The Enlightened - Trailanga Swami – Part 8
A Man of God who sees and realizes God in all creation has certain characteristics. He becomes like a child or a madman. He may be like an inert being or move around like ghoul. There is no more ‘I’ and it is all God. He knows all creation to be a manifestation of Divinity and that Divinity creates, sustains and destroys creation through the power of Dharma. He does not see himself as a doer but sees the Power of God in all happenings of life. He is an instrument of God and the breath of God flows through him creating beautiful music.
Trailinga Swami’s spiritual stature was so mighty that the people of his time revered him as Lord Shiva. He healed countless number of people and displayed many miracles. We have forgotten our Divine Nature, our Godly essence and the power within ourselves. We prefer to see other do miracles rather than understand the message of Trailinga Swami that all power is within us and we are the miracle makers – that we are God! It is far easier to believe in the supernatural rather than do sadhana and awaken our being and realize the inner strength that we all possess.
Trailinga Swami was visited by many saints including Sri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. Sri Ramakrishna observed Trailinga Swami and said that Lord Shiva had indeed come in the form of the great saint. He acknowledged the depth of knowledge and wisdom that Trailinga Swami possessed. These two great men of God did not speak in the language of man but communicated in the depths of divine silence. Sri Ramakrishna’s attitude to Trailinga Swami was one of utmost respect and reverence and Trailinga Swami was also very respectful towards Sri Ramakrishna.
Sri Ramakrishna asked Trailinga Swami if God was one or many. Trailinga Swami replied in sign language that in Samadhi of meditation, God is one. When we have a taste for world, God becomes many! Sri Ramakrishna wished to offer food to Trailinga Swami. So he offered the saint 25 pounds of sweet rice boiled in milk or milk pudding. Trailinga Swami ate the entire offering in one sitting without any ill effects.
Many wealthy visitors offered Trailinga Swami gold and jewels. They would decorate him with gold and gems and he would lose consciousness. Thieves would come and remove the jewels. It made no difference to him. Someone gave and someone else took it away. Once, a visiting King adorned the body of the saint with beautiful jewellery. Robbers took the jewellery away after some time. When they were caught and brought to Trailinga Swami, he dismissed the entire incident by saying: I am still the same, with or without the jewellery.
Trailinga Swami spent most of his life on the banks of the river Ganges in Benares. He lived his last years in the Pancha Ganga Ghat. He was served by a disciple called Mangal Bhatt. He lived in silence and worshipped the Kali and Shiva deities which he had himself carved. He wrote slokas of knowledge and wisdom in Sanskrit and gave advice to others in sign language. One day he announced that he would leave the world. He asked for a sandalwood coffin to be made. He asked that his dead body be put in it the coffin and then thrown into the Ganges. He entered into meditative samadhi and consciously exited from the body on the 11th day of the full moon. His body was placed in the sandalwood coffin and taken around Benaras and then lowered into the Ganges. The coffin sank to the bottom and after some time floated to the surface. When the lid was opened, the box was filled with flowers, and there was no sign of the body.
The tremendous sadhana and heights of spiritual stature attained by Trailinga Swami are inspiration for perseverance in our sadhana. His entire life is a series of messages of rising above human nature and revealing the concealed divinity within us. Let us draw inspiration from him and do our daily practices of SitaRam mantra japa, meditation and following the teachings of the Guru and be one with God
