YOUR LOTUS FEET

2011 421 Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture

Your Lotus Feet
H. MUKHERJEE
W
e are all acquainted with the story
of Ahaly described in the
Ramyana, the great epic. Ahaly
was the wife of Rishi Gautama. The Rishi
had cursed his wife for her alleged moral
delinquency and the imprecation had turned
her into a block of stone. When she asked for
forgiveness, the Rishi told her that she would
be restored to her human form only when Sri
Rma, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, would
touch her with his holy feet.
Many, many years after the curse was
uttered, Rma and Lakshmana were return-
ing from a yajna (sacrifice) performed by
Rishi Vishwmitra and others and were pro-
ceeding to attend the swayamvara of Prin-
cess Sit. Vishwmitra, who was accompa-
nying Sri Rma and Lakshmana, and was
aware of this legend, asked Sri Rma to step
on the stone to restore Ahaly to her human
form and free her of the curse. But Sri Rma
refused and said that he would rather bow in
obeisance to the stone as he could not think
of putting his feet on the stone that was
Ahaly. As Vishwmitra was remonstrating
with him about his unwillingness to comply
with his request, a gentle breeze carried the
dust of Sri Rams feet on to the stone and
the stone turned into Ahaly. So even the
dust of the sacred feet of Sri Ram had the
power of liberating Ahaly. Eknathji had
also confirmed this.
1
Goswami Tulsidas, while extolling the
sacred feet of Sri Rma sings:
Bhaja mana Rm charan sukhadi. . . .
Jin charanan ki charan pduk Bharat raho
laba lai/
Soi charan Kebat dhoi line taba Hari nao
chali/
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
Soi charan santan jana sevat sad rahat
sukhadi/
Soi charan Gautam-rishi-nri parashi
param pada pi.
Here Goswami Tulsidas is praying,
Oh, my mind, pray to Lord Rams feet
which brings happiness; whose footwear
was taken by Bharata for worshipping; after
washing whose feet boatman Kebat steered
his boat; by serving whose feet the saints
remain in constant happiness and by touch-
ing whose feet the wife of Gautama Rishi
got divine bliss.
We come across a similar story in
Srimad Bhgavatam that tells about the sa-
credness of the feet of the God incarnates
(Avatras). Sri Basudev, husband of Devaki,
came out of the prison of King Kansa with
his newly born son. The child Sri Krishna
was put in a basket held by Basudev on his
head and he was crossing the river Yamuna
to reach Vrindavan. Yamuna Devi was very
happy. She wanted to touch Sri Krishnas
feet and so the waters of the river Yamuna
swelled so as to reach the feet of her Lord
and the Lord extended His feet outside the
basket to fulfil the wish of His devotee.
2
Sri Ramakrishnas lotus feet
Sri Ramakrishnas feet were similarly
treasured by his disciples and devotees.
Swami Vivekananda in his well-known
rtric (vesper) song had eulogized Sri
Ramakrishnas divine feet thus:
Sampada tava sri-pada bhava-gospada
bri yathya
Premrpana sama-darashana jaga-jana
dukha jya.
H. MUKHERJEE
422 September Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
He says: My one true treasure is your
blessed feet, reaching which the whole uni-
verse itself seems like a puddle in the hollow
made by hoof of passing cow. O offering to
Love! O Seer of equality in all! O verily, in
You the pain and evil of this mortal world
escapes and vanishes, O cherished One.
Again, Swamiji in his Sri
Ramakrishnastotram, usually sung after the
earlier rtric song, had penned the follow-
ing immortal lines:
Naktandivam sakarunam tava pdapadmam/
Mohankasham bahukritam na bhaje yato
ham/
Tasmttvameva sharanam mama
dinabandho.
That is, Since, day and night I have
failed to worship Thy delusion-destroying
feet with a longing heart and firm determina-
tion, therefore You are my sole refuge, O
Friend of the lowly and the lost!
Swami Virajananda, in his Sri Sri
Ramakrishna-Stotra-dashakam, had written
the following lines:
Tygi -gehi -sevya-ni t ya-pavananghri -
pankajam/
Tam nammi deva-deva-
Ramakrishnamishwaram.
That is, One whose divine lotus feet is
worshipped constantly by monks as well as
householders, I bow down before that
Supreme Lord, Sri Ramakrishna.
Many poems and hymns written in praise
of Sri Ramakrishna contain such expressions
which extol the divinity of his lotus feet. Sri
Ramakrishna had showered his grace on
many disciples and devotees by asking them
to massage his feet. Many devotees, on the
other hand, would fall at his feet in reverence
and take refuge in it. But only a few who
were deemed by him to be deserving, would
get his grace. This article describes a
few such incidents surrounding the life of
the Master and his divine feet. Let these
incidents motivate us to meditate on his
divine feet so as to get his blessings and
make spiritual progress.
It was 7 March 1885, and the time was
between 3 and 4 pm. Sri Ramakrishna was
sitting along with Baburam and other devo-
tees on the Dakshineswar temple premises.
The devotees were massaging his feet. After
smiling a little, Sri Ramakrishna said, There
is great significance in this. Again, touching
his heart he said, If there is anything here,
then through this service the ignorance and
illusion of the devotees will be completely
destroyed.
3
Earlier, one day the Master had
asked young Kali (later to be known as
Swami Abhedananda) to meditate on his
form and said, Within my body there are
Mother Kli and all other gods and god-
desses. So meditation of my form would be
tantamount to meditation on all gods and
goddesses.
Another day, the Master was sitting in
his room at Dakshineswar and Kali was sit-
ting and massaging his feet. The Master
looked at him and said, Can Brahmajnna
be attained easily? Kali said, In the
Ptanjala-Yogasutra there is an aphorism
Tibrasambegnmsanna(21). That is to
say, those who have very strong urge attain
God-consciousness quickly. The Master
smiled and gave him hope saying, You will
attain the knowledge of Brahman. Thereaf-
ter, with the nail of his finger he strongly
struck Kalis jn-chakra (the meeting-
point of eyebrows) and said, Fix your mind
here and then asked him to do meditation
at Panchavati. Kali went for meditation
there and was in a state of samdhi for a
long time. When his outer consciousness
gradually returned, he came and prostrated
himself at the feet of the Master. The Mas-
ter put his hand affectionately on Kalis
head and blessed him.
4
One day young Rakhal (later Swami
Brahmananda) returned from Kolkata and
found the Master resting on his bed. He
asked Rakhal to sit on his bed and massage
YOUR LOTUS FEET
2011 423 Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
his feet. At first Rakhal was reluctant but the
Master insisted, saying, Look, there is a tan-
gible result from serving a holy man. Soon
after he started massaging the Masters feet,
Rakhal saw the Divine Mother, in the form
of a girl of seven or eight, circle the
Masters bed a few times and then enter into
his body. Rakhal was very much astonished
by this vision. The Master then smilingly
told Rakhal, Did you see the result of serv-
ing a holy man?
5
On another day Latu (later Swami
Adbhutananda) was massaging the Masters
feet. The Master asked him, Can you tell me
what your Rmji is doing now? Latu was
surprised and replied, How can I know
about Rmjis intents? On finding Latu un-
able to reply to his question, the Master said,
Now your Rmji is passing an elephant
through the eye of a needle. Later while re-
lating this incident, Latu Maharaj explained
to a devotee the true import of the Masters
words and said, He was pouring spiritual
power into a small receptacle like that of
young Latu; this can only be done by one
who has seen God and who is immersed in
divine joy.
6
Vijaykrishna Goswami was a saint and
had a great regard for the Master. Once he
came to the Master at Shyampukur house. M.
describes the incident in The Gospel thus:
Sitting among the devotees in front of the
Master, he said: It is difficult to understand
him [meaning the Master] unless he reveals
himself. . . .Here alone is the one hundred
per cent manifestation of God. Continuing,
Vijay told the Master with folded hands: I
have now realized who you are. You dont
have to tell me. The Master (in a state of
ecstasy) said: If so, then so be it! Saying
Yes, I have understood, Vijay fell prostrate
before the Master. He held the Masters feet
on his chest and clung to them. The Master
was in deep samdhi, motionless as a pic-
ture. The devotees were overwhelmed by
this sight. Some burst into tears and some
chanted sacred hymns. All eyes were riveted
on Sri Ramakrishna. They viewed him in dif-
ferent ways, according to their spiritual un-
foldment: some as a great devotee, some as a
holy man, some as God Incarnate. . . .After a
long time Sri Ramakrishna regained con-
sciousness of the world.
7
Ramchandra and Manomohan
The first batch of devotees consisting of
Sri Ramchandra Dutta and Manomohan
Mitra met Sri Ramakrishna in November
1879. They were to become his ardent devo-
tees. Sri Ramakrishna visited Ramchandras
house many times. The day after Sri
Thakurs visit to his house on 2 June1883,
Ram visited Sri Ramakrishna at
Dakshineswar and received many spiritual
instructions. At 10 pm Ram came out of Sri
Thakurs room after bidding goodbye to him.
While still on verandah, he found the Master
coming out of his room and approaching
him. He suddenly asked Ramchandra, Well,
what do you want? Ram was perplexed. He
did not know what to say since no desire was
rising in his mind. Finally, as he was not able
to decide what to ask for (thus passing a
critical test), he said, Lord, I do not know
what to ask for. You decide for me. Sri
Ramakrishna then said, Give me back the
mantra I gave you in the dream and went
into samdhi. Earlier, Ramchandra had a
dream of Sri Thakur initiating him with a
sacred mantra and asking him to repeat it
one hundred times after bath every day. Im-
mediately he prostrated himself before the
Master and offered the mantra at his feet. Sri
Ramakrishna now touched Rams head with
his right foot and the latter lost his outward
consciousness. He did not remember how
long they remained in that state. Gradually
the Master came back to his normal plane of
consciousness and removed his foot. When
Ram stood up, the Master said to him, Look
at me. Ram looked and found that Sri
Ramakrishna had taken the form of his Cho-
sen Deity, the form of God that was dearest
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424 September Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
to him. Then he told Ram that henceforth his
spiritual discipline would be to practise de-
votion to him. He further said, Just come
here and see me now and then, and bring
with you a pice worth of something as a
present. After this, he became free from all
restlessness and was convinced that Sri
Ramakrishna was an Incarnation of God.
8
Manomohan Mitra had come along with
Ramchandra to meet Sri Ramakrishna for the
first time. After this he would visit Sri
Thakur every Sunday and soon began to real-
ize that Sri Ramakrishna was not an ordinary
person, but an Incarnation of God. After a
few visits, he felt that he should serve the
Master physically. One day he came from
Konnagar to Dakshineswar and saw that Sri
Thakur was seated on his bed with his two
legs hanging down over the edge. On seeing
Manomohan entering the room, he drew up
his legs and sat cross-legged. This action on
the part of Sri Thakur hurt Manomohan and
he told the Master, Why did you withdraw
your feet? Please hang them as before. If you
do not do so, I shall cut off the feet and carry
them to my home so that the devotees may
worship your blessed feet. Sri Ramakrishna
smiled and allowed Manomohan to stroke his
feet. Subsequently he was to become a close
devotee of Sri Ramakrishna and get his
grace. He was even keen to take sannyasa,
but Sri Thakur advised him to continue as a
householder. Like Ram he was also permit-
ted by the Master to preach.
9
Surendra and Hazra
Surendra Nath Mitra was a half-rasaddar
(provider) to Sri Ramakrishna as designed by
the Divine Mother. After his first visit, he
would regularly provide for the necessities of
Sri Thakur and devotees who would stay at
night at Dakshineswar. He became a
changed man after meeting Sri Ramakrishna,
who was also very fond of him and visited
his house a number of times. On 17 April
1886, Surendra and some other devotees
entered the Masters room and offered him
garlands of flowers. The Master put
Surendras garland on his own neck. All sat
quietly. Suddenly the Master made a sign to
Surendra to come near him. When the latter
came near his bed, Sri Ramakrishna put it
around Surendras neck. When Surendra sa-
luted him, who now, as a sign of showering
his grace on Surendra, asked him to massage
his feet. Surendra was almost in an ecstatic
mood when he gave them a gentle massage.
M. was to write later in The Gospel:
Surendra was indeed a blessed soul. It was
he who laid the foundation of the great Order
later associated with Sri Ramakrishnas
name. His devotion and sacrifice made it
possible for those earnest souls to renounce
the world for the realization of God.
10
Pratap Chandra Hazra had a very impor-
tant role in the divine play of Sri
Ramakrishna. Just as Jatil (Sri Rdhs
mother-in-law) and Kutil (sister-in-law of
Sri Rdh) placed obstacles in the way of
Rdhs quest for Sri Krishnas divine love,
similarly Hazra played a negative role and
tried to confuse the devotees and young dis-
ciples of Sri Ramakrishna. He was vain and
used to do japam sitting on the verandah just
outside the room of Sri Thakur. He would try
to give spiritual advice to devotees who came
to Sri Ramakrishna and sometimes would
even try to teach Sri Thakur himself. All this
of course would make all laugh heartily.
Once he tried to take the dust of the Masters
feet but the latter withdrew his feet. Then it
dawned upon Hazra that he was not pure
enough to serve the Master or touch his feet
even. Mortified, he tried to purify himself by
doing japam and swallowing small globules
of holy mud of Ganga from time to time. He
continued to count his beads day and night
while lying inside a mosquito net. The com-
passionate Master took him by his hand to
his room on coming to know about Hazras
efforts to purify himself and asked him now
to massage his feet, thus fulfilling Hazras
YOUR LOTUS FEET
2011 425 Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
desire. Hazra also got the vision of the Mas-
ter at the time of his death as earlier prom-
ised by the Master.
11
Gauri Ma and Balaram
Gauri Ma, a sannyasin, was a devotee of
Lord Jagannath. When Balaram Basu, a
devotee of Sri Ramakrishna, suggested that
she should visit the latter, she replied, I have
seen many monks in my life, I have no desire
to see another. If your holy man has real
power, then let him pull me.
One day when Gauri Ma (who was stay-
ing at Balarambabus house at that time) was
starting her morning ritual, she saw two live
human feet (without a body) on the altar.
Initially she thought it was an optical illu-
sion, but after examining again and again she
continued to see the same human feet. She
got frightened, lost consciousness, and fell
on the floor. When she regained a little con-
sciousness she pointed to her heart and whis-
pered that she felt that somebody had tied a
string to her heart and was pulling it. On
coming to know about it through his wife,
Balarambabu took Gauri Ma, his wife, and
some womenfolk to Dakshineswar. When
they arrived in Sri Ramakrishnas room, they
found him seated and winding thread around
a stick and singing.
Immediately after their arrival Sri
Ramakrishna stopped his activity of winding
the thread and cordially received them. He
asked Balarambabu about her and then dis-
cussed with them about spiritual life. Gauri
Ma, however, could understand that it was
Sri Ramakrishna who had brought her to
Dakshineswar. When she bowed down to
him she could see that it was the same two
feet that she had seen on the altar the previ-
ous day. She was astonished and over-
whelmed with joy.
She came back alone the next day and
told Sri Ramakrishna about her vision
and said that she never knew that Sri Thakur
was hiding from her at Dakshineswar.
Sri Ramakrishna smiled and said, If you had
met me earlier, would you have practised so
much austerity? Sri Ramakrishna had a high
opinion of her and once said, Gauri is a
perfect soula gopi of Vrindavan. Later he
motivated Gauri Ma to work for the uplift of
Indian women.
12
There is a striking description in The
Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna about a particular
meeting Balaram Basu had with the Master.
When after visiting Pandit Iswar Chandra
Vidyasagar and taking his leave the Master
along with his devotees reached the gate,
they saw an unexpected sight and stood still.
In front of them was a bearded gentleman of
fair complexion, aged about thirty-six. He
wore his clothes like a Bengali, but on his
head was a white turban tied after the fash-
ion of the Sikhs. No sooner did he see the
Master than he fell prostrate before him, tur-
ban and all. When he stood up the Master
said: Who is this? Balaram? Why so late in
the evening?
Balaram: I have been waiting here a long
time, sir.
Master: Why didnt you come in?
Balaram: All were listening to you. I didnt
like to disturb you.
The incident brings out the character of
Balaram. Though belonging to a rich, aristo-
cratic family, he was an embodiment of
Vaishnava humility. The Vaishnava scripture
says, Be humbler than a blade of grass and
be patient and forbearing like a tree.
Balaram is said to be one of the
Rasaddars (providers) given to the Master by
the Divine Mother. Whenever necessary, the
Master, while in Kolkata, would visit his
house. Sometimes he would spend the night
and take food there. Sri Ramakrishna used to
say that food prepared at Balarams house
was very pure as it was served to Lord
Jagannath. The Master had boundless love
for Balaram. When the end of Balaram came,
it is said that the Master himself came by a
chariot to take him.
13
H. MUKHERJEE
426 September Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
Kalipada and Girish
Kalipada Ghosh was one of the wayward
souls who got refuge in the Masters feet.
After his first meeting with the Master,
Kalipada returned home but developed in-
tense desire to see him again. Accordingly he
left for Dakshineswar along with some other
devotees. As they reached Dakshineswar and
met the Master, the latter informed him that
he planned to visit Kolkata immediately.
Kalipada told him that the boat by which he
came was still anchored and available for his
trip. So the Master along with Latu and
Kalipada took the boat. However, as the boat
reached midstream, the boatman, as per ear-
lier instructions of Kalipada, stopped the
boat. Then Kalipada fell down at Sri
Ramakrishnas feet, held them closely and
said, You are a saviour, please save me.
The Master said, Chant Gods name and you
will get liberation. But Kalipada held his
feet more firmly and said, Sir, I am a wicked
man. I have no time to utter Gods name.
You are the ocean of mercy. Kindly save
me. Finding no other way to escape, the
Master asked Kalipada to stick out his
tongue and then wrote a mantra on it. The
Master said, Henceforth, your tongue will
automatically utter the mantra.
But Kalipada was still not satisfied. He
finally managed to obtain an assurance from
the Master that he would take charge of
Kalipada when his end came. When the boat
reached Kolkata, it appeared the Master had
no definite destination. So Kalipada took him
home. The Master saw some oil paintings of
gods and goddesses in the room where he sat
and went into ecstasy and sang some devo-
tional songs in his sweet voice. It was clear
that the entire trip was taken mainly to
shower his grace on Kalipada.
It was Kalipada who arranged the house
at Shyampukur when it was decided to shift
the Master from Dakshineswar for health rea-
sons. It was again Kalipada who managed to
smuggle the actress Binodini (who wanted to
visit the ailing Master) in the Masters pres-
ence in the guise of a European gentleman!
When Kalipada informed him about the real
identity of the European gentleman, the Mas-
ter laughed and allowed the actress to touch
his feet with her head. Binodini turned into a
sincere devotee of the Master and the Master
came to Kalipada at his last moment.
14
Girish Chandra Ghosh was another
devotee who received the grace of Sri
Ramakrishna. From a reckless man leading
an immoral life he became a pure and holy
man. He had intense love and devotion for
the Master. The Master also loved him and
had great faith in his intrinsic goodness and
used to say that Girish has one hundred and
twenty-five per cent faith. Once Girish came
to know that the Master was visiting
Ramchandra Duttas house and felt a strong
urge to meet the Master. When he arrived at
Rambabus house, he found the than Master
dancing in ecstasy in the courtyard and devo-
tees dancing in a circle around him. The
courtyard seemed to be an ocean of bliss.
The Master suddenly became still and went
into samdhi. The devotees started taking the
dust of his feet. Girish also wanted to touch
his feet but felt shy thinking what others
would think of it. No sooner had this thought
come to his mind, than the Master started
dancing and came in front of Girish and
stopped, once more absorbed in samdhi.
Now there was no hesitation on Girishs part
in taking the dust of his feet.
15
Girish initially used to greet Sri
Ramakrishna by touching his head with
folded hands as it is done normally when
Bengali gentlemen meet each other. Once
when he greeted Sri Ramakrishna that way,
the latter responded by greeting him by bend-
ing from his waist. Likewise Girish again
greeted him by bending from waist. The
Master again responded by bending down
further. This went on till Girish prostrated
full length before the Master and touched his
feet, and only then the latter blessed him.
16
Soon Girish was to put his Guru Sri
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2011 427 Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
Ramakrishna on a pedestal as a God incar-
nate and he was the first person, during the
special worship of Mother Kli at
Shyampukur house, who offered flowers at
the feet of Sri Ramakrishna chanting Jai Sri
Ramakrishna. Again on 1 January 1886,
when the Master asked him, Well, Girish,
what you have found in me that you proclaim
me before all as an incarnation? Without
waiting for a moment and falling to his knees
before the Master and saluting him with
folded hands, Girish said with great emotion,
Who am I to speak of Him? Even the sages
Vys and Vlmiki could find no words to
speak of His glory!
17
Master Mahashaya (M.) was described
by the Master as his own. Sri Ramakrishna
saw him and Balaram as followers of Sri
Gauranga in a vision. He saw in M. one who
is destined to record his teachings. One finds
numerous instances in The Gospel where the
Master asks M. to massage his feet or give
some small personal service and then speak
about profound spiritual truths in a simple
language. The Master would sometimes ask
M. to repeat to him what he had said and
would correct or clarify the meaning for him
in case of doubt.
During his birthday celebrations, the
Master used to be decorated by devotees
after his bath. Dressed in light yellow dress
and with garlands around his neck he looked
beautiful which was further enhanced when
white sandal paste dots were applied on his
face and feet. The final look of the Master
was indescribable in its beauty. Then the
kirtan (songs in praise of God) would start.
The Master would participate wholeheart-
edly in the kirtan along with the devotees
and start dancing. There would be frenzy as
the kirtan reached its climax and the Master
would pass into samdhi. Later when his
normal consciousness would come back, he
would remove the garlands and erase all
marks of sandal paste from his face. But he
could not do the same with such marks on his
feet because his sacred feet were already sur-
rendered to his devotees and no longer be-
longed to him. The Masters feet were dear-
est to the devotees and were treasured by
them in their heart; so how could the Master
deprive them of their beauty?
18

1 Ramchandra Keshab Dongre, Srimad
Bhagavat Rahasaya (Hindi), p. 439.
2 Ibid., p. 508.
3 Ramakrishna Kathamrita (Akhanda),
Ananda Publishers, p. 1053.
4 Swami Abhedananda, My Life Story, pp. 44-45.
5 Swami Chetanananda, God Lived With
Them, p. 80.
6 Chandrasekhar Chattopadhaya, Sri Sri Latu
Maharajer Smritikatha, (henceforth
SSLMS), pp. 57-58.
7 The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, Vol. II,
pp. 881-882.
8 Ramchandra Dutta, Paramhanser Jiban
Brittanta, (henceforth PJB), pp. 128-129.
9 Swami Gambhirananda, Sri Ramakrishna
Bhaktamalika, Vol. II (henceforth SRBM),
p. 317, and p. 324.
10 Swami Chetanananda, They Lived With
God, (henceforth TLWG), pp. 136-137.
11 Ibid., p. 197.
12 SRBM, pp. 488-489.
13 TLWG, pp. 145-146, p. 150.
14 Ibid., pp. 318-319, p. 321, and p. 324.
15 SRBM, pp. 260-261.
16 SSLMS, p. 61.
17 SRBM, p. 265.
18 PJB, p. 150.
REFERENCES
* Dr H. Mukherjee is a devotee associated with Ramakrishna Math, Nagpur. He is an ex-official of
the Ministry of Industry, Government of India.