Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Birth, Education, "Upanayana" (installation of the sacred thread and initiation into adult Hindu life style), Apradakshanam, Marriage, Fanatical interest in Hinduism, Failure of the attempt of pilgrimage to Kashi, Quest for Brahma Gnana, Yoga practice, Avadhoota Ashram, Devotion to wrong Dharma, Dedication to false teachers and ministrations to them. Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Jer 1: 5 Birth of the Poet When George III was ruling over England, our hero Purushotham Chowdhary was born on 5th September 1803 in Madanapuram, Tembur Mandalam, Ganjam district, as second son to Kurmanath Chowdhary and Subhadra Devi Chaudhurani1. The 21st day after the birth of a child was considered auspicious in the household. Relatives were called to "Barasala2", a sumptuous meal was prepared, they named the child Purushotham and laid him in the cradle. "Sidhantis" (learned Pundits) wrote his "Jatakam" (Horoscope) and took away generous gifts from the father. As per the pure Vydic practices of Bengali and Utkal traditions, "Vahir Nishkramanam," "Annaprasanam," "Chowlam" (tonsuring the head, leaving a single tuft of hair at the back of the child's head) were performed. On attaining 5 years of age, the celebration of "Aksharabhyasam" (initiation into education) was conducted. The child was taught Oriya and Telugu. Within two years, the child had shown proclivity for learning. He learned many slokas from his father at home. In the 7th year, "Upanayanam" was held and according to the Gowda Brahman ritual, sacred thread was laid, declaring him a Brahmin and the "Gayatri mantra"(a highly-revered chant from the Rig Veda.The mantra is an important part of the upanayana ceremony for young males in Hinduism)

entrusted to him. It has the following meaning- "Personification of the 'Om' sound, Self-existing one, The Sorrow-less one, Omnipresent, Creator of the Universe, who bestows all riches, Worthy of complete acceptance, The Holy one, Giver of all comforts, may we be adorned with His image; May the Master of the universe, ignite our minds!" Purushotham learned this mantra as a toddler and about the holiness attributed to it. Passion for Education Growing up, Purushotham learned not only the Puranas and Itihasas, but also recited Vedas. He blossomed into a sharp young lad, complete with all daily Hindu rituals. Books written in his hand writing are still with the family. He mastered the Sanskrit Amara Kosa (Compendium of Sanskrit etymology of words) and similar manuals of Telugu language. While the children during winter play by the fireside, it is said that Purushotham used to be with his books. In a single winter, he finished reading Bhagavatha thrice. His father being a great scholar in Mahabharata, Ramayana and Bhagavatha, explained the meaning of these Hindu scriptures, while Purushotham heard him with rapt attention and acquired the skill himself. Great Calamity Averted During his student days Purushotham once went to a pond in a village called 'Kanige' along with a Dasari boy. Both intended to swim across the pond to the other side. The cloth Purushotham tied to his waist got loosened and twisted itself to his legs. Unable to swim, Purushotham drowned and started swallowing water, but managed to stand on his toes in great distress. The other boy fled in fright. Incidentally two Telagas saw the Purushotham's face on the surface of the water, jumped in, and rescued him. One day in his childhood, Purushotham went to a relative's place. Some people asked him to bring fire to light their cigars. He rushed to the neighbor's house and asked a lady of that Kapu household for fire, who was pounding grain. The pestle slipped from her hand and hit him under her right eye-brow making the blood flow. People started weeping and

some burned cloth and applied it to the wound. This injury pained him for a long time. He did not lose his eye at that time but 60 years later his eye sight went down much in advance. Another time, he suffered from fever for 3 months. Quacks who believed that 'fasting is the greatest medicine,' treated him and one night when he was panting with thirst, they refused to give him water in spite of repeated pleadings. He lost consciousness and his eye balls floated up. People standing by, started weeping but none gave him a little water. Fortunately like in the previous calamities, someone dared to sprinkle some water on his face and pried his lips open and poured some water in his mouth and Purushotham got revived. Praise be to the name of Lord Jesus who is always merciful and of immediate help. Jesus rescued the boy from a certain death. Knowing the wonderful future ministry to be taken up by Purushotham, God kept him from danger that way. Saravakota was very near to Madanapuram. Purushotham, at the age of 15 years sang narrative ballads of Puranas in the house of Gandham Narayana Das in that village and could save some money. His Fervor in Hindu Religion Purushotham since his childhood was devoted to Vishnu, worshipping his idols. He was deeply interested in meditation, holy dip, and pilgrimage. According to the Vaishnava tradition he got the Chakra(disc) and Sankhu(Conch) symbols tattooed on his two shoulders. Chanting the Mantras, he learned for his Gurus, and singing "Tirunama" praises, were his habits. True to the axiom "Fruit of your learning is your submissive respect," Purushotham was respectful of his elders befitting his erudition, and earned appreciation of everybody. Position of the Poet Laureate We have already mentioned that Rajah Padmanabha Dev, son of Sri Duga Raju fulfilled the executive responsibilities of the Regent in place of the boy king Sri Rajah Jagannath Gajapati Narayana Dev, as per the order of the East India Company from 1813 to 1832.

Around 1820, Purushotham Chowdhary's father Kurmanatha Chowdhary had an altercation with his own brother Rama Krishna and Radha Krishna over the lands under their control. Purushotham stayed with the Parlakimidi Royal Court on his own for some time and earned a few villages from the Royal administrators. He was brilliantly witty and like the legendary Tenali Rama Krishna, entertained the Regent with his amusing conversation. Before the construction of the beautiful palace on the banks of Sita Sagara in Parlakimidi by the Italian Engineer Chijalam, there used to be a palace near the Saturday market. The Regent convened the royal court here, invited the poets of the land and asked them to describe the palace. All the poets routinely pronounced praises of the palace, whereas Purushotham said something that meant, 'the palace cannot hold a candle to his own house!' Both the king and the poets were taken aback. They questioned him unable to grasp the inner meaning. Purushotham replied, "I can see the sun, moon and stars lying on my bed in my house, I cannot see them from inside this palace" and finished the stanza of the poem. The whole company broke into laughter at the indirect humor. My father used to narrate to me this incident. Purushotham was 20 years of age. Incestuous marriage traditions prevailed in Gowda Sishta clan, and marriage after maturity of the girl are prohibited. For this reason, it was arranged that Purushotham at the age of 20, to marry Radhamani Devi, then a girl of 9 years, daughter of his paternal uncle Raghunathpal. The elders decided on the alliance and performed the 7-day marriage with great pomp and ceremony. Thus, Purushotham crossed over from "Brahmacharya"(bachelorhood) to married state. Later his father Kurmanath Chowdhary breathed his last. It is said that mother of this gentleman worshipped Sri Kurmanatha in Sri Koormam shrine in Ganjam and got her son and probably named him after the deity as per the tradition prevailing in Andhra and Utkal lands. After the death of his father, Purushotham's mother Subhadra Devi Chaudhurani and elder brother Jagannath Chowdhary showered much

affection on him and seeing that he was a scholar par excellence, coupled with respectful attitude and great devotion to Hindu faith and tradition, they treated him with great love and fondness. Purushotham writes Hindu Books The death of his father pushed Purushotham even deeper into Hindu piety. According to his capabilities in language and literature he wrote seven or eight hymns in the name of Vishnu, one in the name of Shiva, a philosophical hymn in his Teacher's name. He also wrote a Krishna Leela, a hundred-poem collection with the title "Dasaratha Rama," and another profound poetic rendition by name "Neelachala Vilasamu." All those that heard these poems highly appreciated the delicate and intricate selection of terms and his poetic brilliance. Purushotham was determined to go to Kashi for further study. He joined a friend, and the two planned to go without informing thrie elders. They gathered a few essentials and hidden the package among some bushes. However, it was stolen. Thus, this effort did not materialize into action. In his memorial book, Purushotham confessed to reading with great relish in his youth, many ancient poetic works depicting sexual love. Craving for "Brahma Gnana" Our young poet continued to worship his chosen God Vishnu, extolling him as the deity of Moksha, and one that bestowed bliss, gaining the approval of his fellow men. However, his devotedness started taking a strange turn. Those days, an employee of the Raja Yoga sect of the Parlakimidi Brahma Gnana religion, called Purushotham Chowdhary and gave him a philosophical book by name "Rama Stava Rajamu" requesting him to read and explain to him its meaning. After reading, it remained vague in Purushotham's mind. But he did not give up, and finding a certain charm in it, he borrowed it and carefully read it from cover to cover. Not satisfied, he copied the whole book for himself and ruminated and meditated on it. The book told him that this mortal world is like a fastflowing stream, and he should find a Guru who will reveal to him the

difference between body and soul, permanence of the spirit, and the means of unifying the mortal soul with the immortal. He read that unless he does that, he will never attain liberty of the soul. After reading this book it appeared to him that the Hindu ritual traditions are utterly useless and acts of devotion hopeless. For this reason, a craving started taking root in him to rescind the practices of his Caste tradition, family and relatives including his own wife and become a "Brahma Gnani." Striving in this direction, he came across similar books such as "Vedanta Saramu" (Essence of Vedanta), "Shiva Yoga Saramu" (Essence of the Yoga of S iva), "Atma Bodha' (Enlightenment of the soul), "Vignana Deepika" (light of Wisdom), "Jeeva Prabodha" (Teaching for life), "Bhagavat Kathalu" (Stories of the gods) from Bhagavatha Purana (One of the ancient Hindu texts), "Para Tatvamu" (Philosophy of the transcendental), "Parama Hamsa Dharmamu" (Duty of an enlightened man) and so on. He meditated upon these and other books even in Oriya language which he wrote by hand for his use, and searched for the mystical meanings thereof. These books which he copied in the thick green and blue paper, available those days, were made available to me in Cuttack. Especially he copied "Avadhoota3 Charitramu" (History of an Avadhoota) on palm leaves, cut them in the shape of a flower and hanged it around his neck. He pondered up on its contents day after day with great enthusiasm. Not satisfied with this, he went in search of a guru who would lead him to the process of merging his soul with the immortal soul. He did not experience the truth in the adage, "Gurus say many things to satisfy their diciples, but it is difficult to find the true Guru, who can dispel the pain in the disciple's heart." Finally, seven false Gurus gathered around him. Their antecedents are not known. He learned from them Yama, Niyama, (Yama means 'taking a vow' while niyama is the second limb and means 'rule of conduct'), and other Ashtanga Yogas(Ashtanga means eight limbs or branches, of which

asana or physical yoga posture is merely one branch, breath or pranayama are the others). He also attempted to learn other more advanced accomplishments such as "Anima" and "Chinmaya Mudras," to some extent. Devotedness to False Teachers and Yogic Practices Excepting one Uppu Ramalinga, the rest of his Gurus taught him to eat despicable things, and perform detestable acts, saying that unless he does that there is no way he can attain salvation. We include here some of the experiences of Purushotham from his own writings about this period of his life. "I ate disgusting things, did appalling deeds, I cannot write them here because they are too repulsive. None among these 7 Gurus were fit to give me what I craved for. And I tell you a shameful thing. In one of the books, it is written that in extending hospitality, if any one gives his wife to a guest for the night, great would be the result. One gives up his father or teacher Kills or gives up life for one's wife If with such wife one serves a guest He can conquer Divinity or Deity I tried this. There was a "Matham4" in Kothapalli near my village. The kings installed the idol of Krishna in it. Two villages were allotted for its up keep. There were two stewards and a priest. Often some ascetics used to stay in this Matham. I used to serve them. I befriended a "Bairagi" (ascetic) and was very obedient to him. Once I told him my intention of serving him with my wife. He agreed. I told my wife lovingly in secrecy. She was outraged and said, "Would you drag me too into these dirty things you do?" She could not tolerate such a proposal. Thus, on reading this kind of philosophy and practice of Yoga, my feeling of self-renunciation increased. I tried to love and be merciful to all the living creatures. To practice this, I would lie on the floor without covering my upper body, and when the ants or mosquitos bit me I refrained from killing them, gently pushing them away, according to the ideal "Ahimso

Parama Dharma" (non-violence is the highest virtue). If anyone strikes at any animal or kill any insect, I could not bear looking at it. To get rid of the Caste prejudice, I ate with friends of other castes. I lost interest in having conjugal love with my wife. Often mingling with people who practice Yoga, I thought the water used to clean their feet as holy, sprinkling them on my head, and on my tongue. For some time, it became my practice to share my meal with a dog, sitting side by side. Bath, daily sacred ablutions and fasting declined. I stopped brushing my teeth. I to the world and the world to me looked mad. My own household on seeing my actions considered me insane, and often made derogatory comments. I never got angry with them, not answering, remained unmoved. My wife and mother used to grieve at my condition. Avadhoota Ashram Finally, I decided to belong permanently to the Avadhoota Ashram. I, alone or with a couple of friends, practiced Yoga in lonely forests or hills. Once when I was climbing a hill I found the remnant of an animal skin left by an animal among the stones. Telling them that we should eat it without any hesitation, started eating it myself. Then my disciples and friends attempted eating it half-heartedly." Our worthy poet obtained a sort of training in "Bhakti, Gnana, Karma, Vairagya, Raja Yoga" and other practices. Those days, among those who strived for Raja Yoga, there were wicked women. They are called "Mukti Kanthas5." There were Aghoras6, Corpse eaters, Avadhootas, Naked Sadhus and so on in India. Purushotham summed up the characteristics of Avadhootas in a poem. When a boy among Purushotham's relatives died, they buried him instead of cremating. Our wise Purushotham dug the dead body up, kept it in his lap for some time, assuring himself that he is not afraid and buried it back. Father of this author once told him this. People of this land are under the false premise that such practices are the means of reaching heaven, and ignored the true way for the washing of the of soul. Many men of Yoga in our country are slaves to intoxicating drugs. It was usual practice to perform heinous sexual acts. As per the saying "If

the heart is impure, then it is against everything that is done by the man." Impure in heart and doers of dark deeds, how can they be good teachers? Under this condition, who knows how many times Purushotham Chowdhary tried to wriggle out of untruth, darkness and death crying out, "Oh God, lead me from untruth to truth, from darkness into light, from death to immortality," Eventhough it is made clear by Patanjali, that Yoga practice is for the purpose of binding the human will to God's will, in the experience of our Yogi Purushotham, due to the sinful occupations, he could not bind his will to the will of God. It is Christ alone who could bind the human will to the Heavenly Father's will. He intended to teach Purushotham his equanimity. God's word is truthful and sure- "Those that search for me will find me." We realize this as we look at the forthcoming events. 1. In Bengali and Oriya, feminine names take the suffix 'Ani' 2. Celebration connected to the birth of a child, and the ceremony of laying him in the cradle. 3. Avadhûta is a Sanskrit term from some Indian religions referring to a type of mystic or saint who is beyond egoic-consciousness, duality and common worldly concerns and acts without consideration for standard social etiquette. 4. A monastery or an abode of ascetics. 5. Sex with these female ascetics is thought to be a means and path to heaven. 6. The Sanskrit aghora are Shaiva ascetic. They are known to engage in post-mortem rituals. They often dwell in charnel grounds, have been witnessed smearing cremation ashes on their bodies, and have been known to use bones from human corpses for crafting skull cups for eating, and jewelry. Because of their practices that are contradictory to orthodox Hinduism, they are generally opposed by other Hindus.