[The day, l first met Guruji ]
…..When I returned from Kolkata(after enjoying Cinema) to enter my elder brother’s house, I was terrified ! There are so many shoes outside the gate – and it can be seen from there that a large number of people gathered in the front hall of the house!! That’s why it wasn’t possible to enter through the front – so I entered through the back door and saw that there were also many people at varandah!! Then my elder brother (Gangababu) was getting ready to serve tea to people with a tea-kettle in his hand. Seeing this I ran and grabbed the kettle and in no time started serving tea to everyone. Gangababu began to express his dissatisfaction to me and said, “I told you to stay home today and you …”! Whatever, I did not listen to those words and focused on my work. After I finished to serve it to the people outside, I entered inside the hall. I glanced at Him once and started handing out tea and biscuits to everyone in the crowded room. Words of a beautiful voice were coming towards my ears. What those beautiful words were!! So this time I looked at him closely and saw that He was gently smiling and talking. His voice was so sweet !!
But one thing I could not understand why so many people of different ages had been sitting quietly for so long!! What were they gaining from that???
It was not too late to get the answer. I saw that He was answering any questions and giving answers in a completely new way!!! Sometimes He also gave scientific explanations for every answers. He explained “Bhagavata” in a completely different way ! I understood– these were the reasons why people were sitting so quietly for long long time. Then I also noticed that this was not the only thing – in the interval of a certain time, everyone was laughing loudly, which meant everyone was enjoying a pure joy also. I thought _’It is called “Saṅgasudhā”‘!!
When I got time, I stood on one side of the room and looked at the people present in the hall. Who didn’t come!!! The best scholars, pious, elites of Howrah at that time _etc were present there !!! I had heard the speeches of many of them in some congregations – then I thought they were the wisest people of Howrah! They also sat in front of him like merely a student??? Very interesting!!
Sometimes, I was serving tea and listening to his discussions – trust me, I had never heard such a wonderful discussion before ! I began to think that ‘the Man behaved a little badly in the morning with me but He posses some good quality’!!!
That meant, my morning rage came down. I heard He sat down at 3:30 in the afternoon in that hall and I saw that He discussed until about 8:30 p.m. sitting in the same position in one seat. He had no urination, no defecation, no annoyance, just talked continuously.I am telling you that on that very first day I fall in a little love with him!!!!
After sitting was over,my elder brother took Him inside because He had been given His dinner. All of the outsiders almost left. Trishanda(now Swami Parameswarananda) also went to Kolkata, only Anupda and Tapima stayed there. We all also took our dinner and We were becoming ready to take rest at that hall where the sitting took place. We meant – except my elder brother and his wife – the rest members of our house, almost 5 persons and Tapima and Anupda (Purnananda).
At the time when we were getting ready for sleep, suddenly Gurumaharaj came to the room holding a burning cigarette and sat down. So the talking began!! (I had already heard that He did not eat rice or bread then . He took only some vegetables as dinner.) As soon as the talking began, it didn’t seem that this man was the same person as before!!! Absolutely free!! Just like us, the common man !! Our native village was in the area of Katwa(Purba-Bardhaman) – he told a lot of news about this area that we didn’t even know !!This time I thought once more that it was not right to think about the man ‘that way’ in the morning ! The man is really as good as a saint should be !
The next day my thoughts about the man was broken again ! How?? It will be explained later…….(continued..)
[Translated by a student of class ten of Dhatrigram and corrected by Ramprasad, a former student of Banagram Ashram.]
…..When I returned from Kolkata(after enjoying Cinema) to enter my elder brother’s house, I was terrified ! There are so many shoes outside the gate – and it can be seen from there that a large number of people gathered in the front hall of the house!! That’s why it wasn’t possible to enter through the front – so I entered through the back door and saw that there were also many people at varandah!! Then my elder brother (Gangababu) was getting ready to serve tea to people with a tea-kettle in his hand. Seeing this I ran and grabbed the kettle and in no time started serving tea to everyone. Gangababu began to express his dissatisfaction to me and said, “I told you to stay home today and you …”! Whatever, I did not listen to those words and focused on my work. After I finished to serve it to the people outside, I entered inside the hall. I glanced at Him once and started handing out tea and biscuits to everyone in the crowded room. Words of a beautiful voice were coming towards my ears. What those beautiful words were!! So this time I looked at him closely and saw that He was gently smiling and talking. His voice was so sweet !!
But one thing I could not understand why so many people of different ages had been sitting quietly for so long!! What were they gaining from that???
It was not too late to get the answer. I saw that He was answering any questions and giving answers in a completely new way!!! Sometimes He also gave scientific explanations for every answers. He explained “Bhagavata” in a completely different way ! I understood– these were the reasons why people were sitting so quietly for long long time. Then I also noticed that this was not the only thing – in the interval of a certain time, everyone was laughing loudly, which meant everyone was enjoying a pure joy also. I thought _’It is called “Saṅgasudhā”‘!!
When I got time, I stood on one side of the room and looked at the people present in the hall. Who didn’t come!!! The best scholars, pious, elites of Howrah at that time _etc were present there !!! I had heard the speeches of many of them in some congregations – then I thought they were the wisest people of Howrah! They also sat in front of him like merely a student??? Very interesting!!
Sometimes, I was serving tea and listening to his discussions – trust me, I had never heard such a wonderful discussion before ! I began to think that ‘the Man behaved a little badly in the morning with me but He posses some good quality’!!!
That meant, my morning rage came down. I heard He sat down at 3:30 in the afternoon in that hall and I saw that He discussed until about 8:30 p.m. sitting in the same position in one seat. He had no urination, no defecation, no annoyance, just talked continuously.I am telling you that on that very first day I fall in a little love with him!!!!
After sitting was over,my elder brother took Him inside because He had been given His dinner. All of the outsiders almost left. Trishanda(now Swami Parameswarananda) also went to Kolkata, only Anupda and Tapima stayed there. We all also took our dinner and We were becoming ready to take rest at that hall where the sitting took place. We meant – except my elder brother and his wife – the rest members of our house, almost 5 persons and Tapima and Anupda (Purnananda).
At the time when we were getting ready for sleep, suddenly Gurumaharaj came to the room holding a burning cigarette and sat down. So the talking began!! (I had already heard that He did not eat rice or bread then . He took only some vegetables as dinner.) As soon as the talking began, it didn’t seem that this man was the same person as before!!! Absolutely free!! Just like us, the common man !! Our native village was in the area of Katwa(Purba-Bardhaman) – he told a lot of news about this area that we didn’t even know !!This time I thought once more that it was not right to think about the man ‘that way’ in the morning ! The man is really as good as a saint should be !
The next day my thoughts about the man was broken again ! How?? It will be explained later…….(continued..)
[Translated by a student of class ten of Dhatrigram and corrected by Ramprasad, a former student of Banagram Ashram.]