Devotee:
Gurudev, Pranam (Salutations).
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Pranam, son, Pranam.
Devotee:
You donāt seem very healthy.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, not really. I have fallen ill from being healthy.
Devotee:
I see. Well, speak slowly and gradually. Dear audience, as you can see, Gurudev is not feeling very well. I am making this video with him to learn something and share it with you all. Gurudev, could you tell us a little bit about the history of the origin of Tarapith? We donāt know much about it.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Oh, the history of Tarapith has many layers. I don't know which version is entirely correct. However, I know one thingāat that time, Bamaeb Baba wasn't there. Bamaeb Baba came much later, following in the footsteps of the elder Baba. Before that, it was a dense forestāso deep that sunlight could barely penetrate it. Thatās the kind of forest it was. And beside that forest, a river flowed named Dwaraka. This Dwaraka river has a unique quality. Just like the Kumbhaka breath-holding technique we practice, where energy rises from the bottom upāfrom the Muladhara chakra to the Sahasraraāthis river behaves similarly. It flows upward, against the typical nature of water.
Devotee:
The Dwaraka River.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, the Dwaraka River. It is as if it is constantly performing Kumbhaka. It moves from bottom to top, rather than flowing down. What is the usual nature of water?
Devotee:
To flow from top to bottom.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Exactly. But this is a north-flowing river. While most rivers flow from north to south, this one flows from south to north. We didn't know this at first, but later we realized it is a \"Kumbhaka\" river. Practicing Kumbhaka while sitting here is considered very beneficial.
Devotee:
Gurudev, is Dwaraka a river or a stream?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It is called a stream, the Dwaraka stream, not a river. In common parlance, people might use both terms, but it's technically a stream. Its specialty lies in its reverse flowāfrom south to north. This is quite unusual for water. We call it a \"Kumbhaka\" stream. Standing in this water while practicing Kumbhaka is said to lead to very quick spiritual fulfillment. Itās the best place for it. Right next to it was a pond, which was immense in those days. At that time, the Goddess (Ma) hadn't even been established there yet. There was just the large pond and nothing else. Then, a merchant named Jaydatta set out on a business voyage. Back then, the Dwaraka stream was much wider and navigable by boats, unlike the small stream it is today. Jaydatta was traveling with his goods and his son. In those days, merchants used boats to transport goods between countries. As Jaydatta was passing through that forest area, he suddenly had to stop.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He stopped because his son had fallen gravely ill. There were no doctors or medicine available in that dense forest. The boy was essentially on his deathbed. Meanwhile, the boatmen were preparing food. They weren't aware of the severity of the son's condition. They had gone to a nearby market where people sold various goods, including fish. They bought some fish, cleaned them, and went to the pond to wash them. That pond is now known as Jibat Kunda. It was said that the dead could come back to life there, though people didn't know it then. To their astonishment, the fish they had just cut and cleaned came back to life and swam away as soon as they touched the water.
Devotee:
Wow.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
They were stunned. They rushed to Jaydatta and told him what had happenedāhow the cut fish came alive in the pond. Upon hearing this, and seeing his son near death, the head boatman suggested bathing the boy in the Jibat Kunda pond. As soon as the boy was bathed in those waters, he was miraculously healed and became perfectly healthy. After this, they began preparing food again since the first batch of fish had escaped. That night, Jaydatta saw a visionānot a dream, but a real sight. A brilliant light was radiating from within the forest, where the cremation ground is now. He wondered who could be lighting such a powerful lamp in the middle of a wilderness. Back then, it wasn't a cremation ground yet; it was just a forest where people occasionally buried their dead. As he watched the light, the Goddess spoke to him. She told him, \"I am here. Establish me. Find a stone here and establish it.\" She told him she was the one who saved his son and asked for this in return. The next day, Jaydatta and his men went to the spot where the light had appeared. They dug into the ground and found a stone. Jaydatta established it there, offering incense and lamps. Later, it was revealed that this was Ma Tara. She appeared in dreams, saying, \"Establish me here; I am Ma Tara, the essence of the universe.\" Thereās another story involving the sage Basistha Dev, who was practicing austerities at Tarapith. He made a mistake in his chanting, and Ma Tara didn't appear to him. A voice from the sky told him to go to Kamakhya, get a specific stone, and then practice. He brought back the stone on which Ma is depicted breastfeeding Mahadeva. That stone is what she sits on today. In the temple, there isn't a full-bodied idol; there is a head. This head is locked away at night and brought out for ritual bathing during the day. Her jewelry is also kept in a locker.
Devotee:
When was the beautiful temple we see today established?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
It all began with Jaydatta, and over time, the temple was built and expanded. By the time of Bamaeb Baba, a temple already existed, though it was smaller then. Bamaeb Baba used to come there as a child with his father. His father would play the violin in the cremation ground, and the young Bamaeb would listen. He spent so much time there that he eventually chose to live in the cremation ground for the rest of his life. Even his relatives, like Kaliti and Ram, stayed there. When he was left alone after their deaths, it is said that Ma herself would provide for him. Thereās a story that once, driven by extreme hunger, he ate the food offerings meant for the Goddess. The priests were furious and beat him mercilessly, eventually throwing him near the Jibat Kunda. He was protected by dogs and a cobra. The dogs would bring him food they found, and the cobra would guard him. You can still see a brass cobra on his tomb today as a tribute. Ma Tara then appeared in a dream to the Queen of Natore and told her, \"I will not eat your offerings while my son is hungry.\" The Queen investigated, found out about Bamaeb Baba, and decreed that from then on, Bamaeb would be offered food first, followed by Ma Tara. This tradition continues today. Bamaeb Baba had a very intimate, playful relationship with the Goddess. There are even stories of him sleeping in her lap and urinating there, much to the anger of the priests. He would simply tell them, \"A son can urinate in his mother's lap; what is it to you?\" He didn't get his own settled place until he was 55, where he built a thatched hut with his own hands. That area is now his tomb. His life was full of such divine play.
Devotee:
This is fascinating, Gurudev. People could listen to these stories forever.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, his life was extraordinary. Thereās even a story about a fire starting because of his ganja pipe, and Ma protecting him from the angry villagers by hiding him in a tree. Talking about these divine acts feels almost like an audacity because words can hardly do them justice.
Devotee:
Your perspective is unique, Gurudev. I don't think anyone else could tell it quite like this. I'll end the video here as it's getting long. Thank you for sharing this with us. Stay well, everyone. Pranam, Gurudev.