Down Memory Lane

Panditji

At Calcutta I had heard of Panditji as an important visitor to the Ashram. Navajata spoke highly of him as a person of great siddhis and as one who had become very intimate with Mother. He was offered a seat in front of Mother ,a rare honour. He was a tantric yogi and spontaneously recognised the Divine Mother at the first sight. He had remarked that Mother was free from all samskara, that is, she was the Immaculate Divine.

I had heard before of a tantric from North Bihar who observed the traditional custom of not bowing before a non-Indian or a woman. But when he came to Pondicherry in course of a pilgrimage and went to the Mother, he prostrated himself before her spontaneously.

Navajata informed me that Panditji was highly qualified to be the Chief Priest of the Rameshwaram temple, but he had been denied the post by the local establishment. He said that Panditji wished to be the Chief Priest there and we should try for it. He added that Mother also wished him to be the Chief Priest and approved of his idea of taking my father's assistance in the matter. My father was a Member of the Parliament and one of his colleagues was a member of the Rameshwaram Temple Committee or otherwise connected with the Temple. I wondered why Panditji ,a man of such high spiritual attainments, should be anxious for a post, but did not express my feeling. My father took up the matter with his colleague whp was himself a learned and religious man. The subject was discussed a few times with some clarifications from Panditji through Navajata, but although Panditji's merits or suitability were not questioned, there was some scriptural injunction against a householder getting the appointment and that stood in the way.

During my visit to the Ashram, I went twice to see Panditji. He was a cordial and hospitable person always offering something to eat. He did puja everyday for long hours. I found him unassuming and witty in his talks.

Page 43

I saw Panditji's photo in Navajata's room and felt like having one for myself. Navajata said that he had kept the photo with Mother's approval; so I requested him to ask Mother about my wish. The next day, before he could ask Mother, I told him that I wished it no longer. There it ended.

The wife of a visiting friend was behaving crazily at times since quite long. Some malignant spirit seemed to take hold of her then. The Mother was requested to free her from the trouble. She advised them to go to Panditji. He did some puja and the trouble was over.

Panditji became known in the Ashram and among visiting friends of the Ashram who started going to him for help. Panditji is reported to have offered to establish a tantric chakra at the Ashram which would bring plenty of money, but Mother didn't approve. However, he was of assistance to Mother on the occult plane in some Ashram matters and also in relation to her health which was facing a crisis at that time.

Panditji was a Maharashtrian, settled at Rameshwaram, and his name was Neelkanth Mahadeo Joshi. His family members also came to Pondicherry for a visit. Mother sent him some money and Manoranjan, an Ashramite, was sent for the renovation of his house at Rameshwaram. Kameshwar, who did long puja regularly along with his Bureau Central work, also stayed at Rameshwaram sometimes.

Two other promising Ashramites used to go to Rameshwaram to see Panditji and stay there for some periods. They ostensibly went for spiritual progress and at Mother's instance. Unfortunately, according to what I have understood, they went for some occult powers out of ambition, fell into the usual trap of such things and, after the Mother's passing, lost control over themselves.

It has been reported that towards the end, Panditji regretted having given them powers. He had called one of them his civil force and the other his criminal force. He fell in the eyes of these two persons when they came to know of his dissatisfaction with them, and it became an irretrievable situation created by the vitalistic ambition, pride and revolt of the two.

Panditji continued to be of help to seekers of his discipline till he passed away in 1981.

Page 44