The Monk whom I know
Those were days when I was totally stuck in life. Completely clueless. And I was not able to think on what to do next. But one thing that I have observed is whenever I have been in such kind of disturbing situation in the past, a stranger has always come in my life and gave me suggestions or guidance on how to move ahead.
Usually what happens during such situations is that we tend to rely on our School or College friends for advices but I was not interested because I never thought that they understood me well. My only choice was to wait for the stranger to come to my life. Several weeks passed and no one came. I lost my patience. I visited a prayer center late night and luckily there was no one and I pointed my fingers at the deity and raged, “Either you give me what I deserve or let me know what I am suppose to do”. The next day, a friend of mine visited me and said, “Nishant, I met someone a few hours back and I think you should also meet him. I have told him about you.” So, when he said that, there was some kind of a sparkle on his face. And on that very moment my mind said, “that’s the new stranger”.
A few days later I visited the new stranger with my friend. He was a Monk and all called him “Swamyji”. Swamyji told me, “Nishant, try to visit me every weekend if possible”. At first I had some kind of uneasiness considering that I didn't know what monks are all about. I started reading “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda” and as I finished reading it, I had a better picture about true monks. Because I spend that entire week reading the book, I did not bother to visit Swamyji. Instead I visited him the next sunday and he asked, “Why didn't you visit me last week?”. I replied, “I was reading a spiritual book”. And he replied, “My child! If you want to learn swimming, you need to dive into the pool. It is pointless to read the book on swimming to be a good swimmer”. And I laughed.
As visits continued he would give me suggestions and I was completely in peace. Once he said, “Nishant, whatever has happened till date is God’s will, try to focus on the future. Do you agree with my statement? If not, lets discuss. Move on, whats your take on this?”. So I replied, “Suppose I visited an astrologer and he claims that I would die very soon in a car accident”. So I abondon my car on that day and I decide to climb a hill where obviously no car would dare to come. And Swamyji replied, “It was God’s decision to push you to consult an astrologer. It was God’s decision for the astrologer to claim that you will die very soon in a car accident. And it was God’s decision that you opted to abandon your car and climb a cliff. Life is a Drama and God is its Director. All of us are his puppets, he alone decides. So relax.”
“Nishant, come alone if possible. Others need not have the same grasping capacity as much as you.”
“Nishant, never get married.” And I was so much relieved with that suggestion. When the whole world was asking me to get married and here was one person, and that too a monk who was asking me to refrain from getting married.
“Nishant, there is nothing such as Sin or Virtue, it is all Him”.
“Nishant, People will say a lot of things about me. But what matters is what you know about me.”
“Nishant, bandicoots like us will never be understood.”
“Nishant, never change your name. It is a good name with a solid meaning.”
When others visited Swamyji to seek advice for non spiritual matters, I would stay silent and observe him and see if I could change myself within to become a better personality. Swamyji always stressed that Spirituality is all about Personality Development.
Once a friend complained about me to Swamyji. And I dont know what exactly was the complain all about. But I got to know that my friend has told that, “Nishant is off-track now. We must do something.” And Swamyji replied, “Monks learn with experience, you need not bother about it.”
Once I asked Swamyji, “ Why is it that, just to teach me lessons, God has made me a nuisance for others”. And his epic reply was, “ It is in your destiny and it is in their fate.” And i laughed out loud.
When others were impressed with Swamyji for his personality, humour sense, perception, knowledge, philosophy and spirituality. I was mostly impressed for his discipline as he had a daily routine right from morning 3 till late night 12.
When others preferred to visit him and go, I wanted to stay with him and silently observe his walks and talks and duplicate them in my life .
“Nishant, a disciple has every right to question his master.”
“Nishant, all things are not meant to be told to all.” Swamyji conveyed this realizing that I was an open book and I would openly communicate any topic to any person whose mindset was not as similar as mine.
“Nishant, dont quit. This is Life, be a warrior. Fight it out, come what way.” When some people complained about me to Swamyji and he supported all the complaints made by them. And after they left, Swamyji told this to me.
“Nishant, it is very easy to end up in a fight with someone. Always maintain your calm and try to hold a healthy conversation.” This was told when I had a serious fight with my friend and there was a lot of blood in the scene.
It is said that “ a Saint can be a rascal but a rascal can never be a Saint”. But it is the other way around. “A rascal can be a Saint but a Saint can never be a rascal”. Here, I always say Swamyji is a skilled rascal converted to a Saint.
