END OF THE SOJOURN

1982

On New Year’s Day, MA went’ back to Vindhyachal. She was blissful and cheerful as ever despite her continuing poor state of health. Those, who kept her company experienced the same sense of bliss.

Spending a few days in solitude, MA moved to Allahabad on the 9th for the Kumbh Mela. The Mahants of the Nirvani Akhara took her next day in a huge procession to the fair ground where MA formally inaugurated the Khumb Mela. She was again taken in a procession to the confluence of .three rivers on the Makar Sankranti Day on the 14th. While all others took a holy dip, MA sprinkled a little water on herself and on others standing close by.

MA stayed at the Anandamayee Camp from January 10 to 25. There were streams of visitors, seeking her darshan, including the high and low, the distinguished and the commoner, and all were blessed by her despite her failing health. The Mahamanda­leshwars who came in their numbers, made respectful reference to her divinity in their speeches. Naradanand Swami of Naimisharanya declared ‘There is no differ­ence between God and Shree Anandamayee MA”. On the Mouni Amabasya day on the 25th, she was again taken in a procession to the confluence.

She reached Kashi via Vindhyachal four days later. Next day, after Saraswati Puja, she left for Naimisharanya.

After taking rest for three weeks, MA went to Kankhal for the Shivratri on February 22. Her health had improved considerably and she was active as usual. A foreign devotee, Brahmachary Gadadhar had passed away. Consoling the bereaved parents MA said “The soul is all pervading   the body is a tem­porary phenomenon. In fact, the body is dying every moment. The embryo in the mother’s womb dies in the infant, infancy dies in childhood, and childhood dies in early youth. The world is always on the move changing its position, but mankind misconceives itself as an isolated existence and ties itself in knots.”

She paid a visit on February 25 to the Ramkrishna Mission at Kankhal where Ramakrishna’s birth anniversary was being celebrated and then left for Delhi.

At the Kalkaji Ashram in Delhi, a medical centre was opened on the 26th by Indira Gandhi. The same day MA left for Vrindavan. A Bhagwat Week was observed there. In March, several distinguished visi­tors came for her darshan at Vrindavan. They includ­ed, the Governor of Uttar Pradesh, the centurion blind Sannyasi, Swami Gangeswaraiand, the former ruler of Jodhpur Jay Singh, Dr. Karan Singh and a Central Minister, Bhagwat Jha Azad.

Holi was celebrated with great enthusiasm with MA’s active participation. She went round and round the circular altar along with Kirtan singers, raising her arms in a divine mood. Her health seemed to have visibly improved. She spent hours with the devotees, asking about their welfare, answering their queries.

News came on the 15th of the passing-away of Swami Shashwatanand. at Kashi.

On 26th, MA left for Delhi on her way to Tripura. She reached the capital, Agartala, after nearly three and half days of arduous journey. An Ashram was being set up there by the Anandamayee Sangh. The land along with an old temple of Uma-Maheshwar had been donated by Maharaja Manikya Bahadur for the purpose and the local devotees had been waiting for about three years for MA’s arrival.

On March 31, MA entered the Ashram for its formal inauguration. Nearly 50 thousand people, who eagerly waited for her darshan, were blessed by her. The next day, she visited the temple at the royal palace at the special invitation of the Maharaja. The royal family accorded a fitting reception to her.

From Agartala, MA travelled to Dharmanagar and Bongaigon before returning to Calcutta. On April 10, she was back in Kankhal. She looked exhausted, needing immediate rest.

She gave darshan to devotees only from the window of her room. She kept herself confined even on Didima’s Sannyas Day, except for a brief ten min­utes’ presence at the function site. There was for­mal ceremony to open a new building by the Ganga, devoted to her by Sailen Ghosh and his wife, Ranu Ghosh, on the Akshay Tritia day. MA sat in a room there for an hour.

The birth anniversary of Adi Shankaracharya was celebrated at the Ashram on the 28th. MA was present for half-an-hour. The same night she left for Kanpur to attend an Ati Rudra Mahayagna at the in­vitation of the family of the late Padampat Singhania. MA came back after two days to Kankhal, where her birthday celebrations were held from May 3 to 11.

The first worship was done before her portrait in the hall. Later ‘Aarti’ was performed with MA seated in the verandah of her hut.

Raslila was performed in the mornings. Read­ings from scriptures and religious books continued during the day and holy men gave their sermons in the evenings. But MA hardly came, out of her hut, and mostly rested in her bed. The Tithi puja was done at her hut in the presence of just a few saints, holymen and devotees.

On May 17, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came for her darshan. The same day, MA moved to a se­cluded place near Raiwala for complete rest for about 10 days.

MA was back at Kankhal on May 27, but almost totally stopped her public engagements for about three weeks. On June 16 came Jagatgüru Shankaracharya of Sringeri Math in Sharda Peeth, along with over one hundred disciples and devotees. Despite her illness, MA came to the Ashram hall to receive the honoured guests. She spent some time everyday with them till their departure on the 18th.

A week later, MA moved to Kishenpur Ashram in Dehradun. Occasionally, she would give darshan to devotees or be present at a religious function.

The Shankaracharya of Sringeri Math made an earnest appeal to her on July 1 to get herself well from illness. MA in reply said, “Baba, this body does not suffer from any disease. It is being drawn towards the One who cannot be expressed. Whatever you notice is an action favouring that goal.”

While taking her leave the next day, the Shankaracharya invited her to grace the Durga Puja celebrations at Sringeri Math. MA told him “Baba, if this body survives till that time, then it is committed to be present at Kankhal this year.” When the request was repeated, MA told the Shankaracharya “The soul-form of ‘this body’ will always be with you.”

The same day, Sitaramdas Onkarnathji came to her from Kanyakumarika and repeatedly prayed to her to get well, emphasising that MA’s physical pres­ence was an urgent necessity for the well-being of the whole world.

But, her health deteriorated day by day. She found eating difficult since her return to Kankhal in April. For the past few days, she was unable to swallow any solid food; now any liquid food, even milk, was being rejected by her system. Yet, the physicians could not precisely diagnose her illness.

While in this state, MA suddenly decided to go for a change. On July 4, she moved to the Panchabati hut near Kalyanvan Ashram, to spend her time in peaceful solitude. Yet, there was no improvement in her physical condition. On the Guru Poornima Day on July 6, Brahmachari Bhaskaranand performed her worship in the verandah as MA lay in her bed. She herself restricted the darshan to once a week—half-an-hour every Sunday. Exclusive darshans had al­ready been completely stopped for quite some time. The queries and problems of devotees were routed through Brahmachan Bhaskaranand who conveyed MA’s blessings in appropriate cases. He could secure from her a rare message for the devotees on the occasion of Guru Poornima: “Be a seeker of your full identity - Sri Gurudev’s mercy (kripa) is ever with you.”

A number of devotees came for her darshan on July 11. Among them were Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, her sons and daughters-in-law and her grand­children. Indira Gandhi had rushed down from Delhi on hearing the illness of MA. For a few minutes MA sat up on the bed and spoke to her. This was the last time that MA sat up on her own to give darshan to anybody.

MA Yogashakti flew down from USA, having seen in her dreams that MA was not keeping well. Devo­tees from remote corners came to Dehradun to have just a glimpse of MA. Ma’s condition deteriorating day by day.

Her disciple wanted to know whether MA de­sired to go to Kankhal and she commented, “Will you be able to take ‘this body’ to Kankhal?”

In the night of July 23, MA told Mrs Khaitan, “Tomorrow morning ‘this body’ will move to Kishenpur Ashram”. On arrival at Kishenpur, next morning, she was seated in a chair kept in the courtyard to be taken straight to her room. On all earlier occasions, she would first go to the temples in the Ashram before retiring to her room. An exception had to be made for the first and last time.

MA never came out of her room in the first floor after this day. Only her lifeless body came out in the morning of August 28.

From the day of MA’s arrival at Kishenpur, devotees held religious functions almost uninterrupted, praying with all heart for her recovery. There were reading from the Ramayana, and observance of anni­versary of Didi’s (Gurupriya) Samadhi, Jhoolan, death anniversary of Bhaiji and Janmashtami, all marked by solemnity. As the midnight worship and kirtan were on to observe Janmashtami, MA lay on her bed, her looks far off. At times, she seemed to be closely watching and listening to all the events around.

Jap continued without break at the Ashram. Similar jap and prayers were being held in all the Ashrams everywhere. The Uttar Pradesh Governor C.P.N: Singh and Health Minister Lokpati Tripathi sent a team of top Vaids to treat her. Two of the team, the Principals of Government Ayurvedic Colleges at Pilibhit and Handwar stayed on at Dehradun but they felt helpless as MA would not accept any medicine. When the Punjab Governor, Dr. Chenna Reddy, came to see her on August 19, MA told him “Keep on coming here as always, treating this place as your own.” This seemed to carry the essence of her last message to all devotees.

B.K. Shah took the initiative to bring on August 23 the renowned physician, Dr. S.C. Seth of Nanavati Hospital, Bombay to examine MA. He had earlier examined MA at Kankhal and declared that there was no disease anywhere in her body. But this time, he declared MA’s condition to be critical.

Dr. Seth asked MA whether she was suffering from acute discomfort in her body. MA said, “None at all.” It was so true. It seemed that MA was just an onlooker, watching the discomforts of her body from outside.

That day, Swami Krishnanandji, Secretary of Divine Life Society of Rishikesh came with two others and Dr. Aruna Mudalkar to see her. Swamiji had long desired to worship MA as Radha on the Radhashtami day. He ultimately had his desire fulfilled on August 23, Rishi Panchami day, considered to be an even more auspicious occasion. He also performed the ‘Aarti’. This, as far. as is known, was the last worship offered to MA in her divine life-time.

The nausea and vomiting stopped four days before the end came, but the serious breathing trouble continued. At midnight on the 25th, MA told every­body around her :“Sit down, wherever you are”. All the ladies attending on her immediately obeyed. Towards the end of the night, MA uttered: Salutations to Shiva (Namoh Shivaya)”.

The next moming, she felt slightly better but the, breathing trouble increased in the evening, causing great anxiety. Two hours past midnight her condition became critical. The Vaids were called and they advised massaging. The whole of the next day the massaging continued to warm up her body and, it seemed to take effect. But the signs were ominous enough to cause deep worry in everybody’s mind.

Brahmachari Nirmalanand, who was standing. by helplessly asked, “MA, what would we live with?” MA replied thrice with emphasis “With God, with God, with God.”

She told Udasji “Increase your jap.” The at-tending ladies heard her uttering several times in a feeble voice, “Narayan Han”. These were the words last spoken by her.

At three thirty in the afternoon MA suddenly opened her eyes and looked in a full gaze for about a minute. At quarter to eight in the evening, she opened her eyes for a while to look upwards. The end came within minutes.

EPILOGUE

Kirtan singing was taken up immediately, which continued throughout the night. The Bhagwat Gita was also read out.

MA was dressed by the female Ash remits with a silk dhoti, and sandalwood marks (tilak) on her fore­head. She was looking beautiful, divinely resplendent, with no trace of illness in her body. Death ceased to exist there. One could only remember her immortal message: “Who goes where, or comes from where? Coming or going has no meaning to ‘this body’. What­ever was before, exists even now; Where is the ques­tion of life and death? Where is the scope for a doubt when one continues to live even after death?”

The District Magistrate of Dehradun and other officials rushed to the Ashram on hearing the news of MA’s passing away. It was, decided that the body would be carried •to Kankhal next morning. MA’s body was brought down to the courtyard and placed on a cot for everybody to have a last darshan. The cot was later placed inside a closed van with one side open. Start­ing at about 11 in the morning, the van reached Shankaracharya Chowk at Kankhal at quarter past one. Thousands lined the route to have a darshan and to pay homage.

Mahants of all the Akharas offered garlands to the body at the Chowk. The procession reached Kankhal Ashram at about two in the afternoon. The body was kept on a raised platform, within the enclo­sure in front of Shankaracharya temple inside the as­sembly hall, to all visitors to have a darshan.

The Kirtan singing continued till two in the after­noon next day. The last journey began to the court­yard of Sadhu Kutia. The body was kept in a sitting position. Scriptural rites had started earlier from three in the morning. Mahant Giridhani Narayan Puriji had bathed the body with five nectars (milk, curd, honey, ghee and Ganga water). She was attired in a new dress and placed on a new seat (Asana) on a new sheet of cloth. The Mahant and other saints performed the aarti.

A little after midday Indira Gandhi flew in from Delhi. Wreaths were offered on behalf of the Presi­dent and the Prime Minister of India.

At about one thirty, the body was raised high for everybody to have a final darshan. Saints and holy men then carried the body to the site selected for samadhi inside the Ashram. To the chanting from Vedas and Kirtan singing by ladies, the sacred body of MA was laid to rest inside the pit of the Samadhi made of marble stone.

MA’s words would ring in the ears of devotees forever; “Why make a distinction between life and death? What more can you say when one continues to exist even after death.”

EXCERPT-I

“Oh mother, it is our earnest prayer take off the curtains and reveal thyself to the humanity by your own power. Our mother is none else but Jagatdatri “incarnate”

EXCERPT-II

Maha Mukhopadhyay Gopinath Kaviraj,

“This is Ma Bhabatarini, the Bhairabi of Dakshineswar whom Thakur (Sri RarrtKnishna) used to worship”

Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath

EXCERPT-III

               Meanwhile Baba received the shocking news of the sudden passing away of Ma Anandamayee. He remained, completely silent for a day. He was rather restless and uncomfortable. Then slowly again he regained his usual form and observed: “Ma has gone to the Dressing room to have a change. She will return soon. She will be back in Bengal and in a Brahmin family. This time she will be coming with much more creative power. You will all see what a tremendous change for the better will come over in India.” -

Sri Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath

NEXT PICTURE