With rare exception, there comes in
the life of all great men, an interim period, immediately after the initial
phase of preparation, which determines the future course of their life.
Although painful, this period of uncertainty and conflict is extremely
important. This short but significant period decides the direction in which the
intellectual, moral and spiritual energy conserved, and the capabilities earned
by them as students, disciples or spiritual aspirants, would be utilized.
Sri Ramakrishna, however, had not to
pass through such an interim period, for he was totally attuned to the will of
the Divine Mother. Soon after the period of sadhana
he received a clear command from the Divine Mother to “Remain in Bhavamukha”. That settled the matter for
him but it was not so with the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, or Swami
Vivekananda. Soon after the passing away of Sri Ramakrishna not finding any
clear purpose of life, Sarada Devi wanted to give up her body. She, however,
went on a pilgrimage for almost a year, at the end of which she was given a
definite directive by God and an object in the form of her niece Radhu to hold
on to.
For Swami Vivekananda this interval
lasted much longer. Soon after the Mahasamadhi of his Master, Sri Ramakrishna,
he embarked upon a wandering life with a view, not only to living a life
totally dependent on God, but also to merging into deep meditation in some
solitary Himalayan cave. However, his second desire was never fulfilled. In
deciding the future course of his life, the latter part of his wandering life,
particularly between 1890 and 1892, proved most significant. On 12th
January 1980, he arrived at Gazipur, and stayed there for a rather lengthy
period of two and a half months. He had heard about the renowned saint Pavhari
Baba and when he reached Allahabad
The Baba of
Gazipur
Pavhari Baba lived a few miles away
from the town of Gazipur near the bank of Ganga in a house surrounded by high
walls. He hardly ever met visitors and Swamiji too had to wait for almost ten
days to obtain an interview. It seems from his letters that his primary aim was
only to have the ‘darshan’ of Babaji
and to have some conversation, if possible. For, when after many days he did
not succeed in meeting him he almost decided for Varanasi
But suddenly and unexpectedly Swamiji
obtained an interview with Babaji and his whole programme changed. He was
highly impressed by Babaji’s personality, and by his uncommon wisdom, devotion,
humility and forbearance and decided to gain some knowledge from him. Babaji
too gave assurances and so Swamiji prolonged his stay at Gazipur. On 4th
February, 1890, the Swami wrote to
Pramadadas Mitra: “Through supreme good fortune I have obtained an interview
with Babaji. A great sage indeed! It is all very wonderful, and in this
atheistic age a towering representation of marvelous power born of Bhakti and Yoga! I have sought refuge in him and he has given me hope- a thing
very few may be fortunate enough to obtain”. And on 7th February
1890, “Whenever I am importunate, he asks me to stay on. So I wait in hope”. In
the meantime Swamiji suffered from severe lumbago and could not meet Babaji for
days. During this period Babaji sent someone to inquire of his health every
day. But when even after many days Swamiji was unable to collect any jewels
from the spiritual treasure- house of Babaji, it occurred to him that if he got
formally initiated by the saint, may be his way to learning would be cleared.
Deciding thus, as he lay on his bed the night previous to the day of
initiation, he suddenly saw Sri Ramakrishna standing by his side staring at him
lovingly and sadly. The vision lasted more than two hours. It recurred each
time Swamiji decided to take initiation from Babaji. When this happened many
times, Swamiji finally gave up the idea, being convicted that no good but harm
would come from it.
Thus, although Swamiji was unable to
obtain any worthwhile benefit from Pavhari Baba, he lingered on at Gazipur for
another month, due to the live and importunities of Babaji and the local
devotees.
Swamiji’s High
Esteem of the Baba
Before attempting to assess the
importance of this episode and how it influenced the future course of his life,
let us try to see what Swamiji thought about Pavhari Baba. Swamiji had met many
contemporary spiritual leaders like Keshab Chandra Sen, Trailang Swami, Swami
Bhaskarananda, etc. and Western savants like Max Muller, but it was only
Pavhari Baba whom he ever thought of accepting as his guru. Even though he never became his professed follower, Swamiji’s
regard for him never diminished. It will not be an exaggeration to say that
Swamiji’s regard for Pavhari Baba was next only to that of Sri Ramakrishna.
After the passing away of Pavhari
Baba, Swamiji wrote an essay paying homage to him in the “Brahmawadin”, in
1899, which concluded with the remark, “The present writer owes a deep debt of
gratitude to the departed saint and dedicates these lines, however unworthy to
the memory of one of the greatest Masters he has loved and served.”
What were the qualities and
excellences of Pavhari Baba which had influenced him so much? In a long
introduction to the aforementioned essay Swamiji discusses some important
principles and Spiritual precepts. He states, “The growth of man can only be
gauged by his power of living in the higher atmosphere where the senses, are
left behind, the amount of pure thought- oxygen his lungs can breathe in, and
the amount of time he can spend on that height”.
“As it is, it is an obvious fact that
with the exception of what is taken up by the necessities of life, the man of
culture is loath to spend his time on so-called comforts and even necessary
actions are performed with lessened zeal, as the process moves forward”.
Needless to say, Pavhari Baba was such an exceptional sage who had reduced his
bodily needs to the bare minimum for soaring into the higher spiritual realms.
Swamiji goes to say, “Most of us
cannot keep our activities on a par with our thought lives. Some blessed ones
can. Most of us seem to lose the power of work as we think deeper and the power
of deep thought if we work more”. Accordingly, to Swamiji, a synthesis of the
two as preached in the Bhagavad Gita,
is the ideal state. “But few ever reach it. We must take things as they are,
therefore, and be contended to piece together the different aspects of human
perfection developed in different individuals.”
“In religion we have the man of
intense thought, of great activity, in bringing help to others, the man of
boldness and daring, self-realization and the man of meekness and humility. The
subject of this sketch was a man of wonderful humility and intense self-realization.”
The Swami considered Pavhari Baba as an embodiment of Yoga, Bhakti and humility. He found Babaji’s speech extremely
sweet, but as he spoke fire came out. “Neither was his humility kindred to that
which means pain and anguish or self-abasement. It sprang naturally from the
realization…… He would never directly teach as and placing himself in a higher
position than another”. In reply to a question Pavhari Baba has said: “Do you
think that physical help is the only help possible? Is it not possible that one
mind can help other minds even without the activity of the body?”
Swamiji was especially impressed by
Pavhari Baba’s quality of total dedication to even small works. “One of his
great peculiarities was his entire absorption in the task in hand, however
trivial…. He himself being the best example of the secret he once told us of
work: The means should be loved and cared for as if it were the end itself”.
These and many other excellences of Pavhari Baba’s character and teachings had
deeply impressed Swamiji. The careful students of Swamiji can easily detect the
role Pavhari Baha’s personality and teachings had in the evolution of Swami
Vivekananda’s final message.
How did Pavhari Baba took upon
Swamiji? It is on record that there was a photograph of Sri Ramakrishna with
Pavhari Baba and that he recognized him as a divine incarnation. Indeed, yogis and sadhakas of such spiritual attainments as Babaji alone can truly
assess the greatness of Sri Ramakrishna. It is possible that due to his
spontaneous and natural humility, Babaji may have considered Swamiji more as
the foremost disciple of the incarnation of the age rather than a spiritual
aspirant, and may have felt hesitant to impart to him any instructions. Indeed
Swamiji in his letter of 3rd March 1890 went so far as to write:
“While I myself have come a beggar, at his door, he turns round and wants to
learn of me!”
Significance of
the Meeting
Let us now probe deeper into the
significance of the meeting of these two great spiritual giants of the age. Few
questions naturally arise in our mind. Why did Swami Vivekananda, the most
beloved and the foremost apostle of Sri Ramakrishna, the perfect incarnation,
go to beg of Pavhari Baba? He had attained by the grace of Sri Ramakrishna, the
Nivikalpa Samadhi, the supreme Advaitic realization. He had also been
granted various yogic siddhis by his Master. What was then left undone and
unattended, for which he stretched his begging arm before this saint? And then
why did Sri Ramakrishna not allow Swamiji’s earnest desire to be fulfilled by
repeatedly appearing before him? These are some pertinent questions and their
suitable reply as found scattered in Swamiji’s own words would throw a flood of
light on our understanding of Swamiji’s message.
Once in the course of a conversation
Swamiji said to his disciple, “One day I thought that I did not learn any art
of making this weak body strong even though I lived with Sri Ramakrishna for so
many years. I had heard that Pavhari Baba knew the science of Haitha Yoga. So I thought I would learn
the practices of Hatha Yoga from him
and through them strengthen the body”. In a letter of this period he wrote: “My
motto is to learn whatever good things I may come across anywhere. This leads
many friends to think that it will take away my devotion to the Guru. These
ides I count as those of lunatics and bigots. For, all gurus are one and are fragments and radiations of the Universal guru”.
Readers well versed with the life of
Swami Vivekananda know that there was an intense desire in his heart to remain
continuously merged in the supreme bliss of Nirvikalpa
Samadhi, for which he had prayed to Sri Ramakrishna at the Cossipore Garden
house. It can well be imagined that in the life of seclusion and retirement as
lived by Pavhari Baba, he might have seen actualized that very cherished ideal.
It is but natural that he would have once again become eager to obtain that
spiritual treasure, whose keys were in Sri Ramakrishna’s safe custody. The
repeated visions of Sri Ramakrishna in this context signify that as long as
Swamiji did not complete the Divine Mother’s work, he would not be blessed
again with the supreme bliss and repose of continuous samadhi.
But why did Sri Ramakrishna not allow
Swamiji to learn Hatha Yoga at least?
After all, he was not against learning and was himself a great learner. He
would often say: “As long as I live, so long do I learn”. In this context, it
must be remembered that Sri Ramakrishna was not merely a person with a physical
form. He was the embodiment of spiritual ideas and ideals. His repeated
appearance in subtle form before Swami Vivekananda signifies philosophically
that the new religion and the spiritual ideal best suited for the present age
as propounded by him does not tally with the ancient ideal represented by
Pavhari Baba. Pavhari Baba practiced Hatha
Yoga, but Sri Ramakrishna was against because it increased
body-consciousness and thus proved a hindrance to the spiritual growth of the
aspirant. Being the mouthpiece, and the chief propagator of this spiritual
message of Sri Ramakrishna, how could it ever have been possible for Swamiji to
learn Hatha Yoga from Babaji?
Secondly, the spiritual ideal as lived
by Pavhari Baba was narrow and lop-sided, whereas Sri Ramakrishna demonstrated
a holistic multifaceted universal ideal. Sri Ramakrishna used to say: “Why
should I lead a monotonous life?”…. Sometimes I worship God with rituals,
sometimes I repeat His name, sing His name and glories, sometimes I dance in
his name.”
Swamiji has himself hinted at the
imperfections of Pavhari Baba, “This saint perhaps is not yet perfected- too
much rites, vows, observances, and too much of self-concealment. The ocean in
its fullness cannot be contained within its shores, I am sure.”
It is also possible that getting the
rare company of the foremost disciple of the Purnavatara, Sri Ramakrishna, the
perfect and harmonious embodiment of Jnana,
Bhakti, Karma and Yoga, Pavhari
Baba must have himself realized his own imperfections and sought Swamiji’s help
in removing them. Sri Ramakrishna, during his lifetime had helped his own gurus in his turn to remove their
spiritual imperfections. What wonder, then, that Swamiji must have provided
similar assistance to Pavhari Baba? On 13th March 1890, or even
earlier, Swamiji had arrived at the conclusion that it was not possible to
obtain anything from the Babaji. Yet, he continued to stay at Gazipur for
another month. During this month, Pavhari Baba must have collected some
priceless spiritual pearls from the treasure-house of Sri Ramakrishna through
the medium of Swamiji! We have already seen that Babaji did ask Swamiji for
spiritual knowledge. Be that as it may be, the fact remains that there existed
an extremely cordial and deeply affectionate relation between the two, and they
had sincere love and regard for each other.
The poetic conclusion of this sublime
Gazipur episode not only highlights the divine loving relationship between Sri
Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, but also touches the loftiest heights of
spiritual experience. In the post-script of his letter dated 3rd
March 1890, Swamiji wrote: “So now the great conclusion is that Sri Ramakrishna
has no peer; nowhere else in this world exists that unprecedented perfection,
that wonderful kindness for all that does not stop to justify itself, that
intense sympathy for man in bondage. Either he must be the Avtara as he himself used to say or else the ever perfect divine
man whom the Vedanta speaks of as the
free one who assumes a body for the good of humanity. This is my conviction
sure and certain.”
“Never during his lifetime did he
refuse a single prayer of mine. Millions of offences has he forgiven me. Such
great love even my parents never had for me. There is no poetry, no
exaggeration in all this”.
Swamiji later described his visions
and experiences at Gazipur in a beautiful poem entitled, “A song I sing unto Thee”. Written in an ecstatic mood it is one of
Swamiji’s most important poems depicting his divine relationship with Sri
Ramakrishna. He wrote in part:
“ Like to the playing of a little child
Is every
attitude of mine towards Thee,
Even at
times I dare be angered with Thee,
Even at
times I’d wander for away:-
Yet there
is greyest glooms of the darkest night,
Thou
standest fronting me and Thy sweet face
Stoops
down with loving look on the face of mine.
Then,
instantly, I turn my back to Thee,
And at Thy
Feet I fall on bended knees.
I crave no
pardon at Thy gentle hands.
For Thou
art never angry with Thy son.
Who else
with all my foolish freaks would bear?
Thou art
my Master! Thou my soul’s real mate
Many a
time I see Thee- I am Thee,
As, I am
Thee, and Thou, my Lord, art me”
Swamiji here reaffirms his total
surrender to Sri Ramakrishna.
“Thy servant am I through birth after birth Sea of mercy,
inscrutable
Thy ways”.
Thus, there existed a divine and
eternal father-son, and a Master-servant relationship between the two. But at
moments Swamiji realized his identity with Sri Ramakrishna and did not hesitate
to declare, “I am Thee and Thou art me”.
But there is another spiritual secret
which was revealed at the final culmination of this Gazipur-episode. Swami
Gambhirananda, the Bengali biographer of Swami Vivekananda, is of the opinion
that apart from these visions another mystery was revealed to Swamiji but which
he never disclosed. This poem hints at the fact that Swamiji had seen
Ramakrishna not only as the personal God and his Father and Master but also as
the indwelling supreme spirit. For example, “For, every living temple shrines
Thy face.” Or did he see Sri Ramakrishna’s Virat,
Universal Form?
“On
the flow of Thy current and its
force/humanity
is carried as Thou wilt.
The
thunder of Thy voice is borne upon the boom
Of
crashing waves of overlapping seas;
The
sun and moon give utterances of Thy Voice.
Thy
conversion in the general breeze.”
Swamiji then continued to describe the
macrocosm consisting of the sun, the moon, the stars and planets; the Gods, the
Yakshas, the man and demons, dawn to the minutest atom; and also the microcosm,
the internal universe of the mind, Buddhi, Chitta, Ahamkara, anger desire,
greed etc. Finally, he visualized a State where all these merge and only the
pure Sound Void of Sri Ramakrishna remained:
“Ay! There sound sonorous, the Sound
Void, of vibration; Verily! Thy
voice!
Hearing that Voice, Thy servant,
reverently
Stands ever ready to fulfil Thy
work.”
But this is not all. The highest and
the final stage is reached in the realization of the Advaitic non-dual experience.
“I
exist when at Pralaya time
This wondrous universe is swallowed up;
Knowledge, the knower and the known
Dissolved;
The world no more distinguishable now.”
Thus with the grace of Sri
Ramakrishna, Swamiji had all the highest spiritual experiences, starting from
the dualistic realm of devotion to the non-dual state of absolute oneness. It
was but natural that all doubts regarding the aim of his life, and about the
nature and purpose of the advent of Sri Ramakrishna were removed never to rise
again. Hence, in his letter of March 3, 1890, he proclaimed his final resolve:
“To no big person am I going any longer”. He then quoted a song of the
poet-saint Kamalakanta to bring home the idea that when the spiritual
philosopher’s stone in the form of Sri Ramakrishna was so close at hand, why
should he wander about here and there?
Thus ended one of the most sublime
chapters of Swamiji Vivekananda’s life as a wandering monk. It is a matter of
deep regret that the house in which Swamiji lived at Gazipur and where he had
unprecedented divine experiences, still remains neglected and uncared for even
after hundred years.
