Subhas Chandra Pattanayak
Four new books of Bibudharanjan reached my hands yesterday. They are DHANA NUHEN DHYANA (Introspection needed, no wealth), UTHA HE PATHIKA (Wake up, Traveller), BANDHANA BHITARU ASA MUKULI (Come out of the Cocoon of Bondage) and AMANIA KALAMA (The Pen that refuses Bondage).
Revolutionary books par excellence. All are compilations of his popular, yet serious columns. Each book has a message to whosoever feels concerned for the people. I am samples from each of the books, translating them into English for esteemed visitors to this site.
“Man is burning in the fire of endless desire. But is there any remedy in reality? How the fire could be extinguished? It can; but, if we want it, we are to change our attitude to life. The question is, how to see the life, how to understand life, how to understand subconscious actions and aims, how to see sense in the dark cell where you stay. If you could locate that dark cell once, you will see yourself illuminated with rays as if of a hundred of Suns; because awoken conscience is light. Then you will find the way to extinguish the pernicious fire that is consuming you. Man is burning within in the fire of his desire; but seeking redressal outside. It won’t help. To extinguish the fire of desire that has engulfed you, you are to find the water source in your own self”. (Pages 31-32, DHANA NUHEN DHYANA)
“Matha, Mandira, Masjid, Church, Gurudwara etc are planting seeds of envy, enmity and hatred for man in the man. Who is separating man from man? Who stands as the dividing wall between man and man? Is that wall made of bricks and cement? No. Not at all. That wall is Mandira, that wall is Masjid, that wall is religion, that wall is bigotry. One must cogitate, how can these dividers that separate man from man, be considered capable of uniting man with the God? No, this is impossible. Impossible” (Page 10, UTHA HE PATHIKA)
“In this world, unhappiness comes from the worries. Otherwise not. Whosoever understands this, achieves peace and becomes happy. Worries owe their origin to the sense of authority. Once sense of authority is sloughed over, worries evaporate. But, you want to get rid of authority while reluctant to give up authority. You always want the world to know that you have done this and that; you want to inscribe your signature on the pages of history. As long as this attitude is not changed, worries shall keep you engulfed”. (Page 92, BANDHAN BHITARU ASA MUKULI)
“When old temples and spiritual places are increasingly in ruins in villages and towns, instead of taking steps to repair and preserve them, what is the purpose behind erection of so many new temples? The only purpose is earning money by exploiting God-fearing persons. Today there is no practice of spiritualism in temples and asylums. Under the cover of religion, they run commercial hubs like hotels in the name of Prasad vending, Mandaps for marriages and suchlike events along with catering. xxxxxx The more the temples the denser is darkness in minds of the man. At par with rise in numbers of temples, in numbers of Babas and Matas, illicit activities like law-braking, moral turpitude, misdemeanors, corruption and rapes are spreading”. (Page 91, AMANIA KALAMA)
All the four books are published by Pragnaloka, Tala Malisahi, Puri 2 and marketed by Time Pass, Bhubaneswar. The author’s son Gurujee Shwetachandan has done the cover-designs.