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473 Ph. D. degree which the Calcutta University has granted to such original “researchers” as Dr. Ramdas Khan, Dr. Gauranganath Banerji, etc. one may undertake to persuade this sub-editor to own up that he did deliberately try to be an humble disciple of theirs in the noble art of plagiarism.

About keeping silent regarding a certain grave charge against the University brought by The Modern Review “the defender of the Calcutta University” says “the University did not care to waste their time in writing a contradiction which they feared would not be published.” Why did they not publish it in the Calcutta Review which they acknowledge is an organ of University propaganda? The charge in question was that they appointed an Englishman a few years ago as professor of an oriental language at Rs. 500 and the Englishman did no lecturing or other work. The reply now is that “His lecture hours were not shown in the time-table because he did not stay in India during the summer months”, and a comment that “it is an absolute lie to say that he did no lecture work”. Well, let it be an absolute or even a relative lie; but will “Ajax” publish the exact qualitative and quantitative nature of the duties performed by the Englishman in question?

An apology is due to the readers of The Modern Review for this lengthy treatment of an uninteresting topic; but in view of the corruption that has crept into the sacred institution of learning in Bengal, it has become necessary to make public such things.

Nothing would give one greater pleasure than if it were proved that The M.R. has been wrong in its estimation of the Calcutta University. Much depends on the excellence of management and the integrity and learning of the members of the greatest seat of learning in modern India. These would not be achieved by calling the Editor of The Modern Review a scoundrel, nor if the latter went into Court and wasted his time and energy to chastise one who has assumed the name of the violator of Cassandra (who was arrogant, revengeful, conceited and quarrelsome according to the Greek writers). We leave him for Athene to deal with as the original Ajax the Less was dealt with by that goddess of power and wisdom!

K.

In some dim and historic past India witnessed the supreme sacrifice of Maharshi Dadhichi who has ever since remained in the heart of India as the ideal of renunciation, purity and selflessness. In this age of historical research one would ask us who Dadhichi was and the exact circumstances and setting of his life. We might also be asked to prove that Dadhichi really was somebody and that he actually made some sacrifice for some cause. But we must own up that we shall not be able to satisfy the curiosity of critical historians. In olden days people had a habit of deifying great men and associating their life and deeds with the gods. As a result of this much human “history” has become mythology. This is hardly anything to be mourned; for the essence of the history is not lost; it has merely been preserved in a different shape. The story of Dadhichi that has been handed down to us by our fore-fathers is that once upon a time the gods were subjected to merciless persecution by the demon Vrittra. Neither Vishnu nor Siva, nor Indra could do anything to this mighty foe who drove the gods from heaven and harassed them till they thought their immortality a curse. Then the gods were told that nothing could destroy Vrittra except a Vajra carved out of the bone of a perfectly pure man who would give up his life, without any remorse or hesitation, for the gods. The gods went shamefacedly to Dadhichi as there was no other being who could satisfy these conditions and begged for his bones. The sage gave up his life with not even the shadow of any unwillingness. He was glad that his bones could be of any good to the gods. The gods made the Vajra out of his bones and killed Vrittra with it. Thus heaven was saved from domination by the Asura: The story tells us of one who passed the supreme test of true idealism; that of unflinching readiness to give up even one’s life in order to realise the ideal. When the community, of which the individual is but a part and through which alone is it possible for the individual to attain completeness, is in some great danger, either external or internal, it is renunciation on the part of the individual and nothing else that can save it. Dadhichi was one who gladly died to serve the community and for good.

The Calcutta Dadhichi Jainti Samiti recently celebrated the glory of the great sage. In these days of rampant selfishness, narrowness and corrupt individualism, if the spirit of Dadhichi could be invoked to rouse a sense of social duty in our hearts and