Guest guest Posted April 4, 2005 Report Share Posted April 4, 2005 Dear Friends, Namaskar. I have been to the Totapuri Ashram at Puri a number of times. The Ashram is known as Girnar Banta/Nanga Baba Ashram. This Totapuri is not the Guru of Sri Ramakrishna. Most Revered Swami Prabhanandaji has conducted research on this subjected and negated this opinion. As per information available Totapuri had gone back to his Ashram in North India and left his body there. However the oil paintings of the Holy Man at Puri bear an uncanny resemblance to our own Totapuri. He was also a staunch advaitin. During his lifetime also this Saint was repeatedly asked whether he was the Guru of Sri Ramakrishna. But he ignored the questions with the words, "Usse tereko kya milega?", what will you gain out of such information. The Saint left his body at the age of three hundred odd years. His samadhi and his few personal belongings are at the Ashram which is an extremely serene place. Once I had taken the Swami's of Bhubaneswar Math to that Ashram. During that trip we had also visited another Sadhu who should be 130 years old now. We met him a decade back when he was 120 years old. An extremely humble person, this kaupin dhari Sadhu was extremely weary of his long life and longed to be liberated. He was also very sorry about the fact that he had to sleep on a cot and had a roof over his head. He was constantly badgering people around him to take him to the riverside and dump him under a tree as per the maxim, "Nadir tire, tarumule bas." It was a very good experience for us to meet this Saint. We had also had a photograph taken along with him which was lost later. He taught us the maxim that a Sadhu should not be judged by his longevity but for his deeds. When the Totapuri of Puri was asked about his long sojourn on earth he too had pleaded helplessness and wondered that perhaps the Mother had some hidden intention behind it. When I read this I too felt odd that a Nirgun Advaitin should refer to the Creator as Mother. Love & Regards, Jagannath. Better first dates. More second dates. Personals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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