gaurāṅgau jayataḥ |
26th Phālguna, Saturday—1334 |
Bhakti or Bhukti?
‘Bhakti’ means service, and ‘bhukti’ is indulgence. ‘Bhagavad-bhakti’ refers to Śrī Bhagavān’s service. Depending on varying degrees of eligibility, service to Bhagavān is of many varieties. The kaniṣṭhā-adhikārī gains satisfaction only in serving the vigraha, but it is necessary to ponder what degree of eligibility is possessed by those who make a business of the vigraha. These sorts of people are everywhere, but especially in places renowned to be holy pilgrimage sites, there is an abundance of them. Many question whether or not they are actual servants of the vigraha. Before providing an answer to this, the question needs to be carefully evaluated. Sevā refers to relinquishing one’s only desires for enjoyment and engaging in activities for the Lord’s pleasure. One’s service will be hindered as much as one’s desire for enjoyment remains. The most detestable behaviour is to use the Lord in one’s own service, to appropriate the ingredients of the Lord’s service for oneself. Wherever we see deceptive service like this going on, we will not accept that as actual service or condone it; we will not support that with donations. Why? Because there is no service there. The donations given in those places are not only fruitless, but because they then go to support ignoble pursuits, they generate the foul fruit of sevāparādha. This sort of association, that of those who proudly fancy themselves as servants, is to be relinquished.
There is a story in this context that comes to mind. Bābu was at work all day at the office getting tormented by his boss. When he came home, his wife was busy in the kitchen. Bābu was hungry, so he gave his servant, Rāma-śaraṇa, a quarter and told him to bring four pieces of sandeśa. After changing his clothes and washing his hands and face, Bābu saw that Rāma-śaraṇa had returned and brought just one piece of sandeśa. Bābu was somewhat upset when he saw this. He was frightfully hungry and he had spent money to remedy that, but what he wanted had not come. Angrily, he asked him, “What happened, you fool? I gave you a quarter and you brought only one sandeśa?” His servant answered abruptly, “Yes sir, it’s a long story. You’re quite angry right now. Leave it for now. I’ll tell you everything later.” “Later?” Bābu exclaimed, “You rascal, tell me what happened to the other three sandeśa, or I’ll break your head open!” “Yes sir, yes sir, then I have to tell you everything. But Bābu, if you will not be angry, I may speak without fear.” “Okay, speak.” “As you wish. So, I have never seen you use or partake of poor quality items of any sort. So, I had to see if the sweetseller had given me good sweets or bad sweets. I couldn’t bring them to you without testing them. So, I tasted one and yes, it was good.” “What a devil you are! I told you to buy something. Did I tell you to eat them? Okay, whatever, that was one gone. And the other two?” “Well sir, I think of you as my mother and father. How could I risk becoming an enemy to you? How could I give you three of something to eat [as to do so is believed to instigate feelings of enmity towards the one who has served the food]? I was at a loss of what to do when, with great difficulty, one idea came to mind. I put one more in my mouth, solved the problem of three and was left with two. Sir, how could I become your enemy?” “Son, look how devoted you are. Look how much you love me! Is that why you eat what I’m about to put in my mouth? Okay, fine. So then, there were two left. What happened to the other one, you swine?” “If you command me to, then I will tell you. Whenever you eat, you keep some leftovers for me, so I just ate that preemptively. I knew I was just eating what I was due, and you are so kind, so I thought you would not be mad.” “Son eats prasāda before bhoga, like all the bogus bhaktas. Son, you mentioned how you ate the first two, but how did you eat the last one?” “Sir, I am more than willing to show you. Look, Bābu, don’t get mad. You asked, so I’m showing you. I ate it just like this.” Saying this, that devoted servant popped the fourth sandeśa in his mouth as well, showing how he had eaten the other three. What happened after that is not relevant to the topic of this article, so I will not elaborate. Now look, respected readers, what kind of relationship is this between master and servant? “Jīva nitya kṛṣṇadāsa – The soul is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.” Forgetting that, wearing the noose of māyā round its neck, it is determined to cheat Kṛṣṇa, cheat itself, and others. In this moment, consider this for yourselves: in the context of sevā (deity worship), is this sort of deity business actual service to the Lord or simply a means to achieve one’s own enjoyment? We will not answer this again and become the object of a certain class of people’s displeasure. We do not want to offend anyone. We are neutral; you decide: is this “bhakti or bhukti?”
śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ
Śrī Śrī Māyāpura Pūrṇa Candrodaya
The Rising Full Moon of Śrī Māyāpura
(Continued from last issue…)
As soon as Nimāi began walking, the Lakṣmī of His bālya-līlā (childhood pastimes) revealed herself to be extremely restless. Nimāi would go out of the house by Himself. Various people would become captivated with the boy’s beauty and give Him sandeśa, bananas, etc. The boy would give all those items as prasāda to please the Navadvīpa ladies who did hari-kīrtana. Sometimes he would go to the homes of His friends and eat yoghurt, milk, rice, etc. without the home-owner’s knowledge. Sometimes He would break things in someone’s house and flee unseen. Everyone would forget all their complaints the moment they saw His moon-like face. One day Śacī Devī gave Nimāi ‘khoi sandeśa’ (puffed rice and jaggery) and went to do her housework, but instead of eating the khoi sandeśa, the boy ate several clumps of dirt. Seeing this Śacī grabbed the dirt out of the boy’s hand. The child Nimāi gave His mother a very philosophical response to her admonishments, saying, “There is no difference between puffed rice, sandeśa, rice, etc., and dirt. They are all transformations of dirt. The souls’ bodies and what they eat are all dirt.” Hearing this, Śacī said, “Even though everything in the world is a transformation of dirt, there is a difference between dirt and certain transformations it has, between what is edible and what is not. If you eat the transformation of dirt that is rice, your body will be nourished, but if you eat dirt, you will get sick. You can carry water in a clay pot, which is a transformation of dirt, but if you try to bring water in a clump of clay, it will just absorb all the water.” Nimāi was delighted to hear this response of His mother. Through this interaction, He taught the living entities to relinquish the one-sided perspective of dry renunciates and embrace the devotees’ discernment of favourable and unfavourable in the holistic attitude of service via yukta-vairāgya.
One day, a brāhmaṇa devotee of Gopāla who was travelling the holy places arrived in the Miśra house in Śrī Māyāpura as a guest, and Śrī Jagannātha Miśra, who was keen on serving Vaiṣṇavas, provided him with all the ingredients to cook a meal. The brāhmaṇa cooked and was about to offer the bhoga to Gopāla in his meditation when Nimāi came and began eating the meal the brāhmaṇa had prepared. On Miśra’s request, the guest brāhmaṇa put aside the food Nimāi had touched and cooked a second time, but again, the same thing happened as he sat to meditate and make the offering. On the entreaty of Viśvarūpa, the brāhmaṇa pilgrim cooked a third time. This time, they made sure the boy Nimāi was inside the house and could not get out. Nimāi even pretended to fall asleep. It was late at night. By Gaurahari’s desire, Nidrā-devī (the goddess of sleep) became a guest upon the corners of everyone’s eyes and, preoccupied with greeting that new guest of sleep, they forgot all about the pilgrim. It was just then that the brāhmaṇa pilgrim was once again attempting to meditate and offer Gopāla the foodstuffs he had prepared, when suddenly, from nowhere, Nimāi appeared for a third time and began eating the meal the brāhmaṇa had offered. Foiled thus in his efforts as if by fate, the brāhmaṇa began to lament, so Nimāi manifested His four-armed and two-armed form to him and said, “O brāhmaṇa! You are My eternal servant. When I had manifested My pastimes in Vraja as the son of Nanda, there was an incident just like this with you. This time too, drawn by your devotion, I have shown Myself to you.” Upon seeing his worshipful Lord, the brāhmaṇa became overwhelmed with ecstatic love and considered himself blessed to honor the Lord’s remnant prasāda. The Lord forbade the brāhmaṇa pilgrim from revealing this secret pastime to anyone.
Another day, Nimāi was decorated with golden ornaments and playing outside when two thieves decided to kidnap Him and take all of His ornaments. They gave Him some sandeśa and told Him they were going to take Him home. Nimāi spread a veil of illusion over them and made them lose their way; in this way, riding on their shoulders, He arrived back at His home. Bewildered by Viṣṇu’s māyā, the two thieves placed Nimāi at the gate of the Miśra home, where His family was in anxiety about Him, and then fled.
About one krośa south of the Miśra home in Śrī Māyāpura is the home of Śrī Jagadīśa and Hiraṇya Paṇḍita. One ekādaśī day, a special offering was being made to Viṣṇu. When Nimāi expressed His desire to have that offering, Jagannātha Miśra went to Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa’s house to ask for the offering. When Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa heard of the child’s request from Miśra’s mouth, they were awestruck and said, “Today is ekādaśī and we are making an offering to Viṣṇu, but how did the boy know this? Surely this child has some special Vaiṣṇavī śakti.” With this conviction in mind, they sent the offering for the boy Nimāi. It is impossible for an ordinary child to know what is going on so far away; but Gaurasundara is omniscient. He manifested this pastime to show His mercy to His devotees and reveal Himself to them, and to teach people that on the day of ekādaśī, only Bhagavān has the right to accept offerings.
The Lakṣmī of Nimāi’s childhood pastimes gradually went from being restless to being very extremely restless. Every day Śacī was receiving many complaints from many different sources. Sometimes Nimāi would manifest a pastime of extreme anger and break everything in His own home. Sometimes He would hit His mother, and then, seeing His mother had fainted, He would become extremely anguished and go to great effort to retrieve a coconut to revive her with its water. Every day when He went to bathe in the Gaṅgā, He would flirt with the young girls there in a variety of ways. Sometimes He would see the elaborate offerings the girls made to worship Gaṅgā and Śiva and say, “Gaṅgā and Durgā are My maidservants, and Maheśa is My slave.” He would snatch flowers, garlands, sandalwood ointment, and food offerings from the girls and enjoy them Himself, thus showing His mercy to them and establishing the supremacy of Viṣṇu. When He would come face-to-face with Lakṣmī-devī, the daughter of Vallabha Ācārya, Their natural mutual love and delight in seeing each other would manifest.
Viśvambhara’s elder brother, Viśvarūpa, was detached from birth. He remained aloof from the world that was maddened with material objects of enjoyment. Manifesting by example the teaching of staying in the association of Vaiṣṇavas, hearing and chanting, he was almost always in Advaita’s assembly in Śrī Māyāpura. Nimāi would regularly go on His mother’s order to Advaita’s assembly to bring Viśvarūpa home to have a meal. When the assembled Vaiṣṇavas would see Śrī Gaurasundara’s extraordinary beauty, their hearts would be enchanted. After some time, Viśvarūpa unveiled his pastime of taking sannyāsa and left home, becoming renowned by the name Śaṅkarāraṇya. After that, Nimāi retracted His pastimes of childhood frivolity and manifested a pastime of absorbing Himself intensely in studies. Jagannātha Miśra, however, was not able to be delighted with his son sobering and becoming absorbed in studying, because he was convinced that Viśvarūpa had realized the fleeting nature of the world through his study of scriptures and therefore left home. Miśra feared that Nimāi would become educated and then follow His elder brother’s footsteps. So Miśra put a halt to Nimāi’s studies. Nimāi then again began manifesting pastimes of being very unruly and restless. One day, Nimāi went and sat on the rubbish heap of dirty clay pots behind His home. When Śacī Mātā found out what He was doing, she asked Him to come down from that impure spot and take bath. Nimāi told His mother, “How can an uneducated person know what is good or bad, clean or unclean? Furthermore, if all these pots were used to cook for Viṣṇu, they can never be impure.” Moreover, wherever Bhagavān sits is full of all sanctity. That place is the foundation of the Gaṅgā and all holy places. By this pastime, Śrī Gaurasundara demonstrated the beauty of the transcendental perspective of pure Vaiṣṇavas in comparison to the mundanity of the notions of pure and impure that come from the illusive scriptures of Smārtas who are rigidly engrossed in ritualism. Śacī Devī, who is a connoisseur of transcendental, spontaneous love, brought Nimāi down from that heap and got Him to bathe.
In due course, Nimāi had His sacred thread ceremony. Nimāi was then enrolled to study grammar in the school of the crest-jewel of teachers, Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, in Gaṅganagara, just next to Śrī Māyāpura. The teacher was astonished by Nimāi’s wondrous intellectual capabilities. Nimāi would launch volleys of argumentative questions at everyone, regardless of whether they were junior or senior, and then defeat them.
One day, Nimāi caught hold of His mother’s feet and begged her not to eat grains on ekādaśī.
One day, during this period, Jagannātha Miśra had a dream that Gaurasundara would take sannyāsa in the future and became very distressed. After some time, Jagannātha Miśra left this world. Nimāi tried His best to console His mother. With their home in an impoverished state due to lack of money, Nimāi began acting out in various ways towards His mother, manifesting various pastimes of anger, thus nourishing the transcendental mellow of vātsalya-rasa. Then one day, hearing that they had absolutely no money in the home, He brought two tolās of gold from out of nowhere and gave it to His mother.
Next, Śrī Gaura-Nārāyaṇa desired to manifest His pastimes as a gṛhastha, so the matchmaker, Śrī Vanamālī, came to Śacī Devī, as if sent by fate, and proposed a marriage between Gaurasundara and the daughter of Vallabhācārya, Lakṣmī-devī. On an auspicious day, at an auspicious moment, Gaura-Lakṣmī’s wedding pastime was beautifully conducted.
(to be continued)
Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa
Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā
Thirty-fourth Annual Conference
Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda B.A. Mahāśaya proposed to the assembly that since the current general secretary of the sabhā, the esteemed zamindar of Sherpur, Mymensingh, Rāya Śrīyuta Rādhā-vallabha Chaudhurī Bahadur, is unable to participate as needed due to his advanced age and the fact that he lives far away, it would be preferable that Cuttack’s renowned and accomplished attorney, Rāya Śrīyuta Jānakīnātha Bose Bahadur, who is also renowned throughout Bengal, assumed a role as a secretary of the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā. Ācāryatrika Śrīpāda Kuñjabihārī Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu wholeheartedly supported this proposal and everyone else followed suit, so it was accepted. Śrīpāda Aprākṛta Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Prabhu proposed that (1) since Śrīyuta Dīnanātha Garāi Mahāśaya has lent profuse suppport to this sabhā, both personally and through delegation, that he be inducted as a member of the sabhā. With Tridaṇḍipāda Śrīmad Bhakti Pradīpa Tīrtha Mahārāja’s agreement, everyone agreed to his [Śrīyuta Dīnanātha Garāi Mahāśaya’s] induction as a member of the sabhā. The following individuals were also inducted as members of the sabhā: (2) Śrīyuta Ramānātha Rāya Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Tridaṇdipāda Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Mahārāja and with the support of Śrīyuta Atīndranātha Bandyopādhyāya); (3) Śrīyuta J.N. Candra Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Tridaṇḍipāda Śrīmad Bhakti Viveka Bhāratī Mahārāja and with the support of Dr. Dhīrendranātha Bandyopādhyāya Mahāśaya; (4) Śrīyuta Yatīndranātha Ghosh B.A. Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīpāda Aprākṛta Bhakti Sāraṅga Gosvāmī Prabhu and with the support of Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda Mahāśaya); (5) Professor S.N. Ghosh M.A. Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīpāda Kuñjabihārī Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu and with the support of Śrīyuta Satīśa Candra Bandyopādhyāya Mahāśaya; (6) Śrīyuta Haripada Bandyopādhyāya Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīpāda Vinoda-bihārī Brahmācārī Mahāśaya; (7) Śrīyuta Upendranātha Naskara Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Prabhu and Śrīpāda Araṇya Mahārāja); (8) Śrīyuta Upendranātha Mondal Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīyuta Atīndra Bandyopādhyāya and with Śrīpāda Tīrtha Mahārāja’s support); (9) Śrīyuta Smarajit Kumāra Caṭṭopādhyāya Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Tridaṇḍipāda Bhāratī Mahārāja and with Śrīpāda Vinoda-bihārī Brahmacārī Mahāśaya’s suppport); (10) Śrīyuta Cārucandra Pāla Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīyuta Kiśorī-mohana Pāla Mahāśaya and with the support of Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda Mahāśaya); (11) Śrīyuta Kṣetra-mohana Gāñgulī Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīyuta Akṣaya Kumāra Gupta Mahāśaya and with the support of Dr. Dhīrendranātha Bandyopādhyāya Mahāśaya); (12) Śrīyuta Akṣaya Kumāra Gupta Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Prabhu and with the support of Tridaṇḍipāda Vana Mahārāja); (13) Śrīyuta Prahlāda Candra Garāi Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Śrīpāda Aprākṛta Prabhu and with the support of Tridaṇḍipāda Giri Mahārāja); (14) Śrīyuta Śailendranātha Gāñgulī Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Tridaṇḍipāda Araṇya Mahārāja and with Śrīyuta Yatīndranātha Ghosh Mahāśaya’s support); (15) Śrīyuta Pañcānana Caṭṭopādhyāya (on the recommendation of Śrīyuta Atīndriya Dāsādhikārī and with the support of Tridaṇḍipāda Tīrtha Mahārāja; (16) Śrīyuta Devendranātha Kara Mahāśaya (on the recommendation of Tridaṇḍipāda Araṇya Mahārāja and with the support of Dr. Dhīrendranātha Bandyopādhyāya Mahāśaya).
After that, Śrīyuta Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda B.A. Mahāśaya extolled a small portion of Ācāryatrika Śrīpāda Kuñjabihārī Vidyābhūṣaṇa Prabhu’s endless glories on behalf of Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā and offered his devoted respects at his feet. In this context, Śrīyuta Vidyāvinoda Mahāśaya said, “Today, on behalf of the Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā, I have been entrusted with the honor of glorifying this exalted personality. As I approach his feet, I doubt whether or not I would be capable of truly appreciating his endless glories even upon taking millions and millions of births. If he mercifully conveys to us such awareness, then we may become acquainted with those glories. It would have been appropriate to entrust Śrīpāda Ananta Vāsudeva Brahmācarī Vidyābhūṣaṇa B.A. Prabhu with this responsibility. If approach Śrīpāda Ācāryatrika Prabhu with external vision, we may commit some grave offenses at his feet. Those who have gained the fortune of appreciating even just a small fraction of his glories will stand on the shore of his virtues in utter astonishment and say, ‘Look at this shoreless, insurpassable, infinite ocean. Even if I try for millions and millions of lifetimes, the hope of seeing even the shadow of the other side will just turn into futile fancy.’ Human language cannot describe his transcendental virtues. He is an aprākṛta-sahaja Vaiṣṇava. Vaiṣnavism is his natural dharma. If I can obtain just a particle of dust from his feet, then my millions of lifetimes will have become worthwhile. He is the personified form of exemplary service to Hari, Guru, and Vaiṣṇavas. He is giving his whole life by personal application of conduct via body, mind, and words, teaching us how to serve guru, how to serve Vaiṣṇavas. Trying to describe his glories does not help him in any way. Rather, it helps us to advance some distance on the path towards auspiciousness. I sincerely pray at his feet that I may become capable of incessantly glorifying a small portion of his transcendental glories for millions and millions of births.”
After this, Śrīpāda Ananta Vāsudeva Brahmacārī Vidyābhūṣaṇa B.A. Mahāśaya, on behalf of the Śrī Śrī Navadvīpa Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā, extended thanks to Calcutta University’s former vice-chancellor, the highly qualified Parama-bhāgavata Śrīyuta Sir Deva Prasāda Sarvādhikārī M.A., L.L.D. Mahāśaya for the enthusiasm he has shown for the preaching of pure sanātana-dharma by inviting the devotees of the Calcutta Gauḍīya Maṭha to his home to hear Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta kathā from them. Under Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmi-Mahārāja’s guidance, the preachers of the Śrī Śrī Viśva Vaiṣṇava Rāja-sabhā are preaching the message of Kali-yuga-pāvanāvatārī Śrī Gaurasundara’s ever-auspicious compassion throughout the north-western regions of India. All the respected individuals who lent special support to their efforts were given heartfelt thanks on behalf of the Śrī Śrī Dhāma Pracāriṇī Sabhā by Tridaṇḍipāda Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛdaya Vana Mahārāja, who mentioned their names one by one and described their willingness to serve. Several of them are named here follows: (1) Director of General Eduction (on pension) for the state of the Pātiyālā Mahārāja, Śrīyuta Lālā Deoyālī Rāma B.A.; (2) Sitapur’s Executive Engineer Mr. M. G. Sarddana; (3) Kanpur resident, the esteemed Dr. Śrīyuta Surendranatha Sena and (4) his worthy son, Dr. Śrīyuta Siddheśvara Sena; (5) Jaipur resident Rāṇā-sāheb Śrīyuta Saṅgrāṁa Siṁha, and others.
(to be continued)
Festival at
Śrī Śrī Caitanya Maṭha
Since last Wednesday, there was a grand celebration at Śrī Yogapīṭha, spanning three days. The day before yesterday, there was a festival at Vrajapattana Śrī Caitanya Maṭha. In the morning, there was saṅkīrtana, iṣṭa-goṣṭhī and, at midday, the distribution of many wonderful varieties of mahāprasāda. From afternoon until 11 p.m. at night Tridaṇḍisvāmī Bhakti Prakāśa Araṇya Mahārāja and Tridaṇḍisvāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Vaibhava Sāgara Mahārāja gave lectures on sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana.
Nānā Kathā
(Local)
Fire
The night before last a fire burnt to ash several houses near the Goari courthouse.
Yesterday a house in Swarup Ganj suddenly caught fire. Two houses were partially burnt.
Cholera Death
The day before yesterday, a pilgrim from Medinipur district who had come down with cholera came from Navadvīpa town to see the Kājī’s samādhi. Seeing the pilgrim in this state, Śrī Caitanya Maṭha’s famous homeopathic doctor Śrīyukta Śyāmasevaka Brahmacārī diligently treated him [?], administered medicines, etc. Despite the treatments, the pilgrim attained the Śrī Dhāma yesterday. Several devoutly religious individuals performed his rites on the banks of the Bhāgīrathī.
Atrocities of the Rogues
Several rogues from Navadvīpa have become infuriated by seeing the vast circulation of Dainika Nadīyā Prakāśa, so yesterday they mercilessly attacked an innocent newspaper vendor. Police authorities overseeing the peace should pay attention to these issues.
Compounder’s Error Causes Mishap
One edible medicine and one massage medicine was prescribed to Gaori High Street’s Śrīyukta Jñānendra-nātha Ghosh’s three-year-old granddaughter. Due to the compounder’s error, the label for the edible medicine was on the massage medicine, so the little girl was fed the massage medicine. When the error was revealed, the patient was induced to vomit and is now fine.
Ordered to Hang
This past February 27–29, an appalling murder was tried in the court of Jessore Session Judge Mr. R.C. Sena. The accused, Ketāba Āli Mondal, confessed both in the judge’s court and the lower court. Though the jury found Ketāba Āli guilty, they asked the judge to be somewhat compassionate in determining his punishment. The judge, however, has sentenced the accused to death. Śrīyuta Nalinī-kānta Majumdar was engaged by the government to defend the accused.
Reports of the murder state that last July 28, 1927, at around 10 a.m., Ketāba Āli used a weapon to cut the throat of sixty-year-old Chamira Mondal. Supposedly Chamira had been shouting various insults about Ketāba Āli’s wife and mother-in-law. Ketāba Āli was so offended by these remarks that he found his chance and, on the aforementioned date, carried out the murder in a state of rage. The accused Ketāba Āli and Chamira were from Vana-grāma.
Misconduct in Kāśī Dhāma
Reports state that the other day, in the morning, the bloody head of a pig was thrown in front of the mosque at Simon Chauhatta in Śrī Kāśīpurī, one of the seven liberation-bestowing holy cities. Both Hindus and Muslims were stunned to see this pig head laying in front of a place of worship. In Varanasi, relations between Hindus and Muslims are very congenial. The Muslims do not mistrust the Hindus at all. We do not believe any well-meaning person committed this cruel act. Just thinking of how many ways the wicked try to provoke friends against each other causes the body to horripilate.
Assault of a Constable
European culprit given penalty
An European engine driver by the name of Mr. Wakefield has been charged with assaulting a constable named Rājārāma. Mr. Wakefield has been fined 50 taka. 15 of those have been given to the plaintiff.
Gruesome Riot
Between Tata Workers
50 casualties
There has been news of a gruesome riot in Bombay’s Khandalla on March 6. Several workers of the Tata Company started fighting. This quarrel turned into a terrible riot. The cause of the fight is still unknown.
Reports state that rioters set fire to several homes, which led to many homes being burnt to ashes. Casualties will not be less than 50.
Devastating Fire in Ellore
There has been news of a devastating fire in Kṛṣṇā District’s Ellore. Reports state that two thousand homes have been reduced to ashes and ten thousand people left without shelter. They are almost all labourers.
There were heavy winds when the fire started. As a result, the fire spread in a very short time. Within two hours, everything had been burnt. Despite numerous efforts, it was not possible to extinguish the fire. Many valuable items were burnt. One house had 10,000 taka in notes. That too has been burnt.
Several people were burnt. Of them, one has died in hospital. He had burns all over his body.
The municipality’s chairman and government employees have come together to collect rice. Those who are utterly helpless will be provided with food.
State of Calcutta due to Garbage Collector’s Strike
Calcutta’s garbage collector strike is going on as before. Every day, garbage accumulates on the roads; it is rotting everywhere and releasing foul stench.
The chairman and secretary of the garbage collector’s union have sent a letter together. Therein they have said that though it is their duty to continue the strike as a matter of principle, they are prepared to have a conversation with the corporation for a resolution that respects their demands.
Yesterday, Wednesday, in the afternoon, there was a meeting of the mayor and councillors in the mayor’s quarters at the municipal offices to discuss the garbage collectors’ strike. Many Congress workers were also present on special invitation. Notable among them were the Bengal Provincial Congress secretary, Śrīyukta Kiraṇa-śaṅkara Rāya, Śrīyukta Rājendra Deva, Śrīyukta Hemanta-kumāra Bose, Śrīyukta Amarendra Nātha Bose (representative of the North Calcutta Congress Committee), Śrīyukta Vinaya-kṛṣṇa Bose and Śrīyukta Kālipada Bose (Middle Calcutta Congress Committee), Śrīyukta Puruṣottama Rāyā of Borobazar’s Congress Committee, and South Calcutta Congress Committee secretary Śrīyukta Lalita-mohana Sena.
Mayor Śrīyukta Yatīndra-mohana Senagupta visited the garbage collectors’ slums and spoke with many of the residents. There is hope that as a result of all these meetings and discussions a resolution will quickly be reached.
Howrah
Disturbance in Railway Workshop
There are reports that at the Howrah E.I. Rail Signal workshop, a Punjabi brutally injured several Muslim workers, and the English foreman present at the scene made no effort to stop the violence.
Bengali Hindus and Muslims are concerned that this is a sign that they are slowly going to be driven out of the factory. However, when it comes to pay, the local workers receive 12 anas in hand every day. And the Punjabi receive 3 taka. There is no saying where this issue will culminate.
Untimely Death
Lalmonir Hat is a junction on the East Bengal rail. Reports from March 6 state that a coolie, while working on a portion of the rail line where cargo trains are parked, was hit by a shunting engine and died an untimely death.
Despite receiving treatment at the local hospital, the coolie has died from this accident.
Deadly Fire in Rangoon
Kemenbhaine Soleman Company’s rice mill caught fire. The whole mill and all its equipment have been destroyed as a result. The good news is that the go-down was saved. The cause of the fire is still unknown. An estimated loss of 3.5 lakh taka has been incurred.
Accident in Dhaka
Dhaka, March 5 report: there has been worrisome accident in the Bangla Bazar neighbourhood. A gentleman from Pharas Ganj was driving a vehicle very fast on the Bangla Bazar Road. A ten-year-old Muslim boy was crossing the road when the car suddenly ran him over. The boy was gruesomely injured as a result. He was immediately taken to Metford Hospital but died on the way.
Day and Night Carakā Festival
The fourth annual Carakā (spinning wheel) Festival has been put on successfully by the efforts of the local independence movement. In the morning, the festival was commenced with traditional music and prayers. Several cotton-spinners were spinning cotton on 25 wheels all day and night without rest.
In the afternoon, under the chairmanship of Śrīyukta Hara-dayāla Nāga, there was a conference. Śrīyukta Sureśacandra Gupta spoke at the conference. He said that the popularization of khadi was essential for the foreign goods boycott.
In the evening, Śrīyukta Kṣitīśacandra Dāśa Gupta of the “Khādi Pratiṣṭhāna” gave a lecture with the aid of a slideshow. Bengal’s textile industry was once well-respected. The speaker illustrated this at length with pictures.
Ācārya Praphulla-candra, Dr. Praphulla-candra Ghosh, Sureśa-candra Bannerjee, and others sent letters wishing for the success of the Carakā Festival. The letters were read aloud in the assembly.
Strike in Liluah
This past March 15, because 4 workers were fired, 14,000 of Liluah’s workers went on strike from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Previously a few other workers had been fired. The workers say that the management’s decisions regarding these six individuals was unjust. Besides that, another reason for their agitation is that European workers force a variety of bribes from the Indian workers and collect money from them with threats of violent force.
Reports are that they have resolved to continue various forms of satyāgraha [“holding firm to truth”, activism] until proper legal action is taken against them [the European workers].
Grand Wedding Arrangements
On the night of March 6, Sir Tukoji Rao arrived in Kolkata for a ceremony and then traveled to Baroha Palace by motorcar. The Chief Minister of Indore met with him on the morning of March 7. Baroha is located 40 miles from Indore; Sir Tukaji Rao’s palace there [in Baroha] is being decorated for the wedding; however, the wedding date is not yet fixed. The wedding will be celebrated with great pomp. Around 50,000 people are to be invited, and there will be electric light decorations, music, and a procession with elephants. Special trains will operate from Indore to Baroha, and photographs of the wedding ceremony will be taken to send to the bride’s home in America.
Earth’s Inner Dimensions
What is going on inside the Earth? The question comes to mind easily. To answer it, we need to know a few scientific facts beforehand.
If we drill a hole straight through to the center of the Earth, the depth of that hole will be 3,963 miles. The temperature will likely rise one degree per every twenty-four miles, so it is easy to infer what the temperature will be after 3,963 miles. At these degrees of intense heat, does the normally hard matter inside the Earth not only melt but exist in gaseous states as well?
The intense pressure inside the Earth does not allow the hard matter to turn into vapor; instead, it remains in a liquid state. Why does it remain in a liquid state instead of turning into vapor despite the intensity of heat? Fundamental principles of science dictate that if there is intense pressure along with intense heat, a hard substance will not turn into vapor but will remain in a liquid state. The internal pressure of the Earth is not less than the atmospheric pressure. Therefore, the pressure and heat inside the Earth keep the substances there in a liquid state instead of turning them into vapor. There is a mine in Brazil that is 13 miles deep. Today this is the deepest hole in the Earth.