In June 1892 Akhandananda reached Jamnagar, where he lived for a year. There he started his mission — the service of God in man. He lived with a doctor, Kaviraj Manishankar, for four months and studied Charak- Sushruta Samhita (ayurvedic medical science). He also went to a Vedic school and learned to chant the four Vedas. He became acquainted with an old abbot of an affluent temple, who offered the swami his position as well as all of his wealth. Akhandananda declined, quoting a Hindi couplet: “The water is pure that flows, and the monk is pure who goes.”
Akhandananda then moved to the house of a banker by the name of Shankar Seth; he lived with him for four months. Shankar Seth was a devout and wealthy man, and had no children. Every day he performed worship, practised japam and meditation, and distributed food to the poor and mendicants. He became very fond of the swami and would give to charities according to his advice. When Akhandananda wanted to leave, Shankar asked him to stay and even offered to build a Ramakrishna temple on his land. This was unbearable for Shankar’s nephews, who were supposed to inherit their uncle’s property. They tried to kill Akhandananda by poisoning his coffee. As a result, the swami suffered from terrible diarrhoea and remained in bed for four days, gravely ill. Eventually, Kaviraj Jhandu Bhat, a local doctor (the elder brother of Shankar), managed to save his life.
Akhandananda then went to Jhandu Bhat’s house. Dr. Bhat was a remarkable physician and a highly spiritual person. He was seventy, yet extremely energetic for his age. He would give free medicine to the poor and would even visit them in their homes. He frequently recited the following two verses, which express his life’s philosophy: “O Lord, I do not want any kingdom, nor heavenly pleasure, nor even escape from rebirth. But I do want the affliction of all beings tormented by the miseries of life to cease. O Lord, is there any way whereby I may enter into the hearts of all beings and always share the burden of their sufferings?”
These verses touched Akhandananda’s heart, and he came to realize that the highest ideal is to love and serve other human beings. Of course, Akhandananda had always been a loving and caring person, but in Jamnagar, Dr. Bhat roused his dormant inner feeling.
Akhandananda then went to Khetri in Rajasthan — via Baroda, Bhavnagar (where he learned of Swamiji’s success in America), Bombay, and Abu, where he became the guest of Raja Ajit Singh, Vivekananda’s disciple. Akhandananda lived in Rajasthan for nearly eight months. He observed the pitiful condition of the masses as well as the luxury of a handful of rulers and rich landlords. His heart melted for the downtrodden, and he drew his concerns to the local rulers’ attention, asking them to ameliorate the poor condition of the masses. He wrote a letter to Swamiji in America, asking him for guidance.
Swamiji replied in early 1894: “Go from door to door amongst the poor and lower classes of the town of Khetri and teach them religion. Also, let them have oral lessons on geography and such other subjects. No good will come of sitting idle and having princely dishes, and saying ‘Ramakrishna, O Lord!’ unless you can do some good to the poor… . It is preferable to live on grass for the sake of doing good to others. The ochre robe is not for enjoyment. It is the banner of heroic work… . The poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted — let these be your God. Know that service to these alone is the highest religion.” (Source: God Lived with Them)