Devotee:
Pranam, Gurudev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Pranam.
Devotee:
Gurudev, I seek your permission for something. The person sitting next to you has been a long-time resident of this cremation ground. He performs the cremation rites here. We all know him as Robi Da.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He is Robi Dom.
Devotee:
Yes, that may be the term you use, but he is the one who performs the duties of a Dom (cremation worker).
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, that is the work they do.
Devotee:
He has been at this cremation ground for many years. He has many memories and has witnessed many incidents. With your permission, I would like to ask him a few questions.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Go ahead, let him speak.
Devotee:
Namaskar, Robi Da. Friends, the person you see on screen is the one I was just describing. Gurudev himself mentioned that he performs the last rites here. Robi Da, how do you feel about this work, from when you started until now? What have you seen, and what is your relationship with Gurudev?
Robi:
I have known Gurudev for a very long time. Gurudev initiated me right here at the Katarchulli (a specific spot in the cremation ground). Since I was initiated, I feel I have found a true Guru. By his grace and blessings, I am still here. Gurudev once told me, "No matter how many times you end up in the hospital, you will always return to me."
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
That is true.
Robi:
That was a great blessing for me. Back then, I used to see the wooden pyres at Katarchulli. I saw bodies being placed on the pyre and the rites being performed. Now, everything has become electric; the method is different. I don't see those things anymore. At that time, Gurudev used to sit near the burning pyre, and we would wander around nearby. Since the day he initiated me, I have regarded him as my supreme Gurudev.
Devotee:
We see you here twice a day, and you even stay at this temple. You must have many memories. Tell us about a specific incident that happened at this cremation ground.
Robi:
As I said, in the old days, we used five maunds of wood and eight coconut leaves. During the monsoon, we had to cremate bodies while clearing out rainwater. Those were difficult times.
Devotee:
You did this even during floods and heavy rain?
Robi:
Yes. Back then it was a wooden pyre, not electric like now. Nowadays, we just put the body on a trolley and push it in. But back then, we saw everything with our own eyes. We had to move the body with bamboo sticks to ensure it burned properly.
Devotee:
Let me ask you—before, you handled everything by hand and saw the process, but now the body goes into a furnace. Which did you find more "satisfying" or emotionally impactful in terms of the grief or the reality of death?
Robi:
I preferred the wooden pyres. Now, once the body goes inside, I can't see anything. I don't feel that same connection or observation of what is happening. Back then, we managed it all with our own hands.
Devotee:
Gurudev, tell us a bit more about your relationship with him.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He has been here since the day I first came to this cremation ground. He did the work of a Dom, burning the dead. On his shift, he would cremate four or five bodies, sometimes more. He has immense experience. Burning a body is a skill—you have to know which part to ignite first. Which part is it, Robi?
Robi:
The waist.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, the waist. Then the limbs would be adjusted. I’ve seen him cremate countless bodies. Robi, have you ever seen any ghosts or spirits?
Robi:
Yes, I have. I’ve seen them when I sleep at the Mother’s (Kali) temple. I see groups of people coming and going. I hear their sounds.
Devotee:
But the temple gates are locked at night. How can you tell people are moving around?
Robi:
I sleep with my head toward the Mother. I can see them passing by in groups through the sides.
Devotee:
Are they real people or something else?
Robi:
They aren't humans. They are the Mother’s followers (spirits).
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He has told me about this many times. I told him not to disturb them. Let them go their way; you stay in your place. He guards the Mother at night, sleeping right at her door.
Devotee:
So you consider them the Mother’s protectors?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He is the only one left from the old days. There were many Doms here, but they have all passed away. Only Robi remains.
Devotee:
Gurudev, we hear he often falls ill and you bring him back to health. How does that happen?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I told him, "No matter how many times you go to the hospital, you will return. Mother won't take you yet." He drinks quite a bit. From morning to night, he can't do without liquor. That is the way of the Doms. He has a weakness for it.
Devotee:
He ends up in the hospital every time?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, and I always told him he’d come back. The doctors even said his liver is "not available"—meaning it’s completely non-functional. They couldn't even find his liver on the scans. They gave a certificate saying "Liver is not available."
Devotee:
Friends, we know a human cannot survive without a liver, but Robi Da says the doctor wrote that. Perhaps it's a figure of speech regarding its condition.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He drinks heavily. Some days he can’t even speak or stand up.
Devotee:
They often say they need to drink to handle the nature of their work.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, it gives them courage. I told him that as long as I have power, or the Mother has power, he will return. He’s been hospitalized about five times. Anyone else would have died, but he keeps coming back. He’s been to Bangur, Subhasgram—all over.
Robi:
By Gurudev’s grace, I always return.
Devotee:
Are you healthy now?
Robi:
Yes, mostly.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He has no fixed spot. He just lies down anywhere in the cremation ground. We often have to go out and find him.
Devotee:
Robi Da, you are Gurudev’s disciple. What have you gained from him?
Robi:
I have his blessings and the Mother’s grace. That is enough for me.
Devotee:
What do you think of Gurudev?
Robi:
Gurudev has spent a long time sitting on the pyres here, chanting the Mother’s name. In the early days, people used to mock him and throw bricks at him. We saw it all. We would sit near him, but we couldn't stop them. People called him a fraud.
Devotee:
That was a long time ago. How many years has it been?
Robi:
Maybe 10 or 12 years?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, you’re wrong. I’ve been here for 30 years.
Devotee:
So, 30 years ago, people were harassing you while you meditated on the pyres?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes. This current building is only 12 years old. Katarchulli was much before this. Back then, there were just piles of ash everywhere.
Robi:
As I said, I’ve felt people entering even when the gates were locked. I could feel the movement around me.
Devotee:
Did a spirit ever try to attack you?
Robi:
There was one time a body sat up on the pyre. I had put five maunds of wood and eight coconut leaves on it. But not a single hair on that body burned. The wood turned to ash, but the body remained untouched. I added more wood, but still nothing happened.
Devotee:
The body wouldn't burn? What did you do?
Robi:
I took the body down. I realized there was a "root" or a thread (shikor) involved. I asked the man’s sons if their father had any specific mark on his body. They said he had a mark on his thigh. I saw it. The sons were terrified because they saw their father sit up and grab at the door. I was scared to go in at first, but finally, I went. I put thick grass around his neck, took him off the pyre, and cut that specific spot with a sickle. Blood squirted out just like from a slaughtered chicken. I tried to find the root after that, but it had vanished.
Devotee:
If you had found that root, what would have happened?
Robi:
It could have been used for other rituals or purposes.
Devotee:
Do such things really exist?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, it’s true. With such a root, even if you were struck with a sword, it wouldn't cut the skin. I was there; I saw it. This happened at the old Katarchulli before this building existed.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Have you told them about the crying baby?
Robi:
Yes. There used to be a staircase leading to the roof. Someone had abandoned a baby there once. At midnight, in the silence, I would hear a baby crying loudly. I would go to check, but as soon as I got there, no one was visible and the sound would stop.
Devotee:
A baby’s cry with no baby present? That is truly paranormal.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Many such things happened here. There is also a Shmashan Rakshak (Protector of the Cremation Ground) here. If an ordinary person saw him, they would die of fright. He has a massive, towering body. When we practiced Tantra, we were told to always keep a knife at our waist. We were told that if we encountered him, we had to shed a drop of blood on the ground to survive.
Devotee:
So Gurudev, you have seen him?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes.
Robi:
Yes, back when Gurudev used to sit here. There was a shed near the Mother’s temple where we did the cremations.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
There was a small room where I used to meditate while the bodies burned outside.
Robi:
Yes, Gurudev sat right on the pyre area and did his practice. He’s been here 30 or 35 years.
Devotee:
Do still do this work?
Robi:
Yes. But it’s electric now, so it’s much easier. We don’t have to use bamboo sticks to move the bodies anymore. We just put it in the furnace. There’s a small viewing hole at the back where we can check the progress. A bell rings when the process is finished.
Devotee:
You sleep in the temple every night and hear footsteps. Aren't you afraid?
Robi:
Not really. Only those rare incidents, like when the body wouldn't burn, were truly unsettling.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I tell him not to wander at night. There’s no need to see who is coming or going.
Devotee:
Guru Shyama Khyapa, he sleeps alone on the porch. Could he be in danger?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
He is protected. I have "bound" his body spiritually. Nothing can harm him. He is the one who guards the Mother.
Devotee:
Robi Da, everyone here respects you, even if you are sometimes "disbalanced" from drinking. It is part of your life and profession.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I tease him and say if he drinks, he’s drinking my urine! But despite his habits, he always recovers from the hospital.
Devotee:
Guru Shyama Khyapa, we know Bhairav is the protector of the cremation ground. Is Robi like a representative of that?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
No, that is something else that people might glimpse at midnight. Robi doesn't focus on that. I know the truth of it.
Devotee:
Friends, we call him Robi Da, but we also playfully call him Shmashan Samrat (Emperor of the Cremation Ground), especially when he’s had a few drinks.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, that’s when we call him the Emperor!
Devotee:
He has helped many people. He is a very close disciple of Gurudev and a very polite man.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
I just call him Robi Dom.
Devotee:
That is because of your father-son bond. You initiated him at 3:00 AM on a funeral pyre.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, 3:00 AM on the pyre.
Devotee:
Is that really possible?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
For those practicing Tantra, yes. 3:00 AM is the designated time. The atmosphere of a cremation ground is different—there are spirits and energies. Robi knows the methods to protect himself, though he doesn't talk about it much. He is also a master of Tuk-tak (folk magic). People come to him for traditional medicines, roots, or even the water used in the cremation process.
Devotee:
Friends, our temple is located within the Rajpur cremation ground. We wanted to dedicate an episode to Robi Da. Thank you, Gurudev, and thank you, Robi Da.
Devotee:
Pranam.