Swami Adbhutananda

Swami Gautamananda

A senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order, Swami Gautamananda is at present the President of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. He is also a Trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and a member of the Governing Body of the Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math.

We are today (27 February 2002) celebrating the birthday of Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj formally because we are not sure when he was born. Latu Maharaj, as he was popularly known, was one of the outstanding disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. He hailed from a very poor family from Chapra district, Bihar. His name was 'Rakhtu Ram'. When his parents passed away in his childhood, Rakhtu Ram migrated to Kolkata with his paternal uncle. He was about fourteen or fifteen years old when he came to Kolkata.

Everything about Latu Maharaj is adbhuta (wonderful). I was recently in Varanasi Sevashrama (Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service) for their centenary. I went to see Latu Maharaj's room in the Ashrama. There were many things that were used by Latu Maharaj: his clothes, his chappal etc. When I asked, 'For what period did he stay here?' they said, 'He never stayed as an inmate, but we have a room for him.' He used to stay outside and then come to the ashrama so that devotees could meet him. He used that room as an office or reception. There is another room with a marble statue of Mahavir Hanuman. Latu Maharaj hailing from Bihar had great devotion for Rama, Sita and Hanuman. The statue was presented by someone in the name of Latu Maharaj and has been installed in the room below Latu Maharaj's room.

In Kolkata, Latu Maharaj was employed at Ramachandra Dutta's house as a servant. Ramachandra Dutta was an eminent doctor and was very much devoted to Sri Ramakrishna. Latu Maharaj's duties were to escort the women in his family to bazaar and other places, carry things and clean them. Even as a boy he was very honest. Some relative of his master suspected him and asked, 'How much money do you pilfer from what is given to you for the bazaar?' He retorted, 'I may be a servant, but I am not a thief.' The relative went and complained to Ramachandra Dutta who supported Latu.

He heard about the simple teachings of Sri Ramakrishna from Ramachandra Dutta, that God sees only the feelings of the devotee and not his position, that God reveals himself to the selfless people who yearn from their heart to see Him and shows mercy if one weeps in solitude. As soon as he heard these teachings he was ready for spiritual life. As Sri Ramakrishna often used to say, 'When you are ready for spiritual life any simple teaching will appeal to the heart and then teaching will be effective.' It is said that a prepared heart craves for the grace of God.

Latu Maharaj started spiritual life even before he met Sri Ramakrishna. During his leisure time he would lie down, cover himself with a bed sheet and weep. People thought he was weeping for his relatives in Chapra. But he was weeping for God and this was his sadhana.

He met Sri Ramakrishna sometime in 1879 or 1880, and thus became one of his earliest disciples. One Sunday, Latu requested Ramachandra Dutta who was going to meet Sri Ramakrishna to take him also with him. When they reached Dakshineswar, Sri Ramakrishna was not in the room. Ramachandra Dutta told Latu to wait in the western verandah facing the Ganges. Sri Ramakrishna had gone to the temple and was coming back. As soon as his eyes fell on Latu on the western verandah, he asked Ramachandra Dutta, 'Have you brought this boy here? Where did you get him? I see the signs of a saint in him, the symptoms that promise sainthood. Great realized souls that take birth, the nityasiddhas, are like hidden fountains which suddenly sprout out when digging for something.' As soon as he was touched by Sri Ramakrishna, Latu's hairs stood on end and he was in deep samadhi. Sri Ramakrishna then brought him down and said to Ramachandra Dutta, 'Please send this boy here now and then.'

During his second meeting Sri Ramakrishna asked Latu to go to the Vishnu temple and take prasad. In Dakshineswar there are a Kali temple and a Vishnu temple. But Latu said, 'No, Sir. I will take prasad from your plate itself.' To take prasad from guru's plate is considered very holy for the disciple. That day he took prasad from Sri Ramakrishna's plate itself and remained there hearing his wonderful words. He forgot to return to Kolkata until Sri Ramakrishna reminded him.

When Latu got more and more interest in spiritual life, he lost interest in his job. Sri Ramakrishna asked Ramachandra Dutta to send Latu to Dakshineswar for a few days. Latu stayed with him. But as Sri Ramakrishna was going away to his native place for about eight months, he asked Latu to retrun to Ramachandra Dutta during the period and to come back later. With a heavy heart Latu agreed. During his visit to Dakshineswar one day he had a vision of Sri Ramakrishna standing before him. He got up and prostrated at the feet of Sri Ramakrishna. After saluting him he lifted his head but could not see him. Then Latu realised that it was a divine vision. When Sri Ramakrishna returned to Dakshineswar after eight months, Latu went to stay with him there. One night while massaging the feet of Sri Ramakrishna, Latu went into deep bhava samadhi and came down only the next day. For the next three days also he was in an elevated state. He then went to Kolkata to bid farewell to his employer. That was in July 1881. Hriday who was helping Sri Ramakrishna in many ways had to leave and someone was needed to take his place. Sri Ramakrishna therefore asked Ramachandra Dutta to leave Latu with him permanently. Ramachandra Dutta accepted, and Latu became a full-fledged attendant of the Master.

Sri Ramakrishna told Latu, 'Keep your mind pure. Never allow the dirt to enter there.' Later Latu Maharaj used to say, 'You should not allow the dirt to enter. Dirt is the ego. When this ego comes it spoils everything.' He used to explain that people suffer in this world because of this ego. God has created everything. So He is there to take care. If we have faith in Him we do not worry about our families, institutions, society etc. People say, 'This is my family, my son, my relative, my wealth.' The whole root of suffering is this ego, so keep it away.'

One day Sri Ramakrishna asked him, 'Latu! Can you tell what your Ramji (God) is doing now?' Latu did not say anything. Sri Ramakrishna himself replied, 'Your Ramji is making elephants go through the eye of a needle.' Then Latu said, 'Yes, Sir. It is possible. Our Ramji can do everything.' Later when people asked him, 'How do you think that elephants could pass through the eye of a needle?' he said, 'What Sri Ramakrishna meant was God was passing the thoughts of the supreme Brahman into the brains of ours which are like the eye of the needle. That was what he meant.'

Latu once heard Sri Ramakrishna teaching Swami Yogananda to control his food. Latu then thought that he also should control eating. And he went on reducing his food until he became very weak. One day Sri Ramakrishna saw him emaciated and advised, 'You must keep your body fit so that you can do sadhana.' On another occasion Sri Ramakrishna advised him that anger was very bad and it should not be allowed to overtake him.

One day Sri Ramakrishna revealed himself to Latu, and showing himself, said, 'Latu! Never forget that this is God himself. I am the God you are searching for.' Sri Ramakrishna rarely said this to anybody. He told Narendra, 'He who was Rama, he who was Krishna is now Ramakrishna.' Latu was one of those lucky disciples. He was so absorbed in Sri Rama-krishna that even in his dream he would be aware where Sri Ramakrishna was. One day Sri Ramakrishna found Latu contemplating near the Ganges. Sri Ramakrishna had seen Holy Mother preparing chapatis for the devotees. Then he said, 'Look here, Latu, the one on whom you are meditating is now sweating over the flour.' (Evidently the Master meant Sarada Devi, whom he regarded as identical with the Divine Mother Kali. Latu had been meditating on Kali.) He then took Latu to the nahabat and said to Holy Mother, 'This boy is a pure soul. He will knead the flour and flatten the chapatis for you. Whenever you need any help, please ask him.' Thus Latu became an attendant of Holy Mother also.

Sri Ramakrishna used to instruct his disciples not to sleep away the whole night but to reduce sleep as much as possible and try to do spiritual practices. He once found Latu sleeping in the early part of the night, and admonished him saying, 'Night is not for sleeping away. You must think of God and meditate on Him in the nights.' Sri Ramakrishna used to tell this to other disciples also, but the effect on Latu was dramatic. From that day he took an oath that he would never sleep at night. He would take rest in the afternoon for an hour and half and the whole night he used to meditate, contemplate or sing the glory of the Lord. He was at one time very ill with pneumonia. He was too weak to get up. But he would insist that he should be helped to sit up in the evening. When reminded that the doctor had forbidden him to do so, he would show great resentment and say, 'What does the doctor know? It is his (the Master's) direction, and it must be done.'

In Dakshineswar there are twelve beautiful Shiva temples and twelve Shiva Lingas. One morning Latu went to one of the Shiva temples and was looking at the Shiva Linga. A light from the Shiva Linga enveloped him and he went into deep samadhi till the afternoon. Sri Ramakrishna brought him down and said, 'You will have many more visions like this.' Latu got a vision of Mother Kali also. Similarly, once he was in the place with bel trees (Beltola) where Sri Ramakrishna did spiritual sadhanas. He entered into such deep meditation that Sri Ramakrishna said, 'He has taken a new birth in spirituality today.' Another day he had an advaitic experience about which he later said, 'I experienced that which is beyond all experience. I experienced that sweetness which is beyond all sweetness.'

After the ceremony of sannyasa, Latu became Swami Adbhutananda, as Swamiji suggested. Because he was adbhut, the wonder of Sri Ramakrishna. An unlettered person became a knower of Brahman. We have never seen in the recorded spiritual history anyone like Swami Adbhutananda.

Latu would sit anywhere and go into samadhi. Once at night he found an anchored boat on the Ganges. Assuming that it would remain there the whole night, he got into that boat to meditate. But it was to go somewhere in the night itself. The boatman did not notice him and started rowing. They went several miles. Early morning Latu opened his eyes and found that he was far away from Kolkata. He asked the boatman to let him get down in some nearby landing place. The boatman brought him to the shore and he walked back to Kolkata. At another time he went into an empty wagon of a train and started meditating. The wagon was attached to an engine and it went several miles. Such was the tremendous power and charm of his meditation.

He once went on a pilgrimage to Jagannath. He prayed to Jagannath and asked for two boons. One was, 'Lord, please show me that beautiful form of yours which you showed to Chaitanya that made him shed profuse tears in ecstasy. What do I know of you? Please bestow your grace on me.' And the second was a strange one. He asked for good digestion! Why did he ask for good digestion? His answer was, 'Don't you understand? A monk lives on alms, and thus he must maintain his body on all kinds of food taken at irregular hours. If his digestion is not good, his health will break down, and then his spiritual practices will suffer a setback. That is why I asked for such a boon.'

Swamiji would lovingly address Latu Maharaj as 'Plato' distorting the name 'Leto' as pronounced by his Master, into that famous Greek name. This bears indirect testimony to the wisdom the latter had attained. Sometimes the happy relationship between Latu Maharaj and his brother-disciples would give rise to very enjoyable situations. Once in Kashmir, Swami Vivekananda, after visiting a temple, remarked that it was two or three thousand years old. At this Latu Maharaj questioned how he could come to such a strange conclusion. Swamiji was in a fix and replied, 'It is very difficult to explain the reasons for my conclusion to you. It would be possible if you had got modern education.' Latu Maharaj, instead of feeling abashed at this, said 'Well, such is your wisdom that you cannot enlighten an illiterate person like myself.' The reply threw all into roaring laughter. Sri Ramakrishna was the master of spiritual knowledge. He could teach the greatest pandits and also a child. Latu was putting the same challenge to Swamiji.

Latu heard that Ramachandra Dutta, his old master, was on death bed and went to see him. Although a brahmajnani at that time, he went remembering his old relationship that Ramachandra Dutta was his master. He served the erstwhile master day and night until he passed away. Great spiritual giants are humble like that. He was an unlettered man but all spiritual experiences were open to him. Many learned people used to come to him for instructions. Swami Adbhutananda has thus set examples even for Brahmajnanis to follow.