śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
10th Caitra, Friday—1334
Poḍā Mā
Prauḍhā Māyā is referred to in common language as Poḍā Mā. She is Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti, so she is nondifferent from Him. Those who accept Bhagavān but do not want to believe in Prauḍhā Māyā, or Poḍā Mā, are like those who accept the existence of the Sun but do not want to accept the existence of its rays; their conception is incomplete. In Vṛndāvana, this Poḍā Mā is Paurṇamāsī, or Yogamāyā. This Yogamāyā Devī is the main aid in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Yogamāyā is always trying to arrange the meeting of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. All of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes stemming from His aiśvarya, mādhurya, or audārya are all present within Yogamāyā. The Vaiṣṇavas engage in Kṛṣṇa’s service under the guidance of Yogamāyā. They are surrendered one-pointedly at the lotus feet of Yogamāyā with the intention of serving Kṛṣṇa. This is why the Vaiṣṇavas can be called real Śāktas. In Gautamīya-tantra, this Yogamāyā has been praised as the presiding deity of Vaiṣṇava-mantras. She who is Yogamāyā in the Vṛndāvana pastimes is Prauḍhā Māyā, or Poḍā Mā, in Gaura-līlā. Jaḍa-māyā [inert māyā] is the shadow of this Prauḍhā Māyā. Her job is to bewilder living entities who are averse to Kṛṣṇa and punish them. The only role of Yogamāyā, or Poḍā Mā, is to instill the bliss of service into jīvas who are inclined to serve Kṛṣṇa. If we deliberate on this tattva, we will come to know that those who are real Śāktas are real Vaiṣṇavas, and those who are real Vaiṣṇavas are Śāktas. Those who pride themselves to be Śāktas but are devoid of Vaiṣṇava conduct and opposed to Bhagavān and those who pride themselves to be Vaiṣṇavas but are antagonistic to Poḍā Mā, or Yogamāyā, are both deluded by Jaḍa-māyā. Some people say Yogamāyā, or Prauḍhā Māyā, is Poḍā Mā, or “the burnt mother”. But really, she is Prauḍhā Māyā [“senior mother”]. Just as the material world is a transformation of Bhagavān’s jaḍa-śakti [inert, material energy], the Śrī Dhāma is likewise a transformation of spiritual energy, Yogamāyā. That is why Śrī Yogamāyā is called the adhiṣṭhātrī-devī [presiding goddess] of Śrī Dhāma, or Vṛndāvana. Like Yogamāyā, Prauḍhā Māyā is the presiding goddess of Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma. “Nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvatra yogamāyā samāvṛtaḥ“—according to this statement of Gītā, without the mercy of Prauḍhā Māyā, the jīva will not have the fortune of beholding the true form of Navadvīpa. Śrī Devī, at the time of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s appearance was in Antaradvīpa Śrī Māyāpura. After the conclusion of Śrī Mahāprabhu’s pastimes, by the will of Bhagavān, the Gaṅgā flooded the whole island, the inhabitants of Antaradvīpa went to Kuliyā Navadvīpa and Rāmacandrapura. At that time, they took Prauḍhā Māyā with them and established her near their new place of residence. Since then Śrī Māyā Devī has been situated on the western side of the Gaṅgā. That place is now known as Poḍā Mā Talā.
Love for One’s Nation
From reading history, we come to know that Hindus were once the sovereign emperors of the whole Earth. From Satya-yuga till the present age, their domain has gradually shrunk and at present completely disappeared. The strength of dharma that had made the Hindus strong and capable of defending their kingdom is something they no longer have. Though Hindus have gradually lost control of all their lands, the region of Bengal was not too long ago still in the hands of Hindus. The kings of the Sena and Śūra dynasties ruled over this Bengal region for a long time. This ancient Navadvīpa Māyāpura was their capital. Even now, there are the ancient ruins, etc., of the Ballāla Palace in Ballāla Dighi. It was at the time of the Sena-vaṁśa king Lakṣmaṇa Sena that the Lakṣmī of Baṅga-deśa’s Bengali fortune disappeared. The Lakṣmī of kingdoms is forever restless like this. She never stays in one place. We do not need to tell anyone this, but we mention it anyways because, well, God forbid we moisturize our nose and go to sleep [“get too comfortable”]! No one can say that they will not do anything at all for their country. Even if they do say such a thing, it is not acceptable. Even if Brahmā came and reassured us it was okay to neglect our country, we could not put our conviction in his words. Why? It is hard to answer this with a single statement. But if we contemplate this, we see that love is the natural function of a vastu. There are two kinds of vastu: conscious and unconscious. The jīva and Bhagavān are conscious vastus, and everything else is unconscious. That dharma by which a vastu is naturally attracted is called love. This sort of attraction is not seen between inert objects. It is the inherent dharma of the conscious vastu, or jīva, to be attracted to other conscious beings, and He who attracts all these conscious beings is Bhagavān. Another name for attraction to Bhagavān is bhagavad-bhakti, or prema. In the liberated stage, this prīti-dharma is in its immaculate state, but in the embondaged condition, it becomes confined by time, place, and circumstance and enters a state of contraction. In a very contracted state, it is focused just on our own bodies. At that point, we want nothing but the happiness of our own bodies. This kind of body-focused love is present even among animals, birds, insects, worms, etc. When this love starts to blossom somewhat, it becomes focused on the living entities who are our family. When it blossoms a little more, it expands its focus to people of one’s own class or community, and as it blossoms more it gradually expands its focus to one’s nation and eventually all of humanity. When it becomes fully blossomed, it encompasses love for all living beings. This is as far as it can blossom while still technically in the contracted category. The eternal nature of a thing will surely in time show its true form. But as long as our love is not offered towards Bhagavān, that entity who encompasses all consciousness, then it is incapable of fully conveying its true presentation. The more contracted a person’s love is the more embondaged they are, and the more expansive, or blossomed, a person’s prīti-dharma, or love function, is, the more liberated he is. Now the answer is this: though love for one’s nation represents a contracted state of the living entity’s constitutional nature, the living entity cannot live without it. The most worthwhile effort we can make that is beneficial in all ways is to strive in such a way that gradually our love increases to the point we feel it for all beings and can offer it to Bhagavān. We will seek the wellbeing of our countrymen, but the most magnanimous and exalted effort we can make is that by which their ultimate, superlative auspiciousness can be attained.
To One’s Near and Dear
Scripture says, “A person who wears tulasī beads around his neck and the symbols of conchshell, disc, etc., on his limbs, and who adorns his forehead with upward-pointing tilaka is a Vaiṣṇava. The exalted personalities of bygone ages have sung the glories of these sorts of Vaisṇavas as follows:
gaṅgāra paraśa ha’le paścāte pāvana |
darśane pavitra karena ei tāra guṇa ||
If we are to determine who a Vaiṣnava is, are we supposed to just look at these external signs? Suppose someone outwardly and deceitfully bears these distinguishing marks very nicely but lives a wild, immoral life, is he also a world-purifying Vaiṣṇava? No he is not. Neither immorality and poor conduct nor moral good behaviour is symptomatic of a Vaiṣṇava. The aforementioned statement of scripture addresses the external markers of a Vaiṣnava. Besides these, there is an inner characteristic of a Vaiṣṇava. It is this:
asat-saṅga tyāga ei vaiṣṇava ācāra |
strī-saṅgī eka asādhu kṛṣṇābhakta āra ||
Though this statement is rather straightforward, its purport is tough to comprehend. “Asat-saṅga” only refers to temporary objects. It is the principle of a Vaiṣṇava to give up attachment to temporary objects. Neither external ritualism nor immorality is the constitutional conduct of a Vaiṣṇava. Though all acquirable objects in this world are false, or temporary, the three main desirable objects are gold, women, and prestige. Though the aforementioned verse defining the conduct of a Vaiṣṇava only mentions those attached to associating with women, the implication is that those persons are also attached to gold and prestige as well. Why? Because it is from illicit connection with women that these other two vices arise. A person who is attached to women needs money satisfy his women. If he is to accumulate money, then he needs high birth, or good social standing, and affluence, fame, and beauty—all these worldly expressions of prestige. If he does not have those things, it is not so easy to make money. Those who have no worldly prestige don Vaiṣṇava garb and establish themselves in the world through that, fulfilling their motives. In this age of Kali, there is no shortage of examples of these kinds of people. Ṭhākura Narottama has addressed them, saying: “With the hope of acquiring wealth, they wander from door to door dressed as a Vaiṣṇava.” It is difficult to recognize them, as it is difficult to recognize a tiger in sheep’s skin. The Āulas, Bāulas, Daraveśa, Prākṛta-sahajiyās, Sakhī-bhekhī and other iconoclasts of varṇāśrama-dharma fall into this category. Vaiṣṇavas avoid their association for their own sake and strive diligently to help others not be charmed by their company. There is another class of people who are not of poor conduct like the aforementioned type. These people lead moral lives and pride themselves as well-behaved people. They have very good conduct, chant a lot of nāma like Vaiṣṇavas and are absorbed in the worship of Viṣṇu. Nevertheless they are not devotees of Kṛṣṇa. They are called karmīs and jñānīs. The mahājanas have directed statements like “karmī jñānī michā-bhakta nā habe tāte anurakta – Karmīs and jñānīs are insincere devotees; do not become emotionally involved with them.” Śrīman Mahāprabhu personally observed Vaiṣṇava conduct in order to instruct the people of the world. During His household pastimes, when He would frolic in the bliss of kīrtana at Śrīvāsa’s house, no one except for devotees would be allowed to come there—what to speak of immoral womanizers. Even those who thought themselves to be very moral and civilized were not allowed to enter. One day, one very pious ascetic who subsisted only on milk petitioned Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita to allow him to witness Śrīman Mahāprabhu dancing and kīrtana, etc. At first, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita refused, but then relented. Later, Śrīman Mahāprabhu could tell that an outsider was present in His abode of kīrtana delight and said to him: “What qualification does he have to see My dancing? Does drinking just milk give a person bhakti for Me?” Saying this, He had the ascetic expelled from the kīrtana-mandira. Readers should bear in mind the following: “Kanaka kāminī pratiṣṭhā bāghinī chāḍiyāche yāre seito vaiṣṇava | viṣaya mumukṣu bhogera bubhukṣu duye tyaja mana dui avaiṣṇava || – One who has left the tigers of money, women, and prestige is a Vaiṣṇava. Give up both the salvationist who wants respite from material objects and the materialist who hankers for indulgence; neither are Vaiṣṇavas.”
Firm Resolve
Ahmedabad newspapers report Mahātmā Gāndhī as saying, “I have not given up hope,” and thereby conveying his resolve regarding independence in front of everyone and reassuring his friends. He has not only granted them reassurance but has become enthusiastic about keeping his promise. At present, he has proposed a trip to Europe. He has deep love for his country and is firmly avowed in achieving what is best for his countrymen. Giving up one’s own interests for the sake of one’s country is undoubtedly very praiseworthy. Of all the virtues of man, fortitude of resolve is chief. Before trying one’s hand at anything, one must vow to do or die, otherwise one cannot achieve anything. What did the sages of yore not accomplish with this sort of firm resolve? They achieved more than gaining their own independent nation;; they achieved the supreme bliss of obtaining Bhagavān; if one finds God, what else remains to be had? You need firm resolve. Generally speaking, all the countless living entities are roaming the vast world for two types of purposes. One consists of economic endeavours; the other is spiritual in nature. The economic endeavours of man are superior to the primal instincts of animals. Spiritual endeavours, however, are entirely superior to economic endeavours. But both types of endeavour require firm resolve. If our resolve can be offered to God, then in a very short time, we will attain our objective and reap supreme bliss. Readers, just remember the tale of that five-year-old boy Dhruva. That too is a tale of our nation.
A Review
(quoted and translated from English)
A review of the Harmonist magazine written in the January 1 1928 issue of the widely circulated and India-famous bi-monthly magazine called “Lakhpati Sporting News” based out of Bombay—
Śaivas and Vaiṣṇavas, both types of Hindus, were standing around idly like observers for many years, watching the disruptive religious propaganda of Western Christian missionaries from England, Germany, America, and other countries. Hindus had become so bewildered at the sight of the tenacity and organization of foreign religions that they did not know what to do. They could not figure out how to stand in opposition of that current. They thought of themselves as a helpless, inferior race and thought they had no capacity to oppose that powerful current. They were watching their brothers and sisters convert and watching Christ and others be consecrated in place of their worshipful Śrī Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Śiva. Even as they watched Christian churches and other foreign religious establishments crop up next to their Hindu temples in sacred places like Vārāṇasī, Rāmeśvara, etc., Hindus were not able to do anything to defend themselves or their religion. Hindus were passing their time rather comfortably, relying on the unseen for everything, like modern-day philosophers who have no skills or capabilities. However, in time, in the ocean of hopelessness, a wave of religious revival appeared and several incarnation-like personalities arrived to protect Hindu religion from the jaws of destruction. In this age too, as in ancient times, several selfless spiritual saints incarnated among the Hindus to help reform the everlasting Hindu religion. Among them, the editor of this Harmonist magazine, Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja has, without a doubt and by unanimous agreement, achieved such a exalted and lofty position that it will remain the standard of every pure devotee’s highest ambition for all time. Today Śrīmat Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Mahārāja is the only luminous ācārya in the Vaiṣṇava world. If someone asks him, “Who can be called a Vaiṣṇava?” then I assume he would point out this verse about the identity of Vaiṣṇavas:
nāhaṁ vipro na ca narapatir nāpi vaiśyo na śudro nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛhapatir no vanastho yatir vā |
kintu prodyan nikhila paramānanda pūrṇāmṛtābdher gopī-bharttuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ ||
The foremost of Mahāprabhu Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’s devotees, Śrīmad Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, was truly the vast ocean of bhakti and prema. The Harmonist magazine he founded was filled with many highly scholarly and well-researched articles about pure bhakti-dharma and has today manifested as an ocean of bhakti scripture. We have obtained issues 1–5 of the Harmonist’s 25th volume. These issues contain the sequential reiteration of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s instructions, a discussion of Śrīmad Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s pastimes, the history of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, and many articles like this that are so pleasant to read and so very informative. If every Hindu will study all these articles with careful attention, they will achieve the elevation of their own souls and contribute to the elevation of the souls of all Indians, whereby all will be greatly benefitted.
Under the direction of a South Indian youth, one Śrīyuta M.S.G. Ayer, this magazine is published regularly and on schedule, and the magazine’s quality and beautiful presentation is so charming that it conveys his great expertise. The yearly cost of the magazine is only 3.5 rupees and a sample copy is only 5/16 annas. The magazine’s printing and layout is exquisite.
Several pages of each issue are alloted for Sanskrit articles. The name of this section is “Sajjana-toṣaṇī”. The articles on brāhmaṇa status by virtue, Vaisṇava tenets, Daśa-mūla śikṣā, Śrīman Madhvācārya, etc., convey great scholarship. These are very valuable and worth studying, because it is doubtful that such well-rounded discussion of such profound subjects is seen anywhere else. Our only prayer is that this magazine stays manifest in the glory of its grand purpose of establishing Vaiṣṇava-dharma as the one universal religion in India.
A Submitted Letter
The statement of a Navadvīpa resident who is enamoured with the excellence of Nadīya Prakāśa
Though I have been one of the supporters of the group that opposes Māyāpura, today I have become truly enamoured with the excellence of “Nadīyā Prakāśa” and have become compelled to speak the truth. I am not being compelled by anyone or speaking to flatter anyone. The peaceful and soothing attitude of these people, their natural, simple inclination to serve Hari, their amicable behaviour, their profound attachment to the actual truth, and their fearlessness is truly praiseworthy and honorable. However, alas! By my great misfortune, as a supporter of those who were opposing bhakti, I have been clueless to the truth and created who knows how much inauspiciousness for myself. Any joy I may have felt while living with the Navadvīpa city bhakti-antagonists for a whole lifetime is not equal to even one millionth of the joy I feel when I look at these devotees just once. What is the reason for this? O Navadvīpa-resident friends, can you give me a proper answer to this? It seems you will not be able to answer this. Why? Because there is no trace of simplicity in a heart that is full of envy. O my friends, do not be angry with me. Focusing on dharma, keeping faith in truth, it is with great sadness that I have had to say all this today. I have not given my name even now because I am very much afraid of being mistreated among a group of people who all cling to a certain shared belief. A day will come when the residents of Kuliyā Navadvīpa will pride themselves in supporting Śrī Māyāpura. I am awaiting that day.
iti—
A resident of Kuliya, or Navadvīpa city
Editor’s Note
[What one gentleman inhabitant of Navadvīpa city wrote after reading Nadīyā Prakāśa has been published for the awareness of the general public. Several other letters like this have come to us from Navadvīpa city. Some of those letters had some very harsh things to say about Nadīya city residents; we knew these remarks would not be pleasant for the general public to read, so we have not published them. But the fact that they are striving to honor the truth despite living amid a variety of impediments to doing so is so remarkable that we are delightedly praising them as if we had a hundred mouths each. We also wish to convey to them that if we rely on God, then all obstacles will automatically be eradicated. Remember the tale of Prahlāda. In order to protect the devotees, Nṛsiṁhadeva always manifests His terrifying form and rouses fear in the hearts of antagonists. —N. P. editor]
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya
[Post-sannyāsa pastimes]
(See previously published article entitled “Śrī Māyāpura Pūrṇa-candrodaya”)
Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was then present in the śrī mandira. Luckily, he saw Mahāprabhu and saved him from the hands of the temple guards. Sārvabhauma was utterly taken aback to witness Mahāprabhu’s wondrous transformations of prema and when he saw that it was taking Mahāprabhu a long time to come back to external awareness, he had the Lord carried to his home. Sārvabhauma’s brother-in-law, Śrī Gopīnātha Ācārya, knew Śrī Mukunda from before and had met with him that day, so he had heard all about Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s pastime of accepting sannyāsa and His arrival in Nīlācala. The rumours of Mahāprabhu’s display of mahābhāva had spread rapidly and so the devotees all went to Sārvabhauma’s house. Everyone who was with Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu arrived with Sārvabhauma’s son, Candaneśvara, after taking darśana of Śrī Jagannātha. In the afternoon, Mahāprabhu came back to external consciousness. When Sārvabhauma was introduced to Mahāprabhu, he gave the Lord a place to stay in his aunt’s home. When Sārvabhauma’s brother-in-law, Śrī Gopīnātha Ācārya, asserted that Mahāprabhu was God Himself, Sārvabhauma and his disciples had an extensive debate with Gopīnātha Ācārya. Knowledge of the Supreme Lord can never be known and worldly scholarship cannot produce comprehension of God; Śrī Gopīnātha explained all this at length to Sārvabhauma. When Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya met with Mahāprabhu, however, he took Mahāprabhu to be an ordinary mortal sannyāsī and told Him He should listen to Vedānta. Mahāprabhu agreed and heard Vedānta silently for seven days in a row from Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. By the eighth day, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who had noticed that Mahāprabhu had been completely silent for seven whole days, asked Him the reason for His silence, to which the Lord replied that He could understand the sūtras of Vyāsa very well, but the commentary written by Śaṅkara had obscured the simple, immaculate meaning of the Brahma-sūtras. Śaṅkara’s commentary is in reality opposed to Vedānta and conjured in order to bewilder those of demoniac nature. The doctrine of Vedānta is acintya-bhedābheda. Māyāvādīs are covert atheists—this Mahāprabhu explained to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya with many scriptural deliberations. Bhaṭṭācārya was eventually defeated after extensive debate and deliberation. Then Bhaṭṭācārya wanted to hear the explanation of the “ātmārāmaś ca” verse from Mahāprabhu, so it was to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya that Mahāprabhu first expalined this verse. Sārvabhauma employed his scholarly prowess in the tarka scriptures and offered nine different explanations of the aforementioned verse; Mahāprabhu did not touch even one of Sārvabhauma’s explanations and explained this verse in eighteen entirely different ways. Bhaṭṭācārya was astounded by this, and also distressed at his folly of pride. He sought the shelter of Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet. Mahāprabhu was pleased with Sārvabhauma and displayed to him first a four-armed form and then a two-armed form. By the Lord’s mercy, tattva [the truth] manifested in Sārvabhauma’s heart and in a moment, he composed a hundred verses praising Mahāprabhu. Seeing the Lord’s extraordinary mercy toward Sārvabhauma, Gopīnātha and others were delighted. After this, one day, in the reddish dawn, the Lord came to the Bhaṭṭācārya to give him some of Śrī Jagannātha’s pākāla-prasāda [slightly fermented watery rice with yoghurt and/or some light spicing]. By the Lord’s grace, Bhaṭṭācārya had been totally liberated from the strictures of mundane orthodox ritualism and honored the mahāprasāda the Lord gave him before he had even performed any of his morning rites. Another day, Bhaṭṭācārya sincerely inquired from Mahāprabhu what the greatest form of sādhana was, so Prabhu instructed Sārvabhauma in nāma-saṅkīrtana. Another day, when Sārvabhauma was reciting the “tat-te-‘nukampāṁ” verse, he changed the word “muktipade“, one of the last words of the verse, to “bhaktipade“, but Mahāprabhu told him that there was no need to change the words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The word muktipada refers to Kṛṣna. When the inhabitants of Nīlācala saw Bhaṭṭācārya’s Vaiṣṇava transformation, they could understand that Mahāprabhu was Kṛṣṇa Himself, and thus Kāśī Miśra and others surrendered at Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet.
(to be continued)
(Local)
Bāradola
For three days from this upcoming 19th of Caitra, April 1, a Sunday, there will be a huge festival of Bāradola at the royal palace in Kṛṣṇa-nagara. This festival is a special function in this region. Hundreds and hundreds of visitors come from far off regions to see this festival. On one hand, many devotionally-minded individuals come to have darśana of the deities of twelve different temples assembling and ascending the swing altars. On the other hand, many people come to shop and see various performances. Every year, Kṛṣṇa-nagara’s noble king always makes all arrangements for visitors at the festival site so that no one experiences any inconvenience. The deities stay on the swings for three days and, on the night of trayodaśī, descend from there. The days in the middle of this period are very crowded. The festival provides a great opportunity to shop for all manner of items.
Every evening, after dusk, at Śrī Māyāpura’s Śrī Caitanya Maṭha, Paṇḍita Śrīyukta Kalivairi Vedānta-bhūṣaṇa Mahodaya is giving class on Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, and Śrī Bhakti-vigraha Prabhu is doing kīrtana.
Bhuvaneśvara News
Bhuvaneśvara is a very revitalizing place and a holy site for Hindus. This 17th of Caitra, March 30, on the day of aśoka-aṣṭamī, will be the ratha-yātrā of Śrī Bhuvaneśvara Deva. Like the ratha-yātrā of Śrī Jagannātha Deva in Purī, here Bhuvaneśvara has a ratha-yātrā, on the aśoka-aṣṭamī day of Caitra. Śrī Bhuvaneśvara Deva’s worshipful vijaya-mūrti [parade deity] Śrī Ananta Vāsudeva ascends the chariot. On this occasion, many people congregate here. Bhuvaneśvara’s ratha-yātrā is, like Purī’s ratha-yātrā, a special site to see.
There is a kuṇḍa in Bhuvaneśvara called Marica-kuṇḍa. The legend is that if any barren woman takes bath in this kuṇḍa on aśoka-aṣṭamī and drinks the water of this kuṇḍa, she will surely conceive. Every year on this day, from early in the morning and all throughout the day, almost ten thousand women come to bathe in this kuṇḍa.
Nānā Kathā
As of April 1, 1928, the No. 1 Up ‘J’ and No. 2 Down ‘J’ trains are, respectively, leaving Dhanbad at 2:20 and arriving in Dhanbad at 4:50. The train that was running between Dhanbad and Pathardihi has been discontinued.
Rumour has it that the streetsweepers have heard that the corporation may not fulfill the promise of wage increases given by the mayor of the Calcutta Corporation, so they are preparing for another strike.
On the night of March 19, the slum-king of Kāśī died of cancer. He had been frequenting Ranchi’s Radium Institute for treatment. He was on his way back to Kāśī from there.
The leader of the Patuakhali activism, Śrīyukta Satīndra Nātha Sena has gone on a hunger strike for a week in Presidency Jail. Śrīyukta Sarala Kumāra Datta, a member of the legislative council, has met with him and said he is fine.
Since March 16, the cook at City College has been charging each student eight annas for meals because the college has been closed. Last Tuesday, the hostel inspector issued a mandate that students were to leave the hostel by 12 noon. Despite the great inconvenience, the students vacated the hostel by 9 at night under compulsion. Some have sought shelter in the hostel of another college and the remaining students have rented a house on Amhearst Street. Reports are that the hostel superintendent, Vrajasundara Rāya and assistant superintendent Kalimohana Ghoshala will be living at the hostel free of charge and the chef and servants will remain to tend to them.
This past year of 1926–27, there was such a huge crop of jute that the prices for raw jute dropped for the next year, 1927–28, which puts farmers in a bad position. Śrīyukta Subhash Candra Bose Mahodaya is therefore cautioning the farmers of Bengal that if they want to save themselves, they should reduce crops of jute, or famine will be inevitable.
This upcoming March 31, the members of the Simon Commission will be returning to their countries from Bombay.
In Shyampukur, Ramchandra Maitra Lane, a boy named Narendra had a fight with his parents regarding food and was so upset that he drank acid and committed suicide. His corpse has been sent to the coroners.
Some days ago, on February 3, when the students were absent, the headmaster of Barisole district school issued a notice that the current month’s admission will not be accepted if students do not pay a fine equal to admission cost. To this, the students’ guardians have contested the headmaster’s order and sent a letter in this regard that reads: “The students are young. If we want, we can just not send them to school. There can be no offense in this on the students’ part. If an application for leave is not accepted even if parents have given good reason, then according to the educational department’s rules, the fine cannot be more than one anna per day. We will pay that and send the kids to school. Please accept that. If you do not, then you can inform your superiors about this matter and whatever answer they give, you can arrange to convey to us. If you pressure the kids in private to pay the fine, then we will take the aid of a lawsuit and determine whether your order is lawful or not.
Sir Hugo Stinnes’ daughter, Fraulein Clairenore Stinnes, has arrived in Peking from Berlin in a six-cylinder sedan car. She left Berlin last May with one Mr. Sebastian, who is a bioscope photographer, and four mechanics, and drove through the Balkans, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Caucasia, Russia, Siberia, Mangolia, and arrived in China. In Lake Baikal, because snowfall had started, they were stranded in Irkutsk for six months. Once the ice froze solid over Lake Baikal, they crossed the lake by car, driving at about 25 miles an hour. In Mongolia, a dacoit gang had cut a ditch into the road, in whichh Śrīmatī Stinnes’ car got stuck. With great difficulty, they got the car out of the ditch and narrowly escaped the dacoits. The group wants to go to America via Japan.
In order to establish trade with Europe, the Afghan government has selected the Ehfars port [Chabahar Port].
Last Monday, students of Scottish Church College held a meeting in which they requested the principal to withdraw his order to expel Śacīndranātha Mitra. The principal has not given them any response. Last Tuesday, none of the students attended the college. Only two students may have gone, one of whom is the nephew of one of the teachers. There was talk of holding another meeting last Wednesday.
Principal Mr. J. Watts has submitted the following announcement for publication in the newspaper: (1) The college will remain closed till March 27. (2) All students who participated in the strike on March 20 of their own will must write a letter to the principal asking forgiveness. Those who did not attend college on March 20 due to fear or any other reason will have to provide a satisfactory explanation as well by this date. (3) All students who disregard this notice will not be given class examinations and will have to obtain a transfer certificate by April 5. The certificate will read: “They did not attend college on March 20 on the day of the strike. They have not provided satisfactory explanation for their absence and/or have not asked for pardon.” If they do not obtain a certificate before April 5, they will be expelled from the college. (4) Class examinations will be held on the previously announced date. Only those who have been present at the college on the 20th or 26th of March, or who have provided a satisfactory explanation or asked for pardon by March 26, will be able to take the exam. (5) All 1st and 3rd year students who receive assistance from the college must meet with the principal on March 26 in the college and explain their absence on March 20, otherwise their financial aid will be stopped and they will be reported to the director of the Department of Education.
Justice Chosner [?] will leave his post this upcoming July 5. The king has appointed Śrīyukta Satyendra Candra Mallika as Calcutta’s high court judge in his place.
On March 19, in the afternoon, the Emir will go by submarine to Southhampton. Others will go by boat. Plans are to see the battleship Majestic there and then go to Bournemouth. In Bournemouth, the party will dine and spend the night.
There is a lawsuit going on between two lawyers regarding the closure of the Faridpur Bar Library on the occasion of the strike. Session Judge Mr. Hills has tried to reconcile the matter between them with no success. The hearing is set for March 20.
The Bihar government has set aside 16,106 taka in the present budget to cover the expenses of white sargeants and sargeant majors to visit their homeland and return to India. The Swaraj Party moved to deny this allotment of funds, but their proposal was not accepted because they received only 34 votes in their favour and 45 against.
Recently, due to the diligent efforts and investigation of the Bengal Congress Committeee, a mutual resolution has been reached regarding the riot that broke out in Rishra, the secondary cause of which was the playing of music in front of the Jamma Masjid and the primary cause of which was the demand for a holiday on the occasion of Holi. The riot had left 28 Hindus and 6 Muslims injured. Both sides have agreed to several conditions: (1) There will never be any music played in front of the Jamma Masjid. (2) In front of the other three mosques, music will be stopped only during namaz time. (3) No matter how close their homes may be to the mosque, Hindus will be able to play music in their homes. (4) Whether or not a holiday will be given on the occasion of Holi is up to the manager. (5) Both sides will have to pay for the treatment of everyone who was receiving treatment in the hospital at the time of the riot.
Madras news, March 20, reports that many mendicants were gathered on a rooftop in front of a home on the day of Ramadan to accept bhikṣā [partake of a meal] when the roof suddenly collapsed and many people who were on the roof and the road in front at the time were injured. Investigation has revealed that 16 people were gravely injured and 25 somewhat less injured.
The strike in Liluah has still not calmed. Instead, lo and behold, 500 people of the Howrah Stores Department stopped worked as of Tuesday. It seems their strike is in support of the Liluah labourers. The labourers are not creating disturbances anywhere.
On March 19, in the middle of the night in Madras, at the home of a Muslim named Abdullah Saiyad, on the occasion of the holy day of Ramadan, there was a rush of about three or four thousand mendicants trying to receive donations of cloth and food. Eight elderly women and one young girl was stampeded to death in the crowd. Upon receiving this news, Mr. Ramanuja Ayer arrived on the scene with several constables and cleared the crowd. Another two women had been injured and were sent to hospital.
Last Tuesday, at the Calcutta University Institute, the statue of Nāṭorā king Jagadindra Nātha Rāya was unveiled. Śrīyukta Praphulla Nātha Ṭhākura gave a lengthy talk on the Mahārāja’s life and character during the unveiling of this statue. The current king of Nāṭorā, Mahārāja Yogīndra Nātha Rāya, Śrīyukta Yatīndra Nātha Basu, High Court Judge Manmatha Nātha Mukhopādhyāya, Dr. S. K. Basu, Śrīyukta Mṛtyuñjaya Chattopādhyāya, and other distinguisehd individuals were present at the asembly.
There have been fires in many places in Madras. In Tricinpalli, near Lalandadi, 75 small homes of the indigenous Dravidians were burnt, and last Friday, in Bhijiyana village, many hundreds of thatch roof leaf cottages were burnt, and one cow and one elderly women perished in the fire.
Last Tuesday, around 3 in the afternoon, in the slum in front of Calcutta Timber Corporation animal shelter, a fire broke out and almost 30 homes were burnt. Four fire engines arrived and could not put out the fire till 6 in the evening. That same night, around 9 p.m., a fire broke out in a haystack in Dumdum. The extent of the damage is not yet known.