Tirthram Goswami was getting more and more into religion and God as the time went by. His preoccupation with mathematics was being replaced by study of religious scriptures.
He would mostly be found reading Gita and Yoga Vashishta. The later book was devotional fancy of his spiritual guru Dhannaram. The mulling over the messages of those books had become obsession with him. He was churning the holy couplets and quartets in his mind to get the butter of their sublime meanings. Whatever conclusions he arrived at were sent to Dhannaram through letters for his comment or for information.
One of his letters reflects the direction of his thinking at that time. Quote—
‘Whatever happens in this world, good or bad is inspired by God. Whoever person is serving as his medium the actual doer of the act is God’s will. Our God is the one who gives us happiness or sorrows, tears or laughter etc. That is why man worships Him. Because through the pleased God man can control the entire creation.’
Every couplet of the holy books provided him thoughts he could ponder over for hours and hours. Now he was investing a good part of his earnings on buying holy books. He would always try to fathom the depth of the spiritual knowledge contained in them.
In one letter he had expressed his fascination for holy books and scriptures in the following words—
‘Whenever I see a book my mind gets enticed into buying it. When I read the price of a book it never seems costly to me because it contains a priceless treasure of knowledge that can immensely enrich me. So, in buying books the price is never a consideration for me. One who gets taken up by good book, holy company, prayers and devotional music he is blessed with the feeling of being the king of all the three realms.’
One day, the principal asked him, “Well Tirthram, what have you decided to do after you finish your studies?”
“I have made no definite plans, sir. But I would like to spend whole of my life in the service of God. That means social service to the needy humans because that is the best way to serve God. That way I can serve both, fellow human beings and God,” was his reply.
The reply surprised the principal. His most brilliant student had no career ambitions.
Tirthram was now spending most of his time in Godly meditation. It gave him boundless joy of sublime quality. He had come to believe firmly that the world and the universe were the creations of God, and was omnipresent force pervading through all things and living beings. He would ponder over this divine fact all the time.
Many people questioned this theory on several grounds. Tirthram would try to find answers to those questions. The letters he wrote during this period of his spiritual evolution carried his rationalisation of the common doubts.
He had seriously studied Tulsidas written ‘Ramcharita Manas’. He used to quote quartets from that epic often.
He also used to write verses and stories based on God. The stories carried his original style to present his own spiritual philosophy. These creations were testimony of his deep devotion to God. A latter written to Dhannaram dated 5th June, 1894 contains an interesting story—
‘Revered Guruji,
I write this story sitting on my table. In the morning some grains of sugar had got spilled on it. Ants converged to eat the sugar. The ants were savouring the same and peering at my pen that was writing. They began to talk about the letters and words the pen was writing.
A small ant said to other, ‘Folks! That pen is a miracle. Look, how it is making figures on the paper. I don’t know how. Its tip is dropping pearls that melt into strange shapes. It is full of wonders. It think the world also is its creation. We too are born out of it, I guess.’
Second ant spoke, ‘You are a child. You don’t know how it works. Let me tell you that it alone can do nothing. Three fingers are required to hold it and move it around to draw the figures. The fingers are the real wonders that operate it. Therefore we must admire the fingers, and not that pen thing.’
The third ant, a little more brighter than the two cut in, ‘You two are silly. Those fingers are nothing on their own. The real wonder is the hand those fingers are attached to. We must praise the marvel of that hand.’
An old ant revealed, ‘You also know nothing. Even that hand is nothing. It is merely a part of the body. The body deserves all the praise. You should marvel at that body the hand is a part of.’
After listening to their talk I could not keep quiet. I said to them—
‘Dear ants! Your thoughts are as tiny as your body is. This body will become useless when the life deserts it. The life is the sign of the presence of the soul in the body. So, the soul is the real thing. But there is one thing superior to the soul. It is God, the creator of all. We are merely his puppets. The flute can’t play tunes by itself. It needs a flute player to create melody. The sword can’t fight a war on its own. Someone is required to wield it. Similarly, Almighty God is the one who makes this world work. We must worship Him, admire Him and pray to Him. He will bless us with infinite power if we please him. His power can enable us to gain any victory.’
Tirthram loved this story of his and often quoted it in his discourses.
He passed the M.A. exam in mathematics with flying colours. He had already become a kind of celebrity. His admirers celebrated his success.
One day the Principal called him to his house and informed. “Tirthram, the high officials of Punbaj want to know the names of the bright students of our university for offering them employment in the administrative services. I want to recommend your name too. What do you say?”
“No, sir,” Tirthram shook his head adding, “I don’t want to do any job. Please don’t push my name. I want to serve the country and the society. Accepting a salaried job would be a selfish act. What happens to the knowledge I gained through hard work? I wish to put that knowledge to the good of the society. I will spread it with open heart.”
The principal tried to reason with him citing the realities of the practical life and the importance of financial security.
But Tirthram stood his ground firmly.
He said, “Sir, money matters don’t interest me and I don’t care about financial security. I don’t want to be a suited and booted 9-5 monkey. The British rule our country. I can’t take orders from them. God is the only one I will bow my head before. I owe my life to Him only and shall obey his orders dictated to my conscience.”
As a teacher he wanted to impart knowledge of mathematics to the students. For that purpose he opened a class in his house. His class could not attract enough students. He suffered financial hardships. But his countenance remained undisturbed and peaceful.
He wrote some verses during that period which show that he had tried to draw solace in the thoughts of God. We quote some of them as examples, which literally meant—
q ‘All the creatures trust God. He feeds every soul. He is the real well wisher.’
q ‘God can show mercy any time. The doors of his kindness are always open. A man must not panic in face of troubles. They should be faced boldly.’
q ‘No one is pauper or hungry in this world. Everyone’s mind is treasure trove of knowledge. One only needs to dig and use that treasure.’
Now Tirthram needed a job but not any administrative or clerical post. He wanted to teach mathematics which would keep his conscience clear. In this quest he went to several colleges without success. He started teaching some students in Lahore privately. That was his sole source of income. His family lived on that.
Meanwhile he had become a member of ‘Sanatan Dharma Sabha’ an organisation that propagated Vedic Hindu religion. Considering the devotional spirit of Tirthram the members of the Sabha elected him to serve as a minister. He served the organisation with rare dedication. Sabha organised classes on the religion and held examinations. He used to give discourses on various aspects of religion. He often had to spend money from his own pocket for Sabha works.
He used to go to villages often to further the works of Sabha where he would give speeches and sermons. His discourses were largely attended. Tirthram was master of several languages. He spoke Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Arabian and Persian fluently.
In the month of September, 1895 he got a teaching job in a Sialkot college. He shifted to that place. The job offered eighty rupees a month. It was a tidy sum during those days. But for Ramtirtha it was not enough. He would help out others because of his compassionate nature and run out of money too soon. He would feed the poor students and send money to relatives or acquaintances who were in bad need.
He loved buying books. But he was rarely left with any money to spend on his passion. That sometimes anguished him.
In 1896, he was appointed as the Superintendent of the hostel of Mission College Lahore. He was a very kind official. For him all the inmates were his younger brethren. If any student fell ill he would personally look after him and buy food, milk and medicines from his own pocket.
The same year he was promoted to the post of the lecturer of the college. He sent for his family to live with him. His wife had born him two sons. They were admitted to Dayananda School, one of the chain of D.A.V. schools and colleges.
He proved a popular mathematics teacher. His original teaching methods won the college several new students. But Tirthram was not satisfied. He wanted the education extended to common people.
So, he drew up a plan and got several books on mathematics published. The books were distributed free among the people. He even started a facility to give free education to the commoners.
Besides mathematics Tirthram used to provide to his students the guidance into the spiritual aspects of life.
Shopping Cart
