Planting a Seed of Bhakti in His Doctor's Heart

I met Śrīla Gurudeva in 2010 through a long, circuitous network of phone calls and recommendations. When I first came to see Guru Mahārāja, he was in his room downstairs in Kolkata. When I saw him for the first time, the main thing that struck me was what a childlike and innocent face he had, not that of a grumpy sādhu. We usually get a feeling when we meet sādhus that they are very serious people, and we maintain distance. But he was very soft-spoken, smiling, and spoke very slowly. 

On that first visit, I gave him some medication and then left. Some months passed before I was to return. I was unfamiliar with that part of Kolkata and got lost on the way. After I became familiar with how to reach it, I came more often whenever Gurujī called. 

On one of those visits, Guru Mahārāja told his personal attendant to give me the book called Affectionately Yours. Previously I had absolutely no idea of Vaiṣṇava Philosophy. My family was associated with the Rāmakṛṣṇa Mission and worshippers of Kali Ma like many Bengalis are.

I used to keep that book in the car, and every time I commuted to and from work in the morning and evening, I used to read it. This is when things started getting a little interesting and I developed some interest in his teachings, yet a lot of it was still difficult to grasp. Very recently I noticed that when I just pulled out the book and started rereading it, the things I read before now seemed to make a little more sense. 

—Dr. Amitava Mukerjee

(note that this is part 1 of 3. Part 2 is here.)





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"She Has Gone to Goloka-dhāma "

Capture It in Your Heart

He Could Not Allow His Disciples to Bathe His Feet