CHAPTER V.

Chitta Ranjan as a symbol of Neo-Hinduism.

The study of western Philosophy led Chitta Ranjan to believe in atheism¹. This revolting note has found expression in some of his poems. But providentially the light of Vaishnava Philosophy came to dispel² this atheistic³ gloom from his mind. Chitta Ranjan gradually understood the lofty ideals of Vaishnavism, the sublimity⁴ of Hindu theism. This Religion of Love and Sacrifice became a part and parcel of Chitta Ranjan's life. For this transformation⁵ in him his mother's teachings were to a great extent responsible, for they had a great deal to do in fostering and developing the germs of excellence⁶ with which he was born. He came to believe in the religious rites⁷ of Hinduism and on the death of his mother he performed the Sradh ceremony according to the Hindu rites. He is very fond of Vaishnava Sankirtana which he held now and then in his house. Chitta Ranjan gradually became a zealous⁸ devotee of Hinduism and had his name struck off from the role of members of the Brahmo Samaj.

But Vedantism which is the source of the Brahmo faith in Bengal left its marks on Chitta Ranjan's mind. The key-note of the Vedanta is its doctrine¹⁰ of Oneness. One reigns¹¹ everywhere,—in the rippling¹² of the waters of the ocean,—in the murmuring of the leaves,—in the melody of the birds,—in the charming beauty of blooming flowers,—and in the effulgence¹³ of the moon and the sun. This one is the Self. There is nothing but this self. For this reason, though a Hindu in the true sense of the term,[27] Chitta Ranjan is an avowed¹⁴ opponent of the caste-distinction prevalent in our society. He has two daughters and a son. His elder daughter was married to a member of the Kayastha community and he married his only son to a Vaidya girl of Western Bengal. These marriages he celebrated¹⁵ according to the Hindu rites with the sanction of great Sanskrit scholars. But as usual the whole orthodox Hindu society was in a state of tumult¹⁶ over the inter-caste marriage of Chitta Ranjan's elder daughter. The bigoted¹⁷ leaders of society who sacrifice even their conscience for the so-called social prestige got very nervous and tried to create a scene but Chitta Ranjan was firm. He was at first not in favour of even appointing a Brahmin priest to conduct the ceremony. He argued as he had no caste-prejudice he should not prefer a Brahmin. He should rather select a Vaidya scholar deeply versed¹⁸ in the Sastras to conduct the marriage ceremony of his daughter. For days together Chitta Ranjan and his wife had long discussions over this matter but could not arrive at any final conclusion. One evening about a fortnight before the celebration, his wife, who was in favour of appointing a Brahmin priest left the room, when she failed to convince her husband. She did not come back till a late hour at night and found her husband alone in the room and in great mental agony tears were rolling down his cheeks. She approached him and said:—"Just consider a bit coolly. You want to reform the present Hindu society but not to leave it altogether. Then you should do it step by step. If you now do not even have a Brahmin priest, no one will have the courage to follow you and your purpose will not be served. On the other hand, if you try to introduce inter-caste marriages only and do it now with the sanction of a Brahmin priest, many will perhaps follow your lead. So that considering every[28]thing you should now have a Brahmin priest to conduct the marriage ceremony of our daughter". Chitta Ranjan was convinced and exclaimed with deep emotion, "Oh! What light have you shown me!" The matter was settled and Chitta Ranjan was relieved of his mental agony. The marriage ceremony was also smoothly¹⁹ performed according to Hindu rites by a Brahmin priest. In fact on every critical occasion Chitta Ranjan has found in his wife a wise counseller and a true friend. Many a Sastric scholar of India-wide fame approved of this marriage, the list included men like Mahamahopadhaya Pandit Haraprasad Sastri, late Mahamahopadhaya Dr. Satish Chandra Vidyabhusan and Mahamahopadhaya Pandit Yadeveswar Tarkaratna. We must mention here to Chitta Ranjan's credit that this marriage took place long before Mr. Patel's Bill was introduced in the Imperial Legislative²⁰ Council.

To purge²¹ the Hindu society of the thorns and thistles that have beset²² it is a problem very dear to all true Hindu patriots²³. With this end in view Chitta Ranjan never fails to protest against the degrading customs of our society. Once in a table talk he remarked, "What a pity that our society is not even now roused from its eternal sleep. Take the instance of the present dowry system. Many a Snehalata has been sacrificed in its burning flame, yet the parents of bride-grooms are not brought to their senses. They are ever determined²⁴ to make money by selling their sons even at the cost of social well-being²⁵ and family happiness. But the parents of brides do never rise up against this degrading custom, fearing lest they mar⁹ the future of their girls by losing desirable bride-grooms. The parents should rather educate their girls; if by chance they do not get married, they can earn their own livelihood²⁶ and may be so many Car[29]penters and Nightingales in our society". Such is the view of Chitta Ranjan about the present Hindu society. Generous, large-hearted and magnanimous as Chitta Ranjan is, there is something in the texture²⁷ of his mind that is above the ordinary run. Few men who battle for the right, have the calm fortitude²⁸, the cheerful equanimity²⁹ with which Chitta Ranjan battles to fulfil the burning aspirations³⁰ of his soul. He stands high among those who have been able to display
"One equal temper of hearts, To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield".

1 atheism   

n.无神论，不信神

参考例句：

• Atheism is the opinion that there is no God.无神论是认为不存在上帝的看法。
• Atheism is a hot topic.无神论是个热门话题。

2 dispel   

vt.驱走，驱散，消除

参考例句：

• I tried in vain to dispel her misgivings.我试图消除她的疑虑，但没有成功。
• We hope the programme will dispel certain misconceptions about the disease.我们希望这个节目能消除对这种疾病的一些误解。

3 atheistic   

adj.无神论者的

参考例句：

• She has the gift of the gab.她口才很好。
• With his gift of gab, he should make an excellent politician.以其雄辩之才，他应该可以成为出色的政治家。

4 sublimity   

崇高，庄严，气质高尚

参考例句：

• It'suggests no crystal waters, no picturesque shores, no sublimity. 这决不会叫人联想到晶莹的清水，如画的两岸，雄壮的气势。
• Huckleberry was filled with admiration of Tom's facility in writing, and the sublimity of his language. 对汤姆流利的书写、响亮的内容，哈克贝利心悦诚服。

5 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。

6 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

7 rites   

仪式，典礼( rite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• to administer the last rites to sb 给某人举行临终圣事
• He is interested in mystic rites and ceremonies. 他对神秘的仪式感兴趣。

8 zealous   

adj.狂热的，热心的

参考例句：

• She made zealous efforts to clean up the classroom.她非常热心地努力清扫教室。
• She is a zealous supporter of our cause.她是我们事业的热心支持者。

9 mar   

vt.破坏，毁坏，弄糟

参考例句：

• It was not the custom for elderly people to mar the picnics with their presence.大人们照例不参加这样的野餐以免扫兴。
• Such a marriage might mar your career.这样的婚姻说不定会毁了你的一生。

10 doctrine   

n.教义；主义；学说

参考例句：

• He was impelled to proclaim his doctrine.他不得不宣扬他的教义。
• The council met to consider changes to doctrine.宗教议会开会考虑更改教义。

11 reigns   

n.君主的统治( reign的名词复数 )；君主统治时期；任期；当政期

参考例句：

• In these valleys night reigns. 夜色笼罩着那些山谷。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The Queen of Britain reigns, but she does not rule or govern. 英国女王是国家元首，但不治国事。 来自辞典例句

12 rippling   

起涟漪的，潺潺流水般声音的

参考例句：

• I could see the dawn breeze rippling the shining water. 我能看见黎明的微风在波光粼粼的水面上吹出道道涟漪。
• The pool rippling was caused by the waving of the reeds. 池塘里的潺潺声是芦苇摇动时引起的。

13 effulgence   

n.光辉

参考例句：

• The effulgence of algorithm will shine the dark future brightly! 这句不知道翻译的好不好，我的原意是：算法之光辉将照亮黑暗前路！ 来自互联网

14 avowed   

adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• An aide avowed that the President had known nothing of the deals. 一位助理声明，总统对这些交易一无所知。
• The party's avowed aim was to struggle against capitalist exploitation. 该党公开宣称的宗旨是与资本主义剥削斗争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

16 tumult   

n.喧哗；激动，混乱；吵闹

参考例句：

• The tumult in the streets awakened everyone in the house.街上的喧哗吵醒了屋子里的每一个人。
• His voice disappeared under growing tumult.他的声音消失在越来越响的喧哗声中。

17 bigoted   

adj.固执己见的，心胸狭窄的

参考例句：

• He is so bigoted that it is impossible to argue with him.他固执得不可理喻。
• I'll concede you are not as bigoted as some.我承认你不象有些人那么顽固。

18 versed   

adj. 精通，熟练

参考例句：

• He is well versed in history.他精通历史。
• He versed himself in European literature. 他精通欧洲文学。

19 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

20 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

21 purge   

n.整肃，清除，泻药，净化；vt.净化，清除，摆脱；vi.清除，通便，腹泻，变得清洁

参考例句：

• The new president carried out a purge of disloyal army officers.新总统对不忠诚的军官进行了清洗。
• The mayoral candidate has promised to purge the police department.市长候选人答应清洗警察部门。

22 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

23 patriots   

爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Abraham Lincoln was a fine type of the American patriots. 亚伯拉罕·林肯是美国爱国者的优秀典型。
• These patriots would fight to death before they surrendered. 这些爱国者宁愿战斗到死，也不愿投降。

24 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

25 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

26 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

27 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

28 fortitude   

n.坚忍不拔；刚毅

参考例句：

• His dauntless fortitude makes him absolutely fearless.他不屈不挠的坚韧让他绝无恐惧。
• He bore the pain with great fortitude.他以极大的毅力忍受了痛苦。

29 equanimity   

n.沉着，镇定

参考例句：

• She went again,and in so doing temporarily recovered her equanimity.她又去看了戏，而且这样一来又暂时恢复了她的平静。
• The defeat was taken with equanimity by the leadership.领导层坦然地接受了失败。

30 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。