śrī śrī guru-gaurāṅgau jayataḥ |
2nd Caitra, Thursday—1334 |
[March 14, 1928]
Paraśamaṇi
We have all heard of a supremely desirable object called a paraśa-maṇi (touchstone), but till this day, no one can say they have actually seen one. We have heard the names of many gems like candrakānta [moonstone], sūryakānta [sunstone], nīlakānta [sapphire], ayaskānta [magnetite], vaidūrya [chrysoberyl, cat’s eye], the Kohinoor, etc., and we also know that that these gems are in the possession of certain very affluent people. But the paraśamaṇi—whose name we have all heard whether we are wealthy, poor, scholars, fools, big, small, young, or old—whenever we even talk about this gem in literature, in stories and legends, we don’t even know where one might be. What to speak of poor folk like ourselves having such a gem, we have heard neither explicit nor secretive word of such a gem being possessed by even rich people, even kings, and even the richest emperors in the world with all their carefully guarded, secret vaults full of jewels. Has the existence of this object been turned into mere words? Has the tireless research of archaeologists over the course of centuries all over the Earth and its oceans not yielded anything? We have heard in a song:
deśa-hita-vrata ei paraśamaṇi,
paraśibe jāre bāreka jakhoni,
rājabhaya āra kārā-bhaya tāra
ghucibe tāhāri takhoni jeno |
[If one who seeks the welfare of his country touches this touchstone just once, he will lose all fear of kings and prisons.]
So is the paraśamaṇi just some imaginary object that poets and writers impose on certain special qualities, mindsets, or persons whenever they please? I have approached numerous accomplished editors, historians, archaeologists, royal jewellers, and even famed spies who are renowned to accomplish the impossible, but to date, no one has been able to give me any significant clue or shed any light on this matter.
In the end, just when I was utterly hopeless, like the frustrated jackal deciding the grapes he can’t reach are sour, and had I decided this fabled object was false, like a flower in the sky, a dream in the night, and had vowed to devote my efforts to some other research that would yield results more expediently, suddenly, from a trusted source, I heard a wonderful story derived from an ancient tradition. I was so relieved by hearing it that I do not want to keep it to myself. ‘Udāra-caritānān tu vasudhaiva kuṭumbakam – those who are of liberal character see the world as one family.’ Remembering this noble statement, I wish to share this with you. I hope you will not dislike it.
In Bengal, in the district of Barddhaman, in the village of Mānakara, a poor brāhmaṇa by the name of Śrī Jīvana Miśra lived. After much struggle, he was not able to make ends meet, so finally he began worshipping the god of gods, Āśutoṣa [Śiva, the easily satisfied one]. For three long days and nights, he went without eating or sleeping. When, due to exhaustion, he finally fell asleep momentarily, Śrīman Mahādeva appeared before him in his dream and asked him, “What do you want?” The brāhmaṇa, weeping and weeping, folded his hands and begged Śiva to kindly deliver him forever from the sorrows of poverty. Bholānātha, who is an ocean of compassion and full of sympathy for the sorrows of the jīvas, was overwhelmed with boundless mercy for the brāhmaṇa. He orderd him to go the land of Vraja, which is full of cintāmaṇi gems, and told him that if he approached Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, all his desires would be fulfilled.
(to be continued)
Citraketu
In a previous age, there was a king named Citraketu. He had many wives, but was childless, so he was spending his days always engrossed in a deep depression. In the absence of children, his unrivalled opulence, his youth, physical beauty, erudition—nothing satisfied him. As fate would have it, one day, the great sage Aṅgirā arrived at Citraketu’s residence. The king extended the customary courteous greetings to the great sage, who was pleased with the king’s behaviour and delightedly took a seat, and the king too sat near the great sage. Mahaṛṣi Aṅgirā saw that the king was sad as he had morosely sat down on the ground next to him. He said, “O king! Why am I seeing you so depressed like this? Is everything okay? Is there some trouble in the kingdom? O king, you are the sovereign emperor of the world, but it looks like some lacking has afflicted you. Tell me plainly what is on your mind.” Hearing the great sage’s words, the king said, “O best of sages! You are omniscient. Because of the great austerities you have performed, there is nothing that is unknown to you. But since you have instructed me to do so, I will reveal my heart to you. O Brahman, just as a person afflicted by thirst cannot find any pleasure in sandalwood and other pleasing items, for a person who is bereft of children, all this matchless opulence is not satisfying. This is my situation. I cannot find any peace of mind because I do not have a son. O supremely worshipful one! Tell me how I can obtain a son and be saved from the hell called ‘Put’ along with my forefathers.” When Mahaṛṣi Aṅgirā heard the king’s words, he took it upon himself to conduct the tvaṣṭr-yāga ceremony and gave the remnants of the sacrifice to Citraketu’s eldest wife, Kṛtadyuti, and said, “O king! You will have a son who will be the source of both joy and sorrow for you.” Just as Kṛttikā bore the seed of Mahādeva and became pregnant with Kārtikeya, once Kṛtadyuti had partaken of the remnants of the sacrifice, she got pregnant from Citraketu. When the pregnancy was full-term, Kṛtadyuti gave birth to a son. King Citraketu was overjoyed when he heard the news of his son’s birth. He had his son bathed, decorated with special ornaments, and had the brāhmaṇas recite sacred blessings for the young boy, and thus performed the jāta-karma (cutting of the umbilical cord). Thereafter, like a cloud showering rain freely upon all, King Citraketu distributed profuse amounts of wealth to invoke the glory, wealth, and longevity of his son.
Just as a person who was once very poor and had to struggle very hard to obtain some wealth grows more and more attached to that wealth with each passing day, his attachment to his son began to grow with each day. When his other wives saw that he was more affectionate to Kṛtadyuti because she had given birth to a son, they became very jealous. Their hearts began burning to have that sort of treasure of a child that Kṛtadyuti had. Their jealousy of Kṛtadyuti got to the point that they began conspiring to poison Kṛtadyuti’s son and kill him. One day, Kṛtadyuti was busy with some household activities in her dwelling when her co-wives got Kṛtadyuti’s son to drink some poisoned milk. Neither Kṛtadyuti, nor anyone else in the household knew what had happened. They thought the child was sleeping and kept preoccupied inside the house. Some time passed in this way, and finally Kṛtadyuti called her maidservant and said, “My baby has been sleeping for quite a while. Wake him up and bring him to me.” The maidservant approached the child and saw that he was dead, so she started wailing loudly. Hearing her crying, Kṛtadyuti came running and saw that her son had fallen into the jaws of death. She began wailing piteously. King Citraketu heard what had happened and became utterly overwhelmed, beginning to lament pitifully. At this moment, Mahaṛṣi Aṅgirā arrived there with Parama-bhāgavata Devaṛṣi Nārada. Seeing Citraketu overcome with grief, he said, “O king! The person you are grieving for, who is he to you? Who are you to him? If you say, ‘He is my son and I am his father,’ then I ask you, ‘Did you not have this relationship of father and son before? Do you have it now? Will you have it after this? Look, this whole world is fleeting. We have no eternal connection with this place. We ought not to lament for that with which we have no eternal connection.” After that, Mahaṛṣi Aṅgirā said, “O king! When I came to your home previously, I would have imparted this supreme knowledge unto you, but when I saw how attached you were to having a child, I gave you a child, not this knowledge. Now you are experiencing the sorrow that many parents feel. Those who are attached to wealth, followers, wife, children, family, etc., only end up in sorrow like this. This is because all these things are not eternal. What else, besides sorrow, can be the result of attachment to temporary things? Therefore, relinquish your grief and delusion surrounding your attachment to fleeting things and reflect on the truth of the soul. Who are you, where have you come from, where will you go in the future, and why is grief and delusion overwhelming you like this?” Saying this, Mahaṛṣi Aṅgirā addressed Citraketu’s dead son, “O soul! Look upon your mother and father who grieve for you.” In response, the dead boy said, “I am a soul. I am not under the sway of birth, death, grief, delusions, etc., but due to the results of my actions I have been roaming through many species of life since time immemorial. Depending on my karma, I also have to endure grief, delusion, etc. Since I am constitutionally free from birth and death, however, I have no father or mother. ‘I am so and so’s son, I am so and so’s father’—this false ego of the jīva is due to māyā. This ego is root of all sorrow.” Hearing the word of truth from the mouth of his dead son, King Citraketu gave up his grief and delusion and, as per the instructions of Devaṛṣi Nārada, relinquished all attachments and began to perform bhagavad-bhajana. Readers, please do not dismiss this story as an ancient fable. The living entity gains supreme knowledge of the truth from this story, as well as liberation. Śrīman Mahāprabhu revealed this truth four hundred years ago through the dead son of Parama-bhāgavata Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, thereby imparting the supreme truth to the jīvas afflicted by Kali: “Jīva kṛṣṇadāsa, ei viśvāsa, kar’le to āra duḥkha nāi – If one believes the soul is a servant of Kṛṣṇa, there is no more sorrow.” Always keep this instruction of Śrīman Mahāprabhu in mind. Grief, delusion, etc., will fear even coming near you.
Phalgu o Yukta Vairāgya
“Fake and True Renunciation”
The foremost scholar of Nyāya throughout Bengal, Bihar, and Orissa during his time—someone Śrīman Mahāprabhu revered as Bṛhaspati himself—that highly respected resident of Puruṣottama Kṣetra, Śrīla Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya Mahāśaya, became somewhat acquainted with Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s tattva and, with great trepidation and utmost surrender, secretly sent via the hands of Śrīla Ṭhākura Jagadānanda two gem-like verses as gifts to offer at the feet of Śrī Gaurasundara. The first of those verses is as follows:
vairāgya-vidyā nija-bhakti-yoga
śikṣārtham-ekaḥ puruṣaḥ-purāṇaḥ |
śrī kṛṣṇa-caitanya śarīra-dhārī
kṛpāmbudhir yas tam ahaṁ prapadye ||
In other words: “In order to teach renunciation, knowledge, and His own bhakti-yoga, the ocean of mercy, the one and only primeval person has manifested in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I offer myself at His feet.”
One the preceeding gurus of the current Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Sampradāya, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmi-Prabhu has written in the sacred text of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta:
mahāprabhura bhakta-gaṇera vairāgya pradhāna | jāhā dekhi prīta hana gaura bhagavān ||
From all these statements, we can understand that withdrawing from all the enjoyable substances on the face of the Earth, which is a place where people are mostly focused on enjoyment, and adopting the path of renunciation, or vairāgya, is the primary means of attaining śreyo (higher fulfillment). The direct incarnation of Śaṅkara, Ācārya Śaṅkara, and other teachers of the world wrote texts like Moha-mudgara, Vairāgya-śataka, etc., to instruct indulgent human beings who have fallen in the stoolpit of sense gratification to relinquish attachment to sense enjoyment and become established in the dharma of renunciation. What to speak of others, even the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, Śrī Gaurasundara, who is none other than the son of the king of Vraja, appeared in this world to teach people renunciation. The fact that the main characteristic of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s devotees is renunciation is something Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī Prabhu and other authors of Vaiṣṇava texts have repeatedly declared. The sages and seers of old were also refulgent examples of renunciation, detached from all manner of sense gratification, constantly practicing austerities, thinking of the welfare of all or immersed in discussing Bhagavān, living in the dense forests or secluded mountain caves, subsisting on fruits, roots, and water, or begging alms. From this, we inattentive and ignorant human beings can understand that such persons are saintly. However, today we see a rather well-educated group of a different sort that aspires to identify as followers of Śrīman Mahāprabhu. They refrain from fish, meat, paan, tobacco, tea, cigars, cards, dice, carnivals, theatres, and various other ordinary objects of enjoyment— perhaps just in order to kick dust in the eyes of people of meagre intelligence, for they freely, without inhibition, enjoy things like rail travel, steamship transport, electric fans, lights, motor vehicles, cycles, printing presses, newspapers, maṭhas, mandiras, brick buildings, shirts, shoes, watches, umbrellas, telegraph communications, telephones, sandeśa, mālpura, rābaḍī, etc., in the name of serving Hari. What kind of Vaiṣṇavism is this? Is this renunciation or something else? How is Gaura Bhagavān to be pleased with all this?
These sorts of questions are heard here and there from shortsighted, imprudent, neophyte devotees or from the bhogāvādī-sampradāya (sense enjoyers) who adhere to their own mental machinations and think their outdated lack of understanding is somehow dharma. In order to keep us mentally-governed bhogavādīs free from vaiṣṇavāparādha, the preacher of the religion of pure devotion, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda, has instructed us with a beautiful definition of what vairāgya is in his book Śrī Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. If we fall at the feet of Śrīla Gosvāmipāda and want to know the real truth regarding this subject, then, by his grace, we can come to know that there are two types of vairāgya: (1) phalgu-vairāgya (phony renunciation), and (2) yukta-vairāgya (holistic renunciation). Śrīmad-Bhāgavad-gītā speaks of three types of renunciation: sāttvika, rājasika, and tāmasika. Of these, rājasa and tāmasa renunciation fall into the category of phalgu-vairāgya. Their symptoms are described as follows:
“niyatasya tu sannyāsaḥ karmaṇo nopapadyate | mohāt tasya parityāgas-tāmasaḥ parikīrtitaḥ ||”
The gist of this is that it is not possible to renounce one’s eternal duties. Those who renounce their eternal duties engage in tāmasa renunciation.
duḥkham ityeva yat-karma kāya-kleśa-bhayāt tyajet | sa kṛtvā rājasaṁ tyāgaṁ naiva tyāga-phalaṁ labhet ||
The gist of this is that those who give up their eternal duties out of fear, because they know such duties are difficult, engage in rājasa renunciation; such people do not reap the fruits of renunciation. This kind of renunciation is phalgu, or trivial and detestable.
Real renunciation is defined in Śrī Bhagavān’s own words in Śrīmad-Bhagavad-gītā as follows:
na hi deha-bhṛtā śakyaṁ tyaktuṁ karmāṇy aśeṣataḥ | yas tu karma-phala-tyāgī sa tyāgīty abhidhīyate ||
In other words, for the embodied living entity it is impossible to give up all action entirely. One who has given up the fruits of action is worthy of being known as a true renunciate.
(to be continued)
Śrī Māyāpura Pūrṇa-Candrodaya
(csontinued from last issue)
One night, in the home of Candraśekhara Ācāryaratna, Mahāprabhu personally donned the garb of Rukmiṇī and had Śrī Advaita, Śrī Nityānanda, Śrīvāsa, Śrī Haridāsa, and others don specific roles and costumes and orchestrated a wonderous pastime. It was in this Candraśekhara Bhavana that one of the first dramas was enacted in Bengal by Mahāprabhu Himself. At present, the main center for the preaching of pure sanātana-dharma all over the world, the sovereign maṭha “Śrī Caitanya Maṭha”, has been established at this very Candraśekhara Bhavana.
One day, as Mahāprabhu’s dancing concluded, one brāhmaṇa lady touched the Lord’s feet. Mahāprabhu, who was playing the role of a teacher of the world, jumped into the Gaṅgā in resposne to this, as a way of cautioning the prākṛta-sahajiyās. Nityānanda, Haridāsa, and other devotees lifted Mahāprabhu out of the Gaṅgā.
One day, Śrī Gaurasundara, the personified form of separation, was sitting in His home, his heart overwhelmed with separation in the mood of the gopīs, and was chanting, “Gopī, gopī….” One miscreant student chanced upon Him at that time and said, “Why are you not chanting Kṛṣṇa’s name and uselessly chanting, ‘Gopī, gopī,’ calling out to some ladies?” When the Lord heard this, still in the mood of the gopīs, He began expressing anger toward Kṛṣṇa and projecting fault unto Kṛṣṇa. When the unfortunate student could understand the purport of His words, the Lord, who was in the mood of the gopīs, thought the student was taking Kṛṣṇa’s side, so He became even more enraged, picked up a stick, and charged the student, intending to hit him. The student fled. Hearing this, various so-called brāhmaṇas who were engrossed in mundane ritual tradition and were averse to Hari ignorantly began to conspire of a way to beat Mahāprabhu. In order to save Navadvīpa’s teachers, students, religious zealots, karmīs, ascetics, and other unfortunate persons from the offense of malice toward Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas, Mahāprabhu then conceived a desire to accept the renounced station of a guru who, in the eyes of mundane society, occupies a higher social status. In other words, if He displayed a pastime of taking sannyāsa, then everyone would offer their respects to Him, because a sannyāsī earns the honor of all. In this way, it would possible for the brāhmaṇas who were criticizing Him to be enlightened. With this idea in mind, Mahāprabhu, toward the end of His twenty-fourth year, during the waxing fortnight of Māgha, the end of the night of the winter solstice day, jumped in the Gaṅgā at Nidayā-ghāṭa and swam to the village of Katwa. There, on a pretext of receiving the sannyāsa-mantra from Śrī Keśava Bhāratī, Mahāprabhu first blessed him by reciting the mantra in his ear and then hearing that same mantra from him and accepting the monk’s staff. Śuddhā Sarasvatī appeared on Keśava Bhāratī’s tongue and manifested through him the name of Mahāprabhu’s sannyāsa pastimes: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, for He would rouse the consciousness of the unconscious world through kṛṣṇa-kīrtana. As per Mahāprabhu’s orders, Candraśekhara Ācāryaratna helped Him perform all the necessary rites and tasks of sannyāsa. Amid many devotees who were weeping in separation and performing kīrtana throughout the day, Mahāprabhu’s shaving was finally completed toward the end of the day. The next day, in the morning, Mahāprabhu began roaming throughout Rāḍha-deśa while singing the tale of the tridaṇḍi mendicant from the city of Avanti as described in Bhāgavatam.
(to be continued)
Vallabha’s Digvijaya “All-directional Conquering”
Offering obeisance at the feet of the Śrīmad Ācārya, Gosvāmī Śrī Yadunāthajī is describing his gurudeva’s digvijaya story.
Where pious souls of pure vision who keenly observe their religious and social duties as per their caste and station in life, where there are many exalted personalities who are worshipped even by the gods, and where there are many supremely sanctified holy places, where it is simply very charming and beautiful, a land where pious persons take their birth, a land that is protected by the cardinal direction guardian Mahaṛṣi Agastya—in that southern region, near Stambhāndri, there was a very prosperous town renowned by the name of Kākumbhakara. That place was very well protected, so there was no reason to fear anything. There lived many dignified, noble brāhmaṇas who were adepts in the Uttara and Pūrva Mīmāṁsā schools and were very dear to Bhagavān. Here, like the pearl fruits of the glory of Mahaṛṣi Bharadvāja’s dynasty, were many Belanāḍu-bhaṭṭa Tripravara brāhmaṇas, who were deeply introspective and scholarly, having studied many branches of the Taittirīya. Their family deity was Reṇukā. These vipras would follow strict vows of brahmacarya celibacy and satisfy their gurus with incessant menial service, and by the grace of their gurus, they would become endowed with boundless intellectual brilliance. This was a lineage of vipras who were worthy of worship via one’s own conduct as approved by one’s mother, father, and one’s holy teachers. In this lineage, in the family of Ācārya Vallabha Dīkṣita, was a person named Yajña Nārāyaṇa Dīkṣita, who was the disciple of Vedāvatāra Śrī Govindacārya, who was the second self of Ṛṣi Vedavyāsa. In his childhood, Yajña Nārāyaṇa Dīkṣita studied all the Vedic scriptures and was initated as befitting a brāhmaṇa. Thereafter, he obtained the hand of a very gentle-natured young lady named Narmadā, who was the daughter of Devapura resident Sudharma Śarmā of the Atri lineage. Before the sacred fire, according to the traditions of the prajāpatis, he accepted her as his arddhāṅginī (other half).
This finest of brāhmaṇas would, as per his prescribed varṇāśrama duties, worship any uninvited guests who chanced by his home. In this way, serving various guests, one day, he came face-to-face with a parama-bhāgavata devotee from the Draviḍa region named Viṣṇusvāmī. As is customary with guests, when the finest of bhāgavatas, Viṣṇusvāmi, appeared at Yajña Nārāyaṇa’s home, Yajña Nārāyaṇa humbly greeted and worshipped him. After eating, as Viṣṇusvāmī was sitting contentedly, Yajña Nārāyaṇa asked to know who he was. Viṣṇusvāmī conveyed to him that he had taken the renounced order because of the propagation of a text called ‘Bhakti–mīmāṁsā’. And Viṣṇusvāmī also told him that he had written a commentary on the text of Bhakti-mīmāṁsā called “Bhakti-ullāsinī”. Hearing this, Yajña Nārāyaṇa humbly asked to receive this bhakti-dharma. After obtaining the śrī gopāla-mantra in the āmnāya-paramparā, or sacred unbroken spiritual lineage of Viṣṇusvāmī, Bilvamaṅgala, and Divodāsa, he began worshipping His family deity with great love according to śrauta and smārta [Vedic and Pañcarātric] traditions. Every year he would perform five different yāgas, or fire sacrifices, from the agni-hotra to the soma-yāga. Once, while offering the soma offering into the fire of the soma-yāga, he became overwhelmed with the bliss of his worship and was meditating on Bhagavān Vāsudeva within the fire, and because of his intense faith, his heart became very pure. As he was meditating, he saw that Bhagavān Śrī Yajña Nārāyaṇa had appeared there with a smile on His face and beautiful lotus eyes, wearing yellow garments all over His extremely attractive figure, and displaying the abhaya-mudrā [gesture of fearlessness]. As soon as he saw Bhagavān, he became overwhelmed with emotion and offered his obeisance in great delight. There he remained prostrate on the ground. Gradually he came to his senses and rasied himself and, with folded hands, began to say, “O Bhagavān! All the Āgama and Nigama texts sing of Your glories. You are the burgeoning of all auspicious qualities. You are the controller of demigods, brāhmaṇas, mantra, all performers of action, action itself, and its ingredients, and You are the bestower of desired results. And because Your love for Your devotees is natural, You manifest Your form, which is the abode of all auspicious qualities, to those who meditate upon You. All those exalted personalites showed their mercy to me. That is why You have blessed this deva-yajña and become visible to someone like me, to my eyes bleary with the smoke of the sacred fire. With which articles shall I worship You, the husband of Lakṣmī? Though this is true, You are satisfied with the easily obtained and mentally offered items like leaves, flowers, sprigs, and earrings that Your devotees worship You with. Otherwise, even if You do not receive articles of worship, You naturally come under the control of Your devotees. Therefore, it is possible I too can worship You with such beautiful offerings of mood.” Saying this, Yajña Nārāyaṇa worshipped Bhagavān.
(to be continued)
Niryāṇa Samvāda
“News of Departure”
This past 13th of March, Tuesday, at 6:10 p.m., one of the Calcutta Gauḍīya Maṭha’s one-pointed servants of Guru-Gaurāṅga, Śrīpāda Sanātana Dāsa Brahmacārī, departed to his eternal abode. His incomparable conviction in service was witnessed during this past Śrī Dhāma Parikramā. For several months now he had given up all attachment to material life and had devoted himself wholeheartedly at the feet of śrī guru. All the devotees in the maṭha are feeling separation from him upon his untimely departure.
Nānā Kathā | Various Topics
This year, the mango crop in Bengal is so huge that if even only one quarter remains, even cows and other animals won’t need to eat anything else for up to two months. Murshidabad is mango country and there is a terrible famine going on there. Now that there is a surplus of mangoes, the poor can survive somehow or other on mangoes and alleviate their hunger for some time.
Readers are all familiar with the difficulties people are having with crossing back and forth via the local Navadvīpa ferry ghat. Now we have received news of similar inconveniences at Behrampore’s Rādhāra-ghāṭa ferry ghat. There is no regular ferry service at this ghat and crossing is closed at night. When people need to go the railway station, they end up having to use dingy boats to cross the river. For this, travellers have to pay twice or thrice the normal rate. Administration needs to pay special attention to issues like this. Unsuitable lessees should be expelled from the ghats, which should then be alloted to competent, suitable lessees, so these inconveniences will cease.
The ācārya of Vṛndāvana’s Prema Mahāvidyālaya, A.T. Gīdvāṇī has bid farewell to Prema Mahāvidyālaya and accepted a job in the Karachi municipal education department.
The prince of Barddhaman, Śrīyukta Udayacāñda Mahātāpa, will travel by the Imperial Mail to Bombay to go to England.
Bagerhat Rail Station’s stationmaster was terribly injured by 3 assailants as he returned home. Police are investigating. The culprits have yet to be apprehended.
There has been a rally in Madras organized by the Hindu Mahā-sabhā denouncing Dr. Mathu-lakṣmī and Harabilāsa Sārddhār’s Child Marriage Bill as opposed to Hindu-dharma and scripture. A representative of the Hindu Mahāsabhā will be sent to meet with the governor and governor-general to prevent the passing of this bill.
Last Wednesday, in Charpara-grāma, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Chattogram Faridganj station, Am Durali and Darvesh Ali ate at the home of Kamaraddi Bepari and came down with cholera during the night. Am Durali died the next morning, and the other person is in Chandpur in a state of agony.
Last Sunday night, Devendra Nath Ray Mahāśaya of the Foreworder’s editorial division left his body. He has served the newspaper for almost 23 years.
Ten female graduates of Calcutta’s Nārī-śikṣā-samiti [“Women’s Education Committee”] have passed government training and accepted work in various places as teachers.
The Governor of Bengal has inaugurated the Dinajpur–Ruiya branch of the I.B. Railway, which is 46 miles long. It took ten months to build it. Surveying for the Ruiya–Siliguri line is to commence shortly.
A notice from the India Rail Company tells us that this time fifty and a half lakh pounds worth of cargo is needed. It is common knowledge that within a few months, the order will go for sale in England and Scotland.
Former principal of Lahore National College, Śrīyuta Yugala-kiśora Ācārya has been engaged as the principal of Vṛndāvana’s Prema Mahāvidyālaya in place of Gīdvāṇī. The Karachi municipal assembly reports that Professor Gīdvāṇī has been engaged as the administrator of the education department there.
In Brazil, in the middle of the night, a mountain gave way in a huge avalanche, crushing the inhabitants of the town of Santos [Sao Paulo] as they slept.
On the night of March 1, Śrīyukta Jaya Pṛthvī Siṁha, son-in-law of the King of Nepal, gave a speech on the propagation of universal brotherhood at Bangalore town’s Jay Mahal.
He said, “We will be able to establish the propagation of this universal brotherhood more widely if we conquer pleasure and indulgence with renunciation. The less fortunate should not be excluded from humanity.”
A white landholder in the Shevaroy Hills has been arrested according to Section 335 of the Indian Penal Code for shooting a coolie.
Madras has two new ministers by the names Mr. H. Muthiya Mudaliyar and Mr. B. Ramchandra Reddi
Two students of Dhaka Medical School have brought charges of libel against the editor and printer of the East Bengal Times.
The Governor of Madras has forced Minister Ranganath Mudaliyar and Arogya Swami Mudaliyar to leave their positions. On March 12, there was a huge rally in opposition to this at Gokhel Hall. Many distinguished individuals delivered speeches at this gathering to cement the resolve to boycott the Commission.
Manbhum District zamindar Śrīyukta Indra Nārāyaṇa Candra has donated five thousand taka to build a dharmashala in Prācīna Navadvīpa, Śrī Māyāpura, the site of Śrīman Mahāprabhu Śrī Caitanya-deva’s appearance. Chirkunda’s Śrīyukta Dīnanātha Garai, Rajganj resident Śrīyukta Cārucandra Pāla and Bankura resident Śrīyukta Hariprasāda Bandyopādhyāya have garnered the gratitude of the devotees by shouldering the expense of constructing three different permanent structures adjoining Śrī Caitanya Maṭha to accommodate pilgrims.
We request everyone in general to follow the hugely generous example of these aforementioned donors. These donors, bighearted religious souls that they are, have demonstrated a brilliant example of how best to utilize one’s wealth.
Last Thursday, in the Sandwip division of Noakhali district, an extremely elderly person clutching a walking stick, trembling as he approached, came into Munsef Court and said, “I am 120 years old, and I have never seen a doctor. Now, I am coming to see a doctor because I want to know when I will die.”
When a person showed him to a doctor, the elderly man got down on the ground, bowed down with devotion, and left.
Currently, the boycott movement against foreign goods is gaining significant traction. Observing the manner in which it is happening, it seems that the leadership of the country will be very successful. Our only prayer is that with the demand for clothing, the owners of national mills will not take advantage of the situation to hike the price of clothing to make extra money.
Manmath Nath Mukhopadhyay, the commissioner of Bahrampur Municipality, has resigned from his position after a signed petition full of complaints against him was filed.
Police have rescued two minor girls named Shakuntala and Monu from a brothel in Boro Bazar, on Shiv Thakur Lane in Calcutta.
Last Sunday, at Minerva Theatre, a pickpocket named Ganesh Pandey snuck into the ladies’ sitting area and was caught as he fled after stealing jewelry right off a girl’s body.
Mr. Parsell and Mr. Holsworth, representatives of the British Trade Union Congress, and Mr. Fanner Brockway, secretary of the Independent Labor Party, will travel from Bombay to England on the Rājamāka ship on March 17.
As a result of the several days of streetsweeper strikes in Calcutta, garbage has rotted in many places and contaminated the air. This has lead to many contagious illnesses throughout Calcutta. Authorities of the health department need to be paying special attention to the issue.
A Sahib’s Cruelty Towards Coolies
Mr. Brett, the manager of the Manbadha tea farm, has been attacked by coolies. An incident occurred on February 25, when Mr. Sahib ordered a 14-year-old boy servant to do some work. When the boy refused to do it, the white plantation manager beat him mercilessly across the chest with a piece of wood. Inhumanly brutalized the servant fell unconscious. He was sent to the hospital in that condition. He has no one except one brother. All the coolies were outraged with Mr. Sahib’s abusive behavior and vowed to exact just retribution. The next day when the Sahib was on his way to the factory, they attacked him. Several other employees of the plantation came and somehow rescued the Sahib Bahadur from the hands of the enraged coolies.
It seems police have still not been made aware of the incident because the injured servant is still laying in hospital now with severe injuries all over his body.
Factory Fire Incident
On the night of March 12th, at 7 o’clock, a fire broke out in Śrī Harendronath Sarkar’s jute go-down in Konnogor, burning 700 maunds of jute to ashes. The fire did not spread any further.
Place of Kali on Dola Grounds
On the 23rd of Phālguna, Sunday, during the Pancham Dola at Shantipur, in Gopalpur, a clash erupted between Hindus and Muslims over a game of dice. There was a gambling den on the Dola grounds! An argument ensued between a Hindu player and a Muslim of similar temperament. Suddenly, another a Muslim, under the influence, allegedly attacked the Hindu without reason. This led to a clash between the two groups. Reportedly, four Muslims and one Hindu have been seriously injured. Kali has even entered the Dola grounds—the result that was to be expected has happened.
Situation in Egypt
In regard to the current situation in Egypt, Lord Layard and King David have consulted each other for almost an hour. There is still conflict going on surrounding the next Prime Minister.
Workers in Liluah are still not calm. If the railway authorities try to intimidate them, they could become agitated and escalate the conflict. The labor union members are trying diligently to keep the peace.
The situation at City College is becoming more serious day by day. The college authorities have sought the assistance of police against the students of the Ram Mohan Roy Hostel. Police have told them to inform student representatives. The students are becoming more agitated. The educational system that does not have service to Bhagavān as its objective is not vidyā (knowledge), but avidyā (ignorance). Avidyā always creates numerous disturbances.
A riot that occurred in Shrirampur near Rishra last Monday has resulted in 3 Hindus and 2 Muslims injured. The Hindus at the Rishra jute mill asked the manager to close the mill on Tuesday so they could participate in the Holi festivities. The Muslims opposed the closure of the mill, and so a riot broke out. Armed police forces were brought from 24 Parganas and Howrah to the scene to maintain order. At present there is no significant commotion going on.
Miss Miller’s śuddhi pavilion was set up this past March 13 at a spot roughly five miles from Nashik on the banks of the Godavari. About two thousand onlookers gathered to watch the proceedings. Among them were about three hundred women of Hindu, Sikh, Parsi, European, and American origin. In the morning, at 8 o’clock, Miss Miller arrived at the pavilion via royal vehicle with Sir Tukoji Rao’s sisters, Savitri Bai Saheba, Tara Bai Saheba, and their maternal grandmother. 20 priests surrounded Miss Miller and performed prāyaścitta (atonement) and homa (fire sacrifice), after which they completed the purificatory rites and Miss Miller was accepted as a Hindu. Mrs. Shanta decorated her with a dress and ornaments like that of a Maharastran woman.
Last Tuesday night, Miss Miller Mimi, along with the royal princesses of Indore, traveled to Baroha. Her marriage is scheduled to take place there on March 17.