Monk And His Disciple Poem by narayana aghalaya

A MONK AND HIS DISCIPLE

at Hathras, a monk on a platform bench,
set the ASM thinking on a hunch:

'dark night, sharp nose, sparkling eyes, so divine;
to greet this noble soul, am I destined? '

ASM, to the monk, bowing with respect,
told: 'sir, trains, at this late hour, none expects.'

'no problem, on this bench, I can take rest;
and to catch train, morning I will make haste.'

not satisfied with the Swamiji's plan,
‌ASM told: ' with cold, why take a chance? '

' please be my guest at home, over the night;
and catch the train, when it is warm and bright'

the two walked to ASM's modest home,
where the kindhearted soul lived all alone.

the ASM served, a frugal dinner;
to the hungry monk, it was a winner.

post-dinner they discussed, in general,
and seemed to gel, like long lost pals.

'Swamiji, what exactly do you do? '
the curious host asked, as if on cue.

'I just wander around where my feet take;
by widespread misery, my conscience shakes.'

'I carry no money, I live on alms;
this lifestyle, like a balm, helps me stay calm.'

after sometime, the two retired to sleep;
in ASM's mind, thoughts were churning, deep.

next day, the monk got ready to depart;
the kind host, had made up his mind, in short.

he told the monk now back on the platform:
'please wait; to resign, I should fill some forms.'

the anxious monk asked: ' have you thought it out?
to be a monk your heart needs to be stout.'

The ASM told: ' my mind is made up
to serve you; and on alms, I too will sup.'

off to office coming back bit later;
dressed in kurta, dhoti, simple attire.

the monk told, giving him his begging bowl:
'now show me, that you have ego-free soul;

show this bowl around here and collect alms,
from porters and other staff, in your palms.'

losing not a second, now ego free,
ex-ASM's divine side, all could see.
---
The monk was none other than Narendra Nath Datta, later rechristened Swami Vivekananda.
The Rly Station was Hathras Jn.
Now Hathras has become notorious for other reasons.
The Asst Station Master was Sharat Chandra Gupta, a Bengali gentleman who became the very first disciple of Swami Vivekananda.
Sharat Chandra Gupta was renamed Swami Sadananda of Ramakrishna Mission.
He devoted his life to spread the message of Vivekananda and build the Ramakrishna Mission.