Percorso

 

Arrival in Kashi

 


Shri Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ram ji


Taken from Aughar Bhagwan Ram’s Biography

Shri Aghoreshwar Bhagwan Ram ji says that the one who leaves his parents and goes away find many parents. As the feeling of this family relationship increases, bonds of love and hate don’t loosen and until one cannot forsake them, sadhana is incomplete. One mustn’t believe that one can become a saint or a mahatma only by leaving his house and going away. According to Samadhi Siddhi Roshvara Pranidhanat, only with the help of Ishwar one can succeed. The reason is that leaving home one feels the need for safe means of support and for a while even other means can be of help. It is just in this period of transition that people get discouraged and come back to family life, admitting defeat. As they go away, their enthusiasm to fulfil themselves diminishes for good. The very determined sadhak fully trusts God and overcomes every difficulties. Shri Bhagwan Ram ji says that the one who wants to succeed has a determined will, spiritual firmness and the necessary help from the very beginning.


Shri Aghoreshwar’s paternal house in Gundii

 

The venerable got rather tired of the intrusion of His relatives and went away to seek the infinity, into the unknown. As a child, He had only gone from his village, Gundii, to Ara. So, when He left home, He didn’t know where to go. Probably called by Shri Gadadhur, He set out towards Gaya of His own accord.

It was winter and the venerable had set out carrying nothing. During the day, thanks to the sun,  time passed easily but during the cold night, while he was hiding himself in a vetch field, time never passed. He was always in trouble because of finding food and a place to rest but He kept walking towards Gaya all the day long. When night feel, He reached a village where to ask for some food and a place to rest. But how could He meet someone who could comfort this tired, hungry and thirsty wayfarer at night in the village? He kept walking and reached the temple of the village, but even there everyone was soundly sleeping. Screwing up his courage, the venerable woke a holy man up and asked him for some food. Then the holy man told Him that the door of the temple was already closed, therefore it was impossible to get some food. He asked him again for something with wich He could protect Himself from the cold. He got a piece of jute and he spent the night somehow.


Shiva temple in the garden

 

At daybreak He resumed His journey. During that night He could rest but now He was more and more tormented by hunger. He couldn’t stand it and picked some parvals (edible vegetable, Trichosanthes dioica) in a field and ate them raw, He had some water and set off again. After walking this way for a long time the venerable reached Gaya where He stopped for a while and with great joy visited all the pilgrimage places.

Some days later He came back to the village but He didn’t stay long and kept wandering about, looking for the company of someone. Once he went to Jagannath temple in Puri. At that time he used to live as a real Brahmachari (he strictly kept celibacy and wore his hair plaited). He wore common clothes and had breakfast right before daybreak. At that time He behaved like Jain ascetics. Although at that time He didn’t have money, feeling a urge to visit Bhagwan Nilachal Nivasi, He went to Puri. When He was there, he was tonsured, took the purifying bath and visited Jagannath temple with devotion.


Shri Aghoreshwar in Paraw, Varanasi

 

At that moment the venerable only had two paise and kept them to get something to eat for lunch. As soon as He entered the temple, He was deeply moved and satisfied and he bowed to the miraculous statue of Bhagwan. While the venerable was doing his Pradkshina, a priest of the temple hit him on his head and said: “Why are you stealing the offerings?” And the venerable gave him all He had in His hand. After His pilgrimage the venerable came back. He stayed there for a while and bathed in the holy river; after leaving that place, He joined a group of Ramanuja’s community with his Vaishnava master.

This group was founded by a vaishnava penitent saint, and many saints from different part of the country belonged to it. Even from Southern India great saints and ascetics had come there. He took part in that event and spiritual retreat with great enthusiasm. The venerable was very pleased with the sacred chants and collective meetings. He interpreted the line “Ramanuja pad binu tarihan na bhai” this way: to get the salvation the only means is to join religiously the Ramanuja’s community. Ramanuja, that is Lakshman, got this status, living always with Rama. He told that “Taran taran” can be only the one who get the status obtained by Shri Ramanujachary. When he came back from the meetings, the venerable used to stay in the yard lying on a wooden bed. On that occasion a supernatural and wonderful light appeared and, after staring at it, the venerable couldn’t open His eyes even during the day. In the meantime He began to shake hardly. In His opinion this had happened by the grace of Jagadish. This shaking kept reappearing for years, even after this event, but now it has disappeared.


Hara Shmashan (cremation ground)

 

Although, after coming back from his pilgrimage in Puri, He lived for a while in His village, inwardly He always longed to go somewhere else to fulfil Himself. During the period of His realization, the venerable was always encouraged by an old man whom He called Paramhans (enlightened). After seeking the advice of that man about His future plans, He left for Kashi. During his journey to Kashi, He was alone and had few things with him. He left His village and caught the train in Ara and at one o’clock in the night He reached Benares. This happened on the eighth dark day of the month of savan in 1951 when He was fifteen. He left the station and asked where Shri Vishwanath temple was. From the station, He went to Chetganj. It was dark and it was raining and even the dogs obstructed His way. At the end He spent the rest of the night there, lying on a cart.

At dawn, when people started to go to the Ganges for the bath, He too unconsciously made His way to the river. He followed the road and walked towards Dashashwamed ghat, but, as He reached Dershi bridge, He stopped. While standing astonished in the middle of the road, a shining old lady came near. She was wearing a silk sari with red borders and very affectionately asked Him where He was going. He told her that He wanted to pay homage to Shri Vishawanath. Then she asked Him if He had already bathed or not. As He answered no, she told Him to go and bathe in the Ganges which was running near there and then to come back to her. He went to Ghora ghat and there He bathed. He was wearing a langoti and a dhoti. He dropped the dhoti into the water and after bathing He came back wearing only his langoti. He met the old lady again. She was standing at the same place and held worship tools. The woman set off and He followed her respectfully to go and pay homage to Vishwanath ji. When He reached the temple, He felt an immense joy and wonder and thought that the place was very good and that, if He could have found a place to stay in Kashi, he would have visited it every day. The old lady make him worship Vishwanath with great devotion. Then He asked nothing for him but only the praise of the greatness of God and the feeling of its eternal survival.


Shiva temple in his family garden

 

After paying homage to Shri Vishwanath, He made His way to Annapurna temple with the old lady. While He was looking at the temple, the woman went into it. For a while He stood on the threshold thinking that it was the palace of a lord and, as He was perplexed about his miserable clothes, He didn’t go into the palace. At the end hHe felt obliged to go on and, as He reached Dershi bridge, He found the old lady standing there. He was surprised because until that moment He had thought that the old woman was a lady belonging to a respectable family and that the Shri Annapurna temple was her palace. Seeing His puzzlement, she asked Him affectionately why He had come to Kashi. When He declared his intentions, she just told Him to go on towards Assi. Along the way He would have found a monastery of enlightened sadhaks where He would reached the long-awaited master. Before going on, the lady vanished from sight. He thought who that pitiful lady could be. Before making any decision, He thought that He had to make his way to the road she had shown Him. He made this decision and went towards Harishchandra ghat. Not far from there, around Krin Kund, there was the Shri Kina Ramji’s ashram where He arrived at about seven and a half in the morning. The prior Shri Rajeshwar Ramji was sleeping. He sat down in the yard waiting for the  prior.