Chitta Ranjan incognito⁸

On another occasion an elderly man was waiting for the young barrister. He had heard all about Chitta Ranjan Das. He knew that in addition to being extremely kind-hearted and generous, Chitta Ranjan always tried to be of service to the poor and the needy. This elderly man had walked from a distant village. He had never seen Chitta Ranjan personally and he did not know what he looked like. By making enquiries along the way, he had discovered where the young barrister lived, and so he decided to wait in the street with the hope of meeting Chitta Ranjan.

As the elderly man sat on the footpath, recovering from his long journey, a young man came up to him and kindly asked if he could be of any assistance to him. The elderly man immediately began to give a full account of his woes. He explained that he was in terrible financial difficulty. He could not afford to send his children to school; he could not even continue to feed his family. They were depending entirely on him to save them, but all his efforts to find employment had come to nothing. He desperately needed 2,000 rupees. The elderly man concluded by saying, “I am waiting here with the hope of speaking to him as he passes by. Is there any way that you can give him my message?”

The young man was puzzled. “Who is it that you are waiting to see?” he asked.

“I want to see Chitta Ranjan Das, who is always so kind and compassionate to the poor.”

“I happen to know him well,” the young man said. “He is now in court. If you come with me I shall take you to him.”

Then he took the elderly man by car to the high court and showed him to a small room. “Please be seated. I shall go and speak with Chitta Ranjan Das and I assure you that you will be given the necessary amount.”

In ten minutes’ time a junior clerk entered the room and gave the elderly man an envelope containing the necessary amount. The elderly man was so grateful. He begged the junior clerk, “Is there any way I can meet the man who has been so kind to me? He has saved my family from utter ruin. I wish to express my gratitude to him and to receive his blessings. Do you think he could spare a few moments?”

The junior clerk replied, “He has already spent a full hour with you! Now he is so busy with his other responsibilities.”

“What!” exclaimed the elderly man. “How is it possible?”

“Do you not recall that he brought you here in his own car?” said the junior clerk.

From:Sri Chinmoy,Deshabandhu: Bengal’s beloved friend, Agni Press, 2000
Sourced from https://srichinmoylibrary.com/dbf