HIS LIFE
Childhood
In a far and remote corner of the world, protected by nine concentric rings of the tail end ofthe eastern Himalayan mountain range, there is a legendary land known as Manipur or ‘Land of Jewels’. There, the foothills are painted with hundreds of varieties of colorful orchids and the majestic valley is checkered with endless fields of black, red and white rice. Ornamenting the center of the valley, covered with blue lilies and 108-petaled lotus flowers whose fragrant blooms are activated by that land’s six distinct seasons, lies Loktak Lake.
The state of Manipur is located in the northeastern corner of India, on the border of Burma (Myanmar) and has maintained its aristocratic and Vaishnavite tradition for thousands of years. A sacred fire (Funga mei), fueled by the husk of rice paddy, burns in every home and the holy Tulsi plant grows and is adored in every courtyard. The sounds of hand made drums, pure bell metal hand-cymbals and the melodious voices of the people prayerfully singing the names and pastimes of the Lord can always be heard echoing between the mountain-tops. The life and soul of the people in this land is the devotional recitations and enactments of Lord Sri Krishna’s divine pastimes.
In this majestic land of Manipur, in a village known as Toubul, a lovely child was born on Thursday, December 9, 1937, to Sri Yogendra Singh and Srimati Kanyahanbi Devi. Being Vaishnavas, they named their child Damodara, one of the holy names of Lord Sri Krishna. Sri Yogendra Singh was a devotional singer in the Nata Sankirtan tradition. From the very moment of Damodara’s appearance in this world, his father, Sri Yogendra filled his son’s ears with the devotional sounds of the holy names and pastimes of the Supreme Lord. Damodara’s loving mother, Srimati Kanyahanbi Devi also nurtured her son in a spiritual atmosphere of remembrance of and reverence for Lord Sri Krishna.
The Japanese army began bombing Imphal, the capital of Manipur on Sunday, May 10, 1942. It created many difficulties for the people of Manipur and forced Damodara to face a series of unfortunate incidents. In the early summer of 1945, the concluding phase of World War II wreaked havoc on the villages of Manipur. Damodara was a mere child of seven years when circumstances uprooted his family from their humble and peaceful valley home. Damodara’s father brought his family to a barrack on the banks of the Yangoi River, which runs into Loktak Lake, in order to shelter them from the bombs and other dangers of warfare. Not long after relocating to the barrack, Damodara’s father suddenly passed away of typhoid.
The war eventually came to an end, and shortly thereafter, by the will of Providence, Damodara was separated from his mother and younger sister. Damodara’s elder sister, Srimati Ahanbi Devi, began to look after him. Although he was a young boy, Damodara learned how to till the land left by his father to help maintain himself and his sister. Life was difficult for them. Throughout all of their difficulties they remained courageous by taking shelter of the mercy of the Lord in numerous ways.
After some time, Damodara’s sister got married and he was left alone. Not wanting to be a burden on anyone, Damodar did not ask for anyone’s help. At the age of twelve, Damodara was living on his own, depending on the income from the cultivation of the paddy field left to him by his father. Working in the fields to maintain himself and doing all the household duties, Damodara could not find sufficient time to devote to his studies. Thus he was planning to give up schooling altogether. It was at this time that Sri Yadav Singh, his primary school teacher approached Sri Kerani Singh, his colleague and informed him of the difficulties that had befallen Damodara. Sri Yadav Singh requested Sri Kerani Singh to help Damodara. Sri Kerani Singh was a very noble person and one of the most influential personalities of Toubul village. He was also a great teacher and a sincere devotee of Lord Krishna. He immediately agreed to look after Damodara’s every need with much affection.
Damodara moved to the house of Sri Kerani’s family and began a new chapter in his childhood life. Now, being fully provided for, Damodara was able to resume his studies. His teachers found him to be a bright, diligent, sincere, humble and obedient student.
When Damodara was fourteen years old he became seriously ill with typhoid. The village physicians unanimously declared that he would soon die. However, by the mercy of Lord, under the loving care of Sri Kerani Singh, who would daily recite the Dasa Avatar Stotra (a prayer to the Supreme Lord’s ten incarnations) for Damodara’s recovery, and the help of Dr. Yogendrajit Singh, a naturopath from the city of Imphal, Damodara miraculously recovered after fasting for forty days and drinking only whey.