Bajitpur: From Ashtagram, Bholanathji came to Bajitpur on a transfer.
The township of Bajitpur has acquired special significance for the devotees of Sri Ma as the place where she went through the various processes of intensive sadhana. How this came about may be best related in her own words; "One day in Bajitpur I had as usual gone to the pond near the house where we lived, for my daily bath. While pouring the water over my head, the kheyala came to me, 'how would it be to play the role of a Sadhaka? And so the lila began" These two words used so constantly with reference to Sri Ma, perhaps need to be explained a little. Kheyala may be best explained by the words 'a spontaneous thought', distinct from an act of will or a wish for some desired end. It generally came into being perhaps taking shape out of the needs of her companions. Once expressed it was seen that a concatenation of events led to its fulfilment. Sometime kheyala could be invoked by repeated requests or deflected also. Sri Ma seemed equally agreeable toward any of the results accruing from her kheya1a. Lila could be translated as "sportive play" -an activity, which is an end in itself.
With Sri Ma, Kheyala was simultaneous with spontaneous action in relation to it. In the evening she again swept out her room and its precincts. She lit incense and made a circumambulation round the cottage with the burner in her hand. She took care of Bholanathji's needs on his return from work. Even to the detail of preparing a hookka for his after-dinner smoke. After Bholanathji had settled down, she asked his permission to engage in a little sadhana. This, he readily granted. So Sri Ma sat on the floor in a corner of their room and orally began to repeat the word 'Hari, Hari, Hari'..., for no better reason than that she had learnt to sing this Name from her father in her childhood. Bholanathji saw her becoming gradually absorbed in a world of inner joy.
After a few days of this routine, he saw her assuming some yogic postures or asanas. The first of these was probably the siddhasana. Bholanathji knew of course that she had no previous knowledge of Yoga or Yogic asanas; they were happening to her. He said one day,"Why do you say 'Hari'? We are not Vaishnavas". Sri Ma asked, "Shall I then say Siva, Siva?" Bholanathji was satisfied. The change of Name had no effect on the kriyas of sadhana.
Sri Ma has said that she contemplated no visual forms when she repeated the words. The sound was all in all. The syllables were like the resonance being struck off an all-pervasive beat. Her body was as if in tune with the universal rhythmn of that power, which underpins all that exists. Her body became as if an instrument for the play of this cosmic music. She seemed to become one with the sound of the letters that she uttered; her limbs, her entire body moved rhythmically as if in vibrant dance-forms of an extra-ordinary choreography directed by an inner Power. Sometimes she lay for many hours absolutely still and totally absorbed in an inner bliss. At such times her body emanated a radiance which was visible to onlookers, Bholanathji watched her enthralled never doubting the genuineness of the manifestations; he was able to brush aside adverse comments from some of the neighbours who failed to understand that they were witnessing the unfolding of the magnetic personality of Sri Ma who had the kheyala to reveal herself in the role of a sadhaka.
Sri Ma lived the life of a pilgrim on the path of spiritual endeavour for nearly six years; during this time she initiated herself and proceeded thereafter in a more systematic manner. Bholanathji realized that he was in the presence of a very special embodiment of Divine Power. He himself accepted the much-coveted initiation from Sri Ma within the first year of this manifestation. Therefter their relationship acquired a new dimension - that of Guru and disciple, although Sri Ma never changed in her attitude of complete obedience and deference to Bholanathji's wishes.
Referring to this period of her life, Sri Ma has said, "Sadhanas by which man endeavours to attain self-realization are of endless variety, and each variety has innumerable aspects. All these revealed themselves to me as a part of myself". In later years she had occasion to talk about her experiences in select gatherings of ascetics, scholars or other seekers of Truth. The pandits have marvelled at her knowledge of all tenets of faith, in all their doctrinal details. Sri Ma has said that even so she has not talked about one thousandth part of all that was revealed to her during her years of intensive sadhana. Sometime in 1922 she became maunam that is silent. This silence came as a mark of the fulfilment of sadhana. After the period of maunam, she began to converse with visitors on religious topics.
From Bajitpur Sri Ma and Bholanath came to Dhaka on April 10, 1924. Bholanath became the Manager of the Shahbagh Gardens, a part of the Estates of the Nawabzadi Pyari Bano. Many of the people who had known them in Ashtagram and Bajitpur had relations in Dhaka. The rumour gained ground that the young housewife in the Shahbagh Gardens was gifted with great spiritual powers. Visitors came out of curiosity and stayed to become life-long devotees.
In accordance with the orthodox customs of those times Sri Ma kept herself veiled in public. If Bholanathji asked her to speak to anyone, she would do so but not otherwise. Women, of course, were always free to visit and soon there was a crowd round her. The men continued to be at a disadvantage because they were mindful of public opinion, but here Bholanathji played an important role. Soon be began to be looked up to as Baba Bholanath, a person commanding respect in his own right. Under his aegis, the swelling crowds assumed the shape of an ever increasing but close-knit family.
Among the early devotees were Sri Jyotish Chandra Rai, who came to be known as Bhaiji in this circle; Sri Shashanka Mohan Mukherji (later Swami Akhandanandaji) and his daughter Adorini Devi, known to all devotees as Gurupriya Devi or Didi. Sri Nishikanta Mitra, Sri Pran Gopal Mukherjee, Sri Niranjan Rai, Sri Baaul Chandra Basak (Bholanathji's life long friend) and many many others.
Sri Ma's parents were invited by Bholanath to come and stay at Shahbagh. They came to be known as Didima (Mother's Mother) and Dadamashai (mother's father)From them, the devotees of Dhaka heard about Sri Ma's childhood days. Bholanathji's sisters and brothers with their families also came together in Dhaka after many years. One sister remarked "After our father's death we had become rather scattered; now Badhuthakurani (a term of endearment for a brother's wife) is making it possible for us to come together as a family again".
In Dhaka, Sri Ma lived amidst an atmosphere of the miraculous. Her healing touch was sought by strangers from far and near. She was seen in ecstatic states of samadhi and mahabhava during kirtans. An eyewitness account of a mahabhava on the occasion of a kirtan is described in these words: "At one moment Sri Ma was sitting like one of us. The next moment she had changed completely. Her body was swaying rhythmically. Her sari's border fell back from over her head. Her eyes were closed and the entire body swayed to the rhythmn of the kirtana. With her body still swaying, she stood up or rather was, as if drawn upwards on her foot. It looked as if Sri Ma had left her body, which had become an instrument in the hands of an invisible power. It was obvious to all of us that there was no will motivating her actions. Sri Ma was evidently quite oblivious of her surroundings. She circled round the room as if wafted along by the wind. Occasionally, her body would start falling to the ground, but before it completed the movement it would regain its upright position, just like a wind-blown leaf which flutters toward the ground and then is uplifted and blown forward by a fresh gust of wind."
The township of Bajitpur has acquired special significance for the devotees of Sri Ma as the place where she went through the various processes of intensive sadhana. How this came about may be best related in her own words; "One day in Bajitpur I had as usual gone to the pond near the house where we lived, for my daily bath. While pouring the water over my head, the kheyala came to me, 'how would it be to play the role of a Sadhaka? And so the lila began" These two words used so constantly with reference to Sri Ma, perhaps need to be explained a little. Kheyala may be best explained by the words 'a spontaneous thought', distinct from an act of will or a wish for some desired end. It generally came into being perhaps taking shape out of the needs of her companions. Once expressed it was seen that a concatenation of events led to its fulfilment. Sometime kheyala could be invoked by repeated requests or deflected also. Sri Ma seemed equally agreeable toward any of the results accruing from her kheya1a. Lila could be translated as "sportive play" -an activity, which is an end in itself.
With Sri Ma, Kheyala was simultaneous with spontaneous action in relation to it. In the evening she again swept out her room and its precincts. She lit incense and made a circumambulation round the cottage with the burner in her hand. She took care of Bholanathji's needs on his return from work. Even to the detail of preparing a hookka for his after-dinner smoke. After Bholanathji had settled down, she asked his permission to engage in a little sadhana. This, he readily granted. So Sri Ma sat on the floor in a corner of their room and orally began to repeat the word 'Hari, Hari, Hari'..., for no better reason than that she had learnt to sing this Name from her father in her childhood. Bholanathji saw her becoming gradually absorbed in a world of inner joy.
After a few days of this routine, he saw her assuming some yogic postures or asanas. The first of these was probably the siddhasana. Bholanathji knew of course that she had no previous knowledge of Yoga or Yogic asanas; they were happening to her. He said one day,"Why do you say 'Hari'? We are not Vaishnavas". Sri Ma asked, "Shall I then say Siva, Siva?" Bholanathji was satisfied. The change of Name had no effect on the kriyas of sadhana.
Sri Ma lived the life of a pilgrim on the path of spiritual endeavour for nearly six years; during this time she initiated herself and proceeded thereafter in a more systematic manner. Bholanathji realized that he was in the presence of a very special embodiment of Divine Power. He himself accepted the much-coveted initiation from Sri Ma within the first year of this manifestation. Therefter their relationship acquired a new dimension - that of Guru and disciple, although Sri Ma never changed in her attitude of complete obedience and deference to Bholanathji's wishes.
Referring to this period of her life, Sri Ma has said, "Sadhanas by which man endeavours to attain self-realization are of endless variety, and each variety has innumerable aspects. All these revealed themselves to me as a part of myself". In later years she had occasion to talk about her experiences in select gatherings of ascetics, scholars or other seekers of Truth. The pandits have marvelled at her knowledge of all tenets of faith, in all their doctrinal details. Sri Ma has said that even so she has not talked about one thousandth part of all that was revealed to her during her years of intensive sadhana. Sometime in 1922 she became maunam that is silent. This silence came as a mark of the fulfilment of sadhana. After the period of maunam, she began to converse with visitors on religious topics.
From Bajitpur Sri Ma and Bholanath came to Dhaka on April 10, 1924. Bholanath became the Manager of the Shahbagh Gardens, a part of the Estates of the Nawabzadi Pyari Bano. Many of the people who had known them in Ashtagram and Bajitpur had relations in Dhaka. The rumour gained ground that the young housewife in the Shahbagh Gardens was gifted with great spiritual powers. Visitors came out of curiosity and stayed to become life-long devotees.
In accordance with the orthodox customs of those times Sri Ma kept herself veiled in public. If Bholanathji asked her to speak to anyone, she would do so but not otherwise. Women, of course, were always free to visit and soon there was a crowd round her. The men continued to be at a disadvantage because they were mindful of public opinion, but here Bholanathji played an important role. Soon be began to be looked up to as Baba Bholanath, a person commanding respect in his own right. Under his aegis, the swelling crowds assumed the shape of an ever increasing but close-knit family.
Among the early devotees were Sri Jyotish Chandra Rai, who came to be known as Bhaiji in this circle; Sri Shashanka Mohan Mukherji (later Swami Akhandanandaji) and his daughter Adorini Devi, known to all devotees as Gurupriya Devi or Didi. Sri Nishikanta Mitra, Sri Pran Gopal Mukherjee, Sri Niranjan Rai, Sri Baaul Chandra Basak (Bholanathji's life long friend) and many many others.
Sri Ma's parents were invited by Bholanath to come and stay at Shahbagh. They came to be known as Didima (Mother's Mother) and Dadamashai (mother's father)From them, the devotees of Dhaka heard about Sri Ma's childhood days. Bholanathji's sisters and brothers with their families also came together in Dhaka after many years. One sister remarked "After our father's death we had become rather scattered; now Badhuthakurani (a term of endearment for a brother's wife) is making it possible for us to come together as a family again".
In Dhaka, Sri Ma lived amidst an atmosphere of the miraculous. Her healing touch was sought by strangers from far and near. She was seen in ecstatic states of samadhi and mahabhava during kirtans. An eyewitness account of a mahabhava on the occasion of a kirtan is described in these words: "At one moment Sri Ma was sitting like one of us. The next moment she had changed completely. Her body was swaying rhythmically. Her sari's border fell back from over her head. Her eyes were closed and the entire body swayed to the rhythmn of the kirtana. With her body still swaying, she stood up or rather was, as if drawn upwards on her foot. It looked as if Sri Ma had left her body, which had become an instrument in the hands of an invisible power. It was obvious to all of us that there was no will motivating her actions. Sri Ma was evidently quite oblivious of her surroundings. She circled round the room as if wafted along by the wind. Occasionally, her body would start falling to the ground, but before it completed the movement it would regain its upright position, just like a wind-blown leaf which flutters toward the ground and then is uplifted and blown forward by a fresh gust of wind."
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