śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
23rd Caitra, Thursday—1334
[April 5, 1928]
Do Not, in Pride, Forget
All that glitters is not gold. We say this often, but when it comes time to apply this practically, we forget it. We lose ourselves the moment we see external splendor! We fail to appreciate the necessity of seeking the truth. At present, our train of thought has shifted completely at the sight of external, material beauty. We think that the people of Western nations do not have all the religious fervor that we do, they don’t have a caste system, they don’t have such extravagance in their moral philosophy either, their women are not sequestered as in our country, and that is why they have been able to advance so much. The people of our nation, we believe, have focused so much on religious ideas that they have fallen behind. When certain bhadralok gentry hear the name “Religious Newspaper”, they inquire, “Okay Maśāya, what good is your paper bringing to the world? There is nothing about agriculture, industry, commerce, politics, science, poetry, aesthetics, etc. All it’s talking about is do dharma, do dharma. This effort you have undertaken will bring about ruin in the world. What was England and what has it become? And look what a pitiable condition India has fallen into going on and on about religion.” At first, this perspective seems to sound true, but let us deliberate just how much truth is at the root of these kinds of statements. The deliberation is a difficult one; if one will not examine the matter deeply, there is no way to understand it. Therefore, readers, have patience and study this article and use your own independent faculties of deliberation to assess the matter and you will be able to grasp the facts. First of all, the modern class has not had its eyes of genuine knowledge opened, they do not know dharma-tattva, the truth of religion, and so they think that whatever they see with mundane eyes is best and become diligently devoted to developing that. This is their nature, as suits the age they live in. At present, the more progress they make in their development, the more they are beginning to investigate dharma-tattva. Those who do not take up the pursuit of dharma will be bound to keep toiling away for worldly advancement and that will surely allow them to make some worldly advancement, but just take a look for yourself at how much that will or is dispelling the scarcities and difficulties faced by the people of the world. We will have to admit that cultivating material science and inventing trains, steamships, telegraphs, airplanes, and other newer and newer facilities for material enjoyment are helping us in our lives, but still our sense of lacking is not being mitigated. Rather it seems to be growing. Famines, floods, contagious diseases, dacoity, war, and other miseries are increasing day by day, not decreasing. The scholars of old discerned through extensive research that no matter how much worldly development is achieved, the jīvas’ lackings will never be mitigated, but rather increase only. The ultimate outcome of worldly advancement is deterioration. No matter which way the needle of a compass spins, it will always end up pointing north. In the same way, no matter how much material development progresses, its ultimate outcome is nothing but degradation. The material world has its limits. Once you reach those limits, you are bound to regress. But we, who pride ourselves in believing only what we see, do not want to believe that. That is why the omniscient authors of scripture have instructed us as follows, “tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido na labhate yad bhramatām-uparyadhaḥ | tal labhyate duḥkha-vadanyataḥ sukhaṁ kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā || – Discerning persons strive only for that object which cannot be found anywhere in this world despite searching high and low. The happiness that exists in the material world is attained even without effort, just as sorrow is, by the forces of time.”
Perhaps many may read this article and misunderstand. They will think the purpose of this article is to urge people to become completely indifferent to worldy advancement and become engaged in spiritual practices like a sannyāsī to attain the supreme goal of life. But that is not the case. It is not as if magnanimous souls devoted to dharma who are sāragrāhi [able to extract the essence of all things] focus only on transcendence and remain disengaged from worldly development. Eating, relaxing, exercising, building things, taking the air, sleeping, riding in vehicles, maintaining their bodies, tending to their communities, travelling, etc., are all seen in fitting proportion in their lives. The difference is that they do not think of all their worldly endeavours as their only engagements. Rather, they know that striving for spiritual development with the aid of all these worldly attainments is the sole true purpose of human life. If we evaluate matters in a general sense, the conclusion we are bound to reach is that we are only in this world for a few days. There is no certainty when we might have to suddenly leave this place. Therefore, though the world is filled with joys as per the will of the Lord, they is not of particular benefit to us. We will be here for a time and then again we will have to proceed to the realm of difficulty. Therefore, as long as we survive, it is best we make the endeavour for spiritual advancement the sole vow and objective of our lives, with the aid of what worldly development we can muster.
Indication of the Truth
As long as a human being fails to give up the aspirations for prestige that prompt him to think “I am very intelligent”, “I am the judge of good and bad”, or “I am a great, wonderful devotee” etc., and as long as he fails to follow the path of the genuinely humble and detached sādhus, there is not the slightest chance that he will attain the eternal truth that is the mercy of Bhagavān. Bhagavān never accepts the worship of those who make a show of calling out to Bhagavān but are keen on criticizing His pure devotees. He can never tolerate acts of enmity toward His servants. He very swiftly destroys all those arrogant fools. Bhagavān says, “The worship of My devotees is greater than worship of Me. The sādhus are My heart, and I am their heart. The sādhus know none other than Me, and I too know none other than them.” Though Bhagavān is everywhere, residing in every atom and subatom, who is it that can show us where He is? Only the devotees can grant us some indication of Bhagavān’s whereabouts because: “bhaktera hṛdaye sadā govinda viśrāma | govinda kahena mama vaiṣṇava parāṇa ||” Have all the pompous modernists who transgress the mahājanas and flaunt their bravado not once considered how worrisome their fate is? The devotees forever behold Bhagavān’s form with eyes tinged with the salve of divine love and strive to show Him to us as well. But if we fail to see Him because our eyes are covered with the darkness of ignorance, then are we going to try to say that what the devotees see is mistaken? Or are we going to remain under the guidance of the devotees and follow their instructions so that some day we may have the fortune of beholding Bhagavān? What good fortune do we jīvas who have fallen into the pit of sense gratification have by which we may grasp what the devotees are saying? Hence the devotees say “One,” and I understand some other sort of one! Rather than denouncing my misfortune as I should, I am praising it, so that its dire consequences can be intensified. The devotees never transgress the previous mahājanas and speak that which is rejected by scripture. Fool that I am, bereft of knowledge of scripture, I fail to comprehend the words of the devotees and reject them, making offenses at their feet. Though man surely never receives any sort of punishment these days for disregarding the words of sādhus and śāstra, though he may become a fugitive and assume a disguise to evade judgement, either today or in a hundred years time, surely he will be brought before a judge and receive punishment for his crimes. If he would accept his fault now and beg forgiveness from the judge, then the judge may grant him pardon, but the more time goes by, the more man is cheated of the judge’s mercy. Hence, no matter how powerful you are in the eyes of the world, no matter how much scholarship or intelligence you profess to have in debating the matters of the world, when you come to evaluate matters of the spiritual world, you should be a bit cautious. Make sure you are not stepping over the words of sādhu and śāstra in any way. It is only by following the path of the sādhus that one can gain some indication of the truth.
What is the Way?
Māyā, the shadow potency of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti, has two vṛttis, or functions: one is āvaraṇātmikā and the other is vikṣepātmikā. With the āvaraṇātmikā-vṛtti, Māyā keeps the jīvas’ spiritual awareness covered. She does not allow them to understand or know who they are, who Bhagavān is, what relationship they have with Bhagavān, why they are having to suffer the threefold miseries, and why, if Bhagavān’s service is the jīvas’ only duty, they are not naturally inclined to that. With her vikṣepātmikā-vṛtti, Māyā never lets the jīvas’ citta [consciousness] become absorbed at the lotus feet of Bhagavān; she scatters it all over the place, toward the various temporary, material objects of the senses. Though the jīva by constitution is beyond the control of Māyā, there is no way to say precisely when the jīva came under the control of these two vṛttis of Māyā, as a result of his infinitesimal nature and capacity, and forgot the service of Kṛṣṇa. This is why the conditioned souls are referred to as “anādi-bahirmukha – averse since a time without beginning”. The jīva may have forgotten Bhagavān, but Bhagavān cannot forget him. Bhagavān has long been running and running after His eternal servants, the jīvas, calling out to them, trying to dissuade them from chasing after Māyā-devī. Only fortunate jīvas hear that call of Bhagavān and are leaving Māyā’s company to associate with Bhagavān’s devotees and thereby become blessed with Bhagavān’s own company. Bhagavān extends tremendous compassion toward those who are surrendered. Though the jīva has been averse to Bhagavān for millenia, if now he sincerely prostrates himself by body, mind, and words at the lotus feet of Bhagavān just once and says, “O Lord, I am Your servant, not the servant of Māyā,” then Bhagavān delivers him from the bondage of Māyā. Even in the case of karmīs, or those who want material enjoyment, jñānīs, or those who seek salvation, yogīs, or those seek mystic perfections, and others, no matter how averse to Kṛṣṇa such people may be, if just once they come and say, “O Kṛṣṇa, I will not forget your service anymore,” then Kṛṣṇa forgives all of their offenses and gives them a place at His feet. Śrī Bhagavān Rāmacandra one day said as much to Bhakta-rāja Vibhīṣaṇa, illustrating the very average degree of His mercy: “Vibhīṣaṇa, one who truly surrenders to Me just once and says, ‘O Bhagavan, I am yours, so please grant me fearlessness,’ I forever grant them that fearlessness. This is My vow. — sakṛdeva prapanno yas tavāsmīti ca yācate | abhayaṁ sarvadā tasmai dadāmy etad vrataṁ mama ||” Aha, if Bhagavān were not so merciful, would any miniscule jīva have the courage to attain Him? Bhagavān is saying, “If anyone calls out to Me just once, I grant them fearlessness for all time, because this is My vow.” To deliver the fallen, Bhagavān has taken the name Patita-pāvana today, because otherwise the patita [fallen] would not have the courage to call out to Bhagavān. Not only that, today Bhagavān moves from door to door in the humble garb of an ordinary human being, saying, “Jīva, just chant Kṛṣṇa’s name one time. Why do you forget Bhagavān and keep floundering in the ocean of Māyā? You are My servant. Chant My name with this conviction. All your difficulties, catastrophes, and utter lack of joy will be dispelled. You will reap eternal bliss.”
O Lord of the orphaned, savior of the fallen, uplifter of the wretched. You have so much compassion for those who have no one. You are calling to me so much I cannot even fathom, trying to deliver me, yet I don’t understand what kind of delusion I stay engrossed in, whereby I have forgotten You. You are the only one whom I can truly call my own, yet still I refer to others as my nearest and dearest kin, thus placing shackles on my own feet. Bhagavan, when will I stop making this mistake? Will I no longer be called to You in this life? Bhagavan, I have spent my whole life on gratifying my own senses. I have not been able to render any more service to You in this life. O merciful one, if I had the capacity to appreciate even one drop of Your mercy, then I would not become the slave of lust and anger and regard their lashings as my fortune. Sure, I often pay lip service to You, saying, “Bhagavan, I am Yours,” but I am not actually able to have You hear that. People might hear me say such things and think I am great devotee, but how does that help me at all?
Many a member of drama troupes dress up like Nārada or Prahlāda, but You are not the object of focus for all those Nāradas and Prahlādas. All those disguised, deceitful devotees only want gold, women, and prestige. Bhagavan, will I never have the proper mindset that will allow me to attain You in this life? Will Māyā’s two aversion-causing functions keep me forgetting Your service? O Nṛsiṁhadeva, You who destroy obstacles in devotion, please protect me from being devoured by Māyā. Your mercy alone is the only recourse for jīvas like me who are averse to Kṛṣṇa.
Abhinandana [formal greeting]
on the occasion of Paramahaṁsa
Parivrājakācārya Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrīmad
Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī
Mahārāja’s auspicious arrival at the
Dumurakondā Maṭha.
Today, on this auspicious occasion, we, the residents of this western edge of Rāḍha, have assembled here to greet an exalted personality upon his auspicous arrival. The purpose of this formal greeting is to extol the glories of that mahāpuruṣa. However, never is it possible for conditioned souls like us, who have no intellect, who are wretched in consciousness, and who are utterly incapable, to sing the glories of one whose words always come true, who is eternal victorious everywhere in every regard, and who is like a victory pillar of Vijayeśvara Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord of all victory. But mankind is so shortsighted, their minds so weak, that though they know they are weak and incapable, they often go ahead with various difficult tasks. These efforts of ours today are the direct result of this same natural human weakness. Otherwise, what more can we really add to the praise and glorification of one who has perfected himself, is established in his true self, and whose glories are thus self-evident? Our efforts today, which are the result of an eternal impudence, are as insignificant as taking a lamp to illuminate the eye of the world, the Sun.
On one hand, this task of ours has made us a laughingstock in front of everyone, but on the other, it retains profound necessity and merit. The merit of it is that singing the glories of exalted personalities, discussing their activities, and welcoming and promoting them entails that even the hearts of those like us whose consciousness is contaminated become immaculate, radiant, and tidy and then, gradually, the waves of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes arise and render our insignificant breaths, minds, and lives blessed.
Hence, we want to say that today the land of Rāḍha is blessed, and all of its inhabitants, everyone from the most wretched, even its trees, vines, and other vegetation, and its insects, worms, animals and other species of life are also blessed today. Wherever the devotees of Bhagavān arrive, wherever the dust of their feet settles, that place is blessed, venerable, replete with all massive stocks of piety, and turns into the topmost tīrtha, or site of pilgrimage! Thus the land of Rāḍha has also turned into a holy site of the topmost caliber. The devotees of Śrī Bhagavān are known in this saṁsāra as moving, living tīrthas. It is they who, on the pretext of roaming here and there across the lands, turn ordinary places into places of pilgrimage by the inconceivable potency of their footdust. The tīrthas cleanse sinners of their sins when the sinners visit them, and the tīrthas turn those sinners into the foremost devotees. But then the tīrthas are left holding on to all those sins and gradually lose their sanctifying power and glory, so the devotees strive to deliver and restore those tīrthas and thus nurture their power and glory. So who will say that this land of Rāḍha, which is not a tīrtha, cannot turn into a most excellent tīrtha by the arrival of Bhagavān’s devotees?
Many people criticize this Rāḍhadeśa of ours in various ways. This Rāḍha has tough soil, rocky hills with no moisture, and is strewn with sand and gravel. Its outer layer is thus dirty, lackluster, and barren; and its inner dimensions are always stained with the black of charcoal and coal, so it has a very wretched appearance. People think that this inner and outer filth cannot go away and try to prove this with the evidence that even if you wash coal a hundred times with milk, its stain will not go away. But today we are saying that even with its heart stained with the black of charcoal, the land of Rāḍha is considering itself blessed, because it has come to understand that “sad-guru pābe bheda batāve jñāna kare upadeśa | taba kayalā ki mayalā chuṭe jaba āg kare paraveśa ||” With the sparks of the causeless mercy of saintly persons, of Bhagavān’s devotees, even filth like that of coal burns up; when coal burns it becomes as radiant as gold and aids in ridding other substances of their impurities. These filthy coal-stained minds of ours will, upon coming in contact with the fire of sad-guru’s mercy, become supremely pure and radiant. What doubt can there be of this? That is why we have said that we are blessed.
Those who are marred by hankerings for material sense objects and bewildered at heart, who are devoid of pious merit and brimming with wicked deeds, who are forever deprived of even the slightest fraction of prior piety—how did they suddenly come into such fortune? What is the reason for this? When we investigate that reason, all we can see clearly is indication of the tender touch of the fingers of the causeless compassion of the supreme ocean of mercy, Śrī Bhagavān and His supremely merciful devotees. Otherwise, there can be no other reason for such fortune arising in our case.
Whether we have something else of merit or not, there is no doubt about the fact of our poverty, our destitution. It is for this reason, it seems, that the Kāṅgāler Ṭhākura [“The Lord of the Destitute”] Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who incarnated to worship Himself and distribute the process of that worship, has sent to us the personification of vairāgya-vidyā-bhakti-yoga, or the bhaktisiddhānta that destroys all false conclusions, to subdue the massive stock of apasiddhānta we harbor. Though we are utterly foolish, utterly sinful, it is because of this that today we have been able to understand that “bhakti, bhakta, bhagavanta, guru, cāro padāratha—eka – Devotion, the devotee, the Lord, and the teacher—these four elements are all one.” And the auspicious synthesis of those four elements has become personified before us today in the form of the jagad-guru. Hence, if we are not blessed, then who else is?
Another topic to mention is that this region of ours is bereft of the Gaṅgā; longing to eradicate the sinful and dire fate of this Gaṅgā-deprived land, Parama-bhāgavata Śrī Bhaktivinoda himself became like Bhagīratha and brought forth Śrī Bhagavān’s bhaktivinodinī karuṇā [“devotion-delighting compassion”] like a fresh current of the Gaṅgā. The tradition is to worship Gaṅgā with the waters of Gaṅgā herself, so today we have done just that. Hence, we want to say that from today onward the everlasting infamy of Rāḍha has been dispelled for all time. From today, this stony, barren land has become moist and fertile. By the touch of this new flow of the Gaṅgā, the countless sons of Sagara of this region have attained a lofty destination. One who exists with gara, or garala [poison] is Sagara; these worldly sense objects are the real poison, or gara. Man has developed a connection with this gara, so we can call man Sagara. Countless numbers of us sons of Sagara have become purified today by the touch of waves of the Gaṅgā; we have attained a pious destination.
This much we have been able to say by the strength of the grace of He who enables lame men to cross mountains and mute men to explain the Vedas. We have no capacity to say or comprehend more. Therefore, we shall desist here. But before we do so, we say once more that we are blessed. As we come to regard ourselves as blessed, we cause the sky and air to tremble as we say:
“ajñāna-timirāndhasya jñānāñjana-śalākayā | cakṣur-unmīlitaṁ yean tasmai śrī guruve namaḥ ||”
Letter Response
Mānanīya Śrīyukta Nanī-gopāla Mukhopādhyāya mānyavareṣu—
Mahāśaya, I read your letter. The Śrī Dhāma reveals herself. From before the creation of time, she has been ascertained and specified in a particular location. There is no need to discover her anew. Unless one accepts the guidance of the mahājanas and becomes endowed with divine vision, it is not possible to have darśana of the Dhāma; it is not possible to see the Dhāma with material eyes. Mahāprabhu’s appearance place is only in a heart that is radiant with śuddha-sattva [pristine existence]. Mahāprabhu’s prakaṭa-bhūmi, the land where He manifests, is present within each and every atom and subatom of Navadvīpa. Who will demonstrate that? And who is there to behold that sight? Only one who has gained divine vision by the grace of a bona fide guru can have darśana of Kṛṣṇa along with the Dhāma; Kṛṣṇa and the Dhāma do not exist separately of each other. Jīvas who are possessed of mundane perception do not accept the guidance of mahājanas who are equipped with divine vision, so they adopt the ascending, or aśrauta, path and will end up forever cheated of beholding the Dhāma. They end up falling into delusion relying on their material eyes, thinking a place of falsity is a place of truth. The śrauta-panthī pure devotees who follow the guidance of the mahājanas never establish disbelief in the truth ascertained by the mahājanas. Therefore, they do not feel it necessary to pay the slightest heed to any of the bragging and blathering of the aśrauta-vādīs. Those fond of mental speculation will host assemblies and form committees so many times and parade their contrived “Dhāma”, and then the next moment, they will change their previous assertion. We have been watching these kinds of efforts by so many of those who are opposed to the conclusions of pure devotion and are possessed of mundane perception. Kṛṣṇa will grant them the appropriate consequences to their misguided efforts. So much continues to be written so often in relation to Śrīdhāma Māyāpura. But who will understand those things? Only fortunate souls have honor for all those impartial truths, as you do. All deliberations pertaining to the Dhāma are recorded in the Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma series of books. We will soon discuss dhāma-tattva in detail. —Na. Pra. Ed
(Local)
At the Kṛṣṇa-nagara royal palace, the Bāro-dola Melā [“Twelve Swing Festival”] has been going strong for three days till yesterday. The melā will continue for another 8–10 days, but the deities have been brought down from the swings yesterday. This time, the Nadīyā District Boyscout Association’s president, Kṛṣṇa-nagara College’s mathematics teacher, Śrīyukta Subodhacandra Dāsagupta M. A. Mahāśaya, brought the whole boyscout team, which was very diligent in maintaining the peace and orderliness of the melā. Their most praiseworthy accomplishment was eliminating gambling from this melā. If this gambling, the first associate of Kali as described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, can be expelled from all of Bhārata-varṣa, then many will be able to be saved from the clutches of sin.
At the melā, three girls were napping under a tree. Some rogue with most ignoble intentions tried to kidnap one of the girls while she was sleeping but was not successful in doing so and fled.
Nānā Kathā
The Sunday before last, in the village of Pathmahal in Hooghly District, near Guptipara Station on the EIR Katwa line, there was violent riot between Hindus and Muslims over music being played in front of a small mosque. Reports of the incident relate that there is a small straw house on the road between Guptipara Station and Pathmal-gram that the Muslims are currently using for namaz. Previously, the Muslims never had any cause to object to music or kīrtana going on outside this mosque. On the day of the incident, at around 10 o’clock at night, the Hindus of Badhagachi village were doing nagara-kīrtana with a kīrtana group and heading down this road near the mosque. Rather unexpectedly, the Muslims of Pathmahal village were hiding amid the jungle vegetation and attacked the kīrtana party from behind and dealt deadly blows to many of the people participating in the kīrtana parade. The rumour is that these Muslims have committed this atrocity because they were provoked by the rhetoric of one particular mullah. The next day, many Hindus assembled to teach the Muslims a proper lesson, but armed police and the district magistrate and police chief were present, so the plan could not go very far. There is an ongoing case in the Chunchura court. Discussion is ongoing to reach a resolution. Either this mosque should be removed from that location or there should not be any objection to music being played in front of the . How many unnecessary problems this kind of senseless atrocity creates is beyond description.
Last Monday, there was no further disturbance in Bamangachi over the Liluah strike. The workers of the Jessop, Martin, and Barne Company have shown some signs of unrest. Many have not come to work. Police are keeping the peace.
A group of drunk Muslims in Belpukur, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Tollygunge police station, have gotten into a fight with a group of Hindus which resulted in 1 Hindu and 1 Muslim getting stabbed. The police arrived on scene as soon as they received the news and arrested two people.
This past 1st of April, during a meeting of representatives of parliament, the communist party entered the assembly unexpectedly playing bugles, motor horns, and various other wind instruments, and created a big commotion. After some moments of uproar, they were stopped by the government. Several people got hit in the head, and others were somewhat injured in other ways.
Previously, marriage of one’s sister-in-law was forbidden abroad. A law was passed in the year 1907 allowing for sister-in-law marriage. At first, the padres objected somewhat, but now there is no more objection in this regard. Recently, Sir Arthur Shirley drafted a proposal to amend this 1907 law. It is stated therein that marrying one’s deceased wife’s niece, one’s widowed paternal or maternal aunts, one’s deceased wife’s maternal or paternal aunts, the widowed wife of one’s nephew, and one’s sister-in-law will be accepted as lawful. Just as a man will be permitted to marry all these kinds of female relatives, a woman will also be able to marry a man she is related to in these ways. Though this proposal has not yet been passed into law, there is possibility of this happening soon. In ancient Egypt, there used to be sibling marriages. In many places in Orissa, one used to be able to marry the widowed wife of one’s brother. Who knows what else we will see as time goes on?
Last Thursday, in Siṅgarākoriyā, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Basirhat Hasanabad Station, there was a brutal dacoity at the home of Vrajmohan Sarkar. 10–12 dacoits removed Vrajmohan’s eyeballs and made off with a steel trunk containing a large quantity of cash and jewelry. One shudders to think just how cruel man can be, crueler than animals; how mercilessly they can end people’s precious lives for a little bit of money.
Recently, in Bombay’s Belgam, a man named Pottā discovered his wife having an affair, meeting in the middle of night with a neighbour, a barber, and proceed to kill both of them, before going to the police and confessing his tale of murder.
This past 30th of March, the Afghan royal couple expressed great wonder and surprise upon seeing the brokers and buyers at the Liverpool cotton market completing trades of lakhs and lakhs pounds very quickly and impetuously. At the feast that was held in honor of the royal couple at the Liverpool town hall, King Amanullah showed everyone his expertise in performing magic tricks and stunned everyone.
Sir Joynson Hicks of Parliament is proposing that women be given the same voting rights as men, depending on certain criteria pertaining to the ownership of a business premise and possession of a university degree. There is talk of implementing this new law in the general elections starting on the 1st of May, 1929. The proposal received 387 votes in favor and 21 against. The draft of the proposal was approved for a second reading.
A blind student has qualified to take the examination for the Sanskrit title (Śāstri) at the Kāśī Hindu Viśva-vidyālaya. An individual will be appointed to record his answers. He was able to pass the midterm exams in this manner. The other students read aloud as they study, so he listens to them and practices the readings that way.
Last Monday afternoon, a fire broke out at the cotton warehouse in Karachi, reducing 32 thousand bales of cotton to ash.
A rich and influential individual from Gopīnāthapura named Mehar Sharif was on his way to Faridpur to submit an appeal in a criminal case. Near a court on the way to Tajjel Station, several thugs assailed him and cut off his head with a ramdao [a curved sacrificial blade]. His corpse has been brought to Gopalganj.
This past 31st of March, Saturday, all the members of the Simon Commission have departed for England aboard a ship named Multan. Employees of the Bombay Government and various other groups of people bid them farewell. The Commission stated before they left that they had been successful in achieving what they had come to India for. They came for a few short days and met with all groups and classes of people and gathered the information they needed.
This past 2nd of April, an assembly was convened for the election of the Calcutta Corporation’s mayor and deputy mayor. Initially there was a great deal of clamor regarding the election of a chairman. In the end, Mr. J. M. Sena Gupta was elected as chairman. At the chairman’s invitation, Mr. J. C. Sena proposed Śrīyukta Bijoy Kumar Bose for the post of mayor and Mr. A.C. Bandyopadhyay supported that. Mr. S.K. Bose proposed Śrīyukta Subhash Chandra Bose for the post of mayor. Thereafter, when the question of how to cast votes arose, Mr. S.K. Bose proposed ballots and Mr. A.C. Bandyopadhyay proposed a show of hands. Thereafter it was seen that 46 people voted by show of hands and 36 by ballot. In the end, after counting the votes, it was seen that Śrīyukta Bijoy Kumar Bose received 46 votes and Śrīyukta Subhash Chandar Bose received 37. Thus Bijoy Bābu was elected mayor. After that, Mr. D.N. Mukhopadhyay proposed Mr. Rejak for deputy mayor. Several people from the Swaraj Party were also put forward for the position. However, when they all ultimately refused, Mr. Rejak was, without rivals, elected deputy mayor. After that, the chairman thanked the mayor and deputy mayor and conveyed his request that they execute their duties well. Śrīyukta Subhash Babu, owing to his gracious nature, conveyed great delight at the election of Śrīyukta Bijoy Babu and Mr. Rejak and requested them to perform their duties properly. The new mayor Bijoy Babu swore on God’s name that he will carry out his duties admirably. The electric current suddenly cut off in the middle of assembly proceedings, so there was apprehension of some commotion in the assembly house, but as the deputy police commissioner was present in the assembly, there was no significant disturbance.
The new mayor Śrīyukta Bijoy Babu swore on Bhagavān’s name—we have some cause to object to this. The scriptures state that one must not swear anything on Bhagavān’s name. That amounts to a sevāparādha toward Bhagavān. Bijoy Babu was surely not aware of that. We hope that he will be more careful in this regard from now on and caution others to avoid this sort of offense.
A 17-year-old girl named Lakshmi Bibi has been married to a man named Kapiladdi Mallik of Panapur, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Rajhat Station. At the end of the wedding ceremony, when coming to her in-laws’ home, the girl failed to bring an adequate dowry, so everyone was giving her the evil eye. Last Thursday, her mother-in-law was admonishing her furiously over some trivial matter. The girl could not tolerate it anymore and started talking back to her, at which all the women in the house started beating her. Her mother-in-law caught hold of her throat so hard that the girl expired then and there. The police have arrested everyone in the household.
As of the week ending on the 17th of March, 422 people have contracted plague and 279 have died.
There is a rumour spreading in the market that the Calcutta garbage collectors are going to launch another strike because their demands have not been met. The Corporation’s administration had better give their attention to this issue. Just one strike led to refuse accumulating and congealing in the streets and ghats of Calcuta, which spawned a variety of infectious diseases.
In the field near the Milanī dance hall in Jamshedpur, a vulture was sticking its long head into the mouth of a dead cow when suddenly, by the vulture’s bad luck, the cow’s mouth snapped shut and the vulture could not withdraw its neck back out and died in a matter of moments. The consequences of enjoyment are just like this. What the jīva thinks he will enjoy ends up being the cause of his death. Will we not learn, despite seeing all this all the time?
This past 30th of March, there were robberies in the Sandeshkhali and Lakshmipur villages of the Basirhat Subdivision. The dacoits made off with cash and other wealth. The only good thing is they did not kill anyone.
Second Baronet Sir Karim Ibrahim suddenly experienced heart failure at 3:30 in the afternoon last 31st of March and fell into the jaws of death at his home in Belvedere.
Reports are that Śrīyukta Gāndhī Mahāśaya has decided to go abroad. Some are delighted at this decision of his, and others are not so happy about it.
Calcutta’s renowned rich man, Sakshi Gopal Baral Mahāśaya is no longer in this world. He was an avid supporter of Gauḍīya Maṭha’s preaching. Aside from various Gauḍīya Maṭha festivals, he would come at other times also to hear hari-kathā from the mouth of Śrīla Paramahaṁsa Ṭhākura and had come to deeply and wholeheartedly appreciate Śrīla Paramahaṁsa Ṭhākura’s impartiality and fearlessness in preaching. We pray for the wellbeing of his departed soul.
Another saintly personality and patron of Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha’s preaching has left this realm recently. He was the renowned Lalit Kumar Mitra Mahāśaya of Calcutta’s Shyambazar. He was a councillor of the Calcutta Corporation. He was a subscriber the Gauḍīya and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and had particular appreciation for Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha’s impartial preaching of the truth. He frequently came to Śrī Gauḍīya Maṭha and heard hari-kathā from the mouth of Śrīla Paramahaṁsa Ṭhākura. We pray for the auspiciousness of his departed soul.
This upcoming 24th of Caitra, 1334 Sāla (6th of April, 1928, Friday) till the 26th of Caitra/8th of April, Sunday, the third annual celebration of Śrī Bhāgavata-janānanda Prabhu’s viraha-mahotsava will be held in Ciruliya, Medinipur. All the bhāgavata devotees are requested to participate in the classes, recitations, discussions, hari-kīrtana, and mahā-mahotsava on this occasion. Tridaṇḍisvāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Viveka Bhāratī Mahārāja from Śrī Caitanya Maṭha in Ancient Śrī Navadvīpa Śrī Māyāpura and several other speakers will attend the festival. It will be a matter of great delight to us if the mahāśayas [honored sirs] will participate in this festival.
Tomorrow, for Good Friday, Nadīyā Prakāśa will not be published. Regular publication will resume again from Saturday, the day after tomorrow.