[We were talking about Pankaj da i.e Pankaj Mondal, a devotee of Banagram Ashram, from Karimpur.]
…….. why so much is being said about Pankaj babu here__one may ask question ! The reason is that, it is a small attempt to let everyone know what kind of devotees of God himself (Swami Paramananda) may be. Just as_ a flower basket is filled with various types of flowers, so was the various devotees centering around Guru Maharaj !
I’m trying to give a brief description of them as I noticed that time. But one thing to keep in mind is that, these people are not well known or acceptable to the Paramananda devotees for their family identity- they are blessed as devotees of Swami Paramananda, they are acceptable to us only because of Paramananda ! They are devotees of God himself(Swami Paramananda) !!
As long as there is God, there will be devotees – without devotees there is no ‘Leela'(dalliance) of God ! So, to make Paramananda devotees unimportant or to make someone great — this is not the intention of this writer ! Putting God himself (Swami Paramananda)at the center and the devotees in the circumference- as it seemed to me or as I saw them in my own eyes at the then Banagram – that’s what I’m trying to describe here–in “Banagram Memories”!!
May be the devotees whom I am describing is far above my vision or beyond my judgement. The Parmananda devotees who knew them well, they will perhaps write more about these special devotees. These writers will depict the glory of them! But I am writing here what I have seen or understood of my own !
If kith and kin of that very devotee, about whom I am trying to write something, feel bad in my presentation – I’m sorry and I’ll stop writing about them if objection appears(which has already started!). But it should be remembered that truth can never be hidden. Researchers will find out and pull out all the truths one day.
The day will come when there will be a stage performance (as a drama or cinema etc) about the life of God himself i.e Swami Paramananda, where those characters will be represented by some actors also. For example, nowadays movies, dramas are being made about Sri Ramkrishna. Most of the cases,
one of the best actors represent the role of Girish Chandra Ghosh, the great disciple of lord Sri Ramkrishna and it is often shown that in a drunken state Girish is telling to Sri Ramkrishna_ “Oh damn! your ‘bamnai’ (the proud mentality of elite caste) attitude have not gone yet – then what incarnation of God are you ?”
Besides this, once Girish(in the drunken state) lifted Thakur (God) Sri Ramkrishna while He was eating in his house ! But whatever may be ! People know that Girish was a great devotee of lord Sri Ramkrishna and respect him as others ! Isn’t it ??
Now let’s the chapter close and we get back to our previous context !! We were talking about Pankaj da. People didn’t like Pankajda’s talking too much about his glorious (as he used to describe) past ! But it is also true that one can’t stay away without loving that man !!!
Guru Maharaj often said some words almost about every devotee somewhere else. He also said something good about Pankaj da ! But he(Pankaj da) used to highlight those words, used to make a significant meaning out of those and keep saying it for time to time.
As an example – one day after Guru purnima ( a special day to a devotee, in this day the disciples worship their Guru). Pankaj da came to the Ashram carrying a side bag on his shoulder. Seeing him from a distance, Trishan Maharaj(Swami Parameshwarananda) said to Guruji, “Look! Pankaj da is coming!” When Pankaj da approached, Trishan Maharaj said loudly, ” Pankaj da! Yesterday was Guru purnima – why didn’t you come the day before yesterday (as many disciples gathered that day)?” Pankaj da didn’t give any answer in front of Guru Maharaj, he bowed down his head to Guru Maharaj ! But suddenly Guru Maharaj said – “The whole year is Guru purnima for him – isn’t it Pankaj babu !!?”
Later, we saw Pankaj babu explaining this incident to the people in how many different ways!!!
Now let me give you an example of how much Guru Maharaj also loved Pankaj da. Once Pankaj da went to his house in Behrampur (Pankajda’s original home was in Karimpur but he built a house there because his wife with her two daughters used to live in Behrampur, as she was a school teacher there.) and he was very upset to see more than one sweater of two girls in the cupboard. He said to his wife _ ‘ Do you know_how many girls do not even have any winter clothes ? Then why there will be more than one sweater for each of girls(his daughters) ??’
And the statement of the girls or their mother was that ‘there must be different sweaters matching with the color of the saris or trousers.’
Such was the problem of his family ! But this type of problems got worse day by day and the unbelievable incident occurred, because Pankaj da stopped coming Banagram Ashram !!
Everyone of the Banagram Ashram was sorry for this reason, But one day suddenly we(the devotees of Ashram) saw that Pankaj da came to the Ashram with deep black hairs and cleanly shaved face(it was amazing because his lifestyle was like a saint and he didn’t shave his beard and mustache).
What was the matter!!! Guruji disclosed us the mystery later ! Guru Maharaj felt the pain of Pankaj babu(though he was in a long distance) and sent Ganga babu, Ramesh da (Howrah), Biplob da with Trishan Maharaj(now, Swami Parameshwarananda Maharaj) and settled the matter by bringing his wife to the Ashram. It was easy to understand_ how much kind Guruji was to Pankaj babu from that incident !!
We can tell more some incidents about Pankaj da ! A letter was perhaps one of the inevitable reasons for the last misery [after Guru Maharaj’s passing away) Pankaj babu was almost detached from Banagram Ashram, for his own fault during the last days before his death] of Pankaj da !!!
The last time Guruji returned from Karimpur Ashram (Jan/Feb,1999). A few days later after that He was very sad about a ‘letter'(some devotee from Karimpur brought it) in the morning-sitting ! After completing His reading the letter, He said “What does Pankaj think of himself ? Does he think himself as Adwaitacharya that he is bidding me good bye?” [Adwaitacharya was a disciple of Sri Chaitanya, who bid Sri Chaitanya good bye just before His ‘great missing’.]
I did not know what was exactly written in the letter but I saw the annoyance of Guru Maharaj about Pankaj da that day !! After that incident, I noticed that Pankaj da quickly lost his image and place in the Paramananda Circle ! But it was also true that Guru Maharaj too __ bid us good bye for ever and went somewhere- the place of heaven that year (1999)!!
[Translated by Rajarsi Basak, a student of class Ten and corrected by Ramprasad, a former student of Banagram Ashram.]
…….. why so much is being said about Pankaj babu here__one may ask question ! The reason is that, it is a small attempt to let everyone know what kind of devotees of God himself (Swami Paramananda) may be. Just as_ a flower basket is filled with various types of flowers, so was the various devotees centering around Guru Maharaj !
I’m trying to give a brief description of them as I noticed that time. But one thing to keep in mind is that, these people are not well known or acceptable to the Paramananda devotees for their family identity- they are blessed as devotees of Swami Paramananda, they are acceptable to us only because of Paramananda ! They are devotees of God himself(Swami Paramananda) !!
As long as there is God, there will be devotees – without devotees there is no ‘Leela'(dalliance) of God ! So, to make Paramananda devotees unimportant or to make someone great — this is not the intention of this writer ! Putting God himself (Swami Paramananda)at the center and the devotees in the circumference- as it seemed to me or as I saw them in my own eyes at the then Banagram – that’s what I’m trying to describe here–in “Banagram Memories”!!
May be the devotees whom I am describing is far above my vision or beyond my judgement. The Parmananda devotees who knew them well, they will perhaps write more about these special devotees. These writers will depict the glory of them! But I am writing here what I have seen or understood of my own !
If kith and kin of that very devotee, about whom I am trying to write something, feel bad in my presentation – I’m sorry and I’ll stop writing about them if objection appears(which has already started!). But it should be remembered that truth can never be hidden. Researchers will find out and pull out all the truths one day.
The day will come when there will be a stage performance (as a drama or cinema etc) about the life of God himself i.e Swami Paramananda, where those characters will be represented by some actors also. For example, nowadays movies, dramas are being made about Sri Ramkrishna. Most of the cases,
one of the best actors represent the role of Girish Chandra Ghosh, the great disciple of lord Sri Ramkrishna and it is often shown that in a drunken state Girish is telling to Sri Ramkrishna_ “Oh damn! your ‘bamnai’ (the proud mentality of elite caste) attitude have not gone yet – then what incarnation of God are you ?”
Besides this, once Girish(in the drunken state) lifted Thakur (God) Sri Ramkrishna while He was eating in his house ! But whatever may be ! People know that Girish was a great devotee of lord Sri Ramkrishna and respect him as others ! Isn’t it ??
Now let’s the chapter close and we get back to our previous context !! We were talking about Pankaj da. People didn’t like Pankajda’s talking too much about his glorious (as he used to describe) past ! But it is also true that one can’t stay away without loving that man !!!
Guru Maharaj often said some words almost about every devotee somewhere else. He also said something good about Pankaj da ! But he(Pankaj da) used to highlight those words, used to make a significant meaning out of those and keep saying it for time to time.
As an example – one day after Guru purnima ( a special day to a devotee, in this day the disciples worship their Guru). Pankaj da came to the Ashram carrying a side bag on his shoulder. Seeing him from a distance, Trishan Maharaj(Swami Parameshwarananda) said to Guruji, “Look! Pankaj da is coming!” When Pankaj da approached, Trishan Maharaj said loudly, ” Pankaj da! Yesterday was Guru purnima – why didn’t you come the day before yesterday (as many disciples gathered that day)?” Pankaj da didn’t give any answer in front of Guru Maharaj, he bowed down his head to Guru Maharaj ! But suddenly Guru Maharaj said – “The whole year is Guru purnima for him – isn’t it Pankaj babu !!?”
Later, we saw Pankaj babu explaining this incident to the people in how many different ways!!!
Now let me give you an example of how much Guru Maharaj also loved Pankaj da. Once Pankaj da went to his house in Behrampur (Pankajda’s original home was in Karimpur but he built a house there because his wife with her two daughters used to live in Behrampur, as she was a school teacher there.) and he was very upset to see more than one sweater of two girls in the cupboard. He said to his wife _ ‘ Do you know_how many girls do not even have any winter clothes ? Then why there will be more than one sweater for each of girls(his daughters) ??’
And the statement of the girls or their mother was that ‘there must be different sweaters matching with the color of the saris or trousers.’
Such was the problem of his family ! But this type of problems got worse day by day and the unbelievable incident occurred, because Pankaj da stopped coming Banagram Ashram !!
Everyone of the Banagram Ashram was sorry for this reason, But one day suddenly we(the devotees of Ashram) saw that Pankaj da came to the Ashram with deep black hairs and cleanly shaved face(it was amazing because his lifestyle was like a saint and he didn’t shave his beard and mustache).
What was the matter!!! Guruji disclosed us the mystery later ! Guru Maharaj felt the pain of Pankaj babu(though he was in a long distance) and sent Ganga babu, Ramesh da (Howrah), Biplob da with Trishan Maharaj(now, Swami Parameshwarananda Maharaj) and settled the matter by bringing his wife to the Ashram. It was easy to understand_ how much kind Guruji was to Pankaj babu from that incident !!
We can tell more some incidents about Pankaj da ! A letter was perhaps one of the inevitable reasons for the last misery [after Guru Maharaj’s passing away) Pankaj babu was almost detached from Banagram Ashram, for his own fault during the last days before his death] of Pankaj da !!!
The last time Guruji returned from Karimpur Ashram (Jan/Feb,1999). A few days later after that He was very sad about a ‘letter'(some devotee from Karimpur brought it) in the morning-sitting ! After completing His reading the letter, He said “What does Pankaj think of himself ? Does he think himself as Adwaitacharya that he is bidding me good bye?” [Adwaitacharya was a disciple of Sri Chaitanya, who bid Sri Chaitanya good bye just before His ‘great missing’.]
I did not know what was exactly written in the letter but I saw the annoyance of Guru Maharaj about Pankaj da that day !! After that incident, I noticed that Pankaj da quickly lost his image and place in the Paramananda Circle ! But it was also true that Guru Maharaj too __ bid us good bye for ever and went somewhere- the place of heaven that year (1999)!!
[Translated by Rajarsi Basak, a student of class Ten and corrected by Ramprasad, a former student of Banagram Ashram.]