Page 65 - Amrit Varta - Issue Feb. 2023 - English

Vol. 27, No.1, February 2023 MA ANANDAMAYEE AMRIT VARTA 53

the devotee on his head and helped him to board the bus in due time.
About ten years ago from now, I had to stay in bed for almost a month due to
my physical ailments. During that period, Swamiji used to cook and feed me
every day. That incident will be forever memorable in my life.
Once, while still engaged in his job, he went on a pilgrimage to the Himalayas
with two of his relatives. Being overwhelmed with joy after having darshan of
the Idol of Ma Kali in the Kali temple of Ma’s Uttarkashi Ashram, he had
informed his companions, “If I could ever worship this Idol of Ma Kali then my
life would be blessed.” This pious wish of Sushantji was fulfilled by Ma Kali in
the future. Afer retiring from his job Sushantji stayed in Haridwar for a few
days and then moved to Uttarkashi where he started living in the ‘Shankar Math’
adjacent to the Ma Kali Temple.
Sushantji’s elder brother Shri K.C. Gangopadhyay had taken shelter (diksha
initiation) under Shree Shree Ma Anandamayee several years ago. In the month
of April, 1982 he went to Kankhal Ashram to have Shree Shree Ma’s darshan.
And when he told Shree Shree Ma about his younger brother Sushantji, Ma
instructed that Sushant should immediately come and meet Ma in Kankhal. So
on Shree Shree Ma’s instructions Sushantji came to Kankhal near Ma. In fact,
this coming to Ma was forever.
On the pious day of Akshaya Tritiya, in the presence of Shree Shree Ma,
Swami Bhaskaranandji Maharaj gave him formal Brahmacharya diksha
(initiation). After that, as instructed by Shree Shree Ma, he took charge of the
Ma Kali Mandir at Ma’s Uttarkashi Ashram and performed all the services,
rituals and worships. Even during the chilly winter he single-handedly performed
all the services of the temple like washing the puja utensils, cooking bhog and
offering it at the right time, performing aarti, protecting the akhand-pradip
(constantly burning flame of a lamp) of the temple, etc.
Uttarkashi is the abode of many sadhus. In between his worships Sushantji
used to help them in various manners. He had even taken the responsibility of
delivering milk to their residences. He looked after their bank problems and
hence had to supervise about 25 of their bank-passbooks. For a few days he had
also served an old blind sadhu. He used to clean the sick person’s faeces, bathe
him, dress him, feed him and give him timely medicines, etc. He used to escort
another old man, a talented school-teacher (a musician), by holding his hand to
school on time and later drop him back home after the classes were over.
Devoid of ego, selflessly, as a service to God, Sushantji helped these
distressed people. It makes one wonder how he could manage to do all that.
Swamiji used to consider the poor (righteous-unrighteous, everyone) as an image