Logo

It has been an elevating experience to translate It Susruma, the collected discourses of revered Swami Dharmamegha Aranya, from Bengali into English. I am deeply grateful to respected Swami Bhaskar Aranya of Kapil Math, Madhupur, for giving me the opportunity to take on this work, which I had long wished to do, ever since the publication of Iti Susruma in the form of a book. I can remember the time, when standing near the Kapil Cave, along with my mother Srimati Madhuri Gupta, I first saw Acarya Swamiji in early childhood. His gracious and blessed presence and his compassionate spirit left such a lasting impression on me, that to this day the memory sustains me. We met Dharmamegha Swamiji, on the same occasion in another part of the Math premises. He very generously spared us some time and spoke to us and even showed me a sundial in the garden and explained to me how it worked. While translating the fourth section of the book, Iti Susruma entitled ‘Miscellaneous’ I recalled that incident. The interest and delight that Dharmamegha Swamiji took in natural phenomena, the cycle of seasons, the animals, birds and insects, the wonders of the firmament, the stars, and the workings of the universe, are reflected in his discourses, as also his involvement in astronomy, physiology and psychology. Those days at Biram, the ladies’ quarter of the Math, Swamiji’s mother known to everybody as Sadhu Ma, was in charge. She was a wonderful person, gentle, unassuming and full of affection for all those around her. Although we were stationed far from Madhupur and were not able to visit the Math often, we were in steady touch with Dharmamegha Swamiji through correspondence. His spiritual guidance and counsel helped us face life through its changing phases. In his Passing away there was a great void, but his spoken and written words remained behind, as a spiritual legacy to fall back upon. Swamiji was tireless in his effort to initiate the devotees to the ideals of the Samkhya- yoga system, the practice of recollection and right conduct through restraints (yama) and observances (niyama) which would lead one on the path of peace and enlightenment. His message rings clear through his letters, discourses and other writings in prose and verse, that although one cannot necessarily alter the external circumstances, one can change oneself from within and prepare for the path of liberation (moksa) as emphasized earlier by his revered guru Swami Hariharananda Aranya. I have been assisted by Dr. (Smt.) Rajul Sogani of Delhi University in this work and we have derived immense benefit from the endeavour. In this attempt we have remained faithful to the original Bengali text of Iti Susruma as far as possible. An index has also been prepared according to the different topics of discourse. We hope that the English reader will profit from the translation and become conversant with the essential spirit of Swamiji’s teachings.