The record of “Onkar” in Raag Ahir Bhairav by Pandit Jasraj was playing softly in the background, creating a deeply meditative atmosphere in the auditorium. Gurudev then came to the podium to deliver the concluding address of the 2026 Guru Purnima celebration.
Gurudev began by saying that his talk that day was completely impromptu. Since it was Guru Purnima, he said, he would try to keep his address within the spirit and context of the occasion.
He explained that although we commonly call the occasion Guru Purnima, it is actually Vyas Purnima, the day on which we commemorate the birth anniversary of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyas. Vyas Dev was the great sage who divided the single Veda into four distinct parts: Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, Rig Veda, and Atharva Veda. He compiled the verses and organized them according to their subject, purpose, and knowledge.
But Vyas Dev did not stop there. He realized that people's attraction toward pure spiritual knowledge was gradually diminishing because they were becoming more interested in stories. In order to preserve and keep that sacred Vedic knowledge alive, he embedded it within stories. These collections of spiritual narratives came to be known as the Puranas.
Following this, he composed the Mahabharata, within which is the Bhagavad Gita, as well as the Brahma Sutras.
For anyone aspiring to become a yogi, all of these texts are extremely important and essential. That is why this day is dedicated to remembering, honoring, and offering our respect to Vyas Dev.
Gurudev continued:
“Today is also a day to bow down to our Yoga Diksha Guru Parampara. We pay our respects to Babaji Maharaj, Lahiri Mahasaya, Pandit Panchanan Bhattacharya, Nitai Charan Bandyopadhyay, and my revered Guru, Sri Sri Maheshwari Prasad Dubey.
“Many people have been very eager to know about Dubey Baba. Responding to their request, we translated Dubey Baba's book, Kriya Yoga Rahasya, into English and made it available not only in India but across the world. The work done by the Mission's volunteers in bringing this book to people everywhere is truly commendable. If possible, in the future, we will also try to make this book available in several other languages.
“Let me say a little about Dubey Baba. Gurudev was born in Rangoon, now known as Yangon in Myanmar. When his father changed jobs, the family moved to East Bengal, which is now Bangladesh, and eventually relocated to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. He completed his education and later secured a position with the Shipping Corporation of India, working in Calcutta. He lived in the Nimtala area of Calcutta.
“Now, coming back to my childhood, I had heard about Kriya Yoga and about Lahiri Mahasaya, who was believed to possess divine and extraordinary powers and to have attained mastery over various Kriya techniques. One of my maternal grandparents, Madhusudan Lahiri, would often tell me stories about Lahiri Mahasaya. Listening to those stories, I used to wonder how wonderful it would be to attain such miraculous powers.
“However, I had been a worshipper of Lord Shiva since childhood, and therefore I never gave much importance to any other spiritual practice.
“Besides this, many incidents took place in my life for which I could not find any logical or scientific explanation, even though I myself was a scientist. Initially, I thought that perhaps these experiences were the result of some mental disorder—what psychology might describe as hallucinations.
“It was in 1981. At that time, I was working at Calcutta PG Hospital. My senior, Dr. Murari Mukherjee, was a renowned plastic surgeon of that period.
“One day, a man approached me and said, ‘I want to meet Murari in your department.’
“I was astonished and even a little annoyed. He was a simple, rustic-looking man, and I wondered how he could address my senior simply as ‘Murari’ and who this person actually was.
“I told him that he should address him as Dr. Murari Mukherjee or Professor Murari Mukherjee.
“The man immediately accepted his mistake and apologized, saying that he should have asked where Professor Murari Mukherjee was.
“I told him that the professor would be arriving shortly. He then asked me who I was.
“I noticed that he had remarkably bright, glowing eyes and a gentle smile. I took him into the professor's room and asked him to wait there.
“When the professor arrived, I informed him that a man had come to see him and that the man had been calling him simply by his name.
“The professor replied, ‘He is my Gurudev. Naturally, he will call me by my name.’
“The man I had met was none other than Dubey Baba.
“Before leaving, Dubey Baba told me that we would meet again. At the time, I did not pay much attention to his words. Later, when I asked the professor about him, I learned that he practiced Kriya Yoga.
“Nine years later, I met Dubey Baba again. He personally called me to his home in Nimtala and initiated me into Kriya Yoga.
“When Dubey Baba initiated me through Shaktipat, it was not merely as though he had opened my third eye. I felt that something profound had taken place within me. It was as if everything had changed.
“After his retirement, when Dubey Baba moved to Gorakhpur, he continued to visit Calcutta twice a year. During these visits, he would stay at my home. In the early days, however, at the earnest request of other disciples, he would also stay at their homes, where he sometimes had to endure considerable physical discomfort.
“For example, once during winter, Dubey Baba had to bathe early in the morning with freezing-cold water drawn from a well because the disciple had not made arrangements for warm water. Yet there was neither regret nor complaint on his face.
“On another occasion, someone arranged for him to stay in a small attic room on the roof during the peak of summer. The person apparently believed that because the other rooms were not considered sacred, the attic would be more suitable. Dubey Baba stayed there without complaint, although no one seemed to consider how a human being could possibly endure such intense heat in that room.
“On yet another occasion, during a wedding, someone erected a separate pandal for him and isolated him from the rest of the gathering. He was made to sit there in seclusion, without even a fan, surrounded by mosquitoes.
“As his disciple, I did not like seeing him treated in this way. I often wondered whether Dubey Baba traveled such a long distance every year merely to spend time with us Bengali people.
“There was another incident one winter. Some of Dubey Baba's well-off and senior disciples had arrived at Howrah Station to receive him. I was standing at a distance, thinking to myself that I wished he would come to my home just once as well.
“Just as I was thinking this, Dubey Baba suddenly appeared in front of me on Platform No. 8 and said, ‘Sudhin, come. Today I will go to your house.’
“He avoided the attention of all the other disciples and walked directly toward me.
“I was completely stunned. I wondered how he could possibly have known what was going on in my mind. I then brought him home with me.
“Throughout the time that I had his company, I never saw Dubey Baba interested in discussing anything with his disciples other than Kriya Yoga. He never discriminated between his disciples, nor did he ever look down upon anyone. He loved everyone equally.
“I believe that whatever I have received in my life is entirely because of the grace of my Guru.
“Gurudev used to say, ‘What I received from my Guru and from his lineage is exactly the same grace that you have received from me. This is truly the grace of the Guru.’
“But the true meaning of the Guru's grace is that the Guru continuously encourages and inspires you, every single moment, and makes you realize that you yourself are capable of working out your own liberation.
“And the day you understand this, you will truly understand what the grace of the Guru means.”
(To be continued…)
The new issue of Anweshan Magazine, released by Gurumaa, is now available. Click on the image below to access and read the magazine.
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