Men of God

YET SO IRRELIGIOUS

Even before he had finished the course of his studies, his father died, leaving the only son as the hope and consolation of his mother: for, the eldest son, a boy of sixteen, had long ago renounced the world becoming a Sanyasin, just on the day fixed for his marriage. So, soon after the prosecution of his studies he founded a Tol of his own, receiving pupils in his own house, when he was just twenty years. Yet the liveliness and frivolities of his boyhood developed in the young man into a lighthearted, volatile temperament, mainly concerned with the things of the world. The spirit of the scholastic circles of Navadvip possessed him; pride of learning seemed his dominant trait. But humility—the quality which later so signally marked the ascetic Chaitanya, was not at all in evidence in the young scholar, Nimai Pandit. Nor was there evidence to show, at least outwardly, that he had interest in things which claimed his brother at so tender an age for the ascetic life. And this was so in spite of the fact that he was born and brought up in a pious Vaishnava family and had known no other than a religious atmosphere. His delight was in disputation, his reputation great as a formidable antagonist; his name adorned the dialectic lists against all comers.

The people of Nadea delighted in Nimai Pandit. But they said: “God has given this handsome lad attractive looks and great scholarship, but what is the use of all these as he is irreligious ?” He wrote a commentary on Sanskrit grammar and named it ‘Vidyasagar after his own title. When later he was on tour in East Bengal, he found students reading it. He wrote a work on Logic, but is said to have destroyed the book to save the reputation of the rival who was a boyhood friend, thus revealing the deeper side of his nature inspired by self-sacrifice (that was hidden from people because of his sceptical boyish jests) despite his fondness for display and desire to defeat scholars in polemics.