Chandan Kumar Pathak's Blog, page 5
July 4, 2015
My Memorable Experience of Pen friendship
The year was 1984; another semester break was over. The boys returned to the hostels in ISM (Indian School of Mines) and brought with them fresh and more exciting stories of their romantic escapades with their respective girlfriends at their hometowns. They were agog with curiosity to hear each others stories and perhaps outsmart others with their own figments of imagination. Thus, the evenings in the hot ISM campus in dusty Dhanbad became filled with chatters in small groups which would last...
June 23, 2015
A Romantic Interlude
The evening sky was colourful and vibrant. A soft breeze carrying the smell of wet soil freshened the body and the soul. New and fresh green grass offshoots were raising their spirited heads through the cracks of the dry earth softened by first few showers of pre-monsoon rain. They were playing joyfully with the breeze, giggling at the ticklish feelings when it brushed past them.
Rekha looked at them and smiled silently, savouring the magical moment. Her pearl white teeth shone brightly again...
April 2, 2015
Funny Incidents
Some incidents you simply cannot put away from the mind. They keep coming back frequently to tickle your funny bones. I am narrating here 3 such incidents which make me laugh every time I think about them.
Incident 1:Fifteen years ago! I was travelling in Kolkata by a tram. It was jam packed with people and I somehow managed to grab a handle to keep myself steady. The tram was trudging along at a snail’s pace halting at numerous stations where scores of people were alighting or...
Incident 1:Fifteen years ago! I was travelling in Kolkata by a tram. It was jam packed with people and I somehow managed to grab a handle to keep myself steady. The tram was trudging along at a snail’s pace halting at numerous stations where scores of people were alighting or...
March 31, 2015
Why God Doesn't Intervene?
Today, religion is the single biggest factor which has created extreme hatred and animosity among all of us. Year after year, countless innocent people are being killed in the name of God and religion.
Ultimately we all seek God in different paths based on our individual religious beliefs. All these religions are supposed to be based on the teachings of certain prophets/saints. We all believe that these great prophets were God-sent to help mankind. And we also believe that there is one and on...
December 31, 2014
The Last Wish
Tarun was lying on the bed, looking at the birds flying away against the backdrop of the evening sun. It was a very quiet evening interspersed by chirping of the two house-sparrows who were frantically trying to build a nest beneath the roof. Tarun kept watching them…..how much effort they were putting by picking up straw after straw with patience to build their nest! Nothing mattered to the little birds at that moment; all they wanted was to build a home for them. Tarun’s mind flew back to the past, he thought about his own life.
He and Jenny were so happy to be together, to have got married after stiff opposition from their parents. It was three years of struggle to convince both the sides, which did not yield any positive result. Parents were stuck with their egos, religions and what not. Jenny suffered in silence, Tarun suffered as well. But their love did not wilt under pressure and finally it triumphed. They got married against their parent’s wishes!
Like the little house-sparrows, they got busy building their home and life. There was struggle, hardship while doing so but they were in LOVE and there was no time for them to notice these small difficulties. Time flew by, year after year. Tarun did not even have inkling that it was the 15th year of their first meeting and 12th year of marriage. Now, they have Pinku, their 10 year old son. Life was so complete! Loving wife, adorable son, a small house and a steady job, there was nothing more Tarun could have asked from God. He was thankful to Him for all these!
The house-sparrows were still busy providing the final touch to their home, sweet home. Suddenly dark clouds started hovering in the sky, the quiet breeze gathered speed to become a howling storm. Lightening with thunders raced across the sky from one end to another. The peaceful evening suddenly turned violent. Before anyone could realize, a strong gush of wind swept away the sparrow’s nest within the blink of an eye. Tarun jumped up and sat on his bed shivering. He felt as if he was also swept away along with the nest, by the gushing wind. But he regained his composure and slowly lied back on the bed.
His mind drifted back to that fateful evening when indeed a monster storm had hit him. It came under the cover of darkness, ripped apart his sweet home, shattered the peace of mind, ground to dust all his dreams for future and swept away everything he treasured in his life! That ill fated evening, Tarun accidentally discovered some ugly truths of life, things that he still found difficult to believe. He had loved Jenny blindly for 15 years, he went against the wishes of his parents to marry her, stayed away from all his friends and made his life revolve around only her. But he got the shock of his life when he learnt in that dark evening the horrid reality!
Jenny was not what he had always thought of, she was something else. She was cheating on him; she was selfish, cunning and calculative. She used the innocence of Tarun for 15 years to fool him, used him for her needs and never cared for his feelings.
Life changed a lot after that. Tarun moved away from Jenny and Pinku. He started living alone, far away from them in another city. Jenny did not even know his whereabouts. Tarun missed Pinku a lot, the heart ached every moment being away from him. The sufferings over past few months silently took its toll on Tarun. He fell sick; the doctor has diagnosed problems in the heart and the liver. He had no desire to live; no hope left, and was simply drifting away with time. Sometimes tear rolled down his cheek like a overflowing stream.
The cruelty of life was so unbearable. Tarun could not figure out why God punished him so badly. Was it a sin to love someone so deeply? Was it a crime to love someone so genuinely and blindly? He did not want to live any longer, there was nothing ahead in life.....it felt blank! But deep inside his heart, Tarun had only one wish, one desire. His soul desperately wanted little true and genuine love, even if it was for one moment only. But he knew, such things did not exist in this mortal world and life has taught him the hard way that it is foolish to have such expectations.
The evening had given way to a scary night, the darkness and stillness engulfed everything. The whizzing sound of the strong wind sneaking through the gaps in the door and windows was making the environment more fearful.
Tarun was drifting in an dout of his dreams and sleep. Suddenly, he felt a soft hand touching his face very lovingly. He did not open his eyes as he felt some unexplained and divien bliss. He kept his eyes closed…..the hand moved, and caressed his face. Tarun felt a strong wave of love. So beautiful is the feelings, something which he had never experienced before! Not even when Jenny had touched him for the first time. He was completely immersed in this strange but beautiful feelings and did not know how much time has passed by.
He felt her gentle breath which meant she was very close to him! Tarun opened his eyes and found a stunningly beautiful lady in flowing white dress! Never in life had he seen such a divine-like beauty. The purity in her was unmatchable. She smiled lovingly at him. Tarun wanted to speak something but he could not move his lips.
She slowly embraced him in her arms; Tarun closed his eyes again in divine bliss! There was a soothing fragrance emanating from her body, completely engulfing Taurn’s senses! Tarun felt his heart beat against hers, both beating in unison. Some kind of divine energy flowed from her heart to Tarun’s.....he felt his whole body rejuvenated. All the pain and sufferings that were bottled up inside, begin to evaporate. She came even closer and planted her lips against Tarun’s. He felt being in oneness with the whole creation, the entire universe! Blissful, extremely blissful.....beyond imagination!
She was the “Angel of Love” from heaven. She whispered in his ear, “Darling! God asked me to come down and shower you with pure and unconditional love. That’s why I am here with you. I do not expect anything in return....your happiness is mine.”
Tarun did not say anything but smiled blissfully. The Angel closed his eyes lovingly with flower like soft touch of her fingers, gave him one final kiss on his lips and then flew away to the heaven holding his hand!
God granted Tarun’s last wish, his desire to experience pure and genuine love! He died a peaceful and blissful death.
He and Jenny were so happy to be together, to have got married after stiff opposition from their parents. It was three years of struggle to convince both the sides, which did not yield any positive result. Parents were stuck with their egos, religions and what not. Jenny suffered in silence, Tarun suffered as well. But their love did not wilt under pressure and finally it triumphed. They got married against their parent’s wishes!
Like the little house-sparrows, they got busy building their home and life. There was struggle, hardship while doing so but they were in LOVE and there was no time for them to notice these small difficulties. Time flew by, year after year. Tarun did not even have inkling that it was the 15th year of their first meeting and 12th year of marriage. Now, they have Pinku, their 10 year old son. Life was so complete! Loving wife, adorable son, a small house and a steady job, there was nothing more Tarun could have asked from God. He was thankful to Him for all these!
The house-sparrows were still busy providing the final touch to their home, sweet home. Suddenly dark clouds started hovering in the sky, the quiet breeze gathered speed to become a howling storm. Lightening with thunders raced across the sky from one end to another. The peaceful evening suddenly turned violent. Before anyone could realize, a strong gush of wind swept away the sparrow’s nest within the blink of an eye. Tarun jumped up and sat on his bed shivering. He felt as if he was also swept away along with the nest, by the gushing wind. But he regained his composure and slowly lied back on the bed.
His mind drifted back to that fateful evening when indeed a monster storm had hit him. It came under the cover of darkness, ripped apart his sweet home, shattered the peace of mind, ground to dust all his dreams for future and swept away everything he treasured in his life! That ill fated evening, Tarun accidentally discovered some ugly truths of life, things that he still found difficult to believe. He had loved Jenny blindly for 15 years, he went against the wishes of his parents to marry her, stayed away from all his friends and made his life revolve around only her. But he got the shock of his life when he learnt in that dark evening the horrid reality!
Jenny was not what he had always thought of, she was something else. She was cheating on him; she was selfish, cunning and calculative. She used the innocence of Tarun for 15 years to fool him, used him for her needs and never cared for his feelings.
Life changed a lot after that. Tarun moved away from Jenny and Pinku. He started living alone, far away from them in another city. Jenny did not even know his whereabouts. Tarun missed Pinku a lot, the heart ached every moment being away from him. The sufferings over past few months silently took its toll on Tarun. He fell sick; the doctor has diagnosed problems in the heart and the liver. He had no desire to live; no hope left, and was simply drifting away with time. Sometimes tear rolled down his cheek like a overflowing stream.
The cruelty of life was so unbearable. Tarun could not figure out why God punished him so badly. Was it a sin to love someone so deeply? Was it a crime to love someone so genuinely and blindly? He did not want to live any longer, there was nothing ahead in life.....it felt blank! But deep inside his heart, Tarun had only one wish, one desire. His soul desperately wanted little true and genuine love, even if it was for one moment only. But he knew, such things did not exist in this mortal world and life has taught him the hard way that it is foolish to have such expectations.
The evening had given way to a scary night, the darkness and stillness engulfed everything. The whizzing sound of the strong wind sneaking through the gaps in the door and windows was making the environment more fearful.
Tarun was drifting in an dout of his dreams and sleep. Suddenly, he felt a soft hand touching his face very lovingly. He did not open his eyes as he felt some unexplained and divien bliss. He kept his eyes closed…..the hand moved, and caressed his face. Tarun felt a strong wave of love. So beautiful is the feelings, something which he had never experienced before! Not even when Jenny had touched him for the first time. He was completely immersed in this strange but beautiful feelings and did not know how much time has passed by.
He felt her gentle breath which meant she was very close to him! Tarun opened his eyes and found a stunningly beautiful lady in flowing white dress! Never in life had he seen such a divine-like beauty. The purity in her was unmatchable. She smiled lovingly at him. Tarun wanted to speak something but he could not move his lips.
She slowly embraced him in her arms; Tarun closed his eyes again in divine bliss! There was a soothing fragrance emanating from her body, completely engulfing Taurn’s senses! Tarun felt his heart beat against hers, both beating in unison. Some kind of divine energy flowed from her heart to Tarun’s.....he felt his whole body rejuvenated. All the pain and sufferings that were bottled up inside, begin to evaporate. She came even closer and planted her lips against Tarun’s. He felt being in oneness with the whole creation, the entire universe! Blissful, extremely blissful.....beyond imagination!
She was the “Angel of Love” from heaven. She whispered in his ear, “Darling! God asked me to come down and shower you with pure and unconditional love. That’s why I am here with you. I do not expect anything in return....your happiness is mine.”
Tarun did not say anything but smiled blissfully. The Angel closed his eyes lovingly with flower like soft touch of her fingers, gave him one final kiss on his lips and then flew away to the heaven holding his hand!
God granted Tarun’s last wish, his desire to experience pure and genuine love! He died a peaceful and blissful death.
Stop The Child's Cry
The little child is a stranger to me, but he says for him I am no stranger. He keeps visiting me whenever I am alone with my own thoughts. But lately he has been complaining very frequently and troubles me a lot. I try to listen to him as I sympathize with him but there is really nothing much I can do for him. He does not understand that and continue to crib and moan to a point where I feel like scolding him harshly.
He says he has been missing the simple but real joy and pleasures of life for such a long time that he feels it is getting unbearable with each passing day. He says his life is very dull and tiring, very stressful and tense!
He recalls the days when he had bunked classes to go to a nearby date tree to throw stones and collect the falling dates. There used to be other boys who would compete with him in this, so one day he was so focused on catching a falling date that he failed to notice that the big stone was also falling down right behind it. The result was, the child successfully caught the falling date like an expert fielder while the stone fell right on his head, puncturing a hole with lots of bleeding. He was rushed to the hospital, ended up having three stitches, bed ridden for a month and oh, not to forget…he got some solid scolding and ear twisting from his dad. But still, he says it was so much fun!
He once told me of another incident when he was in the primary school. One day the teacher left their class for a short while and gave the students some class work to complete till he returned. He saw a cow had entered the school premises to graze. The child and his friend decided to chase the cow out of the premises and went out of the class running towards the cow. The poor cow was grazing away to her heart’s content oblivious of their approach. Both of them grabbed the tail of the cow and before chasing it out decided to have some fun. They started pulling the tail with full force. Sensing trouble the cow wanted to move out of the complex and started to pull away. But the boys would not relent and pulled her tail in the opposite direction with more force. This went on for about 2-3 minutes or so. Suddenly they both felt that someone else had joined the game. This person suddenly came, caught hold of their ears and then starting pulling hard. For a moment the scene was such that both the children were pulling the tail of the cow and the third person with both his hands was pulling their ears very hard. Finally, unable to bear the pain, they let go the cow’s tail and looked back to see to their horror that it was their class teacher. The entire class broke into a roar of laughter. His ear pained a lot but still, he says it was so much fun!
“Sadly such small but beautiful moments are missing in life these days,” the child signs, “I only recall them as fond memories knowing well that those days will never be back again!” And saying this, the child starts crying again. I felt sad for him but what can I do?
On another day, I had somehow managed to get little free time from my very busy, hectic life. I lied down on my bed to take some much needed rest but the irritating child appeared again from nowhere and started the cribbing and moaning, “Life is a mirage; man keeps chasing things in life and is never happy. He sets goal after goal in terms of power, money, status, comfort which makes him run on and on without stopping for a moment in life.” Not able to get the intended rest, I was irritated and furious! Why on earth he was talking all this? These lectures are nothing new and can be read in any philosophical or spiritual book. On the top of it, how does it affect him? After all he is a child who does not have to go through these struggles of life that he is talking about. Only adults like us with families and responsibilities understand what kind of stress we have to live with, to meet our own expectations, goals and commitments to our families.
I could not bear the nonsense from the child any more. I thundered at him, “Why the hell you keep coming to me to talk all these rubbish and waste my time? If you cannot have the little fun and simple pleasures of life, if you cannot spend time in nature, if you cannot sing with a loud voice like you did before, if you cannot play a game of football in muddy playground in a rainy day, if you cannot go fishing like you did before, if you cannot take a boat ride in the river or the creek, if you cannot go out with your friends and spend time gossiping in the evening then it is none of my problem. It is your life and these are all your sufferings. I am not here to try and solve your problems; I have nothing to do with your life. Why are you wasting my time and make me feel miserable? I cannot take this any more from you. Just Go Away!”
The child said angrily, “You fool; you seem to have lost all your senses! Look at me, look at me closely. Who am I? Are you able to make out? Yes, I am none other than ‘The Child In You’, the little child who lives in the heart of every adult person! Have mercy; let him enjoy the simple fun and pleasures of life! Do not strangulate the innocent and pure child inside you. He wants you to be happy but you do not understand him!”
It has been a while now and the innocent little child does not appear any more. But whenever I am alone not busy with work, I can hear him weeping sadly; I can hear his sobbing uncontrollably!
He says he has been missing the simple but real joy and pleasures of life for such a long time that he feels it is getting unbearable with each passing day. He says his life is very dull and tiring, very stressful and tense!
He recalls the days when he had bunked classes to go to a nearby date tree to throw stones and collect the falling dates. There used to be other boys who would compete with him in this, so one day he was so focused on catching a falling date that he failed to notice that the big stone was also falling down right behind it. The result was, the child successfully caught the falling date like an expert fielder while the stone fell right on his head, puncturing a hole with lots of bleeding. He was rushed to the hospital, ended up having three stitches, bed ridden for a month and oh, not to forget…he got some solid scolding and ear twisting from his dad. But still, he says it was so much fun!
He once told me of another incident when he was in the primary school. One day the teacher left their class for a short while and gave the students some class work to complete till he returned. He saw a cow had entered the school premises to graze. The child and his friend decided to chase the cow out of the premises and went out of the class running towards the cow. The poor cow was grazing away to her heart’s content oblivious of their approach. Both of them grabbed the tail of the cow and before chasing it out decided to have some fun. They started pulling the tail with full force. Sensing trouble the cow wanted to move out of the complex and started to pull away. But the boys would not relent and pulled her tail in the opposite direction with more force. This went on for about 2-3 minutes or so. Suddenly they both felt that someone else had joined the game. This person suddenly came, caught hold of their ears and then starting pulling hard. For a moment the scene was such that both the children were pulling the tail of the cow and the third person with both his hands was pulling their ears very hard. Finally, unable to bear the pain, they let go the cow’s tail and looked back to see to their horror that it was their class teacher. The entire class broke into a roar of laughter. His ear pained a lot but still, he says it was so much fun!
“Sadly such small but beautiful moments are missing in life these days,” the child signs, “I only recall them as fond memories knowing well that those days will never be back again!” And saying this, the child starts crying again. I felt sad for him but what can I do?
On another day, I had somehow managed to get little free time from my very busy, hectic life. I lied down on my bed to take some much needed rest but the irritating child appeared again from nowhere and started the cribbing and moaning, “Life is a mirage; man keeps chasing things in life and is never happy. He sets goal after goal in terms of power, money, status, comfort which makes him run on and on without stopping for a moment in life.” Not able to get the intended rest, I was irritated and furious! Why on earth he was talking all this? These lectures are nothing new and can be read in any philosophical or spiritual book. On the top of it, how does it affect him? After all he is a child who does not have to go through these struggles of life that he is talking about. Only adults like us with families and responsibilities understand what kind of stress we have to live with, to meet our own expectations, goals and commitments to our families.
I could not bear the nonsense from the child any more. I thundered at him, “Why the hell you keep coming to me to talk all these rubbish and waste my time? If you cannot have the little fun and simple pleasures of life, if you cannot spend time in nature, if you cannot sing with a loud voice like you did before, if you cannot play a game of football in muddy playground in a rainy day, if you cannot go fishing like you did before, if you cannot take a boat ride in the river or the creek, if you cannot go out with your friends and spend time gossiping in the evening then it is none of my problem. It is your life and these are all your sufferings. I am not here to try and solve your problems; I have nothing to do with your life. Why are you wasting my time and make me feel miserable? I cannot take this any more from you. Just Go Away!”
The child said angrily, “You fool; you seem to have lost all your senses! Look at me, look at me closely. Who am I? Are you able to make out? Yes, I am none other than ‘The Child In You’, the little child who lives in the heart of every adult person! Have mercy; let him enjoy the simple fun and pleasures of life! Do not strangulate the innocent and pure child inside you. He wants you to be happy but you do not understand him!”
It has been a while now and the innocent little child does not appear any more. But whenever I am alone not busy with work, I can hear him weeping sadly; I can hear his sobbing uncontrollably!
December 27, 2014
Why God Does Not Intervene?
Today, religion is the single biggest factor which has created extreme hatred and animosity among all of us. Year after year hundreds and thousands of innocent people are being killed in the name of God and religion.
Ultimately we all seek God in different paths based on our individual religious beliefs. All these religions are based on the teachings of certain prophets/saints. We all believe that these great prophets were God-sent to help mankind. And we also believe that there is one and only one God, the ultimate reality.
Then, why each religion teaches differently from others about God? Why there no universal theme, universal path and universal knowledge of God? And thinking that one's path is the right one, he goes and kills others who do not follow the same path of seeking God!
Why then God witnesses all these violence and massacre without intervening? Ultimately He is the sole reason of our fight. He is the creator of the universe. Under what rule He has been allowing us to fight among ourselves and kill each other?
After all we are God’s children and as our creator it must be paining Him a lot seeing all these. We mortal beings as parents can not see our children fight, we can not withstand such scenes as we love them and care for them so much. God is the Ultimate father/mother, the creator who is so much above us and He loves us unconditionally.
Then how can He witness the painful scenes of his children fighting and killing each other in hundreds and thousands year after year? Why does He never intervene to remove the dark ignorance of mankind and show us the right path to seek Him? The world would have been a much better place to live then.
Or is it possible that religion is nothing but reflection of the level of ignorance, confusion & fear of human mind, an illogical effort to explain the unexplained? Is it possible that there is no such thing as God?
Ultimately we all seek God in different paths based on our individual religious beliefs. All these religions are based on the teachings of certain prophets/saints. We all believe that these great prophets were God-sent to help mankind. And we also believe that there is one and only one God, the ultimate reality.
Then, why each religion teaches differently from others about God? Why there no universal theme, universal path and universal knowledge of God? And thinking that one's path is the right one, he goes and kills others who do not follow the same path of seeking God!
Why then God witnesses all these violence and massacre without intervening? Ultimately He is the sole reason of our fight. He is the creator of the universe. Under what rule He has been allowing us to fight among ourselves and kill each other?
After all we are God’s children and as our creator it must be paining Him a lot seeing all these. We mortal beings as parents can not see our children fight, we can not withstand such scenes as we love them and care for them so much. God is the Ultimate father/mother, the creator who is so much above us and He loves us unconditionally.
Then how can He witness the painful scenes of his children fighting and killing each other in hundreds and thousands year after year? Why does He never intervene to remove the dark ignorance of mankind and show us the right path to seek Him? The world would have been a much better place to live then.
Or is it possible that religion is nothing but reflection of the level of ignorance, confusion & fear of human mind, an illogical effort to explain the unexplained? Is it possible that there is no such thing as God?
September 13, 2014
The Beckoning of Gyanganj - Blurb
Below is the blurb of my upcoming fiction, 'The Beckoning of Gyanganj'.
Gyanganj is a mystical abode of immortal beings located in the remote Himalayas. It influences series of events from two eras and results in “The Beckoning of Gyanganj,” a cocktail of Himalayan adventures, spiritualism, love and romance, hatred and politics, sufferings and revolt.
The challenging high altitude treks undertaken in remote Himalayas by Ravi and his fellow trekkers where lurked unknown dangers and challenges in every step and turn, the mysteries related to Gyanganj, the divine and immortal saints living there; the spiritual pursuit and associated challenges of Swami Raghunath; all seem to have some strange connection. The seed of love that germinated in Princess Lata’s heart for Swami Raghunath and the curse of Queen Damini would have their karmic impact on several lives from the two eras.
The sufferings of poor peasants at the hands of demonic Akash in the kingdom of Mayurpura, the failed and annihilated protests of the youth, and their merciless killings by king’s army make one lose hope of possible redemption. Strange turn of events, mysterious acts of destiny make Ravi, Lata, Swami Raghunath and Risha wonder what lies ahead!
Gyanganj is a mystical abode of immortal beings located in the remote Himalayas. It influences series of events from two eras and results in “The Beckoning of Gyanganj,” a cocktail of Himalayan adventures, spiritualism, love and romance, hatred and politics, sufferings and revolt.
The challenging high altitude treks undertaken in remote Himalayas by Ravi and his fellow trekkers where lurked unknown dangers and challenges in every step and turn, the mysteries related to Gyanganj, the divine and immortal saints living there; the spiritual pursuit and associated challenges of Swami Raghunath; all seem to have some strange connection. The seed of love that germinated in Princess Lata’s heart for Swami Raghunath and the curse of Queen Damini would have their karmic impact on several lives from the two eras.
The sufferings of poor peasants at the hands of demonic Akash in the kingdom of Mayurpura, the failed and annihilated protests of the youth, and their merciless killings by king’s army make one lose hope of possible redemption. Strange turn of events, mysterious acts of destiny make Ravi, Lata, Swami Raghunath and Risha wonder what lies ahead!
August 30, 2014
The Beckoning of Gyanganj
The Beckoning of Gyanganj, my second book a fiction on spiritual adventure and romance is getting published soon by Leadstart Publishing. Below is a chapter from the book for readers review and comments:
***
The incident had happened six years back. Thomas and three other trekkers had reached Tapovan along with a guide and were simply captivated by the enchanting beauty of the place. This place was at an altitude of around 15,000 ft and could be reached after 3-4 hours of challenging trekking from Gomukh. The original source of river Ganga is called Gomukh which was further up from Gangotri. This heavenly meadow of Tapovan was where, since time immemorial, many seers and yogis performed austerity and practiced spirituality to realize God; hence this place is considered quite sacred. Shivling and Bhagirathi, the mighty snow-capped peaks towered majestically over Tapovan. The sun was shining very brightly and the group was deeply influenced by the spiritual vibration of the place.
In this secluded high altitude place, far away from any civilization, there lived few saints who the visiting trekkers would meet upon arrival. One was a lady saint known as “Mata”, aged around 60 years. She had been living in Tapovan for nearly fifteen years except for the winters when she would move down to a relatively less cold area of the region. When Thomas and the fellow trekkers huffed and puffed their way to Tapovan, they encountered Mata in her little cottage. She greeted them affectionately, inquired about their wellbeing and invited them to her cottage for a cup of hot tea. The entire team felt grateful towards Mata for the hospitality shown by her. As they were sipping tea and resting their limbs, the discussion veered towards the background of the individuals present, including Mata.
Mata’s story could make a beautiful Bollywood movie. She was married to a Bengali person in a small village about 75 kilometres away from Kolkata. They had a blissful married life and were blessed with three lovely kids. Years later, in his late forties, the husband made a pilgrimage to the Himalayas and, after returning home, developed complete loss of interest in married life and the bondage associated with it. He stopped going to the paddy fields to work, sat in one corner of the courtyard and would be lost in his own thoughts for hours. When his wife approached him to find out what the matter was, he would get irritated and annoyed. At night, he would lie motionless on the bed next to his wife with his eyes wide open, oblivious to her presence next to him. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she would wake up to the murmurs of her husband in his sleep that would last for several moments. Several times she tried to make out what was he saying and with whom was he talking to. All she could make out of his murmurs was, “Oh Guru, do not make me suffer here in this world where Maya is lurking in every nook and corner. Please take me to your feet; I want to spend the rest of my life there.”
Noticing these drastic changes in him, she was very scared that one day her husband would abandon his family and leave for some unknown destination. Precisely this was what had happened after a month. One night, while his family members were asleep, the gentleman quietly slipped away under the cover of darkness, never to return again. Mata was heartbroken completely. With her limited contacts and resources, she tried to find the whereabouts of her husband but to no avail. Financially they were not badly off, so luckily survival was not an issue. She leased out their five acres of farmland for agriculture on the basis of equal sharing of harvest while she took care of the three growing kids. The eldest one was 21 years already and she had to start searching for a suitable bride for him. These were the moments when she missed her husband a lot.
Her life went on monotonously for a year and half. Then one day she heard something totally unexpected. One of her neighbours had gone on pilgrimage to Gangotri along with a group of few others from Kolkata. There he came upon her husband who was quite difficult to recognize in his attire of sadhu. In fact, he was known as “Bhola Baba” in that area. Baba lived in solitude in a higher altitude place called “Tapovan” and came down to Gangotri only occasionally. He had expressed regret to his neighbour for abandoning his family but he thought that it was God’s wish that he became a saint. The only way to achieve this was to leave his family without telling them because he knew that he would never have got their approval otherwise. He asked about everyone at home, blessed them and assured his neighbour that there was nothing to worry as God would take care of the family he had abandoned. He had passed on a message for his wife also and then taken leave.
Mata was weeping inconsolably hearing about her husband. Since then her mind turned into a vortex of worries and thoughts. A devout wife herself, she could not think of life away from her husband who was practising sadhana (devotion) in a challenging place like Tapovan. At the same time she had the responsibilities of three children that she could not avoid. She was tormented with these thoughts relentlessly day and night. Her husband’s feet was the ultimate place for her and while she was alive if her husband had no one to take care of his daily needs in Tapovan, then she would find place in the Hell after her death.
For several months she struggled with these thoughts. She tried to weigh her responsibilities towards her children against that towards her husband. There was no one with whom she could share her problem. It was not that she did not have any well-wishers in the neighbourhood or amongst the relatives, but she knew very well that it was up to her to find an answer to the dilemma in her mind as nobody could understand her problem well enough to advise properly. Mata finally made up her mind to seek out her husband and to join him in his sadhana.
She could not leave her three children on their own and had to make some concrete arrangements so that they could live properly after she left home. She fixed up the marriage of her eldest son with a suitable bride from the nearby village. Marriage was performed within a month with pomp and splendour befitting their stature. She let the new couple settle down in their conjugal life and after a couple of months disclosed to them her intention. She requested them to take care of her two younger children in her absence. All of them cried and begged their mother not to leave; her eldest son was genuinely worried that his mother was leaving for such unknown place without proper information and guidance, all alone. They pleaded with her to drop the idea as their lives would be a complete void without her. But Mata had firm resolution in her mind and there was no turning back.
On the fateful day, Mata took leave of her family and the closely knit neighbourhood for her destination. It was an emotional sight that remained etched in her memory forever. At Howrah station, she boarded a crowded general compartment of Kalka Mail to Delhi. The thirty hours of journey was tough for her as she had never travelled by train before. Squeezed between all kinds of travellers, mostly ticketless and jostling throughout the journey, it was neither possible for her to get some sleep nor eat a proper meal. Almost at every station that the train had stopped, more and more ticketless passengers would push their way into the general compartment and make it extremely cramped. Exhausted and fatigued, she had finally arrived in Delhi.
Mata’s biggest problem was the language barrier as she could not speak Hindi fluently. She was lucky to find helpful people all throughout the journey. From Delhi, she boarded a bus to Rishikesh for a six hour ride during which her mind was occupied with mixed feelings and emotions. While she was feeling thrilled at the prospect of meeting her husband and being with him after so many years, the thought of not being able to see her children for the rest of her life brought her tremendous agony.
Her journey from Rishikesh to Gangotri was her first encounter with the Himalayas. She was simply overwhelmed by the experience. The freshness in the air, the greenery all around, the snow-capped mountains at the distance, the deep valleys, narrow and scary roads, all kept her eyes wide open during her twelve hour bumpy ride.
After arrival in Gangotri, she spent the night in a dharamshala (religious rest house). The whole night she could not sleep due to the high altitude sickness including splitting headache. Also, lots of thoughts regarding her husband were racing past her mind. She knew that he was not far away from her. It was perhaps a matter of two or three days before she could meet him. The next morning she got up very early and along with other devotees took a dip in the holy river Ganga. Her simple mind found it amazing to think that if this was where river Ganga originated, then how much distance she might have travelled to reach and flow through Kolkata.
Mata performed puja (worship) in the temple, ate some breakfast and then inquired as to how to go to Tapovan. The stall owner thought she was crazy. He explained to her that it was two days journey uphill on foot and one needed a local guide to go there. Ladies hardly visited that place and there was nothing but mountains and glacier all around. No people lived there. He asked why she wanted to go there.
“My husband lives there. His name is Bhola Baba,” Mata replied. The stall owner was taken aback. He knew Bhola Baba who lived in Tapovan as once in a while he would come down to Gangotri. Baba was a totally quiet sadhu who would not interact much with anyone. He would spend a day in Gangotri collecting his essentials before returning to Tapovan. The stall owner did not however know that Baba had a wife who he had left behind. He was deeply touched by the devotion of Mata who had come from a far off place in search of her husband. The stall owner knew he had to help her, no matter what.
He arranged for a local guide, some food, warm clothes and a walking stick for Mata. He gave strict instructions to the guide to carefully take Mata all the way up to Tapovan, to leave her in the safe custody of Bhola Baba, and then return. The journey was arduous, to say the least. Mata had never climbed any hill, leave alone mighty mountains like the Himalayas. She wore only slippers and climbing up was a challenge. By the time she had reached Bhojbasa, fourteen kilometres uphill from Gangotri, Mata was struggling to breathe rarefied air and suffering from the attack of high altitude sickness mainly splitting headache. They had made a halt at Bhojbasa in the cottage of a sadhu for the night. For the first time seeing a Himalayan sadhu, Mata started imagining how her husband would look like. Tears rolled down from her eyes.
Early morning the next day, they recommenced their journey for Tapovan. This was the most treacherous part of the journey. One had to literally walk over the hard ice of glacier with water flowing beneath the ice sheets. The guide was an expert in this area; he tapped the ice top with his walking stick to figure out if any danger existed and then signalled Mata to move. At many places they had to walk carefully to avoid crevasses which were like death traps. After three hours of gruelling walk, they arrived at the base of Tapovan. Mata was pulling herself on by her sheer will power and the indomitable desire to meet her husband. They had the last leg of their journey to complete which was a climb of about fifteen hundred feet in altitude in a short slope of less than one kilometre. Mata stopped after every eight to ten steps struggling to breathe. Her heart was pounding like a drum and at times felt as if it would burst out but she persistently moved ahead slowly, step by step.
Finally Mata arrived at the majestic meadow called Tapovan surrounded by fascinating snow-capped mountains. She was desperate to find her husband and fall at his feet. She did not bother to experience the beauty around. Her eyes were earnestly looking around for the sight of Bhola Baba. At that moment the guide showed her the direction leading to a small cottage a little ahead. They both moved towards the cottage and arrived at the narrow entrance. Mata was hesitant to enter; her eyes were loaded with teardrops and her hands were trembling.
“Pranam Baba. Someone has come to meet you,” the guide called out for Baba from the entrance of his cottage. After a few moments Baba appeared from inside with a kamandalu (gourd water pot) in one hand and a danda (stick) in another. As he was about to raise his hand to give blessings, Bhola Baba got the biggest surprise of his life! His own wife was standing in front of him with wet eyes, in a place thousands of kilometres away from their hometown and at 15,000 ft altitude. He could not believe what his eyes saw. His raised hand was frozen in the air, he stood transfixed and dumbstruck!
Every second looked like eternity. Mata could not hold herself back any more. She ran towards Bhola Baba, fell at his feet and started crying inconsolably. After a few moments Baba came to his senses. He quickly withdrew his feet from the clasp of his wife, moved back a few steps and said sternly, “Look lady, I am no more your husband. I had left the material world and all the relations for good when I left home on that fateful night. Why have you come here in search of me? I have dedicated my life to the service of God and there is no turning back. There is no place for you here, so stop troubling me further. Go away immediately!”
Mata was adamant. She said, “Like you, I have also left everything, including our children and home, in search of you. My only aim now is to be with you for the rest of my life and serve you till my death. Nobody can take me away from here. I do not want you to accept me and accommodate me as your wife. I respect your decision to leave the material world and would not try to influence you otherwise. All I want is for you to please accept me as your disciple and let me serve at your feet for the rest of my life.”
Bhola Baba would not listen to her at all, “Respected Lady, please do not waste your time. Go away and let me do my duty.”
“I am not moving an inch from here. If you do not allow me in, I shall spend days and nights on the doorstep in the open, harsh environment and die in front of you. Choice is yours.” Mata retorted.
Baba was not affected by the threat. He went out of the cottage to meditate in the nearby cave. The guide so far was confused with the entire development and did not know what to do. He was standing there when Mata spoke to him in broken Hindi mixed with Bengali, asking him to return to Gangotri before it was too late.
By around 4:00 pm, the weather started changing drastically. Temperature dropped to freezing level, the wind started howling, the clouds darkened and it started drizzling. Mata was exhausted, physically and mentally, beyond description. Her legs had swelled badly, blisters opened up all over her feet, the high altitude gave her unbearable headache and she was unable to breathe properly. On top of this, Mata was very hungry not having had food for the last five hours while traversing a steep climb of several kilometres. She struggled to keep standing near the doorstep and after sometime, due to sheer exhaustion she fainted and collapsed on the ground.
Baba was not able to meditate properly. All kinds of thoughts were racing through his mind. The arrival of his abandoned wife had totally shaken him. Knowing her, he doubted if she would have returned by then. He however firmed up a strong resolve not to accept her or to let her stay there. As the darkness slowly descended, Bhola Baba returned to his cottage. That day for some reason the weather was extremely harsh. It was already raining hard. With the temperature below the freezing point, Baba had to hurry in his walk back to his cottage.
As he was about to enter the cottage, he stumbled upon something and almost fell down. Immediately he heard a cry of pain.
Oh my God! It was his wife who was lying unconscious with very high fever running through her body. Her body was fully wet and stiff. Within a moment all resolves of Baba vanished into the thin air. He could not bear any further the sight of his wife’s sufferings. He dragged her inside the cottage, changed her clothes, dried her body and made her sit near the dhuni (burning fire). She gradually came back to full consciousness. He offered her hot khichdi (rice and lentil gruel) to eat and also administered some herbal medicine to bring down her fever.
For next two days, Baba nursed her like a little child with lot of care which improved Mata’s condition tremendously. The third day, he left her in the cottage and went to the cave for meditation. His mind was much calmer than before and he could quickly dive deep into his subconscious mind and make efforts to connect with the Brahman. His mind remained transfixed for several hours. Suddenly he heard a booming inner voice, “Accept your wife and let her stay with you. Initiate her into Bhakti Yoga and let her be your disciple. This is the only relationship that you both will have from now on.”
He understood it was God’s will which had brought his wife to Tapovan. After receiving the divine instruction, he completed his meditation and returned to his cottage. There he talked to his wife about the divine voice and his decision to let her stay there accordingly. Mata was overjoyed and thanked the Almighty with closed eyes and folded hands. She assured Bhola Baba that under no circumstance she would cross the boundary set by him as her guru.
Next day, Bhola Baba performed an elaborate puja, other rituals and initiated Mata into Bhakti Yoga. Her favourite deity was Lord Shiva so a Shivlinga was installed in their worship place and puja was performed with wild flowers. Thus a new life for Bhola Baba and Mata started. They shed their earlier relationship of husband and wife and sincerely pursued the new relationship of Guru and disciple that the divine voice had instructed.
Since then ten years had passed by. Baba helped Mata tremendously to progress spiritually. They both would enter adjacent caves and meditate for days together. Mata experienced many mystical moments. She was very grateful to Lord Shiva for bringing her closer to his sacred feet, for giving her a pure and blissful life and the opportunity to serve her guru husband.
Having lived there for so many years, Bhola Baba had developed asthma and heart problem due to extreme climatic conditions in Tapovan. In order to perform deep penance and austerity, for three consecutive winters the guru and disciple did not go down to habitable places below Gangotri. This further worsened his condition and finally Baba left for his heavenly abode after one year. Mata decided to continue living in Tapovan for the rest of her life and pursue sadhana on her own.
***
The incident had happened six years back. Thomas and three other trekkers had reached Tapovan along with a guide and were simply captivated by the enchanting beauty of the place. This place was at an altitude of around 15,000 ft and could be reached after 3-4 hours of challenging trekking from Gomukh. The original source of river Ganga is called Gomukh which was further up from Gangotri. This heavenly meadow of Tapovan was where, since time immemorial, many seers and yogis performed austerity and practiced spirituality to realize God; hence this place is considered quite sacred. Shivling and Bhagirathi, the mighty snow-capped peaks towered majestically over Tapovan. The sun was shining very brightly and the group was deeply influenced by the spiritual vibration of the place.
In this secluded high altitude place, far away from any civilization, there lived few saints who the visiting trekkers would meet upon arrival. One was a lady saint known as “Mata”, aged around 60 years. She had been living in Tapovan for nearly fifteen years except for the winters when she would move down to a relatively less cold area of the region. When Thomas and the fellow trekkers huffed and puffed their way to Tapovan, they encountered Mata in her little cottage. She greeted them affectionately, inquired about their wellbeing and invited them to her cottage for a cup of hot tea. The entire team felt grateful towards Mata for the hospitality shown by her. As they were sipping tea and resting their limbs, the discussion veered towards the background of the individuals present, including Mata.
Mata’s story could make a beautiful Bollywood movie. She was married to a Bengali person in a small village about 75 kilometres away from Kolkata. They had a blissful married life and were blessed with three lovely kids. Years later, in his late forties, the husband made a pilgrimage to the Himalayas and, after returning home, developed complete loss of interest in married life and the bondage associated with it. He stopped going to the paddy fields to work, sat in one corner of the courtyard and would be lost in his own thoughts for hours. When his wife approached him to find out what the matter was, he would get irritated and annoyed. At night, he would lie motionless on the bed next to his wife with his eyes wide open, oblivious to her presence next to him. Sometimes, in the middle of the night, she would wake up to the murmurs of her husband in his sleep that would last for several moments. Several times she tried to make out what was he saying and with whom was he talking to. All she could make out of his murmurs was, “Oh Guru, do not make me suffer here in this world where Maya is lurking in every nook and corner. Please take me to your feet; I want to spend the rest of my life there.”
Noticing these drastic changes in him, she was very scared that one day her husband would abandon his family and leave for some unknown destination. Precisely this was what had happened after a month. One night, while his family members were asleep, the gentleman quietly slipped away under the cover of darkness, never to return again. Mata was heartbroken completely. With her limited contacts and resources, she tried to find the whereabouts of her husband but to no avail. Financially they were not badly off, so luckily survival was not an issue. She leased out their five acres of farmland for agriculture on the basis of equal sharing of harvest while she took care of the three growing kids. The eldest one was 21 years already and she had to start searching for a suitable bride for him. These were the moments when she missed her husband a lot.
Her life went on monotonously for a year and half. Then one day she heard something totally unexpected. One of her neighbours had gone on pilgrimage to Gangotri along with a group of few others from Kolkata. There he came upon her husband who was quite difficult to recognize in his attire of sadhu. In fact, he was known as “Bhola Baba” in that area. Baba lived in solitude in a higher altitude place called “Tapovan” and came down to Gangotri only occasionally. He had expressed regret to his neighbour for abandoning his family but he thought that it was God’s wish that he became a saint. The only way to achieve this was to leave his family without telling them because he knew that he would never have got their approval otherwise. He asked about everyone at home, blessed them and assured his neighbour that there was nothing to worry as God would take care of the family he had abandoned. He had passed on a message for his wife also and then taken leave.
Mata was weeping inconsolably hearing about her husband. Since then her mind turned into a vortex of worries and thoughts. A devout wife herself, she could not think of life away from her husband who was practising sadhana (devotion) in a challenging place like Tapovan. At the same time she had the responsibilities of three children that she could not avoid. She was tormented with these thoughts relentlessly day and night. Her husband’s feet was the ultimate place for her and while she was alive if her husband had no one to take care of his daily needs in Tapovan, then she would find place in the Hell after her death.
For several months she struggled with these thoughts. She tried to weigh her responsibilities towards her children against that towards her husband. There was no one with whom she could share her problem. It was not that she did not have any well-wishers in the neighbourhood or amongst the relatives, but she knew very well that it was up to her to find an answer to the dilemma in her mind as nobody could understand her problem well enough to advise properly. Mata finally made up her mind to seek out her husband and to join him in his sadhana.
She could not leave her three children on their own and had to make some concrete arrangements so that they could live properly after she left home. She fixed up the marriage of her eldest son with a suitable bride from the nearby village. Marriage was performed within a month with pomp and splendour befitting their stature. She let the new couple settle down in their conjugal life and after a couple of months disclosed to them her intention. She requested them to take care of her two younger children in her absence. All of them cried and begged their mother not to leave; her eldest son was genuinely worried that his mother was leaving for such unknown place without proper information and guidance, all alone. They pleaded with her to drop the idea as their lives would be a complete void without her. But Mata had firm resolution in her mind and there was no turning back.
On the fateful day, Mata took leave of her family and the closely knit neighbourhood for her destination. It was an emotional sight that remained etched in her memory forever. At Howrah station, she boarded a crowded general compartment of Kalka Mail to Delhi. The thirty hours of journey was tough for her as she had never travelled by train before. Squeezed between all kinds of travellers, mostly ticketless and jostling throughout the journey, it was neither possible for her to get some sleep nor eat a proper meal. Almost at every station that the train had stopped, more and more ticketless passengers would push their way into the general compartment and make it extremely cramped. Exhausted and fatigued, she had finally arrived in Delhi.
Mata’s biggest problem was the language barrier as she could not speak Hindi fluently. She was lucky to find helpful people all throughout the journey. From Delhi, she boarded a bus to Rishikesh for a six hour ride during which her mind was occupied with mixed feelings and emotions. While she was feeling thrilled at the prospect of meeting her husband and being with him after so many years, the thought of not being able to see her children for the rest of her life brought her tremendous agony.
Her journey from Rishikesh to Gangotri was her first encounter with the Himalayas. She was simply overwhelmed by the experience. The freshness in the air, the greenery all around, the snow-capped mountains at the distance, the deep valleys, narrow and scary roads, all kept her eyes wide open during her twelve hour bumpy ride.
After arrival in Gangotri, she spent the night in a dharamshala (religious rest house). The whole night she could not sleep due to the high altitude sickness including splitting headache. Also, lots of thoughts regarding her husband were racing past her mind. She knew that he was not far away from her. It was perhaps a matter of two or three days before she could meet him. The next morning she got up very early and along with other devotees took a dip in the holy river Ganga. Her simple mind found it amazing to think that if this was where river Ganga originated, then how much distance she might have travelled to reach and flow through Kolkata.
Mata performed puja (worship) in the temple, ate some breakfast and then inquired as to how to go to Tapovan. The stall owner thought she was crazy. He explained to her that it was two days journey uphill on foot and one needed a local guide to go there. Ladies hardly visited that place and there was nothing but mountains and glacier all around. No people lived there. He asked why she wanted to go there.
“My husband lives there. His name is Bhola Baba,” Mata replied. The stall owner was taken aback. He knew Bhola Baba who lived in Tapovan as once in a while he would come down to Gangotri. Baba was a totally quiet sadhu who would not interact much with anyone. He would spend a day in Gangotri collecting his essentials before returning to Tapovan. The stall owner did not however know that Baba had a wife who he had left behind. He was deeply touched by the devotion of Mata who had come from a far off place in search of her husband. The stall owner knew he had to help her, no matter what.
He arranged for a local guide, some food, warm clothes and a walking stick for Mata. He gave strict instructions to the guide to carefully take Mata all the way up to Tapovan, to leave her in the safe custody of Bhola Baba, and then return. The journey was arduous, to say the least. Mata had never climbed any hill, leave alone mighty mountains like the Himalayas. She wore only slippers and climbing up was a challenge. By the time she had reached Bhojbasa, fourteen kilometres uphill from Gangotri, Mata was struggling to breathe rarefied air and suffering from the attack of high altitude sickness mainly splitting headache. They had made a halt at Bhojbasa in the cottage of a sadhu for the night. For the first time seeing a Himalayan sadhu, Mata started imagining how her husband would look like. Tears rolled down from her eyes.
Early morning the next day, they recommenced their journey for Tapovan. This was the most treacherous part of the journey. One had to literally walk over the hard ice of glacier with water flowing beneath the ice sheets. The guide was an expert in this area; he tapped the ice top with his walking stick to figure out if any danger existed and then signalled Mata to move. At many places they had to walk carefully to avoid crevasses which were like death traps. After three hours of gruelling walk, they arrived at the base of Tapovan. Mata was pulling herself on by her sheer will power and the indomitable desire to meet her husband. They had the last leg of their journey to complete which was a climb of about fifteen hundred feet in altitude in a short slope of less than one kilometre. Mata stopped after every eight to ten steps struggling to breathe. Her heart was pounding like a drum and at times felt as if it would burst out but she persistently moved ahead slowly, step by step.
Finally Mata arrived at the majestic meadow called Tapovan surrounded by fascinating snow-capped mountains. She was desperate to find her husband and fall at his feet. She did not bother to experience the beauty around. Her eyes were earnestly looking around for the sight of Bhola Baba. At that moment the guide showed her the direction leading to a small cottage a little ahead. They both moved towards the cottage and arrived at the narrow entrance. Mata was hesitant to enter; her eyes were loaded with teardrops and her hands were trembling.
“Pranam Baba. Someone has come to meet you,” the guide called out for Baba from the entrance of his cottage. After a few moments Baba appeared from inside with a kamandalu (gourd water pot) in one hand and a danda (stick) in another. As he was about to raise his hand to give blessings, Bhola Baba got the biggest surprise of his life! His own wife was standing in front of him with wet eyes, in a place thousands of kilometres away from their hometown and at 15,000 ft altitude. He could not believe what his eyes saw. His raised hand was frozen in the air, he stood transfixed and dumbstruck!
Every second looked like eternity. Mata could not hold herself back any more. She ran towards Bhola Baba, fell at his feet and started crying inconsolably. After a few moments Baba came to his senses. He quickly withdrew his feet from the clasp of his wife, moved back a few steps and said sternly, “Look lady, I am no more your husband. I had left the material world and all the relations for good when I left home on that fateful night. Why have you come here in search of me? I have dedicated my life to the service of God and there is no turning back. There is no place for you here, so stop troubling me further. Go away immediately!”
Mata was adamant. She said, “Like you, I have also left everything, including our children and home, in search of you. My only aim now is to be with you for the rest of my life and serve you till my death. Nobody can take me away from here. I do not want you to accept me and accommodate me as your wife. I respect your decision to leave the material world and would not try to influence you otherwise. All I want is for you to please accept me as your disciple and let me serve at your feet for the rest of my life.”
Bhola Baba would not listen to her at all, “Respected Lady, please do not waste your time. Go away and let me do my duty.”
“I am not moving an inch from here. If you do not allow me in, I shall spend days and nights on the doorstep in the open, harsh environment and die in front of you. Choice is yours.” Mata retorted.
Baba was not affected by the threat. He went out of the cottage to meditate in the nearby cave. The guide so far was confused with the entire development and did not know what to do. He was standing there when Mata spoke to him in broken Hindi mixed with Bengali, asking him to return to Gangotri before it was too late.
By around 4:00 pm, the weather started changing drastically. Temperature dropped to freezing level, the wind started howling, the clouds darkened and it started drizzling. Mata was exhausted, physically and mentally, beyond description. Her legs had swelled badly, blisters opened up all over her feet, the high altitude gave her unbearable headache and she was unable to breathe properly. On top of this, Mata was very hungry not having had food for the last five hours while traversing a steep climb of several kilometres. She struggled to keep standing near the doorstep and after sometime, due to sheer exhaustion she fainted and collapsed on the ground.
Baba was not able to meditate properly. All kinds of thoughts were racing through his mind. The arrival of his abandoned wife had totally shaken him. Knowing her, he doubted if she would have returned by then. He however firmed up a strong resolve not to accept her or to let her stay there. As the darkness slowly descended, Bhola Baba returned to his cottage. That day for some reason the weather was extremely harsh. It was already raining hard. With the temperature below the freezing point, Baba had to hurry in his walk back to his cottage.
As he was about to enter the cottage, he stumbled upon something and almost fell down. Immediately he heard a cry of pain.
Oh my God! It was his wife who was lying unconscious with very high fever running through her body. Her body was fully wet and stiff. Within a moment all resolves of Baba vanished into the thin air. He could not bear any further the sight of his wife’s sufferings. He dragged her inside the cottage, changed her clothes, dried her body and made her sit near the dhuni (burning fire). She gradually came back to full consciousness. He offered her hot khichdi (rice and lentil gruel) to eat and also administered some herbal medicine to bring down her fever.
For next two days, Baba nursed her like a little child with lot of care which improved Mata’s condition tremendously. The third day, he left her in the cottage and went to the cave for meditation. His mind was much calmer than before and he could quickly dive deep into his subconscious mind and make efforts to connect with the Brahman. His mind remained transfixed for several hours. Suddenly he heard a booming inner voice, “Accept your wife and let her stay with you. Initiate her into Bhakti Yoga and let her be your disciple. This is the only relationship that you both will have from now on.”
He understood it was God’s will which had brought his wife to Tapovan. After receiving the divine instruction, he completed his meditation and returned to his cottage. There he talked to his wife about the divine voice and his decision to let her stay there accordingly. Mata was overjoyed and thanked the Almighty with closed eyes and folded hands. She assured Bhola Baba that under no circumstance she would cross the boundary set by him as her guru.
Next day, Bhola Baba performed an elaborate puja, other rituals and initiated Mata into Bhakti Yoga. Her favourite deity was Lord Shiva so a Shivlinga was installed in their worship place and puja was performed with wild flowers. Thus a new life for Bhola Baba and Mata started. They shed their earlier relationship of husband and wife and sincerely pursued the new relationship of Guru and disciple that the divine voice had instructed.
Since then ten years had passed by. Baba helped Mata tremendously to progress spiritually. They both would enter adjacent caves and meditate for days together. Mata experienced many mystical moments. She was very grateful to Lord Shiva for bringing her closer to his sacred feet, for giving her a pure and blissful life and the opportunity to serve her guru husband.
Having lived there for so many years, Bhola Baba had developed asthma and heart problem due to extreme climatic conditions in Tapovan. In order to perform deep penance and austerity, for three consecutive winters the guru and disciple did not go down to habitable places below Gangotri. This further worsened his condition and finally Baba left for his heavenly abode after one year. Mata decided to continue living in Tapovan for the rest of her life and pursue sadhana on her own.
