Chandranathji

Chandranathji enabled me to reach the lotus feet of Baba. I shall therefore write about him first.

Had he not been especially considerate, Baba would have remained inaccessible to me.

I knew Chandranathji, who is now an acarya, since my childhood as our families were related.

His ancestors were very religious, wise and famous for their qualities of bravery and wisdom. In addition, they were highly esteemed and of repute in society.

He inherited all these ancestral qualities, and on account of his sacrifice, perseverance, keenness and sadhana he has added immensely to these noble characteristics.

Fortunately, right from our adolescence we were together in school and college, and even stayed in the same hostel. After completing his education he chose to pursue a career in the Police.

Chandranathji, from the very beginning of his career was a sober, peaceful and pleasant person having deep faith in good conduct and character. Faith in God and religion was to him the most valued asset of his life. From his student days Chandranathji was a worshipper of Vishnu whereas I worshipped Shiva, yet both of us were non-vegetarians.

Just as Chandranathji was the repository of all virtues, so was I full of mischief and vices, yet he had great personal love and affection for me.

This I consider to be due to his largeness of heart and his magnanimity of mind.

Whilst Chandranthji had chosen the Police, I was appointed to the Central Excise Department. My job involved visiting all sorts of production units such as tobacco, clothing, steel and so forth, and assessing the duties to be levied on the industries.

Although we had fixed formulae to calculate the taxes, much was left to the discretion of the individual official. Due to this, the agents were especially prone to corruption and bribery, which was later to lead to serious conflicts in my career.

In 1952 I was posted in Bhagalpur in the state of Bihar, while Chandranathji was at Dumka, the district headquarters of Santhal Pargana in the same state. This area also fell within my official jurisdiction and whenever I visited Dumka I stayed with him.

I was staying with Chandranthji once in 1953 when I was served with non-vegetarian food as usual at dinner, but he was served a vegetarian meal.

I was quite surprised at this, for both of us had loved non-vegetarian food. Of course I asked him about it and he revealed that now he was doing yoga, and vegetarian food was recommended whilst practicing this meditation.

I did not like this change and from this moment onwards we entered a kind of competition. I myself greatly enjoyed eating meat and good food and was a heavy smoker.

Chandranthji’s turning away from customs we had formerly shared seemed to me to be a reproach. I wanted now to drag him back to his former habits and ways, and he desired that I might also tread on his newly found path. In this game our mutual friend, Shrii Kishanjii would generally side with Chandranathji and therefore his side became strong. This tug-of-war continued for about six months, and finallyChandranathji succeeded. But I was delighted by my defeat. I wonder how much joy Chandranathji derived from his victory!

My stay in Bhagalpur was a period of great struggle in my career. It appeared as if the chain of difficulties were never-ending. Shrii Ajit Singh, the local senior officer of my department was ill-disposed towards me, and was harassing me relentlessly.

He would frequently call me and demand explanations of my work and he blamed me for things I had not done. He habitually addressed me in an insulting manner, criticised me unreasonably and spoke ill of me to my colleagues. He later brought accusations of misconduct and extortion against me. It was, in reality, he himself who was an extortionist.

He was a corrupt officer who collected monthly bribes even from his own subordinates. I, for one, refused to pay.

A VISION OF BABA

During these difficult times in the first week of October 1953, Chandranathji came to my house at about ten in the evening. That day I was particularly worried and depressed on account of the insulting behaviour of my boss and had gone to bed without taking my supper. Chandranathji’s presence relieved me a bit, and I opened up before him.

His reaction was brief and measured - “You in dejection! Inconceivable!” He was familiar with my nature as we had lived together since our childhood, but I had also truly depicted my state of mind. Anyhow, on my insistence we had our meal together.

After the night’s rest and breakfast in the morning we went to attend our respective offices. When we met in the afternoon at about four, I again began to relate the saga of my official difficulties to him. Perhaps he had heard enough of the recital of my difficulties and to put and end to it, when he rose to attend to his evening calls he said, “Nagina! I challenge any one to try to hurt me. Even if God wants to do me some harm He has first to give it a thousand thoughts!”

I was totally surprised to hear these words from him. I began to ponder what type of miraculous power he had acquired that he dared to challenge even the Almighty!

While I was cogitating on these matters he returned and began to prepare for his evening meditation. He wanted a blanket spread in the drawing room for his practice.

In his presence I ordered my domestic assistant to put a small wooden seat on the floor, and to place a folded blanket on it so he could sit there for meditation.

However, he corrected me and told the domestic assistant that there was no need for a wooden seat and that the blanket should be spread and not folded. I wondered what kind of mediatation was this? I teasingly asked whether he really wanted to meditate or to go to sleep.

He only smiled at me and closed the doors after the blanket had been spread.

By now it was nearly sunset. I was still wondering what strength Chandranthji had acquired that he did not hesitate to challenge even God! Absorbed in these thoughts I went to my bed and reclined against the pillow. I began to think over and over about this.

Whilst thinking about this, I closed my eyes and began to ponder about that unknown force who made Chandranathji fearless of even God.

As I lay thus absorbed, a vision of a gentleman of medium height and fair complexion, dressed in dhoti, kurta and shoes, with hair combed back and wearing spectacles, dawned in my mind’s eye.

Attracted, I continued to look at his divine, pleasant and effulgent face. Although I had never seen this person before, I was completely absorbed in him and unaware of the passaing of time.

Certainly I was neither asleep nor dreaming.After some time when my domestic assistant called me, the spell was broken and I was informed that Chandranathji had been waiting for me outside for quite some time. On coming out to him I realised that it was nearly eight in the evening. I wondered what I had been doing lying down for nearly two whole hours. I could only recollect the entrancing look of that unknown person. My salutations to He who is always so loving towards His devotees!

I came to the drawing room along with Chandranathji, and began to inquire about his meditation practice and it’s methodology, but he only replied that he was doing yoga sadhana. When I inquired whether he had a guru, he replied in the affirmative but refused to divulge more details.

I only learned later on, that in those days Baba had forbidden any of His disciples to mention Him without His permission.

I felt a little hurt by Candranathji’s reticence, but replied that I would describe someone and that he should tell me if he recognised the description. Then I related a truthful description of the gentleman whose image had come into my mind.

After listening to me he exclaimed, “When you know Him so closely and intimately- why are you bothering me so much for the last six months!”

Then I told him all that happened to me while he was doing his meditation.

I also told him, “After being absorbed in this spellbinding vision all my anxiety seems to be disappearing and proportionately my courage is increasing”. My departmental head was to inspect my office the next day and I added, “I will not yield even if my office becomes a battlefield.”

On hearing this, Chandranathji had a reply that touched my heart. Although at that time he was neither a tattvika nor an acarya, yet his reply was full of such wisdom that would come from a spiritually advanced person.

He said, “If a mere thought of that great man can bring such change in you, then certainly when you get His blessings and are under His protective care you will be able to challenge even God.” This statement of his worked like magic on me. My fear evaporated and and I felt strong enough to face a hundred hostile bosses.