SWAMI DAYANAND SARSWATI ON SWAMI NARAYAN CULT

 

The Swami Narayana Cult.

Q. - What do you think of Swami Narayana Cult?

A. ~ The proverb "Like the goddess Shitla, like her beast for riding the donkey" aptly applies to

This sect. In other words, the followers of Swami Narayana resort to the same sort of wonderful

trickery in order to fleece others as the Gosaeens. The brief history of this sect is as follows: -

There was a man called Shjanand. He was a native of a village near Ayodhya. While he was

wandering as a Brahmachari through Gujarat., Kathiawar, Kutch and the like countries, he

noticed that the natives of those countries were very ignorant and guileless, one could easily lead

them to believe in whatever religion one liked. He, therefore, cast his net of fraud and hypocrisy

there and made three or four disciples who took counsel among themselves and gave it out that

Sahjanand was an incarnation of Narayana and possessed of great miraculous powers.

He could assume the four-armed body of Narayana Himself for the pleasure of those who are

devoted to him. One of this disciples asked Dada Khachar, a great landowner of Paran in

Kathiawar, that if he desired to see the four-armed Narayana they could request Sahjanand to

grant his wish. He answered that he thought, it would be a very good thing, if Sahjanand could do

it. That Dada Khachar was a perfect dunce. Sahjanand in dark room put a diadem on his head and held a conch-shell in one hand and a discus in the other - both hands lifted upwards.

Another man stood behind him with a mace in one hand and a lotus in the other and then thrust

his hands forward under his armpits and lo there was a veritable four-armed Narayana! The

disciples of Sahjanand instructed him to have only one peep at Narayana and then immediately

close his eyes and come out of the room, otherwise if he looked at him too long Narayana might

get angry with him.

They took him to the dark room in which Sahjanand was standing motionless, like a statue,

wearing shining silk garments. They turned light on him by means of a lantern. The moment Dada

Khachar saw the form of the four-armed Narayana, light was turned off. All of them fell down on

their knees and paid their homage to Narayana and came out of the room. At the same time they

said to Dada Khachar that he was a very lucky man, he should now become the disciple of His

Holiness. He assented to their proposal. By the time they got to another room, Sahjanand had

change his dress and was found seated on a cushioned seat there.

They pointed out to Dada Khachar that His Holiness had assumed another form and was present

there. He fell in their tap and from that very moment the Swami Narayana cult took root as Dada

Khachar was a great landowner. Sahjanand made that place his headquarters. He wandered

here and there preaching to all. He initiated (sadhus) many of his disciples into the Order of

mendicants.

Occasionally he would press some nerve in the neck of a sadhu (disciple) and render him

unconscious and tell people that he had caused him to attain the clairvoyant state. The simple,

guileless people of Kathiawar were ensnared by him by such acts of scoundrelism. After his

death, his followers practiced a great deal of fraud and hypocrisy. Their case will be aptly

illustrated by the following story:-

A man was caught burgling. The judge ordered his nose and ears to be cut off by way of

punishment. As soon as his nose was cut, that scoundrel began to sing, dance and laugh. The

people asked him why he did it. He replied it was not a thing that could be told. They, again,

inquired what kind of thing it was that could not be talked about. He answered it was such a thing that he had never heard of it before. They again said; "come, come, tell us what it is." He rejoined that he could see the very four-armed Narayana Himself standing before him and that is the reason that he sang and dances and blessed his stars that he had seen the Lord face to face. The people wanted to know why they

could not see Narayana. He replied that their noses were in the way, they could only see Him

when their noses were cut off, and not otherwise.

Some dunce among the people wanted to see Narayana even at the sacrifice of his nose. He

offered his nose to be cut so that he could see Narayana. That rogue chopped off his nose and

whispered in his ears, "you should also do like me, otherwise we shall be laughed at." Thereupon

that man also began to sing, dance, skip about, play and laugh, and say that he could also see

Narayana. By and by, the mumber of the people who had their noses cut in order to see

Narayana, reached about 1,000. There was then a great hallabaloo, they called their sect "The

cult of Narayana-seers."

An ignorant king heard of it and sent for those people. when they got there, they began to sing,

dance and laugh. The king asked them the reason of all this. They replied that they saw the

Narayana Himwself face to face. The king asked why he did not see Him. The Narayana-seers

answered that he could not do so on account of his nose. A soon as he would have his nose cut,

he would see Narayana face to face.

The King thought that it appeared to be right. He, thereupon, asked his astrologer to find out the

most auspicious time for having his nose removed. He replied: "May it please Your Majesty! O

giver of food! * o'clock on the morning of the tenth instant, is the most auspicious time for having

Your Majesty's nose cut and for seeing Narayana." Well done, O Pope! Is in your almanack

recorded even the time for chopping off one's nose.

When the king made up his mind to have his nose cut off, he ordered that all those thousand men

be fed at the expense of the State. On this they went into ecstasy and began to sing, dance and

skip about. The ministers and some other wise people of the State did not like this affair. There

was an old man 90 years old who was Prime Minister four generations back. His great grandson

who was Prime Minster at the time told him everything. Thereupon he said: "That man is a

scoundrel, take me to the king." He did as he was asked to do. When he had taken his seat, the king gladly told him everything about the Narayana-seers. The old Diwan, i.e. the ex-Prime Minister answered, "Hear, O King. Do not be in such a hurry. One soon repents of what one has done precipitately without properly inquiring into it."

King - Could all those thousand men be telling a lie?

Diwan ~ They might be telling the truth or a lie. That cannot be decided until the matter has been

properly investigated.

King - How to investigate

Diwan ~ By the help of our knowledge of the Laws of Nature and the eight kinds of evidence,

such as Direct Cognition.

King - How can one, who has not read, inquire into a matter?

Diwan ~ By advancing his knowledge, by associating with the learned.

King - What should one do if one could not find a learned man?

Diwan ~ Nothing is impossible for one who strives after a thing.

King - Pray, then, tell us what is to be done in this case

King ~ I am an old man, live an indoor life, and have only a few days more to live, let me then first

test the truth of the contention of these men. You can afterwards do what ever you thing proper.

King - it is a very good suggestion. Find out, O Astrologer, the most auspicious time for our

beloved Diwan (to have his nose cut).

Astrologer - May it pleas Your Majesty! 10 a.m. on the 5th of the bright half of the current month is

the most propitious time for this purpose.

On the appointed day the old Diwan went to the King at 8 a.m., and asked him to take a couple

thousand soldiers with him (to the place where his nose was to be cut).

King - What is the use of the soldiers there?

Diwan - Your Majesty is not so well-versed in statecraft. Have the kindness to do as I suggest.

King - "Well General! Go and get the soldiers ready."

The King formed a procession and set out with ministers and other influential men at 9:30 a.m.

When the Narayana-seers saw the king coming towards them, they began to sing and dance. The King sent for their leader who was the founder of this sect and was the first one whose nose was cut, spoke to him thus: "Show Naryana to our Diwan to-day." He assented. When it was ten o'clock, a man held a plate under the nose of the old Diwan, while the leader of the Narayana-seers chopped off his nose with a sharp knife and placed it on the plate. A stream of blood began to flow from his nose, and the Diwan's face

became pale. The rascal, then, whispered into his ear. "You do also laugh and tell the people that

you see Narayana now. Remember a cut nose cannot be made whole and if you don't say what I

tell you, everybody will laugh at you."

After he had said this, he stood apart. The Diwan took his handkerchief and pressed it against his

cut nose. The king asked him, "Tell us pray if you see Narayana now." He whispered in the King's

ear, "I see nothing. This rascal has, without any cause, disfigured and misled these thousand

people." The king, then, asked him what he advised him to do. The Dwan answered, "Arrest them

all, inflict heavy punishment on them and keep them in prison as long as they live, whilst the

scoundrel who led them all astray should be placed on the back of a donkey.

Let various indignities be heaped upon him and let him, then, be put to death. When the

Narayana-seers saw the King and his Diwan whispering into each other's ears, they made

preparations for running away, but being surrounded on all sides by the soldiers they could not

escape. The King ordered. "Let all of them be arrested and fettered. Let their villainous ringleader's

face be blackened. Let him be made to ride on a donkey and wear a necklace of torn and tattered

shoes and pass through all the principal streets of the town in this condition. Let the children

throw dust and ashes on him.

Let him them be beaten with shoes in all the chief thoroughfares and finally out to death by being

torn to pieces by dongs. If this rogue be suffered to go unpunished, nothing will deter other from

following his evil example." Thus did the cult of the Narayana-seers come to an ignominious end.

Like them there are plenty of other people opposed to the teachings of the Veda who are very

clever in defrauding other of their money. Such are the evil doings of various sects.

The followers of the Swami Narayana cult resort to trickery, fraud, and imposition in order to

fleece others. Many among them, in order to mislead the ignorant, declare on their death-bed that

Sahjanand seated on a white horse has come to convey them to heaven and that he always

came to that temple once a day. On the occasion of a fair the priests remain inside the temple

while down below a shop is kept open which communicates with the temple through an opening. Whenever a cocoanut has been offered in the temple, it is thrown down into the shop through that hole. That cocoanut is again bought and offered by some other worshipper. Thus the same cocoanut is sold

about a thousand times in a single day. Other articles are sold in the same way.

There is another thing peculiar to this sect. A Sadhu of this sect is made to do the work of the

caste he belongs to, for instance, a barber Sadhu shaves, a potter Sadhu makes pots, a Sadhu

who belongs to the artisan caste does the work of an artisan. A Sadhu, who is a bania (a

shopkeeper) by caste does the work of bania. A Shudra Sadhu that of a Shudra..

The priests of this sect have imposed a sort of taxc on their followers and by their quackery

amassed millions which go on multiplying every day. whoever succeeds to the Sahjanand throne

marries and becomes a householder, wears jewelry (ornaments). Whenever he is invited to the

house of one of his disciples, like the Gosaeens he accepts offerings in his own name as well as

in that of his wife, children, etc. The followers of this sect call themselves good company, whilst

other they call bad company!

They never serve anyone or show respect to anyone, however good and learned he may be. If he

belongs to some other faith, as it is considered a sin by them to do so. In public the Sadhus of

this sect do not even see the face of a woman but in private who knows what evil practices are

rampant among them. Not much has come to light. Here and there a few cases of sodomy have come out. When those who hold high positions among them are about to die, their disciples throw them sown into a

secret well and give it out that such and such a holy man with body and all has gone to heaven.

Sahjanand himself came to take him away. He carried him away, in spite of our repeated

requests, to let that holy man remain here as he was of great use here on this earth, but he

replied that he was badly needed in heaven. They would say that they saw Sahjanand and the

air-ship with their own eyes. He seated that holy man in the air-ship with their own eyes. He

seated that holy man in the air-ship and carried him up, while flowers were being showered on

him.

Whenever a Sadhu falls ill and there is not hope of his recovery, he declares that he will go to

heaven tomorrow night. The rumor has it that even if he did not happen to die that night but

merely lost consciousness, he is nevertheless thrown (alive) into a well for fear of his prophecy turning out to be false. Similarly, when a Gokalaya Gosaeen dies, his disciples say that the Gosaeen has spread out his lila (sport). The mantra that is taught by the Gosaeens and Swami Narayana priests is the same, viz., "Shri Krishna my shelter" which they say, means "Shri Krishna is my shelter" but may also mean "let

Shri Krishna seek my shelter."

All these sects compose mantras of absurd construction quite contrary to the rules of Grammar,

etc. Their leaders being illiterate, cannot be acquainted with the laws of Grammar and Logic.

[LIGHT OF TRUTH, pp-460-466]