Sachidulal Babaji

The following is an extract from an unpublished work entitled, "A False Sense of Insecurity" by Pitambara dasa. In this extract Pitambara describes his first meeting with Sacidulal Baba. In a subsequent meeting Sacidulal Baba
gave Pitambara babaji vesa and siddha pranali
with ekadasa bhava for both vraja & navadvipa lila. 

On arriving in Navadvipa I bathed in the Ganges. I felt Mahaprabhu watching my every move. Despite attracting attention, being the only foreigner around, I felt I was home.
I found my way to Haribol Kutir and was surprised to find a small asram with one Bengali devotee living there. I expected a big asram with many devotees. 

This added to the marvel of Prabhuji [Premananda dasa from Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti in Mathura] mentioning the place. I was sent to another, nearby temple so I could speak to an English speaking devotee. I met Sri Visnu das Maharaja, who, immediately I could tell was waiting for me. He asked me questions pertaining to my visit, but deep down I could feel that he knew Prabhuji had sent me and that he was about to shelter me as a favor between devotees. He did. I told him I was a 'babaji' and had no money.

After a few days I found the author of the book who gave me directions to meet his guru, Sacidulal Babaji Maharaja, and the next day I set off on the two hour journey to his small temple in the forest. I expected only to bow my head and depart, I knew he couldn't speak English or Hindi. Krsna arranged some guy to lead me through the beautiful tropical forest, passed simple village homes to the temple which was definitely not traceable by the map I had. The small temple had deities of Gadadhara and Gaura.

Babaji Maharaja came out to greet me as if he had been awaiting my arrival. He bowed down to me and touched my feet. Not out of duty, or sarcasm, (as some do), but out of real humility. It felt like I had never witnessed humility till that point. This ninety seven year old saint, a realized soul on the highest platform of consciousness was bowing his head in honor because a devotee from Notts had shown up at his temple. It wasn't a show. I felt completely beautiful as he did it.

Not great, but beautiful. It was obvious that I was the nobody and he the great soul, but his greatness was such that he felt himself to be the nobody and he had me feel I was a great (beautiful) soul. I almost forget to offer my respects, I was in such a state of shock through admiration for him.

I fell in love with him. His eyes were like two pools of sweet, cooling water. His enthusiasm for life continuously obvious. I managed to relate through a Hindi/Bengali speaker that I had come to him because of a book written by Pandit, who he had not seen for two years. He was so happy. He burst into tears and peered with wonder towards his Lordships who were gazing at us from the altar.

I was left alone with him as he decided to write a letter to Pandit. I was happy just to watch him, to feel his mood, to relish his divine mannerisms.
Once he started to write the letter, he lost himself to anything else. He wrote one sentence and then went over it again and again, his pen bouncing over the words to the rhythm of the mood in which they were wrote. He changed the sentences again and again, completely transforming them into new sentences by the fourth change.

Then again he bounced his pen across the paper, giving a murmur to its rhythm. Even if it was only a shopping list, it merited the status of a song by the very manner in which it was composed. Reading over his words, he broke down in tears and glanced again towards Mahaprabhu in ecstatic disbelief. He sobbed openly in front of me, in front of his Lords, in front of anyone who was coming and going, in front of the world - he was like a naked baby, weeping without thought of controlling; no false ego.

Then back to the letter. I started to wonder if he would ever finish it. He was stoned. Crossing out text, adding more, bouncing the pen over the paper, humming the words to himself, sobbing, starting again from the beginning. Occasionally he would hold his hand up, gesturing that he will 'just be another minute.' Two and a half hours later he was pleased with his composition.

Then, on a fresh sheet of paper, he re-wrote the letter in beautiful hand-writing. That took another hour and half. After four hours, he noticed I was sat in front of him and looking at the clock became shocked at the time. He shouted over to an old lady who lived in a small shack next to his, and she carried pots of food to the temple room.
He was disgusted with himself for not having fed me. I had forgotten about food. The four hours watching him write seemed like four minutes.

He sat me down and placed a big plate in front of me and filled it with all the preparations from the dishes. Then he squatted in front of me and delightedly gestured that I should eat. I felt comfortable even though he was staring right at me. I ate a little subji and chappati and he immediately gave me extra subji and another chappati. I ate a pakora (fried ball) and again he reimbursed me with two more. I cracked up laughing. Was I ever going to finish this meal? My plate was becoming fuller as I ate. I laughed at the attention he gave to my eating, as if he himself was experiencing the pleasure of tasting the delicious food. I realized that he was relishing more than me.

He really wanted me to enjoy the meal to my full satisfaction. And I did. I had observed this mood of selflessness before when Maharaja [Haridas Sastri Maharaja] would sit me down and feed me sweets and pancakes and his own kichadi.

When you feel this love, you feel you have no duty to return any money or favor. Instead a natural desire comes to serve him. Not out of duty, but naturally. That is how love comes. By being with pure devotees and experiencing their love, naturally you desire to give them your love, then naturally you become like them. If you spend time in a pub, you come away smelling of beer and cigarettes. If you spend time in a beauty parlor, you come away smelling of perfume. Selfishness is swallowed by the selfless saint, therefore sadhu sanga is the most desirable attainment in spiritual life.

Pictures from Ram das baba - disciple of Sacidulal das Babaji
1. Sacidulal das Babaji at Hari bol kutir 
2. Gour-Gadai at Sacidulal das Babaji tempel and samadhi place in Teloniapara, served currently by Nitai, Babaji's son.
3. Haribol Kutir gate
4. Haribol Kutir altar

Sachidulal das Babaji Guru Parampara 

Sachidulal das Babaji 
SyamPriya Sakhi

Sri Sachinandan das Goswami
Sri ShyamPriya Sakhi

Sri Krishna Chaitanya das Goswami
Sri Kunja Vilasini Sakhi

Sri Hari das Goswami
Sri Hari Vallaba Sakhi

Sri Goloka das Goswami
Sri Govind Vallaba Sakhi

Sri Gopi das Goswami
Sri Gopi Sakhi

Sri Mukta Ram das Goswami
Sri Mani Priya Sakhi

Sri Sanatan das Goswami
Sri Sakhi Priya Sakhi

Sri Ram das Goswami
Sri Rathi Priya Sakhi

Sri Gopal das Goswami
Sri Rasa Villasini Sakhi

Sri Narasimha das Goswami
Sri Radha Priya Sakhi

Sri JagadNath Vaishnav Archarya
Sri Sri Telokini Sakhi

Sri Gadadhara Pandit Goswami
Sri Sri Radhika

Sri Krishna Chaitanya MahaPrabhu
Sri Sri Radha Krishna