Swami Vivekananda exhorted, ‘The abstract Advaita must become living—poetic—in everyday life; out of hopelessly intricate mythology must come concrete moral forms; and out of bewildering Yogi-ism must come the most scientific and practical psychology—and all this must be put in a form so that a child may grasp it.’
Deriving inspiration from Swamiji’s words, Swami Vimurtananda, had taken efforts to weave the eternal values into wonderful stories so that anyone would be able to imbibe them and enrich their personal and social lives.
The valuable teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda which are most relevant to the modern age are embodied in these short stories endowed with literary grace, cultural enrichment and spiritual wisdom, inspiring our hearts and instructing our minds.
It was in the year 1855. It was just a few months since the great Kali temple was constructed in the town of Dakshineshwar in West Bengal. It was the time when the world at large did not know about the young priest called Ramakrishna. That day was Gokulashtami, a very auspicious day.
Kshetranath, one of the priests of Dakshineshwar temple, slipped and fell on the ground while carrying the divine idol of Lord Krishna to the resting room. The foot of the idol was damaged due to this fall.
‘Alas! What a disgrace! Has a bad omen befallen our holy temple?’ wondered the temple owner, the respected Rani, and her son-in-law, the administrator, Mathur Babu. They were worried about the broken idol and were furious with Kshetranath for his carelessness.
The question was whether to worship the damaged idol. To find solution to this sensitive issue, an assembly of great scholars was called upon. After much discussion, they all said the same thing: ‘Let us throw the damaged idol into the holy Ganga.’
How is that possible? How can we throw away an idol that we have lovingly worshipped for so many years? In this one day, has Lord Govinda turned into a lifeless doll devoid of any spiritual value? The Rani and her son-in law Mathur Babu were in a state of dilemma as to what decision to take.
Meanwhile, priest Kshetranath’s house was clouded in darkness bereft of all its peace and happiness. ‘Mathur Babu who dismissed me from work, will soon dismiss me from this very world!’ lamented Kshetranath as he lay on his bed crying like a coward.
Swarnamayee, Kshetranath’s wife, was devoted to God. She wiped the tears of her husband and consoled him, ‘God will definitely save us. Don’t be scared! Did the pundits say that the damaged idol should not be worshipped?’ she enquired anxiously.
Poor Swarnamayee! To her, all scholars were devotees of God.
Swarnamayee came from the village of Kamarpukur which happened to be the native place of Ramakrishna, the ‘chotta bhattachari’ - the young priest of Dakshineshwar. That is why Swarnamayee leaned towards him with loving devotion. She was an illiterate. But her eyes spoke of the inner strength and ability to stand by her convictions and beliefs.
Suddenly a thought flashed in her simple mind. ‘Why can’t my husband approach the young priest and appeal for his help in this matter,’ she thought. But she hesitated to tell him, fearing his anger and false pride.
After a while, she slowly brought this subject to her husband. ‘Swamin, can I tell you something? We don’t know what they are going to do with the idol,’ she began. Kshetranath immediately cut her off saying, ‘What are you talking? The idol is not the main issue here. What Mathur Babu is going to do to me is the main problem now.’
‘Yes, I know. But I feel that if you go to the young priest and ask for his help, he would surely figure out a solution,’ suggested Swarnamayee.
‘You foolish woman, what did you say? You want me to go to that mad priest?’ yelled Kshetranath.
Swarnamayee remained silent. She then gently answered, ‘Your master Mathur Babu judges people very well. And yet such a person sits at the feet of the young priest with devotion and listens to his advice. What does that mean?’
Kshetranath turned over on his bed. Yes, that was true. Mathur Babu and his wife had great respect for Sri Ramakrishna. The image of the couple worshipping at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna stretched out on the canvas of Kshetranath’s mind. But his pride blinded his eyes and his ego clouded his thoughts.
‘That young priest has done some kind of black magic to make Mathur Babu dance to his tunes,’ remarked Kshetranath jealously.
The other temple priests could not understand Sri Ramakrishna’s greatness. They considered his great austerities, his various visions of God and his constant communion with Mother Kali as acts of insanity. On seeing Mathur Babu being close to Sri Ramakrishna, the rest of the priests were stricken with ill-will and jealousy.
The worldly Kshetranath behaved differently with different kinds of people. For the rich, he would chant long strings of mantras hoping to gain their trust and make some quick money. At such moments, he would disguise his true self and his face would radiate a superficial glow of false devotion.
For the young priest, on the other hand, the Goddess alone was true. He would talk to her. And She would respond. Though most people, including the likes of Kshetranath, did not believe this, there were some who did. And one among those believers was Swarnamayee, a simple woman.
She was not a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. But what she had heard about him and the faith that she had seen among his loving devotees made her look upon him with respect and admiration. Oh, how many problems have vanished into thin air due to the divine grace of Sri Ramakrishna!
‘When my husband performs worship, he fails to see the essence of God in the form of the idol. Oh! Is he not committing the same mistake here as well? Why can’t he see the true nature of this holy man?’ she pondered with sadness.
‘How can I make my husband, who is lying low in body and spirit, stand up and walk the path of truth?’ she wondered.
‘You dumb woman, if I listen to you and seek advice from that madman, I would be the object of everyone’s mockery,’ remarked Kshetranath ridiculing Swarnamayee.
Kshetranath spent all his time discussing with fellow priests about how to escape the wrath of Mathur Babu. With each discussion, his fear grew by leaps and bounds. As for Swarnamayee, she could only pity the ignorant sad plight of her husband and his so-called priest-friends.
Suddenly a divine thought arose within her. The thought got strengthened every moment. She went to the Ganga, took a dip in the holy water and prayed, ‘Mother Ganga! Please save my husband.’
She then took some holy water in a metal pot and performed Abhisheka to the twelve Siva Lingas chanting the sacred words, ‘Om Nama Sivaya’.
‘Can I meet the young priest in person? But if I do so, my husband wouldn’t like it. I am not able to convince my husband to go and see him. Neither I am in a situation to go. What to do?’ she wondered.
‘Can’t I open my heart to Sri Ramakrishna? Do I have to meet him in person to talk to him? If the young priest is truly a great saint, he will surely understand me and provide a solution,’ she thought to herself as she approached the temple of Dakshineshwar.
Sri Ramakrishna was performing worship in the shrine of Goddess Bhavatarini. Swarnamayee went to the forecourt of the shrine. She then went and sat in the hall opposite to the shrine. She started doing japa and immersed herself in prayer.
Although the husband had stumbled and faltered in his footsteps, the wife had reached her rightful place and was seated upright with love and conviction.
Oh! Was this a new Krishna Leela that she was to witness that day?
The Rishis of the forest had set aside different kinds of food to be given as offerings in a sacred yajna (sacrifice). Lord Krishna, as part of his childhood play, asked his friends to go to the Rishis and get something for him to eat. The friends went to the Rishis and asked for food.
The Rishis considered the ritual of the yajna and its result most important and refused to give food for Krishna. What an irony! The Almighty for whom they were performing the yajna was standing right in front of them. But they did not realize it and continued to be lost in the ritualistic paraphernalia.
The friends returned with forlorn faces. Krishna then instructed, ‘Now you go and tell the wives of Rishis that Krishna is hungry.’ As soon as the friends conveyed this, the ladies realized what had happened and offered all the food to Krishna.
Although the ladies lacked the knowledge of ritualistic sacrifice, when God came before them, they shone brilliantly with the knowledge of spiritual sacrifice. They were hence blessed with the divine grace of Lord Krishna.
Similarly, will the grace of Sri Ramakrishna fall upon this simple soul of Swarnamayee?
Swarnamayee felt as if there were two idols in the temple shrine. One idol was the deity and the other was Sri Ramakrishna.
She folded her palms in salutation. ‘Oh, Master! We are poor people. There are many people who regard you as God and come to worship you. I don’t have such devotion. My husband does not understand your glory. But please save him from this precarious situation,’ she pleaded with tears in her eyes.
Sri Ramakrishna stood up and performed arati to Mother Goddess. The beating of the percussion instruments rented the air. The devotees chanted ‘Jai Ma’ in an upbeat tone of veneration. Swarnamayee stood upright with her palms joined over her head. Her devotion flowed like a river in the form of copious tears.
What a surprise! Sri Ramakrishna, who would only look at the divine Goddess while performing his worship, suddenly turned into the opposite direction. Standing straight ahead in the line of his sight was the humble form of Swarnamayee.
The next day, as Rani Rasamani and Mathur Babu remained seated, the scholars debated amongst themselves. The debate had no substance leaving behind a mere residue–‘Throw away the broken image!’
Rani Rasamani, who had the final authority to execute the action, was enraged by this callous remark. She was not only an efficient Rani, but also a loving mother and a great devotee.
‘Our scriptures are not dry texts. They are glorified as the mother of all texts. Why haven’t these scholars understood their true essence? Why haven’t they learnt to act with maturity?’ the Rani wondered.
As if he had read her mind, Mathur immediately remarked, ‘Mother, my heart doesn’t agree with these scholars.’
There was a moment of silence.
Then all at once a solution dawned on him. ‘Mother, why don’t we seek the advice of the young priest in this matter?’ asked Mathur with excitement. The Rani was overjoyed. ‘That is a wonderful suggestion. Why didn’t we think of this earlier?’ she exclaimed.
‘Alright, I will ask him to come and meet us,’ began Mathur.
The Rani immediately stopped him. ‘No, Mathur. Let us go and see him. This room is full of scholars who have only dry knowledge. But the young priest is filled with divine wisdom and supreme knowledge and has a loving heart,’ she said leading him to Sri Ramakrishna’s room.
They were then inside Sri Ramakrishna’s room. A devotee was singing with love and faith. Sri Ramakrishna was in a state of ecstasy and was sitting like a divine idol. The Rani and Mathur along with others entered gently and bowed down before him.
‘Father, you must be aware of all that has been happening here for the last two days,’ began Mathur with a gentle voice. ‘The idol of Govindaji is broken, Father. We look up to you to tell us what to do with it,’ he requested.
At once Sri Ramakrishna laughed loudly. He then said, ‘Om Kali! Jai Govinda! Can One, who is an Indivisible Whole, be broken? What ignorance!’
Mathur Babu started sweating. What is he saying? The Rani listened to his words with attention. The devotees waited eagerly for a solution. Certain others frowned in contemptuous disapproval.
Sri Ramakrishna closed his eyes. The broken idol, the verdict of the scholars, Kshetranath’s plight, and mainly Swarnamayee’s devotion–all unfolded in front of his eyes.
Sri Ramakrishna smiled and spoke as if he was addressing the divine Mother Parashakti. ‘What a joke is this, Mother? If an idol breaks, why would anyone throw it away? If one of the Rani’s sons-in law falls down and breaks a leg, will they keep him aside and look out for a new
son-in law? Or will they provide the necessary treatment to cure his leg?’
‘Here too, the solution is the same. You can fix the broken leg of the idol and continue performing the daily worship. Why should you throw it away?’ Sri Ramakrishna remarked, as everyone around him stood in awe and admiration.
Isn’t this true indeed?! Why didn’t this simple solution occur to anyone else? It is the love and devotion of the devotees along with the grace of the Almighty that gives life to an idol. So when our heart is filled with love, faith and devotion, why can’t the broken idol be filled with everlasting life?
‘“We should not perform worship to a broken idol” is what Smriti says. But most of us fail to understand that this rule applies only to those without love for God and those in the lower stages of spiritual evolution,’ wrote one of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples several years later.
Sri Ramakrishna’s words of wisdom sounded in everyone’s heart. The jealous scholars tried in vain to shatter this verdict. But no one paid attention to their false pleas and tantrums. Everyone bowed down before the holy form of Sri Ramakrishna and came out of his room with abundant joy and happiness.
‘The young priest himself is capable of repairing the broken idol,’ said Mathur to the Rani as they walked down from Sri Ramakrishna’s room. All the priests and scholars were standing outside waiting for them.
When Mathur passed by Kshetranath, he jovially remarked, ‘Hey, Kshetranath! You not only broke the divine idol, my man, but also broke and shattered all our ignorance about the true value of it. Keep up the good work!’
Kshetranath could not believe his ears and thanked Mathur Babu with tears of joy. The priests ran helter-skelter to collect money from the devotees. The pundits gathered around to discuss the pros and cons of the verdict.
The Rani and her entourage returned to the royal palace.
As everyone proceeded in their own way, one person alone rushed ahead, with tears of devotion, to worship the divine form of Sri Ramakrishna. She was none other than the humble Swarnamayee!
(It is the author’s humble devotion that has taken a form as Swarnamayee).
Swami Vimurtananda
01 March, 2021
Ramakrishna Math, Thanjavur