I will not get salvation until my last devotee attains salvation."-Swami Nigamananda Paramahansa Sri Sri Nigamananda Saraswati Dev was born to a virtuous Brahmin couple at Qutabpur in Nadia district (now in Bangladesh) in the year of 1879. His father, Sri Bhubanmohan
Bhattacharya, and mother, Srimati Yogindramohini Devi, named him Nalinikanta at the behest of their spiritual ‘guru’ Sri Bhask
arananda. Nalinikanta grew into a very lovely boy. His extraordinary qualities chiefly, integrity, righteousness, fearlessness, forthrightness, truthfulness and intelligence drew admiration from the people who came in contact with him. Leadership was natural to him. He endeared himself to everyone of his village with his gentle bearing and affability. To his mother he was a little darling, the apple of her eye. His father loved him dearly. Nalinikanta on his part was very much devoted to his parents. As the misfortune would have it, Yogindramohini Devi expired prematurely of a brief illness. At that time Nalinikanta was away at Radhakantapur staying with his aunts (mother’s sisters) and getting his lower secondary education. Before she breathed her last she had left a mysterious message for Nalinikanta, stating that she was passing away to the other world leaving him under the protective care of the Divine Mother. He heard about his mother’s death and the message she had left for him. He was extremely disconsolate and utterly miserable. He had absolutely no knowledge of the Divine Mother, except for a vision of the sudden flash of Her brilliant form in his early boyhood, which had frightened him greatly. All the same, he prayed to Her earnestly to appear before him, as he could not think of living without his mother. But even after repeated tearful prayers he could not have any vision of Her form, not even in his dream. At length, he lost all faith in the Divine Mother and regarded all religious rites and spiritual practices worthless activities. He hated sadhus and considered all Hindu scriptures as the product of
sheer imagination like the mythological stories he had heard, about the earthquake and the solar and lunar eclipses (Later on, however, he was disabused of this worn notion, when he came to study the authentic version of Hindu scriptures under his ‘guru’). The Turning Point The death of Yogindramohini Devi created a void in the household of Sri Bhubanmohan Bhattacharya. Hence he wanted to get his eldest son, Nalinikanta, married soon. According to the wish of his father, Nalinikanta got married to an exquisitely beautiful and highly intelligent girl named Sudhansubala at an early age of 17. Sudhansubala was merely 13 years old at that time. But
she was a precocious girl. She ably managed the household and soon filled the void created by the death of her mother-in-law. Nalinikanta and Sudhansubala were made for each other, one must say,considering their matching physical charm and inner beauty i.e. stainless character. A deep current of pure love for each other was flowing perennially in their hearts. The Bhattacharya household was overflowing with joy and happiness. The blissful conjugal life of Nalinikanta was frequently interrupted, as he had to leave home
for service at distant places very often. While he was working as the supervisor of the estate of Srimati Krishapramada Dasi at Narayanpur he was once required to give evidence in a land
settlement case. He was preparing papers late in the night to submit the following day. He was alone in the office room. Suddenly the light of the lantern on his table grew dim. He raised his head to find the cause. To his utter astonishment and dismay he saw the shadowy figure of Sudhansubala standing on the table, sullen and silent. Sudhansubala was supposed to be away at Qutabpur at that time and was not expected to be present at Narayanpur at all. Seeing her sad shadowy figure Nalinikanta raised a loud cry in horror. Thereupon, the apparition of Sudhansubala disappeared. Nalinikanta was greatly agitated in his mind and could not have a wink of sleep in the night. The next day he received a letter from his father that Sudhansubala was seriously ill. He became apprehensive of impending calamity. He rushed home post haste only to find that his dear Sudhansubala was no more in this world. She had left a meaningful message for Nalinikanta that he must not marry again and take recourse to spiritual practices under a Sadguru for attainment of transcendental state. He wondered how she could conceive of the transcendental state with her rural upbringing and mere elementary education. He further learnt that she had passed away just one and half-hours earlier to her appearance before him in her spiritual form. He reasoned out that she certainly existed after death. Later on, he happened to experience vividly the presence of his wife in her subtle form more than once in short intervals. Such events convinced him at length that there is life beyond death. His love for his wife was boundless. He was at first greatly shocked by her sudden demise. Soon the shock gave place to deep sorrow, sorrow to reasoning and reasoning to resolution. He solemnly resolved to get back his wife who was so dear to his heart, by tearing apart the eternal steel curtain that separates this gross living world from the subtle world and to achieve his end, he would leave no stone unturned. A strange and wonderful resolution indeed! Never before in the history of mankind any bereaved husband with such cool determination and boldness, being so much oblivious of the impossibility of the success, had made such a resolution. In Quest of Truth
Nalinikanta desperately wanted to know what death is, how to conquest it and establish a connection between both worlds. He came to know that the Theosophical Society could provide clues to the mystery of death and life beyond it. He immediately proceeded to its head quarters at Adyar in Madras (Chennai). There he learnt all the arts and sciences of Theosophy under Col. Alcott and was able to establish an audio communication with his deceased wife through a medium. But his feat could not satisfy him, in as much as, he could not have a direct talk with his wife, nor could he have a vision of her either. He came back with a heavy heart more disconsolate than before. Understanding from various sources that a true Sanyasi Sadhu (a spiritually person who renounced the worldly life; a Hindu saint) could lead him to his goal, he was fully stretched to find out such a Sadhu. Soon providentially he came across a widely renowned and highly meritorious Ta***ic Sadhu named Swamy Purnananda and opened his heart before him, praying for his help. Swamy Purnananda explained to Nalinikanta that all female beings are mere insignificant manifestations of ‘Mahamaya’ or the Divine Mother, and his wife was no exception. It was extremely unwise and ridiculous on his part to run after an insignificant part ignoring the whole. There were sure ways to have a direct vision of and communication with Mahamaya. If he could get Mahamaya, he would automatically get his wife and much more, in that, the whole always contains the part. His logic was irrefutable. Nalinikanta sought shelter under the feet of the Sadhu. Swamy Purnananda blessed him but declined to be his Guru (preceptor), saying that god had already ordained his Guru and he must find him out. The reassuring words of Swamy Purnananda kindled the hope of Nalinikanta. But with all his sincere efforts and earnest prayers to God, he could not find his Guru. Again he was overtaken by
despair. Nevertheless, he kept on pining for his Guru and continued his search. One night, a benignly majestic, Sadhu, with a raised heap of matted hair on his head appeared in the dream of Nalinikanta, the radiance aura of holiness about the Sadhu brightening up the surroundings. He spoke to Nalinikanta in a deep and soft voice, “Son! You are pining for me all the time. Here is the mantra for you. Saying so, he handed over to Nalinikanta a ‘vilwa’ leaf with a single lettered mantra written on it with vermilion. Nalinikanta received the mantra from him
under a hypnotic spell as it were. The thrilling experience woke him up. He found in his hand the ‘vilwa’ leaf bearing the mantra. When
he looked up to ask about how to utilize the mantra the Sadhu had already vanished. A mixed feeling of joy, wonder and disappointment seized him. He was unable to understand what the mantra implied and what to do with that. He traveled far and wide consulting renowned scholars and “sadhus”, but nobody could provide any clue to the
solution of his problem. At last he lost all hope and went to sleep in a solemn mood, deciding to put an end to his life by taking a deep plunge into the swift current of the sacred Ganges down from
Laxman Jhola, a rope bridge over the river at Rishikesh. In his dream there appeared a radiant old Brahmin of gentle bearing and pious looks, comforting Nalinikanta with his soothing touch and
pleasant voice. He urged Nalinikanta to meet Bamakshepa, the greatest ta***ic of the time, who was capable of solving the mystery of mantra and guiding him to success. According to his direction
Nalinikanta met Bamakshepa at Tarapeetha in the district of Veerbhum in Bengal where the latter used to live. Bama was extremely pleased to see the unique “Veeja Mantra” of Tara Devi received by Nalinikanta in his dream and readily accepted him as his disciple. Under the able guidance of Bama he attained marvelous success in a short period of one month. At the perfection of his “mantra japa” (muttering of incantation) he perceived with his own
eyes Mahashakti Tara appearing before him in person in the form of his wife Sudhansubala. She offered a boon. Nalinikanta prayed for Her favor of appearing before him in that form whenever he
would wish to see Her. She granted the boon and disappeared. Nalinikanta returned from Tarapeetha to his place highly elated at his outstanding spiritual achievement. But his feeling of fulfillment did not last long, for though Tara Devi used to appear before him in the form of Sudhansubala at his mere wish and indulged in talking and merry-making disappointing wonder that Tara Devi would materialize out of his person no sooner than he wanted to see Her but would melt away into it, whenever he would try to hold Her in his embrace. Recurrence of that highly tantalizing experience grew increasingly unbearable for young Nalinikanta who loathed seeing Her anymore. He began to wonder – “Who is this elusive Tara? She comes out of my person and disappears into it. Who am I then?” But he had no clue to the answer. He felt that the unique fruit of his elaborate ta***ic sadhana (practices) passed into nothingness, as it were. He was left with a consuming desire to know his self. He went to Bamakshepa again to get the right answer. Bama advised him to take recourse to “Sanyasa” (life of renunciation) under one of the spiritual orders (Sampradayas) founded by Sri Shankaracharya and attain the Vedantic truth under the guidance of a sanyasi guru of the right category after due initiation. Nalinikanta, set out again in search of Guru. After a prolonged and arduous search he once
chanced to attend a religious meeting where he observed that the majestic sadhu who had given him Tara mantra in his dream was delivering a lecture on Vedantic teachings to the people, eloquently,
and the entire audience was hearing him with rapt attention. Nalinikanta rushed through the audience packed into the place and fell unconscious at the feet of the sadhu. On regaining consciousness he narrated all that he had experienced in his dream about the sadhu earlier and implored for his mercy. At length, the sadhu took Nalinikanta to his ashram at Pushkar, a sacred pilgrimage at Rajasthan. The sadhu was none other than Paramahansa Srimat Swami Satchidananda Dev, the Rajguru of Kota state. Under him Nalinikanta had to undergo a strictly disciplined and arduous life. In due course he was initiated into Sanyas of Saraswati Sampradaya (spiritual order) by his Guru Satchidananda Dev, who named him Sri Nigamananda Saraswati Dev in consideration of his sound comprehension of the
underlying truth of the recondite ‘Nigama Shastra’, i.e. the Veda with facility. There upon, at the behest of Swamy Satchidananda, he visited Badrinath, Dwarka, Rameswara and Puri, the four
acknowledged dhamas (sacred places) which a sanyasi should visit to realize the underlying truths of the four ‘mahavakyas’ (the great sublime sayings) of the Vedanta. On realization of the four Vedantic
truths Nigamananda came back to his guru and expressed his desire to get a vision of the supreme being i.e. ultimate Truth intuitively. Satchidananda advised him to perfect ‘Yoga’ under a competent
‘Yogic Guru’ for fulfillment of his ambition. Again Nigamananda had to undertake an indefinite journey in search of a yogic guru. But before long he was led by providence, most dramatically, to the feet of his yogic guru named Sri Sumeru Dasji. Under the able guidance of Sumeru Dasji he attained the perfection of yoga in ‘Asamprajnata Samdhi’ in which he existed as the soul alone, transcending his gross body, mind and senses. Later on, he attained the perfection of Vedantic sadhana in ‘Nirbikalpa Samadhi’ in which he became one with the supreme soul, at once pervading the universe and transcending it. He came back from that blissful state with a feeling that he was no other than the universal guru i.e. the Supreme Being. He then found the most satisfactory answer to his query, “Who am I?” and was filled with a feeling of fulfillment. Life of Fulfillment
In that highly sublime and buoyant spirit he visited Kashi, the modern Banaras. Annapurna, the presiding goddess of Kashi, appeared in his vision when he was fast asleep in the night and told
him “Mind you, your knowledge is still incomplete. ‘Brahma’ the supreme soul, is at once transcendental and immanent, indifferently inert and playfully active in the universe. The former is
called ‘Para Brahma’ and the latter is ‘Abara Brahma’. Although you have sound knowledge of Para Brahma, you have no idea of Abara Brahma at all. The ‘Leela Jagata’ i.e. the world of playful
Brahma, is still unknown to you” and disappeared. Nigamananda woke up crest fallen. The feeling of being imperfect, in knowing Brahma in all its aspects, weighed on him. He recalled the words of Gouri Maa, a female sadhu of unique spiritual merit, to his guru Satchidananda, requesting to send the latter’s young disciple to her on attainment of ‘Nirbikalpa Samadhi’. Nigamananda met Gouri Maa at her ashram located in a peaceful and solitary
Himalayan valley of pristine beauty. Gouri Maa warmly welcomed him with pleasure and initiated him into the mysteries of Bhava Loka and the ways to attain ‘Bhava’ i.e. sweet relationship with the
god. A rosy new horizon of ‘Leela Jagata’ was unfolded before Nigamananda. He came back to the plains of India from the lap of Himalayas with a thrilling experience. Soon he attained ‘Bhava
Samadhi’ and enjoyed the bliss of God’s presence in every object and God’s playful role in every phenomenon of universe. The blossoming of a bud, the warbling of a bird or the lisping of a child
would often drive him into a state of ecstatic trance. He continued to stay in that state for six long months enjoying the company of his beloved God all the time within himself and outside. Thus Nigamananda became perfect in ‘Tantra’, ‘Jnana’, ‘Yoga’ and ‘Prema’ (bhava) all the four ways envisaged in the ‘Sanatana Dharma’ to reach the highest spiritual goal. In the year 1905
during the ‘Kumbha Mela’ at Allahabad, Swamy Satchidananada Saraswati dev conferred the title of ‘Paramahansa’ on Nigamananda in recognition of his spiritual merits in a large gathering of sadhus
under the auspices of the then Sankaracharya of ‘Sringeri Matha’ (a monastery at Sringeri in Mysore). Life of a Guru
Paramahansa Swamy Nigamananda Saraswati Dev stayed in blissful seclusion at Garo hills in Arunachal Pradesh for sometime. Soon he felt an irresistible urge within himself to share his
overflowing divine bliss with the suffering multitude. But coming down to human society he saw to his dismay that the luster of the western civilization had lured the minds of his country men away
from the traditional virtuous Indian way of life, thereby making them morally weak and incapable of appreciating the value of religion and spirituality. To check the vitiated trend prevailing in the society he addressed himself to the task of attracting the attention of the so called educated people (who professed to be the leaders of the society) to the merits of the Sanatana Dharma. In the first instance he wrote in simple language, in a lucid style five exceedingly spiritual books namely, (i) Brahmacharya Sadhana (ii) Yogi guru (iii) Jnani Guru (iv) Tantrika Guru (v) Premika Guru which contain the essence of all the scriptures of Sanatana Dharma. He established mathas and ashrams at several suitable places, the center being the ‘Assam-Bengal Saraswata Matha’ located at KokilaMukha in Assam. These institutions served and are still serving as spiritual asylums for the distressed souls, like large banyan trees serving as asylums for the wayfarers oppressed by the intense heat of the sun. He edited and published a monthly journal named ‘Arya Darpana’ which was widely acclaimed as a trend setting spiritual periodical, in that, it regularly provided explanations, clarifications and solutions of intricate, abstruse and dubious points of ‘Arya’ scriptures in a convincing manner. With a view to establishing universal brotherhood he set before himself three objectives namely (i) propagation of the Sanatana Dharma (eternal and universal religion affording worldly
happiness and spiritual bliss) (ii) dissemination of ‘Satshikya’ (right type of education that ensures integral development of human personality conducive to attainment of ultimate truth), and last but not the least, (iii) service to all living beings deeming it as service rendered to supreme being. In order to realize these objectives he enjoined on his devotees and disciples to (i) lead Adarsha Grihasta
Jeevana (ideally virtuous family life) (ii) ensure establishment of ‘Sangha Shakti’ (power of spiritual association) and (iii) have Bhava Binimaya (to commune with each other for mutual exchange of
spiritual ideas and thoughts, and mutual talks about individual experiences). He adjured his followers to strive to become ideal human beings in the first instance so as to reach the ultimate spiritual goal as a matter of course. In his opinion a liberated soul is the right person to serve mankind in the right manner. He looked forward to the dawn of the golden age of ancient ages (Rishi Yuga) and urged his followers to make sincere and concerted efforts through ‘sanghas’ towards the end. He assured them
that if they would carry on ‘sangha sadhana’ in the right spirit according to the principles laid down by him, divine assistance would not be lacking. He was the moving spirit of ‘sangha sadhana’. He
institutionalized ‘Bhakta Sammilani’ (the annual convention of devotees) and initiated his followers into ‘Jayaguru Mahamantra’ so that they would be able to commune together and derive strength to proceed along the rugged path of spirituality as well. These two are his signal contributions to the spiritual cause. He went on writing letters, incessantly, to his followers and admirers to satisfy their queries and to console them in their distress. He used to travel long distances even during illness, visiting his
devotees and disciples whenever they were in need of his personal guidance and assistance. The life of Guru Nigamananda was too busy, full of care and responsibility. However later on he left the
management of his institutions under the care of a Board of Trustees and spent the last twelve years of his life at Puri in dignified seclusion, subtly and silently contributing to the spiritual development of his followers. Conclusion
Paramahansa Swamy Sri Nigamananda Saraswati Dev was a great champion of the Sanatana Dharma and was exceedingly broad minded and liberal in respect of religion. He respected all
religions, which he regarded as only different paths meant for different persons to reach God. As such, he accepted several Christians and Muslims as his disciples without converting them to
Hinduism. The ‘Sangha Sadhana’ and the ‘Guru Vada’ (paying importance to the spiritual preceptor over all beings) of Buddhism; observance of right conduct, non violence and universal brotherhood of Jainism; justice of Islam; faith of Christianity; liberal attitude and respect for women as spiritual companions of Avadhuta Sampradaya (a spiritual order); importance of ideal family and path of devotion of Vaishnavism; all embracing monism (Advaita Vada) of Sri Sankaracharya and the ‘Bhava Sadhana’ culminating in the ‘Gopi Bhava’ (love shown by cowherd women to Krishna, the lord of the universe) of Sri Chaitanya Dev, all these found due acceptance in this concept of the ‘Sanatana Dharma’. There was a harmonious blending of highest enlightenment and universal love in Swamy Nigamananda. Rightly so his ideological as well as methodological slogan was ‘Shankarer Mata’
(the doctrine of Sri Sankaracharya that Absolute Brahma is the ultimate truth to be realized) and ‘Gowranger Patha’ (the path of devotion adopted by Sri Chaitanya Dev as the royal road to the
spiritual destination i.e. God). His teachings were direct, simple, lively and enlightening, being untrammeled by human stupidity and self will. His ideas were sound, sober, sublime and systematic, being based on perfect knowledge and profound love. His appearance was marked with divine splendor, serenity and sweetness. He was gentle but firm; kind but just; simple but sublime; exalted but respectful; unattached but caring; all powerful but ready to pardon; highly learned and eloquent but essentially reserved and reticent. He was an ascetic, but was living in royal luxury. His personality defied definite description. He always declined to be called an ‘avatara’ (incarnation of god) but insisted that he was rather a Sadguru (a man who has risen to the acme of spirituality and attained salvation during his life so as to become himself God in the form of a preceptor), having lost his identity as Nalinikanta in
Nigamananda at his initiation into ‘sanyas’ and his identity as, Nigamananda, in the supreme soul in the ‘Nirvikalpa Samadhi’. Rightly his followers defied him as their revered and beloved ‘Thakura’ and worshipped him as their guru and ista (the tutelary deity, the personal god) at the same time. Thakura Sri Sri Nigamananda Dev left his mortal frame and attained ‘Maha Nirvana’ (eternal union with Param Brahma i.e. the supreme soul) on 29th November, 1935 in Kolkata. But his holy presence is still felt and his reassuring voice is still heard in the hour of need by those who have
implicit faith in him. This vindicates the scriptural proclamation that Guru is immortal.
