Sri Bhagavan - The Founder of International Vedanta Society
Early Life
Bhagavan, the core and founder of the International Vedanta Society, was born on the 3rd of January, 1942, to a family of landlords, in the village of Rahamatpur, Barishal District of current Bangladesh. Bhagavan’s family was one amongst the thousands of other Hindu families who had to forsake their lands and belongings to migrate westwards after the partition of India's east region into East Pakistan (subsequently Bengladesh). They moved to Talcher, Orissa in West Bengal, India where Bhagavan’s father, Sri Kanailal Chakroborty acquired a job as a school teacher. It was a serious struggle for their family to make ends meet but they managed to survive.
Kanailal was unique in that he possessed an unrelenting sense of integrity. When he worked as a school teacher and Bhagavan was one of his students, for example, Kanailal would purposely lower Bhagavan's test grades so that no-one would ever suspect favoritism. In another case, when Kanailal was nearing the end of his life and had to be transported from a nursing home to a hospital in Kolkata, he stuck to the truth by announcing to the hospital admission staff that he was coming from a nursing home. In those times in India, hospitals turned back anyone coming from nursing homes; so every other person coming from nursing homes lied about this fact in order to be admitted to the hospital. Kanailal did not, at the risk of his own life. This fearless adherence to truth became a deep part of Bhagavan's character.
Unlike most other cases, where extraordinary or miraculous occurrences early on in life become indicators of spiritual greatness, Bhagavan’s early life was otherwise extraordinarily simple. It was only in the little details that the signs of a future spiritual giant could be observed. Bhagavan was a quick learner, and anything he heard once would remain committed to his memory. Anything he did, big or small, he would give 100 per cent of his attention. His heart would always go out to others in distress despite the miseries and near-starvation of his own family. In one instance, Bhagavan, at the age of 10, served water to passengers at the local railway station who were tired and thirsty from the scorching summer heat. This was rarely observed amongst other children his age.
Bhagavan was never known to be a devout worshipper of any God, nor did he have any remarkable affinity for religious rituals. But to him, man alone was the highest of all Gods, and nothing beyond prevailed.
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| Bhagavan in His 30s |
In 1971, Bhagavan was tied in matrimony to his holy consort the revered Guruma, now the Sangha (community) leader of International Vedanta Society. In a few years, their daughter Debjani was born, who would go on to become one of the torchbearers of the movement started by her father.
Bhagavan worked in the Indian Railways. His cultural orientation also enabled him to work as a theatre actor and director. Eventually he established his own theatre group, which became well-known in the region and received acclaim from society and the media. It attracted audiences in the thousands.
Turn To Spirituality
Around this time, Bhagavan became deeply troubled with the hypocrisy he observed in people around him. People said one thing by did another. Bhagavan bore the pain of several acts of betrayal by friends and coworkers. These events, rather than causing Bhagavan to give in and compromise on his values, instead marked a turning point in his life. Bhagavan began to seriously contemplate - what was the meaning of life at all? If there was no truth in it, then what is the point of living? He did not want a pointless existence that was based on lies and deception.
It was in this lowest point of his life that Bhagavan came upon a poem of the saint Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) 'To an Early Violet'. This marked the beginning of Bhagavan’s spiritual journey that forever changed his life.
What though thy bed be frozen earth,
Thy cloak the chilling blast;
What though no mate to clear thy path,
Thy sky with gloom o'ercast -
What though of love itself doth fail,
Thy fragrance strewed in vain;
What though if bad o'er good prevail,
And vice o'er virtue reign -
Change not thy nature, gentle bloom,
Thou violet, sweet and pure,
But ever pour thy sweet perfume
Unasked, unstinted, sure!
Initiation and Guru
Bhagavan was so greatly inspired by Swami Vivekananda, that he plunged his whole soul into spirituality after this. He saw that spirituality is where truth can be found in this world. He became very devoted to the Swami's guru, the great Bengali saint Sri Ramakrishna, and took him as his personal ideal in life, constantly thinking of him and repeating his name.
Bhagavan began to search for a guru himself, and finally came upon the saint Swami Pavitrananda in Janai, near Kolkata, India. Swami Pavitrananda was the disciple of the saint Swami Krishnananda, who was in turn initiated by Holy Mother Sarada Devi, the disciple and holy consort of Sri Ramakrishna himself! A biography film of Swami Pavitrananda is available here on youtube.
Bhagavan began to learn spirituality from his guru Swami Pavitrananda but their face-to-face meetings were very few and far in between because Bhagavan worked far away in Guwahati, Assam while Swami Pavitrananda lived in Janai, West Bengal. So they corresponded mostly through written letters. Nevertheless, the distance proved not to be an obstacle in Bhagavan's case because he practiced eagerly and possessed a sharp intellect. Bhagavan immersed himself into the depths of these letters that contained the essence of the highest of philosophies, Advaita Vedanta (Non-Dualism). (The letters were later formed into a book called ‘Vedanta Sadhana’ by the International Vedanta Society, and further translated into English, under the name ‘Path To Realization').
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