Evolution of love

HOMAGE FROM ALL

As Haribaba was convalescing, MA went for a few days to Allahabad, Vindhychal and Kashi to come back to Delhi to bring Haribaba from the Nursing Home to the Ashram. He left for Amritsar on January 30.
On the day of the operation, Haribaba had a vision of MA in ethereal form. She was the mother, he was the child in her lap and there were many others surrounding them singing the glory of MA. Just before his departure from Delhi at the end of his ill­ness, MA reminded him of the incident.
She returned to Kashi on February 10. Several admirers from foreign countries came to have her darshan at Kashi. They included: Swiss philosopher and professor Dr. Boss, Dutch singer and linguist Dr. Arnold Beck, French writer Jean Herbert, British pho­tographer Richard Lannoy and many others. Some of the foreign devotee took new names given by MA and stayed back in the Ashram to pursue the spiritual path. These were a French physician Wentrob (Vijayanand), a youth from America Jack Ungvi (Jayanand), another youth from England, Cohn Turnbull (Premanand).
A library was opened at Kashi on February 16 coinciding with Saraswati Pooja. On the 25th, a new hall was added to the first floor of the Ashram for the study of Sanskrit by the inmates of Kanyapeeth.
MA was asked by one the way to reduce worldly attractions and to increase one’s love for God. Her reply was, “Give as much time as you can to remem­ber Him. Keep good company, chant the name sug­gested by your Guru, sing Kirtans, read good books, pray and meditate. The worldly affairs push you towards evil thoughts and distress take you away from God. Thus the best and the only way is to know yourself and achieve your true identity.”
Five different icons of Shiva were ceremoniously installed at the Vrindavan Ashram on the Sivaratri Day on March 10. These were - Siddheshwar, Vaneshwar, Narmadeshwar, Gopeshwar and Brahmeshwar.
After celebrating Holi at Vrindavan, MA moved out to Delhi, Jallandhar, Hoshiarpur, Chandigarh, back to Delhi and Vrindavan and then to Kashi via Ahigarh. At Kashi, the Sanyas tithi of Muktanand Giriji (Didima - her mother) was observed on April 13. During the Basanti Pooja, which began on April 16, a charitable dispensary of ‘Anandamoyee Karuna’ was opened in an adjacent building. On the Navami Day, MA herself served each and every one of the assembled devotees the ‘prasad’ from the ‘bhog’ offered to the deity.
Preparations had already begun to celebrate in a befitting way the completion of sixty years of MA’s sojourn in this world. A Calcutta artist Nitai Pal was commissioned to make a special throne with a life-size -lion on it to serve as her mount. The throne was of brass and the mount of ashtadhatu, an alloy of eight metals. MA’s devotees wanted to see her in the form of Sinhabahini. Her seat on the lion was made of red velvet, as was the canopy. Devotees desired to worship MA on May 2 during the birth anniversary celebrations.
People from all corners of India - those of royal stock, of science and letters, of eminence in other fields, ordinary citizens, all converged in Kashi to take part in the celebrations. They embraced different religions, were of various castes, creed or communi­ties.
Persons of spiritual eminence were the first to assemble. The celebrations continued for 26 days. There were Yagnas, reading from the scriptures, reli­gious discourses, Kirtan, dramatic performance and ras-lila. Eminent musicians performed during the celebrations. These included vocalists- Siddheshwari Devi, Girija Devi, Dagar Brothers, Sukhendu Goswami, Chhabi Bandopadhyaya and others and instrumental­ists, such as, Pandit Ravishankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Shanta Prasad, Kanthe Maharaj and Ustad
Bismillah Khan. One day Garba dance from Gujarat was presented. There was a programme of songs and dances of Rabindranath Tagore under the guidance of Shailaja Ranjan Majumdar. The twelfth session of the Ram Chant Manas conference was also held during the celebrations at the same pandal.
One attraction of the celebrations was the ‘Tula­dan’ on May 24. A pandal was erected in front of Kanyapeeth. Inside, a platform was built - 18 ft. long by 18 ft. wide and 18 inches in height. On four sides were built four entry gates made of wood. The plat­form was covered on top. On this platform was built a smaller platform - seven and half feet long, seven and half feet wide and 18 inches high. At the four corners of the bigger platform were four Yagna Kunds each one according to the directions in the four Vedas - Rig, Sama, Yajur and Atharv. MA was to be weighed, and different kinds of gifts, each of the same weight, were to be placed to be donated away.
As she was placed on one side of the big, weighing scale, MA was visibly lost in her own mood, uttering ‘Narayan’ and almost oblivious of what was happening around. She was weighed first with ‘ashtadhatu’ and then successively with different grains, ghee, fruits, cloth of raw silk and cotton and sugar. On special demand she was also weighed with ‘batasa’ (sugar drops offered in worship) and cardamom. Fi­nally, she was weighed with silver.
The silver was donated to the Mahaprabhu Temple in Vrindavan while all the rest was donated away to poor and Brahmins.
The planned worship on May 2 began at two in the night at the Ashram. It was everybody’s desire that MA would sit on the lion throne but she was firm in her decision not to ascend the throne. She sat on the steps of the throne. The worship continued for three hours.
On 27th, another worship was arranged at the main pandal. She was carried in a palanquin and taken in a procession to the site ceremoniously. The throne had been brought there earlier.
MA at first sat on the steps but she had to respond to the entreaties of Haribaba and Avadhutji, who prayed to her to sit on the lion mount. The wor­ship lasted two hours.
Prof. Tripurari Chakrabarty, who read and ex­plained the episodes of Mahabharata at the congrega­tion, spontaneously remarked : “I had read and heard much about a ‘Rajsuya Yagna’ in Mahabharata and Puranas, but today I saw it taking place before my eyes.”
At the end of the festival at Kashi, MA went to Hardwar at the invitation of Swami Sukhdevanandji, Mandaleshwar of Parmarth Niketan. He had organised an assemblage of Holy men for religious discourses.
On July 1, Raslila was started at Kishenpur Ashram. A Bhagwat week was held from July 9. One day when the question of God’s mercy was being discussed, MA said, “Mercy is being showered inces­santly. It is for the receptacle to collect it properly. At times, we hold the container upside down. We cannot realise that His mercy runs down without being col­lected.” She came to Kashi, on the Guru Purnima Day on July 24, the fire preserved from the Savitri Yagna was brought to the newly built Yagna temple. During her stay this time, MA suddenly developed the wish to go out begging. She would go to different houses on different days to collect grains for the day’s meal. Jhulan Poornima was celebrated with great enthusiasm. There were stage-plays on descending of Ganga led by Bhagirath, life of Lord Rama, life of Nimai (Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) and Mahishasur Mardini on different days, in presence of MA. The Jhulan festival ended on August 20 on the full-moon day. Next day, Narayan Swamiji held a special worship of MA offering 1008 leaves of Tulsi at her feet. There was a Tula Dan of Gopalji on the Janmashtami Day on the occasion of Nandotsav on the following day. MA gladdened the hearts of every­body, appearing in the attire of Lord Sri Krishna.
She moved out again to visit various places to fulfil the desires of devotees.
In early October, she was in Calcutta where she stayed back till the Durga Puja. During Laxmi Puja and Kali Puja, she was at Ranchi. On her way to Pun, she met a French lady, Marian Obert at Muree. This lady was known to an Ashramite, Atmanand. Miss Blanca had come all the way from Europe and was attracted by MA’s life and teachings. She accompanied MA during her journey to Puri via Jamshedpur and Kharagpur.
On her way back from Pun, a leading tennis player of India, Dilip Basu, had the fortune of meeting her. He was overwhelmed by her presence. Within a few days she was back to Kashi. The President of Raman Ashram and Mrs. Talyar Khan came there to have her darshan. The lady was of immense help to MA during her tour of South India.
MA left for Hardwar on November 8. A ‘Re­straint Week’ was observed at the ‘Hermitage of the Seven Sages’ (Saptarishi Ashram), five miles from Brahmakund at. Hardwar, famous as the place where the legendary seven sages (Vishwamitra and others) are said to have done penance. More than three hundred devotees observed the week in the presence here of several holy men. On the fourth day, the founder of Paramarth Niketan, Shukdevanandji was present. That day, the Mahamandaleshwar of Sannyas Ashram of Bombay, Swami Maheshwaranandji also joined the proceedings. At the request of Goswami Ganesh Duttji, MA laid the foundation of a Sanskrit School, on the concluding day, at the Saptarishi Ashram site.
She came back to Kashi on the 24th. During a religious discourse there, a devotee asked whether any particular name of God when recited would lead to Him more quickly. MA said, “All names given to God have the same power. You can reach your des­tination by taking any name you like. The more in­tense your sadhana, the quicker you reach Him. Take it lightly and you take more time.”
She was at Vindhyachal when she felt a dis­comfort in the ear, and came down to Kashi for treat­ment for a day. On the return journey there was a tragedy near Chunar, aè a handcart puller suddenly tried to cross the road disregarding the speeding car in which she was travelling. The poor man was fatally injured. MA came out and caressed the entire body of the poor victim before he died. She sent word to his family and arranged help from her ashram.
She was back in Vindhyachal where her ear problem started earlier, persisted, requiring regular medical attention. But the religious discourses contin­ued. A French ashramite, Dr. Wynetrob (Vijayanand) one day brought his brother-in-law, a lawyer by pro­fession. He asked the way to develop good habits and culture. Ma’s answer was: “Every professional -a lawyer like you, or an engineer or a professor—has to go through a period of training and learning. Simi­larly, one has to have training to achieve the higher spiritual qualities - in this case through Sadhana. One can even have a direct communion with God.” The lawyer asked, “Is there really a God?” MA said, “The way you exist, God also exists. If you can take off the shroud, then you find Him, who is self-expressed. The way a whole tree resides inside a seed, God also resides in His full splendour inside you.”
Another devotee at Kashi had a complaint. He said “I have been taking God’s name, calling Him but he does not come to me.” MA said, ‘The problem lies in the manner you go about it. It is impossible for God not to respond if He is called properly. You must have a craving for Him, to reach a stage when you cannot do without Him - that is the proper way.”
Her health was causing concern, the ear prob­lem getting worse. Even a little noise created discom­fort. Some of her close devotees rushed from other places and decided to bring specialists from Calcutta. At midnight on December 31, MA became seriously ill. Her breathing became irregular and she lost control over her limbs.