In search of a missing link

"PROVIDENCE IS LOOKING AFTER HIM, HIS LIFE WILL FOLLOW ITS OWN COURSE..DON'T WORRY"...Holding this telegram from the savant,revered family Guru in hand,the gentleman and his wife was trying to put a rein on their grief and anxiety.
What else they could have done? The sudden disappearance of their eldest son,who was only twenty two years old and just crossed the final steps of Calcutta University, topping the list first class students of "A difficult branch of science" had totally shattered them.
Since this had happened at a time when abduction,ransom and the likes were very rare, they had searched all the possible places..with friends and relations..with hospitals,nursing homes and police stations and even with morgues..but drew a blank.
When such terrible things happen to a near and dear ones,and when reasoning and all practical approach do not yield any result,even the wisest men venture to seek for Divine Intervention and as such the old man,a professor by profession,wrote a letter to their family guru at Benaras and in return he got that telegram.
Indeed The Providence Looked after him.
Indeed his life followed its own course.
As otherwise how could I have this versatile genius of a man,who had already left seventy two springs behind him and still maintaining all the faculties of his incisive mind sitting by my side and taking me for a ride through different complicated areas of science, literature,history and arts...all with equal ease and lucidity?
Two years after his disappearance,he came back and there after lived a successful life of a teacher (retired as a head of his stream of science of a university),of a husband and of a father.
In fact, in my younger years,I had heard about the incident and there after when I grew up we met with each other,quite a number of times,but I had to keep my curiosity to myself.I did not dare to ask him to take me for a ride through those obscured years of his life.I was very much curious to know what a brilliant and idealistic boy in him did during those two years of time.
Perhaps he had some fancy,some affection for me ,perhaps the ambiance was conducive enough to open up the mind because he allowed me to have a peep at the pages of those years of his life ,sitting under shadow of a tree, in a mildly cold winter afternoon.
With few bucks in his pocket and with one set of garment,a wrapper and a rug in a cotton side bag, he left his home in one winter morning.
On the previous night,he went on,he had a vision that he was to meet with 'Some one' in the deep forest of 'Nimsha'..better known as 'Naimesharaynna'.He boarded a train,crossed some stations and detrained.After dis-embarking from the train and coming out of the station,he parted with the money,still lying with him by giving it to the beggars.Feeling light and comfortable, he started walking towards his destination.
But without money or any other means how could he keep his body going?Did he have to resort to begging?In reply,he simply gave a queer smile and told that food and shelter never posed as a problem.Although he was prepared to remain unfed or lie by the side of a road under the open sky,had that been the design of The divine power...but he always got some sort of shelter to rest or food to
eat.--whether it was in any city or a village or in the midst of any dense forest.
Although I did not get any day to day account of almost seven hundred days,he,,just to dispel any doubt of mine about his generalised version,cited one example.
On a particular day,he walked all through the day-crossing a remote area in the northern part of Biher,and at the end of the day,completely exhausted,he came near to a Meter-Gauge station.To take some rest,he sat on bench on the small waiting room, outside the platform...bracing himself to spend an un-fed day and night.
As he was sitting over there,a lady, draped in a black Burkha,accompanied by a child came and sat on the bench.The lady opened a bag and brought out some closed aluminium boxes.There after she started arranging Puries,curry and a few pieces of sweet on a plate made of 'Sal leaves'.After that,She softly told him..extending that loaded plate towards him 'Seva Kijyea' and walked away..holding the hand of that boy.....Days were coming and going,one after another and his feet, bearing the 'load' of his body and 'mind' were also crossing the expanse of land and humanity,regores of endurance and stages of salvation.In the mean time the needle of the compass of his journey changed its direction(the reason was beyond his perception) and instead of going towards 'Naimesharanya' he headed towards North..towards the Shrines and Caves on the lap of Himalayas.At a place near Karna Prayag,he met with a monk who in turn took him to his guru at his 'Akhra'.The first discourse of the Guru for him was to start with 'Seva'.As such, he used to get up much before the day-break and after smearing the whole of his person with ashes left at the site of the religious rites,to ward-off the intense cold ,he used to clean and sweep the floor of the Ashram,did the washing of the utensils used for different religious rites along with other daily chores and thereafter,just at the moment of 'day-break' he used to take a dip in the ice cold water. Subsequent drying up and further smearing of the body with ashes,his first secession of meditation of the day used to be started.As another part of his daily ritual he had to accompany two other inmates of the Ashram,to go to different villages down the hill.The villagers, on their own,used to give different provisions and vegetables to them, with which the Mohanto and other inmates used to sustain themselves.
He felt that finding him to be a literate fellow the Mohanto,like Father Perrout of Sangrila in the fictional novel of Lost Horizon, was trying to pass on the mantle of the Ashram to him and to make him his successor.But on one night while he was doing his meditation, he perceived that hardly he could make himself freed from the bindings of a domestic life.The same chores of procuring food, cooking and the likes still following him.But he had set out to get away from all these trifle things; He had set out to know the meaning of life,to know and perceive the inner meanings of strictures and scriptures of wise sages,coming down the line through thousands of years.Gradually, this feeling started taking hold of him and,to him, the ambiance of the Ashram became suffocating.He started feeling very un-easy.Ironically on the same day the Mohanto sent for him.
After giving him some religious discourse,for quite a length of time,the Mohanto suddenly told him that he had already learnt whatever he was to learn from that place and now it was time for him to move ahead,without having any reason to feel guilty or neither any reason of getting suffocated over there,asked him to leave that place after giving him some directions of the road and as well some directives to follow.
So after collecting his meagre belongings again he took to the road.With the sense of "Make Me Thy Lyre",he totally left it up to The Providence to chart the path for him to travel. He moved through different places, met different peoples but did not find anything to enlighten him further.
On one day, while he was trodding through a remote part of M.P,he found a bearded man with a rustic look having his meals, sitting under a tree, by the side of a narrow path weaving towards a forest.
As he was crossing him,that old man called him by his first name and asked him to share the food with him.A little stunned,he looked back at him...An old bearded man with a pair sharp eyes and piercing look but not in garb of a Sadhu.
He went to the stranger,sat by the side,and not to take anything for granted,asked suspiciously,how come that fellow could know his name.Without paying any heed to that question or giving any answer, the stranger handed over to him a part of his meal and asked him to eat the same.
When he finished the eating,the old man told him,in brief,everything from his fleeing from the house up to his present stage of mental dilemma..of longing and restlessness.
The Sadhu in disguise then told him to accompany him on his way to Amarkantak.So with his new found mentor he took the route to Amarkantak..sleeping wherever he was told to, eating whatever they could get on the way.One day they had been crossing through a dense forest.On the way he felt thirsty and hungry.The old man looked at him and asked him to sit by his side on a large boulder and told him not to worry and the food and water are being brought to him.Who would be bringing food in the midst of this dense forest..he kept asking himself and through the corner of his eye he saw the old man...unperturbed and smiling.
After some time he herd the voices of some ladies,talking amongst each other and the sound was heading towards them,and after a while three village women came to them and sat in front of them.Then from the baskets they had been carrying, they brought out 'Chapaties,Achar and water in an earthen pitcher.
They were the wives of wood cutters and went to give food to their husbands but as none of them felt like eating,they had been returning with the food in the baskets made of grass and twigs.They sat and waited there till the mentor and disciple finished their meals and then they departed towards the village climbing down the forest and the other two rose and started moving ahead..
With the setting of the Sun,the darkness descended in the forest.The old man lighted a small fire with dry leaves and twigs and asked his new found disciple to clean some area so that both of them could sleep there for the night.The myriads of all sorts of sounds,the puzzling behaviour of the old man along with the manifestation of his super-human qualities,kept him awake and he felt that sleep is not going to visit him easily.He found the old man was sleeping soundly by his side-a few paces away from him.After some time he herd a familiar sound.It was the the sound of movement of a reptile,probably a snake,through the twigs and dry leaves and the sound was coming nearer to them.He remained absolutely still and when the sound stopped,he waited with a bated breath and then he tried very slowly to look around.In the feeble moon light he figured out that a snake with open hood and raised head was sitting on the chest of the old man.He got frightened and failed to understand what should have been done by him.Any effort to drive that snake away or to wake up that old man could be proved to be fatal ,as he could figure out from the glistening hood and body,the snake to be a poisonous cobra;Without any movement,he kept looking at that sight,almost holding his breath.The old man continued his peaceful sleep and the snake with its open hood and raised head kept sitting on his chest,motionless,as if to maintain some entrusted vigil;Almost without any blink,he kept looking on and could not feel how the night had passed.The chirping and twittering of birds along with the dilution of darkness made him aware of the approaching day-break.Suddenly he saw that,with the dilution of darkness and the advent of day-break,the snake shrunk its hood,disembarked from the chest of the old man and went away into the forest.
After some time,the old man woke up from his sleep and looking at his drawn face and blood-red eyes asked him whether he remained awake or feeling feverish?He told the mentor about the incident of the night.The old man did not attribute much importance to that incident and told him not to worry or pay any heed if he came across any similar incident in future..without any further explanation.He could not under stand the meaning of his sayings.
Presently, the old man told him to start walking in a hurry so that they could reach the bank of river Narmada as early as possible.They arrived to the bank of the river at the evening.The old man asked him to tie his meagre belongings to his body as they were to swim across the river.
He was finding it difficult to swim against the strong current of the cold water with his exhausted body.The old man was swimming with long strides along with him.Gradually he came to the verge of total exhaustion.In the dim moon-light he saw a floating piece of wood and, out of desperation,using his total residual energy,surged towards it and caught hold of that floating log and tried to remain afloat by clinging to that log.But his body and limbs started getting numb and then he lost his consciousness.
When he came back to his senses he found him lying in the bed of hot sand at the other bank of the river.The sun was almost at the middle of the sky.He also found that except his head,the rest of the part of his naked body to be covered with sand.He found that old man sitting by his side and as well two other men from a nearby village were also standing there.
The old man told him not to make any move and as well told something to one of the men.Soon that man came back with a small earthen pitcher filled with hot milk along with an earthen glass.The old man pour some milk to the glass,mixed some crushed herbs and raising his head with one hand,slowly poured the milk into the mouth.The process continued till the pitcher got emptied.He saw the old man to tell something to one of the villagers and went away with the other villager.One,who was left behind,stood there and kept a vigil on him.Again he went to sleep and in his subconsciousness he felt that the sand covering his body was being replaced by hotter sands of the shore.
After about a couple of hours,he became awake and opening his eyes he saw the old man sitting by his side.Although he was running with high fever,he felt much restoration of his energy.Now on a closer look he saw that the old man had brought another villager and with a piece of rug and branches of wood already had made an improvised stretcher.Covering his modesty with his dried clothes,all four of them placed him on the semblance of a stretcher,and carried him to a hut in a near by village.He stayed there for almost one month and gradually he was coming round and regaining his strength.During that one month,he was given herbal medicine with milk,almost a pitcher full a day and a bowl of 'ghee' at night.Bur he found this queer medication had brought him back to his self and he became rest less to resume his journey.One morning,after having his bath and meditation,when he was coming back from the bank of Narmada,he saw the old man ,sitting still like a piece of stone,deep in meditation,by the side of the river.That day,after finishing the evening rites,the old man told him that he has had the vision and received his guidance.On tomorrow morning,the old man,will perform the necessary rites and will pass on the spiritual path finding teachings to him,but by proxy,acting on behalf of the person he was to see at Naimesharanya. Accordingly on the following day every thing went on, as discussed earlier,since after that ritual,he found himself to be a completely different man---in spiritual sense...the difference experienced by him was not explained to me...neither did I ask him anything about that.Next day,the Old man told him that what was to be given to him had already been given and now it was time for him to move ahead,in that charted path,on his own,as well God has got a different design for him.He is to live simultaneously a dual life....to live the life of an unpretentious sage and also the life of a wise man,serving the God in a different way-- by showing right path to others and delivering a host of good souls to the God.So he had to take leave of the old man and started heading for his 'root'.On the following day,abiding the advise given to him,he headed for his home.A few days later,a thought crossed his mind.He started thinking of going to 'Sringeri Math' of Sankaracharya to further sanctify his soul.Accordingly,at a crossing near Bilashpur,he enquired about the direction of the road that will lead him towards southern part of India from a man,appeared to be a nomad,sitting in a way side tea shop.That man gave a patient hearing,looked at him,became enthusiastic and told him that he had also a habit of visiting religious places,offered him a cup of tea and became ready to accompany him.Soon after, both of them started moving.But before they had crossed more than hundred yards,a man suddenly came running to him,caught hold of one of his hands,and asked him where he was heading for?He told the stranger where he had been going along with that man and turned his head for the confirmation from his companion.But on turning his head,he did not find his new companion and on a closer look he could see a man,at a long distance from him and running away from him as fast as possible.Being perplexed,he looked at this new gentleman with questions in his eyes.This man simply told him to accompany him to his house.After offering him a cot to sit on and giving him food and milk,that man sat by his side and told him that at the right moment he was intercepted as otherwise,by that time,he would have been a corpse rather than a living being drinking milk,being murdered by that man.But why?He exclaimed.That man appeared to be quite friendly and innocent and as well he did not have any earthly possessions for which one can venture to murder him.He requested the villager to explain and heard the explanation.That man was a professional murderer,that he becomes friendly with innocent passers by and after taking them to a desolate place,on some pretext or other,and commits the murder and as regarding his earthly possessions,he pointed towards the gold ring on his index finger....a gift of his mother he had forgotten to part with.The villager kept him over there for three days and during this time made the necessary arrangements for his return to his home.So almost after two years he came back to his parents.But he felt one problem.The first part of the advice of his Guru,by proxy,was understood by him and he knew what he was to do.But what about the other part of the advise?How he could live a meaningful life in the best possible way.Having the information of his return,offers for different jobs started pouring in.His professors started asking him to go abroad for higher studies.Lucrative assignments from foreign concerns were also coming to him.Now he was to decide his future course of Life.After much thinking he resolved that....1)He will not work in any factory or in any commercial establishment and 2)He will take up the profession of teaching as through this means he will be able to instill the sense of self dignity,sense of honesty,sense of mental cleanliness to his students and as well he will be able to transmit his wisdom to them.He began his life as a junior professor of a University and after successfully discharging the duty entrusted on him,he retired as Head of the department.

After coming to this point,the gentleman became silent,kept staring at the crimson-miracle...the setting Sun.Perhaps he was reminiscing those bygone days,Perhaps he was verifying the 'balance sheet' of life prescribed for him....

Birds,above on the tree, returning to the nest from their day long forays and through chirping in obscured language,perhaps had been exchanging respective encounters and experiences,in the process of survival for the day...

The gentleman suddenly broke his silence,put an affectionate hand on my shoulder and urged me softly to accompany him to his house for a cup of tea...