Devendra continued as manager of the Devnarayan Estate until 1907, but after that he spent all of his time spreading the message of the Master. He had quite a few disciples, who greatly loved and respected him. He also inspired many young people to follow Swamiji’s teaching to “serve man as God.” One of Devendra’s followers, Nafar Chandra Kundu, used to go to the Archanalaya every evening after work in order to be in Devendra’s holy company. One day Devendra asked him, “If you saw that a boy was about to drown in a pond, what would you do?” “I would immediately jump into the pond and try to save him,” replied Nafar. Devendra then explained to him that unselfish action is the same as worshiping God. It so happened that on 12 May 1907, when Nafar was on his way to work in South Calcutta, he came across a large crowd gathered in the street. On inquiry he learned that two Muslims had fallen unconscious while cleaning inside a manhole. He was shocked. He scolded the crowd, “Two men are dying and you people are watching the fun!” Nafar then jumped into the manhole to rescue the men, saying, “Victory to the guru!” Unfortunately the poisonous gas inside the manhole killed Nafar.
Devendra was stunned when he heard the news of Nafar’s death. He praised his bravery and unselfishness. The government of India, the Calcutta Corporation, the Oxford Mission, and many other philanthropic organizations and prominent people of Calcutta organized a committee to set up a monument where Nafar had died and to create a permanent fund that would provide a pension for Nafar’s family. Devendra was the chief planner and worker on the committee. One day at that time Girish Ghosh said to Devendra, “If Swamiji were alive, he would appreciate your contribution.” (Source: They Lived with God)
During festivals, Tejchandra Mitra would go to the Ramakrishna monastery at Belur to offer his services. Once he and some other devotees took a steamer from the Ahiritola ghat of Calcutta to Belur Math. The boat was overcrowded, and a boy of five or six years old accidentally fell into the Ganges. Everyone was concerned, but no one dared attempt a rescue. Seeing the boy’s hand in the river, Tejchandra could not stop himself. Shouting “Victory to Ramakrishna,” he jumped into the water with his shoes and clothes on. People thought that Tejchandra must be a close relative of the boy. He rescued the boy without losing anything from his pocket, and then returned home to change his clothes before going to Belur Math. He later told his friends: “It was the Master who inspired me, so it was possible for me to save that boy.”
One morning in Calcutta, Gauri-ma went with some of her students to bathe in the Ganges. After arriving there she noticed that a girl was being carried away by the current of the river. Some people were watching the girl and lamenting, but they did nothing to rescue her. Gauri-ma scolded them, and then quickly tied her cloth around her waist and jumped into the water, saying, “Victory to the Divine Mother.” Her students screamed because they knew that Gauri-ma could not swim. In the meantime two men also jumped into the water, and they rescued the girl. Fortunately Gauri-ma had not gone into deep water. (Source: They Lived with God)
Related Articles: