Editorial

Nityananda and Haridas as directed by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu were once going around the streets of Navadwip, spreading the name of the Lord. Jagai and Madhai, two drunkards who were the terror of the town, opposed these messengers of love. Once, Madhai attacked Nityananda and wounded him grievously. The saint only replied, “Shall I stop giving you love, because you have hit me?” This merciful love transformed the ruffians and they became the disciples of Sri Chaitanya.

One day while walking in Cairo, Swami Vivekananda and his companions, engrossed in some discussion, lost their way. They found themselves in a squalid, ill-smelling street where half-clad women sat at doorsteps and peeped out from windows. Swamiji initially did not notice them until a group of noisy women began laughing and called out to him. Though his companions tried to quickly usher Swamiji away from there, he gently disengaged from them and approached the women on the bench. Standing in front them he said, “Poor children! Poor creatures! They have put their divinity in their beauty. Look at them now!” and began to weep. The women were silenced and abashed. Swamiji’s compassion awakened them to their pitiable condition and turned their thoughts towards God. One of them leaned forward and kissed the hem of his robe, murmuring brokenly in Spanish, “Man of God! Man of God!” Another lady covered her face with her arm in modesty and fear. Slowly, Swamiji and his companions walked away from there.

Swami Turiyananda, a direct-disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, was once explaining Vedanta to a Western disciple as they walked along a fashionable avenue in New York. As he went deeper into the subject, the faster he began to Break the Cage walk and the louder his voice became. Then suddenly, he halted in the street and with one arm raised in air told the disciple almost shouting, “Be a lion, be a lion, break the cage and be free! Take a big jump and the work is done!” It was a call that the surprised fashionable New York people heard in wonder.

Indeed, down the ages, men of God have always given the call for love, compassion, and spiritual courage. But somehow, we, the people on the street, have chosen to be deaf and we continue to live in our multi-layered cages: the cage we are born with – body, mind, ego, and samskaras; the cage we have constructed for ourselves – identities born of relationships with people, ideas, things, and places; and the cage forged for us by the world – situations, and circumstances. The consequence of living in these cages are violence, debased sense gratifications, and false sense of happiness and goodness.

The irony is that most of us do not even recognise the cage as an imprisonment. We accept our condition as a natural state of life and are happy to enjoy the ‘freedom’ of pacing around in the cage! We spend our energies in polishing the cage, defending it, and glorifying it with euphemistic names. Our individual cages, then together shape new cages for our whole society.

It really requires a lion’s courage to break free from all these cages. We have to take ‘a big jump’, a leap of faith – faith in our innate divinity, faith in the divinity of others, and faith in God – to awaken ourselves and others to a life of true freedom.

Let us begin this new English calendar year with a prayer and a vow to recognise and break these cages.

The Sannyasi as a Probabilist

BRAHMACHARI SUBODHA CHAITANYA

Swami Vivekananda’s luminous mind probed virtually every domain of human excellence to its depth and came up with astounding revelations. Little known however is his mastery of the nuances of probability theory in Statistics. This article gives us a peep into this hither-tounknown aspect of Swamiji.

Prologue E nglish qualifiers bearing on greatness might well be vying with each other to represent the manysplendored personality of Swami Vivekananda. Be that as it may, Swami Vivekananda defies superlatives. Had he only delivered that supremely felicitous speech in Chicago on 11 th September’1893, his place in the religious history of the world would have been assured. Had his only contribution to the world-thought been the unique presentation of four Yogas – Jnana, Bhakti, Raja, and Karma and their integration, he would be acclaimed as the prophet of synthesis. Had he only founded the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, he would have been immortalized as the creator of a new face of monasticism. Had his only gift to the world literary been his celebrated travelogue written in colloquial Bengali, he would be hailed today as the originator of a new style in Bengali literature. That he gave us all these and more – so much more – is our great good fortune and is a testament to the power of an extraordinary soul-force being brought to bear upon diverse domains of human endeavors. No wonder, this ‘prophet of infinitude’ 1 appears in a mind -boggling multiplicity of roles – religiousteacher, philosopher, historian, patriot, social & economic thinker, litterateur, humorist, singer, sportsman ……. indeed the list could go on. Can we possibly see a ‘Probabilist’ somewhere down the list? Or, is it too farfetched to be true? Well, not really. Let us read on.

Dice-Playing, Immortality, and the Sannyasi

W h i l e t h e great theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein - for fear of vitiating Nature’s determinism – would not have God playing dice with the universe, Swami Vivekananda – arguably the greatest champion of God – found the creator to be a consummate d i c e - p l a y e r !

The author serves in Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur, as a faculty in the Dept. of Economics and as the Coordinator of Swami Vivekananda Research Centre. Cover page designed by Anudatto Mallick, M.Phil student at Vidyamandira. brsubrata5433@gmail.com

Interestingly enough, Swamiji’s ascription of dice-playing to God does not make Him (God) a capricious Being – rather, in and through God’s created universe, what shows through is a ‘specialized’ deterministic pattern, powered by the ‘law of chance’. Surely, never before or since had the secular science of Probability been placed on such a sacred footing!

The context of Swamiji’s reaching out to the theory of Probability is as exciting as it can possibly get. He was talking on ‘Immortality’ to an American audience. Decidedly the topic was such as to have all the listeners hanging on his words. Who does not want to live forever? While various theological traditions might well expatiate on the ‘implied’ meaning of ‘Immortality’ (i.e. it is the spiritual Self that is immortal), it is idle to deny that it’s the ‘ l i te ra l ’ m e a n i n g o f ‘Immortality’ that holds the fascination for man. None can help wondering: can I continue living forever as the ‘person’ that I currently am? Theological traditions, having no answer to provide, at best promise a heaven after death. But, Swamiji took up the gauntlet. Using an argument which is a logical tour de force in itself, he proceeded to show how even the ‘formed’ beings, by way of continuation, can recur – albeit at certain periodic intervals. Like an accomplished ‘Probabilist’ he marshalled his facts:

‘In one sense bodies and forms even are eternal. How? Suppose we take a number of dice and throw them, and they fall in this ratio — 6 — 5 — 3 — 4. We take the dice up and throw them again and again; there must be a time when the same numbers will come again; the same combination must come. Now each particle, each atom, that is in this universe, I take for such a die, and these are being thrown out and combined again and again. All these forms before you are one combination. Here are the forms of a glass, a table, a pitcher of water, and so forth. This is one combination; in time, it will all break. But there must come a time when exactly the same combination comes again, when you will be here, and this form will be here, this subject will be talked, and this pitcher will be here. An infinite number of times this has been, and an infinite number of times this will be repeated.’ 2

The th o u g h t f u l reader will not fail to recognize that the whole argument above rests on the large repetitions of the dice-throwing experiment and the assurance of the recurrence of a set of outcomes that occurred at a specific throw. Now, the conclusion of the certainty of recurrence of a specific set (i.e., ‘there must be a time when the same numbers will come again’) in a series of random occurrences is something that a person with a fair degree of acquaintance with probabilitytheory can make. We might as well try to trace Swamiji’s thought process here with regards to his example of throwing four dice simultaneously and observing an outcome {6,5,3,4}. This outcome, the Probabilist in Swamiji asserts, must occur again if the experiment of throwing the four dice is repeated very many times (‘We take the dice up and throw them again and again.’). How did he arrive at this? Here is the little calculation along with certain a-priori assumptions that might have raced through his phenomenal intellect: While the great theoretical Physicist Albert Einstein - for fear of vitiating Nature’s determinism – would not have

God playing dice with the universe, Swami Vivekananda – arguably the greatest champion of God – found the creator to be a consummate dice-player!

Assuming (a) each die is fair i.e., its six faces are equally likely to occur (b) the experiment of casting four dice simultaneously is repeated ‘n’ times (c) the outcomes of each of the four dice in any experiment are independent (d) all the ‘n’ experiments are independent, the probability that the outcome {6,5,3,4} does not occur in any of the ‘n’ experiments is (1 - 1/6 4 ) n i.e., (1295/1296) n . Now, the chance that the set {6,5,3,4} occurs at least once is {1 - (1295/1296) n }. As ‘n’ gets larger and larger, the probability of the set {6,5,3,4} occurring at least once tends towards 1 i.e., certainty! (In fact, with n = 10,000, this probability is approximately 0.9995).

Voila! It’s truly amazing how Swamiji made use of this nascent science of chance (at least it was so during 19 th century) to make some hither-to unheard-of remarks on ‘Immortality’ of bodies and forms, hastening to point out however that ‘that is not the immortality of the soul.’ 3 Anyway, as the purpose of this article is to understand Swamiji as the ‘Probabilist’, we will confine our discussion to ‘Immortality’ of bodies and forms upon which Swamiji so adroitly brings to bear the ‘Law of Chance’. In yet another lecture, ‘The Atman: Its Bondage and Freedom’, Swamiji illustrates the same idea using almost the same example, with an additional idea of Probability-theory thrown in:

‘All the forms which we are seeing now have been manifested again and again, and the world in which we live has been here many times before. I have been here and talked to you many times before. You will know that it must be so, and the very words that you have been listening to now, you have heard many times before. And many times more it will be the same. Souls were never different, the bodies have been constantly dissolving and recurring. Secondly, these things periodically occur. Suppose here are three or four dice, and when we throw them, one comes up five, another four, another three, and another two. If you keep on throwing, there must come times when those very same numbers will recur. Go on throwing, and no matter how long may be the interval, those numbers must come again. It cannot be asserted in how many throws they will come again; this is the law of chance. So with souls and their associations. However distant may be the periods, the same c o m b i n a t i o n s a n d dissolutions will happen again and again.’ 4

I n t h e a b o v e example, Swamiji, in addition to saying that the die combination {5,4,3,2} is sure to occur somewhere down the line, goes on to comment on the number of throws that one might possibly require to have the same combination once more. This observation quoted above is worth being relooked at: It cannot be asserted in how many throws they will come again; this is the law of chance. We can venture to suggest that these printed words as they appear in the Vol-II of the Complete Works might be a shade insufficient representation of what the Probabilist-sannyasi conveyed. We’ll try to reason it out based on logic and evidence, make an educated guess and leave it at that.

For one thing, the sentences ‘It cannot be asserted in how many throws they will come again’ and ‘this is the law of chance’ are somewhat oxymoronic with respect to one another. If a ‘law’ is operative, then it’s ipso It’s truly amazing how Swamiji made use of this nascent science of chance to make some hither-to unheard-of remarks on ‘Immortality’ of bodies and forms, hastening to point out however that ‘that is not the immortality of the soul.’

facto true that the number of throws can be asserted. To say the reverse is to go back on logic. Granting that it’s the ‘law of chance’, not a deterministic law - even then an emphatic ‘cannot be asserted’ runs counter to the notion of ‘predictiveness’ implicit in the word ‘law’.

More importantly, we’ve reason to believe that Swamiji’s ‘spoken’ words (presumably taken down almost verbatim by Mr. J.J.Goodwin) bearing on this theme are quite different and are indeed closer in spirit to the specific aspect of Probability theory that he was espousing. Here goes a portion of Mr. Goodwin’s transcript of the same lecture ‘The Atman: Its Bondage and Freedom’ which varies in places from the same passage in the Complete Works:

‘Suppose there are three or four dice, and when we throw them one comes up five, and another four, and another three, and another two, and you keep on throwing and throwing. There must come times when those very same numbers will recur. Go on throwing, and no matter how long may be the interval, those numbers must come again. It can be mathematically asserted in how many throws they will come again; this is the law of chance.’ 5

If, in the italicised sentence above, we care to read ‘mathematically’ as ‘probabilistically’ (with Probability theory yet to be recognized as an independent discipline distinct from Mathematics, Swamiji must have been using these two words almost interchangeably as a matter of loose convention), it would clearly convey the sense in which Swamiji meant ‘the number of throws’ required to have the repetition of the outcome {5,4,3,2}. To all intents and purposes, Swamiji implied the ‘expected value’ of throws – rather than the exact value. Now, in a random process (a process in which ‘law of chance’ is operative) it is not possible to come up with the exact number of throws – it is however possible to

find an ‘average’ number of such throws based on the law of probability. In probability parlance, this is known as the ‘expected value’. Let us try to wrap our minds around what Swamiji was hinting at:

Here we’ve the situation of throwing four dice simultaneously. The outcome of the first throw happens to be {5,4,3,2}. In the subsequent throws, let us designate this outcome as a ‘success’ and any other outcome as ‘failure’. Let’s further assume the probability of success is p. The probability of failure is therefore (1-p). Given this set-up, we are interested in knowing the throw-number at which the next success occurs. Now, defining the variable (rather, random variable as the underlying experiment is random) X as the throw-number at which the next success occurs, the required probability that the next success happens at X=x , conditioned on the fact the first success occurred at the first throw is :

P (X=x|The first throw is a success) = p(1-p) x-2 ; x=2,3,……∞

It’s easy to verify that the above is a probability mass function as

And, the expected value of X is E(X)

Now, it’s this expected value (1+1/p) that would act as a fair representation of the throw number at which the second success occurs. If we consider each die to be fair, then p = 1/6 4 . In that case, the average value of the throw number at which the second success takes place is (1 + 6 4 ) = 1297. In conclusion, our educated guess is that Swamiji meant this expected value of throws when he said ‘it can be mathematically asserted in how many throws they will come again; this is the law of chance.’

The foregoing discussion is surely indicative of the effortless ease with which Swamiji handled some of the important concepts in Probability theory. Against the backdrop that this rather abstruse theory was confined to the rarefied academic circles during nineteenth century, it is all the more extraordinary that a sannyasi could master this almost to the point of expertise. This expertise was such as to have brought out unstinted compliment from no less a Logician-cumProbabilist as Dr. John Venn of University of Cambridge, England. While not much is known about Swamji meeting any great Mathematician or Probabilist in the West, we know for a fact that in England Swamiji met Dr. John Venn – the celebrated authority on Logic and the author of ‘Logic of Chance’. The ‘Venn diagrams’ - inseparable part of Probability theory are named after this great logician. According to the account of Mahendranath Datta (Swamiji’s younger brother): ‘Swamiji impressed the professor very much and he was most pleased with the encounter.’ 6 Given this mutual admiration, one would not be far out in saying that it was the meeting of a Probabilist from the East with a Probabilist from the West!

Epilogue

As we reflect on Swamiji’s exceptional ability to master even a secular science such as Probability-theory, we simply are mystified as to the source of such power. Sister Christine makes an exegetical comment on this extraordinariness of Swamiji: ‘Others may be brilliant; his mind is luminous, for he had the power to put himself into the immediate contact with the source of all knowledge. He is no longer limited to the slow process to which ordinary human beings are confined.’ 7

That settles it then! Living as he did in the resplendent glory of the Self, Swamiji’s ‘luminous’ mind was ever in touch with the fount of knowledge and he was thus able to master anything and everything with unstudied grace. His life is indeed a great object lesson that establishes that the Atmajnani (knower of the Self) can easily attain to any knowledge, if he so wishes. Small wonder, his exhortation in this regard (as always) comes laden with his own experiential certitude: ‘Try to manifest this Atman, and you will see your intellect penetrating into all subjects. The intellect of one who has not realised the Atman is onesided, whereas the genius of the knower of Atman is all-embracing. With the manifestation of the Atman you will find that science, philosophy, and everything will be easily mastered.’ 8

Let us put forth our best energies in manifesting this Atman in every walk of life – academic or otherwise. Then alone can we count ourselves as worthy followers of this master Probabilist-sannyasi for whom the only ‘certainty ’, amidst the probabilistic uncertainties of phenomenal existence, is ‘Atman’ which he never tired of pointing out: ‘The soul endureth forever.’ 9

1) Reminiscences of Swami Vivekananda by His Eastern and Western Admirers [hereafter Reminiscences]. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama,Mayavati, Fifth Edition, pp.302 2) The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda [hereafter CW]. Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, Mayavai

Edition, 2: 229-230 3) CW. 2:231 4) CW. 2:260 5) Swami Vivekananda in the West: New Discoveries.

Marie Louise Burke.Kolkata: Advaita Ashrama, 3:555-556 6) Londone Swami Vivekananda. [Bengali]

Mahendranath Datta,The Mahendra Publishing

Committee, pp.43-44 7) Reminiscences. p.329 8) CW. 2:138 9) CW. 4:246 References

Reminiscences of Sargachhi

SWAMI SUHITANANDA

Swami Premeshananda (1884 – 1967) was a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. For over two decades he lived at Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachhi, West Bengal. Under his inspiration countless people led a life of spirituality and service, and many young men and women entered into monastic life. His conversations – translated from Bengali and presented below – were noted by his attendant who is now Srimat Swami Suhitananda, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order.

Question: Sometimes things happen in an unexpectedly fortuitous way for which we can claim no credit. Can we regard such occurrences as manifestations of God’s grace?

Maharaj: No. These beneficial developments are perhaps due to some good deeds that we performed in an earlier life. However, if we have God’s grace, we will develop the faith that they are in accordance with the will of the Lord.

If we analyse this from the standpoint of a jnani (a man of knowledge), we shall find that we live within this body just as within our shirt – I take off the shirt and wash it when it becomes dirty, sew it when it’s torn, and throw it away when it wears out. But this is experienced only by the ripe ‘I’, not the ‘unripe I’. These ideals are for educated and refined people, for those seeking liberation. They are not for the common people. For them there is no other way than dualism. How many personalities like Buddha and Jesus have come! Were they able to accomplish anything? Also, what will even Swamiji do? However, those eager to attain liberation will benefit. पदरर्याणया् ियािूनयां “For the protection of the good.” (Gita4:8)

How much commotion has happened in this world because of this dualism! There are numerous sects among the Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. The worshippers of Krishna, Shiva, and Kali fight with one another to death. This is 45 sheer hypocrisy in the name of religion. Ten fanatics set up a person as an incarnation and a large number of people obey him out of fear. Thus an avatar is created! Atheists are better than these people.

Question: Sri Ramakrishna has said that Brahman includes all living beings and the world; i.e., our experience of Brahman is incomplete without them, just as the weight of a wood apple will be less if we leave out its shell and seeds. Does this make Sri Ramakrishna a Vishishtadvaitin (qualified monist)?

Maharaj: Sri Ramakrishna demonstrated that Nirguna Brahman (Brahman without attributes) is true. But does this mean that those who worship God with form do not see Brahman? Of course they see Brahman. And the qualified monists also verily see the same Brahman.

Sri Ramakrishna climbed to the highest spiritual state, and then coming down revealed that all spiritual states are true. The material that constitutes the roof is the same that constitutes the staircase. Coming down from the state of non-duality, Sri Ramakrishna would stay in the states of the qualified monists or the dualists; but this was unlike other qualified monists and dualists who think that theirs is the only true state. Read the verse ्येऽप्न्दयेवतया भतिया ्जनतये श्द्ध्याऽननवतयाः… “Even those who are devoted to other divinities with faith in their (Continued from previous issue. . .)

hearts, worship Me alone, O Arjuna, though by the wrong method [not understanding the truth].” (Gita 9:23) 20.11.60

Question: If I realise Brahman, then for sure I will possess all powers; can I then do whatever I want?

Maharaj: “I am Brahman” is true; but unless I prepare myself, how will I be aware of my powers? All the huge mansions which were built in the past can be built again if the building material and other necessary things are available [preparation precedes manifestation]. The kshatriyas pursued Brahmavidya. It requires immense power. नया्मयातमया बिहीनयेन िभ्ः “ThisAtman cannot be attained by the weak.” (Mundakopanishad 3:2:4) The brahmins preserved culture by performing sacrifices, reciting the Vedas, and leading a well-regulated life.

Question: Isn’t it enough to mentally repeat the Ishta mantra (the mantra of the Chosen Deity)?

Maharaj: Yes, provided the mind dwells on the Chosen Deity. We are not even conscious of where our mind dwells. Just as it is necessary to keep our mind on our Chosen Deity, we should in a more intense manner keep a sharp eye on what is happening inside us, in our mind. Without this, you cannot be a sannyasi. Try to visualise this: I am speeding through space and slowly the sheaths (koshas) are dropping off my body one by one. Can you infer what remains at the very end?

In the causal body (karaṇa-sharira) you can taste the bliss in two ways – either by savouring the joy of God’s disport, or by being the witness of body-mind-intellect. But a sadhaka may fall even from the highest state of devotion if he has not detached himself from the body-mind-intellect complex. Mathura Das’s body was shivering from cold; yet he was saying, “I am not trembling inside.” Even if you constantly remember and repeat the name of God, you may have a fall. Nowadays there are many who don’t observe their own mind carefully; consequently, they start accepting disciples and keep female companions. Therefore, unless a spiritual seeker habitually acts after due introspection, discrimination, and deliberation, he is at great risk and he will not have liberation from karma. न मयां कमयात्रक्ण क्िमपननत न मये कमत्रफिये सपपृहया । इक्त मयां ्ोऽक्भजयानयाक्त कमत्रक्भनत्र ि बध्तये।।

“Actions do not taint Me, nor have I any thirst for the fruit of action. He who knows Me thus is not bound by actions.” (Gita 4:14)

It is possible to succeed if you work after knowing this divine truth. However, when you work, you are bound to experience the fruits. But he who wants to be free, though working, always tries to realise नैषकम्त्र, actionlessness. Such action cannot be called work; this is just his effort to finish his work; it is worship of God. Suppose I have gone as far as Berhampore, and then want to return to Sargachhi. What is the way? I have to walk back to Sargachhi from Berhampore.This walking backis not the same as going to Berhampore. Similarly, this kind of work is not action; it is worship. As long as you cannot remain without doing work, you work; after that you sit in yoga. आरुरुषिोमुत्रनये्योगं कमत्र कयारणमुच्तये । ्ोगयारूढस् तस्ैव शमः कयारणमुच्तये ।।

“For the sage who desires to attain to yoga, action is said to be the means. For the selfsame person, when he has attained to yoga, inaction is said to be the means.” (Gita 6:3)

Sri Ramakrishna has said that whatever work comes to your lot, perform it selflessly and pray: “O Lord, please reduce my hankering for work.” At first, hold on to God with one hand and keep the other hand on work. Afterwards, work will end and every action of yours will become worship – just as the monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna used to do. (to be continued...)

Women Saints of Varkari Tradition

ARPANA GHOSH

In the earlier issues we presented the life and teachings of Sants Jnaneswar, Namdev, Eknath, and Tukaram. This article on the women saints concludes this series on the Varkhari tradition of Maharashtra.

The Varkari Sampradaya or the bhakti movement centered around Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur swept over the region of Maharashtra between the 13 th and 17 th C.E. Its tradition of allencompassing love for God included everyone breaking the barriers of gender, caste, and status and threw up numerous saint-poets and exemplary householder devotees. The ideal was to spiritualise one’s family-life and practice bhakti within one’s home.

Consequently, women who lived relatively ordinary lives as wives, mothers and sisters easily integrated into the tradition. They did not fling off worldly responsibilities and restrictions and wander off alone like a Mirabai or Akka Mahadevi. The tradition gave them space to evolve as teachers and sants or saints. They are referred to with the same honorific prefix ‘sant’ as their male counterparts: Sant Janabai being one of the most prominent.

The black murti of Vitthala or Pandurang is believed to be the saguna form of the One Supreme pervading the whole universe. Great saint-poets like Sant Jnaneshvar, Namdev, Ekanath, and Tukaram proclaimed that nothing but a longing heart full of love was needed to reach God and cross over the ocean of samsara. And the way to attain this love was through bhajan or chanting of the Lord’s name ‘Ram Krishna Hari’! This bhava, to speak to God with an intense love was the key to reach Him.

We come across nearly 15 women sants as listed in the Sakala Santa Gatha, a compendium of the abhangs of all the Maharashtrian devotee-saints. This article highlights four of the most popular women saints hailing from very different social backgrounds.

Sant Muktabai

Muktabai, whose name means ‘liberated, was the younger sister of Sant Jnaneshvar, that ‘Ocean of Knowledge’ who is credited with laying the foundation of this Vitthala Bhakti Marga, the Varkari Sampradaya. Altogether they were four siblings – Nivrittinath, Jnaneshvar, Sopan and Mukta - each two years apart in age from the other. Their father, a devout Brahmin had left his wife to become a sannyasi in Kashi and was later ordered by his guru to return to the householder’s life and fulfil his duties. The brahmins however did not accept this and ostracized the whole family. They had to suffer many torments and injustices. The parents eventually drowned themselves as the advised

Arpana Ghosh, a German by birth, is settled in Chennai for 27 years. She has embraced Vitthal Bhakti and is Vitthal’s German Varkari. arpana-ghosh@hotmail.com

means of expiation (prayaschitta) and the four children were orphaned at a very young age.

Mukta must have been just a tiny girl of three! The children continued to be outcastes until they proved their intellectual and spiritual brilliance in a debate with the brahmins of Paithan, where the young Jnaneshvar made a buffalo recite the Vedas to prove that God is not different from his creation. From then on people respected the children as divine and blessed.

Mukta’s life was entirely bound up with that of her brothers; wherever they went, they stayed together like a small family, all of them unmarried. The eldest Nivrittinath, was their guru and he initiated them into the Nath Sampraday, an esoteric Shaiva tradition, and later, when they came to Pandharpur, they became the strongest proponents of Vitthala bhakti; thus they amalgamated two traditions. Mukta even witnessed and experienced Sant Jnaneshvar’s samadhi sohala or celebration in Alandi – a sublime 5-day event of bliss and grief, witnessed by thousands, where her brother Jnaneshvar, endearingly called Maoli (mother) took sajivan samadhi. Having fulfilled his life’s purpose and with a great longing to unite forever with the Supreme he had himself entombed in an underground chamber beneath the Siddheshvar Shiva temple in Alandi at the tender age of 22!

Muktabai is depicted as a beautiful and brilliant young girl, spiritually very advanced and learned. The fact that she didn’t get married puts her above the norm. Unlike many other women bhaktas, she never emphasizes her womanhood. She dwells entirely in the spirit and is very confident. The great yogi Changadev who had acquired many supernatural powers through years of tapasya and who had many followers, was humbled by Jnaneshvar and he eventually became a disciple of the very young Mukta – a woman – a yogini!!

Muktabai composed about 50 abhangs. Her main theme is taking God’s name in order to acquire the divine qualities, experience God’s omnipresence and become liberated. In her abhangs she signs off simply as ‘Muktai’. Popular among her abhangs are her eleven ‘Songs of the Door’ (tatiche abhang). As they were treated as outcastes, Jnaneshvar, fed up with the derogatory and vile comments of the people, locked himself in his hut. With these songs Mukta cajoled him to open the door. She sang Santa teci jana jagi,daya kshama jyace angi “People can recognize a sant by his forbearance and compassion, one whose mind has no greed and conceit, one who has attained bliss here on earth, one who bestows pure knowledge! Put aside false doubts, open the door Jnaneshvar!” As can be noted she does not adopt the servile tone of a younger sister pleading with an older brother; it is one self-realized soul addressing another.

All the four siblings were divine incarnations who came to spiritually uplift mankind. Their mission completed, they followed their brother Jnaneshvar and within six months all of them took sajivan samadhi in various places. Of Muktabai it is said that she disappeared in a flash of lightning. Her age must have been at that time just 18!

Muktabai is greatly revered and admired and people believe she is an incarnation of the Adi Shakti, but she is not the typical example of a bhavik Varkari sant. As a person she almost seems intangible; her life is miraculous, full of wisdom and mysticism. Sant Janabai performed all her household chores together with Vitthala.

Of all the Maharashtrian women sants, Janabai is the most popular and her abhangs are sung widely. The way she performed all her household chores together with Vitthala, giving to her daily drudgery a new respectability and meaning, is unparalleled! She is indeed the purest example of Vitthala bhakti!

She arrived in Pandharpur as a small lower caste orphan girl having lost her way. There she came under the care of Damsheti, the father of the great Vitthalbhakta Sant Namdev. In this saintly home she grew up and spent all her life as a maidservant. She was a few years elder to Namdev, and took care of him as a young boy and later became his disciple. In her abhangs, she very often mentions her good fortune to have been guided by Namdev Maharaj, and she makes it a point to sign her abhangs as ‘Nama’s Jani’ (namayachi jani). In some of her songs she tells Vitthala that she would gladly be born again and again –only if it was in Pandharpur in the house of Namdev! Her songs show the same style and images as her guru’s. When he sings: ‘With a sling of love I caught Gopala!’, Jani says with even greater confidence dharilam Pandaricha chor, ‘I caught the thief of Pandhari! I bound a rope around his neck and confined him in my heart – I will not let him go anymore!’

As Namdev Maharaj grew up, got married and had children, there were 14 members in his house! And Janabai would call herself the 15 th member! There was a lot of work and grinding to be done! At a time when flourmills did not exist, women would get up very early – when other family members were still asleep – and immediately sit down for grinding. It was an inevitable hard work, and women would preferably sit in pairs while rotating the heavy millstone, and they would sing in an urge to

Sant Janabai

unburden their hearts, expressing their worries, their family concerns, confiding in the millstone! The rhyme and rhythm of their songs and the sound of the mill brought about the ‘ovi’, a verse form for grinding and lulling infants.

The image of Janabai grinding together with Vitthala at dawn is etched in the mind of the Maharashtrian people. She calls Vitthala ‘The one hungry for love’, and her bhakti was so pure that Vitthala was there with her almost every day, helping her in all the household chores. Her abhangs are full of such descriptions: Vitthala grinding in his pitambara, yellow dhoti, telling Jani to simply watch and sing; Vitthal fetching water with her from the river – allowing her not even to get her feet wet; Vitthala carrying the trash after the courtyard is broomed; and both of them together making cowdung cakes.

She sings, Dalitam kanditam, tuj gaina ananta, “While grinding and pounding I sing

your name, infinite one, not even for a second I forget to sing your Name! In all my daily chores I have your name on my lips! You are my father, mother, friend and sister, Chakrapani! While grinding I am totally immersed in your feet – says Nama’s Jani.” In these few lines she reveals the secret of her bhakti: to take God’s name every moment uninterruptedly and to keep him embraced in the heart!

Vitthala appeared to her in various forms, as a friend, as a father, but mostly as a female friend, sister or mother – Vithabai, Vithai, Pandurangi. Her life was one of constant remembrance of the Lord similar to Gopaler Maa and Kururamma who lived in this sacred land in recent times. It is a noteworthy step in the development of the bhakti movement that women bring God into the kitchen, but it is even rarer to speak of God becoming a woman serving his bhaktas! Being an orphan, instead of fretting about her life, Janabai gave herself entirely to God.

In another abhang she sings Maya meli bapa mela, ata sambhali Vitthala, “Mother is dead, father is dead - now take care of me Vitthala! Don’t neglect me, I’m your child! I’m your servant, ignorant and simple-minded - give me a place at your feet! Who else but you can protect me? How much longer will you just look on – I’m so weary! Life of all Life! Jani calls on you!”

Vitthala’s labour of love for Janabai doesn’t stop here. He helped her in bathing and oiled and braided her hair, because “Jani is all alone, no one else to take care of her!” When Jani feels that Vitthala neglected her or failed to appear, she calls out to him in an intimate language.

Songs and legends tell us that Janabai was painfully aware of her position as a maidservant, a woman and an orphan of a low caste. During her initial years in Sant Namdev’s house, we hear that Vitthala had visited for a festive dinner, but Janabai had been left outside, crying, longing. Feeling her pain, Vitthala lost his appetite and stopped eating. At night he went stealthily to Janabai’s cottage where she could offer him nothing but his own leavings which had been given to her. Here occurs also the famous story of the exchanged blankets, where Jani almost got into a huge trouble when they found Vitthala with Jani’s torn old blanket in the temple and his costly silk shawl in her cottage.

Though sometimes vexed with her repetitive chores and her being a woman, she comes to terms with it Strijanma mhanavuni na vhave udasa, “I should not feel sad to be born a woman, the sadhus and sants taught me this. I’m serving in the house of the sants, Vitthala gave me the essence of love!”

When Namdev Maharaj had vowed to compose one billion abhangs for the Lord, Jani was also allotted a certain number. Her 350 verses appear as an annexure to the Namdev Gatha. As she was unlettered, Vitthala himself came to write them down for her and he found them exceedingly sweet. Since that time she was fully integrated into the group of sants around Namdev and had the wonderful opportunity to have their association. She was especially fond of Sant Jnaneshvar and composed moving abhangs on him.

Legend tells that she was also one of the 14 family-members who left their body at the same time with Sant Namdev in 1350, and that they were all buried beneath the ‘Namdev Payari’, the steps to Vitthala’s temple gate. The dates of her life must have more or less overlapped with those of Namdev (1270 - 1350) and it seems she was in her eighties when she left her body.

Janabai’s abhangs allow women to identify with her easily, and they sing her songs even now. But mostly their minds remain caught up in the worries, hopes and difficulties

of their samsar, hardly anybody reaches the state of surrender of a triumphant Janabai who sings Mi to samarthachi dasi, mithi ghalina payapasi, “I’m the dasi of the All-Powerful and I will embrace His feet! This is my firm decision: I will make a festival of the Lord’s name and I will sing His names with all my chores! At His feet lies all bliss – Vitthala is speaking with Jani!”

Sant Janabai’s life and her abhangs are practical lessons in remembering and living in the Lord’s company even as wo m e n g o a b o u t t h e i r monotonous daily chores. Sant Kanhopatra

Kanhopatra was the very beautiful daughter of the courtesan Shyama. They lived in Mangalvedhe, not far from Pandharpur in the 15 century. Shyama taught her daughter to sing and dance and hoped to make ample money out of her performances and services. Though forced into this fallen p ro fe s s i o n , K a n h o p a t ra rebelled against it and vowed not to accept any suitor unless he was equal in beauty to herself.

One day a group of varkaris passed her house on their way to Pandharpur, singing Vitthala’s praises. Hearing about Vitthala’s beautiful, blissful image in the temple, and learning that He was called Patita Pavan, the ‘purifier of the fallen’, she developed a great longing for His darshan. She soon visited Pandharpur and when she saw the divine image, she was so filled with admiration and love, that she decided to stay in Pandhari and surrender her life at the Lord’s feet. Most of the depictions of Kanhopatra show her holding a veena near the image of Vitthala; so it is believed that she sang abhangs and did bhajan in and around the temple.

Whereas other women bhaktas, whether married or unmarried, were somehow integrated into a family, Kanhopatra was all by herself with Vitthala as her protector. Upon hearing about Kanhopatra’s great beauty, the king of Bedar of the Bahamani dynasty requested her to come to his palace as a concubine. When she refused, he sent messengers to take her by force. She took refuge in the temple and pleaded with Vitthala to save her, and in this precarious situation she died right there before the sanctum.

Did she merge into Vitthala? Did she commit suicide? Did her heart stop over-powered by emotion? One can only guess. Her body was placed at Vitthala’s feet and hurriedly she was buried right there within the temple precincts. On this very place from beneath the stone slabs of the temple, unfed by water, a strange tree sprang up - the Tree of Kanhopatra worshipped by the pilgrims. She is the only sant who has her samadhi within the temple of Vithoba.

There are about 25 extant abhangs sung by Kanhopatra. Many of her abhangs refer to her debased social status. She calls herself impure, fallen, unworthy of God’s grace; but she reminds Vitthala that He has liberated many great sinners. There is a certain physical vulnerability coming through in many of her songs, a desperate cry for protection, feeling her body in danger which the other women sants don’t show; Muktabai for example never mentions her body as a woman! This body Sant Kanhopatra

consciousness must have arisen from her hated profession of being the object of desire of men.

She says patita tu p a v a n a , m h a n a v i s i Narayana, “You are called purifier of the fallen, Narayana, keep your promise, stand up for your Name! My caste is not clean, neither my faith, I have a vile behaviour and character! Not even your name is on my lips – Kanhopatra seeks refuge at your feet!”

In varma vairiyache hati,deu nako Shripati she pleads “Don’t give my inner essence into the hands of the predators, Shripati! You are the Lord of those who have nobody, y o u a r e m e r c i f u l , compassionate to the low – all the Vedas and shastras proclaim that! Your feet carry that label! Now stand by it and your devotee, don’t abandon me begs your dasi Kanhopatra.” Giving instances of how God lowered himself for the sake of his bhaktas, she calls on Him to do likewise with her.

In a beautiful abhang she eventually describes Vitthala’s darshan janmantariche sukrita aji phalasi ale, “The good deeds of all my past lives have borne fruit today – I have seen Vitthala’s feet! Blessed my good fortune that my eyes beheld today –I have seen Vitthala’s feet! Blessed my feet walking this sacred path to Pandhari – and I saw Vitthala’s feet! By coming here my body became blessed hence I saw Vitthala’s feet! Kanhopatra would gladly take birth again and again if she could see in every life the feet of Vitthala!”

The following lines are said to be Sant Kanhopatra’s final verses before leaving her body. nako devaraya anta ata pahu, “Please don’t test me! Already my breath is leaving me! The doe’s little fawn is caught by a tiger, this is just how I’m feeling, Lord! Without you there is no place to hold on to in all the three worlds, Mother

Vithabai run fast! Come! I am hopeless.

Take Kanhopatra into your heart!”

Her desperate last appeal leaves us pensive that the only option to transcend her female body as an object of desire was by giving it up. It reinforces the concept that the loving relation between bhakta and God is eternal, birth after birth or as

Namdev Maharaj vows deha javo athava raho Pandurangi dridha bhavo, “No matter if the body goes or remains – my love for Vitthala is firm!”

Kanhopatra’s tree in the temple, venerated for centuries, also given up its life in 2015. No new leaves are sprouting anymore, only the slant overhanging stem remains. Is it due to the torture the pilgrims inflicted on the tree over the years in the name of bhakti by plucking off pieces of this ‘blessed bark’ to take home, or is it Vitthala’s lila? (to be continued…) Without you there is no place to hold on to in all the three worlds. Mother Vithabai run fast! Come! I am hopeless. Take Kanhopatra into your heart.

The highest concept is to think that everything is He. Failing that it is best to think that he is the real agent behind all actions and He is causing us to act. —Swami Turiyananda

Snake! Snake!

GITANJALI MURARI A fictional narrative based on incidents from the childhood of Swami Vivekananda. ‘H ari, Shibu,’ Naren called his playmates urgently, waving his hand. The boys had just entered the big courtyard of Naren’s home. ‘What are we playing today,’ they asked, running towards him. In answer, Naren took them up a flight of stairs to a big attic. ‘It is a new game,’ he said, his large, brown eyes sparkling as he locked the door.

The room was dank and dreary with hardly any sunlight peeping through the one window. ‘This is scary,’ Hari said in a slightly shaky voice, looking at the shadows on the walls. ‘It is perfect for our new game,’ Naren declared. ‘The game of meditation…’ ‘What!’

Sitting down on the bare floor, Naren crossed his legs. ‘My sister says if you close your eyes and sit quietly for a long time, the hair on your head grows to touch the ground,’ he explained to his amazed friends. ‘I want to see if that is true…’

Hari and Shibu sat down, excited by the new game. All three boys closed their eyes and crossed their hands in their laps, just like the rishis of olden times. After five minutes,

Shibu peeked at his friends. Naren and Hari were quite still, so he once again squeezed his eyes shut. Barely had five minutes elapsed, when Hari opened his eyes, scratching his arm. ‘Mosquitoes,’ he complained. ‘Hush,’ Shibu scolded. ‘Be quiet…’

Quite soon, the two boys began to feel uncomfortable, frequently changing their position on the hard floor but Naren remained like a statue, his face calm and glowing. Suddenly Hari whispered, ‘What is that?’ ‘Don’t disturb,’ Shibu muttered. ‘I am serious… look…’ Shibu’s eyes flew open, ‘Could it be that your hair has started to grow?’ But when he peered in the direction of Hari’s pointing finger, his eyes widened in horror. ‘It is a snake,’ he screamed jumping to his feet, staring at the black rope slithering towards them.

‘Get up,’ the boys shouted, tugging at their friend but Naren didn’t flinch, his body rigid like a rock. ‘What do we do?’ Shibu wailed, his terrified gaze locked on the approaching snake. ‘Let’s get help…’ and Hari leapt for the stairs, Shibu following close behind. They returned quickly, bringing Naren’s parents and sisters.

‘Stay back,’ Naren’s father commanded, standing just inside the door. Everyone gasped. With its hood fanned out and its tongue flickering, the snake hissed at Naren. ‘Let me go to my baby,’ his mother cried out. But Vishwanath Datta shook his head. ‘It is a cobra…we must remain here or it may get startled and bite our boy…’

The group remained at the door, their eyes riveted on Naren and the snake. ‘Shiva, Shiva,’ his mother prayed, her eyes wet with tears. All of a sudden, the cobra lowered its hood and crawled out through a hole in the wall. With a sigh of relief, everyone rushed to Naren, afraid to touch him. After some time, his body relaxed and he opened his eyes, looking wonderingly at the anxious faces. ‘What happened? Why are you all here?’

‘It was a snake, Naren,’ Hari said. ‘It was about to strike you…didn’t you hear us scream?’ Naren shook his head. His mother caressed his soft chin. ‘What were you doing my child?’ ‘Meditating ma,’ he smiled. ‘It was wonderful…I felt so happy…only…’ He touched his head and frowned at his sisters. ‘My hair has not grown at all…’

Meditation means the mind is turned back upon itself. The mind stops all the thought-waves and the world stops. Your consciousness expands. Every time you meditate you will keep your growth. Work a little harder, more and more, and meditation comes. You do not feel the body or anything else. When you come out of it after the hour, you have had the most beautiful rest you ever had in your life. That is the only way you ever give rest to your system. Not even the deepest sleep will give you such rest as that. The mind goes on jumping even in deepest sleep. Just those few minutes in meditation your brain has almost stopped. Just a little vitality is kept up. You forget the body. You may be cut to pieces and not feel it at all. You feel such pleasure in it. You become so light. This perfect rest we will get in meditation. —Swami Vivekananda