CHAPTER 4.
NEW CONTACTS CONTINUES....


There was sweet melody in her voice and a poetical touch in her words. but. as an orator, she was no match to Surendranath Bannerji. Mrs. Besant also rose to great heights when speaking. Tilak was vehement and forceful; his words were patriotic fire. While Tilak’s addresses showed an ingrained Vedic culture, Babu Bipen Chandra Pal was a public speaker who held the masses spell-bound. Between them, these great patriots laid the foundation on which Mahatma Gandhi built so well in later years. The educated youth of the country was very much influenced by their speeches and thoughts. Like others, I imbibed patriotic ideas and a desire to work for the freedom of the country was born in me. I came to admire revolutionaries but was never converted to the cult of violence. I felt that violence could not bring freedom. I now began to wear Swadeshi.

The speeches that I heard on religious subjects in the Arya Samaj at Lahore and elsewhere converted me from an orthodox Hindu of the old style to a zealous Arya Samajist. Our ancestrial family home was a fortress of orthodoxy and up to my college days I was
brought up under its spell. My grandmother saw to it that all of us performed the daily worship as enjoined by the Puranas. Under her rigid rule, we performed the Yajnas and sacrifices, observed various fasts and performed the Shradhas. Our family goddess was Mahl Devi, installed in a temple-like niche in the house. Every morning and evening, a halt-literate brahman performed puja before her. She was given a bath early in the morning, dressed in new garments and decked with jewels. The blowing of the Sankh (conch), beating of drums and cymbols, announced that the goddess was ready for the day’s work. Food was then offered to her, most of which the priest took. Arti, which followed, completed the morning service. No one could eat anything cooked or brought into the house till it was first offered to the family goddess.

to be continued...