Rathin da

Rathin da - the sadhaka

Rathin da would have never thought of his life as sadhana. For him, it was his natural way of being, the truth of his being, asking for no special or conscious effort. And had one forced his attention upon the matter, Rathin da, would have, in his typical self-effacing manner, summarily dismissed further discussion. But a sadhaka and his sadhana, amid the clutter of life's inconsequential trivialities, stand self-luminous, self-evident. And even though, material evidence in the form of letters, writings or records of experiences may not be available, as in Rathin da's instance, a closer look at the personality-traits and life-events, yields unmistakable clues and adequate signs to corroborate what is secretly known about him.

"Egoless" personality

Rathin da's was an "egoless" personality; the quintessential back-room worker, ubiquitous but unobstrusive, he was always found holding the spot-light from behind. All, but the very-discerning eye, could be excused for not noticing his presence or the purport of that presence. Those who came in contact with him, but were not fortunate enough to have the "closeness", met with a stiff and stern, rather dry exterior.

This aspect of his personality should perhaps be examined in the light of events that surrounded the demise of his mother, Ajita Mitter. He lost his mother when he was in his early teens. His father, Hemchandra Mitter, was unable to come to terms with this loss and did nothing to remove the pall of gloom that had descended upon the Mitter household. A consequence of physical and psychological circumstances, the young Rathin suddenly found himself without either parent and a parent to his younger siblings (a brother and a sister).

This sudden thrusting of a young teenager into premature adulthood had far-reaching consequences on Rathin da's outer personality, creating what seemed like a hard, yet thin, crust, over and around, an essentially kind, gentle, warm, loving core. There are many who have stopped at the outer crust; there are also the privileged few who have carried on and basked in the warmth of his silent love.

To continue with the significance of this event, it seems that Harihar, an astrologer, had predicted that his mother would pass away at a certain age. Rathin da, a child of five then, had enquired of his own life-span. Harihar had replied - "55 years". His mother's demise, as if triggered this child-hood memory and the early encounter with the possibility of death now developed into the morbid practice of visiting crematoriums regularly and alone. In absence of any explanation, it is tempting to believe that this was indicative of a line of "tantra-sadhana" in earlier lives than anything else.

PURITY - his defining soul-quality

Another related event in this sequence was the promise that the young Rathin made touching his mother's body, never to tell a lie.The material seeds were thus planted for what emerged as the defining soul-quality of Rathin da's personality - purity.

Pradyot da had once said - " If one is looking for a man of true purity and worthy of one's complete trust, the first name that would come to mind is Rathin's".

Once in a legal matter, even as it was sub-judice, he came to realize that their position was not entirely on the side of truth. He immediately asked the legal counsel to withdraw the case.

The basics traits of this character were so evident even in the youthful Rathin, that his batch-mate in B.E. College, Shipbur, penned a novel called 'Satyakama', modelling his central character on Rathin da.

During his stint in Barauni as Resident Engineer, he would not distribute the salary to the junior engineers but keep it with him, functioning as the unofficial bank. This practical devise to prevent indulgence in addictive habits or wastefulness was actually yet another testimony to his trust-worthiness.

Rathin da was a man of uncompromising principles, absolute honesty, complete integrity and utter simplicity. Perhaps, this is why he never chose to understand the world and why the world chose not to understand him. But for those who did understand, he was like a rock in their lives, strong, unwavering, dependable, support. And those he did not and yet crossed his path, they too found him to be a rock, that bore down on all falsehood, crushing it with the purity of his consciousness.