Akron daily Democrat. [volume] (Akron, Ohio) 1892-1902, 1899-08-19
SWAMI BHAsKARANANDA.

culiar asceticism. He was either Udasi
or Digambar dcvotee, more probably the
latter The Udasi live in monasteries,
but they eat in the houses of Hindoos of
all castles and accept food cooked by 9TH
er persons. At the creation of new
Udasi they distribute Il sweetneat called
habua. Some Of them are called Naga,
from nagua, naked, because they go na-
ked. This is also true of some other Hin
doc sects, including the Gosains and
Bairagis. The latter are inOrdinate beg
gars. Many of these sectaries lead i'm
moral and criminal lives, but the Digam-
bar devotees, while they go naked like
the others, lead pure lives. They live
separately from society and from all fam
lily connections.
\ Digambar is one who has all the
world for covering. In his manner of
life Swami Bhaskarananda practiced
even more than the customary asceticism
of the Digambar, and he entirely avoided
the greediness and gluttony of the Udasi.
Living apart from all the rest of the
world. he became a celebrity in his retire
ment. and his place of retreat became as
much an object Of curiosity to tourists as
the historic show places of Benares.
Benares is to the Hindoo what Mecca
is to the Mohammedan. Jerusalem to the
Jew and Calvary TO the Christian. 1t is
the holy city of India Ii is so holy that
many distant rajahs always had dele
gates living there, who performed for
them the requisite services and ablutions.
Its ancient name is Cast the Splendid,
which the IIindoos still retain. 1t was
the ancient seat of Brahmanical learning,
and it is still the home of many Of the
priests of Brahma and the resort of piOus
pilgrims from all parts of India, who
come to make their ablutiOns in the sa
cred river. the Ganges. 1t has many
temples and holy wells, but the streets
are narrow and unsavory, and stenches
assail the noses of visitors at every turn.
Swami Bhaskarananda's whole life was
devoted to one object-that of obtaining
emancipation for the imprisoned spirit by
such bodily austerities as he believed
would annihilate its conscious connection
with the body and with material things.
He sought for himself such a deliverance
as would result in a state of divine tran
quillity even while he lived. Believing
that the passions alone we're the sources
of pain, he bore his self imposed suffer
ings as necessary to fit his individuated
spirit for reunion with God. According
TO the Hindoo belief, all spirit is God, in
tangible and unconnected with matter.
The spirit of man is individuated deity,
imprisoned and degraded. Complete alb
straction and absorption must be obtain
ed before the individuated spirit can be
united with deity.
To attain this end Swami Bhaskara-
uanda forsook his kindred and turned his
back upon society, lived a life of naked
ness and self immurement and sat in q
painful posture of the body for many
years that by these austerities his spirit
might be freed from its subsection to
matter. That there could be no greater
martyrdom than that which this devotee
chose for himself is attested by the fact
that tourists in India were not content
with viewing the Golden temple. the
shrine of the monkeys and the cesspools
of the gods, but almost without exception
directed their footsteps TO the cell of the
heather saint seeking reunion with God.
Even Christian martyrology tells no more
pathetic tale of the sacrifice of the body
to save the soul