Kunal Roy
A sacred day. An auspicious moment. The bell are chiming in his temple. The devotees have gathered for their offerings. The fragrance of the incense sticks(as they burn) spreads far and wide. The lamps are lit up to convey the message of divine resplendence. An aura of spiritual fervour has engulfed the minds. Yes! I am talking about Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa Dev, the great Hindu saint and mystic. He was born to a poor Brahmin family on 17th February, 1836. His father Khudiram Chattopadhyay had an apocalyptic vision of the Lord Vishnu in Gaya, who assured him of his appearance as his son. His mother Chandramoni Devi felt the radiance of Lord Shiva’s linga in her womb. Both the pious souls were blessed with a son named Gadadhar. Days flew away. Gadadhar had experienced the spiritual ecstasies since his childhood. He not only fainted at those moments but could also feel something unusual in him. When Gada- dhar was in his teens, father Khudiram passed away. The family had to undergo a terrible financial crunch and the entire onus fell on the shoulders of Ramkumar.
To provide the family with square meals a day, Ramkumar moved to Calcutta and engaged himself in a priest job at the temple of Dakhineshwar. The temple of the black Goddess Kali, the incarnation of Parvati, the mother of this earth. But as fate would behold, Ramkumar was removed from this earth by the fingers of the heaven. The temple was without a worshipper for a few days. Later Gadadhar was appointed the priest of the temple by Rani rashmoni, the lokmata. With the flow of time, Thakur gained a permanent position as a holy priest in the temple. He became the talk of the town. His status of spiritual inebriation was much applauded by the rich and religious fellows of the town. Thousands of devotees came to experience his holy touch. He came under the spiritual clout of the eminent leaders like Totapuri and Bhairavi. Thakur followed and practised all other religions and became an embodiment of everything sacred and spiritually powerful around him. The society embraced and accepted him as the divine incarnation of Lord Vishnu. It is worth mentioning that the name ‘Paramhamsa’ was given by Totapuri!
The spiritual current brought about the radical changes in the social milieu. And people like Narendranath( Thakur’s Naren), Keshav Chandra, Girish Ghosh and Noti binodini attained salvation with the blessings of Thakur. Thakur had twelve disciples. But it was Swami Vivekananda whose sincere devotion and dedication waxed Thakur’s popularity with the passage of time. It was Thakur’s blessings and spiritual vibration which aided Vivekananda conquer the whole world!
Besides, Thakur’s marital life was peaceful. His spouse Sarada moni was believed to be the divine consort of Lord Vishnu. The difference in age was about twenty five years. Saradamoni always said, “Pray to Thakur, he will do everything for you”. She was infact an inspiration, an encouragement for Thakur. The harmony was never struck by the order of discordance! Before Thakur passed away in 1886, he showed the whole world what he really was!
It was a fine winter morning. Thakur showed himself on the roof. The gentle breeze, the twittering of the birds and above all the bright sunshine added a different dimension to the ambience. It seemed as if a new history was going to be woven by him. And as presumed, Thakur became ‘Kolpotoru’. Everyone’s wish was granted. And from that moment, every year the ‘first’ day is celebrated as the “Kolpotoru Utsav” throughout the world. In the words of the litterateur Sri Sanjib Chatterji, ” আমি কে, সেটা আজ আমি হাটে হাঁড়ি ভেঙে দিয়ে যাব”। The words are still sharp and the voice is piercing!
A span of fifty years. He came to this earth, taught the essence of humanity, performed his essential duties as a leader, as a guide and left for the abode. Today we have innumerable monasteries where Thakur, Sri maa and Vivekananda are worshipped by the monks to spread the message of love, duty and sacrifice in the whole world!
At this very hour when we are governed by sick hurry and divided aims, we desperately need a leader with a vision of tomorrow. We simply don’t know when we are going to embrace such a bracing moment! After all, at this auspicious hour, we can only send the orisons above to send an individual like Him to keep all our pains and sufferings at bay and completely drench ourselves with his spiritual delight! A better world, a better tomorrow, we all seek!!
– Kunal Roy