Suchitra Sen was a Bengali actress who was someone like Hemamalini in bollywood or a Savithri or Saroja devi in Tamil Cinema. But when she died in 2014, she was more of a saint rather than an actress. Her story is a must read for anyone interested in the spiritual path.
Suchitra Sen was born in a middle-class family in Pabna, now in Bangladesh.She came to India in 1947 as a refugee. She got married to Dibanath Sen and entered the film industry in 1951. From 1951 to 1978 she acted in a number of movies including award winning ones and was one of the top actresses of Bengali Cinema.
In 1978, when she had starred in a film called Pranaye Pasha, which flopped. She was deeply upset about it and went to Belur Math, the headquarters of the RamaKrishna Mission. There she met Bharat Maharaj(Swami Abhayananda - a direct disciple of Ma Sharada Devi). She sat at his feet and wept and wept. And Bharat Maharaj told her, 'Ma, ghridho, lobh koro na" (don't be greedy). And that changed her life forever.
She totally stopped acting in movies or even visiting studios after that. After a few years, she totally stopped coming outside her home at all, till her death in 2014 remaining a recluse for 35 years of her life. The only notable exceptions where her visit to Ramakrishna mission.Sen used to spent most of her time reading books like Bhagvad Gita, Ramakrishna Kathamrita, literature on Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Order and other spiritual books and listening to devotional songs. Whenever any new book on Sri Ramakrishna, Swamiji or Ma Sarada Devi got published, a copy was sent to her. She got initiated (diksha) by Swami Vireshwarananda, the 10th president of the Math and Mission in 1973.
From then on she never missed an opportunity to visit Belur to offer pranam to both Swami Vireshwarananda and Bharat Maharaj, Sometimes early in the morning, in the evening, or late in the night, to avoid prying eyes. A closely guarded secret even among other monks, the trips would be known to only a few high up in the order.
“Suchitra Sen would always come in a taxi. The same taxi with a Sardar at the wheel,” recalled a senior monk. “She would often visit Swami Abhayananda (Bharat Maharaj) and spend time listening to him at his residence in the northern corner of the Math’s campus, overseeing the Hooghly.”
“One day, followers turned up in large numbers to meet Bharat Maharaj,” recalled another monk. “The serpentine line reached right up to GT Road. Maharaj asked his secretary Montubabu why this sudden surge of emotion and then realised that news had somehow leaked that Suchitra Sen was inside.”
Sen’s devotion was so strong that behind her veiled existence she would mostly talk about Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. “Some of the top stage performers of Bengal, like Girish Ghosh and Noti Binodini, have been part of the Ramakrishna movement,” said Swami Suvirananda, assistant secretary of the Math and Mission. “Thakur Ramakrishna always believed in ‘lok shiksha (education for the masses)’ and would say that artistes have a great role to play in spreading this shiksha. Sen was no exception. After she quit the tinsel world, she was completely immersed in the thoughts of Thakur.”
She led a Spartan life, and was weary of the onslaught of the consumerist culture which was so different from her humble beginnings in Pabna district of Bangladesh. She had this luxurious bed full of pillows and cushions which she didn’t sleep in. She preferred sleeping on a narrow bench in one end of the room.
In 1985, when Vireshwaranandaji passed away, she sat under a mango tree as the last rites were being performed.When Bharat Maharaj of the Ramakrishna Mission passed away in 1989, she walked barefoot at Belur Math, near Kolkata.
She is the only actor in India who has refused to accept the Dadasaheb Phalke Award as she didn’t want to travel to New Delhi in order to collect the honour. Suchitra Sen was awarded the Banga Bibhushan, West Bengal government’s highest award, in 2012 and she didnt attend the event.
In her own words "I do not care about anything written or discussed about me in the media. I don’t read them at all. I’m completely indifferent about what people are talking about me. I used to visit Bharat Maharaj of Belur Math and Kanai Maharaj in Golpark Ramkrishna Mission. I’m so reclusive I didn’t even attend the marriage of the daughter of my younger sister, Runa. If I’m to travel anywhere, I like hills. But I hardly moved out of home since retiring. People would disturb me everywhere. I used to get so many letters every day, but I never replied to any of them. I hardly read any of them. I’m better this way."
Sen held Durga Puja at Belur Math close to her heart. Math sources said she ensured her “little contribution of Rs 10,000 and a red sari” reached on time. Over the last few years, when her health started failing, she would call up the Math office and request someone to visit her so she could hand over the cheque.
“At her home, she would brief the guards in advance about our visit. When we arrived, her nursing staff would lead us into her room. Till a few years back, Suchitra would be waiting in a neatly pleated sari to receive the monks. As her health took a toll, a long flowing gown replaced the sari. At times, she would call for Moon Moon and her two granddaughters before we left.” recalled Swami Subedananda, one of the monks who had visited Sen for years. “She would first treat us to kochuri, alur dum and coffee and then talk about her puja. Suchitra would never discuss her life as a heroine with us. She’d speak about how she dreamt of Sarada Devi and her unending love for Thakur Ramakrishna. We wouldn’t leave without visiting her place of worship. However unwell, she made it a point to do the pranam before they stepped out. She had only two wishes - one that she be left in complete solitude and none intrudes her privacy and second, that her contributions to the Ramakrishna Mission's efforts in Baranagar Math and to run a charitable dispensary outside Belur Math never be made public”
To the visiting monks, she would narrate how she had found her inner peace in meditation and prayers. “Ami etei shanti pai, Maharaj,” she would tell the monks. She had a shrine in her room dedicated to Shri Ramakrishna, Sarada Ma and Swami Vivekananda. Apparently, she would spend hours in front of that shrine. Several people have witnessed her meditating for hours together. Rest of the times, she would chanting something with her Japamala.
The last time she visited Belur was in 2012. Her words were prophetic - "Ami r punorjonmo chai na. Thakur ami jeno tomar charane thai pai (I don't want rebirth. Thakur, may I find a place at your feet)," the secretive visitor, her face hidden in a long veil, cried out at midnight. For several long minutes before that she had sat in a trance beside the Hooghly. When she spoke out, tears were welling up in her eyes.
During her final treatment also, she ensured that Devotional songs were played regularly. Tapas Maharaj, who, along with Makhan Maharaj and Ujjal Maharaj came to the hospital after hearing the news of the death, said: "At her bedside where the pictures of Thakur Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada and Swami Vivekananda."
For a very popular actress chased by thousands of Bengalis to not even step out of her home, not meet anyone for 35 years, and reject all awards and positions given to her reflects the deep faith in her Guru and sense of detachment. May the tribe increase!
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