Page 64 - Amrit Varta - Issue Feb. 2023 - English

52 MA ANANDAMAYEE AMRIT VARTA Vol. 27, No.1, February2023

Their early ancestors were pious and devout Brahmins from Dhaka-
Bikrampur (now in Bangladesh) and had later settled down in Ranchi. Swamiji
belonged to a joint family. Among the ancestors several were writers, artists,
poets and senior government officials. There were also a few self-sacrificing
sanyâsis. Full of happiness, prosperity and wealth, this extremely cordial and
pious joint family had greatly influenced his progress towards a spiritual life.
He was the second child of father (Late) Shri Paresh Chandra Gangopadhyay
and mother (Late) Smt Shobharani Devi.
He was born in Ranchi on the auspicious day of Baisakhi Buddha Purnima,
i.e. on 28th May, Monday, 1934. He was named Shri Sushant Kumar
Gangopadhyay, and nicknamed Bhanu. At the age of nine along with his elder
brother, he got Janaeu (sacred thread) after a proper ceremony. They were four
brothers and all of them daily performed three times a day, japa, worships and
other spiritual rituals and also kept fasting etc. Later almost all of his family
members took initiation (diksha) under Shree Shree Ma’s refuge. Sushantji
was a very talented student. He had a keen memory and always stood first in
class. He passed B.Sc. with distinction from a prestigious college in Ranchi
and joined the Auditor General’s office in 1957.
When his parents proposed his marriage, Sushantji pacified them soothingly.
He never agreed to get married. He worked in the Office of Controller and
Auditor General at Orissa, Delhi etc. He was also promoted to the higher post
of DAG. But mentally he was intensely renunciate. He had a strong attraction
for monastic life. So he applied for VRS and resigned from his job.
Selflessly, with divine knowledge, helping others with his body and funds
was as if Sushantji’s inherent sanskâr. He also helped several students of schools
and colleges in various different ways. This number increased many-fold while
earning and later in his ascetic life. During his stay in Delhi, he used to bring the
street orphans and blind beggars to his house, bathed them, clothed them, feed
them with his own hands and then again left them back in their previous places.
Here is an example of how he used to do these selfless services without
pride. At that time, he was in-charge of Ma’s Uttarkashi Ashram, and being an
aged sanyâsi he was also the president of the Sadhu Samâj. Once, a house-
holder devotee of Ma, after staying in the Uttarkashi Ashram for some time
wanted to return back urgently to his residence. The bus reservation was done
and he was supposed to leave very early in the morning. A porter was also fixed
in advance for carrying his big trunk and other luggage’s to the bus. But for
some reason the porter did not arrive. Since he had to leave urgently the worried
devotee started crying. Immediately Swamiji lifted the large and heavy trunk of