Baba Sends His Blessings And Accepts Me As A Disciple

While we had discussed all this, we had finished our dinner and were now talking in a leisurely manner. His words had a great impact on me and I asked whether he could tell me the address of his guru at least.

He replied that he could only tell that Baba lived in Jamalpur.

I looked at my watch. It was nearly eleven at night. Some impulse stirred me to sudden action.

I proposed that we should go to Jamalpur by the night train and return next morning after having Baba’s darshan there. But he clearly said that was not possible, as no person could be taken to Him without his prior permission. Overcome with a sense of urgency, I then insisted that he should himself go to Jamalpur and come back with permission and blessings for me.

At my insistence Candranathji agreed to go to Jamalpur, and he told me in a somewhat serious tone, “You are my relation, my friend since childhood and are in difficulties these days! I will therefore, put your case before Baba, but I cannot assure you that I shall return with His permission. I am going more for consoling you as youare in difficulty. But getting Baba’s permission is quite difficult and rare.

People try for months and years before getting His permission and you want it by return journey along with His blessings. This appears well nigh impossible.”

I was still insistent that he should go, and although he was unwilling I took him to the railway station and left him in the train for Jamalpur. After he boarded the train I requested that he should repeat my own words before Baba. When He agreed to do so I said, “Kindly tell him that Nagina is a crude, undisciplined, uncultured and short-tempered fellow who has not bowed before anyone easily in his life.

But he bows before You of his own accord.” I was still not satisfied with this much and added, “Kindly tell him that like Eklavya I have adopted him as my Guru - now it is up to Him to accept me as a disciple or not.” As I said these words the train steamed off and I returned home.

It was due to Chandranathji’s large heartedness and magnanimity that he, as a sign of his great affection for me, agreed to travel at such an unearthly hour and to make me indebted to him for this life and many more to come.

Baba alone knows how I shall be able to repay this debt. Even so I feel that to become indebted to someone for achieving such a great objective is good.

Next day I became busy with office work and began eagerly to await the return of Chandranathji from Jamalpur. I was in fact waiting for two things: Chandranathji’s return from Jamalpur and the inspection tour of my departmental head.

I have already related how my relations with my local superior were not good, and he had spread a rumour that the departmental head was really coming to demote and displease me and his inspection was merely a pretense with that motive.

At about two in the afternoon I received a telephone call informing me that my departmental head had left Monghyr and that he was coming straight to my office for inspection. After a short while there was another call. It was from Chandranathji.

He was speaking from Bhagalpur station.

He said, “You are very lucky, you have the permission to visit Baba.” So I got the permission. “Salutations to the One who is so tender hearted by nature.” Unthinkingly I asked, “What about the blessing?”

With a hint of exasperation in his voice, Chandranthji answered, “Baba has said to face boldly whoever comes and all will be well”.

“Is that all?” I asked.

At this Chandranathji quite lost his patience and said, “You consider blessings to be a joke! What you have got, no-one else ever got!”

I said in my defence that I was not familiar with the new discipline and that I begged to be excused if I had committed some mistake. The fact is that I was accustomed to hear blessings in length and detail.

Anyway Chandranathji was pacified and he said that he was going to his office and would meet me in the evening when he would tell me everything in detail.

Shortly afterwards I got a telephone message that the head of my department had reached the Circuit House and he desired my presence there. Accordingly I reached the Circuit House and was busy in looking after the convenience of my boss.

He was feeling tired on account of his journey and wanted to take rest. I asked people there to arrange for his rest but somehow he offered to drop me in my office. I could notdecline this offer and boarded his car. On the way to the office he briefly hinted about what he would like to see during inspection tomorrow. He dropped me at my office and returned to the Circuit House.

In the evening revered Chandranathji came and following is the account which I received of his meeting in Jamalpur.

At 8am, Chandranathji went to Baba’s Keshavpur residence and was able to see Him without much waiting. During the meeting Baba mostly talked about Chandranathji’s personal matters and therefore, Chandranathji was not getting a chance to introduce my subject.

The meeting time was about to be over and Chandranathji’s restlessness began to increase. Seeing him uneasy Baba asked him whether he wanted to talk about Nagina and added, “when he has already accepted me as his Guru, where is the question of permission?”

But there was a problem. Baba was not free up to 9 and after that He Himself would be away for sometime. He would return on 24th October 1953. “Nagina can see me anytime thereafter. Tell him about my residence and the time I meet people.”

Encouraged by this response Chandranathji prayed for blessings for me. To this Baba replied, “Normally I do not Give blessing before initiation, but Nagina has already accepted everything and now initiation is a mere formality. Alright, tell him to face whatever comes boldly and every thing will be all right”.

Chandranathji told me that this had never happened before in any other case as happened to me. He said that it did not even became necessary to mention your name before Baba and you got both permission and blessings.” Salutations to Baba the All-Beautiful.

After a night’s rest, Chandranathji left for Dumka next morning and I became busy in my inspection work. The inspection of my office began exactly at ten in the morning. As per the blessings of Baba, I began to face all the difficulties of the inspection boldly it and it was nothing but miraculous that the inspection was most satisfactory and my immediate boss had to eat humble pie. The inspection of my head of department lasted one week. During this period he carried out surprise checks of work in many small places within my jurisdiction and even there he found no defect.

After completing the inspection, my head of department left for his head office on October 9.

This miracle of Baba’s blessings is a life long memory for me. Salutations to Baba who removes all obstacles!

MY FIRST MEETING WITH BABA AND INITIATION

Due to constant touring with the boss, I caught cold somewhere and began to feel pain in my back which subsided after taking some medicines. But I could still not go to Baba on the 24 October. Meanwhile, perhaps on the first of November Chandranathji again came to us and when he found that I had not yet visited Baba he was somewhat angry and told me, “You should go there-even if it has to be on a stretcher. Do not delay after the fixing of a date.”

I explained to him that I was unable to go due to pain but now I would go as it is.

Accordingly, I reached Jamalpur on 2 November but was somewhat delayed that day and the meeting time for Baba was over. The next morning, on 3 November 1953, I reached Baba’s place at the appointed time. This was my first chance to meetHim, but I saw with wonder that it was the same divine and effulgent face that I had seen in my vision some days before.

I bowed to him most reverently.

Thereafter there was a small drama of introduction . I say ‘drama’, because I know that Baba is ‘trikala jinanii’ or the knower of the past present and future of all entities, as I had already experienced, yet He asked me for my name and went through the formalities with me. I introduced myself formally and answered a few questions, and thereafter the intiation began.

I was asked to sit in the lotus posture for initiation. Although I sat straight for a while, after some time I had to bend a little due to the increasing pain in my back. When Baba saw me bending like this, He asked, “Can’t you sit straight?”

I replied that for sometime past I had pain in my back and therefore, felt difficulty in sitting straight and requested Him to continue with the initiation - I promised that after the pain subsides I would sit straight.

As I said this Baba closed his eyes for a moment and said, “Drink hot water and your pain will disappear.”

After initiation, I asked Baba whether it was necessary to be a vegetarian for this sadhana - I told him that I could not live without non-vegetarian food. Baba smiled and said, “Yet it is good to be vegetarian.”

He also added that onions and garlic have even more tamasika properties than meat and therefore, they should also be given up.''

I asked helplessly, “But how will it be possible for me to give up eating meat? I just cannot do it!“

His reply was marvellous. Smiling He said, “So far you have only given thought as to how meat can be eaten in the best form possible. You have perhaps, never given thought that it can also be given up. Just try to see whether you can give it up that way.”