Gadadhar was now being called by his real name Ramakrishna as wished by his brother Ramkumar.
Gadadhar had a very pleasing personality. His face reflected politeness and sincerity. He could sweet talk the people and win their hearts. It was because of these qualities that he had become the great favourite of Madhurnath, the son-in-law of the queen Rasmani. He was very kind to Gadadhar and took extra care of him.
Gadadhar was living there as an volunteer assistant of his elder brother, Ramkumar. Madhurnath wanted to promote him to the position of the Assistant Priest of the Kaali temple. He talked about to Ramkumar. Ramkumar was aware of the caste views of his younger brother who still cooked his food outside the temple.
So, he politely informed Madhurnath that his brother would not accept the post because of his orthodox attitude.
Madhurnath was not a person to be so easily dissuaded. He decided to wait for the right moment to make his move.
Gadadhar had a cousin sister named Hemangini. Hriday Mukherjee was her son who had come to Dakshineshwara in search of a job. His meeting with Gadadhar was a happy experience. The two happened to be of the same age. They became close friends and began to live together.
Gadadhar was lately avoiding Madhurnath consciously because Ramkumar had tipped him that the latter wanted to give him the post of the assistant priest. For Gadadhar facing Madhuranth had become very embarrassing and he did his best to see to that he did not run into him.
Gadadhar would not give up his own faith and beliefs. He was a stickler. At the same time he did not want to embarrass others for his stand or beliefs. That is why he was evading Madhurnath. He did not want to utter any unpleasant words to a person who was so kind and considerate to him.
As time passed Gadadhar liked the place more and more. Dakshineshwara now felt his true home. He would not go to any other place for any reason. He wished to get firmly rooted to that place. But he decided not to meet Madhurnath until he had a change of heart and his thinking evolved on new lines.
One day Madhurnath went to Kaali temple to pay obeisance to the deity. Suddenly he happened to sight Gadadhar. A servant was sent to the latter asking him to see the visitor.
At that time Hriday Mukherjee was with Gadadhar who was trying to shy away from Madhurnath.
The servant said to Gadadhar, “Babuji wants to see you.”
Hridaynath cajoled, “Come on mamaji, Let us go to Madhurnathji. May be, it is something important.”
“There is nothing important. He wants to offer me the priest job,” Gadadhar whispered.
“So, what’s wrong with it? It goes in your favour. You will get settled nicely.”
“I don’t want to accept any service. Whoever accepts that post will be responsible for the safety of all the ornaments and the jewellery of Kaali Maa. That scares me. It is beyond my scope. If you want that post you can go and meet him. I don’t mind.” Gadadhar was making a lame excuse.
Hriday had come there just for a job. He accepted to give it a try.
Thus, Gadadhar took his nephew to Madhurnath.
As soon as he faced Madhurnath his view suddenly changed. May be during this long period subconsciously he had realised that he was following a wrong line. He accepted to be the assistant priest. At the same time he revealed the job problem of his nephew. Madhurnath solved this problem too. Hriday got appointed as assistant to the priests.
Gadadhar was appointed as the ‘Embellishment Priest.’ It happened in the year 1856.
Seeing his brother in regular service was a great relief to Ramkumar.
At the pooja hour the melodious prayer singing of Gadadhar would please every one as it filled the air with the fragrance of piety and devotion.
The people began to pay obeisance to him as well besides Kaali Maa.
Madhurnath would call him ‘Baba’.
A incident took place on the Janamashtami day. In the temple complex there was a Radhagovind temple also and Kshetranath was its priest. The temple idol fell off his hands accidentally. A leg of the idol had broken off. The priest himself was slightly injured. The fear of the ire of Madhurnath was giving him jitters.
A broken idol is considered unfit for worship according to Hindu Shastra. Madhurnath was in a fix. He called a meeting of the religious scholars to debate the issue. Some pundits said that the broken idol should be removed and a new idol installed with due process. But the broken idol was very dear to Madhurnath.
It was an artistic creation. The suggestion pained him.
He said, “I will seek the advice of Baba.”
In sad mood Madhurnath went to Baba alias Gadadhar and revealed his problem.
Gadadhar said, “Please don’t mind about what I say. Suppose a leg of one of the sons-in-law of Rani Rasmani gets broken. Then, what would she do? Would she throw away the broken legged husband of her daughter, and get her remarried? My guess is that the queen will get her son-in-law treated to mend the broken leg. Rest you are free to do as you deem fit.’’
The argument impressed Madhurnath.
Baba got the idol mended and it looked as good as before. No one could detect the joint.
Kshetranath was removed from the post of the temple priest. Gadadhar was given the free charge of that temple.
The service had lessened the financial problems of Ramkumar. But the attitude of Gadadhar was worrying him. He was not handling the job of the priest like a professional who confines himself to daily rituals. Gadadhar appeared to be evolving his own independent line of religious thinking as he was often seen in pondering mood like a philosopher. What was he mulling over, often Ramkumar wondered.
One day he suspected that Gadadhar could be missing the mother. So, he suggested to him to go to the village and meet the family. Ramkumar was wrong. His younger brother did not want to go home. Gadadhar appeared to be changing all the time. Ramkumar was unable to fathom the strange behaviour of his brother or line of his thoughts.
Madhurnath continued to be kind to Gadadhar who now was an independent priest of Radhagovind temple. It pleased Ramkumar. He wanted his brother to learn all the rites and the rituals of Kaali temple as well to be able to take over if he decided to retire or the death came.
Lately he had not been feeling well. If Gadadhar became the priest of Kaali temple he could take care of the financial needs of the family after Ramkumar’s death.
He started teaching Gadadhar all the details, procedures and intricacies of pooja and rituals. Gadadhar had a good memory. He easily learnt all the processes of different poojas and rites. Ramkumar handed over the pooja responsibilities of the Kaali temple to Gadadhar and himself shifted to Radhagovind temple.
For Gadadhar Kaali pooja without getting ordained through Shakti Diksha rite was improper. So, he contacted Kenar Bhattacharya who was a follower of Shakti. Kenar Bhattacharya taught him shakti worship. He was very impressed with the spirit of devotion of Gadadhar and blessed the latter with love and sincerity.
Now Ramkumar wanted to go to village. But before going he wanted to see Hriday appointed in his place. But he could not go due to failing health. He went to Shyamnagar in north Calcutta on some business or to consult a physician.
There Ramkumar suddenly passed away.
Madhurnath was the first to receive the news of his death. Gadadhar considered his eldest brother as his father. Ramkumar had taken care of him as father and brother. The news of his death plunged him in grief.
He wept like a child. His eyes refused to dry up. Madhurnath tried his best to console him. The death of the brother had wounded the heart of Gadadhar.
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