Devotee:
Friends, we welcome you to the YouTube channel guptasadhakshyamakhepa.com. We request you all to share, like, and subscribe to this channel. In this channel, we have already started presenting the valuable insights of Guptasadhak Syama Khepa regarding the Dasa Mahavidyas. We mentioned that in each episode, Gurudev would share his valuable words on different Mahavidyas individually. In the current episode, we will request Gurudev to speak about the second Mahavidya, which is Tara.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, Tara is the second among the Dasa Mahavidyas and the most attained Mahavidya. It is said, Kali, Tara, Mahavidya—these two are great sciences. Now, there are many stories and rumors about Tara; everyone is watching various episodes that are being released. There is nothing new to say, but why was she named Tara?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Taradvaye Bamonetam Tarakkha Tarini Para—this is the primary mantra or salutation to the Mother. The Mother's left eye is slightly squinted. For this reason, she has been given the title Tara. That is why it is said, Taradvaye Bamonetam Tarakkha Tarini Para. Mother received this title Tara because of her squinted left eye. You will notice both eyes are not equal; one eye—the left one—is squinted. That is why she is named Tara. We call the pupil of the eye Tara, and hence she is named so.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Now, many things are said about Mother Tara. First, there is the story of the merchant. A merchant's son was once traveling past that area with his father and others. Suddenly, right in front of Tarapith, inside that forest, they felt like cooking and eating. Not only that, while they were preparing to cook, after anchoring the boat by the shore, the boatmen all went to the market.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
In the meantime, the merchant's son became very ill, severely ill. There were no doctors or anything in that place back then. The merchant broke down in tears and didn't know what to do. At that time, the boatmen who had gone to the market returned with some fish, including a few shol fish. Anyway, they were busy cutting the fish and cooking.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
When they took the cut shol fish to the Jibat Kunda (the Pond of Life), the cut fish became alive and swam away. They were very surprised. They came and saw the son was ill, and the thought of cooking was forgotten. Then someone said, Well, we went to wash the fish, and two fish escaped. We've heard it's a Jibat Kunda—that is, if a person bathes there, even the dead come back to life.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Anyway, it then occurred to the merchant. He said, Quickly, let's go, take him and bathe him in the pond. After bathing in the pond, he became perfectly healthy. Then the merchant saw a divine light that said, I am here, install me. Today's Tara temple has been broken and rebuilt two or three times. It has been rebuilt several times; the temple you see now is the latest one. There were one or two temples there before, during the merchant's time.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Anyway, the merchant understood that the Mother resided there. He built the temple and installed the Mother. Then many years passed. Since it was Tara's domain (Tara Kshetra), many people used to gather here.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Once, Vashistha Muni also came to the shrine. The Mother appeared to him in a dream and said, I am in China (Chin Desh); bring me from China. Following Vashistha's word, he went to China. There he saw how Tara was worshipped—with meat and other things. He was repulsed and fled from there. Among them were the Buddhists; the Buddhists there used to serve the Mother. They said, Do not be angry; this is the custom of China (Chin Achara). Mother is worshipped through China's rituals. Mother eats this way.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Now, Ramprasad Sen had said in one of his songs: The Mags call her Tara, the Firingis (foreigners) call her God, the Mughals, Pathans, Syeds, and Ghazis call you Khoda. You are like a magician; I have known you, Tara.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Those who were sea pirates—pirates in China—would not set out to sea without worshipping Tara. And if they worshipped Tara and went, they would get plenty of plunder. That's why they used to call her Tara. Those pirates worshipped her as Tara because she would fill their hoards after they worshipped her. Seeing that situation there, Vashistha Muni told them, Do not do this; take the Mother and install her.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He thought about it a lot, though he had a feeling of repulsion. Anyway, he brought the Mother from there and installed her. But then another dream came. A stone (Shila)—the same stone you saw during the churning of the ocean when the nectar (Amrita) came out—the gods fled with the nectar, and the demons didn't get it. Then poison (Bisha) came out.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No one wanted to take that. Then Mahadev saw who would take this poison. He then drank the poison using a right-handed conch (Dakshinavarta Shankha). After drinking the poison, he became distressed by the venom. He became Nilkantha. Mother Tara saw him from above, and seeing Mahadev in such agony, she came and gave him her nectar—she nursed him. There is nectar in the breast; when a baby cries, the mother gives milk, and the baby stops crying. Since it was nectar, Mahadev became healthy after drinking it. This is a story.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That exists in the form of a stone (Shila). This stone is seen after 8:00 PM when the Mother is laid to rest; then the stone is worshipped. Bama Khepa Baba, my Gurudev, used to say that seeing the stone makes people go mad or blind. None of you should ever look at the stone. The stone that is shown now, I feel, is not the original one; it's a secondary stone. The original stone is probably somewhere in the inner sanctum where it is worshipped with eyes closed.
Devotee:
Gurudev, is this what is called the Brahma Shila?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
This is the Brahma Shila. This is the Brahma Shila. No one can look at this stone. If anyone touches it, they will go mad. If anyone sees it with their eyes, they will go blind. This happened in Bama Baba's time; one or two people who saw it became insane or blind. That's why Baba used to say, Never look at the stone. And the stone shown after 8:00 PM here is not the original stone; you can understand that since everyone is touching it. It cannot be the original stone or the Brahma Shila.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He—Vashistha—found it under a Shmul tree, which was cursed. The rule is that if someone does misdeeds at the Mother's door, ignores the Mother, or does bad things—like involving women, wine, etc.—then Mother turns them into a snake or a dog. And that tree was alive—a ghost-spirit. Bama Baba burnt it. Everyone saw it; the soul attained liberation. Baba burnt that Shmul tree. Under that Shmul tree, this black stone was found.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Vashistha took the stone and thought, The stone is installed, but who will protect and maintain it? I will leave in a few days. At that time, Bama Baba had not been born. So, Vashistha passed away. After he died, Bama Baba was born. Bama Baba was born on the day of Shivaratri, on the night of the new moon. We call him Maheshwara and recite this mantra: Om Bhagawate Bama Devaya Maheshwaraya Namah. You will see this written on Baba's tomb (Samadhi): Om Bhagawate Sri Bama Devaya Maheshwaraya Namah. Baba was Maheshwara himself. Although Chandrachur was there, since Baba was a Khepa (mad saint), he is the mad Bhairava lying at the Mother's feet. The mad Bhairava at Tara's feet is none other than Bama Khepa himself.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Later, Bama Khepa was born. When Bama Baba was worshipped, Vashistha's name was mentioned. It is said, Bama Devaya Vashisthaya Namah, because people of that time, those who knew the scriptures, believed that Vashistha himself was Bama Dev. Vashisthaya Bama Devaya Namah—Vashistha's name is always taken. The belief back then was that Vashistha was Bama Dev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Anyway, Bama had to endure a lot of hardship at Tarapith, a lot of hardship since childhood. And his father was Sarbananda; his father loved to sing Ramprasad's songs. He had a one-stringed instrument (Ektara). He would often come to Tarapith and sing. And Baba would insist, I will go, I will go. He wouldn't take him; he wouldn't take him to the cremation ground (Shmashan). But one day, he insisted so much that he had to be brought. That was Baba's initiation.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
After that, gradually, Baba did some small tasks at Tarapith. Then he went to Dabuk. There was a Kailashpati in Dabuk; he appointed him to weave garlands. But he wasn't satisfied with that. He used to call one Boro Ma (Elder Mother) and the other Choto Ma (Younger Mother). Tarapith was Boro Ma, and the other was Choto Ma. Bama Baba used to say, Should I go to Choto Ma or Boro Ma? Anyway, that Kailashpati of Dabuk saw Bama Baba once while he was alive and told him to weave garlands, but he didn't like it. After a few days, he returned from Dabuk to Tarapith.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Then there was another Brajabashi Kailashpati who was his Gurudev. He initiated him with the mantra and made him perform Tara's sadhana. He initiated him and had him practice Tara sadhana. Bama Baba practiced Tara sadhana in front of a corpse—placing a corpse in front of him. He was quite scared, but Mother Tara appeared to him then. And from then on, the relationship between Bama and Mother Tara became that of a son and mother. It grew gradually.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Just as he loved Mother, Mother also loved Bama Baba. They became one; their souls became one. Anyway, there are many legends; as you know, Baba had many divine powers, many powers. I don't want to say so much here. Anyway, then Mokshada-ananda came to teach him the Vedas. When Mokshada-ananda came from Kashi to teach Baba the Vedas, Baba didn't know much about reading or writing. He knew nothing at all. If he went somewhere and someone asked, What's written here, Baba? even the name Berhampore he couldn't read. Coming to Berhampore station, he would ask, What station is this, see, my boy? Like that.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
So that Vedic scholar taught him the Vedas. And Loken Kaka was a famous person of that time. There was also Chakravarty Saheb; there were many. Gradually, everyone became blessed by Baba. Everyone started coming to Baba to hear him speak. Everyone loved Baba; there's no doubt about that. Loken Kaka was one of them.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Now, many people ask me if Baba used to drink alcohol. I would say one thing: 150-200 years ago, there was a vast cremation ground there. In that cremation ground, Baba used to stay alone at night. So he might have drunk a little alcohol. Whether he drank alcohol or milk, we don't need to know. But this happened: when someone asked him, Are you drinking alcohol? he vomited and showed them he was drinking milk. This is a divine power (Vibhuti).
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He was fond of alcohol because staying alone at night in such a place was very difficult. You can see people there during the day now, but back then, there was nothing at Tarapith. The further you went into the cremation ground, it was all one vast cremation ground. On both sides of the Dwarka River, it was a cremation ground. Baba stayed there, so Baba might have drunk a little alcohol; I shouldn't say that, I apologize. What Baba drank, I don't know, I cannot say.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I've heard people say various things. Or there are things in books. Loken Kaka has also said some things, like Baba used to ask me for alcohol. Loken Kaka's house was a bit far from Baba's house. There was Kalu Baba; if alcohol was needed at night, he would give a can to Kalu. And Kalu would go and shout, Loken Baba, wake up! Baba wants alcohol! Okay, I'm coming, you go, I'm coming. So he used to give Baba alcohol. At night, during the day—he always gave Baba alcohol. Now, what he drank, I can't say, I shouldn't say.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
One story comes to mind. One day, two men decided to go to Tarapith to see Baba. Naturally, they were going after office. The office ended at 5:00 PM, and the train was at 5:30 PM—the coal train. So, they wondered what to take for Baba. They went to a shop and said, We are going to Tarapith, to Bama Baba; give us some alcohol and ganja. The shopkeeper said, For Baba? Baba? Here, take this good stuff, take this good stuff. He gave them the most expensive alcohol and ganja.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
When they arrived, they saw the train had left. They were disappointed. They had alcohol and ganja in their hands. The shopkeeper was very pleased that the alcohol and ganja were going to Baba; he was very happy. But suddenly, the train stopped after going a short distance. Seeing it stop, they started running. Anyhow, they reached and boarded a carriage. The train had left quite a bit but stood there for about half an hour. There might have been some reason. Anyway, when they reached Tarapith and said they wanted to see Bama Baba, Bama Baba said, Go, go, see who has come from Kolkata. They've brought my food, brought alcohol and ganja, go, go, see! Baba sent someone. And truly, two men came looking for Baba.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
They were told, Come, come, Baba is here. Baba asked, So, you saw how I stopped the train? This was one of his divine powers. He told them, The train had left, right? Did you see how I stopped the train? This is a real-life event. It's a true story; there's no mistake. Besides this, I don't need to tell you about his other powers. You see many things about Mother's shrine, Tarapith, on TV; there's no use saying so much. Baba was exactly Maheshwara, Bhole Maheshwara; he was a living Shiva.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Later, Nigamananda went there. After his wife died, he went and told Baba he wanted to see his wife through a planchette. Baba scolded him a lot, This doesn't happen, why are you doing this? Nonsense! He then initiated him. Later, he attained the status of Paramhansa; our 108 Nigamananda attained the title of Paramhansa. And that title was given at some Kumbha Mela. After that, Durga Prasanna Paramhansa took initiation from him.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
So we say Three Generations: Bama Baba, Nigamananda, and Durga Prasanna Paramhansa—these are the three generations we speak of. Anyway, that is also a big matter. Besides, many other great people came and took initiation. And he loved listening to Ramprasad's songs. And some from Ramprasad's generation also took initiation from him.
Devotee:
Gurudev, we are ending today's discussion here. We will learn more from you in detail. We heard about various subjects, about the devotee of Mother Tara whose name is inextricably linked with Mother Tara, and about your Gurudev Bama Baba. In the next episode, we will hear more about Mother Tara and her sadhana.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, so be it.