| |
Although stories abound in the life of Ramprasad Sen, little exists that would satisfy a strict historian.
Ramprasad was a great Kali worshipper and is famous among all who worship the great Shakti. Wherever Kali is being worshipped, Ramprasad, her melodious mystic, is present through his songs. Countless times the great Indian saint and Kali devotee Sri Ramakrishna sat in the inner shrine of Dakshineswar before the image of Kali and sang Ramprasad's inspiring songs.
Ramprasad was born in a village named Halisahar (previously called Kamarhati) on the bank of the Ganges, about 34 miles north of Calcutta. He was probably born in 1723 to a Tantric Vaidya family that can be traced back many generations.
Ramprasad's father, Ramram Sen, was an eminent Ayurvedic physician and Sanskrit scholar. He had two wives. Ramram Sen's first wife, Kayayani, bore him one son by the name of Nidhiram, and his second wife, Sidheswari, gave birth to two daughters, Ambia and Bhavani, and two sons, Ramprasad and Viswanath.
Ramprasad was a precocious child. When young Ramprasad was sent to the local village school, he amazed everyone with his extraordinary capability for learning. Pleased with his intelligent son, Ramram Sen sent him to a Sanskrit school where Ramprasad learned Sanskrit grammar, literature, and Bengali poetry. He had a special talent for writing poetry and learning new languages. Ramram Sen encouraged his son to learn Persian and Urdu, the languages of the Muslim rulers, since he was convinced that it would help him find a job later on. Bengal at the time was under Muslim rule.
Although Ramprasad mastered both languages in a relatively short time and would have been ready to look for a job, he showed no interest in entering the family's traditional profession to become an Ayurvedic physician. Instead, during adolescence he exhibited spiritual inclinations which he expressed by writing poetry. As time passed, Ramprasad's otherworldliness caused great anxiety to his parents. In an attempt to instill a sense of worldly responsibility in the boy, Ramram Sen arranged his marriage to a beautiful young girl by the name of Sarvani. Ramprasad was then 22.
Soon after his marriage, Ramprasad's father died suddenly before he could make provisions for his family. He did not leave enough money or property for the family's maintenance. The family's burden fell upon Ramprasad's shoulders and, reluctantly, he left his seat of meditation to search for a job that would bring income. But it was difficult to find employment.
Finally, Ramprasad found work in Calcutta as an accounting clerk. He sincerely and carefully performed his duties but, every so often, he could not prevent his mind from trailing off and thinking of the Divine Mother Kali. At such times he would feel so overwhelmed by his own thoughts that he could not help but write down the passionate songs that freely poured out of the inner recesses of his heart. In lieu of better paper, he wrote these songs onto blank pages in the back of the account book.
When some of his fellow employees saw that he was writing songs into the account book, they complained to the manager. The manager ordered Ramprasad into his office. But when he opened the account book and read Ramprasad's soul-stirring songs to Ma Kali, he recognized the spiritual greatness of the strange accountant. The manager told Ramprasad to go home and devote all his time to worshipping the Divine Mother and compose his songs. He would continue to pay his monthly salary.
Ramprasad immersed himself in meditation and spiritual practice. Among other sadhanas, he was known for standing neck-deep in the Ganga, deeply absorbed in the thought of the Divine Mother and singing songs to Kali.
One day, the Maharaja Krishna Chandra of Nadia was traveling in his boat on the Ganges when he heard Ramprasad's enchanting song. The song delighted the Maharaja so much that he appointed Ramprasad to be his court poet in Krishnanagar. The Maharaja eventually granted Ramprasad thirty-three acres of rent-free land for the maintenance of his family. Ramprasad further immersed himself in spiritual practice and worship of the Divine Mother Kali.
In a garden near Ramprasad's house was a Panchavati grove where the five holy trees — banyan, bel, amalaki, ashoka and peepul — grew side by side. According to the Tantrics, this type of grove is an ideal place to practice Tantric sadhana. Ramprasad spent hours there, forgetful of the world and meditating on a Tantric seat of five skulls — the skull of a snake, a frog, a rabbit, a fox and a man — often fasting and lost in prayer.
In his songs, Ramprasad left us a record of his agony of longing for a vision of the Divine Mother Kali. His constant dialog with the Divine Mother sets an example of how one should approach her. How long can a mother stay away when her child cries as pitifully as Ramprasad in his songs?
Ramprasad had the first vision of Mother Kali in a garden near his house — most probably in the Panchavati. People noticed a transformation in Ramprasad but they did not know the cause. His body was said to glow and people began to be attracted to him in hordes.
Ramprasad and his wife Sarvani had four children. Ramprasad's mother was in charge of the daily household, and when she died, the family was left in great despair. Ramprasad's land did not yield adequate crops for want of supervision and portions of it were eroded and engulfed by the Ganges. The rent remained uncollected from the tenants, and the family's affairs were in a state of neglect. Yet, Ramprasad could not tear his mind away from the Divine Mother.
During this period, Ramprasad began to practice the severest kind of Tantric sadhana and went where most people are afraid to go. Ramprasad started to spend nights in a cremation ground and even sat on a corpse while meditating on the Divine Mother. His sincere devotion was rewarded and Ramprasad had a vision of the Adyashakti Mahamaya. She blessed him and his family. And after that, Ramprasad and his family always had all they needed though they never enjoyed affluence.
Ramprasad died at about age 80 on the morning following a Kali Puja as an image of Kali was being immersed in the water of the Ganges.
-- Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Ramprasad Sen - Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess
|
