1885 & Déjà Vu: A Journey
Early Morning, 5:10 AM – 1885
I was still lying on my wooden cot when I heard my Devaki Maa call out to me:
“Go bring water from the nearby well.”
I grabbed the vessel and walked to the well. As I pulled the water up, a thought suddenly came.
It’s already been eight long days…
My heart ached for only one thing:
To see the Master again. To feel his divine presence.
I had never met the Master. All I knew of him came through my friend Baburam, who studied at Scottish Church College, Kolkata.
One day, Baburam visited a temple and saw the Master.
Baburam, driven by a burning question, approached the Master. To his surprise, the Master not only answered him but also gave him a simple mantra to do sadhana.
Since that day, Baburam changed. He became calmer, more peaceful. He spoke softly, respected women deeply, and carried an inner serenity.
Every time we met, Baburam would share stories of the Master. And each story makes me closer.
The urge grew so strong that I asked him,
“To take me to the master.”
I still remember that day.
The Master was sitting among people, speaking to them one by one. My heart raced as Baburam led me closer.
Finally, Baburam introduced me:
“Master, this is my friend.”
I froze. Words deserted me. I could only stand there, staring at him in awe.
The Master smiled and asked,
“Are you married?”
“Naa, Dada,” I replied softly.
“Then get married! This is not the time for you. Just say Joy Maa, that is enough.”
I whispered,
“But Dada… I want to be your sishya. and be with you.”
He smiled again, his eyes full of kindness.
“Not now. Time will come.”
We left that day, but nothing was the same again. From then on, Baburam and I visited the Master on weekends.
Every moment with him was a blessing.
Joy Maa
Night, 11:00 PM – 2022
Fast forward to 2022.
I was lying on my bed, scrolling through Instagram reels. Out of boredom, I opened my Kindle app and stumbled upon a book:
“Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play,” written by one of his disciples from the Ramakrishna Mission.
It was a thousand-page book, and I devoured it in four days.
What struck me most was the bond between the Master and his sishyas, their love, their surrender.
I thought to myself:
“How lucky they were! To have such a Guru…”
And then reality hits me.
Such a thing is only possible if you were born in that era, the 18th century, not in today’s money-driven world, where even a small consultation costs 2,000 rupees.
Where can I find such a Guru now in this age?
Someone to guide me…
Did his desire fulfil...
To be continued…
Jai maa adya
Shri Gurubhyo namaha
-Sharan Kumar
- By Sharan Kumar Shisya of Gurudev Shri Praveen Radhakrishnan