Power of Guru - From the glorious life of Saint Haridas of Puri.

Power of Guru - From the glorious life of Saint Haridas of Puri.

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".

Haridas escaped from the Muslim King and arrived in Puri. Here he met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and was thrilled at his darshan. Having been brought up in a Muslim family, Haridas would not enter the temple of Jagannatha. So he stood at a distance and shed tears of joy at the very thought of Sri Chaitanya. He fell on the ground and began to rub his face on the mud. Sri Chaitanya rushed towards him and embraced him. What is more, Chaitanya exclaimed: - "by touching your holy person, I have become pure".

Haridas settled down at the flower garden in Puri. He spent his days in japa and kirtans. He would not eat anything until he had repeated Hari's name 3, 00,000 times.

It was the year 1534, the last day of his life had come. Haridas was worried lest he should pass away without completing his daily japa. Hundreds of devotees had assembled and Sri Chaitanya himself was present. Haridas completed his daily routine and lay down. He went on looking at the holy face of Sri Chaitanya and finally merged in the Eternity. Sri Chaitanya became grave for some time. He then lifted the holy person of Haridas and began to dance. The ecstatic dance continued for a long time. Haridas was laid to rest at the same place where his little hut was situated. Today, this place is a pilgrim centre in Puri.

By Dr. G.R. Vijayakumar