Power of Guru By Dr. G.R. Vijayakumar

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Power of Guru

(From the glorious life of Saint Haridas of Purl)

By Dr. G.R. Vijayakumar

A clerk or an officer earns money by taking bribes, and when his conscience

pricks him he feeds some Brahmins and says: " I have done a great duty today.

I have fed fifteen Brahmins and given ten cents each. " This is his idea of

duty. He further adds: " Why should I take Sanyasa and practice Yoga? I will

earn lots of money and do charity. This is the best kind of life " . Poor

deluded soul! May God give him good understanding!

- Swami Sivananda

 

Manohar Chakraborthy and Ujivala Devi gave birth to a son in 1450 in a

remote village Bhat-Kolagachi in Jessore, Bengal. That child was Haridas.

Manohar passed away when Haridas was only two years old and his pious wife

committed Sati. Orphaned, the beautiful little Haridas was taken away by a

Muslim family during a communal tussle. The foster parents took care of him

well and wanted him to learn Arabic, Persian etc., but Haridas loved to read

the Ramayana and Mahabharatha. Haridas grew up to be a handsome young man.

 

But his mind was always immersed in God. He ran away from the house. He

repeated Hari's name with great devotion always. He ate what fate brought

him. He resorted to lonely places and always wandered from one place to

another.

He came to Nadiya and met Advaitacharya, a well-known devotee. He was

astounded to see the towering personality in Haridas. Ignoring the caste

problems of his times, Advaitacharya embraced Haridas and began to treat him

like a Brahmin. Advaitacharya initiated Haridas into Krishna mantra. And he

started reciting at least 3,00,000 times a day. Seeing his Guru suffering at

the hands of chaste Hindus, Haridas left Nadia and went to Fulia. At Fulia,

one landlord by name Khan put him to test. He sent a dancer to spoil his

devotion. But the dancer was thrilled to listen to his loud repetition of

the Lord's name and she herself became a great devotee.

 

Fate led Haridas to Shantipur and here the then king Hussein Shah tortured

Haridas for worshipping Hindu God. He told the King, " He who is Rama is also

Rahim. Hindus and Muslims are one and the same. The Bhagavan of the Hindus

and the Khuda of Muslims is one and the same. The difference is only in the

name but God is one " . Hussein Shah was not convinced and he gave him maximum

torture. But Haridas prayed: - " O, Hari! Forgive these ignorant people! They

are not committing any sin. Please forgive them " .

to be contd.........

http://www.saileelas.org/magazines/saipadananda/jan2002.htm#PowerofGuru