Reflecting on S.N. Goenka and Munindra
In Michael Stein's poignant recollection of his time in India, he takes time contrasting the captivating personas of S.N. Goenka and Munindra, two stalwart spiritual guides who left an indelible mark on his journey. Goenka, a beacon of wisdom, manifested as a compassionate father figure in Michael's eyes. Despite his initial struggles to comprehend the Western ethos of the '60s counterculture, Goenka exhibited an unwavering commitment to sharing the Dhamma. Michael paints a vivid picture of Goenka's tolerance and acceptance, emphasizing his willingness to teach anyone earnestly seeking meditation, fostering an environment of mutual respect and learning. In contrast, Munindra emerges as a gentle and kind maternal figure. Michael's affectionate reminiscence reveals Munindra's sharp analytical mind, evident in both his teachings and everyday life. Munindra's advocacy for simplicity, coupled with his clever market bargains, symbolized a profound yet approachable spirituality. Michael fondly recalls the harmonious coexistence of these two spiritual giants, each with a distinct approach — Goenka, the pragmatic father, and Munindra, the nurturing mother. Their complementary influence underscored the rich tapestry of spiritual guidance that shaped Michael's transformative journey through the spiritual landscape of 1960s India.
“Munindra would say, ‘You know, life has to be lived simple, not to be a simpleton.’ So, he would bargain all the time with people.”
If you wanted to study with Munindra-ji at the time, you would go sit. If he would tell you what to do, when you would do it, he’d come by and talk to you, and do things like that. But he was very scholarly also, and very, very quiet. He was all dressed in his whites. He was an anagārika, which is a non-monk monk, through all this. He was just the kindest, nicest, but funny. Funny in a different way.
He used to, if you’d go into the bazaar with him, he would argue, as he would say, ‘bargain,’ with the bazaar people. Back and forth for a price, go back, and the guy wanted, it was like nickels, you know? Westerners, we couldn't really believe it. When Munindra would say, ‘You know, life has to be lived simple, not to be a simpleton.’ So, he would bargain all the time with people. It was quite funny. But it was him. It wasn't like putting on airs. I mean, every year you would love shopping with him, because it was always quite an experience.
The other thing is that – so, I used to be sitting in the morning and Munindra was like a door away from me; so, you could hear everything. And I had limited knowledge of Hindi; like I knew the ‘milkmaid’ word was dūdh [-wali], and I knew the word for water was pānī. So, the milk guy would come and bring milk for Munindra in this big container every day. And then he would pour it out. As he would come, Munindra would argue with him. Munindra had an hydrometer, a testing kit so he can test the amount of water in the milk. So, he would argue with him for like, on and on, and I'm just sitting there. I'm saying, ‘Will you stop already?’ And he would be arguing back and forth, like, ‘Have other pānī? Other dūdh?’ back and forth, back and forth.
He was very real in a lot of ways. But very simple. He was not the powerful figure Goenka-ji was, in a sense, very kind, sweet. And I would read; he gave me Dhamma books. I would read them, and then every day I would go over there. And I would ask him questions. He would explain things to me about what this means and what this means and that. At the time, it was quite, I sort of developed the knowledge, which later on, we can get into, I sort of gave up. Also I could go over to the temple every night, sit under the tree or sit in the temple.
The ashram that we lived in, the Gandhi ashram, was an ashram from Vinoba’s time. It was a land grant ashram, and they would train – Bihar, where Bodhgaya is, is the poorest state in India - and they would go out, and they would teach the women nursing things, and they would teach the boys had to fix pumps and stuff. So, they had schools out there. In fact, Goenka-ji taught the first children's course at one of these schools! He was very close to the person who ran the place, who was what you would call a social justice person, for sure, as he was. He was a really great leader for social justice and trying to get people involved. It was all a combination of things.