According

luted Girish with folded hands. Girish followed the
Master to Balaram’s. There the Master said to him:
“The play is well written. Many people will derive
joy from it.” Girish replied: “Sir, I am an unworthy
person. I do not deserve such a compliment. Wherever
I sit, the earth becomes impure seven cubits
deep.” Immediately the Master entered into an ecstatic
state and sang this song:
If only I can pass away repeating Durga’s name,
How can you then, O Blessed One,
Withhold from me deliverance,
Wretched though I may be?
I may have stolen a drink of wine, or killed a
child unborn,
Or slain a woman or a cow,
Or even caused a brahmin’s death;
But, though it all be true,
Nothing of this can make me feel the least
uneasiness;
For through the power of your sweet name
My wretched soul may still aspire
Even to Brahmanhood.
‘Listening to this song, Girish felt consoled. The
Master blessed him. After that Girish would inquire
about when the Master was coming to Calcutta
and would wait for him at the homes of his hosts.
Gradually, his life began to change. One day, he and
his friend went to Dakshineswar by carriage. Both
were dead drunk. Holding onto the Master, Girish
began to sing: “O Lord, where is your sweetheart
Radha?” Later the Master said: “What faith Girish
has! It is so deep that it cannot be measured.”’
PB August 2009
• • •
‘It was not an accident that the Master went to the
theatre. It was so destined. It was an important
chapter of the avatara’s divine play. One of the epithets
of God is patitapavan, the saviour of souls.
This aspect of the Master was manifested there. God
goes to devotees, wherever they live. The magnet attracts
the needle, and again the needle attracts the
magnet. God knows what is in people’s minds. He
listens to the call of the devotees’ hearts. As parents
take back their wayward children, so God goes to
Girish and the Devotees of Sri Ramakrishna 51
his wanton devotees and brings them back to him.
‘At that time many people scorned the theatre because
courtesans would act in the plays. A member of
the Brahmo Samaj remarked: “When the actors and
actresses of the theatre began to visit Sri Ramakrishna,
we stopped visiting him.” The Brahmos behaved like
good boys. But God sees inside the devotees and pays
no attention to their outer behaviour. When the devotees
are in deep trouble, they call on God wholeheartedly.
Girish’s inner call reached the Master’s ear,
so the Master himself went to bring Girish back to
his fold. Can a father reject his own son?
‘Chaitanya Lila was Girish’s naivedya, an offering
of worship, and he reached God through
it. How much devotion he expressed in this play!
An ordinary person could not have written such a
drama. There are many playwrights, but how many
have such sincere devotion to God? In Girish’s writing
two important things are present: his literary
skill and his exuberant devotion. You won’t find
such high ideals in Shakespeare.
‘Girish was a heroic devotee. It is said that he
had practised severe austerities in his early life. He
would bathe in the Ganga every day, eat boiled rice
and ghee, and continually chant Shiva’s name. Like
an ascetic, he did not shave or cut his hair, and he
walked barefooted. He thought that he would see
God by practising these kinds of disciplines, but it
did not work out. Without God’s grace none can
see him. Attaining the Master’s grace was the last
chapter of Girish’s life.
‘Girish could not attain God by practising austerities.
When self-effort failed, he took the opposite
direction. He joined the theatre and began
acting and writing plays. In that environment he became
addicted to drinking and developed other bad
habits. It is said that he remarked: “If God Himself
comes to me as a guru and pulls me, only then will
I return to Him. Otherwise Girish will continue
to lead his wanton life.” As a heroic devotee, he did
not want to hide anything. He drank publicly and
paid no attention to others’ opinions. Through such
things one tries to prove one’s manliness, though in
a perverse way. Not many can act like this.
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