Devi Mandir Co-Founder Translates Sacred Texts

~~OM~~

We asked Sushil dada to share with us more stories of his time with our beloved Swamiji. “You will not believe this”, Sushil dada said. “I don’t believe it myself. But I was there.”
“Yes, yes, what? What?” We ask breathlessly.
“Is Kolkata hot? The roads?” Sushil dada asked us.
“Yes, of course, most of the time.” We answered quickly.
“Swamiji used to walk there barefoot. All the time. How did He do this? I saw it. But I still can’t believe it.” Sushil dada said.
We asked: “What about you?”
Sushil dada said, “Oh, I had shoes. How could I walk in that heat without them? But not Swamiji. He was walking and walking. So many places, He always went walking. Without shoes.” He looked at Swamiji and said, “Is that not so?”
Swamiji was smiling and we asked Him, “Why did you do that, Swamiji?”
Swamiji answered; “Oh! It was a bother! Either the shoes got stolen or they broke. It was better without them. I didn’t have to worry about them.”
“Unbelievable!” Sushil dada voiced all our thoughts!

~~OM~~

We were sitting with Swamiji and Sushil dada. Sushil dada (Sushil Chowdhury) is the author of Sahib Sadhu and he spent most of his teenage years with Swamiji, in his own village Bakreswar where Swamiji did intense tapasya and travelling with Swamiji.

Sushil dada is an expert in Sanskrit and speaks English with the cutest Bengali accent and was joyfully telling us stories about Swamiji. He said that Swamiji would be locked in a little temple in Bakreswar and be chanting and doing puja continuously from dawn to dusk. Nobody could enter the temple as the door was locked from outside and Swamiji had the key inside. When Swamiji finished His practices he used to throw the key outside and they would open the door. Swamiji would have his only meal for the day – a humble fare of daal and rotis. In the evenings, Swamiji would share His knowledge with all those present.
Rolling his eyes in a sweet manner, Sushil dada asked us, “Do you know who was present then?”
“No Dada, please tell us.” Eagerly we asked.
“Farmers, Pachu and me.”
Swamiji laughed, “That was the satsang, a young Brahmin boy, Sushil, Pachu who worked in cremation grounds and some farmers and me.”
“Swamiji was a farmer with the farmers.” Sushil dada exclaimed. “They wore dhothis till their knees and Swamiji too. He spoke to them in a village dialect so they would understand. With them He was like them. They love Him.”

Today, we see Swamiji working with routers and computers and His classes are webcast to over 70 countries. Viewers across the United States watch His classes on community TV. He is as much at home with us in the western world as He is with the farmers in rural Bengal. He is able to talk to us in a way we understand. We love Him for all He is doing for our universe.