He went to Kutabpur to inquire and learned that she had died just an hour before his vision. He unsuccessfully attempted to reach his wife through occult science. Turning point Until he lost his wife, Nalinikanta had seen death as the ultimate end. Losing her led him to believe that there must be life after death. Nalinikanta became obsessed with this question. His inquiry took him to Madras (now Chennai) to study theosophy at the Theosophical Society at Adyar. Through a medium, he was able to talk to his wife, but remained unsatisfied. His discussions at the society led him to search for a yogi who could fulfill his desire to meet his dead wife and educate him in the true philosophy of "life after death". Spiritual experience (1902–1905) One night Nalinikanta dreamed of a sadhu with a brilliant aura. He woke up to find the sadhu standing beside his bed. The sadhu handed him a bael leaf with a mantra written on it and then vanished. Nalinikanta asked many to help him understand its meaning. Finally he met Bamakhepa, a famous tantrik of Tarapith, Birbhum district. Nalinikanta took initiation (dikhshya) from him and was directed to chant his mantra for 21 days. Under Bamakhepa's guidance he had physical darshan of Tara Devi in the form of his wife. This darshan led him to another mystery. He saw Tara Devi coming out of his body and mingling with him. To solve this mystery, Bamakshepa advised Nalinikanta to attain the knowledge of Advaita from a vedantic guru. In 1902 he searched for a jnani guru. He met guru Satchidananda Saraswati at the holy place of Pushkar in the Indian state of Rajasthan. He realized that Satchidananda Saraswati was the sadhu who had given him the Tara mantra in his dream. Nalinikanta became his disciple, and learned the theories of Brahman (god as the formless one), Brahma sutras and vedanta. He was initiated by the Satchidananda into renunciation and according to that principle changed his name to Nigamananda. Satchidananda directed Nigamananda to undertake pilgrimages to the four institutions (Char Dham) of religious seats and realize for himself the significance of each, as the Hindus held these places of worship sacred. After these pilgrimages, he returned to the ashram. On his arrival at the ashram, Sachidananda reviewed Nigamananda's pilgrimages and said: "My boy! You have travelled widely and seen the religious places and