Swami Rakal Chandra Maharaj

Swami Rakal Chandra Maharaj

With Swami Rakal Chandra Paramahamsa, who lived near the Gaudia Math, Royapettah, in the late 80's and early 90's.

Swamiji in Nepal - at the foothills of the Himalayas

'The Riddle of a Yogi'

You can give nothing to ME

because you cannot give nothing to Me

I want nothing 

which you cannot give.

You can give me nothing

by giving nothing

which you cannot give.

You can give me nothing

by not giving nothing

which you cannot.

Swamiji, Myself & VS Venkataraman, at Royapettah

Swami Rakal Maharaj was a sadhu happy monk, star watcher, painter, boxer, philosopher, religious reader, artist, model maker, mountaineer, trekker, amateur astronomer, telescope maker, gardener, meditator, dog keeper, historian, traveler, fun lover and a humanist.

In Chandigarh

I had more than a decade long friendship with him which was scientifically and spiritually rewarding, giving vent to both the heart and the intellect.

A soft spoken kind hearted sadhu, he spent his time studying, teaching, sharing, relating, helping and enjoying his life. Soft heart but a hard man, I still remember that mighty punch of his fist on my right shoulder when he taught me a few boxing techniques.

Swamiji, a multi-faceted personality, whose mother tongue was Bengali, also spoke English, Hindi, Nepali and Burmese languages. He traveled throughout India to different places to meet different people, finally resting in West Bengal, his native state.

We wrote our experiences on 'Observational Astronomy,' and the event of the night tracking of "Comet Okasaki-Levy-Rudenko", in the then, in house magazine of the 'Tamilnadu Astronomy Association', (Regd. No. 331/1989), for amateur and professional astronomers, founded by the late Shri TV Venkataraman, IAS, in the premises of the BM Birla Planetarium, Chennai.

200 mm Akash Ganga Telescope 

We were the first people who made the most of this telescope. It was manufactured by Devadas Telescoptics, Guindy. Later, it was with Shri. T.V. Venkataraman, IAS., on his roof top at Indira Nagar where I used it mostly along with a few friends. Much later that telescope was donated to Swami Vivekananda College.

Swami use to call me Anand the 'spotter-plotter,' for my abilities in those days on visual hunting of Messier objects and Comets.

In Royapettah

I traveled with him to Coimbatore, Ooty, (where the Swami gave a 'Talk on Astronomy' to the Rotary Club members - staying at the JSS College premises as guest), Bangalore, and Kavalur Observatory (IIA), where we stayed with the permission of the then director of the observatory Dr Kajal Kumar Ghosh, Resident Scientist, who encouraged all amateur astronomers, inspiring them to do more serious work, than merely making much publicity. 

It was here in Kavalur outside the dormitory Swamiji woke me up early in the morning by 3 AM, leading me with my eves covered, only asking me to look above with wide opened eyes. Oh, it was a stunning sight when I saw the 'Sagittarius Milky Way' patch till Cygnus with all its curves and splits !! 

He said, don't say "wow." I was stuck with the 'beauty and immensity of the Cosmos' with its millions of background stars forming the Milky Way. Well, leaving beauty the next day we were discussing a lot on the construction of the cosmos and the forces operating in it to keep it as it is. That's Richard Feynman's way of dealing with beauty and science together.

Thanks to face book this is shared, so that people who knew the Swami would be able to like and share and relate and contact each other.

I was a founder member and later Joint Secretary of the association in its active days in the 90's. 

Tanastro, inspired many student amateur and professional astronomers, who had gone to various walks of life. I turned out to be a zoologist, doctor, dental surgeon and a Oral Medicine and Radiology specialist to have worked for several years as a Senior Lecturer and Reader, in Tagore Dental College and Hospitals, Chennai. There are many other elders and youngsters including seniors citizens, who still are in touch personally and through face book and watsapp groups, even though the activities of the association varies with time it still breathes itself propelled by astronomical events conducted at the Planetarium, in which some of the members do voluntary help and service.

Akash Ganga Observatory, Chandigarh

He was a mini Leonardo Da Vinci....

Observatory Plan

200 mm Cassegrain Reflector, Devadas Telescoptics - Sketched by the Swami !

Swamiji founded the "Akash Ganga Observatory" for Amateur Astronomers, near Chandigarh. People who came to him for a divine experience left him with a cosmic connection ! They had much love and regard for the many works which he did and for the person that he was. 

Swami inside the Akash Ganga Amateur Observatory

Finally, he said, he may die soon, this body will wither away soon, its all thought, Son !

In his later days at Chandigarh, the fun lover and a the active self that he was, 

he became so Silent, to my surprise, and

that quite bored me for I did a lot of talking !

He had a soft voice, a noble person himself - and he always addressed me, 

"My Dear Most Atma Ram," in all his letters.

telling me that I am a Noble Soul !

(These are memories of good old days, that are long gone !

- I am only sharing my 'Heart feelings' on these, and that is all my friends !)

Its all about, 'Yoga - Chitta - Vritti - Nirodah'

The Mind is the Jeevan Atma. Minus your mind you are not !

Minus your thoughts you are not aware of yourself. !

The brain records all your thoughts which are nothing but images / Chitra. The brain is the image recorder / Chitra Gupta.  These images are recorded as in a gramophone record. That is our memories / thoughts.  These images create impressions on our conscious mind. 

"Everything is Thought," he so often said tapping with his walking stick on the grounds in Chandigarh, when we went rounds, in the colony where he was staying before his last days in Bengal.

"Thought creates the thinker, of course, he said finally, nodding his head !"
Without thought we are in Samadhi.
And only in a coming back of thought, we are aware of our conscious self !
Otherwise, where is thought and what is consciousness ?

We are in a cul-de-sac.
Answer NOT my Friend.
Just Be.
Be the LOVE that YOU ARE.

HARI OM.

Many other interesting stories and events of my life, I would love to share with all my face book friends and others, later.

Dr V Anand 

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