A Hindu Monk’s Pilgrimage to Bajitpur, Bangladesh
BangaLakshmi
Swami Amarnathananda
I first visited Bajitpur in 1992 and my experience was not a pleasant
one. At that time I was living in Delhi, India so I had to come to
Kolkata by train and then to Bangaon border by road. Crossing the
border between India and Bangladesh and then another long road journey
to Bajitpur of Madaripur District (of former Faridpur District) of
Bangladesh (former East Bengal, India) was troublesome. I accepted
that journey as part of my spiritual practices and I said to myself
that this will be it; I am not coming back here in this lifetime
anymore.
Small Bajitpur village is the most important pilgrim center for us,
for our monks, for our devotees and to all who love Bharat Sevashram
Sangha. In meditation, in jap (japa), in religious discourses and in
all other spiritual thoughts Bajitpur village come to our mind as part
of all these practices. Because it is the holy birthplace of Acharya
Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj, it is the place of his tapasya and it is
the place of the beginning of Bharat Sevashram Sangha monastic order
and social work (meaning Order in Service of India-Mankind.) It is the
place that gives us the divine touch of the presence of Acharya
Sreemat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj.
After living for such a long period of time in the West, it is not an
easy thought to visit Bajitpur in Bangladesh again, so I gave up the
thought to visit there anymore. But recently Swami Subhranandaji was
insisting that I must visit Bajitpur once again, he said that he will
make sure that my journey will be a pleasant one and spiritually
motivated.
According to our plan, I flew out of John F. Kennedy International
airport in New York on Wednesday, February 4, 2009 by Emirates
Airlines to Dubai. As I was waiting for my flight from Dubai to Dhaka,
the capital city of Bangladesh, I was surprised to see the huge number
of people waiting to board the same flight. I realized that many
people from Bangladesh work in the Middle-Eastern countries and were
going back to visit their motherland. The unfortunate thing was after
repeated announcement by the airline authority that all passengers has
a booked seat and should board the flight quietly and orderly, nobody
was ready to listen. As a result, you can imagine the unpleasant
situation at the boarding gate. It was a very tiresome boarding for
me.
I reached Zia International airport, Dhaka by evening and Swami
Subhranandaji who already reached Dhaka from India was at the airport
with Brahmachari Swapan Maharaj who was waiting to receive me. Our
Meghna’s Barra JamaiBabu (eldest brother-in-law) Mr. Abinash Paul
arranged a car to pick me up from the airport. At Dhaka, I was
expecting a small airport and lots of hassle, but surprisingly, as
soon as I landed at the airport I fell in love with Bangladesh. The
airport was huge, clean and the officers and people were very
friendly. Honestly speaking, I fell in love with Bangladesh
immediately.
Arriving at Dhaka airport from Dubai
DHAKA
Dhaka is the national capital and the largest city of Bangladesh. Here
you can find many universities, academies, intellectuals, writers,
politicians, business people and it is also the place of origins of
many movements. The city witnessed the presence of British, the
Pakistanis, its own independence movements and the killings of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman, the creator of independent nation of Bangladesh. I was
shocked to see the present-day Dhaka City. The city has beautiful high
rise buildings, well maintained roads, new modern cars, beautiful
apartment buildings and I also recognized mass use of mobile phones.
Next day we all went to visit some important historical places in the
city such as Dhaka University, Ramna (Kali Bari Temple) Maidan
(green), Dhakeswari Durga Bari (Hindu temple), overcrowded book fairs,
modern parliament house, famous Dhanmandi area and the house of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman where almost his entire family was killed.
Our Ashram in Bangladesh is known as “Shri Shri Pranab Math (Mott).”
The office of Dhaka Pranab Math is situated in Tikatuli area. It is
actually based at a portion of Dhaka Bholagiri Ashram. With many years
of experiences and for some practical reason, I am sure that Swami
Digvijoyanandaji who is the in-charge of our Dhaka Center thought it
will be in the best interest of the Ashram to lease a place for our
office there, and so he didn’t go ahead to purchase a property for our
own in Dhaka city.
Entrance of Sri Sri Pranab Mott at Bajitpur
Maghi Purnima was on Monday, February 9th 2009, so without any delay
we left for Bajitpur by road. Mr. Abinash Paul and his family very
kindly arranged a mini van for us to travel. I must say that since the
independence of Bangladesh, I could see that the country has improved
tremendously. The transportation system, new roads and new bridges are
delightful to look at and the people are very hospitable. This was a
great opportunity for me to see the real Bangladesh. Its green rice
field, many rivers and canals, mud houses, coconut, mango and kathahar
trees, and peaceful village people made the country extremely
beautiful. Over all, it was a joy listening to beautiful sweet Bengali
languages. It was almost six hours of road journey from Dhaka to
Bajitpur. On our way we had to cross the famous Padma River by ferry
boat. And crossing the Padma River by ferry boat was a wonderful
experience. We have heard so much of Padma River, its destructive
nature, its huge size and its inseparable nature from Bangladesh
country. It’s indeed a unique experience to be on the ferry boat on
the Padma River.
Ferry Boat at Padma River
BAJITPUR
It is almost sixteen years since I first visited Bajitpur. Now I am
finally at the gate of our Ashram. Nested in mango, jackfruit, supari
and coconut trees and surrounded by a canal, Bajitpur village is one
of the most beautiful villages in entire Bangladesh. Here is where
Bharat Sevashram Sangha started in 1917. It is the birth place of Guru
Maharaj and his mortal body is resting here too. In the Ashram
compound and the entire village of Bajitpur you can feel the touch of
that great saint. The dust on the roads of Bajitpur are sanctified
with his holy foot print, the air of this village is purified by the
touch of the divine body of Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj and the sky
up above is the witness of the many wonderful human leela of that
great son of this soil.
On the occasion of Maghi Purnima, there were three days of
celebration, and tens of thousands of people will be visiting this
place. They will be attending puja, havan (fire worship) and partaking
of maha prasadam (blessed food.) There were almost twenty five
swamijees who came from India to attend this year’s festival. My heart
was filled with joy to see them after one year. If I was not away from
India, I wouldn’t understand the greatness of India and if I was not
away from my brother monks, probably I wouldn’t understand how sweet
and dear they are to me.
I did not go to Bajitpur Ashram this year just to attend the festival.
I went there for my own spiritual purposes. It was a soul-searching
mission for me. I went there to seek the blessings of Shri Shri Guru
Maharaj and to be present where our divine Guru Maharaj spent many of
his priceless years doing his own tapasya (silent meditation.) All
those holy places inside the Ashram such as the Samadhi Bedi
(mausoleum), Rajmancha, Pranab Kunda, Dhyana-gumpha (meditation cave),
Havan Kund, Ashirvad Manch, Big Tin Chala, Bura-thakurani Sthan, Radha
Krishna Mandir, Abhisek Mancha, Guru Maharaj Bishram Mandir, are there
where you can feel the divinity of Guru Maharaj. Among all of these,
at the Samadhi Bedi Guru Maharaj’s divine body is resting permanently
is the most spiritually uplifted place in the entire Ashram compound.
Just imagine, to whom we have been worshiping and praying daily, whose
divine appearance we have been meditating upon daily and to whom we
are offering all of our unuttered prayers, that Swami Pranavanandaji’s
divine mortal body is resting right here in this temple of Bajitpur
and in this Samadhi Bedi. To all of us monks, devotees and visitors,
this is the most sacred place to sit quietly and pray.
Birth place of Sri Sri Guru Maharaj
Famous Tulsi Mancha at the birth place of Sri Sri Guru Maharaj
Then there is the parental home “Bhuiya-bari” of Guru Maharaj. This is
the house where Acharya Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj was born. That
famous Tulsi Mancha (holy tulsi-plant pedestal), Chile Kotha (attic
room) everything is still there and well maintained. One of the main
activities of this three-day Maghi Purnima (full moon on the winter
month of Magh) Festival is a religious procession in and around
Bajitpur village. The procession usually stops at those places and
houses where Guru Maharaj visited and also meeting village people.
This was a good opportunity for me to see real Bajitpur village. The
first day when we took part at the religious procession, we visited
‘Prince Edward High School’ where Guru Maharaj attended and we also
visited Bajitpur Bazar where Guru Maharaj’s name is connected for
subduing a bully on the way to Bazar. We also visited many houses and
every home we visited people treated us with great affection. At one
point Bajitpur was a Hindu-majority village, but the number of Hindus
has declined rapidly. The bad side of this procession is that we had
to cross couple of bridges made of bamboos. As you know we usually do
not walk on bamboo bridges, as we were crossing one of these bridges,
I fell down. People took the opportunity to make a joke, they said
that “Bangladesh is standing but America fell down.” “America parchhe
Bangladesh darraiya ache.” It was very difficult for me to accept that
joke.
Second day of the festival was full of activities like Acharya-varon
(head-teacher adoration), Abhisekam (installation), lectures, annakut
(food grain offering) and arati at several places. On the third
morning was the Ashirbad (blessing) ceremony, havan and in the
afternoon there was full Dol Mahotsav (festival of colors). Thousands
of people attended these three days of festival. They came from far
and near to listen to the wonderful words of Guru Maharaj and at the
end of the festivity each day they took prasadam (blessed food).
Another attraction of Bajitpur Maghi Purnima festival is the mela or
village fair. At the mela, people usually get an opportunity to buy
many rare village productions. And there are big size rosgollas (syrup-
dipped round cheese-balls) and many other essential items.
I observed there were lots of changes in our Bajitpur Ashram. When I
first visited Bajitpur Ashram in 1992, apart from the mandir, there
were some small houses made from hogla (tall) grasses. There were no
proper sanitation and bathroom facilities. Now in 2009 there are
almost 100 rooms with attach baths. The entire Ashram compound has
concrete wall, a water pond and a beautiful flower and vegetable
garden. Thanks to pujya Sreemat Swami Ramanandaji Maharaj, the vice
president of the sangha, for his continuous efforts for this great
improvement.
Bajitpur gave us the touch of Sri Sri Guru Maharaj. All Guru Maharaj’s
children want to visit Bajitpur at least once in their life time to
see where Guru Maharaj was born, where he did his tapasya, where the
Sangha started and finally where his divine mortal body is resting. As
I see the situation, with friendly Bangladesh government, it is easy
for us to visit all these memorable places now and have darshan. With
the divine blessings of Guru Maharaj, Bajitpur also give you sweet
coconut water, fresh khejur rosh (date-palm juice) and famous Bajitpur
patali (hard flat molasses bar).
I am with pujya pada sreemat Swami Ramanandaji
Maharaj the vice president of Bajitpur Ashram
MADARIPUR
Madaripur is one of the main cities in the former district of
Faridpur. I heard that Madaripur became a district now. Madaripur
Ashram was the second Ashram Guru Maharaj built. This Ashram has many
memories of Guru Maharaj. The entire Ashram and surroundings is
sanctified by the foot print of Guru Maharaj. Unfortunately, after
partition of India, the Ashram deteriorated badly. When I came here in
1992 there was couple of sheds only made of bamboos and tin. But with
strong determination, good fortune and hard work of our Swami
Satyapriyanandaji Maharaj the entire Ashram is now changed to a very
beautiful, clean and organized place. It has temple, monk quarter,
student hostel and flower and vegetable garden, all these made the
Ashram very divine.
In front of Madiripur Ashram, Bangladesh
SREERAMKATHI, BARISAL
We all heard of the huge ‘Kandari’ boat of Guru Maharaj and his
preaching mission in the interior villages. Bangladesh is full of
rivers and canals. With low lands and lots of rainfall, these rivers
and canals overflow with water. Road connections were almost
impossible in many villages. Guru Maharaj made a huge boat and named
it ‘Kandari’ (leader). He and hundreds of monks used to go from
village to village on preaching mission with Kandari boat reaching out
to the people all over the country.
Swami Gitatmananda of SriRamKathi Ashram is another dynamic and
intelligent monk. He is a visionary too. To reach out to the
villagers, he designed a boat with a temple, space to sit down and
pray, his living quarter, preaching library, sound system and cooking
facilities. In this way he dose not depend on anyone and he could go
freely into the deep interior villages for his preaching mission of
rural Bengal.
With some devotees, Swami Gitatmananda brought this ‘Kandri’ boat to
attend Maghi Purnima festival in Bajitpur. Plan was made that we the
Swamijees will travel with this boat to SriRamKathi so that we can
feel the touch of real Bangladesh. In this way we can experience how
Guru Maharaj used to travel and crossed so many rivers, canals and
villages while he was on his preaching mission to many places.
Accordingly, almost eleven of us monks with some devotees started our
journey by the ‘Kandari’ boat on the river Kumar. Guru Maharaj
travelled this river Kumar many times, so there were lots of memories
of Guru Maharaj here. We were all very happy with this Kandari boat
journey. It was altogether eight hours of journey by river. On our way
we crossed many villages and green farmlands. What we saw at the two
sides of the rivers was amazing and it will stay in our memory
forever. What shocked me the most is that there are always religious
tension between the Hindus and Muslims, but when we saw these simple
village people and their families, we did not feel that way at all
poor. They were very loving and caring people and were curious to know
who we are, because they have not seen so many holy men at one place
in a very long time. There were many bamboo bridges across the Kumar
River and the adults and children walked on these bridges with no
difficulties. I often wondered how difficult life must be for them.
People crossing bamboo bridge over Kumar River
We reached near SriRamKathi Ashram in Pirojpur (former Barisal)
district by evening. To our surprise, there were lots of people
waiting for us by the canal side where our boat will dock. It was a
touching moment to see the school children waiting for us with their
band and music. SriRamKathi Ashram is one of the most beautiful
ashrams you can imagine. It consists of a mandir (temple), rooms for
monks and guests, and a beautiful primary school for the village
children. The Ashram is surrounded by devoted neighbors. There are
lots of mango, supari and coconut trees and rivers around. It gives
the Ashram a serene and divine environment. I need to mention here
that the main assets of this Ashram are the dedicated devotees. The
way they treated us with unconditional love, respect and gave us what
little they have, it is indeed incomparable. Under the leadership of
our dedicated Swamiji and the dedicated devotees, one day, surely our
SriRamKathi Ashram will be a pride of the organization.
KHULNA
On February 12, 2009 we started in the afternoon for our journey to
Khulna by road. We were about thirteen people in our group. We rented
two mini vans for this trip, which usually takes about six hours to
reach Khulna. On our way we again passed through the villages which
were full of coconut and supari trees. Bangladesh changed tremendously
since it gained independence. The government built many beautiful
bridges and highways. The highways are built in such a way that it
made traveling by road very easy. To reach Khulna Ashram we had to
cross Bhairav River by ferry.
Khulna Ashram played a very important role at the beginning stage of
Bharat Sevashram Sangha. This Ashram produced many famous monks of the
organization and Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj himself visited this
Ashram many times. It has a long history and endless memories of the
divine leela of Guru Maharaj. Swami Suddhatmananda, the present
Swamiji in-charge, is a young intelligent and vibrant monk. He is
trying his utmost to preserve and protect this Ashram. The Ashram is
situated at the bank of the Bhairav River. It has a serene environment
and is a very beautiful place for tapasya. Khulna main city is at the
other side of the river. If you stand on the roof of our Ashram and
look at the other side of Khulna city, it will remind you so much of
famous KashiDham (Varanasi). I know that KashiDham is the heart of
Hinduism and a prominent pilgrim center in India. On the other hand,
Khulna is a commercial city in Bangladesh, but it has its own beauty.
Unfortunately, we could not spend a long time in Khulna Ashram as our
plan was to go to Noagoan. Myself, Swami Subhranandaji and few
devotees from Jamshedpur left for Noagoan next morning. Swami
Suddhatmananda, the monk-in-charge of Khulna Ashram accompanied us to
Khulna railway station. But before we get to the railway station, we
had to cross the Bhairav River once again by boat. When we reached
Khulna the night before it was dark, but now it was morning, very
sunny and bright. We were able to see the real beauty of the Bhairav
River. It is really similar to KashiDham (Varanasi), except, there are
many commercial big boats waiting to carry passengers and goods to
other cities of Bangladesh. It is a very busy commercial area.
We are in the boat crossing Bhairav River, Khulna
NAOGAON
We left for Naogaon by Rupsa express train. Swami Subhranandaji was
kind enough to book a first class AC chair car seat for me. I must
say, after the British left in 1947, there is hardly any improvement
in the entire railway system. Road transportation system improved
rapidly, but there is hardly any investment in the railway system.
Though, many people like me think railway journey is much safer and
pleasant. It was almost eight hour journey from Khulna to Naogaon. In-
fact, train do not go directly to Naogaon, it stops at a distant
station. Swami Digvijoyanandaji Maharaj, the monk-in-charge of Dhaka
and Naogaon Ashram arranged to pick us up from the railway station.
Swami Digvijoyanandaji is a dynamic leader and an eloquent speaker in
Bangladesh. People, especially youth, look up to him as a source of
inspiration and for good spiritual guidance. He travelled frequently
in and around Bangladesh speaking on the glories of Hinduism. Naogaon
Ashram is one of the largest ashrams we have in Bangladesh. It has a
hostel to accommodate collage students, then there are guest house,
mandir and monks quarter. I heard that Naogaon collge is one of the
prominent colleges in Bangladesh. And I also heard that the Hindu and
Muslim communities live in harmony and peace for a long time here,
even though in other cities there are sometimes religious tensions. In
the evening, there was a public gathering, so we were asked to speak
for few minutes.
Naogaon Ashram, Bangladesh
Next morning Swami Digvijoyanandaji took me to meet some of the
prominent devotes of the Ashram in the city. Swamiji and the devotees
were not happy that we left Naogaon so early. But because of limited
time, we had to leave for Dhaka by bus. Swapan Maharaj who was always
with us came to Naogaon and joined us for our trip to Dhaka. We booked
our tickets for Shyamali bus service. I must say that long route bus
services are very good in Bangladesh. The highways are up to standard
and you have beautiful bridges across Meghna, Yamuna and other rivers.
On our way from Naogaon to Dhaka, we crossed one of the longest and
most beautiful bridges in the world. We passed through famous Tangil
district of which Tangil saris are very much liked by sari lovers. We
passed many villages and besides the road I noticed many new garment
factories. There were huge number of men and women working in those
factories. Most of the productions from those factories are exported
to many countries around the world.
CHITTAGONG
Dhaka-Chittagong is one of the very popular bus routes in Bangladesh.
Since the country has built bridges on almost all major rivers,
journey by road became very easy. Many private companies also
introduced luxury bus services. There are also Dhaka-Chittagong rail
services, private taxies and if one wishes they can fly also. We
decided to travel by bus and accordingly we booked our tickets on
Shyamali Paribahan Bus sevice. Chittagong is one of the largest cities
in Bangladesh and naturally it is one of the busiest bus routes in the
entire country. Chittagong port is one of the prominent seaports in
Asia.
On our way, we passed Feny, Comilla, and other towns and we noticed
many modern facilities around the road side. This time before I left
for Bangladesh, I requested Mr. Jai Prakash Biswas of New Jersey, USA,
if he can help me to see Chittagong properly since he came from that
city. Accordingly, Mr. Biswas spoke to his brother Dr. Sri Prakash
Biswas who is a well known eye specialist in the city, so they
arranged everything for us. Mrs. Biswas is also a doctor at a local
hospital.
It took us six hours from Dhaka to reach Chittagong. We reached very
late, but Dr. Biswas waited for us at his clinic. He received us at
the bus stand and we became his guest for three days. Dr. Biswas
already planned a detailed tour program for us. He also requested Mr.
Basudev Saha, a prominent resident of Chittagong as well as a business
man of the city to accompany us and guide us so that we can see
everything in and around Chittagong. The Biswas family gave lots of
donations to many charitable and religious organizations. The entire
family is well known in the city for their charitable work. Dr. Biswas
arranged a car for us to travel and also arranged our lunch with few
well known organizations.
We first visited Seeta Kund, Chandranath Shiva Mandir, Swayambhu Shiva
and Sankar Math. I think among all Hindu holy places in Bangladesh,
Chandranath Shiva Mandir is the most famous pilgrim center. It is
situated on top of a mountain and to reach there you have to climb
many stairs in the mountain. As a matter of fact, the entire Seeta
Kund is full of Mandirs, Ashrams and other religious places. Among all
the Ashrams here, Sankar Math is one of the most beautiful Ashram. It
is situated on top of the mountain and has all kinds of facilities
including accommodations for guests. Basudev babu was with us always
and he is a very social and friendly person. Most of the people know
him and loved him very much. All the organizations we visited, they
knew Basudev babu and Dr. Biswas family very well. According to the
arrangement Dr. Biswas made, we took our lunch that day at Sankar
Math. I learned that at the time of Shiva Ratri almost 200,000 people
gather at the Seeta Kund area. It is a very serene and peaceful
environment here, and an area where you can be spiritually uplifted.
Understanding that it will be difficult for me to climb the high
mountain, Basudev babu took me to the other side and we drove through
the Botanical garden and all the way to the closest parking place near
Chandranath Shiva temple. We climbed almost 50 stairs to reach the
temple.
After visiting some of the prominent places of Seeta kund, we went to
see Chittagong seaport. Because of the presence of the seaport,
Chittagong is not only a large city in Bangladesh, but one of the
richest city in the country. Chittagong seaport is very huge and we
saw innumerable ships docking here and there. We took a short walk on
the seashore, the massive waves were trying to reach us. It was indeed
a joyous experience.
Chittagong is well known for its participation of the independent
movement to free mother India from the British rule. Among all freedom
fighter here, Masterda Surya Sen and his seazer of weapon storage of
British is very famous. Basudev babu took us to some of the places
where his name was related.
It was an entire day tour, so we were a little bit tired. But our tour
continued and while hearing the many past and present stories of
Bangladesh from Basudev babu, we reached Kalbalyadham. Kalbalyadham is
one of the most famous pilgrim center for all who love Sri Sri Ram
thakur and his divine teachings. It is a huge compound and it has many
divine memories related to the divine leela of that great saint. This
place was vandalized many times whenever tension grew for many reasons
in the country. We also met the president of the entire organization.
He was very busy answering many letters, but he was kind enough to
spend some time with us and offered prasadam.
I am in front of the Chandranath Shiva Mandir situated on top of a
mountain, Chittagong
According to the plan of Dr. Biswas, on the second day of our tour we
left to see the famous Medha Rishi ashram. It was a long journey, it
took almost four hours by road to reach there and the roads were very
bad. But the delightful company of Basudev babu and all the
information he was giving us made our journey pleasant. We were all
happy when we reached at the foot of the mountain. We began to climb
well constructed stairs to reach at the top of the Ashram. While we
were climbing, we were listening to the past and present history of
this place.
Hindus all over the world worship mother Durga as the most regarded
Goddess. But Bengali people has a different place in their heart for
ma Durga. Durga Puja is the national festival of Bengal and Chandi
Path is the very essential part of Durga Puja. Medha Rishi and his
Ashram are the center point of Durga Puja and Chandi Path. I had no
idea that Medha Rishi Ashram is situated at Chattal mountain of
Chittagong. Before I left U.S.A. Mr. Jai Prakash Biswas shared this
information with me.
A king and a business man were kicked out of their Kingdom and home by
their own people. Even though they were thrown out of their home
mercilessly by their own people, they constantly thought of them. They
wondered what could be the reason for them to think for those people
who were so cruel to them. While they were wandering in the jungle and
mountain area, they noticed an Ashram nearby, and a saint performing
puja to some Devi. The King and the Businessman entered the Ashram and
bow to the saint and asked him if he can tell them why they were still
attached to these cruel people who threw them out of their home and
Kingdom. The saint replied, it is maya, it is the illusive power of
maha maya Durga. The saint described the origins of the Devi, her
abode and the divine actions of the Goddess. He also taught them how
to worship her. According to the instructions of the saint, the king
and businessman made a murti of ma Durga from mud and they began to
worship her. Finally, one day the mother appeared in front of them and
fulfilled their desire. The King wanted bukti or bhoga. He wanted to
re-capture his lost Kingdom and in his next birth he wanted a Kingdom
of unchallenged. The businessman wanted mukti, completely annihilation
of material desires and continuous bhakti. The mother fulfilled both
of their desires.
The saint was none other than the famous Medhas rishi of Saptasati
Chandi and the king and businessman were famous King Surath and
Samadhi Baisya. It is the place of origin of modern Durga puja into
our society and this present Ashram compound where we are standing
here today is that ancient place of Medhas rishi. This Ashram is
situated on top of the mountain and we had to walk up many stairs to
reach on top. The first thing we saw was a beautiful shed called ‘nut
mandir’ and at one corner was a memorial statue of the late Mr.
Biswas, the noble father of Mr. Jai Prakash and Dr. Sri Prakash
Biswas. He donated a large sum of money to re-construct the ‘nut
mandir’ and the entire Ashram compound after it was destroyed by the
enemy army at the time of 1971 war.
We then entered the main lovely Ma Durga mandir, Shiva mandir and some
other mandirs situated at the top of the mountain. While we were
walking on the path of these mountains, my mind went back to history
of Durga Puja and Medhas rishi Ashram. Many Hindus probably don’t know
of this important holy place. While myself and our friendly guide and
mentor Basudev babu were exchanging our thoughts, it was time for us
to take maha prasadam. Dr. Biswas has already called the people at the
Ashram and made arrangement for our prasadam.
From Medhas rishi Ashram, we drove about three hours through villages
to reach Aaochia-gram. There we reached at the main gate of a most
beautiful temple, we then noticed lots of people waiting at the gate
with flowers and garlands in hand to receive us. Many important people
of the village were also waiting to meet us. There were beautiful
murtis of Mother Kali, Radha Krishna, Shiva Lingam and other Gods and
Goddesses in the temple. After few minutes of prayers, we sat down in
a room upstairs and discussed many aspects of the temple, future for
Hindus in Bangladesh, Hinduism around the world and many other things.
After distributing prashad to everyone, I expressed a desire to come
here once again and read seven days of Bhagavat Maha Puran Katha.
From Mandir we went to visit Jhuma’s father-in-laws ancestral home.
Juma is one of my God daughter presently living in Atlantic City,
U.S.A. We spent some time with the remaining family members of Juma
and quench our thurst by drinking real Bangladeshi coconut water. It
was late and it was time for us to go back to Dr. Biswas home. Later
that evening we went to meet all of Juma’s family at their residence
in Chittagong city. We spent some time with them and then returned to
Dr. Biswas residence. Dr. Biswas and Mrs. Biswas were still waiting
for us, we sat down togetherly for a while and discussed a little
about Bharat Sevashram Sangha. Dr. Biswas told us about his active
involvement with the Lions club and he mentioned that through the
Lions club they are doing many social welfare services for the local
people.
On the third day of our tour in Chittagong, we started our journey by
visiting local Krishna mandir and then we went to Chatteswari Devi
Mandir. As Kalighat is famous in Kolkata, as Dhakeswrai Durgabari is
famous in Dhaka, similary Chatteswari temple is famous in Chittagong.
After that we went to visit Pravartak Krishna mandir, Krishnananda
Math and local Kali temple. After a long drive through many villages,
we reached the birth place of Annada Thakur, the founder of Adya Peeth
Dham in Kolkata, India. Local Maharaj was waiting for us. It was a
serene and peaceful environment. The organization has built three
temples there, among them one is dedicated to Adya Ma. We also saw the
hostels they built for boys and with the financial help of Mr. Jai
Prakash and Dr. Sri Prakash family, they built a charitable dispensary
inside the Ashram compound. Here we felt the real village environment
of Bangladesh. We took Adya Mata maha prasadam there and then took
leave to visit Baba Loknath mission.
Adya Ma Mandir at the birth place of Sri, Sri Annada Thakur
It was another long journey from Adyapeeth to Baba Loknath mission.
Many people says that Northern India is the place of sadhus and
sanyasis, but honestly speaking it is true that Haridwar, Rishikesh
and Uttarkashi are loved by the holy men, but Bangladesh is also
gifted with holy men: Swami Pranavanandaji, Ramthukur, Baba Loknath,
Anandamayi Mata, Annada Thakur, Sadhu Nag Mahasaya, Swami Swarupananda
Paramhansa and many other famous saints were born in Bangladesh/East
Bengal. These are the names of Hindu saints, surly there are many
Muslim pirs and fhakirs who are spiritually enlightened, were born in
Bangladesh too.
An entire group of young vibrant people were waiting at the gate of
Baba Loknath mission to receive us. I am sure Dr. Biswas and Basudev
babu informed them before. Thought came to mind, an organization which
has such vibrant volunteers and followers will surely grow rapidly. As
we entered the campus, my thought came to reality. The organization is
very huge, it has a beautiful Loknath Mandir, Shiva Mandir, prayer
hall and a huge building for hospital and school. Here also with the
help of Dr. Biswas family, the hospital is under construction. After
visiting every corner of the Ashram, we attended a reception ceremony
which was organized to honor the guests. They also presented us a
beautiful plaque describing our visit to Loknath mission in
Chittagong.
On the same night we had railway reservation to travel back to Dhaka.
We came back to Dr. Biswas home and took dinner together. We were only
three of us traveling, but Dr. Biswas booked all four sleepers in coup
compartment, so that nobody can bother us. Dr. Sri Prakash Biswas,
Mrs. Biswas, BasudevBabu and some other people accompanied us to the
railway station to see us off.
We reached Dhaka next morning. We then attended a family program at
the home of Mr. Abinash Paul, the Bara JamaiBabu (older brother-in-
law) of our Meghna. Meghna’s three sisters live in Dhaka, so Meghna
called her Bara JamaBabu and informed them of our visit to Dhaka. With
the help of our Meghna and her entire family in Dhaka, we were able to
visit some important places in Dhaka city. We also visited our Uma’s
sister Seema’s home in Dhanmandi area. Seema’s husband took us to see
the famous Sheikh Mujibur Rahman’s house in the area again. The bullet
mark’s painful picture of Bangabandhu was at the stairs, it was very
pathetic. It looked like a rain of bullets went into his body before
he died. We also saw many bullet holes in the wall of the house.
It was time for us to leave Bangladesh and go to Kolkata to attend
Shiva-Ratri festival. It would have been impossible for me to travel
around Bangladesh without the help of Swami Subhranandaji, Swami
Digvijoyanandaji, Swapan Maharaj, swamijis of Bajitpur, Madaripur,
Sreeramkathi/Barisal, Khulna and in Chittagong Mr. Jaiprakash Biswas,
Dr. Sri Prakash Biswas and his family, Mr. Basudev Saha, Meghna’s
family in Dhaka, Mr. Abinash Paul and Uma’s family. My sincere
gratitude to all of these wonderful souls.
In conclusion, I have a request for the present Bangladesh government
and the people of Bangladesh nation. Our physical appearance are same,
we speak same Bengali language in both parts of Bengal, our food
habits are also the same, and it is true we pray in different ways,
but that cannot or should not make a barrier between us. Let us
together live in peace and harmony. Let us respect each other’s
culture and let us make this land a more peaceful place to live for
our future generations. Let everyone enjoy the great Bangladesh, the
gift of God.
See: Pushpanjali, journal of Bharat Sevasram Sangha of North America,
New Jersey; September 2009
http://empireslastcasualty.blogspot.com/2009/11/hindu-monks-pilgrimage-to-bajitpur.html
http://empireslastcasualty.blogspot.com/
uNmaiviLambi
> A Hindu Monk’s Pilgrimage to Bajitpur, Bangladesh
> Swami Amarnathananda
> In conclusion, I have a request for the present Bangladesh government
> and the people of Bangladesh nation. Our physical appearance are same,
> we speak same Bengali language in both parts of Bengal, our food
> habits are also the same, and it is true we pray in different ways,
> but that cannot or should not make a barrier between us. Let us
> together live in peace and harmony. Let us respect each other’s
> culture and let us make this land a more peaceful place to live for
> our future generations. Let everyone enjoy the great Bangladesh, the
> gift of God.
Thanks for the post. If any one knows Islam, it should be clear they
will not tolerate any other worship especially Hindus, Buddhists,
Jains etc
Their cult forces them to kill and destroy others
We cannot pretend they will reason. We must stop expecting them to and
answer them differently
Pressure, coercion, force, challenge and show them their cult is false
and harmful
We cannot any more legitimize their cult as a religion