The Pastimes of Srila Gurudeva: Narayana Tiwari: Police Inspector
As commonly done in India, Śrīla Gurudeva’s parents arranged his marriage while he was still in high school—although the official wedding with a brāhmaṇa girl would not occur until Gurudeva was twenty-one. Paṇḍita Tiwārī told his son, “Now that you are engaged, and your education is almost complete, you should consider a career to pursue so that you can maintain a family.”
On the order of his father, Gurudeva agreed to search for an occupation. At that time the British sovereignty regularly sent police recruiters to select qualified students for employment. On such an occassion Gurudeva was sent for an interview. Previously, he had heard that an individual of the corps must be fluent in English. Gurudeva knew some English, but it was difficult for him to fully grasp the British accent of the interviewer. When the officer spoke, Gurudeva simply repeated his words in a confident voice.
The British officer asked Gurudeva, “What is your name?”
“What is your name?” Gurudeva repeated.
The officer instructed, “Tell me your surname.”
“Tell me your surname.”
The officer thought, “This boy is bold!” He then asked, “Will you not answer my questions?”
Gurudeva replied, “Will you not answer my questions?”
“This boy has a strong character,” the officer thought. Of course he had heard of Nārāyaṇa Tiwārī’s high grades and strong athletic nature, but now he could confirm that this young chap was not ordinary. He reported to his superior, “There is a strong, young man named Nārāyaṇa Tiwārī who will make a good officer.”
Before long, Gurudeva accepted an offer to join the local police division. He excelled in his training and was soon engaged as a police inspector. Political issues in India were escalating and he was assigned to assess conflicts and deal with them accordingly.
Gurudeva accepted the department’s orders but insisted, “I will need two horses for traveling.”
The police lieutenant agreed, “We will arrange as per your desire.”
When Śrīla Gurudeva began serving as an officer, incessant fighting plagued the nation due to intense struggles for independence. Disagreements and misunderstandings spiraled out of control. If a person saw someone whom he did not trust, he was prepared to quickly cut off his head—else his head would be first. Nevertheless, wherever Gurudeva went his character and influence brought about peaceful resolutions. Gurudeva not only empathized with all parties, his compassionate dealings altered aggressive mentalities as he effectively solved problems and misunderstandings between disputants. Gurudeva performed his duties with strength and poise. He harmonized all difficulties by explaining truths from the Vedic scriptures, especially the Rāmāyaṇa. By his influential association, people realized there was no need to quarrel and their antagonistic natures dissolved. Observing this, he was assigned special cases in Bihar, Bengal, and Odisha.
At that time, the British established a seemingly endless railway system along with public buses. They also introduced three-wheel vehicles that made such a racket they could be heard a kilometer away. Hearing the awful noise, cows and bulls would break their ropes and run wildly, dogs would bark, and everyone’s eardrums were numbed. Unlike the British who used vehicles to do all their tasks, Śrīla Gurudeva preferred to travel by horse.
Once, Gurudeva discovered the police department was sponsoring an athletic competition for junior officers to get promoted to senior positions. Gurudeva went to the British superintendent to apply for the event. The man said, “I’m sorry, Mr. Tiwārī, but you are not eligible for this event.”
“Sir, I don’t want a promotion,” Gurudeva said. “I am a sportsman. Please allow me to compete unofficially.”
The superintendent considered for some time, then finally agreed. Gurudeva competed in five events, including the long jump, high jump, and foot races, and he proved to be the ultimate victor in each category. The superintendent was so impressed with Gurudeva’s athletic performance that he awarded him a promotion on the spot to the amazement of the rest of the corps.
Śrīla Gurudeva was then posted in the city of Rājmahal, in Bihar, on the border of Bengal. Śrīla Gurudeva became immersed with his official duties and visits to his hometown were less frequent. Every six to eight weeks he went back to Tiwārīpura to visit his family and offer his wages to his father. Being pleased with his son’s respectful offering, his father returned the wages with the hope that Gurudeva would settle down and establish a steady family. Gurudeva spent his time in Tiwārīpura engaged in spiritual practice and, in due course, returned to his post. Even with a busy schedule he always maintained a fixed spiritual practice in the early morning before going to work.
From childhood Śrīla Gurudeva always felt a unique attraction to hari-kathā and would leave everything to attend any local spiritual gathering. Even now, in the midst of his busy life as a police inspector, he took the chance whenever possible to go and listen to holy discourses from saintly devotees.
One day, he went to an assembly where an erudite sādhu was reciting the Rāmāyaṇa. He became so absorbed in rāma-kathā that he did not notice the passing of time. The discourse carried on throughout the night before concluding. In the morning, Śrīla Gurudeva remembered he had been scheduled for a night shift.
Expecting to be heavily reprimanded, Gurudeva went to work as usual. The superintendent noticed his arrival and called, “Mr. Tiwārī, come to my office right away.”
Śrīla Gurudeva apprehensively went to the office. “Take a seat,” the superintendent said. Gurudeva sat in a chair. The man handed him an envelope. As he glanced down at the paper the superintendent said, “I went last night and checked on the officers.” He paused. “I was disappointed to see that some were falling asleep at their station.” Gurudeva looked up. The superintendent continued, “However, I was very pleased to see you alert and performing your duty with diligence. You have been doing great work, Mr. Tiwārī. Hence, I have decided to promote you.”
After meeting with the superintendent Śrīla Gurudeva went to his office and sat down, deep in thought. “This must be a sign from God,” he said. “Now it won’t be much longer before I leave.”
