At the young age of six, Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath, one of the greatest saints of modern times, had a vision of Lord Shiva. Twenty years later, the Lord visited Him again and gave Him His Ishta Mantra. He acquired proficiency in Sanskrit and Yoga, and easily mastered the subjects of Vyakarana, Upanishads, Puranas and Vedanta.
While in his forties, He formally became a renunciate and assumed the name Sitaramdas Omkarnath. He wrote a number of books that were to give the world a glimpse into His deep spiritual experience.
Swami Chidananda of Divine Life Society hailed him as the Naam Avatara. All the leading lights of the day such as Sufi Pir Inayat Vilayat Khan, the Buddhist master Dalai Lama, Ma Anandmayi, Daya Ma of the Yogoda Satsanga, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and other mystics,experienced divine bliss on contact with Him. A proponent of the doctrine of Omkar, Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath said that all the streams of spirituality culminate into Omkara. He mainly preached the chanting of Naam or the Mahamantra i.e. Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Hare Hare, Hare Ram Hare Ram Ram Ram Hare Hare. His teachings had a universal appeal.
Like Ramanuja, who did not write separate commentaries on each Upanishad but put it all together in an independent treatise the Vedartha Samgraha, Brahmanusandhana is Thakur Omkarnath’s Vedartha Samgraha, so to speak. He wrote a unique commentary on Gita titled Pranav Prem Piyush and his commentary on the Upanishads, especially the Brihadaranyaka and Chhandogya and Katha Upanishad is the 11 volume Magnum Opus titled Sri SriNaamaamrita Lahari. He wrote 200 original books in his lifetime, built 76 ashrams all over the country, from Kanyakumari to Utrakashi Himalayas, initiated millions of followers and preached Sanatana Dhara tirelessly through ninety years of his mortal existence.
A lean sadhu of godly appearance with matted hair, bearing wooden sandals of his Guru on the chest was singing Naam with a large band of followers at Jaganath Puri. Some local inhabitants had foreknowledge of his coming and had already publicized his itinerary in a pamphlet that made a prediction by a companion of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu four hundred years back! It told of the coming of a sadhu who would be preaching the Mahamantra or Naam of sixteen words. The sadhu described was Sitaramdas Omkarnath, the founder of the Akhil Bharat Jaiguru Sampradaya.
Order named ‘Jaiguru Sampradaya’ was established and the work of preaching Naam started almost immediately. Food and clothes were distributed to the poor and free schools were set up. Temples were built and renovated and writing of Ram Naam was undertaken on a massive scale. Diksha, or initiation was given to would-be sadhakas. For the next forty-five years, this work went on through the length and breadth of the country.
Ashrams and maths were established in many parts of the country, among them the Mahamilan Math is at Kolkata and others at Uttat Kashi, Omkareshwar, Rishikesh, Vrindavana, Pushkar etc. Sanghs were started for Naamkirtan and for intellectual discourses.Many magazines and periodicals in English and Bengali were launched for furthering the purpose and mission of the Order. Under His influence, the singing of the Mahamantra or Naam became a rage at the different pilgrimage spots. The ‘abhayavani’ composed by Him spread like wildfire across the nation. During the Indo-Pak war of 1971, fought for the freedom of what is now Bangladesh , the soldiers sang the Naam prolifically. Sitaramdas Omkarnath has been described as the real general of that war which was won by India ! Senior statesmen of the times, Lal Bahadur Shashtri, Indira Gandhi, Atal Behari Vajpayee, Guljarilal Nanda and others had sought His blessings.
Religious preceptors of various Hindu and non-Hindu sects acknowledged Him as much more than a sadhu… as an incarnation of Divinity. He displayed no miraculous powers; He advised everyone to take refuge in the Lord and His Name. Yet all the leading lights of the day acknowledged to having experienced divine bliss on contact with Him. Among such persons were Sufi Pir Inayat Vilayat Khan, the Buddhist Dalai Lama, Ma Anandmayi, Daya Ma of the Yogoda Satsanga, the Nepali Baba, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and other mystics. He had initiated persons of lower castes into Naam and accepted them into His fold. Among His devotees were foreigners from U.S.A. , Canada , Holland and France . He showed the greatest understanding of the different cultural milieu that they hailed from. There were Muslim and Christian devotees rubbing shoulders with the Hindu devotees. One of His Muslim devotees wrote the Naam as ‘Allah’ one lakh times and submitted the copy to Sitaramdas Omkarnath!
His writings reveal the complete and rounded nature of His spiritual accomplishment. The ‘Sudhar Dhara’ presents the nectar of the scriptures, while the ‘Naamamrit Lahiri’ represents a crossing over the vast ocean of the Hindu scriptures to present the efficacious remedy of ‘Naam’. The ‘Naadleelamrit Lahiri’ presents the abstruse concepts of Jnana Yoga. ‘Sri Sri Brahmanusandhana’ and ‘Sri Sri Omkar Sahasra Giti’ present the cream of the Upanishads. Some writings bring Him out to be a devotee of Ram while others a devotee of Shiva. His writings reveal the depth and breadth of His knowledge, which was not merely scriptural but based on personal experience.
Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath (17 February 1892 – 6 December 1982) was a preeminent Indian Vaishnav Saint, 19th century Bhakti cult spiritual luminary and an unequaled humanitarian from the state of West Bengal, India. Addressed as Sri Sri Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnath, where "Omkar" signifies the supreme cosmic enlightenment and attaining supreme consciousnes, he was heralded as the Divine Incarnate (Avatar) of Kali Yuga and espoused the doctrines of Sanatan Dharma and Vedic spiritual path to countless devotees from across the world, with central theme and paramount importance on the beneficence of Divine Chanting Naam of Hare Krishna Hare Ram - regarded as the omnipotent "Tarak Brahma Naam" the chant of soul deliverance in Kali Yuga and "Moksha" liberation from cycle of birth and death. As such, his disciples continue to worship him as an incarnation of the Lord himself and is verily regarded as an eternal source of spiritual enlightenment and soul succour to all seekers because his life had been predicted in a manuscript of Achyutananda Dasa.
Sitaramdas Omkarnath wrote more than 200 books to promote the essence of Indian scriptures, built more than 76 temples and ashrams all across India, and founded His spiritual organisation Akhil Bharat Jaiguru Sampradaya, established many groups, temples, mutts, both within and outside the Sampradaya— and was also the initiator of multiple magazines like Pather Alo, Devjan, JaiGuru, Arya Nari, Paramananda, and The Mother.
The Master has emphatically stated that God is both personal as well as impersonal, with form and without form, determinate Saguna Brahma that is Brahman with attributes and at the same time, indeterminate - Nirguna Brahma, that is Brahman without any attributes, and that both aspects of Him are equally valid and valuable. The general impression among the seekers, that the realisation of the indeterminate (Nirguna Brahma) is a higher stage of experience than the vision of the determinate (Saguna Brahma), was not correct, and he pointed out that God and the Absolute, stood on an equal footing. On the strength of his own experience, he asserts that the vision of the personal God is not just a stepping stone to the attainmeni of the impersonal, the Absolute. For even after and during indeterminate realisation, visualisation is possible. The vision of God may follow as it did in his own case, the Nirvikalpa Samadhi.
In that case, what should be the object of the spiritual seeker? The immediate aim in the Master's opinion ought to be the direct vision of the Lord, the privilege of meeting God face to face and of exchanging words with Him. But this immediate aim should be followed by the ultimate realisation that all that exists, is God, that there is nothing on the Earth which is not God : The realisation of the fact that:
"Vasudevam Sarvan Iti"
That all is God and everything is God ought to be the ultimate aim of the seeker. We need not concern ourselves, as to how we should reach that ultimate state of illumination. Once the God is seen, the rest will be His responsibility. What is the ultimate truth? This is the question that the Master has been continually asking and answering in all his philosophical treatises. The final truth according to the Master is, Pranava. It is out of Pranava that creation springs, it is in Pranava that it rests and it is into Pranava that it will dissolve. Pranava is Nirguna as well as Saguna Brahman. II is both the Indeterminate Absolute and the Determinate personal God, To attain Omkar, one has to take at first to other forms of this Pranava, to Nama and to Mantra free from Pranava and then proceed stage by stage, until the height is reached and fitness to receive the quint-essential Pranava. The most striking point in the Master's exposition of the subject is that Pranava was not to be taken from without. It rises from within and fills the seeker with infinite bliss.
To sum up, Omkar is the Supreme Truth. This knowledge comes when the Sadhaka gains perfection. The Master arrived at this truth by his Sadhana. But he did not preach the philosophy of Pranava to the delusion of other Indian Philosophical systems. Earlier Acharyas had held that Omkar was indicative of Brahman. But the Master says that Оmkar itself is Brahman. If one gains the Supreme Truth Omkar, then Omkar takes possession of him and then all differences disappear.
However, the Master does not propagate this as a new philosophy. He only describes his own realisation, after prolonged Sadhana. He discovered this eternal truth and he felt that there was no point in adding a new philosophy to the existing SIX and in creating more confusion. His main purpose was to show the seekers a way to achieve the Truth and for that he preached "Nama", the Tarakbrahma Name:
"Hare Krishna Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama, Rama Rama Hare Hare "
By constantly reciting this Name, whether sitting or standing, walking or lying down, the Name arouses the Kundalini and Omkar Nada appears and leads the aspirant to the direct vision of the Lord and thereafter, the Lord Himself will show him that, "All that exists is He."
Though the Master was very much averse to publicity, yet there are authenticated records of the miracles, performed by him. He asked his disciples not to attribute any of these miracles, whether they belonged to material or spiritual spheres to him, as he was completely unaware of these Miracles and that either God or his Guru were responsible for their accurrence He was only their instrument. By nature, he was self-effacing.
Once a person brought his only son, who was suffering from double Pneumonia, to the feet of the Master and sought his help, as he was too poor for meeting the expenditure on his treatment and that Doctors also had told him that his child would not survive. Master asked him to recite the Name of the Lord and touched the child, which cured him, but brought the disease upon the Master. The child went home cured by the miraculous feat of the Master, but the Master was left lying in the bed for two weeks with double Pneumonia.
In another incident, a panel of eminent Doctors, who were either his disciples or admirers and who were regularly examining him, discovered in an X-ray, that the Master had large patches of T.B. in both the lungs. They had examined him two months earlier and had found that the lungs were clear.
They could not understand as to how this disease could attack the Master so extensively, within two months. In their natural anxiety they advised him to take complete rest and prescribed appropriate drugs, to which the Master said: "Can this treatment be postponed by one week? During this week, I shall try to clear it myself by meditation. If in a week's time, you find that the disease still persists, you can start your treatment".
The Doctors agreed, but they were certain that no amount of meditation could cure T.B. A week later, the X-Ray showed that both the lungs were clear to the astonishment of these eminent physicians. All that they could say was that he was beyond their comprehension.
It was obvious that the Master had absorbed the disease of a disciple and he had cleared it by meditation.
In yet another incident, one of his disciples narrated that his wife was chronically ill and bed ridden for years, during which time, medical treatment had failed to help her and that she was on the brink of death. In a desperate effort, he went to the local village temple to pray. On the way he was intently thinking of the Master, perhaps for the first time, as all his efforts had failed. On reaching the temple he found that it was locked and that the priest was no where to be found. When he was helplessly crying at the temple door, someone touched him and when he opened his eyes, he saw the Master standing close by. The Master asked his disciple to take him to his house in the village. The disciple was extremely grateful to his Master for arriving in the nick of time to save his wife and led him to his village. On the way, there was a big lake and the disciple walked straight into the water and would have been drowned, had he not been saved by some villagers, who saw him walking into the lake so recklessly. He talked of his Master who was following him, but nobody could see him. His story of leading the Master to his village through the lake made others think that he had gone made. Everybody sympathized with him because of his wife's sickness and his own poverty and assumed that his distress had caused mental imbalance in him and took him to his residence. They were also amazed to find his wife standing outside the house, while a few minutes earlier she was unable to move from her bed. She was looking for a Sadhu, who, she said, had come into their house asking for alms, which she had given after getting up from her bed with great difficulty. Immediately afterwards, the Sadhu had left. She had never met him earlier, but her description of Sadhu was exactly like that of Master. But where had he gone? Having met both husband and the wife separately, the proof of his physical presence was unmistakable. As an irrefutable proof, the ailing woman had left her bed and appeared fully recovered. All of them were wondering about the powers of his Master, who was perhaps hundreds of miles away from them at that time.
In yet another case, a retired I.G. of Police has confirmed that he was suffering from Hernia for seven years and one day when the Master jokingly caught hold of his hand and gave a sudden jerk, his Hernia disappeared.
One of the most amazing incidents relates to the illness and death of Sri Padmalochan Mukherjee in the Medical College Hospital in Calcutta. Mrs. Mukherjee sent a wire to the Master, who was then at Benaras, asking him to go and see her husband in the hospital. The Master then went by air to Calcutta, but on going straight from the airport to the hospital, he was informed by the Matron that Mr. Mukherjee had died sometime back. The Master went to the bed of Mr. Padmalochan Mukherjee and sat silently with his hand on the dead man's chest. After sometime, the pulse and the heart beat returned. Padmalochan opened his eyes and said:
"Baba, I was being taken away when you arrived and stopped them. I thought it was only a dream, but when I opened my eyes I saw you sitting on my bed, Strange !".
All his relatives saw this miracle and the Matron tore up the death certificate and said:
"Baba is Christ reborn".
The principal of the College Dr. Sarvadhikary and some of the Professors of Medical College, became his disciples.
In yet another incident, three people came to see the Master at Howrah in a highly disturbed state of mind, and told him that while they were coming to him, they were chanting the Name of the Lord. On the way, they were attacked by several miscreants and they were beaten up. The Master enquired as to which parts of their bodies were affected by the beating. They showed their backs, but there were no marks of injury. Then he exposed his back and there were several severe lessions. It was therefore evident that he had taken the blows on himself and protected his devotees, who were chanting the Lord's Name while coming to him. The place where they were attacked, was three to four miles away from the Master's place of stay and he had not left the place.
Smt Aditi Devi [a related Grand daughter of Rabindranath Tagore], resident of Santiniketan, had written- 'we were staying at Boro Akhra, Nabadwip. where an elaborate Yagna was being conducted by Thakur [Omkarnathdev].... a large festival indeed.. on the 2nd day, Thakur was doing Paath [spiritual recital], and the Natmandir was filled with thousands of listeners... after about half an hour of recital, there was a flash of light, which moved over Thakur's face and torso from left to right. I thought that someone might be clicking a photo, but then I visualized an unworldly sight! Thakur's upper part was transformed into Four Armed Gauranga murti! I thought that it must be my illusion, and rubbed my eyes several times, but I saw the same Sight everytime! Whenever whenever I contemplate that Image, my hairs stand on end!
Once a devotee plucked branches of 'bel' flowers of his garden, and took the bunch to his Gurudev -Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnathdev. He sprinkled water at every station, trying to keep it fresh. On reaching the asraam, he heard that Thakur was in 'mauna',and wouldn't meet devotees. He kept the flowers near Thakur's room,and kept weeping.He thought that why Thakur will not accept that flowers he had brought with care.The bunch got covered with sweets and garlands brought by other devotees. Thakur suddenly came out, removed the other items, took the bunch of 'bel' flowers, and went into His room again. such is Thakur's grace, He always responds to earnest call of devotees.
Bhadreswar Asram has a sweet history, which is love to repeat! At the beginning of Bhadreswar asram construction,the residents had received a news that Thakur would come next morning to do 'bheet-puja' [puja at the base for construction]..... they were all astonished, telephone facility wasnt there, and they didnot know what to arrange. After enqiring from others, they came to know that some sand, cement and bricks had to be bought. Money was scarce, and the shopkeeper said that there was no small sales, a full sack of cement was rather too costly. So, they gathered some cement and sand from a neighbour's construction-site, and few bricks from a brother's shop. When Thakur came next morning, they received Him with a smile- 'Baba, everything is ready'. Thakur observed the items with a smile and exclaimed- 'E to sob chorai maal!' ['oh!all these are stolen items.'] this humorous remark indicates the Omniscient swarup of our beloved Master...
Kinkar Sevananda, an intimate sevak of Sri Sri Thakur, has encountered many divine incidents while accompanying Thakur. Here is a recollection from his early days- Sevanandaji was returning to his village after seeing Thakur. A senior neighbour, Aditya De scolded him, telling him not to go to saints. these sadhus are frauds. Kirtan groups are like flock of jackals, shouting behind the leader.. etc etc.. Sevanandaji was very much hurt. Later, when Sevanandaji told Thakur about this ridicule, Thakur started laughing aloud. Thakur instructed him to send 'Abhay vani', 'Sudhar dhara' and some books through parcel to the address of Aditya De. Then started Thakur's invisible leela. Aditya De used to remain in a pensive mood, he once 'saw' Thakur playing sitar,. once he dreamt that Thakur is coming in a bullock cart, and took him in the cart when he offered pranam. Just few days after this dream, it all came true. He saw Thakur coming in a cart.. the same scene of the dream. Thakur called him and took him in the cart. Aditya De prayed for diksha, and his wish was fulfilled on that day itself~!
Smt. Navaneeta Devsen, well-known professor at the Jadavpur university and a writer, has given a thrilling account of how Sitarambrought her father, the renowned poet Naren Dev, from the jaws of death in the article 'Karuna tomar kon path diye' (To how many paths does your compassion extend!) in 'Desh' journal: "At that time my father was eighty-one years of age. Suddenly he got a stroke of coronary plus cerebral thrombosis. My father's blood sugar was also quite high; he was lying inert in coma for twelve full days. The left side of the body had been paralyzed; the left hand had been numbed. There was no possibility of survival. There was an oxygen tube in the nose, glucose was being pumped up through the hand and there was one more needle for some other medicine. The Fowler's bed made of iron had been ordered. Two senior nurses had been posted on duty for day and night. I flew from Delhi and reached. Everybody was quite sad at heart. Just then Sitaramdas Omkarnath, who was like a sannyasi- friend of my father, came to know that my father was on deathbed. The author of 'Nirakshar' and a childhood friend of my father Charandas Ghosh was a classmate of Sitaram - it was through him that he knew my father. Hearing of my father's illness, one day Sitaram came to see him. Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnath was always surrounded by Ram Naam. So when he came to the hospital, a group of disciples who sang Naam Samkirtan followed him. I, who am a great sinner, heard the Samkirtan and ran; I entreated: "Thakur! Though my father is unconscious, he must be conscious somewhere deep down, but if he hears Hari Naam there is a possibility he might die from fear. One hears; in order to recover from disease it is extremely necessary to have the self-confidence to fight the disease and live. If my father hears Hari Naam he will think his time is up. Therefore please don't stop the struggle that is in him. Stop Naam Kirtan!" Omkarnath Thakur smiled and said, "Let the singing of Naam go on down there. Come, I shall come up alone." My father's eyes were closed. The doors and windows were closed! It was summer. Eleven in the morning! One electric bulb was on. The quarrelsome nurse wasn't allowing anyone in: 'Visitors not allowed.' We requested the nurse to go out - she refused! She had already warned, "Until the doctor comes you cannot feed the patient any prasad etc." She was scared seeing the sadhu baba. She probably thought; 'Now he will perform some mantra tantra and get the patient to drink the washing off his feet and do such other (ridiculous) things.' Sitaram went to my father and bent down. He fondly caressed his forehead and called out, "Naren! Naren! Naren! What's the matter, brother?" The eyes that had been closed for twelve long days suddenly showed signs of animation -the eyelids trembled. My mother, my aunt, the nurse and I looked on nonplussed -my father had opened his eyes and he was looking at us. Red, blazing eyes -red as blood! As such there was no focus in the direction of his sight; even then he looked at Omkarnath who stood on the side. "How are you brother?" asked Omkarnath, laughing and in tones of notorious mongering. What a surprise! My father's lips moved. He said casually but in indistinct tones, "I am exactly the way you have kept me. How else, I say?" Omkarnath broke into laughter, "Ah! Back to your pranks? Not now! When you get well and stand up I will check you out!" My father became quiet. Sitaram consoled me: "Don't worry! Your father will get up after three or four days." Then, offering a namaskara, he went away. Hari Naam Samkirtan assumed a greater momentum.
THAKUR'S Grace always dispelled the queries of sincere aspirants, and drenched the searching souls with eternal Nectar. Prof Amalendu Bhusan Bhattacharya, scientist of Delhi IIT, went to a religious gathering at Panchsheel Park, where Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnath was giving Darsan to numerous devotees. Prof Bhattacharya went there as a critic, and not as an admirer. But on seeing Thakur, he felt an inner change, and thought that he had been waiting for Thakur throughout his life. When he went near Thakur, Thakur wrote on a piece of paper- 'Gurudev is acceptin you'. Later,at Hrisikes, he heard that Thakur was narrating different aspects of spiritual pursuit, including Naad upasana. The concept of Anahata Naad [spontaneous divine Sound] was absolutely weird to the Physics Scientist. Being an established researcher in Sound, the physicist was a bit annoyed at the 'unscientific' concept of inner music. Suddenly, the platform of his scientific studies was shaken by a strange experience, he started hearing 'hare krishna' mahamantra in various tunes. Prof Amalendu Bhusan Bhattacharya had written- 'I don't have the capacity to describe the melody of that Divine Sound. Each line was perfect and impressive and articulate.. each sound seemed to be a wave of the Eternal ocean of universe. All the sounds which I have heard till date seemed distorted and dry. the sounds of the world are connected with external ear and intellect, the Anahata Naad is connected with inner consciousness.'
Thakur Sitaramdas Omkarnath had revealed His swarup to devotees and disciples on several occassions, most of which are hidden in the womb of Time. But some incidents have been revealed, and these drops of nectar help us to contemplate our Master's Identity. It helps us to relish the priviledge of having Lord as our eternal Guru... Once, Thakur went to the residential village of Kinkar Pranabananda.. crowd had gathered for Thakur's darsan. Thakur continued to render blessings till late night. Thereafter, everyone went to sleep. Only Pranabanandaji was awake. Thakur took a lantern and started to supervise, who was sleeping where, whether everyone had got proper opportunity to rest etc. When Thakur saw that Pranabananda was awake, He pulled him to a desolate corner. Thakur stood in front of His disciple, and Pranabananda visualized: the Four-Armed LORD is standing with Shanka Chakra Gada Padma. Pranabananda remined engrossed in this vision for quite sometime. The rest of the night was spent sleeplessly, and a strange gesture was noticed from next morning. Pranabananda was hugging every person he met, and was kissing everyone indiscriminately [because he was seeing Lord in all creations]- 'jotro jotro netro pore, totro totro Krishno sfure'. Thakur heard this, called Pranabananda, and said 'ohh.. have u lost control over yourself?' Thakur held Pranabananda's hair lovingly and shook his head. The Mahabhava was hidden, and Pranabanandaji was normalized.
Sri Madhav Swamiji, used to recollect, " I had the duty of cooking prasada everyday. As there was no fixed number of visitors and devotees, adequate quantity would be prepared. So,often the excess food had to be discarded into the Ganga. Oneday, Baba saw this and exclaimed-'so much food is wasted!' I said-' Baba , there is no other way. what to do?' Baba replied softly- ' do one thing. Everyday, ask me beforehand how many persons are going to come. Then cook accordingly.' Henceforth, I would ask Baba before cooking, and his prediction would be accurate. There was no excess or shortage thereafter."
It has been reported by Sri Rai Saheb Murarilal Adhikary, a retired Superintendent of Police and the author of a valuable book, " Vaishnava-Dig-Darshani", a treatise on Vaishnav philosophy, that on 2nd day of November. 1947, his wife asked him to find out the location and address of Dumurdaha Ashram. She told him that while she was circumambulating the Tulasi plant after having completed her daily worhsip. she saw a Sanyasi standing behind her, who was lame of a leg with matted hair and held a stick in one hand. When she asked him as to who he was, he replied with a gentle smile:
"Mother, my name in the previous ashram was Prabodh Chandra Chottopadhyay, my present name is Sitaramdas Omkarnath, my Ashram is at Dumurdaha. You will meet me again when you chant the Name in the evening".
With these words he left. That evening he did attend the Nama-Sarnkirtan. After the chanting was over, he gave detailed information about himself and left the place, after assuring them that he would visit them again. He visited them daily and joined in their Naam-Samkirtan.
It was later learnt that the Master was far away in Deccan (in South India), at least hundreds of miles away at that time.
There has been several such incidents where the Master appearing before his devotees or disciples, whenever they were either in distress and praying to him for help, or wherever Naam-Samkirtan was taking place.
The above mentioned miracles wherein the dead have been raised and the diseased have been cured, pale into insignificance, when it is seen that the master literally took the mind of the disciple into his hand, which was fully absorbed in the sensual pleasure of this world, at the time of initiation and turned it inwards and gradually led him into the deepest recesses of his heart, wherein lies the Kingdom of God. That was his greatest miracle, as it granted eternal bliss, whereas other miracles were transitory in nature and yielded temporary results.
However, these miracles also have their value, as they tend to create faith in the Master, which is the first condition for assimilating his message which has the capacity to emancipate the bound souls.
His universal approach towards all men and women of the world is based on his realisation that the Lord pervades the entire Universe and that I is in all and He is all. That was the reason of his love for the entire Creation and his heart was large enough to accommodate everyone and anything that existed in this world. In his Maharasayan or the Great Elixir, he identified himself with the Supreme Truth and declared that he alone existed and nothing else and nobody else. This itself showed that he had riched the stage of Ultimate Reality, which formed the basis of his love. The following extract from Maharasayan clearly bears it out:
“I am Chirst, I am Christian; I am Mohamed, I am the Muslim; I am Brahmana and I am Chandala; I am God and I am the Devil; I am the sinner and I am the virtuous; I am the wise man as well as the dunce; I am the disciple as well as the Guru; It is I that listen and I that speak; I am certitude and I am doubt; I am Heaven and I am Hell; I am darkness and I am light; I am Yoga and I am Bhoga; I am Freedom and I am Bondage; I am everything. Look, look, look close, I am there in every atom, in every molecule. How can you bear grudge or hatred against anybody? I am all; there is nothing which is not myself. I alone was in the past; I alone am in the present; I alone shall be in the future. Whomsoever you envy, you envy me, in this vast universe, it is I alone, who exist”
His method of distributing love, was giving 'Name' which is God Himself and God is nothing but love. He welcomed all irrespective of cast, nationality or station in life and would give a warm place in his heart, which was large enough to accommodate everyone.
He did not turn away anyone who was in difficulty, as he must relieve his distress. Even a thief or a murderer received his kindness.
He was never tired of asserting that he has come more for the sake of the fallen than for the good. In fact, he used to bestow maximum attention on such persons, who had violated all the norms of moral laws. If people could not come to him to get their share of love, he would go to them to give it. In order to distribute his love as widely as possible, he would move about like a Hurricane from place to place, taking the 'Name' to every door step.
A couple who were his disciples, came from Holland to see him when he was seriously ill at Srirangam. When he heard of their arrival, he asked his disciples to carry him to the gate, as he was unable to walk. The couple were overjoyed and fell at his feet. He enquired of them as to what they had brought for him. They were embarrassed and the Master said in English
"Say love. We have brought love for you.
This is your greatest gift to your Guru.”
It was obvious that their love for Guru had brought them from their hometown in Netherlands to Srirangam in India. The Master immediately composed a song and recited it in Bengali. The poem when translated into English reads:
” I love because I must love.
I know not why 1 love.
Love is all Japa and Тара,
Love is real Sadhana"
It is well known that even in the parents love for their child, there is an element of selfishness, as they expect some return, but the Master's love was totally unselfish and he asked for nothing in return for his love.
He was constantly urging everyone to cultivate love for God and for their Guru. This love does not ask for any return or reward or recognition.
This type of love reminds one of the incident in the life of Rabia Vasria. Rabia Vasria was regarded as a Sufi of the first order. Her chroniclers write that one day she left the house in such a state that in one hand she held a Cauldron of fire and in the other, a vessel of water. People asked her where She was going. She answered:
"By this fire I want to burn Heaven. and by this water I want to extinguish the blaze of Hell, so that, both may be destroyed and people worship God for the sake of God and not for the reward of Heaven or for the fear of Hell"
The breadth of vision of the Master was such that he could not make any distinction between a Hindu and a Muslim, a Christian and a Buddhist. They were all the creation of God and the same God, call Him by whatever name you like, was present in all of them. It was a quality in a person that counted and not the religion which he followed. So all people, whether they were Hindus, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists or even Atheists, flocked to him and found refuge with him. In modem times, he was the greatest unifier of people of all sects. He was keen to integrate all the religions of the world. In the result, he had risen above all religions and was practising and preaching universal love.
During his life-time, the Master met a large number of contemporary Saints, which resulted in mutual respect and reverence for each other. A few such instances are given below:
If he were described by the appellation of 'Nam-avatara' - this would be no exaggeration, but would indeed be fit and appropriate. Beloved Babaji is verily Namavatara. His entire life and personality is a radiant example and expression of Namabhakti and Nama-shakti. I bow down in silent reverence and love at his holy feet, I deem it a very great privilege and a matter of greater joy to write these few lines as my tribute to hit divine personality."
When Maa Anandamoyee fell seriously ill in June 1982 at Dehradun and Baba was at Kanyakumari, a Telegram was received by him informing him of Maa's illness. Baba, who was himself very sick, left immediately by car for Trivandrum where he caught the flight for Bombay and then took another flight to Delhi and from there he went to Dehradun by car. When he reached the place where Maa was staying. Baba got the room emptied and asked his disciples to recite 'Omkar' They recited for half an hour. Baba said that in Maa's Chinmayee state, only 'Omkar' would apply to her. Master's love for Maa was so great that even when he was very sick, he undertook the extremely long and tiresome journey.
On another occasion, Sri Mahesh Yogi invited the Master to open the international conference he was holding in his Ashram at Rishikesh, on the Vedasand Science. When the Master reached Mahesh Yogi's Ashram, he was most cordially received.
In his inaugural speech, the Master stated that the Vedas had come out of the mouth of God and everything that the Vedas said was truth and that there was nothing beyond the Vedas. So modern science was also a part of the Vedas, particularly, the Atharva Veda. Mahesh Yogi also spoke in support of what the Master had said. He also stressed that everything that science taught, could be found in the Vedas, providing competent person learned both in the Vedas and in Science was interested in looking for it.
It was an experience that he could never forget. In his homage to Master he writes:
"He was a realised soul in the true sence. His touch was divine and emanated charging vibrations to all those having receptivity. Such souls constantly having an ecstatic joy, immersed in the sea of consciousness, are rare. Achievement of self realisation is one thing, but when that blessed soul is endowed to impart this power to other evolving souls, it is n remarkable thing."
In his tribute to the Master. H. H. Dalai Lama records:
"I was very happy to meet with Baba Omkamath. I was impressed with his spiritual experience as well as his physical appearance, which reminds me of the Indian Siddhas of the past. Since Buddhism came to Tibet from India, which we consider as Aryabhumi, even as a child, I had been interested in studying the images of these Indian Siddhas in paintings. There were for example many paintings of Indian Siddhas at Tibet, like those great Indian Siddhas. I used to be very fond of this.
I benefited from the spiritual exchange we were able to have then. He was deeply concerned about the tragic situation of Tibet and recognised deep spiritual relevance of the Tibetan people's just struggle. During that memorable meeting, Baba gave me a white woollen mat, which I still use."