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Baba Lokenath (1730 AD to 1890 AD)
Baba Lokenath was born to be dedicated to the path of renunciation:
Baba Lokenath Brahmachari (1730-1890) was born on Janmasthami, the birthday of Lord Krishna in the village of Chaurasi Chakla, a couple of miles from Kolkata to father Ramanarayan Ghosal and mother Kamala Devi. Ramnarayan Ghosal wished to dedicate one of his child to the path of renunciation to the God but could not do so with the earlier three sons due to the motherly attachment of his wife Kamala Devi. When the fourth son was born, by divine providence his wish was fulfilled and Kamala Devi finally agreed.Father Ramnarayan gave Lokenath to Pandit Bhagavan Ganguly to be his spiritual guru:
Father Ramnarayan earnestly requested Pandit Bhagawan Ganguly, a householder (Grihi) sanyasi and a scholar of great reputation of the nearby village of Kochuya to be his son's spiritual Guru and teach him the wisdom of the Shastras. Bhagavan Ganguly agreed.Lokenath left home with his Guru and bosom friend Benimadhav at the age of eleven:
Young Lokenath left home with his Guru and his bosom friend Benimadhav at the age of eleven bidding his parents and close friends a tearful farewell.Guru Bhagavan first took Lokenath and Benimadhav to Kalighat, a Shaktipeetha near Kolkata where they saw lot of sadhus engaged in penance:
Travelling for many miles, they came to Kalighat, near Kolkata, a holy pilgrim site in eastern India, and the seat of Shakti. At that time, the place was a jungle and full of sadhus and sanyasis, with long matted hair, and wearing loincloths. Lokenath and his friend started feeling at home right from the beginning in the midst of these holy men - who never told them anything even when they would disturb them in their meditation by pulling at their hair and their loincloths.From Kalighat Guru Bhagavan took them to deeper jungles to perform severe austerities:
From Kaligahat they proceeded to deeper jungles for performing austerities. Like a loving mother Guru Bhagwan Ganguly prepared the two boys for the hard life of austerity and renunciation. Under his able guidance, the boys, in addition to the practice of deep meditation, also observed various fasting vows that lasted - starting from a single day - to two days, then for three, five, nine and twelve days and then a fortnight. When the fasting lasted for a full month, twice in a row, Benimadhav could not complete his vow the second time, while Lokenath could do it easily.Guru Bhagavan knew that Lokenath would attain great spiritual height; he took care of his two disciples with both motherly and fatherly care:
During the long years that these vows were being observed, Guru Bhagwan took complete care of his two disciples, from begging alms, to preparing their food, and even attending to their calls of nature. Afterwards, Baba Lokenath would always speak of his Guru with tears in his eyes and his voiced choked with emotion. It was known to Guru Bhagwan that Baba Loknath would attain the magnitude of enlightenment. The Guru guided Lokenath for a period of several decades in the practices of the necessary yogic disciplines and hatha yoga. Baba stood firm repeatedly, almost unimaginable austerities, under the guidance of His beloved Guru.Lokenath returned home with Guru and Benimadhav after a period of twelve years; they left home again:
In accordance to the injunction of the shastras Lokenath and Benimadhav returned to their birthplace with Guru Bhagavan. In the native place Lokenath found himself gradually getting enmeshed in the web of Maha-Maya. Guru Bhagavan waited patiently for Lokenath to tear himself away from the worldly attachments and resume the sadhana. When the time was ripe they left home once again.Guru Bhagavan urged Lokenath to know the true nature of the Self:
When Lokenath asked his Guru about the need to study the scriptures, His Gurudev replied,"If You know who You are, You will come to know everything. There is nothing in this external, manifested world, which is not within you. Believe My words; there is no truth without, because your atman is 'sarvatbhutatman', the Atman seated in the hearts of all creatures. In You is the dormant seed form of all the knowledge, power and wealth of this entire creation. Why should You leave the diamond and waste time on pieces of glass?"
They left for the Himalayas; Lokenath practiced severe austerities in the Himalayas for fifty years and attained spiritual enlightenment:
Lokenath travelled to the Himalayas and meditated in the nude for nearly five decades. Finally, at the age of ninety He attained enlightenment.Recalling His time in the Himalayas, Baba Lokenath said,
"While in samadhi, heaps of snow would cover My body and would melt away. In that sublime state I had no feeling of the existence of My body. I was in that state of samadhi for a long time. Then, finally the effortless state of the Ultimate Truth was revealed. In that state of consciousness, there was no difference between me, the rest of the cosmos and all its manifestations. The inner and the outer all merged into each other as an expression of ultimate bliss, absolute joy. There is no state beyond this to be achieved in human life with total effort and divine grace."
There were a number of times when Baba did speak of the enlightened state:
"Words are such poor vehicles to express the inner experience. Any attempt to reduce it to words only belittles the Ultimate Truth. It is like the mute trying to express the taste of nectar."
"Everything that exists in the infinite creation exists within Myself. The whole Universe is within Me. I am existence beyond space, time and causation. My existence is without beginning or end. I exist in eternal expansion. These words are not meant to be shared. That is the reason you see Me spending time with the householders, granting their mundane demands. Do not think when I am busy with you all in worldly matters, that I lose touch with that blissful state. No. Whoever achieves that state can never fall from it. Nothing can ever again be seen in isolation. Everything is seen as the expression of the One. In variety is the taste of Unity."
"Because I eat, drink, attend to the call of nature and live like any one of you, you think of Me as one like you. Your greatest mistake is to think of Me as a body. How am I to explain who I am? Everyone is so involved in the fulfillment of small desires, so unconscious, so forgetful of the true 'I'.
After this they travelled to Kabul, Mecca and Medina; at Medina they met Abdul Gaffar, another enlightened person:
After this Loknath, along with his Guru and his friend, proceeded towards Mecca and Medina, wishing to study the Holy Koran under an able teacher. Walking all the way, they reached Kabul, where they stayed for some time with Mullahsadi, who was known for his poetry and his brilliant commentaries of the Koran. From Kabul, the three yogis went to Mecca and thence to Medina. While walking through the desert to Medina, they met with Abdul Gaffar who was himself a yogi of high attainment. Baba Loknath would later say the following about this great man -"I have travelled extensively all over the world and could find only two real Brahmans beside myself - one is Abdul Gaffar, and the other - Trailangya Swami."
At Mecca Guru Bhagavan came to know that his death is nearing; so he took his disciples to Varanasi and placed them under the care of Trailangya Swami, an enlightened Yogi; Guru Bhagavan passed away at Varanasi:
While staying at Mecca, Guru Bhagwan decided it was time for him to leave his old and worn out mortal body behind and for that purpose, they came back to Varanasi, the holiest of all pilgrim sites, on the bank of the River Ganga. Here, Guru Bhagwan placed the caring of Lokenath and Benimadhav into the hands of Hithlal Mishra, also known popularly as Trailangya Swami. Thus being free from his only worry in the world - that of placing his two beloved disciples under an able teacher and guide - Guru Bhagwan left his physical body while in deep meditation at Manikarnika Ghat.After the passing of Guru Bhagavan, Baba Lokenath, Benimadhav and Trailanga Swami travelled together to many parts of the world:
After Guru Bhagavan passed away the great yogis Lokenath, Benimadhav and Trailanga Swami travel on foot to various parts of the world including Afghanistan, Persia, Arabia and Israel. They again returned to the Himalayas. Here Baba Lokenath had the urge to follow the path that the Pandavas took during Maha Prasthan. They walked through the Himalayas, visited Mansarovar and went still northwards towards Siberia. Finally they came down to the plains.After travelling several places Trailanga Swami and Benimadhav parted ways and Lokenath started his solitary travel:
After travelling several places they part ways; Trailanga Swami travel towards China and Benimadhav towards Assam. Baba Lokenath starts his solitary travel.Baba Lokenath met Dengu Karmakar at Daudkandi in Tripura; saved Dengu from the clutches of death; Dengu became his ardent disciple:
Baba Lokenath was all alone when he walked into the village of Daudkandi in Tripura, where, through his divine grace, he rescued a man called Dengu Karmakar from the clutches of death. Dengu instantly became an ardent devotee of Baba Lokenath.Dengu brought Baba Lokenath to Baradi which was to become the seat of Baba for the rest of his life:
Dengu brought Baba to his home at Baradi and gave Baba a place to stay despite the admonitions of his family members. Baradi was destined to become the seat of Baba's divine play, because it was here that Baba Lokenath revealed his divinity and infinite grace to the people of the world.Baba Lokenath performed many miracles to alleviate the sufferings of people:
Baba Lokenath performed many miracles during his life with the Divine Power and seeing and feeling the unbearable suffering of others as His own suffering.Baba Lokenath left his body in meditation at the age of 160 years but continues to live in the heart of the devotees:
Finally, on the 19th day of Jyeshtha, 1890 (1297 in Bengali), Baba was meditating and he slided into trance. His eyes were still open and he left his physical body forever. He was then 160 years of age.Baba's words and assurances:
He had said before his death :"I am eternal, I am deathless. After this body falls, do not think that everything will come to an end. I will live in the hearts of all living beings in my subtle astral form. Whoever will seek my refuge, will always receive my Grace."
For more than a hundred years I have travelled far and wide through hills and forests and have collected enough treasures; these you shall have the benefit of while sitting at home.
Your material life, your desires for everything material and your natural tendency for yearning material happiness - all these have been divinely designed to take you to a plane of higher evolution.
Everything that exists in the cosmos, I feel it existing within my Self; I have become like the vast limitless expanse existing in eternity.
When ignorant people see me in my ordinary human form, they consider me likewise. They do not realize that I am the Paramount Being, the Paramatman - the one that pervades the Universe.
As an Embodiment of Love, Baba Lokenath promises us, "Whenever you are in danger, whether in war, forest, ocean or jungle, remember Me. I shall save you. You may not know me. You may not realize who I am. Just pray to me with a little touch of your heart and I shall free you from gripping sorrows and miseries."
References:
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