Childhood

Monday, 12 January 1863. The people of Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) were celebrating the Makara Sankranti festival. Millions of Hindus gathered near the banks of the Ganges to worship the River Goddess. A few minutes before dawn, a boy was born as No.3 Gour Mohan Mukherjee Street, Simla, Kolkata. 

Seeing the baby, an old lady exclaimed: "Look! How big are his eyes!" Another lady said, "He looks just like is grandfather Durgaprasad!" 

Bhuvaneshwari, the mother of the baby, just looked at him silently. She had prayed for years to the Great Lord Mahadeva for a son. She had even asked her relative in Varanasi (also called Benaras and Kasi) to offer special prayer to Lord Vireshwar (one of the names of Lord Siva) to bless her with a son. Her prayers were answered that day. 

Remembering the Lord, Bhuvaneswari named her child as Vireshwar. In Bengali, Vireshwar is pronounced as Bireshwar. In short, Bireshwar became 'Biley'. Later, he was called Narendranath Datta. 

Biley's father, Vishwanath Datta was a lawyer in the High Court of Kolkata. He was a generous man. 

Biley became a very active and boisterous child. When he was three years old, almost everyday Bhuvaneshwari had to hear complaints about Biley. His two elder sisters; Swarnamayi and Haramani were the targets of his pranks. Whenever they tried to catch him to teach him a lesson or two, he would run into a pool of mud, spraying them with muddy water. The only way Bhuvaneshwari could calm the boy was by pouring cold water on his head and chanting 'Shiva, Shiva!' This made Bhuvaneshwari wonder if Lord Shiva had sent one of His demons to her! 

Biley had a strong instinct to verify the truth of something he had heard. One day, he heard someone saying that God watches all our actions. Biley wanted to test it out. He ran to his room and laid on his bed. He waited for awhile saying, "Now, the roof will open and I can see God's face!" 

Biley's father, Vishwanath Datta was a very generous man. Many mendicants used to visit their house to beg alms. Biley too had a same generous heart. Moreover, Biley had a strong attraction for monks. He always remembered that his grandfather Durgaprasad had become a monk many years ago. Whenever Biley saw a monk, he gave away everything in the house. One day, he was wearing a new dhoti, when a monk came to beg alms. Biley was overjoyed to see the monk. Immediately, he removed his dhoti and gave it to the monk! At times, he even gave away expensive things from the house. Finally, Bhuvaneshwari had to lock him in a room to stop him. However, even that could not deter Biley! The moment he heard anyone shouting for alms, he threw out through the window anything he could find in the room. 

                                                                  

Biley was a loving boy. He had many pets which he took care very well. Among his pets were a monkey, a goat, a peacock, pigeons, a parrot, and some guinea pigs. His family had their own dairy with many milch cows. During the festivals, Biley and his sisters would decorate the cows with sandal paste and worship it. Their family also had a shed with many horses to pull their carriage. Biley loved to play with the horses and soon he learned to ride horses. 

Sometimes, Biley became very silent. He loved listening to stories. His mother and grandmother told him many wonderful stories from the Mahabharata and Ramayana. Sitting on their laps, he learned about the culture, tradition, and religion of India. 

One of Biley's favourite stories was the story of his paternal grandfather, Durgaprasad. Biley had a great regard and admiration for his grandfather though he had never met him. Durgaprasad was a handsome, hardworking and talented man. He married a beautiful lady, Syamasundari. After the birth of their son, Vishwanath, one day Durgaprasad left his home and went to Varanasi. He became a monk. After many years, he returned to Kolkata as a wandering monk. Someone recognised him and brought him forcefully to their house. For three days, the locked him up in a room. Durgaprasad screamed for help and refused to eat anything. On the third day, he fainted in exhaustion. Someone pitied him and secretly let him escape. Since then, Durgaprasad had never returned to the family. 

Biley also loved the story of Lord Rama and Sita Devi. Every day, he decorated the images of Rama and Sita and worshiped. This was continuing for long until Biley heard a horrible story. One day, a coachman told Biley about the troubles ad suffering in a married life. The story made Biley imagine the marriage must be something like a huge chain tying people together. His imagination carried him to his favourite god and goddess! He was struck to think that Rama and Sita were married. Biley could not stop his tears. He rushed to his mother to seek consolation. "Mother, Sita was Rama's wife. How can I worship them?" Bhuvaneshwari understood her son. She pacified him and said, "Don't worry. You can worship Siva. He is a great monk."

Biley wiped his tears. He ran to the room where he kept the images of Rama and Sita. Though feeling sad, he made a firm resolution. He took the images to the balcony and threw it down. The clay images broke into pieces. The next day, Biley went to the market and bought an image of Lord Shiva. He kept the new image in his room and started worshiping it with devotion. 

Even though Biley broke the images of Rama and Sita, he was never tired of the Ramayana. The great hero Hanuman, was his favourite hero. Whenever the Ramayana was read in anyone's house, Biley would attend it. 

Game of 'Meditation

Biley also loved to 'meditate', sitting with crossed leg and closing his eyes. Often, he and his friends would sit in a meditation pose. Sometimes, while playing meditation, Biley would completely forget about everything. One day, he was playing meditation with his friends. Suddenly, a cobra entered the room through the window. Hearing the sound of hissing, the boys opened their eyes and was terrified to see the cobra. Screaming aloud, they ran out of the room. But Biley did not move from his place. He was sitting, absorbed in his thoughts about God. After awhile, the cobra left the room without harming Biley. When his mother questioned him about the incident, Biley was suprised. "I did not know about the cobra. I was feeling very blissful."