Crowd (Chanting):
Bolo Hari! Haribol! Bolo Hari! Haribol! Amar bolo! Haribol!
Interviewer:
Gurudev, we are here at the Tarapeeth Mahashmashan (the great cremation ground).
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Exactly. Do you see that pyre up there? That is where I attained my Siddhi (spiritual enlightenment). My journey toward Siddhi began right there. Do you see that large pyre? That is my Siddhi.
Crowd (Chanting):
Bolo Hari! Haribol! Bolo Hari! Haribol!
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
In this cremation ground, I attained Siddhi. I found Baba (the Divine) right on top of that pyre. On a night of a terrible storm and rain, Baba appeared to me on that large pyre. This didn't happen today; it was many years ago. Back then, the condition of this place was much more desolate. Now, there are houses all around, but back then, there was nothing. There was only this palm tree. These three palm trees you see... they hold great significance. Three palm trees in a row. An old woman used to live right next to these palm trees. She had a small hut. I used to sit in that hut and perform my Japa (meditative chanting). Sometimes I would be on the pyre, and sometimes I would stay in that old woman's house. Everything has been torn down now; none of it remains.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Back then, the environment was beautiful. So many bodies were cremated—twenty or thirty a day. And the winters back then... the cold was bone-chilling. It was a terrifying cold. What we used to do was, after a body had finished burning, we would poke at the embers to draw out the fire and sit around it to perform our Japa. It was so cold that the surroundings would turn freezing. In that cold, we would sit on the pyre, and once the cremation was over, we would warm our hands and feet by that fire while continuing our Japa. Yes, the cold back then was intense.
Interviewer:
You stayed here for a long time. If you could tell us about the experience of that specific night...
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It wasn't just an experience. I had come during a specific lunar mansion—the Revati Nakshatra. It is a very significant star, the birth star of the Mother (Goddess Tara). I came and took my place on that pyre. Back then, occupying a pyre was a big deal; anyone could come and take it. I sat on that pyre at night. An elderly gentleman from Howrah, Janbazar, was with me. He told me just one thing: "Today, you will find what you seek from Baba. Today, you will not leave this pyre until you rise with it." So, I didn't leave. I sat there. After midnight, a massive storm and rain began. It was a terrifying storm. The whole area was flooded. The elderly gentleman said, "I am leaving now; you stay. I am old, and I cannot get drenched." I stayed there and got drenched all night. It rained for about two hours—storm, thunder, everything. I was just remembering the Mother. From where I sat, the spire of the Mother's temple was visible. You can't see it now because the trees have grown, but it was visible then. It was during that night, in that very spot, that I received the vision of Baba. Yes. Now, it remains a memory for me. I am old now and cannot come here as often. My heart always feels like staying right here—that there is no need to go anywhere else. Yes, that's right.
Interviewer:
Pronam (Salutations), Gurudev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Pronam, my son. Pronam.
Spiritual Insight
This intimate account of Gurudev's attainment of Siddhi reveals the raw, austere reality of true spiritual practice. Sitting on a cremation pyre through a terrifying storm on the night of Revati Nakshatra—the birth star of Mother Tara—Gurudev refused to leave until the Divine appeared. The bone-chilling cold, the burning pyres, the desolate environment, and the old woman's hut are all gone now, replaced by houses and trees. But the pyre where Siddhi was attained remains, marked by Gurudev's memory. His words "you will not leave this pyre until you rise with it" encapsulate the determination required for spiritual realization. Even now, his heart longs to stay there, for that is where the eternal truth was revealed amidst the transient flames.