Nag Mahashay – His Humility Accomplished the Impossible

I was reading about Nag Mahashay, a householder devotee of Sri Ramakrishna in the book They Lived with God by Swami Chetanananda. When I read the various anecdotes from Nag Mahashay’s life, I was left spellbound. His life is the best example of an ideal householder as defined in the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna. The utter simplicity of Nag Mahashay and his deep sincerity to his chosen ideal brought out in those anecdotes made me understand that he should be branded as the finest ‘householder-sanyasin’ disciple of Sri Ramakrishna.

There is a belief among Hindus that those who bathe in the holy river Ganges during Ardhodaya Yoga (an auspicious day that comes once in 50 years) become free from impurities and ignorance and go to heaven. So, people throng to Calcutta which is located on the bank of Ganges for a bath on the auspicious day. But few days before the auspicious day, Nag Mahashay, who was living in Calcutta, left the city and went to his native village in Deobhog. When his father got furious and shouted, he humbly said, “If a man has true devotion, Mother Ganges reveals Herself in his house.” She indeed did. On the day of Ardhodaya Yoga, a stream of water started gushing from ground in the southeast corner of their courtyard. On seeing the stream, Nag Mahashay bowed to it reverently. Then he poured a little water on his head and prayed, “Victory to Mother Ganges! Mother, purify us.” Word of the mysterious stream spread throughout the village and on that auspicious day, devotees and villagers alike were blessed by bathing in it. Hearing of this episode, Swami Vivekananda commented later, “The wish of a great soul like Nag Mahashay can make the impossible possible.”

Even though Nag Mahashay was a householder, he lived like a sanyasin. He lived with wife and father but was totally unattached to them. Once he told his young wife, “Love on physical plane never lasts. Blessed is he who can love God heart and soul. Take refuge in the Divine Mother and think of Her alone. Your life will be blessed here and hereafter.” His wife Sharatkamini was herself like a nun – very pure, dedicated, and unselfish. She did not try to possess her husband, instead she simply considered herself as his co-pilgrim. She was happy to serve her husband, father-in-law, and later the many devotees who came to their house.

Regarding marriage, Nag Mahashay once said, “Marriage with the pure desire for progeny does not defile a man. But only saints and sages of yore were fit for such marriages. After observing austere brahmacharya [chastity] for many years, they would marry and then, having sons like Vyasa, Sukadeva, Sanaka, and Sanathkumara, they would finally retire to the forest to lead the life of a recluse. But it cannot be so in this Iron Age. Nowadays, people do not have sufficient austerity and self-control, so the children born out of lust become wicked and immoral.”

To Nag Mahashay, all women were veritable manifestations of the Divine Mother. Desire for wealth, progeny, name, and fame simply could not enter his mind. He once observed, “A man can overcome the temptation of gold and diamond through renunciation, but he needs the grace of God to overcome lust. Where there is lust, there is no God; and where God is, there is no lust. As long as your body is burned into ashes, do not be proud of your chastity. No one can escape Maya unless the Divine Mother allows one to pass.”

Without taking monastic vows, Nag Mahashay lived the life of a true monk. Let his life inspire us to pray to the Almighty to protect us from Maya and shield us from lustful temptations.

"Oh God, be always with me so that lust will never come near me."