Anandamayi Ashram Sadhu

Interview with a sadhu
Anandmayi Ma Ashram, Haridwar

Each person has his own dharma. For example, in one discussion group, there was an American gentleman who was talking to a Sikh gentleman, and I was standing nearby. He said to the Sikh, “you should leave everything and just stick to Lord Sri Krishna. Otherwise there is no salvation.” But he has got his own dharma, you see, from the very birth. Now you want to change him to Sri Krishna, what a difficult time he is going to have. But if he passes through his own dharma, he will reach the goal and find out the same thing. Because God has created everything. That is his lila. Different persons, different sects — we all come from the same source. It is like the ray of the sun — all from one source. The ray of the sun merges with the sun again.

I’m not a teacher. I was a doctor in my old life, and I left my practice due to Mother’s instructions. Somehow she came over to our place. My home was in what used to be East Bengal, a part of India. Then it became East Pakistan, and now it is Bangladesh. Before partition I came. First I came to Calcutta, and in Calcutta all the relatives are there. Then I went to Ranchi, to Swami Yoganand. His head office is there. So I went there and I started to practice. Then Ma went there. She went to [Yoganand] also, long ago, when I was not in the picture. He had a lot of discussions with Ma. She knows the revelation of God very well. And he’s a devotee of Ma. His next successor, Dayamata, is now in charge of his place. Yoganand was very much devoted to Ma. He instructed her. I saw her, you see.

She was in the ashram. I was staying over there when Ma came and Dayamata also ran after Ma several times. Several times, several days, day after day. She would go into Mother’s room before me. And she told [Ma], very soberly, “my master [Yoganand] told him [the interviewee], ‘she will be your guide, and she will be your ideal.’” And [Dayamata] said to me, about Ma, “she is always in my heart.” And after that she went to Calcutta, running after Ma in Calcutta and Allahabad, and all these places.

When she came to our place, Ma instructed me to adopt this life, and the strictures for this life — strict instructions about food also, living a very strict life. I stay here. This is a sadhu kotia. I’ve got one room here. I spend my days in devotion here. Whatever Ma says to follow is my spiritual quest. Whatever Ma says, you see, I try to follow. The goal is the same as what I told you. The goal is the Creator, to reach over there. This is the real path of life. Most people do not understand — only some of them. There are very few who have given up this worldly life, forsaken this life. There are very few like that. They are the ones who have taken thapasya and meditation, and all these things. All the religions say like that. Some do more social karma, some do meditation. Karma is that for which you are not seeking any gain. Then you will get punya.

Hindrances on one’s spiritual journey [occur] if your mind runs here and there, and you are allured by the worldly life. Then you are in turmoil, you don’t know what to do, you see. Time is wasted. You must catch hold of a good guru. You can’t suppose, you have to find out. Even if you start your own meditation according to your own liking. By birth, you see, you’ve got some liking, you’ve got some inclination. And if you go on pursuing like that, and you study these books also, and you attend a sathsang with a spiritual individual, somehow you will learn. Your mind will be more there, but you should not be allured by any and everybody. You should be on your guard, because there are a lot of false people also.

In order to find a good guru, you go and study the books. The real books, the spiritual books. For the Christians, even the Bible, you see — it is a real Bible — The Old Testament, the New Testament, whatever. And the chanting of God’s name, all the time. Whatever you like, which god you like. While sitting, or meditating, or walking. You go on doing like that, and you see, I call you by your name, and you appear before me. It is just like that. He’s not dead, you see. He’s running this big show. It is his lila. It doesn’t matter if he kills somebody, or if he gives birth to somebody. It doesn’t matter, it is his lila.

Ultimate God is one who has form and one who does not have form. There are those who cannot conceive of him without form. The ultimate reality which is without form is a long distance away from what ordinary human beings can conceive of while they live in their bodies, because our bodies are not unformed. All the molecules and the atomic structure of the body are not able to realize ultimate reality. It is a very costly thing, you see. It takes so many lives. [The question was asked, “So Ultimately you will reach God without form?”] No, in that form is enough, because as a human being, when you reach ecstasy, there may be form, there may not be form, and there may be form. It is very difficult now, at this moment to bring it into your brain. You go on meditating, that is the thing. Whatever you like. You must fix a time and wear clean clothes, and you sit over there and meditate. Every day, whatever you have. If you have so many engagements, you should leave them, and keep that time of meditation. Have a fixed time — give it to God. Discipline.

[The following paragraphs were not part of the interview.]

The interviewee briefly talked about various individual sadhus resident in the ashram, including ladies and a European who had been a doctor. When the European man came to India and he met Ma, he left everything and stayed at the ashram. After staying here for a while, he felt he had nowhere else to go. He cooks his own food in the evenings and he comes out and gives his own religious instruction. He is two years older than te interviewee. He gives instructions to foreigners, in particular, and he wears a long beard. The residents of the ashram are all sadhus and Brahmacharis. The head of the congregation of sadhus is a senior sadhu called a mahant. The congregation is called an akhra. The mahants in Haridwar would come to Ma and were very inspired by her and worshipped her. She treated them very lovingly.

There are three large buildings at the ashram. One is the hall, where sathsangs take place.

Another building is a dwelling for the resident sadhus. The third main building, called the samadhi, is for the burial of the saint. Ma is buried in a sitting position. There are three separate things Hindus can do with bodies. One is to cremate, one is to bury, and [the interviewers could not recall the third one]. The body is buried in a sitting, lotus position. The head should be at least 30 feet deep from the surface of the ground. In the center of this building is a marble enclosure, very nicely carved. In the center of the enclosure is what looks like a square altar, also made of marble. Under the altar is where the body of this lady is buried, also inside a marble box. What happens in this building is some kind of offering of flowers to the spirit of this lady. Offerings are done, devotional songs are sung, and some sort of chanting of the name of Ram is done. This happens every evening. There is also a long panel of paintings which talks about the life of this person.