Page 85 - SBV (English)

Pre-Sannyäsa Period 25

During a period beginning from 1896, Çré Siddhänta Sarasvaté started and
edited three jyotiña publications: the monthly journals Båhaspati (Bengali) and
Scientific India (English), and an almanac entitled Bhakti-bhavana-païjikä.
*
And following his acclaimed presentation of Sürya-siddhänta, he continued to
prepare similar translations and glosses on other ancient jyotiña treatises. In 1897,
Çré Siddhänta Sarasvaté established at Bhakti Bhavan the Särasvata Catuñpäöhé,
thereby fulfilling a need long felt by jyotiñés of Bengal for an academy of advanced
jyotiña in Calcutta, so that Bengali students need not go to Banaras to study
it. Not only college students, but also several learned and respectable men old
†
enough to be his father, including some noted jyotiñés, came to study under him.
Although he directly oversaw the school for roughly only four years, until around
the time of his initation by Çréla Gaura Kiçora däsa Bäbäjé, its impact redefined
the study and practice of jyotiña, especially in Bengal, and far outstripped the
jyotiña department at the Sanskrit College in Calcutta. ‡
In 1901 Çré Siddhänta Sarasvaté floated another jyotiña monthly, Jyotirvid,
and later, with the help of the renowned jyotiñé Nanduläl Vidyäsägara, he
directed the publication of the Çré Navadvépa-païjikä. This was the fulfilment
§
of a desire of Çréla Jagannätha däsa Bäbäjé Mahäräja, who had apprised Çréla
Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura of the need for an almanac specifically meant for persons
cultivating çuddha-bhakti, for at that time the only almanacs available catered
to smärta-dominated pantheistic Hinduism. Just as in his Çré Harinämämåta-
vyäkaraëa Çréla Jéva Gosvämé had explained every word and grammatical case
by utilizing a name of Hari, in Çré Navadvépa-païjékä Çré Siddhänta Sarasvaté
promoted harinäma by employing different names of Viñëu for each month,

Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura was a true gosvämé. He also much admired and assisted Çré
Siddhänta Sarasvaté.
In 1925 a series of articles by Madhusüdana was published in Ananda Bazar Patrika
in support of Çréla Sarasvaté Öhäkura’s stance that by päïcarätriké dékñä any person,
regardless of birthcaste, can attain twice-born status and qualify to worship çälagräma-
çilä. In 1926 the Gauòéya published Madhusüdana Goswami’s disquisition defeating
erroneous theories of the gauräìga-nägaré apa-sampradäya.
* Båhaspati—(1) the planet Jupiter; (2) the guru of the demigods.
† Catuñpäöhé—“school where the four Vedas are taught.”

‡ That the Catuñpäöhé ran at least until 1917 is clear from its description in the almanac
for that year, prepared by Çré Siddhänta Sarasvaté. From descriptions (by other sources)
of his activities, it is also clear that after his dékñä in 1900, he personally was not much
involved in the Catuñpäöhé.
§ Jyotirvid—astrologer.