FW: Thakur Drama-1 (Scenes 1 - 8)

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Shankar [shankar]

Sunday, January 14, 2001 9:52 AM

madhava

Fw: Thakur Drama-1 (Scenes 1 - 8)

 

 

 

 

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> Shankar <shankar

> madhava

> Thakur Drama-1 (Scenes 1 - 8)

> Sunday, January 14, 2001 7:39 AM

>

> Here is a story of a Great Spiritual Master, and an Incarnation of God.

> Khudiram Chattopadyaya married Chandra Devi in 1799. He was living in

> Dereypore, in West Bengal in India. Their first son, Ramkumar was born

in

> 1805. Their first daughter was born in 1810.

>

> In 1814, Khudiram was ordered by his Landlord to bear a false witness in

a

> court against his neighbour. Khudiram, a simple and honest man, deeply

> devoted to God, refused to bear a false witness. Then, the Landlord

> brought a false case against Khudiram, and deprived him of his ancestral

> property.

>

> At that time, another landlord in a nearby village, Kamarpukur, invited

him

> there, offering him a dwelling place and a piece of land. So, Khudiram

> moved with his family to Kamarpukur. Two years later, in 1816, his

second

> son, Rameswar was born. In 1835, at the age of 60, Khudiram made a

> pilgrimage to Gaya, the sacred abode of Lord Narayana, to perform

obsequies

> for his departed ancestors. On his way back from Gaya, he was feeling

very

> tired, and rested under a tree. Then, he fell asleep. He then had a

> vision of Lord Narayana in his dream.

>

> (Scene 1: Lord Narayana appears in Khudiram's dream)

> Lord Narayana: Khudiram! I am extremely pleased with your

devotion. I

> shall be born

> to you as your son.

>

> Khudiram: O, Lord! It is indeed a blessing on me, a poor

little

Brahmin,

> to have

> You as my son. But, I do not have sufficient means

to provide

> You even with the basic necessities of life. Thus,

I may incur sin.

>

> Lord Narayana: Khudiram! You need not worry about all that. I

shall

> ensure that all

> your basic needs are met. It is my Firm Resolve

that I shall be born

as

> your son. Get up and go home soon, and await my

birth as your son in

> a short while from now.

>

> When Khudiram was in Gaya, Chandra Devi went to the Temple of Shiva in

> Kamarpukur.

> (Scene 2: Light from Lord Shiva enters Chandra Devi.)

> Chandra Devi: Ah! A Flame of Light from the Lingam is entering my

body!

> What is happening to me?

>

> One Lady: Alas! She has fallen down unconscious!

>

> Another Lady: Let us carry her to her home. Can you see! Her face

is

> radiating with a benign smile! I do not know

whether she is really

> unconscious, or possessed by some divine spirit!

>

> Chandra Devi concretely felt that she was pregnant, and intuitively

> realised that a divine child will be born to her. By the time Khudiram

> returned, she had manifest signs of pregnancy. On February 18, 1836, the

> much-awaited divine child, later to become known as Sri Ramakrishna

> Paramahamsa, was born. The child was named as 'Gadhadhar', after Lord

> Narayana at Gaya. In 1839, three years later, a daughter was born to the

> couple.

>

> Gadhadhar had a wonderful memory. On Khudiram's lap, he learnt by heart,

> the names of all Hindu Gods and Goddesses. He also learnt to read and

> write at school. But, his greatest delight was to listen to the

recitation

> of Hindu mythological stories, and to repeat them verbatim, much to the

> delight of the villagers. He also learnt the art of moulding the images

of

> Gods and Goddesses from the potters.

>

> One day, Gadhadhar was walking along a narrow path between paddy-fields,

> eating the puffed-rice that he carried in a basket. He saw a beautiful,

> dark thundercloud in the sky. As it spread across the sky, a flight of

> snow-white cranes passed in front of it. Overpowered by divine emotions,

> he fell down, and the puffed-rice scattered in all directions from his

> hand.

>

> (Scene 3: Gadhadhar falls down overpowered by divine emotions at the

sight

> of a flight of cranes against the background of dark thundercloud)

> One Villager: Look here! Our dear Gadai is lying on the ground!

>

> Another Villager: The puffed-rice is scattered on all sides on the

ground

> near him. I think

> he has fallen down unconscious.

>

> The first Villager: Let us carry him home in our arms.

>

> (Scene 4: At home, Gadai gradually returns to normal consciousness)

> The second Villager: Ah! He is opening his eyes!

>

> The first Villager: Gadai! What happened to you? We have carried you

all

> the way from

> the paddy-fields. Did you feel dizzy and fall down?

>

> Gadai: No! I saw a flight of white cranes against

the black sky, and

> fell down overpowered by an indescribable joy!

>

> When Gadai was 7 years old, his father passed away. This affected Gadai

> very deeply. He now paid more attention to hearing religious stories and

> started actively helping his mother in her household work. Those days,

> holy men proceeding to Puri used to halt on their way at Kamarpukur.

>

> (Scene 5: At the choultry, where the passerby travellers used to stay)

> One saint: Look at this boy! He attentively listens to our

stories from

> Hindu epics.

>

> Another saint: Not only that! He meticulously observes our

meditation

and

> worship.

>

> The first saint: To top it all, he also serves us by fetching

water,

fuel,

> etc., for us.

> I can see that this boy is going to be a divine

being.

>

> At the age of 9, Gadai was invested with the sacred thread. During this

> ceremony, Gadai accepted food from a low-caste woman, in fulfillment of

his

> word to her, although everybody was opposed to it. The sacred thread

> entitled him to the worship of his family deity, Raghuvir. Now he started

> meditating on the image of Lord Raghuvir, and was soon seen to be losing

> himself in contemplation.

>

>

> On a Sivaratri night, a drama on Lord Shiva had been arranged.

> (Scene 6: In the Drama-Hall, where all actors have assembled

appropriately

> dressed up.)

> One Villager: Sir, the actor who was to play the role of Lord

Shiva has

> suddenly

> fallen ill.

>

> Drama-Organiser: Alas! We have to stage the drama in a few minutes.

What

> can we do at

> this last moment?

>

> The Villager: (after thinking for a while) I have an idea! As you

know,

> sir, our dear

> Gadai has a wonderful memory, and also knows by

heart the story of

> Lord Shiva that we are going to stage. Why can't we

ask permission

> from his mother for him to play the role of Lord

Shiva?

>

> Drama-Organiser: That is a wonderful idea! I shall instantly go to

Gadai's

> house to ask

> permission for this from his mother.

>

> (Scene 7: The drama-organiser reaches Gadai's house, and talks to

Gadai's

> mother)

> Drama-Organiser: Mother! The actor who was to play the role of Lord

Shiva

> has suddenly

> fallen ill. We only have a few minutes, for us to

stage the drama.

> All

> the villagers are eagerly awaiting the staging of

the drama.

> We all feel that only Gadai can play this role

without rehearsals. Of

> course, he knows the story too well. Not only that,

he also has a

> wonderful memory in respect of all godly matters.

> Can you please permit Gadai to play the role of Lord

Shiva on the

> stage?

>

> Chandra Devi: Of course, you can take Gadai with you within a few

minutes

> from now. I will now start dressing him up as Lord

Shiva. Please

wait

> for him.

>

> (After a while, Gadai's Mother brings him out of the room, dressed up as

> Lord Shiva)

> Drama-Organiser: Oh, Dear! You verily seem to be Lord Shiva! It is

the

> Lord's Will, it

> seems, that you should enact His role.

> Come quickly! I will ask some boys to take you to

the stage.

Everyone

> must be anxiously waiting for us to commence the

staging of the

drama.

>

> (Scene 8: Gadai approaches the stage with slow and measured steps,

> supported by his friends. He appears absent-minded.)

> One of the audience: Look at Gadai! He looks like the living image of

Lord

> Shiva!

>

> (Everyone in the audience loudly applauds)

> Another: Can you see? Gadai is standing motionlessly for

some minutes

> now!

>

> (Gadai's face looks radiant, and copious tears are flowing from his

eyes.)

> The first one: He seems to have lost himself in

contemplation of the

Lord!

>

>

> (The drama had to be stopped abruptly. Gadai recovered his normal

> consciousness only on the following day.)

>

>