Departure of Acyutananda
(aka Annada Prasad, the oldest son of Bhaktivinoda Thakura)
On the 8th of the month of Bhādra, 1782 Śakābda Era (August 22nd 1860), Acyutānanda was born in the village of Bhadrak, located in Utkala (Orissa). At the time of birth, a tilaka mark was seen above his nose. Everybody was surprised. As he grew, the mark faded away. When he was just ten months old, his father moved to Medinipur for work. At that time Acyuta’s mother passed away. Following her death, his father remarried, and his stepmother and paternal grandmother raised Acyuta. During his youth, Acyuta was educated in the English system. At the age of eighteen, he married. He eventually had three daughters and one son. After completing his studies, he spent approximately two years in government service. While stationed in Rangpur district, Acyuta became insane. He was in a state of mental illness for eleven years.
In his youth, prior to his struggle with mental health issues, Acyuta composed a poem in Bengali known as Mādhavī-latā. During his tenure in the Jessore district, he published a magazine named Tārā. He penned a detailed account of the Howrah district and a poem titled Pāṇḍava in English. It was never observed that Acyuta had any interest in performing bhajana. But during the time of mental illness, he would occasionally say, “I am having prasāda” and would chant verses of the Holy Names, such as “hare murāre madhu-kaitabhāre” and “hare kṛṣṇa hare kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa kṛṣṇa hare hare.” Despite his illness, he was known for his generosity and was loved by all.
At the time of death, a remarkable event took place. The usual signs of the advanced stages of mental illness were observed in Acyuta. After facing twelve years of mental distress, Acyuta started to lose his strength. In the first week of Vaiśākha, he fell ill with a fever from influenza. Although the fever eventually went away, the weakness continued to worsen. He tried to leave his home on his own but collapsed due to his weakness. His relatives became worried and started taking care. At first, he was treated with English medicine, which was ineffective. Then the Ayurvedic remedy was prescribed.
It was the night of the 24th of Vaiśākha when all hope for his survival seemed lost. His siblings gathered around him and began to sing the Hari-nāma Mahā-mantra in soft voices. The moment the chanting of the Holy Name began, it felt as if Vaikuntha had descended into the house. As they continued to chant one lakh (a hundred thousand times) of the Holy Name, the room transformed into a place of supreme bliss, akin to Bhagavān’s abode. Everyone present there could feel the glory of pure Hari-nāma. The Śāstra states that all of Kṛṣṇa’s powers are contained within the pure Hṛṭa-nāma. Pious acts like yajñas, etc. or Brahma-jñāna do not possess such power. This śāstrika realisation was experienced by everyone present that night.
With deep love and special affection, Acyuta’s stepmother offered him caraṇāmṛta of Śrī Giridhārī, dust from Vraja, prasāda of Śrī Jagannātha, and Tulasī from His holy feet. It was astonishing that at that moment, Acyuta could not even swallow liquids. After consuming the caraṇāmṛta three times, an glow appeared on his abdomen and spread to his throat. Acyuta began to recite the Holy Name, “Hare Kṛṣṇa” with ease. At that moment, tears of joy began to flow from his two blissful eyes. After hearing more than a lakh of pure Hari-nāma, and consuming the caraṇāmṛta mixed with dust from Vraja, tulasī, and mahā-prasāda, Vaiṣṇava tilaka appeared on his forehead, arms, abdomen, chest, and throat. At that time, Acyuta’s fourth brother (Bimala Prasad, later Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada) began to chant Hari-nāma with great devotion. Then Acyuta began to share many philosophical truths (tattva-kathā) and explanations about himself. Furthermore, the forms of many divine Vaiṣṇavas wearing Tulasi mālās and Tilaka appeared at that room. Their glowing presence dimmed the little oil-lamp of the room. Among the tattva-kathā he shared, only one can be mentioned here.
Acyuta declared, “I am a devotee of the Śrī Rāmānuja sampradāya. I committed offence to the philosophical truths taught by the Śrīman Mahāprabhu. And as a result of this, I have been at this house till now to eradicate that offence. The essence of all religious pursuits is the Kṛṣṇa–nāma. This is non-different from Kṛṣṇa Himself. Only by reciting the Holy Name without any offence, one can attain perfection in devotion. Brothers, it is because I have heard you chanting the Holy Names without any offences at the time of my death, my own offences are gone and I have attained perfection. Please remember this.
For a week, all of his senses were practically dormant. His eyes were shut. His ability to speak ceased. When someone spoke, he did not respond. After listening to the Hāri-nāma for one, his ears were purified, and he began to chant Hāri-nāma with great enthusiasm, and eager to see the form of Bhagavān. As soon as the image of Śrīman Mahāprabhu was presented to him, his eyes welled up with tears, and he began to focus his attention on the beauty of the Deity.
The Tilaka mark appeared in the form of a four-lined ūrdhva-puṇḍra on his forehead. It gradually evolved into a more distinctive ūrdhva-puṇḍra, symbolising the pure temple of Hari. Eventually, it transformed into the form of a praṇava, and then his soul departed through the upper part of his head. Like a perfected yogī, his soul left through piercing the suṣumnā-nāḍī. The signs of attaining perfection align with the philosophy of Śrī Rāmānuja. Factors such as uttarāyaṇaṭa, śukla-pakṣa, āpūryamāna-candra, during brahma-muhūrta, and citra-nakṣatra – all these are significant for yogīs at the time of death. Being present there, we clearly experienced that Acyuta had reached a state of miraculous Vaiṣṇava attainment. He had only been a materialist and insane for so long, only to fully eradicate his offence.
[This is an abridged version of the essay “Śrī Acyutānandera Niryāṇa” of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, published in Sajjana Toṣaṇī, Vol.7 issue 2 in 1895.]
