Living with Baba

Author: Acarya Tapeshvarananda Avadhuta

I Meet My Guru

I was born in a village in West Bengal. I came from a very big joint family of 57 members, most of whom were engaged in agriculture. My family was not rich. For this reason, I had to leave my village at the age of eighteen years to look for work to augment the family income. I came to a small town called Midnapore, where I got a job as a teacher in a municipal primary school. I worked in the daytime and at night I studied for my graduation. I was in my final year of college. One day in 1967 I met two monks who had come to the college to give a lecture on concentration. I attended their lecture. Afterwards I asked many questions to one of the monks. As I asked these questions, the monk told me that an intelligent boy must accept anything if it could be proven. He said to me, "Why don't you learn and practice regularly what I have talked about and get the results yourself. If it is bad, then you can tell everyone that the process is not correct or beneficial. And if you have...

Epitome of Charm

When Baba and His entourage flew to Taiwan to visit the Margiis, the government of Taiwan graciously received us at the airport as State guests of the country. Senior government officials welcomed us as we alighted from the plane. We were then taken to the VIP lounge of the airport, where we sat comfortably. The government officials offered us beautiful bouquets of flowers in accordance with the local custom. Traditional herbal green tea was then served. As there were eight of us, including Baba, they served eight cups of tea. It was a delicate situation. The dadas did not know what to do, as they did not know whether or not the green tea was sentient. Then, Baba told the government officials, "They are monks. In accordance with their vows, they do not even take tea. But, I am a family person. I can have the tea." He then took one cup of tea with such a sweet and charming smile on His face. Baba saved the situation. It could have turned into a protocol disaster. He knows...

Land of Mysticism

During Baba's tour to Israel in 1979, I noticed that He was in an exceptionally light and jolly mood at the Haifa airport. For us who have been exposed to His dark and work-until-you-die-working moods, this was indeed a pleasant diversion, a bonus of sorts. I really could not understand the reason for His happy mood. After His lunch, the reason for His happiness became clearer. He told us, "This country has a lot of dynamism, energy and spirit." He said that the Jews were the original Semitic race with their own unique language and culture. He revealed that many things of spiritual value lay hidden in this deeply mystical land. In olden times, many mystics used to meditate on the top of the hills at midnight. Israel was, in fact, the land where the original concept of madhur sadhana was born. Madhur sadhana is a very sweet and devotional form of spiritual practice taught by Baba to accelerate the speed of spiritual progress. It is done only by renunciates. In the olden...

Haifa

I toured with Baba in Europe in 1979. In Haifa, Israel, we had a three-day program, including a DMC function. It was a beautiful, memorable occasion. Throughout His stay there, Baba showered His infinite grace on all of us. We obtained a hall inside the university campus for the DMC function. The local Margiis were not old Margiis; nevertheless, they had been trained in the proper procedures regarding the occasion. My duty was to organize and materialize the entire program. Some of the dadas were assigned various duties regarding the external arrangements of the function. Others had to tend to tickets and visa arrangements of those who came from other countries. Realizing the local conditions in Israel, we decided to keep our pratik folded until just before Baba's arrival in the DMC hall. Baba came punctually for His discourse, and at that time the pratik was opened and hung on the wall behind Him. Some non-Margii students walking on the campus passed by our DMC hall and saw the...

Move While Ideating On Him

Baba told us that capitalism made a man a beggar. Karl Marx saw the horrible and painful exploitation of labor - child and women labor. In reaction, he introduced the philosophy of communism. Because his theory was created in reaction, it had fundamental defects. Communism makes the beggar a beast. If there are lions, tigers and other dangerous animals on the land, we should not run to the ocean in reaction to other actions. Rather, we should move according to the ideology, while ideating on Him.

DMC at Allahabad

It was in the year 1980. There was a DMC program at Allahabad. During that period I gave progress reports three times daily on P&S. P&S means Paincajanya and Sadabrata . In the reporting session, I had to inform Baba about the number of blocks in the Delhi Sector covered by P&S, and the number of districts covered by the program outside the Delhi Sector. When Baba introduced any program for the first time, He gave tremendous pressure for its implementation. It was my duty at that time to submit the progress reports thrice daily. It was also not possible for me to ever give a negative report to Baba. Hence, at all three reporting sessions, I used to report only progress, both in and outside Delhi sector. All the wholetimers from north India had come to Allahabad for the DMC. In the first day of DMC, Baba punished me severely during the night reporting session. It was almost midnight. At that time, I felt that not a single field worker was serious about the fact that Baba...

Baba’s Joke

Baba's ways were mysterious, but always full of charm. He would often intersperse serious moments with humour, like a soothing ray of sunshine through a dark cloud. I recall a joke Baba once told us amidst a reporting session. It is actually a very common joke often narrated in the rustic areas of Bengal. A young bride became pregnant for the first time. She was the only daughter of her parents. Following the Indian custom, she returned to her parents' house towards the end of her pregnancy to deliver the child. It was a convenient arrangement. Her mother, aunties and other close relatives were there to look after her and the new baby. She was a very simple, innocent and loving girl. Her parents were eager to take care of their sweet daughter and their grandchild. One day, the girl told her mother, "Oh, mother, I am going to sleep now. When the time for my delivery comes, please come and wake me up." The mother burst into laughter. She retorted, "At the time...

His Love Is Everywhere

This was yet another amazing incident in Caracas which happened during Baba's visit. When we arrived, we found that the SS dada (Sectorial Secretary for Georgetown Sector), Acarya Haratmananda Avadhuta, was not present. After some time, Baba asked me about him. I told Him that I could not get any information and was unsure of his whereabouts. I sensed that Baba was a little bit worried about him. The SS dada, however, arrived the next day. He was very happy that he could reach Caracas. Shortly afterwards, he met Baba. Baba asked him, "How did you come, my little boy?" The SS dada could not give a proper reply. It was surely beyond his expectation that he had been able to reach Caracas. He knew of our program to come to Caracas. As he was new in the field, he did not realize that it was almost a six-hour journey from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Caracas. In addition, he faced a lot of financial difficulties. He thought it would be impossible for him to meet Baba, as he did...

His Love at Caracas

Janak was a very good Margii from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He had also traveled to Caracas to see Baba for the first time. He was not a rich man. Somehow, after great difficulty, he managed to come to Caracas to see Baba. He had a small son, whom he loved very much. As he was leaving for Caracas, his son requested him to buy an electronic game for him. On the second day after reaching Caracas, Janak went to the departmental store and bought the game for his son. He paid $50.00 for it. He was quiet pleased with himself and kept the present carefully. The next day, he found to his dismay that the present he had bought for his son had mysteriously disappeared. He searched for it everywhere but could not find it. He became very sad as he had no money left to buy a similar toy again. He dreaded to return home empty-handed and thought what he would tell his son. He just could not get his mind away from his misfortune and kept brooding on it. In the morning of the third day, Baba went for a...