Kalayati iti Kaalah (One who keeps account is Kaalah or End/Nemesis)
कालोऽस्मि लोकक्षयकृत्प्रवृद्धो
लोकान्समाहर्तुमिह प्रवृत्त: |
ऋतेऽपि त्वां न भविष्यन्ति सर्वे
येऽवस्थिता: प्रत्यनीकेषु योधा: (Gita: Chapter 11, verse 32) (source: https://www.holy-bhagavad-gita.org/)
kālo ’smi loka-kṣhaya-kṛit pravṛiddho
lokān samāhartum iha pravṛittaḥ
ṛite ’pi tvāṁ na bhaviṣhyanti sarve
ye ’vasthitāḥ pratyanīkeṣhu yodhāḥ
I am Kaala, the supreme annihilator, engaged in the destruction of the worlds. All the warriors will cease to exist, even if you do not fight.
Shaulmari - A facade?
In the 1960s one Sadhu Saradananda, belonging to the Shaulmari ashrama was speculated to be Netaji and it created some sensations in the early part of 1960 when long term Netaji associates like Major Satya Gupta declared him to be Netaji. Even Uttam Chand Malhotra, who had sheltered Netaji in Kabul, had later claimed that the Shaulmari sadhu was none other than Netaji and had taken initiative to collect funds for him Nehru took notice of the controversy and sent Surendra Mohan Ghosh to check the facts. However the interest soon petered out as Saradananda never came out in public to declare himself as Netaji. He was later identified to be a former revolutionary belonging to the Anushilon samity, who had escaped conviction. He still had some committed disciples like Suresh Padhye who thought him to be Netaji. He also met few INA men like Col. Thakur. He later died in Dehra Dun in 1977. Another great man had claimed about the Shaulmari episode that it was a facade, a "parallel bluff". The great man was known as Mahakal.
Critics of Netaji's afterlife refuse to believe that he could become a hermit. Their main point of contention are two fold - actually one if we look closely - 1) A person like Netaji cannot remain hidden for so long. Its uncharacteristic of him, who was always a man of action 2) "Netaji was a Tiger. Tigers don't hide. To the second contention Adheer Som has a response in his book, chapter "Impossible", "a) sannyas is not a form of hiding but of spiritual pursuit in seclusion that has long been a hallowed Indian tradition; and b) Tigers DO hide - they hide when they are hunted, they hide when they hunt, and they hide as they bide their time to spring." The first contention, however, is answered by a mysterious hermit - Mahakal.
Bhagwanji or Mahakal - Der Uebermensch von Basti
Dead Ghost, or Mahakal
A series of articles appeared in the Jayasree magazine by a certain penname called Charanik, which created some flutter in the later 1960s and 1970s. The writings were abstruse and cryptic and they portrayed the teachings of a certain spiritual person named Mahakal who used to call himself a Mrito Bhoot or dead ghost. The narrations were based on journals and notes of the disciples of the aforementioned Mahakal. Some of the intelligent minds however could guess the true identity of Mahakal, but the way the articles were written, they never gave away the names and the locations. Seasoned journalists like Barun Sengupta however sensed that there were more behind these articles and conjectured whether they pertained to Netaji. The articles only provided the activities, the viewpoints - both political and spiritual and some form of after life of a super human who was dead to the society. Since then, the articles have been republished by Jayasree in a book titled Oi Mahamanab Ase. The book has also been translated to English, but is not widely available.
The dead ghost in this narrative says(translated), "Do you know what a ghost thinks? A ghost understands everything. After the ghost leaves his belongings, those whom he had left behind would be redesigning it according to their own desires. The new owners think that we are enjoying his property and wealth, he must not return anymore to make claims. We must ensure that he does not return. He should not be able to provide any proof that he has returned. Make some grand designs so that he can never make a claim even if he comes back from dead. The ghost, perhaps, laughs! What he has renounced....could he make any claim on that? The ghost goes back, with a shrill, hearty laugh, and waits bidding his time." - An apt description of the state of mind of a person who is officially dead and whom the state leaders refuse to accept for the fear of losing their position.
The narrative also compares, in a most cryptic form, the narrator, to king Nala in Mahabharata, who was bitten by the snake Karkotaka, whom he had saved from fire. In response to Nala's accusation that Karkotaka was a traitor, the snake said that he had returned the favour as Nala's enemies now wouldn't be able to identify him. He would be able to get back his form whenever he desired to return.
The narrator is a Sadhaka, a devotee of the mother Sri Durga Kali, whom he identifies with the janani janmabhumi or the mother land. The Sadhaka is a sannyasin but his preferred spiritual sadhana is Tantra. He has already realized mother Kali who had ordered him to work for her. It is her bidding that he is doing. His sadhana, mission is to see a rejuvenated India that is Akhanda, all areas restored and it would regain its place in the world as the spiritual master of all races and nations.
We'll try to deconstruct some of the activities of this Mahamanab as per his sayings -
After being declared dead the Mahamanab or Mahakal went to China and from there to Russia. Before moving to China (Manchuria), Mahakal stayed in Saigon and Ho Chi Minh was his host. He participated in the November conference in Vietnam and helped Vietnamese in their war against the French. In 1946 he moved to Russia and met Stalin. He was possibly interned in a Gulag in Russia for sometime, briefly, but then gained the confidence of the Russian leadership who allowed him to move to China. They also helped him establish a secret base which he keeps referring to as his horizon, somewhere in the remote, uninhabited stretches of Siberia or near the Central Asia (Pamir) - a vast no man's land that does not come under any international jurisdiction. The Horizon conducts top secret work for the welfare of the world in general but India in particular.
Mahakal became a great friend of Mao in China and helped Mao in gaining power. He helped him in many ways in devising strategies to conquer and defeat his enemies. Mao returned his favour by being absolutely loyal to him.
Mahakal moved to India by traversing the length and breadth of the Himalayas but often traveled back to his "base".
Mahakal as General Death or General Shiva helped Dalai Lama cross over to India and helped in organizing the Tibetan revolution as a leader of the Khampa tribe. He also helped North Vietnam in its war against the US. He advised the poet president to drop truckloads of addictive (cocaine) among the American troops which helped in decimating them. War, according to him, is a cold, calculated affair, and should be devoid of emotions. Mahakal also played a significant role in the liberation of Bangladesh by actively working in organizing the Mukti Bahini forces and training them in guerrilla warfare.
Last but not the least, Mahakal's goal and vision is to restore the unity and integrity of India and he would appear again when his goal is achieved. After that he would disappear forever. He explained how the maps of the world would be changed.
Mahakal was very bitter about Communism. He predicted that the "Godless creed, which is just a few centuries old, would surely die. It would die at its source." He was working actively to ensure its destruction.
Jayasree, the magazine was started by Leela Nag Roy, a famous revolutionary, in 1931. Its cover page was designed by Nandalal Bose and the introductory message was given by Rabindranath Tagore. Because of its uncompromising stand during the British rule and its open support for the revolutionaries, it was banned for a brief period by the British. Jayasree was and still is a magazine dedicated to Indian Nationalism and in promoting the ideals of Subhas Chandra Bose. (Images below: From left to right - Leela Roy, Biplobi Trailokya Maharaj, Dilip Kumar Roy)
Leela Roy nee Nag, was an inspiration herself. Born in the year 1900, she was a well respected freedom fighter, founder of Deepali Sangha, a champion of woman's emancipation, established schools for women's education, and was the first woman M.A from Dhaka University. Her future husband Anil Roy, a philosopher and fellow revolutionary, was the founder member of Sri Sangha, a revolutionary organization . Together they aligned with Subhas Chandra Bose, the rising star of Indian Nationalism. Leela Nag had been instrumental in helping Subhas in organizing relief efforts during the North Bengal floods. Leela was invited to speak on women's role in the 1928 Congress organized by Subhas in Calcutta. She had set up a Martial Arts training school for women. She became a member of the planning commission of Congress when Subhas became the president of Congress in 1938. Before that she and Anil Roy were in jail for five years, soon after starting Jayasree. Preetilata Wadeddar, an architect of Chattagram uprising and armoury raid in fact originally belonged to Sri Sangha. When Subhas Bose went to East Bengal in 1940, Leela Roy and her organization became his pillar of support. Leela and Anil were staunchly with Subhas even when he was driven out of Congress, and joined the Forward Bloc. After Subhas's escape, Leela and Anil were again jailed by the British during Quit India Movement and remained in jail until 1946. Netaji wanted to enlist Leela's help. In fact he wanted her to come over to Burma and Singapore and join the INA. The plan was that when INA soldiers would cross the frontiers of India there would be a huge uprising in Bengal and Leela and Anil's Sri Sangha would play a pivotal role. However betrayal and jealousy of some other revolutionary organizations derailed this plan. Leela and Anil came out of the British prison in 1946. The news of Netaji's plane crash had come. The forward bloc had split into two and Leela and Anil formed the Subhasist Forward Bloc. They had a band of young followers who were staunch Subhash loyalists and would do anything for him. Leela was elected to the Constituent Assembly from Bengal in 1946. Leela played a very active role in helping the riot victims, esp. women in Noakhali and other parts of Bengal that were torn apart by the violence. Thousands of Hindu women were raped, others were murdered and forcefully converted. Leela and her organization worked among the victims to rehabilitate them, provide them strength and support. She was accompanying Gandhiji in his tour of the riot torn parts. In the early 1950s she lost her long time companion and husband. After that she focused entirely on running homes for destitute women and resettlement of refugees.
In 1963, when prof Atul Sen discovered Bhagwanji in a Shivalaya in Neemsar, news reached Leela through Dr. Pabitramohan Roy, the ex INA intelligence officer who had been instructed to contact the beloved Didi. Dr. Roy was given a list of items to be procured but had no idea how to get them and hence he approached Didi for the same. Leela got the items in no time and she also got the news of the "return of the king". She was amazed but she wanted to verify herself. "The eternal impossible comes in the disguise of eternal possibilities", she wrote in her memoir. After a painful wait she finally met her "Leader" and what transpired after that was written in the books, "Gumnami Baba, a Case History" by Adheer Som, "Conundrum, Subhas Bose's life after death" by Anuj Dhar and Chandrachud Ghosh, "India's Biggest Cover Up", by Anuj Dhar, Dr. Madhusudan Pal's book, and other investigative reports on Bhagwanji that have been published since 1985.
Leela took care of all material needs of Bhagwanji. She ensured that he got the best possible health care through her trusted revolutionary cum kaviraj Kamalakanta Ghosh (fondly called as Kamal by Bhagwanji) and homeopathic doctor S.K Das. Then she sent words to several people who she knew would keep the secret including Dr. R.C Majumdar and Netaji's friend Dilip Kumar Roy. Bhagwanji had told her that the time was not ripe for him to come out and that his enemies whom he referred to as the "combination" , were keeping a hawk eyed watch for any movement whatsoever. They knew that he was alive, but they did not know his coordinates, because of his extremely spartan lifestyle and his ability to keep himself out of the reach of common people. He never came out in public and always talked from behind a curtain. People who were lucky to see his face reported that they saw an unearthly glow - e.g. Surajit Dasgupta who deposed before Mukherjee Commission. They could not keep looking into his eyes for long, so powerful and intense was his gaze. That would have hindered a normal conversation and possibly that was why he always remained behind the curtain. But his voice was unmistakable and so were his mannerisms. In fact Leela Roy told him categorically that its good that he chose the remote villages of UP for hiding. Had he been in Bengal he would have been found out even if he had remained behind "seven walls". She said that his style of delivering Bengali speeches remained unchanged, that little stammer, that prolonging of sentences... those words that were used, all remained exactly the same (as that of Subhas Chandra Bose) and she could vividly recollect the earlier interactions, the places, the circumstances. The style is the man himself. Bhagwanji was concerned and sought advices from Lee as to how he could change his style so that anybody else could not detect him.
His 'Lee" came back and informed a select group of intellectuals and her own band of die hard followers of Sri Sangha who never forsook Netaji even under extreme duress. She informed Dilip Kumar Roy who was a sannyasi in Haridwar that his friend had come back. She informed intellectuals who were staunch followers of Subhas and who had never got any favours from Nehru, like Dr. R. C Majumdar, the noted historian who was the first to assert that it was INA that had won the independence from British and not Gandhian non violence, Swami Aseemanand Saraswati, Trailokya Chakrabarty Maharaj the eminent freedom fighter from East Bengal who shared the same cell in the Mandalay with Subhas, Ashrafuddin Ahamad Chaudhury, a minister in East Pakistan and a close former follower of Subhas, Ashutosh Ganguli, Beena Bhaumik nee Das, daughter of Beni Madhab Das, Subhas's teacher, mentor and guide whose photo was found in the possession of Bhagwanji, and the Bengal Volunteer stalwarts Hemchandra Ghosh and Satyaranjan Bakshi. She sent her emissaries and trusted aides, Sunil Das, brother of revolutionary Anil Das, another Anil Das, who was an ex INA man, Kamalakanta kaviraj, a revolutionary and a close associate of kaviraj Vimalananda Tarkatirtha, who was deputed to treat Bhagwanji, Santosh Bhattacharya (Tosh), another Sri Sangha veteran who served Subhas when he was in East Bengal, Shailendra Das, Mrs. Shaila Sen, Apurba Ghosh, Dulal Nandy (Brajanandan) and later Bijoy Nag, her own nephew and adopted son. A day before he disappeared, Netaji had met Anil Das of INA and told him to remain prepared and also had asked Hikari Kikan to equip him with transmitters and revolvers. Along with INA veteran Dr. Pabitramohan Roy, another revolutionary Ashutosh Kahli met Bhagwanji and had correspondences with him until his accidental death. Trailokya Maharaj had correspondences with Bhagwanji and identified him as his cell mate and stated that the "oppressed people of Bengal eagerly awaits deliverance from their suffering by their beloved leader." Another person who was in constant touch was Forward Bloc leader Professor Samar Guha. After 1979 however when Samar Guha had published a fake photo of Netaji to prove that he had come back, he fell out of favour and Bhagwanji debarred him from further visits. It is to be noted that Bhagwanji never agreed for any photograph of his. He also prevented others from recording his voice. He was not known to the outside world other than his trusted and devoted band of disciples and followers. They were under oath to keep his secret.
Kamalakanta, Sunil Das and Santosh rendered all possible services. In fact after meeting Bhagwanji the sole concern and aim of life of Leela Roy was to take care of his health and material well being. As testified by Rajkumar Shukla, before Leela came, they - his mother Saraswati Shukla, an unlettered widow, daughter of Mahadev Mishra, a priest in Nepal who accompanied Bhagwanji from Nepal to India, himself, and Bhagwanji, had very little means for sustenance. They had no place for living and lived under a polythene sheet for several months and ate whatever chance provided. In Bhagwanji's own language he did "Akashvritti or Yayati Vritti". It was after meeting Leela Roy that they no longer had any problem of basic needs. This was another mystery. Even though Bhagwanji knew all the bigwigs of UP Government and also several rich people, he never took any help from any of them.
After he had his "punarmilan" with his "Lee" Bhagwanji opened himself up to reveal his intentions and plan and his past exploits, esp. what happened after the "plane crash". About the young adjutant Habibur Rahman, who stood by his order he had said in the course of a conversation (translated), "A complete man, he never swerved from what was ordered to him, even under extreme provocation." Many letters were written to Lee where he had provided spiritual and political advices to her, and where he revealed his plan of action often in cryptic language. He also revealed his vision, plan and action to the group of die hard followers and those visions and plans appeared as articles in the Jayasree patrika from 1966 onwards, written under pen name "Charanik". Later all these articles were compiled in the book "Oi Mahamanab Ase". It was Sunil Das, also fondly called as "Mukul" by Bhagwanji, who initially wrote under that pen name. Later Sri Bijoy Nag took up that responsibility. Here Bhagwanji refers to himself as "Mahakal". He was a devotee of the goddess Durga Kali who had entrusted him with a mission To Bhagwanji, the eternal Shakti, mother Durga Kali also stood for his country, his "Janani janmabhoomi" Bengal and he was extremely pained and saddened by the partition inflicted upon her by power hungry, corrupt politicians. To restore her back to her former self and old glory was his sadhana, his mission and purpose. For that he was ready to lead a life of complete self abnegation and self effacement. He had no plans of coming back to the political arena as in his own words, "Indian politics - ugh, it stinks."
Slowly and steadily he opened up to his followers about his life as a "Mrito Bhoot", the activities of the dead ghost and the earth shattering consequences of his mission and sadhana of accomplishing mother Kali's tasks. "The Bengal shall rise, Godless greedy creed of communism will die at the place of its birth." He had a vision of restoring India to her former glories and to her former shape, by restoring her to the former self, and that was the end to which he and his "horizon" were working, often bringing major upheavals across the world. He revealed to Lee that his work and activity spread across the entire Asia and beyond, liberating nations from the tyranny of the Western powers. "You cannot imagine what powers this dead ghost is wielding and what are his spheres of influences, your head will reel if I tell you." He said that indisciplined democracy is a mobocracy, a demonscracy, in the context of Indian democracy.
'This time, No chances, No mistakes, No failures." that's why he had to live in secrecy, in deprivation. He also possibly contacted Suresh Bose in total secrecy, through messengers like Sukrit or Sunil Krishna. Years later we got to know the reason. Declassified documents revealed that IB of Nehru under B.N Mallik snooped on the family members for a long time for any possible contacts. IB knew that the dead man was walking but possibly did not know his intentions and motive as well as the exact coordinates.
Sarat Bose had died peacefully in 1950 knowing that his favorite Subi was in China. An Interpress report (German equivalent of IB) corroborated that Subhas was in China. The same was claimed by M. Thevar, a close Subhas follower, in 1956 in a press conference. Deben Sen saw a uniformed Subhas Bose in Marseilles airport who forbade him to approach him. Suresh Bose submitted his dissentient report as part of the Shah Nawaz committee. An original copy of the dissentient report, with a note, "To my beloved Devar, immortal be thou" (brother in law) was found among Bhagwanji's belongings in Ram Bhavan. Lalita Bose, who visited Ram Bhavan after Bhagwanji's death, after reading the investigative series in Northern India Patrika, recognized that handwriting on the report and confirmed that it was her mother's.
One of the key and profound statements of Bhagwanji in the book Oi Mahamanab Ase is that "I have undergone a complete Metamorphosis." In fact this is the theme taken by Anuj Dhar and Chandrachud Ghosh in their last chapter of the book Conundrum, Subhas Bose's Life After Death. They key point which Bhagwanji wanted to make is that one should not try to compare him with his earlier self, going by his statements, activities and professed ideologies twenty, thirty or forty years ago, as he had been changed completely, through the experiences and the ordeals undergone by him.
The Mahamanab or the great man was an astute military strategist, possessed a superhuman sense of international affairs whereby he predicted a lot of events even before they occurred. He says, to quote from Oi Mahamanab Ase - "Spread over a period, shocks after shocks with mounting crescendo SHALL be coming (to India). A deep deep malign cancer is sapping out the vital saps of India. Like a Devilish Octopus it has spread over and caught in its tentacles the whole body and spread over and outside. It has been thus for two thousand years. A most serious disease, fatal and malign, requires more than equal serious diagnosis and treatment..."
'What is obtained too cheap - is esteemed too lightly. The present Government and party (and people too), obtained this freedom too cheap. Rude shocks are needed to jolt them up."
"Diabolical Godless Communism shall be buried 1000 fathoms deep, never to rise"
"Only China proper (shorn of her skirt frills) shall live, sans Communism."
Mahakal, the name that he had given himself had only contempt for contemporary Indian politics - "Indian politics...urgh..it stinks." Reminds us of a person who was greatly betrayed and hurt by the politicians once, way back in 1939, when despite winning the presidential election of Congress he had to step down because Gandhivadis won't let him function. By irony of fate the same Gandhivadis became the rulers of India. The Mahamanab had stated in a letter, "You can't imagine what vexatious dog life this dead man is living." He went without proper food for three years while staying in Neemsar and other places in U.P, had to take shelter under a tarpaulin and had to endure many miseries, all for the sake of his nation.
About East Pakistan he had predicted well before the Bangladesh war, "after some years it will be a line written in history that area was known for a short time as Pakistan." But at the same time he warned against reuniting Bengal. He said, "you and your people let East Bengal get the whole - gamut of the thing. Never, never anyone of you shout and shriek for United Bengal for heaven's sake...Them, the Muslims of East Bengal have been so primed as to be in no mood to be united with Hindu West Bengal. They want to taste independent Muslim Bengal. Let the Muslims of East Bengal have it seemingly on their own gas, first." and then comes a chiller, "The next stage shall crop up thereafter". Did he foresee the murder of democracy in Bangladesh along with the extermination of the entire family of Sheikh Mujib? He warned his disciples from East Bengal, not to go to the other side after mid of August 1975, beforehand. He was extremely upset about partition of India, esp. the brutal rape and killing of thousands of Hindu women and children. He said that women were carried in shiploads to Africa and Middle East for becoming sex slaves. He said that conservative Muslims don't like Hindus because they know that the Hindus are cowards, that they will flee at the first signs of trouble. But they know to obey when they see a commanding presence - "with a thundering whip and a stern command". Did he talk about himself, that as a leader he was one unifying presence over religious divisions? He said that the world worships bravery and strength. He said that what India needed were brilliant military strategists. After Chanakya no master strategist was ever born in India and the nation did not invest in developing its military power. Therefore it paid heavily for the two thousand years. Now he said something more significant, "Remember, your men are in every key place here and overseas. This time their garbs are legal. They simply cannot be touched and detected. Under their garbs they are working, they are in key positions in all the key capitals and on the nerve centres which count, manipulating, pulling, suppressing, exploding, creating and forcing issues and policies, mystifying - clarifying and shaping...all only with a single purpose. This time, no chances, no mistakes, no failure." He knew that betrayals were the prime reasons why most of the movements against the British had failed. So he was doubly cautious, he did not trust anybody with all information. He was extremely reticent with information.
Much before publishing of the Gulag Archipelago, this wonderful man had given a vivid description of the labour camps in Siberia (translated) - labours, teachers, scientists, craftsmen, authors all interned - 5000 to 25000 people in these camps, around 49 such camps. All ultra modern things of daily needs are produced there. The pain is unimaginable. Out of the pangs of hunger men eat their own skins. "Keep your back hot by heavy work", no shelter from cold.
He predicted the existence of an underground city in Beijing much before it was known to general public. He vividly described the gory details associated with the cultural revolution of Mao (of rivers of blood, bodies being dumped and transported in trucks and firing continuing through the night) as if he was an eye witness to the macabre scenes.
This great man said much before the CIA report was published, that he had advised Ho Chi Minh to drop cartloads of drugs (cocaine) among US soldiers and make them addicted so that they would lose their ability to fight. He said, "America, the most powerful nation, if, even after fighting for thousand years will not be able to win over North Vietnam." "War is no sentimental business," he had said, "its a cold, calculated affair. No war can be conducted and fought with kid gloves. Modern war esp. takes an appalling toll both in human lives and property. No civilized nation risks it lightly but when it is forced on, it has to be waged in such a manner that makes the opponent wince. This is not done in a vindictive manner but in a cold calculated way to break the opponent's morale, so that he is forced to sue for peace."
But he also has the message of hope for India. "In the inviolable and most Divine name of mother Jagadamba Durga, Bhavani, Chandi, Bengal - India SHALL rise again in her full glory. Corrupt people on my motherland's soil will be completely eliminated gradually. And after a specified period dishonest persons will not have the right to exist on Indian soil. And one, rather, your SAMARITAN shall lead whole world to the fourth stage of civilization.." He outlined his vision for growth, development, peace and prosperity of India.
Years ago a son of mother Bengal had said, "If Bengal lives who dies? And if Bengal dies...who lives!" To him Bengal was synonymous with greater India and his personal God Sri Sri Durga Kali.
He said (translated from Bengali) " Throughout Asia and even outside what is happening you won't and can't know. Simply put, rice is boiling in a big cauldron. Until the rice is prepared there is utter chaos. Then rice will come out, pure, white, i.e all things will end well. The offering will begin with Bengal. And after that there are many many..." By Bengal being the first place he meant the liberation of Bengal from Pakistan's clutch. He predicted about Pakistan that after curving out Bangladesh, disturbances will begin in Baluchistan and Pakhtunistan. Ultimately Pakistan will be, in his language, "khanda..khandah...khandaah" - broken, broken twice and broken into many parts. He described himself as a born revolutionary, a guerrilla. He said, "a guerrilla is always alert and ready for pouncing." Sometimes his lamentations pertaining to the past are revealing, "I had high hopes, that after crossing Burma, Bengal will rise like a single person. When the English commander was about to surrender, four men betrayed....wheels of fortune turned." He was simply referring to the defeat of INA in Kohima and Imphal. After winning Moirang, INA was about to gain an upper hand when due to lack of food and the monsoon the soldiers had to retreat. Garewal and Prabhudayal had betrayed and went over to the British camp. That turned the battle fortune as British came to know of the pitiable, wretched condition of the INA soldiers and the Japanese.
He made shocking revelations - "After second world war atleast 50 wars were fought, America had not been able to win a single of them." "Thingle", he said, imitating Churchill, claiming that he was alive to reveal that little secret that Churchill could not say "S".
He claimed that he helped Dalai Lama to escape to India when he was betrayed by Nehru, as General Shiva or General Death. It is written in Thomas Llowell Junior's book on Dalai Lama says that a certain leader of the Khampa tribes, a General Death or General Shiva, helped the great Lama escape to India from China when Tibet was under siege. And yet Mahakal seemed to be the greatest of the pals of Mao Tse Tung whom he referred to as Tunga Bhadra (with Bengali pronunciation of Mao's last name). He also claimed great camaraderie with Ho Chi Minh whom he refereed to as the poet president. He gave hints as to how he helped Vietnam to win against US - "the pride of nine generals and a shadow behind them." The photo of Paris peace conference truly reveals a shadowy figure behind the Vietnamese delegation, who look every much like what Subhas Bose would have looked in his old age. Nobody could say who the bearded, bespectacled, somber looking person was.
Great wisdom poured from him, "The world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going. The ability to make up your mind inspires self confidence, it gives you inner power, and it commands the respect of your fellow men."
From Upanishads and Gita to Nuclear physics to military strategy to international politics and diplomacy to occult to spirituality and Yoga and Pranayama to para science to history - Mahakal is a vast repository of knowledge. He was in touch with atleast two great spiritual figures - Anandamayi Ma and Sri Sitaramdas Omkarnath. He had a great devotion for Sri Ramakrishna whom he called as 'Sri Satgurudev'.
He says (translated from Bengali), "India has a mission, a message, for spreading that message India is alive for centuries after centuries... He urges all Indians "to win over their weaknesses and go ahead and lay claim to the greatness, sacrifice for the sake of the divine mother", exactly in the same way one great man had inspired millions of Indians living in East Asia to give up everything and fight for the independence of their motherland.
Mahakal's goal was simple - Reunification of a partitioned India. That was his tapasya, for that tapasya he had to remain hidden, as per his letter to "Lee". He was a spymaster engaged in activities that had far reaching consequences for the geopolitics and hence he had no intention to come out in the open until his goal was achieved. Also he mentioned that his name was in the War Criminal's List and hence if he had come out India would be in trouble as the allied forces would demand his handover.
As per his prophecies, he predicted that India would have to go through a period of Catharsis where shock after shock will be administered to the country over a period of time until it reaches a crescendo. The red shirts (read the leftists) will enter into a pitched battle with the Nationalists, then the red shirts will fight among themselves and globally the leftist ecosystem will crumble. And then will come the fulfillment. But India will have to pay a heavy price since India and Indians have forgotten the people who brought freedom to them. After that, will emerge a new India, a glorious India.
"A Tryst with Mahakaal The Ghost Who Never Died" is a fictional novel written by Tilak Dutta on the basis of the above theme.
Media Attention - How People got to Know: Mukherjee Commission's Role
Journalists got to know about Bhagwanji after his supposed death in 1985. Ashok Tandon of Naye Log first published a series of articles in Ganga magazine about a "Gumnami" baba in Faizabad, whom the locals knew to be Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. Syed Kauser Hussein, Nirmal Nibedon and V.N Arora made a series of stories for Northern India Patrika, a publication of the Amrita Bazar group. Lalita Bose, niece of Netaji had come down to Ram Bhavan where Bhagwanji had lived during his last years, and with the help of the journalists and lawyers made an appeal in Allahabad High Court to preserve the properties (mostly books and documents and photos of the Bose family members) belonging to the saint who she thought to be her uncle. Adheer Som in 'Gumnami Baba a Case History' and Anuj Dhar and Chandrachud Ghosh in Conundrum provide a comprehensive account of Bhagwanji's activities, his antecedents and the people associated with him. It was during the hearings of the Mukherjee Commission, that a lot of information came out about Gumnami Baba, from both the disciples of Bhagwanji, as well as his other acquaintances, esp. those who had seen the person behind the veil. Some of them had also known Netaji - like Shrikant Sharma Kanha. However the DNA test done on the teeth that were assumed to be of Bhagwanji's, did not match with the DNA samples from Netaji's family on the mother's side, as per the official report. That said, there were a lot of documentary and oral evidences in favour of Bhagwanji being Netaji Subhas Bose, which cannot be outright ignored. Anuj Dhar of Mission Netaji has taken the help of atleast two well known handwriting experts - Curt Baggett and Ashok Kashyap, who have testified publicly that the letters of Bhagwanji and that of Netaji are written by the same person and that there is no chance of any forgery. A similar opinion was expressed by noted handwriting expert B Lal Kapoor in Mukherjee Commission, who had produced a detail report in support of his conclusion. But two Government experts denied any such match and hence Mukherjee Commission could not come to a definite conclusion in this matter. Anuj Dhar and Chandrachud Ghosh have discussed the issue in great length in their book Conundrum, to explain why the Government forensic opinions differed from that of the private experts and why they should be rejected.
Justice Mukherjee, in an offline conversation with director Amlan Kusum Ghosh, in 2010, had made a comment that he was one hundred percent sure that Bhagwanji was Netaji. The comment, though off the record, was unintentionally captured in a video.
Of all the three possibilities regarding Netaji, the possibility of his being metamorphosed as Bhagwanji, appears stronger owing to the above considerations. However majority of the Bose family members, have strongly rejected the possibility. The Government of India has also not declassified the confidential IB files that would have thrown more light on this issue, and its official position, that Netaji died in a plane crash in 1945, remains same. Other detractors and rival researchers like Dr. Purabi Roy have claimed that Bhagwanji was a dummy planted by the Indian Government to cover the fact that Netaji was killed in Russia.
Bhagwanji apparently died or disappeared on September 16, 1985. A body was cremated in Guptar Ghat in presence of 13 disciples on September 18. While some of the researchers like Anuj Dhar assert that this is the actual death of Netaji, based on evidences of the witnesses who were present, there are others who believe that he had enacted another disappearance, to reappear when his country needs him.
Recently the Government of U.P has transferred the belongings of Bhagwanji or Gumnami Baba to the Ram Katha Sangrahalaya, based on the judgement given by Allahabad High court to set up a museum to preserve them.
Sahai Commission, which was constituted by the U.P Government of Akhilesh Yadav, to find who Gumnami Baba was, headed by Justice Vishnu Sahai had submitted its report to the Government of UP, which was tabled in the UP Assembly in December 2019. Vishnu Sahai has reached the conclusion that Bhagwanji was not Netaji, but a disciple of Netaji. However he has failed to ascertain who that disciple was. Also to bolster his arguments Justice Sahai took the help of a letter from a young teenager called Bulbul, who had requested Bhagwanji to visit her home on Netaji's birthday. But Justice Sahai did not make any attempt to find out who Bulbul was. Bulbul was later identified to be the daughter of Santosh Bhattacharya or Tosh, a long time Bhagwanji associate. Bulbul or Suhita Bhattacharya, has come up with a disclaimer saying that she had written that letter as a teenager because her father told her to do so and her father Santosh Bhattacharya believed that Bhagwanji was Netaji. Since Justice Sahai has not been able to establish the identity of Gumnami Baba, his findings are not very relevant to the case and the Gumnami mystery still lingers on in the official papers. Justice Sahai's conclusions that Gumnami Baba was not Netaji is based on the DNA test result and Mukherjee Commission's report and hence he had rejected most of the oral and documentary evidences that support the hypothesis that Gumnami Baba was Netaji.
Recently RTI Activist Sayak Sen has unearthed an important information. In response to the RTI filed by him the CFSL Kolkata, one of the organizations to have conducted the DNA test on Bhagwanji's teeth and declared the results to be negative, has stated that the electropherogram which is a must for DNA results to be interpreted, is not available, thus putting up a question mark on the quality and integrity of the DNA test conducted. However after an uproar by the media the agency got back saying that the report is available but cannot be shared, thus raising even more questions on the integrity. A renowned forensic expert of Benares Hindu University, Gyaneshwar Chobey, has raised serious allegations on the quality of the report, on media (source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/lucknow/cfsl-s-flip-flop-raises-more-questions-about-gumnami-baba/story-wTr6n3NdwtyJBoJq2HEIsM.html)
Update: The Government of India in response to the latest RTI filed by Sayak Sen on the Electropherogram report of the DNA test, has unequivocally stated that the said report will result in major internal troubles and may lead to jeopardizing foreign relations. The GoI cannot be more explicit than this. The DNA report belongs to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose who was Bhagwanji. Sahai Commission report becomes junk as a result and will be removed from this website. Given the handwriting matches by three renowned experts which cannot be a coincidence, and the indirect admission of Governmentabout the sensitivity of the DNA report, it is conclusively taken by this website that Bhagwanji was none other than Netaji.
Few media reports are collated here -
2. https://www.weeklyblitz.net/news/indira-gandhi-and-her-cohorts-forced-netaji-subhash-chandra-bose-into-isolation/
3. https://www.news18.com/news/india/the-disappearance-of-netaji-conspiracy-theories-over-the-last-70-years-1098032.html
4. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/letters-prove-netaji-was-gumnami-baba-book/articleshow/69032271.cms
5. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/Air-crash-theory-a-ruse-by-Subhas/articleshow/49053519.cms
6. https://www.thedailystar.net/the-russian-connection-60157
7. https://zeenews.india.com/exclusive/netaji-was-not-dead-but-in-russia-and-the-govt-knew-it_3601.html
9. https://www.latestlaws.com/latest-news/carl-baggett-letters-show-gumnami-baba-was-netaji/
