( Based on Talk Given by Swami Vedatitanandaji Maharaj | Full Details here |)
There is a strong yearning to cling to memories of great. Eg One Tooth of Gautam Buddha has been preserved and at a Temple has been build around this in Sri Lanka. Its important to go through the Reminiscences of Haripad Mitra as it give Glimpse into the Persona of Swamiji and also When he speaks to Haripad Mitra or Indumati Mitra he is speaking to all of us.
Swami Prabhavananda has done Great amount of Research on Swamiji . – Sri MS Nanjunda also contributed a lot . Swami Gambhirananda translated in English. We also come to know of him from Writings of Swami Sadananda , Swami Swaroopananda and various disciples of east and west.
Swami made tremendous impact on lives all over the world.He has made major changes in thought currents sweeping the world It is not an overstatement if we say that after his advent there has been phenomenal change in the world – All aspects Spiritual and secular – Education, science & technology, sociology, politics, psychology etc.
Kabir once asked why they come to him. They said- “for satsang ” , He said , I revel in myself, People call that Satsang. हम तो रहे अपने रङ्ग , लोग कहें सत्सङ्ग ।
Swamiji had this utter lack of pretence. This we find so lacking today in politics , in education. Eg if he smoked or chew tobaaco he did not hide this fact as to how people might judge him. He had genuine human relationships. ( Ramprasd Bangla song on This trait of a Man of God )
Haripad Mitra was quintessence of Modern life. He was agnostic. He was much influenced by Aldous Huxley. He felt self-alienated. He was initially impressed and inspired by personality of Swamiji, Later by this words. He gave diskhsa to Both Haripad Mitra and his wife Indumati Mitra. To Haripad he said Always try to do good to others as far as possible – Treat Women well – about value of a house where women are happy and well treated. Shakti ( Energy ) has to be worshipped in the the form of women. To Indumati Mitra he said – Remain Pure in word and deed and even in thought. Treat husband like god- She being a householder and having a husband who was NOT a rogue.
Swamji – Used concepts in science for explaining matters Religion. He emphasises Western Science Coupled with Vedanta , Consciousness and Shakti ( Energy) , Brahaman and Prakriti , Brahman is the essence , Shakti is the manifestation. Both are one aspect of same reality. Ignore Not even one. They both study Reality. Western Nations had focussed on Shakti ( Energy , material ) have focussed on Energy ( Shakti ) , Prakriti and had made great advances. India had been more on “Consciousness” . Both are needed.
When Haripad Mitra requested him to stay at his house : He said, “I am quite happy with the Maharashtrian. If I should leave after seeing a Bengali, he might be hurt. Besides, the family treats me with great love. But I will think about it and let you know”.
Haripad Mitra : Shared his unhappiness about relationship with superiors. He advised him accordingly. What is worth noticing is that for many of our problems , the issue at hand is not Spiritual (Though the that helps ) , but rather plain common sense. Ability to think clearly. If Our thinking gets clear all our problems get solved – Here is the incident
Any work can lead to spiritual development. provided it is performed in a particular manner – leads to Character Development →→ This leads to Self Restraint →→ Self Direction →→ Concentration →→ Concentration when perfected leads to Samadhi – From Perfect work to Perfect Mukti.
Meetings : a) Nine days extended stay at Belgaum b) 1897 Lahore before second visit to west c) 1902 before Passing away. He said that many incidents are so personal they cannot be narrated, though had he narrated it would have given more glimpse into swamiji and would have helped us as well. Even then whatever he has recorded is immensely valuable.
His ancestral house in Burdwan has been converted into an Ashram by Bhav Prachaar Parishad.
Vedanta is Not HINDUISM . It is the Religion Eternal . Science of Vedanta is behind Christianity and all religions, in different aspects.
For a religion to be Universal it should have two traits
A) Parsimony B) Perception Generalization and Universalization
When you see 20,000 things you and I are looking with ordinary eyes. When you Perceive some common essence,Generalization , you are being moral and the highest is Universalization and that is Religion.
–
A) Vocabulary agnostics ( A person who is not sure if God exists or not ईश्वर की सत्ता के विषय में संशय रखने वाला; संशयवादी, अज्ञेयवादी )
B) Reminiscences of Haripad Mitra : ONLINE From Complete Works
C) ( Note by this Complier – Swamiji himself Had once mentioned about people trying to keep his one strand of here . Even Sister Nivedita got one last piece of ochre that flew from Funeral pyre and fell on her (Pending – Reference need to be Found In CW ) )
D) Online Reference : Swamiji at Belgaum ( Haripad Upset about his Superiors)
E) Relationship With Superiors : “Just then for some reason or other, I was not pulling on well with my superiors. Any little remark from them would make me lose my balance. Though, I had a lucrative job, I would not be happy even for a day. When I told Swamiji of my difficulty, he remarked, “Why are you in service? Is it because for the salary you get? You are getting it regularly every month; so why should you be upset? When you are free to resign, any moment, and nobody binds you down to it, why should you add to your miseries by thinking, oh, in what bondage am I placed! Another thing, will you tell me whether apart from doing work for which you draw the salary, did you ever do anything just to please your superiors? You never did so, and yet you are angry with them that they are not satisfied with you. Is that wise on your part? Know it for certain that the ideas we entertain about others express themselves through our conduct; and even though we may not be expressing these in words, people react accordingly. We see in the external world the same image that we carry in our hearts; nobody realizes how true the saying “The world is good when I am good is”. From today try to get rid of the habit of finding fault with others, and you will find the extent you succeed in this, the attitudes and reactions of others also change accordingly.”
E) Reminiscences of Haripad Mitra by Swami Gambhirananda ( ?? ) Pending
F) ( Based on Talk Given by Swami Vedatitanandaji Maharaj | Full Details here |)