Jnanaganja (A Space For Timeless Divinity)

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Madhamahopadhyaya Pandit Gopinah Kaviraj was a great Yogi, an enlightened soul of our time from Varanasi. He was the one who shared his spiritual experience in black and white unlike usual Yogis. He had passed through excruciating pain in worldly sense and got, liberated by dint of his spiritual master Yogi Vishuddhanand Paramhansa’s grace. He wrote books with innovative divine beauty in Tantrik sense as Tantra actually means the expansion of the sacred of the wisdom.M

Jnanaganja is an oft-searched state indicated by all great Yogis appeared on this earth. It is hard to find out and perceived by the ordinary eyes. The third or creative eye can have the eternal beauty of this place located somewhere in Himalayan valley assembled by all seers, sages and ascetics including one who has attained the supreme consciousness. This place truly exists and all spiritually enlighten Yogis still remain there, known by Yogis moving around in their mortal bodies. Only a Yogi can tell us about this mystic place. And it was Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj who has written about for the first time about this place. Jnanaganja is appearing here for the first time in English.

Gautam Chatterjee, great grand son of Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is a poet and philosopher. Author of ‘White Shadow of Consicousness’, Gautam has translated the complete Tantraloka by Abhinavagupta for the first time in English. This book is translated from original Bengali for the first time.

It was 10th June 1976. Varanasi. I was 13 years old. In Bengali family, the sacred thread ceremony (yajnopavita samskara) is like marriage ceremony only devoid of a bride. This ceremony had just taken place with me in three days and I was before Ma Anandamayi inside her asrama with my ail family members especially my mother. My head was shaved due to the ritual of that auspicious ceremony. I bow down to her, and I was suddenly instructed by my mother to bow down too to that gentleman who was lying down on a bed in the same big room. He was tall, old and sick. He raised his head and said something to me when I touched his feet. His spoken words were in Samskrta. My mother suggested me to jot down all those words as he had blessed me. I did the same unwillingly for I had just remembered another Samskrta verse called Gayatri hymns, and now it seemed another hymn-like. It was very difficult for me at that age to remember long classical Samskrta verses as sacred hymns, mantra, though I belong to Samskrta tradition in my own family with Pandit Ishvarachandra Vidyasagar and Pandit Suniti Kumar Chaturjya.

On 12th June, that man departed his mortal body. Then I came to know his name. He was Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj. But at that time, I could not know who he was. When I completed my graduation in Mathematics, I came to know his introduction, but he had already introduced himself by giving that verse as gift to me. He introduced me before myself. In actual terms, he had initiated me with those sacred words. Those Samskrta words constitute a verse, and that verse he recited, was from Yogavasistha. It says, 'sisyaprajheva bodhasya karanam guru vakyatah'; meaning, it is actually the intelligence of the disciple alone that gives rise to his ultimate wisdom when he listens to his master's words. This verse gives emphasis on disciple's own intelligence, which is sufficient enough to attain wisdom and liberation, bereft of a spiritual master. This was a great indication to me from him that I had to grow in my own grace of my intrinsic wisdom already within as the infinite potentiality of the stainless soul. I couldn't understand and learn. all these things at that time, honestly speaking. But that was actually my sacred thread ceremony, a thread constituted by sacred mystic words spoken by a realised soul. After that unknowingly happened initiation ceremony, we were told to sit silently as mother (Ma Anandmayi) was going to converse with Kaviraj ji. I can still recall that some girls made a veil with a long white cloth before all of us. They both were only behind that curtain. That cloth was almost transparent and I could see, they were not talking before my ordinary eyes. They were looking at each other and there were tears in all four eyes.

In 1980, during graduation, I started to visit the home of Thakur Jaidev Singh, as my mother suggested me again for this. Then I came to know, he was simply there just to learn Tantra especially Kashmir Saivism from Kaviraj ji. My mother used to go to Kaviraj ji's place like other devotees for his spiritually enlightened presence where Jaidev ji went in a regular way to study Tantra. From 1980 to 1986, I was the regular visitor of Jaidev ji's place. He was at that time translating Abhinavagupta's masterpiece 'paratrimsika vivarana' with some works on Kabir. He taught me how to make bibliography. He inspired me to know and leam about Indian classical music, Kabir and Kashmir Saivism. Once he met my mother as he had a personal diary of Kaviraj ji written in Bengali and he was willing to translate it into English. And in 1986, Jaidev ji passed away. Then I came in contact with another scholar Pandit Vraj Vallabh Dvivedi, who too used to go to Kaviraj ji's place to study and sat at the same seat inside Sarasvati Bhawan where the seat was exclusively made for Kaviraj ji. Dvivedi ji became my teacher of Samskrta, especially Agama and influenced me to translate Tantraloka, the magnum opus of Abhinavagupta from Samskrta into English. I started with his instruction in the grace of Kaviraj ji. Dvivedi ji wrote the preface and the first volume. of the English translation of Tantraloka appeared in 2008. We classified all thirty seven chapters into seven volumes. I translated and Dvivediji went through all those translated verses. Till date, five volumes have been appeared. This published translation is for the first time in the world now in the absence of Dvivedi Guruji but with the invisible sacred thread of Kaviraj ji, Jaidev ji and Dvivedi ji. They have become a sacred hymn for me till eternity.

Once Dvivedi guruji called me over telephone, and told, there was a Japanese aspirant in Varanasi who was willing to visit Pararnharnsa Vishuddhanand's asrarna but forbidden byasrama people to enter into. Guru ji requested me if! could take him to the asrama. We visited there without any problem. That fellow was very happy. He invited me for lunch at Krishnamurti Foundation where he was staying at that time. He gifted me a book on 19th August 2007 at the same place where Krishnamurti used to preach inquisitives under the huge banyan tree. That book was in Bengali and its name was' Jfianaganja'. He asked me to translate the book into English for him as he was willing to translate the same into Japanese from English. He offered me some money for this work and asked me what he should pay for that to me. Without any blinking of my eyelash, I smiled saying, I can't think of money, it would be a great time for me if I translate that by going through Kaviraj ji's realised words as the benediction and blessings. His name is M. Kata (Takaoka Hikaru). Later I found Krishnamurti has quoted him in one of his lectures as a Yogi, already published in a book form. Guru ji was very happy as I refused to take anything from Kata and willing to fulfil his wish. Guruji blessed me relentlessly.

But sorry, I could not translate it in prescribed time, though Guru ji suggested me to do. Meanwhile I had started translating Tantraloka and reading Kaviraj ji's personal diary, that helped me a lot and it is resulted now in this book as the complete translation of fianaganja, Here this oft-searched book by the Yogis, siddhas, aspirants and spiritual practitioners consists of all those words written in Bengali version with the essence of ten letters. I have also added some portions from Kaviraj ji's diary, it is here for the first time, which laidev ji wanted to translate from Bengali into English. But I sent to Kata through mail only the gross portion of jnanaganja, This is the story.

There is and has been a deepest belief among Yogis that there really exists a place in Himalayan valley near Tibet, named Janaganja where all liberated souls are still staying who once appeared in human forms, practiced spiritual austerity and attained the bliss of God, became God in their mortal life time, for example Buddha and Paramhamsa Vishuddhanand. Kata was keenly searching for a guru, the spiritual master, at that time in 2007 during his stay ill India. He told me after published in Japanese language; it should be published in English in India as well. He asked me at that time why Buddha had chosen Varanasi (Sarnath) to give his first sermon. I explained him the fact as the deer park was the only place devoid of violent animals at that time and Yogis used to come there to emaciate their bodies to go to Jfianaganja with their subtle bodies and return. They found their grosser bodies safe in deer park and continued their spiritual journey again in the same grosser bodies. Buddha came their only for this reason. He was a Yogi, (Sakyallvluni, and ultimately a Buddha, Tathagata.

Now who will tell about and show the way to the physically established Janaganja. Only a Yogi can do this, and Pandit Gopinath Kaviraj ji did this task in written form with the help of his spiritual master Swami Vishuddhanand Paramhamsa. This is the only material evidence we have in hands. Kaviraj ji has clearly stated in this book, 'one can find this place at every state oflife, physical and mental i.e. spiritual. If the Yogi and aspirant find this place at spiritual state, then he would find and see and visit there physically too.'

Let us enter into this mystic state of mind located outside too with full of mists and secret caves, outside and inside.