hands after a protracted battle in the law courts. Kalipada Maharaj, as stated earlier, blossomed into the illumined monk here and lent his spirituality to all who came within his ambit, especially under the auspices of the Bhava Prachar Parishad.
As he stepped into his nineties, Kalipada Maharaj's health finally began to fail and in his last year he was diagnosed with liver cancer from which his physical form perished on 9 April, 2018 at the Seva Pratishthan where he had been admitted for treatment. Thus ended a glorious life which by its very being was more eloquent than all the words collectively doing the rounds that are issuing from the lips of preachers without realisation. I bow down to the memory of this rare renunciate.
Written by Sugata Bose
No comments:
Post a Comment