The following incidents occurred in the life of Swami Brahmananda, one of the 16 monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Fondly called as “Maharaj” by others, he was a divine soul, who had attained to the highest state of spiritual realization (Nirvikalpa Samadhi, or complete union with God), just as his brother disciple, Swami Vivekananda had done.
One fascinating fact about Swami Brahmananda was that Sri Ramakrishna had revealed him, to have been a playmate of Lord Krishna and one of the shepherd boys of Brindavan, in a previous incarnation.
At the time of occurrence of the following incidents, Swami Brahmananda was visiting the holy region of Brindavan, accompanied by Swami Turiyananda, another direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna.
The year was 1893, and the two Swamis had just bid goodbye to their fellow monk Swami Vivekananda, who had set sail for his historic journey to the United States.
The Swamis arrived in Brindavan – which thousands of years ago, in the times of the Mahabharata, used to be a forest, where Lord Krishna played as a child. It has since transformed into a holy town.
After spending a few days in the holy city, the Swamis decided to retire to the shores of the Kusum Sarovar lake, situated some distance away from town. The lake being a sacred spot, sanctified in ancient times, by Mother Radha’s worship of Lord Krishna on its banks, the Swamis decided to meditate there.
The two monks settled down in huts, on the shores of the lake, and lived there for some months, immersed in God contemplation and cut-off from the outside world. It was during this time that two interesting events took place, which have been beautifully narrated in the book: The Eternal Companion – Life and Teachings of Swami Brahmananda (page 51-52). These are presented below:
Incident #1 – The Distressed Spirit Who Tried to Catch Swami Brahmananda’s Attention
For several nights in succession, as Swami Brahmananda (Maharaj) sat down to meditate, he was disturbed by peculiar noises and by the falling of pebbles and dust around him.
At length Maharaj saw a spirit standing before him. “Why are you disturbing me like this?” he asked.
The spirit answered that he had been trying to attract the Swami’s attention and begged Maharaj to liberate him from his pitiful condition. Maharaj replied that he did not know how to do this.
“You are a holy man,” the spirit told him. “If you will just pray for my release, I shall be liberated.” Maharaj did as he was asked.
Incident #2 – The Luminous Saint Who Prodded Swami Brahmananda to Meditate
During his stay at Lake Kusum another intriguing incident took place. Swami Brahmananda (Maharaj) had the habit of rising at midnight and spending the rest of the night in meditation.
One night, however, he felt tired and overslept. After a while, someone gave him a push and aroused him. At first he thought that this must be Swami Turiyananda. Then he saw a luminous figure, in the dress of a Vaishnava saint, standing beside him and counting his beads. After this the figure appeared almost, every night, at midnight, and joined him in his meditation.
Later, in describing this incident to his disciples, Maharaj remarked: “Many holy men, after leaving the physical body, live in subtle, spiritual bodies and help earnest spiritual aspirants in different ways.”
Note: If you ever decide to visit the Kusum Sarovar near Brindavan, here is a wonderful video of what one can expect to find at this enchanting spot.
More Posts in the “Ghosts” Series:
- Part 1: Conversation With Ghosts – Stories from the Life of Swami Vivekananda – An intriguing story from the life of Swami Vivekananda during which he conversed with the souls of people who had committed suicide.
- Part 2: Do Ghosts Exist or is Seeing Ghosts a Sign of Delusion? – Do ghosts really exist or was India’s great guru Swami Vivekananda, hallucinating when speaking to the spirits of those who had committed suicide?
- Part 3: Do Ghosts Exist? Swami Vivekananda Sheds More Light On This Mystery – A fascinating conversation in which Swami Vivekananda answers his disciple’s query: “Do ghosts exist? Have you ever seen spirits?”.
- Part 4: The Ghost Tamer Whom Swami Vivekananda Transformed With a Mere Touch – Swami Vivekananda transforms a man with occult powers over ghosts, into a spiritual person with a tremendous desire to see God.
- VIDEO: 5 Reasons Why Some People Become Ghosts After Death – How do we avoid getting trapped as a ghost after death? Thought-provoking lessons from the Rishis of Vedanta, who detail the correct manner in which we must live life, so as to avoid the “preta yoni” or the ghost state after death.
- VIDEO: Help! I’m Scared of Ghosts | Top 10 Questions About Ghosts Answered – Scared of ghosts? Afraid spirits lurking in the dark will hurt you? Overcome your fear of ghosts through a rational understanding of life after death.
- VIDEO: Reincarnation | MIND Accompanies the Soul After Death – It is a little known fact that the mind accompanies the soul after death. It is only because of this fact that it is possible for people to remember their past lives.
