Khudiram Chatterjee was a resident of the village Kamarpukir which fell in Hugli district. It was the last quarter of the 19th century. The village was under the domination of a landlord named Ramananda Roy who was a very cruel and arrogant person. Tyrannising the farmers was his favourite pass-time. He was not a man of great wealth but he considered himself to be the richest man of the earth.
signs
Khudiram was a devotee of Lord Rama who was like the family deity. It was the centuries old tradition of the dynasty. Even devotee has some rule or a fad for added moral support. Khudiram was no exception. His rule was not to eat anything before pooja.
He was very strict about it. In appearance he was skinny but his body was tough and hardy. Khudiram was a tall man of cheerful disposer and was worldly wise.
Due to his friendly conduct he was a popular man in the village. The villagers had great respect for him. This respect was enhanced by his religiousness as most the villagers were God fearing. Infact for them Khudiram was a amateur holy man.
His first wife had died in the last decade of the 18th century. He remarried at the age of 24 years in 1799. The name of the second wife was Chandramani who came from Sarath Mayapur village. The family called her just ‘Chandra’. She was a very emotional type of woman who believed in the goodness of human beings and God. Chandra would rush to the help of anyone who was in trouble. It made her a popular figure.
But that was the age when child marriages were the custom. When Chandra was married to 24 year old Khudiram she was only eight years old, a kid really. The reader can imagine the disparity in practical sense from this age difference. Six years later she gave birth to a boy when she was only in her early teens. Her first son was named Ram Kumar naturally, being born in the family of Rama devotees.
Seven years later a girl child arrived. She was christened Katyayani.
The weeks, months and years went by. Sixteen years hence second son arrived who was named Rameshwara.
Then, something dreadful happened which changed the course of the life of Khudiram house hold. It was the year of 1814. The evil landlord picked up a quarrel with a person of the village. He plotted to entangle the poor person in a litigation. A frivolous case was filed against the person by the land lord who asked Khudiram to give a false evidence in the case.
On the day of the hearing of the case Khudiram went to the court.
His conscience was revolting against it. His heart wanted to speak out the truth. Khudiram knew that if he did not do the bidding of the landlord utter ruin will be his fate. Ramananda Roy would take terrible revenge as he had done to countless people. But telling a lie against a poor person would be a sinful act. It was a moral dilemma.
Inner debate went through his mind and eventually the conscience won.
Khudiram informed the landlord that he would not stand witness in the case for him.
It infuriated the arrogant fief. In revenge Ramananda Roy plotted and seized the property of Khudiram and auctioned it. Now Khudiram had no place to live in and nothing to live on.
The entire village sympathised with him and condemned the evil landlord for his unholy act. But no one dared to support his case openly against the might of the fief. Every one was scared of him to death. The terror was now more real after what had happened to Khudiram for defying the man.
The property included landed holding of 150 bighas. It was an ancestral legacy. Even in that tragic hour Khudiram did not lose faith in God.
He went to the Rama temple with his family. He bent down and put his forehead on the feet of Rama praying, “O Lord, now the responsibility of the care of my family is on you. We are leaving this village. Please protect us in this hour of trouble.”
He and his family left the village for good.
They went to a nearby village where one of his friends named Sukhlal Goswami lived. He was a very kind soul. They knew each other very well.
Khudiram revealed his tragedy to Sukhlal who was sad to hear the plight of his friend. He promised that he would help in whatever way possible.
He immediately vacated a part of his house and asked Khudiram family to settle in.
Sukhlal arranged for the essential provisions as well. Living together brought them closer. Sukhlal Goswami gave to his friend a piece or land measuring about 1½ bighas to till and make a living.
Thus, Khudiram settled in that village and lived with his family earning a living by farming on that loaned piece of land.
In the friend’s house Khudiram spent most of his time praying to Lord Rama. He had totally surrendered himself to the mercy of Lord Rama. In the devotion to Rama, Khudiram perhaps was finding great consolation for his sufferings and the grotesque injustice meted out to him by the system that was prevailing.
Khudiram was living Rama, eating Rama and sleeping Rama. In such a mindset once he had gone out of town. While returning he felt tired on his way and took rest under a tree.
He happened to fall asleep.
Khudiram saw a dream. The childhood version of Lord Rama stood before him pointing his baby finger at him and begging. ‘I stand here for so many days. I am hungry. Please take me home. I want to make you happy.’ In dream itself he felt overwhelmed and tears of joy sparkled in his eyes.
Then, he woke up.
He found that his eyes were really wet. The dream puzzled him. Was it some sign? And he sighted a cobra curled on a round black stone (such stones are religiously considered to be symbols of Lord Shiva and are called Shaligram) with his hood up. Snakes are related to Shiva who wears many of them on his body as adornments according to Hindu belief. After in a few moments the snake crept away.
Khudiram went to the spot and picked up the small rock and examined it. It turned out to be Raghuvirshila, rock of a kind that is related to Lord Rama according to the patterns on it. He brought the stone home as a holy sign and began to worship it devotedly.
Meanwhile the financial condition of the family improved. The family was no suffering any wants. The children were getting good care.
During that period Khudiram changed internally. He was now more content and peaceful. His faith in Rama and the devotion to him had taken deeper roots. He has become more religious and spiritually introvert.
Sometimes Khudiram felt that he was infact seeing God. Was it imaginations of a devotionally hyper-activated mind?
In the early mornings he would take bath and chant Gayatri mantra with such intense devotion that his chest would become glowing red like an amber. Tears would seep out of his closed eyes. His heart would be full of spiritual zeal and his face flushed with piety or sublime contentment.
In those moments Khudiram looked like a body charged with devotional current that radiated religious energy. The people would stare at him with wonder struck eyes with some awe. They grew great respect for Khudiram who was now like a holy figure. For the villagers he was as reverable as a saint.
Whenever he passed by the villagers bowed their heads to him or stood up to pay him respect. Whenever he was taking bath in the village pond others would wait for him to come out before going in for their own bath. Women, children and menfolk started going to Khudiram to seek his blessings.
He had fast emerged as a local saint in whom the people saw their own deliverance.
Khudiram’s wife Chandra was also being worshiped as the symbol of piety and kindness. Whenever some one was in trouble he naturally thought of Chandra to seek help from. She never failed to help out if it was possible and within her power.
Ramsheela was Khudiram’s sister. Her eldest son was named Ramachandra. Entire family appeared to be aesthetically oriented to Lord Rama.
Ramachandra was doing legal practice in Medinipur. He was earning good money. He used to send fifteen rupees a month to his uncle Khudiram. Fifteen rupees was a tidy sum during those days when a rupee could rent a house for a full month.
Six years had gone by since Khudiram took shelter in his friend’s house during which he had married of his daughter Katyayani to Kenaram Bandopadhyaya who was a resident of Kanoor village.
On Kenaram’s suggestion Khudiram had married his elder son Ram Kumar to the latter’s sister who was much junior to him.
Thus, life was going on satisfactorily for Khudiram. His son Ram Kumar had completed his study of Smriti Shastra on the strength of which he was now an earning member of the family. Very soon he took over the entire responsibility of the living of the family. Khudiram thanked God for it.
He could now go on the pilgrimages he always had dreamt of. On his first pilgrimage he visited several centres. Rameshwaram most impressed him.
His second son was born after his return from that pilgrimage. That is why he had christened him Rameshwara.
A few years later, he again felt like going on another pilgrimage. This time he decided to go to Bodh Gaya on foot. Accordingly he set out.
It took him several days to reach that pilgrim centre of Gaya.
Khudiram stayed there for one month. After a month he performed Shraddha, a ritual in the name of the departed ancestors as prescribed by scriptures. The ritual is performed to pay the debts of the ancestors. He put symbolic lumps (Pindas) at the feet of Lord Vishnu and wondered, “Has my prayer been answered by the lord God?”
He slept at night, perhaps hoping that God would throw some hint through a sign in his dream.
The scientists might call it delusionary dream projected by a hyper-activated mind.
He saw his ancestors in the divine form accepting his ritual offerings and blessing him.
He himself was paying obeisance to all the ancestors.
Then, he felt that the Vishnu temple had filled up with a divine light. His ancestors were paying obeisance to Lord Vishnu standing in a row and saying their prayers.
The divine Lord looked at Khudiram and said, with a smile, “Khudiram, I am pleased with your devotion. So, I will take birth as your son and serve you by giving you the pleasure a worthy one gives to his father.”
Then, Khudiram woke up.
He pondered over his dream that he still remembered in fine details clearly. He sat up and began to chant the name of Rama devotionally charged.
He was becoming sure that Lord Vishnu indeed wished to take incarnation as his child to grow into some great man and that in old age he would have the good fortune of seeing the face of a new son. He decided not to reveal his dream to others lest others should make fun of him as a crazy old fool.
He would wait for the child to arrive.
After a few more days he returned home from Gaya. Back home he found that his wife somehow looked a different person. It was amazing. Chandra, to him was appearing in the image of a goddess. He could feel the divine energy that enveloped her and made her glow relevantly.
Was it the sign of his dream coming true?
The lady herself was showing extra kindness to the needy and poor. She was spending most of her time in helping out and taking care of the poor and the abandoned. So much so that she was neglecting her usual domestic chores.
The household was getting stripped because Chandra had developed the habit of giving the domestic items away to the needy.
The other members of the family were a bit concerned. But Khudiram knew what was happening.
He was infact happy because it was the sign of divinity.
Chandra would serve food to her family. Then before sitting down to eat she would go around the neighbourhood to see if there was any who was hungry. If she found any such person she would bring him to her home and serve the food that was her share or the spare. Thus, many a time she went hungry but looked extremely content and full of happiness.
Chandra was especially kind to the kids of the neighbourhood. She loved to mother children. She never hid anything from her husband and confided to him all her feelings and works. A picture of piety she was in the traditional sense who always respected the feelings of her man.
She revealed to Khudiram everything that had happened back home during the period when her husband was away on the pilgrimage to Gaya. Khudiram was told as soon as he had returned from the pilgrimage of Gaya.
Chandra had told to Khudiram, ‘Master, when you were gone I saw a strange dream. A divine person was sleeping on my bed. I have never seen a handsome man like him in my life. He was a picture of manhood and the male beauty. It was dark in there. When I woke up I felt his presence by my side. It frightened me. I thought that some evil man had come into my room with an evil intention. But the man was making no objectionable move. Anyway I got up and lighted the lamp. To my surprise I found no one on the bed. I saw that the door was bolted from the inside. Everything was in its place. But I was feeling scared and utterly puzzled. I could not sleep the whole night. In the morning I sent for Dhani, the wife of the iron-smith. She came along with Saha, the sister of Dharamdas. I revealed to them my dream. That made both of them laugh. They thought that I was getting out my mind in my old age and that there was no need to panic. They advised not to tell about my dream to anyone or the villagers would start some new idiom on old women. They convinced me that it was merely a dream. I decided to keep my mouth shut about it.’
Then, Chandra revealed another episode to her husband, “One day I was standing with Dhani. We were looking at Shiva temple opposite our house. I thought a divine light flashed out of Shiva idol and it filled the temple. Then, I saw the light becoming a beam and coming towards me like a streak. I stood amazed pointing at the steak to Dhani. The light entered into my body and I fell down unconscious. Dhani sprinkled water on my face and revived me. Dhani was puzzled at my sudden passing out. She thought I was suffering from some disease related to stomach gas. But I thought that divine light had entered into me and was transforming into life form in my womb. I told about it to her. Dhani thought that I was crazy and rebuked me. She warned me against the dangerous gasios ailment of stomach she suspected I suffered from. Tell me do I look sick? Or has some divine force blessed me with the child? What do you think, master?”
Khudiram listened to his wife in a dazed state.
Every now and then he would recall the dream he had seen in Gaya. Their dreams were corroborating in a strange way, like two sides of the same coin. Now he was convinced that their dreams were divine signs.
He reassured his wife, “Dear, you are not sick. What you feel is indeed a divine blessing. If you see more such divine signs do tell me but never reveal them to Dhani or any other woman. Whatever Lord Shiva does will be to our benefit. Believe on me. I saw a dream in Gaya which told me that you would mother a divine child.”
Khudiram revealed to her his dream in a choked voice which was listened to by his agog wife. She fluttered her eyes in amazement all the while. The couple prayed to Lord Rama drenched in devotion.
Chandra was no more worried. All her misgivings had been driven away. The time passed. The days converted into weeks and the months. Four months went by. The woman of the neighbourhood noticed that Chandra was betraying a pregnancy bulge at the age of 45 years. They were shocked.
During that period life expectancy was short. Especially the women would become a bundle of wrinkles at the age beyond 35 years. Some women said that Chandra’s body was glowing unusually. For the jealous women it was an ugly sign which signalled her death at labour.
“The old hack deserves it,” they declared.
Meanwhile, Chandra was undergoing divine experiences. Her mind had become hyper-active like her husband’s. She was imagining things and getting mixed in respect of realities and the day dreams. She would imagine her body fizzing into a divine fragrance to fill the house. She would find herself talking to divine souls. Whatever Chandra saw and heard would be revealed to Khudiram which sent his religious spirits soaring high.
Then, they would advise each other not to go crazy over the matter.
One day Chandra looked scared and she revealed to her husband, “I am seeing gods and goddesses. Their images are getting imprinted on my mind. Some images I can’t place who they are. Only this afternoon I saw a figure coming towards me riding a swan. It frightened me. Then, I saw that his face was reddened by sunlight. It was as red as a winter carrot. Now I took pity on him. I told the swan rider divine person with red face to take shelter in my house and take some pulse soup which would cool him down. I had some left over of that. I asked him if I could bring it and serve to him. My request made the swan and the divine figure disappear. They came to me several times and disappeared like that. They come any time of the day. I don’t know what that means.”
One day Chandra suddenly spoke, “Am I sick? If I am not sick then perhaps I could be possessed by some spirit.”
Khudiram explained, “A divine person is growing up in your womb. It is his presence in you that is causing all your dreams or dreamlike realities. I am sure when he is born you will have no more such experiences.”
