'Ghar ka ladka ghar aaya hai': An emotional Modi revisits his spiritual roots on Bengal tour

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made an emotional visit to the Ramakrishna Math and Mission headquarters at Belur Math (located in Howrah district) which had turned down his request to join the monastic order thrice in the past. The Prime Minister sat near the slippers of Swami Vivekananda to meditate in the 19th century philosopher-saint’s room at the math for around 15 minutes. He looked visibly emotional after reaching the room where Vivekananda’s relics are kept, PTI said in their report on Sunday. [caption id=“attachment_2237406” align=“alignleft” width=“380” class=" “]  Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Swami Atmasthananda in Kolkata on Saturday. PTI[/caption] Expressing his deep affinity with monks of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told them that he was their ‘ghar la ladka’ (boy of the house). When he went to meet Swami Atmasthananda, president of the order at a Kolkata hospital on Saturday evening, he was greeted with a flower bouquet to which Modi said he was one amongst the monks and should not be accorded a grand welcome. "‘Ghar la ladka agar ghar aaya hai to uska swagat kiya jata hai kya?’ (If a boy comes to his house do you welcome him?),” Swami Subirananda, assistant secretary of the Math quoted the PM as having told them. Referring to Swami Atmasthananda as his ‘Guruji’, Modi told the monks and authorities of the hospital run by the Mission, “‘Aap log mere Guruji ki seva kar rahe ho. Unka dhyan rakhna’ (You all are serving my ‘Guruji’. Take care of him)." Swami Subirananda said Modi was recharged and refreshed after the meeting. “He always keeps in touch with the Math authorities. He cherishes and follows the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda,” he said. As a young boy, Modi was deeply influenced by the ideals of Swami Vivekananda and was keen on joining the order as a monk. It was during this time that he had first visited Belur Math. “But our then president had advised him to concentrate more on his education. He was also below the minimum age required to join the Order,” Swami Subirananda, assistant secretary of the Mathwas quoted as saying by the PTI. “In 1966, Swami Atmasthananda had come to Rajkot in Gujarat to head the city’s RKM ashram. During his stint in Rajkot, a young Narendra, inspired by the life of Swami Vivekananda, reached his doorstep to take refuge at the ashram. He had already spent some years wandering and wanted to train himself for a spiritual life,” a Times of India report said. During those days, Modi used to regularly meet Athmasthanandaji Maharaj, then deputed to the mission’s Rajkot centre, but the monk told him that his calling lay elsewhere. Later Modi went to the RKM centre in Almora, where his request was turned down again, he said. “Modi then went to the Himalayas for two years and after that he came back to his village and subsequently started visiting our Rajkot centre where he got the holy company of Swami Atmasthanand, now RKM president. Modi used to get spiritual instructions from him,” the monk said. After Modi expressed his desire once again to be a monk, he was discouraged by the Swami and once again told that he needed to experience more of the world. “When Modi visited Belur Math in 2013 when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister, he told the Swami, ‘Aapne mujhe bhaga diya tha us samay isiliye main aaj mukhyamantri hu’ (You had told me to go away that time and that is why I am the chief minister now),” the monks recall. After Modi’s visit to the Belur was announced, Swami Atmasthananda in a letter had said, “I am eagerly looking forward to your visit to Belur Math as the Prime Minister of India. I am happy to learn that you have got a thumping majority. Sri Ramakrishna has given you the opportunity to serve the people of India irrespective of caste, creed and religion.” On Saturday evening, the Prime Minister met Swami Atmasthananda, who is recovering at a Kolkata hospital. The 97-year-old guru has been undergoing treatment for age-related health complications. Before leaving the math, where he spent an hour, he offered prayers at the temple of Brahmananda, Ma Sarada and Swami Vivekananda. He was gifted ‘dhoti’ and shawl by the authorities who also gave him ‘prasad’ made of ‘Payesh’ (Bengali sweet dish) and fruits. The monks gave the Prime Minister memorabilia related to Belur Math and books like Bible, Gospels of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. With inputs from PTI