Affection for Krishna
Undisputedly, where there is presence of constant affection, spirituality, good education, closeness and the family is steeped in religious devotion stripped of worldly desires, the household is considered excellent.
Muzaffarnagar
Muzaffarnagar is a famed district in the western portion of Uttar Pradesh. Kairana, its tehsil or revenue district, is situated on the banks of the Yamuna. Shri Vishnu Swarup Bhatnagar was a resident here and owned plenty of land. He was employed as a tehsildar or sub-collector of revenue in the British Sarkar and had a transferable job.
Forman Christian College, Lahore
Vishnu Swarup had several children but a daughter residing in Hyderabad (Andhra) with her son-and a son Manmohan Swarup, the father of Usha Bahenji on whom the biography is written, survived. Manmohan Swarup did post graduation from Forman Christian College of Lahore, the current education centre and came to reside in Ambala. He got married to the daughter of Manmohanji, a wealthy person of Sikandarabad (Bulandshahr.) She was also a spiritualist.
Ishq e haqiqi
Manmohan Swarup had three daughters and four sons. Ushaji was the eldest and thus had several responsibilities. Her father invariably failed to deal with practicalities. He was fond of creating poetry and delighted on writing verses. He wrote in Hindi as well as Urdu but Urdu poems were his forte. His compositions reflect the Urdu poets' 'Ishq e haqiqi' or love of God (as opposed to worldly love) along with the shayars' complaints, laments, moaning and appeals.
Bhakti reigned in the life of Shyama,mother of Ushaji. Along with the household she did her routine seva and puja of Thakurji to perfection. An ideal housewife,everyone could sense her loving tenderness.
All brothers and sisters shared a loving relationship. Once the financial condition of the house was constrained and all chores had to be done personally, even the scouring of utensils. Ushaji was always short of time and her hands were allergic to washing the pots and pans. Shri Shakti Mohan, eldest of the brothers but younger to Bahenji came to know of this predicament and offered to scrub them and she could just wash the lot. Her heart melted at this sudden show of immense concern.
Rashtrapati Bhavan, Delhi
The second brother Shrish Mohan had interest in poetry and was an articulate orator. Composing poems, reciting and discussing them came easily to him. He was residing in Delhi with his family and shared a friendly bond with Ushaji.
The third and fourth brothers did not get married. Shyam Sundar,the third brother taught for some time in college and at home too. He had a sense of self-dependence right from the start. The education centre soon transformed into a pivot of spirituality, laying the foundation of an ideal way of life. He had gathered in-depth knowledge of Hindi literature from an early age.
Spirituality's perspective was nurtured in the closeness and direction of revered Bahenji. Several seekers found an answer to their longing of union with the divine. Transforming from 'Sadashiv College' to ' Sadashiv Satsang Shali', it is a refuge for hungering devotees till date.
The youngest brother, Shruti Mohan was employed in several important government jobs. While working he had a heart attack and died at an early age.
The Yugal Sarkar of Usha Bahenji
Uma, the elder sister and Utma, the younger one, are staying with their small families in Delhi and Hissar respectively. The service both of them rendered to Bahenji, who was steeped in a spiritual way of life, attending to her physical needs, personal necessities and mentally, is beyond comparison. They distinctively contributed to the singing of padas and kirtans and helped out in Thakur seva intermittently.
The entire highly educated family, along with being an ideal was influenced by affection, dignity and observed decorum.
