Reminiscences
Lessons from Swamis The Dec 2020 Special Issue of The Vedanta Kesari was on the topic ‘Lessons from Swamis’. New content on this topic is being serialised this year.
November 2021
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The Vedanta Kesari
34
Swami Madhuryananda
alini joined the Order at Baranagore Ashrama in 1934. He received mantra-diksha from Swami Shivanandaji and sannyasa from Swami Virajanandaji in 1944. He also served in Belur Math and Vrindavan centre. A qualified homeopath he treated patients and helped in relief works. Though he lost eyesight in later years, he managed his life independently. He attained mahasamadhi on 26 June 1983.
Eating amriti was his last desire Madhuryanandaji stayed in Vrindavan for over twenty years in a room next to Saradeshanandaji. He was a homeopathic doctor. For the last ten years of his life, he was virtually blind. As long as both of them lived in the old ashrama, Saradeshanandaji would regularly sit beside him and read aloud the scriptures. In this connection, I remember one touching incident. Madhuryanandaji had a special liking for food. He would every now and then forget that he had eaten and would feel hungry the next hour. One day the swami in-charge of the kitchen went to his room and jokingly said, “Maharaj, what do you want to eat? Tell me, I’ll feed you to your heart’s content.” Madhuryanandaji replied, “I want to eat amriti.”* It was the month of June and amriti was not available anywhere in Vrindavan because the sweet is prepared during October-November. The kitchen in-charge then said, “Maharaj, it is not time for amriti. Will you have any other sweets?” Madhuryanandaji was unyielding. He said, “No! I will have amriti only. Nothing else!” We all felt very sorry that we could not fulfill Maharaj’s wish. But what happened the next day surprised us all. The secretary swami of Vrindavan returned from Delhi with two bucketsful of amritis!! We were all taken aback. How was it possible? What had happened was that there was a feast in the memory of Swami Budhananda at our New Delhi ashrama. Those two buckets of amriti came from there. These amritis were served to Madhuryanandaji. He ate two at lunch and then rested on his bed in the afternoon. In the evening his attendant noticed that Maharaj was lying unresponsive. I immediately went and saw that it was all over. What a tranquil death and how strange! Sri Ramakrishna removed even the last fragment of his child’s desire in a miraculous way! We can hardly judge anybody from outside. Saradeshanandaji used to say, “Madhuryananda is staying in Vrindavan for so many years but I have never heard him complaining about anybody!” Note: * Amriti also known as Jaangiri is an orange-coloured Indian sweet made of black gram.
— Swami Shuklatmananda
