From his boyhood, Subodhananda loved to drink tea. One night at Belur Math, Vivekananda was meditating in his room; Brahmananda and Subodhananda were sleeping in the next room. When Swamiji finished his meditation, he woke up Subodhananda and asked if he would mind bringing him a pipe to smoke. Subodhananda did so, and Vivekananda was so pleased that he exclaimed impulsively, “Any boon you ask for shall be granted!” “What could I possibly ask for?” said Subodhananda. “The Master gave us everything we need.” But Brahmananda said, “No, Khoka, ask for something.” So Subodhananda considered carefully and then said, “Grant me this — that I may never, for the rest of my life, miss my daily cup of tea.” Many years later, Subodhananda was asked whether this boon had really been granted. He answered that it had and that the tea had sometimes arrived without his expectation, just as he was about to go to sleep at night. (Source: God Lived with Them)
During one visit, knowing about the recent aggravation of the Master’s throat pain, Subodh simply said: “Sir, you used to live in a damp room in Dakshineswar. As a result, it seems you have a sore throat because of the cold. Please take tea. Whenever we have sore throats, we drink tea and the soreness goes away. If you want, I can bring some good tea from my home.” Immediately the childlike Master called Rakhal and said: “Look, I want to drink tea. This boy says that I will be cured if I drink tea.” Rakhal said: “Sir, tea is very hot; it may aggravate your throat. You may not be able to bear it.” “No, then it is not necessary,” said the Master. He consoled Subodh, “Hot tea will not suit me.” Subodh was moved by the Master’s childlike nature. (Source: God Lived with Them)
Subodhananda and Brahmananda stayed in Vrindaban from the first week of February to the middle of April 1890, practising various spiritual disciplines. As Subodhananda was very fond of tea, he would go for tea every day to the cottage of Vijaykrishna Goswami, a saintly devotee of Ramakrishna. While they had tea, they would often speak of the Master. One day Vijaykrishna said, “I have never seen another person like him [Sri Ramakrishna].” On another occasion he said: “I have come across some illumined souls who have attained perfection in their respective moods and faiths, but I have never seen anyone, except Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, who attained perfection in all moods and in all faiths. This is something new in the history of the world.” (Source: God Lived with Them)
Advaitananda had a wonderful sense of humour and loved to tease the brothers. For example, he disliked tea while Swami Subodhananda loved it; so one day he said to Subodhananda, “Look, don’t drink tea; you will get blood dysentery.” But Subodhananda asserted emphatically, “Gopal-da, each drop of tea produces a drop of blood.” “All right, brother, drink more,” Advaitananda said jokingly. All laughed. (Source: God Lived with Them)
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