VAMSIDAS BABAJI

[Guest guest]

On Janmastami he was in Baleshvar, a town in North Orissa. At midnight he

said to Gopal, "Last year I gave You some palmfruit. This year I shall give

You some mango. Gopal, don't be impatient, mango is coming to You." Within

ten minutes a brahmana teacher called Jogendra Mukherjee arrived, explaining

how he had just dreamt that a sadhu wanted a mango, so he went to the market

and bought one. That brahmana was then told, "Yes, yes, you come. He said he

wanted a mango." (From HH Bhakti Vikasa Swami's book on SBSST.)

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura also received the blessings of

Srila Vamsidas Babaji Maharaja in Navadwip. Seeing Srila Sarasvati Thakura,

Srila Varmsidasa Babaji Mahasaya would say, "Someone very close to my Gaura

has come to me."

 

Vamsivat Babaji was a Gaudiya sadhu who lived at Swarupa Gunj during the

time of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's mission. He was respected by

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, and he used to see to it that Vamsivat Babaji was

provided with grains and so on by Gaudiya Matha brahmacaris, whom he'd send

to Swarupa Gunj from the Yoga Pitha Mandir.

 

One day, a lady selling fish approached V.B., offering him some choice type

of catch. Somehow or other, the Babaji's mind became attracted to tasting

the fish. But he immediately checked himself, and became very angry. He

first of all shouted at the woman to get away. Then he was shouting, "How

could this happen? How could this happen? I've surrendered my life to

Radha Krishna, I'm under They're protection, and still this happens! Why

You are not protecting me?"

 

He went storming into his bhajan kutir. People gathered while he fussed

and fumed at his Deities inside. Then he came out, bringing the Deities

tied by rope, and threw Them into the Ganga. He kept the end of the rope

under his foot. When one man inquired why he was doing this, the Baba threw

a rock at him.

 

When this news reached the Gaudiya Matha Mandir, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta

called his brahmacaris together and forbade them from visiting this baba

again, save for one who would just deliver supplies. After a few days, he

again called them together and said, "Some of you think I've stopped you

from visiting babaji maharaja because he is in maya. That is not so. But

you are not able to understand this bhava. So stay away."

 

Later, when that one brahmacari visited, Vamsidas babaji maharaj threw a

stone at him and told, "If you want to please me, then never return here

again!"

 

Previously his reception had always been unpredictable. Sometimes the Baba

would welcome him. Sometimes he would accept the gifts without saying a

word. Sometimes he would just sit and stare. Sometimes he would take the

gifts and angrily throw them in the river.

 

 

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VAMSIDAS BABAJI - Excerpts from OBL Kapoor’s “The Saints of Bengal” (Srila

Prabhupada's Godbros')

 

Vamsidasa Babaji was a siddha-mahatma in the disciplic succession of Sri

Narottama Thakura. The name of his diksa-guru was Harilal Vrajavasi and the

name of his vesa-guru was Ramananda Vrajavasi. But it was difficult to know

that he was siddha, because he lived far away from the world in a solitary

place on the bank of Ganga near Baral Ghata in Navadvipa, as if he was

renounced by the world, as an idiotic and worthless destitute. But the fact

is that it is not the world that had renounced him, but he, who had

renounced the world as worthless. He hardly had any worldly possessions. His

only possessions were an old kaupina, karanga and kantha. Once Sripada

Haridasa Gosvami asked him why he did not wear bahirvasa. He replied, “I

live only with ka, which means kaupina, karanga and kantha. I have nothing

to do with ba”, which means bahirvasa or outer garment. Bahirvasa brings

relationship with the outer world and the people, who are bahiranga, that is

those, who are attached to the outer world. My Gaura has asked me not to

wear bahirvasa and mix with people who are bahiranga."

 

Vamsidasa Babaji lived in a world of his own. His world centered round his

deities-Gaura-Gadadhara, Nitai, Radha-Krishna and Gopala. For the service of

these deities he had two brass pots, some earthen pots, one plate, one

glass, some small cups, panca patra, bell and conch-shell and nothing else.

Baba passed day and night in the service of the deities and in sweet talks

with Them. Early in the morning he went out from his kuti to collect

flowers. Then he went for bhiksa. He returned to the kuti about noon and

made garlands from the flowers for each of the six deities. After that he

started cutting vegetables. He washed each vegetable a number of times. Then

he cleaned rice. He examined each grain of rice. If he found any grain from

which the husk was not removed, he removed it with his own hand. He did

everything slowly, contemplating all the time the lila of Radha-Krishna or

Gaura-Nitai, and singing or talking to Them. It was only late in the evening

that he could cook and offer bhoga to the deities. He had no consciousness

of time. Morning and evening, day and night had no meaning for him. Almost

the whole night he kept awake, talking and singing.

 

Once Sripada Haridasa Gosvami was surprised to see him cooking for the

deities at about 9 a.m. He said to him, "Baba! It would be fine, if you

prepare bhoga for the deities like this in the morning everyday." He

replied, "I do not know morning or evening. Am I their father's servant so

to feed them at appointed hours? If They want to eat like that, let Them

make Their own arrangements for cooking. Let Gadadhara cook for Gaura. Nitai

is avadhuta. He has no caste. He can go and eat anywhere. I do not worry

about my Gopala. A milch-cow comes here everyday and gives Him milk. He can

live on that. I have to worry about Radha-Krishna. For Them I will have to

cook a little rice and vegetables. If I don't, They will go to Vmdavana and

do madhukari. "

 

Vamsidas Baba never locked the door of his kuti when he went out for bhiksa

or to bathe in the Gariga. If someone asked him why he did not lock the

kuti, he said, "If the owner of the house Himself does not keep a watch and

has a soft corner for the thief, what is the use of locking the house? I do

not even keep the keys of the lock with me. The lock has three keys. All the

three are with the three boys. One is with Gaura, one with Nitai and one

with Gadadhara." After entrusting the lock and the keys to the three boys,

Baba used to be free from anxiety. If while he was out a cow entered the

kuti and turned everything topsy turvy, he would be angry with the boys. If

some one stole something from the kuti he would say, "Gaura has a soft

corner for Nadiyavasis, the residents of His own Dhama. Therefore He gives

things away to them. I am after all an outsider." Once a gold necklace,

given by someone to Gaura, was stolen, when he had gone out for bhiksa. On

returning to the kuti he kept on scolding Gaura and asking Him whom He had

given away the necklace, for about two hours. Towards the evening he got a

hint. He then went to the house of the theif and asked him for the necklace.

The thief pushed him down the verandah of his house. He was hurt. But he did

not say anything. But how could Gaura tolerate this? The thief soon died as

well as all the other members of his family.

 

Once Baba had to punish Gaura-Nitai for Their connivance in a theft. The two

brass-pots, in which Baba' used to cook for Gaura-Nitai were stolen. How

could this happen without the connivance of Gaura-Nitai? So They were

punished. Baba scolded Them and did not give Them anything to eat that day.

The punishment had its effect The next day someone came quietly and

delivered one of those pots. Baba said, "This small pot is Nitai's. He will

be fed today. If Gaura wants to eat, He must also bring His pot." Baba

always did what he said. He cooked and offered bhoga to Nitai. Gaura drew a

long face as He kept looking at Nitai eating. In the meantime another man

came and delivered the other pot. Baba then cooked in that pot and offered

bhoga to Gaura. When Gaura also had eaten, he said with tears in his eyes,

"Do I ever want to punish You? But both of You are so naughty that You must

always tease me. You do not know that I have now become old and cannot bear

it all. What can I do?"

 

It is difficult to understand what bhava Vamsidasa Baba had towards Gaura.

It sometimes appeared to be sakhya (friendly), sometimes vatsalya (parental)

and sometimes madhura, like that of a Nadiya-nagari (lady of Nadiya) towards

Gaurariga as Nadiya-nagara (an attractive citizen of Nadiya). If it was

basically madhura, it is easy to understand that he sometimes exhibited

vatsalya-bhava towards Him and sometimes sakhya, because madhura-bhava

includes all other bhavas. According to Haridasa Gosvami his bhava was of

Nadiyanagari type, because he used to compose songs of this bhava and sing.

He has quoted some of these songs. Two of them are reproduced below:

 

kena giya chilama ganga-tire o nagari |

nyana kataksa bane gaura kaila mana churi ||

ami ekhana ki kari o nagari ki kari ||

 

“O Nagari! How I repent having gone to the bank of Ganga.

Gaura cast a side long glance at me and stole my heart

What shall I do now, O Nagari! What shall I do?”

 

bala go nagari gaura kallena ki ||

grha gela kula gela mana kela curi |

sajani! ekhana ami ki kari ||

nayana kone, kane kane gaura kallena ki |

ami je prana mari gaura kallena ki ||

 

“Tell me O Nagari what Gaura has done to me,

He winked and whispered and did,

I do not know what to me.

O Sakhi! Now I know not what to do,

Life is running out of me.

O! What has Gaura done to me?”

 

Towards the end of his life Baba once went to his birth place Majitpur in

district Maymansinha. He carried the deities with him. On the way he neither

ate, nor slept, nor passed stool or urine. On reaching Majitpur he stayed in

a dilapidated temple. After that he went to Vrndavana and Puri. In Vrndavana

he stayed on the bank of Yamuna, in Puri on the bank of Narendra Sarovara.

He never went inside a temple for darsana. During these travels the sadhus

of the Gaudiya Matha rendered great service to him.

 

Nothing is known about Baba's life as a householder, except that he was

married at an early age and his son Haracandra was nine or ten years old

when he renounced the world. He went to Navadvipa about the year 1906. The

author once tried to see him in 1932, but could not, because the door of his

kuti was closed, though he could hear him talking to the deities in

Maymansinha dialect. He left the world in 1944.

 

(Excerpts from OBL Kapoor’s “The Saints of Bengal”)

 

Disappearance Day on Caturthi