Living with Baba

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

Once in 1959 Baba travelled by train to Kiirnahar. Baba travelled with His Personal Assistant, Pranayda. There were then no monks or nuns in Ananda Marga. The train went through the district of Birbhum in West Bengal. It was a small train from the British days.

After some time, the train stopped due to some mechanical problem. The driver tried to repair the engine.

While waiting for the train to

I had a chance to be very, very close to Him on so many different occasions. Once, he made a system that every day I should go with Him for field walk to give the daily report. At other times I was selected to massage Him. Sometimes, I went into His room to read the daily newspapers to Him. Later I was selected as one of the group members with the responsibility of taking down the lyrics of Prabhat Samgiit from Him. Actually, everything was His plan, and His grace.

In the years 1969 and 1970, Baba gave many amazing demonstrations on different topics related to the laws of spiritual science. One day in 1969, we were with Him at Ranchi. There were just fifteen persons in the room. As we entered the room, Baba said, "Close the door."

We closed the door. Then, Baba told us, "Everybody should sit in a proper way and keep the backbone straight." Then, He called

Baba once told me a joke. In a town there lived a very miserly couple. They never donated any food, clothes or money to the needy. They were very wealthy, but they moaned and groaned that they hardly had any money.

They used to spend hardly any money even for their food and other essentials. One day the husband appeared extremely depressed. His wife asked him, "What happened? Did you spend any

One day in 1969, Baba gave a demonstration on spirituality. A dada named Parashivanandaji, who sat close to Him, thought to himself, "I would like to know about my past life."

Baba looked at Parashivananandji and asked, "Why do you want to know your past life?" Baba then called another dada and told him to sit in the proper posture. With His stick Baba touched dada's ajina cakra and said, "Now

I was working in the province of Orissa, next to Bengal in 1969. One day, I went to the main city of the district of Kalahandi. The name of the town was Bhavanipatna. There was a big high school in that town. I met the headmaster of the school and requested him to give me a chance to talk about meditation to the teachers and students.

The headmaster was a very good man. He told me to come at

Baba once told us that Lord Krsna used to raise the kundalini of people by playing His flute. Everyone used to run towards Him like mad. Baba said that He will not do this. People will have to realize Him by their own effort. I think that even if He had remained for a very short while as "Komaleshvar" - Lord of Tenderness - people would have run madly after Him, intoxicated with bliss. Nobody

In the year 1971, when I worked in Orissa, I visited the town of Rourkella. I conducted a meeting and talked with the local college students. One of them asked me to return with him to his hostel room to teach him meditation. I had some leaflets about sadhana, Yama and Niyama, the 15 Shiilas and the Supreme Command. As I entered the boy's room, I saw a man sitting on a chair outside the room.

We have a very nice school at Krishnanagar, West Bengal, India. One day sometime in 1969, the principal of the school, Acarya Sudhananda Avadhuta, went out for some urgent work. The principal told the teacher-in-charge that he would be back within an hour.

The school was going on as usual. During recess time, all the children played and ate their food which they brought from home or bought at the

It was in the month of May in 1969, when I was working in the Seva Dharma Mission . We organized a departmental UTC  at Varanasi. Varanasi is a beautiful, spiritually vibrated city in Uttar Pradesh. People love to go to Varanasi. It was created seven thousand years ago by Lord Shiva. It is the oldest city in the world. Lord Shiva's spiritual vibration can still be felt by yogis at that

Nothing in the world is free from interference and vested-interest - not even noble work and service. One may try to do good work through educational, relief or other developmental projects. But there are other people, guided by self-interest, who would either try to gain from your efforts or obstruct your noble work. Such people are aplenty, like bugs, stains the underside of every noble

I was posted as a field worker at the provincial level in 1971. I traveled to the head office, which at that time was in Ranchi, Bihar. After taking a bath, I met the Office Secretary. He told me, "Now you are posted as an Area Level Worker. An area comprises four provinces. You must know your jurisdiction. You must keep the Tour Program of all the workers in your area. Tomorrow Baba will ask you

In the year 1970 I met a very good family acarya from north Bihar whose name was Dr Vidyarthiji. He was an excellent devotee of Baba. He told me about his amazing personal realizations of Baba. It happened many years ago when he was a new Margii. His wife was not yet initiated at that time, but she was not opposed to his spiritual practices. She once had a serious health problem and became very

In 1971 I attended a PROUT symposium at the University Institute Hall near College Street, Calcutta. As I entered the hall, some Margiis introduced me to two young men, Jayanta Singha and Tapan, who wanted to meet me. One boy had a Master degree in Commerce, while the other was a businessman. I spoke with them for a few minutes before the program. I invited them inside to attend the program and

One day Baba took reports from us in the Ranchi office. There was another dada present who is a very close friend of mine. On that day, Baba punished him for his unsatisfactory report. The dada was very sad.

After the reporting session, Baba joked with us. After awhile, He requested the same dada whom He had earlier punished to fetch a diary from the drawer of His desk. We were rather surprised

Once, three friends from North Bengal came to Ranchi to have personal contact with Baba. They were high school teachers. One was married, while the others were unmarried Margiis. They all had the opportunity of personal contact with Baba.

The Margii who was married was not so happy in his personal life. His wife had some health problems. He tried to solve them but he could not. Baba requested him

During the month of October 1971, Ananda Marga faced a crisis - both spiritual and organizational. A DMC was held in Calcutta. We were waiting for the evening General Darshan to begin. The procedure was that first Srimati Uma, the wife of Baba, would come out and give a spiritual talk. After that Baba would give His discourse. We used to call Baba's wife "Ma" gave her great respect.

That DMC

How can a person teach another the art of surrender? A time will come when He will put us in such a situation that the disciple surrenders automatically. It is He who gives the disciple the opportunity of surrender through difficult circumstances. Surrender never comes with a bed of roses. It always comes with suffering, humiliation and torture.

Baba is truly a mysterious personality - at once a unique spiritual master, a giant intellectual, an outstanding philosopher, a social thinker, humanist, economist, grammarian, philologist, historian, agriculturist, doctor, scientist, song-writer, literary artist, and great organizer, just to name a few of His incomparable qualities. Above all He is a loving, affectionate father to His children.

In 1971 Baba was arrested on false charges and unjustly imprisoned in Patna, Bihar. Learning of this, we protested against the government's action. As a result, we were also arrested and imprisoned in the Patna jail. One Margii from Saharsa, North Bihar, was with us in the same cell. He told us the following story.

When he was initiated, his acarya instructed him not to be involved in any

When Baba was in prison during the period 1971 to 1978, we continued to hold Ananda Marga's main function called Dharma Maha Sammelan (DMS), which usually took place twice a year in January and June. Only Baba could endorse the names of MG (Marga Guru) Representatives who were selected to give the discourse in His absence. Sometimes, we held the DMS more than twice a year.

Once in 1974, I was

In 1977, after the State of Emergency was over, I initiated a man called Dr Aniruddha Bera in Calcutta, who was from the Sundarbans swamp forest region in the southern part of West Bengal. He invited me to go with him to his village to initiate his relatives and friends. We went there on the day before amavasya, so I prepared myself for kapalik meditation, a higher form of meditation done by

We had a very difficult time during the Emergency period in India, declared by the Indian government, which lasted from June 1975 to March 1977. When the Emergency ended, Baba was also acquitted of all charges and released from prison honorably.

One day, He asked me about two Margiis. One was Sudhji and the other, Shambhuji. Both were very good Margiis. Baba told me that if they wished to become

Baba spent four days in Caracas, Venezuela, in September 1979. We reached Caracas very early in the morning after flying in from the island of Jamaica. Dadas and Margiis received us at the airport. The native language of the country is Spanish. Hence, Baba's darshan speeches were translated from English to Spanish. We faced great difficulty in communicating with the Margiis, as very few understood

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,

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

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.

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

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.

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

When I was with Baba in Israel, He reminded me of two things:
What Sadhana is? "To satisfy Him is the sadhana."
What Guru puja is? "To carry out His order is Guru puja."

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

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

We spent nearly fifteen days with Baba in Taipei, Taiwan. On one occasion, the Bhukti Pradhan of Taipei presented a traditional Chinese suit to Baba. The Margiis wanted to see Baba in a Chinese suit. The BP eagerly asked the PA Dada, "When is Baba going to wear our local clothes?"

We knew that Baba usually wore His own clothes. Nevertheless, PA Dada mentioned to Baba from time to time that the

One day during our stay in Taiwan, Baba did not go for His usual evening walk. In response to the queries of the Margiis, the PA Dada errorneously informed the Margiis that Baba was not well. This news prompted an old Margii to get his acupuncture kit to treat Baba's reported illness. The PA Dada and all of us tried to explain to this nice man that Baba did not need any acupuncture treatment, as

Baba's 1979 European tour was highly successful and full of fascination, and was even dramatic at times. Denmark was one of the countries in His itinerary.

When Baba and His entourage arrived at the airport in Copenhagen, they had to wait in line for immigration clearance, like all the other passengers. When our turn came, the immigration officer took our passports and left the counter. Within a

During His lifetime, Baba strongly emphasized the need for us to think and act positively, constructively and with good intention for the welfare of all created beings and things. His powerful, omniscient personality never gave us the chance to think and act negatively, even when we were far away from Him. The real world is, however, full of diversity, of duality, where good and bad, positive and

Our Europe tour took us to Athens, Greece. We reached the airport very early in the morning. The local dada and several Margiis were waiting to receive Baba at the airport. We actually had no official program in Athens, and were in transit to Frankfurt. We had to wait in the airport for nearly twelve hours before catching our connecting flight. Accordingly, the airlines arranged for us to rest in

We had planned to go to the USA after touring Taiwan. This was, however, not possible as our plan was suddenly aborted by the authorities in the USA. Arrangements were immediately made to fly to Jamaica.

As the next connecting flight was only after eight hours, we waited at the Hong Kong airport. We wanted to arrange a separate room for Baba to rest, while the rest of us would wait in the general

I have personally experienced many extraordinary facets of Baba's personality that prove beyond doubt His divine nature. He came silently and also left us silently. He came with a great mission, the seeds of which He carefully sowed on this earth in the heart of every sadhaka. He came in disguise as a very ordinary man. How effective was His disguise that few could fathom His true nature. The seed

Baba introduced paincajanya as an integral part of our spiritual practices to accelerate the speed of our progress. He instructed all Margiis to perform paincajanya at 5.00 a.m. sharp, based on local time.

Once in 1979, when I was traveling with Baba to different countries of Europe, several Margiis from the Ananda Marga units there requested me to ask Baba if paincajanya could be done later than

Baba started the dharma samiksa program in 1981. It was a very special occasion when Baba, as Taraka Brahma, undertook a complete spiritual review of His devotees, while taking upon Himself the samskaras that obstructed their spiritual progress. In dharma samiksa, He scanned the devotees' physical, psychic and spiritual bodies, located the samskaras that blocked their progress at every level, and

Dharma samiksa was, indeed, a very special program to relieve the sufferings of the devotees at all levels. During that occasion, there was the case of another family from the Andaman Islands, who came for dharma samiksa. The husband worked as a teacher, while the wife was a lawyer. Both were very good devotees of Baba. Baba gave dharma samiksa to both of them, first to the husband, then the wife.

"Ekoham Bahusvami! I was alone in the universe, but I created Myself into many!"

The dharma samiksa program lasted for a certain period only. The day it was over, Baba came over to the office and informed us, "Today I feel that there is no urgent work." We noticed that He was in a completely different mood. Realizing this, Baba's Personal Assistant said, "No, Baba, today there is no urgent

Fathoming Baba's divine personality or trying to understand His role as Dharma Guru, as Taraka Brahma, is not possible for the human being. The human mind is simply too limited to comprehend such profound and sublime matters. When Taraka Brahma assumes a physical manifestation to lead humanity to divinity, He attracts all manner of devotees, some human, some not, who seek His divine guidance,

A Guru's teachings take many forms. Sometimes, an important message is transmitted through a formal discourse, sometimes through humor, sometimes through punishment, and sometimes through a simple story.

I recall one such story. It took place in the British period, during the British occupation of India. A British man once witnessed a heated argument in an Indian family. The quarrel was getting

Baba was a father-figure to His devotees. It is known that even as a boy, He would listen patiently to the problems of His friends and offer solutions for them. He was very popular among His friends, who would come to see Him for solutions to all their problems. When He started Ananda Marga, His early devotees would also come to Him with their problems. His advice was always benevolent, effective

When we fall sick and go to a doctor, he has to look for the cause of the illness before he can prescribe any treatment. The common wisdom up to the 20th century was that a physical ailment had a physical cause. Towards the latter part of the century, it was established that most diseases had a psychosomatic cause. This means there is a direct correlation between a person's state of mind and his

There are many ways to heal a disease - physical, mental and spiritual. Yogis often use the spiritual method of curing a disease. In this story, Baba demonstrates how to cure a certain disease spiritually. At a deeper level, this story demonstrates His boundless love for His disciples.

In 1981, Dada Divyarupananda was posted as a global worker. By nature, he was very energetic and dynamic. He was

I developed an eye problem sometime in 1983. Baba was then at His Lake Gardens residence in Calcutta. As my eye problem was accompanied by a severe headache, I thought that it would be better to see a doctor. Before leaving, I had to get His permission. When I went to get the permission, He asked me what the problem was. I replied that I had an eye problem and that I was going to consult a

The role of the Guru is not only spiritual. A real Guru has to ensure that His disciples' physical, mundane, mental, emotional and spiritual needs are adequately met, with circumstances created by Him so that the disciples could themselves resolve problems that hinder their spiritual progress. The Guru ordinarily allows the disciple to solve his own problems by providing the necessary advice and

There was an old man who came to the Calcutta Ananda Marga ashram one day in the year 1989. He informed the guard at the ashram's gate that he was a childhood friend of Baba and wanted to meet Him. The man provided the guard with his name and address. Baba was immediately informed and He instructed, "Please bring this man to Me with proper respect. I will talk to him."

The man was quickly ushered

Time and again, Baba had emphasized the importance of applying psychology in our daily activities and dealings with other people. The understanding and application of psychology in our lives greatly enhances the quality of the results of our actions and solves many difficult problems easily.

A new didi was posted in Shivapuri, Madhya Pradesh in 1983. She is the daughter of a ghrii acarya, who was

Baba had always stressed the need to adopt a psychological approach in conveying unpleasant news to others. If possible, direct approaches should be avoided, in order not to unnecessarily shock the receipient of the news.

This story happened in 1979 during Baba's Israel tour. One day, after dinner, we received news from Calcutta that the General Secretary of Ananda Marga wanted Baba's suggestion

To accelerate the speed of progress in spiritual practice, Baba had introduced a systematic approach to every facet of life - physical, mental, and spiritual. As an example to sadhakas, He Himself followed the system He had laid down. He expected every sadhaka to do likewise.

Once, I was in Ranchi with Baba. A new cassette containing Prabhat Samgiit was sent from the central office for Baba's

Baba used different methods to explain the various aspects of spirituality - sometimes by His own actions, sometimes through the gift of direct spiritual experience, and sometimes through instructive stories.

Once, Baba told me a story from the Mahabharata.  In the course of the Mahabharata war, Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna (the third of the five Pandava brothers) fought a hard battle one

Once, I was massaging Baba at His Lake Gardens residence. I felt some scars on His body, one on His thigh and the other on His abdomen. I had never seen them before and wondered what caused them. As my fingers paused over those scars, He explained the reasons behind them.

Baba was then less than eight years old. Some astrologers had predicted Baba's birth and future role, saying that He had come

When any new acarya had finished his or her training as a renunciate, Baba used to explain to them their duties, jurisdiction, and how to work in the field, before posting them to their respective areas. In addition, Baba used to appoint a senior monk or nun in the Central Office, who would give the posting orders to these new acaryas.

I once posted a new dada in the Calcutta region. When I

Every human being has to cross the turbulent sea of samskara to reach the Supreme Consciousness, the ultimate purpose of human life. When a person's individual samskaras are expressed, it may be pleasant or painful, depending on the nature of his past actions. Good actions reap pleasant reactions, bad actions unpleasant ones. Human beings really have no control over the operational process of

Sunil Chakravarty was an eighteen-year-old boy who lived in the town of Lumding in the eastern part of India. He was a very good boy who was initiated into spiritual practice at a very early age. Both his parents had died. His mother died only recently. The only member of his immediate family left was his elder brother, who took care of all his needs. His brother was married and held a responsible

The cause of suffering may or may not be in the present life. It may have its roots in our previous lives. Usually, the cause of suffering is not immediate or external. Rather, the cause is subtle, located in our past lives. There is really nothing human beings can do about it. If any sadhaka is suffering, he or she should go through the suffering in a detached manner.

It was during the eighties, Baba was in His Jodhpur Park, Calcutta office. One day, He said to me, "I need one thousand varieties of rose plants for My garden." He then gave me detailed directions to the nursery where I could buy the plants. Baba continued, "We already have more than 170 varieties of roses in our garden. You can get a list of what we already have from Didi Karuna. You should bring

During His lifetime, Baba composed 5018 sublime and very beautiful devotional songs called Prabhat Samgiit. He composed those songs from 1982 to 1990, until His very last breath. Most of the songs concerned spiritual themes. There were many songs, however, that touched on various other themes - festivals, social issues, and so on. All the songs were remarkable, whether in the spiritual genre or

Baba's mission on this earth is to uplift humanity's spiritual status en masse to the next stage of evolution. He did not come here just to liberate a few privileged individuals. He wants to accelerate the earth's evolutionary process, so that the future humanity would be able to operate on a higher plane, bringing it a step closer to a neo-humanistic civilization - an advanced civilization that

The yogi's path is the middle path - remaining in the world, yet transcending it. In the past, yogis had sought the seclusion of the mountains, caves and forests to seek liberation. They did not care about the suffering humanity, the millions of people who needed help at all levels - physical, mental and spiritual. Baba had rejected this narrow self-centered approach to self-realization, labeling

Baba is a master dramatist. He uses the elements of drama to maximum effect. He dramatizes otherwise common incidences to drive home certain lessons - lessons the sadhaka is unlikely to forget in his lifetime.

Once, at the Daltonganj Dharma Maha Cakra, Baba entered His room and enquired from the PA Dada whether the jagrti had been constructed and readied for the function. Dada replied that it was

In Ranchi, a family acarya named Harishankarji once told Baba, "Baba, I met one man, and he is very good; he is a strong moralist. But he is not interested in sadhana. That man said to me, I always speak the truth, I never tell a lie, I never harm anybody, I never steal anything from anybody, I never lose my character, and never take any bribe. Therefore, I feel I am a strong, spiritual man. I

In the Mahabharata war, all the sons of Gandharii were killed. In the battlefield, she saw her daughters-in-law weeping for their deceased husbands who had been killed in the battle. The sorrow was overwhelming and she too began to cry. Just at that moment, Lord Krsna arrived at the scene of the battle and tried to console Gandharii. But she could not be consoled. She charged Krsna that if He were

The Guru helps spiritual aspirants in mysterious ways. He pushes you to the edge of the cliff and then extends His loving hands to save you. His help mysteriously comes when you are totally helpless, when you have given up all hope, and when you have surrendered completely to Him. Baba, has demonstrated this reality countless times, both in ordinary and extraordinary situations.

There was a dada

There was a devotee from Colombia, South America, who traveled for the first time to India to visit Baba. She was a Spanish-speaking sister. The native language of Columbia is Spanish. She traveled alone and carried with her the address of the Ananda Marga jagrti in New Delhi.

She reached Delhi airport very early in the morning. After the immigration and customs clearance, she went outside the

Many people claim to be spiritual aspirants and devotees. But who are the real devotees and spiritual aspirants?

Baba completed two important books entitled Namah Shivaya Shantaya  and Namami Krsna Sundaram  at our rented office in Jodhpur Park. The first book revealed the unique contributions of Lord Shiva to humanity. It also revealed the multiple roles that Shiva played during His lifetime -

Devotion cannot be obtained through lectures, discourses or philosophy. Devotion is truly a gift of Parama Purusa. It is, however, possible to understand and experience devotion through Baba's works - His books, words and songs.
I encourage sadhakas to read Baba's original discourses. They should eat the original mango. One should not be satisfied with a pale shadow of a mango. People should read

Pranayama literally means controlling the prana, which is the vital energy within the cosmos. The actual purpose of this spiritual practice is to control the mind by controlling the vital airs in the body. A controlled, one-pointed mind is then eligible for higher practices to attain God-realization.

Once, Baba went for His daily field walk. A Margii from Tatanagar was also in the group that

Headaches are an inevitable fact of life. One gets a headache due to many reasons, both physical and psychological. Few are aware that there are spiritual causes of headaches.

This incident occurred when Baba was at Ranchi. One day during a reporting session, Baba enquired about a particular dada. The other dadas informed Baba that dada was ill and had a headache. Nevertheless, Baba insisted on

There was a time when Baba remained at Ranchi for several months. During that period there was a very strong flow of Prabhat Samgiit. Baba used to walk daily, sometimes just in front of His residence. The Margiis sang Prabhat Samgiit, while standing on both sides of the path where He walked. Sometimes, the Margii sisters presented a dance interpretation of Prabhat Samgiit. Many Margii families

In the 1980's there was a particular dada who was the editor of our daily newspaper called 'Natun Prithivi', which was published in Calcutta. In accordance with the prescribed system, the daily edition of the newspaper should reach His residence before breakfast. Dada was just the editor of the paper, and thus, it was not his responsibility to get the funds to publish it. It was his

Baba has prescribed a variety of treatments for various illnesses, including herbal medicines, special diets, other natural methods, and special yogic postures called asanas. He usually relies on the physical and natural approaches in treating diseases. In many cases, however, He has utilized more subtle means to cure the health problems of His disciples and devotees. Such means are used

Some years back, a group of us were traveling from New Delhi to Calcutta by train. It was an ordinary coach compartment. There were about three dadas and four didis. We were sitting face to face on long benches. Some other passengers were also traveling in the same compartment. When the train stopped at Allahabad, one of the didis alighted from the train to get some drinking water. She returned

Baba once told me, "As a monk you should not think of what you like. Rather, think what He likes from you. Your duty is to satisfy Him only."

Baba is really a master of moods. Like a kaleidoscope, He has a variety of moods, each used with precision in different circumstances to affect a particular result, to teach a particular lesson. From the harshest to the softest mood, He plays each one with the dexterity of a maestro, who strikes a certain chord to produce a particular note. The overall effect is music, played with divine love for

Baba once clarified to me the inner meaning of sadhana and spiritual life. He said that there is no difference between Ista, Adarsha and Mission. The path of spirituality is very difficult, but it is also very, very simple if one has strong faith, belief, love and surrender to Him and His Mission. These qualities are unilateral, not bilateral. If one wants to realize Him, he has to undergo many

Baba is a doctor - a spiritual doctor. He often prescribes medicine which is bitter, through different forms of reproach or punishment, to heal us of our vanity, lethargy, laziness and indiscipline. But His harsh prescription is tinged with divine love and affection.

Once, Baba punished me very severely. I felt really bad after the punishment. I thought to myself that He was always punishing me.

The Guru does not need His physical body to help sadhakas or to get a job done. He even does not have to be alive for that matter. He can assist spiritual aspirants with or without a body, with or without His presence. For the Guru, life and death are the same because He transcends both mortal conditions.

Dada Guna'tiita'nandaji worked in our hospital at Ananda Nagar.  One day, he met with an

"The firmness of a person's resolve makes him or her great. However lowly a person may be, he or she can become great by his or her determination. If you have a firm resolve to realize your goal, you shall become great. Without a firm resolution, you cannot achieve anything great."

Shrii Shrii Anandamurtiji

Close physical proximity to the Guru is not easy, but absolutely necessary. He is very demanding. The standards He sets are impossible to attain. He knows our limitations and strengths. He knows how far each individual can be stretched. He knows the limits of our endurance, the breaking point. He takes us to that limit and forces us to cross the border of our limitations.

Each time we go over the

Baba's drama is always unimaginable, and often funny. He is unpredictable: one moment in a formidable mood scolding and punishing everybody, the next moment smiling sweetly, as if nothing had happened. There were also times when He wore a sullen mood, refusing to talk to anybody, much like a child, and the next moment He would be happily talking with everybody, without a trace of His earlier

Sadhana, which is our intense, conscious effort to unite with the Supreme Consciousness, is not easy to sustain. There are many obstacles strewn along the thorny path - some big, others bigger. Many try to do sadhana, few can sustain it, and even fewer succeed at it. While sadhana is both an individual and collective effort, the grace of the Guru is paramount in succeeding at sadhana. His grace is

Sureshji, a lawyer from Aurangabad District in Bihar, is a great devotee of Baba. During the Emergency period, when Baba was imprisoned under false charges, he had the occasion of visiting Baba frequently in prison to discuss legal matters. Sureshji then looked after the legal affairs of Ananda Marga. At that time, no one was allowed to see Baba except for His lawyer. Ananda Marga was banned at

Baba has explained clearly the real meaning and glory of the name of "Shiva" and "Krsna". Sadhakas should understand why Baba is called Anandamurti and what the real form of Anandamurti is. However, neither do I have the intellectual nor the spiritual capacity to explain to you His real form as Anandamurti. All I can say is that He is the embodiment of love and devotion.

As this book is dedicated to all sadhakas and devotees, it is only fitting that it ends with His words. His words, His actions, His whole life have been a perennial source of inspiration for me in my spiritual journey. I have been extremely fortunate and blessed to have had the opportunity to be so close to Him, both physically and mentally, and to take shelter in Him. Though He is no longer with