An encounter with a Sanyasi

When in Varanasi, it is always pleasant to visit the ghats at the Ganges. When I reached the Assi Ghat, the Sun has already risen, but the programs of “Subhe Benaras” was going on. A young artist was singing a song, which is perhaps one among the identity music of Benaras. The Mukhda (the initial Bol, the face of the song) was “Ehi Thaiyan Jhulani herani ho rama…..” The audience was enthralled, but that was the last song of the program. Before the next program of Yoga could begin by the expert, the compere introduced the artist and that he was a Musalmaan. This is the living cultural tradition of Benaras!

At the ghats, the scene of a foreign tourist interacting with the Sadhus (an ascetic) is a very common sight. In one such scene, I came across a self-proclaimed sanyasi, sitting on a high chabutra, was speaking in English. I became curious. So I sat on the stairs nearby. The sanyasi, in his early thirties, was perhaps telling his side of stories and the visitor tourist was amused. There was a third man sitting next to sanyasi and working on a chillum. When the chillum was ignited, the sanyasi took a deep puff (kash) and then offered the chillum to the foreigner, who too inhaled a kash. Then came the chance of the Chela. Chela was, in fact, Guru (the master) in this art. With his kash, the chillum produced the glowing sparks and the next round started. I could now guess why ganjedis (smoker of hemp/ marijuana) are not alone. The visitor humbly declined to oblige the offer in the second round. The sanyasi and the scavenger (chela) however continued few more rounds. I moved on.

Although the devotees bathe and perform poojas (worship) at almost all ghats, but some of them are always packed with such rituals. Dashashwamedh Ghat is one such most preferred destination for the pilgrims. After spending some time at this ghat, I went straight to the Guddu’s stall for a glass of tea. Normally, I take a rickshaw from here to go back, but this time I decide the otherwise. From Dashashwamedh Ghat, I started walking fast towards Assi ghat in the hope of meeting with the same sanyasi. Luckily, I spotted him. But this time he was sitting alone on the stairs. I went near him and greeted with folded hands and sought permission to sit in his company. He gladly obliged and started reciting Sanskrit scriptures from a booklet written in Kannada script. I started the conversation by asking whether the script of the booklet was Kannada. Although he nodded his head in affirmation, he didn’t seem to talk further. I kept quiet for some time. Being a sanyasi, his training perhaps prohibited him from becoming rude to me. I sat on. After a little while, he opened his eyes and uttered the most sacred vedic hymn “ॐ नम: शिवाय” (Om Namah Shivaya), kept the book aside and slowly asked me if I needed ganja (marijuana). I was taken aback! He perhaps recognized me when he was conversing with the foreigner and smoking with the chillum in the morning. I politely declined the offer saying I don’t smoke. I shed my inhibitions now and asked him where he was initiated into sanyas vrat. He told his Guru was from Tunkur mutt in Karnataka. He came to the mutt when he was just three years old and studied up to the tenth standard. His Guru was 108 years old when he attained Nirvana (complete relief from sufferings and desire). “I have widely traveled in India and in Nepal”, he told when I asked him if that was his first visit to the ghats of Ganges. He showed one big Panchmukhi Rudraksh (Utrasum bead) worn around his neck. When we both became comfortable with each other, I asked a straight and a pointed question. “Why do you smoke Ganja?” To this, his reply was: “It soothes my mind and provides the concentration for reciting prayers. With its effect, I can look straight for hours in one direction without getting deflected by the surrounding. I can live without food.” I had no means to verify or authenticate his claim but to shake my head in agreement. “Can you live without food?” I asked. “I can if I have to, some time I live on a pack of biscuit and a bottle of water if food is not available and some time I visit Annapoorna Devi Mandir to have Rice.” “How did you get into the habit of smoking Ganja? Was it available in the mutt”? I asked. “No not in the mutt, but outside the periphery of the mutt.” He replied smilingly but avoided when he first tasted Ganja. He had quite a good knowledge of this plant. He told there are 234 varieties of Ganja and showed the one he had in his possession. He also told he had had the best variety in Odisha. “What do you mean by the best variety?” I asked. “The one whose effect lasts longer and the quantity used is small” was his crisp and expert reply.

  The sweeper on the ghat intercepted our conversation by reminding the sanyasi to throw used tea cups in the waste bins. I took leave of the sanyasi with a parting salutation and with a relief that the ghats are much cleaner now than they were before.