The ‘memories’ that are being written here, are the incidents and descriptions of the then Banagram Ashram (35 years ago). After a lot of thinking, now I am recalling these incidents from my memories. So it is normal to miss something or to make some mistake. For example, I mentioned that there was an Asathya tree in the south bank of the pond but, later I remembered that, one more big Asathya tree was there in the middle area of the same bank. And another thing, that was not mentioned earlier was that – in June 1982, the big pond(Ronga) became a property of ashram. Guruji’s first room was made in the place which was donated by Swapan Khuro’s (Swapan Goswami, An inhabitant of Banagram)mother. And Guruji’s second kuthia(means the kuthia I saw when I first visited the ashram)was set up in the area which was purchased by the ashram authority. There was a big bushy “Kalke Tree” in front of the house of Guru Maharaj,He used to make discourses under it off and on. There were a few flowering trees around the kuthia. The ‘Hasnuhana tree’ on the right side of the house was the most special of them, because Gurumaharaj directly transformed the tree into a girl’s(human) body.
Let’s start the story.
I am presenting the incident in the words of Murari Maharaj(Swami Niskamanadaji) himself—– >
“In 1981, Guruji was supposed to go to Punjab, ticket was already made, he was scheduled to leave 22 days later. I (Murari Maharaj) said to Guruji that day, ‘After your leave for Punjab, I will tear down your scatterbrained kuthia and build a new kuthia with thick mud walls. Now, tell me _what will be the actual measurements of the room and also tell me in which side– ‘varandah’ will be made! Moreover, how many doors and windows should be made – tell me all of these.’ Guruji did not say anything then, but he called me that evening and said, ‘Murari, break my (Guru Maharaj’s) room immediately!’ I was happy to hear that, but worried also. The reason of my worry was that where Guru Maharaj would stay in those days(when the kuthia will be broken)? When I asked him this question he replied,”Those days I will stay in the living room with tin-made roof of N’ Kaka(Shyamaprasad Mukherjee), in the village, Banagram. “According to that, I left Guru Maharaj’s clothes and books in that living room of N’ Kaka. As soon as I got His order, I broke the kuthia immediately. Then the soil was soaked to make mud. In the days when Gurumaharaj used to stay in the living room of N’ Kaka, He used to continue His “sitting” under the ‘banyan tree’ of the ashram every morning after being refreshed ! He also used to inquire me about the progress of the work everyday . Mihir Maharaj, Manik Maharaj, Haram Da (a tribal man who still works in the barn of Paramananda Mission) and I used to do all the work of building walls, wetting mud, etc.Oneday Guruji jokingly said to me before going to Punjab, “I will cut your hand if you cut a single tree, surrounded my kuthia !” In these words, He warned me so that no tree should be cut down while building the kuthia.
Guruji’s kuthia was built at last but, ‘The varandah’ could not be leveled for a ‘Hasnuha tree’ when it was built. But as the permission of cutting any trees wasn’t be given – so the work was completed by bending the varandah a little to the east.
When Guruji came back from Punjab, He started living in that new kuthia and when he had lied on a lace bed in the varandah – then the flower-filled stalks of that ‘Hasnuhana’ would bend down to Guruji and give Him fragrance. But astonishingly within two months the tree ‘Hasnuhana’ died. Seeing this, I asked Guruji – “This ‘Hasnuhana tree’ is dead, whose hand will you cut this time?” Then Guru Maharaj said – “You know! The Hasnuhana tree loved me very much. So I felt very sorry for it. See, in a few days she will come to visit here riding on her mother’s lap.
Within a few days, the youngest daughter-in-law of Goswami’s house in Banagram (riding on her mother’s lap) came to pranam to Guruji. Guruji showed me the child and said – “Murari, look she is Hasnuhana.”
The Nishipadma tree was planted much later. A beautiful fragrance came out from the Nishipadma tree at night when it gave flowers.
However, the smell of Gurumaharaja’s body(body odour) was the lovelier than any other smell of flowers. It is because that “smell” was divine, unearthly !!
[Translated by a student of class ten of Dhatrigram and correction done by Ramprasad,a former student of Banagram Ashram.]
Let’s start the story.
I am presenting the incident in the words of Murari Maharaj(Swami Niskamanadaji) himself—– >
“In 1981, Guruji was supposed to go to Punjab, ticket was already made, he was scheduled to leave 22 days later. I (Murari Maharaj) said to Guruji that day, ‘After your leave for Punjab, I will tear down your scatterbrained kuthia and build a new kuthia with thick mud walls. Now, tell me _what will be the actual measurements of the room and also tell me in which side– ‘varandah’ will be made! Moreover, how many doors and windows should be made – tell me all of these.’ Guruji did not say anything then, but he called me that evening and said, ‘Murari, break my (Guru Maharaj’s) room immediately!’ I was happy to hear that, but worried also. The reason of my worry was that where Guru Maharaj would stay in those days(when the kuthia will be broken)? When I asked him this question he replied,”Those days I will stay in the living room with tin-made roof of N’ Kaka(Shyamaprasad Mukherjee), in the village, Banagram. “According to that, I left Guru Maharaj’s clothes and books in that living room of N’ Kaka. As soon as I got His order, I broke the kuthia immediately. Then the soil was soaked to make mud. In the days when Gurumaharaj used to stay in the living room of N’ Kaka, He used to continue His “sitting” under the ‘banyan tree’ of the ashram every morning after being refreshed ! He also used to inquire me about the progress of the work everyday . Mihir Maharaj, Manik Maharaj, Haram Da (a tribal man who still works in the barn of Paramananda Mission) and I used to do all the work of building walls, wetting mud, etc.Oneday Guruji jokingly said to me before going to Punjab, “I will cut your hand if you cut a single tree, surrounded my kuthia !” In these words, He warned me so that no tree should be cut down while building the kuthia.
Guruji’s kuthia was built at last but, ‘The varandah’ could not be leveled for a ‘Hasnuha tree’ when it was built. But as the permission of cutting any trees wasn’t be given – so the work was completed by bending the varandah a little to the east.
When Guruji came back from Punjab, He started living in that new kuthia and when he had lied on a lace bed in the varandah – then the flower-filled stalks of that ‘Hasnuhana’ would bend down to Guruji and give Him fragrance. But astonishingly within two months the tree ‘Hasnuhana’ died. Seeing this, I asked Guruji – “This ‘Hasnuhana tree’ is dead, whose hand will you cut this time?” Then Guru Maharaj said – “You know! The Hasnuhana tree loved me very much. So I felt very sorry for it. See, in a few days she will come to visit here riding on her mother’s lap.
Within a few days, the youngest daughter-in-law of Goswami’s house in Banagram (riding on her mother’s lap) came to pranam to Guruji. Guruji showed me the child and said – “Murari, look she is Hasnuhana.”
The Nishipadma tree was planted much later. A beautiful fragrance came out from the Nishipadma tree at night when it gave flowers.
However, the smell of Gurumaharaja’s body(body odour) was the lovelier than any other smell of flowers. It is because that “smell” was divine, unearthly !!
[Translated by a student of class ten of Dhatrigram and correction done by Ramprasad,a former student of Banagram Ashram.]