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.

From his student days Chandranathji was a worshipper of Vishnu whereas I worshipped Shiva, yet both of us were non-vegetarians.

• Chandranathji was the repository of all virtues
• I was full of mischief and vices.

Yet he had great personal love and affection for me because of 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.

We had fixed formulae to calculate the taxes. But much was left to the discretion of the individual official.

This made the agents 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. 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.

He revealed that now he was doing yoga, and vegetarian food was recommended whilst practicing this meditation.

I did not like this change. From this moment onwards, we entered a kind of competition.

I 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. Finally, Chandranathji succeeded.

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 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 10pm.

That day I was particularly worried and depressed on account of the insulting behaviour of my boss and had gone to bed without dinner.

Chandranathji’s presence relieved me a bit, and I opened up before him.

His reaction was brief and measured - “You in dejection! Inconceivable!”

The next day at 4pm, I again began to relate my official difficulties to him.

Perhaps he got tired of it and 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!”

He wanted a blanket spread in the drawing room for his practice.

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 meditation 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.

Absorbed in these thoughts, I closed my eyes and wondered about that unknown force who made Chandranathji fearless of even God.

Then I saw in my mind’s eye a vision of a gentleman:

• of medium height and fair complexion
• dressed in dhoti, kurta and shoes
• with hair combed back and wearing spectacles

I was completely absorbed in him and unaware of the passing of time.

After some time when my domestic assistant called me. The spell was broken.

I was told that Chandranathji had been waiting for me outside for some time. I had been lying for two whole hours!

I asked Chandranathji about his meditation practice and its methodology. He said he was doing yoga sadhana.

I asked if he had a guru. He said yes but refused to give details.

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

I described to him the man that I saw in my mind.

I told him that after being absorbed in this spellbinding vision, all my anxiety disappeared and my courage increased proportionately.