Dear All,

I have been coming to, enjoying my stay at, and contributing to Holy Mother's Courtyard since 17 October 2004. The amount of solace and augmenting of my self-esteem that Holy Mother and you all, Her children have afforded me here is beyond recounting. Thank you. Thank you once again. I need Mother and I need you all.

At the same time I apologize that I have from time to time used this Holy Courtyard to vent my personal views and share about me. I only hope that has not disturbed the high tenor of this Courtyard, which has been enhanced nowadays by the posting of reminiscences of Holy Mother here. Mother is Mother. Her Grace is, as Her children, starting from Swami Vivekananda, have repeatedly said, a thousand times greater than Father's Grace (with due apologies to Shri Ramakrishna!).

Having said all this, I am again posting something personal. A brief account of my first Guru, my Paternal Grandfather of good memories, who was a good man, a saintly person, a Sanskrit scholar, a wise and kind and efficient teacher-orator-writer, and a knower of the Indian Scriptures, of the traditional Indian system of Medicine especially Ayurveda, and an astrologer of repute.

Before posting, I request Shrimati Rosemary Osterhus (Shrimati means a lady with Grace) and Shri Tom Ji to kindly teach me again how to post photos here so that I can share Grandfather's photo on the Courtyard. Thank you.


Janardan Acharya Sir!
A good student, a good teacher and a good human being*

Dr Gokul Goswami**


Janardan Acharya (1904-69)


“Whenever I think of an ideal teacher, the name of Acharya Sir flashes before my mind’s eye” -- saying this, Dr Barthakur, Professor of Geography in the Gauhati University, stood up from his chair and folded his hands in pranam – as a mark of respect to the memory of the teacher.

That was in the later part of 1973. Acharya Sir had passed away five years earlier. Later on I came to know that Acharya Sir had guided the destiny of many a students of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sadiya, Diphu, Sootea, Nagaon and Mangaldoi. All of them remembered him with great reverence.

Acharya Sir’s popularity and the respect that he commanded can be easily gauged by an incident that took place in 1970 at Gauhati University. Dr Mukunda Madhab Sharma was getting introduced with the students who were admitted in the Previous year of the Sanskrit Department. One of the girls of this new batch introduced herself as Prativa Acharya from Dibrugarh. When Dr Sharma enquired more about her, he came to know that she was Acharya Sir’s daughter. He then related various anecdotes of Sir’s life and said that Acharya Sir was an example of a true Karmayogi.

Born at Jhanji in 1904, in a respectable Brahmin family, which had fallen on bad times, Acharya Sir completed his education from the Benaras Hindu University. Besides taking care of his own education, he also took upon himself the responsibility of educating his younger brother. With his own earnings, he started his own family and by dint of his hard labour, he was able to educate his four sons and three daughters, along with substantially helping his elder brother monetarily as long as he lived.

Whatever task Acharya Sir took upon himself, he approached it with total dedication and sincerity, be it in his teaching profession, or family life or social life. Laziness or tiredness did not figure in his scheme of things. He used to rise from bed at the crack of dawn and after his morning chores, he prepared breakfast for his children if need be. Depending upon his convenience, he either got ready to impart tuitions or he went to work in the kitchen garden or practiced astrology. After completion of these tasks, he used to reach school in time. He used to work tirelessly for hours on end, but in spite of this he did not show any sign of fatigue. After school too, he either worked in his garden, or studied people’s horoscopes and in the evening, he conducted tuitions. In spite of working round the clock, he was able to keep anger at bay and always maintained a cheerful disposition. He used to take pride in the fact that every penny that he earned, was earned by fair means. For this he earned the respect and recognition from the young and the old alike. Once on hearing that Acharya Sir had constructed a commodious house, historian Benudhar Sharma, who was like an elder brother to him, went all the way to Dibrugarh from Guwahati just to have a look at it. When he saw the house, tears of happiness welled up in his eyes and in joy he exclaimed that the house built with the sweat and blood of Janardan (Acharya Sir) was not just a house but as good as a royal palace.

To supplement his income, Acharya Sir took up private tuitions. But the aim behind these tuitions was not merely to earn money, but also to sincerely guide the students. Sir remained satisfied even with students who paid him something in kind instead of cash. He imparted lessons to all without any discrimination whatsoever.

Acharya Sir was good in all subjects -- right from English to Sanskrit. But he used to abhor Maths. This abhorrence was to such an extent, that after completing the Maths paper during his Matriculation, the first thing he did was to throw away all the books relating to Maths and the question paper, into the Bhogdoi river.

Students who were fortunate enough to be guided in their academic pursuit by Acharya Sir, always remembered him with love and gratitude in later life, irrespective of the position they held. If Sir’s daughters were late in returning home at any time, they used to be escorted home, when any of these students chanced upon them. When Acharya Sir was constructing his house at Chiring Chapori in Dibrugarh, he once needed more cement bags. Upon being approached for the same, the Supply Inspector politely informed Acharya Sir that his quota was over and only the Deputy Commissioner could permit more bags of cement to be issued to him. Accordingly Acharya Sir went to the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner was at a meeting. The clerk politely ventured to request Acharya Sir not to go in. But Acharya Sir said that he wanted to see the face of the Deputy Commissioner just to know who he was, and he peeped in the door. The Deputy Commissioner chanced to see him. He immediately stopped the meeting exclaiming, “Acharya Sir has come,” got up from his seat, went outside and welcoming Acharya Sir enquired what brought him there. Upon coming to know of his problem, he immediately picked up the phone, called the Supply Inspector and instructed him to issue as many bags of cement as Acharya Sir wanted and to himself come to him to get the permit issued.

Acharya Sir had the habit of tearing his cheque at the wrong place. So when he gave his cheque, the receiving clerk used to take it to the Agent and show that it was improperly torn. Each time that it happened, the Agent used to sign it and forward the cheque for payment. After many such occasions, when Acharya Sir once came, the Agent with folded hands requested him to step in to his chamber for a minute or two and very humbly told him, “Sir, could you kindly tear your cheque a little to the left. Otherwise each time I have to sign it before forwarding for payment!”

The former Director of Health Services, Assam, Dr Jiten Gohain, who happened to be Acharya Sir’s student regarded him with great respect. He was the first to detect Cancer in Acharya Sir. Scores of years after Acharya Sir had passed on, Dr Jiten Gohain was delighted to know that Acharya Sir’s eldest son Dr Probin Chandra Acharya had become his neighbour near his house at Guwahati. Soon after, Dr Jiten Gohain, who was himself suffering from Cancer, passed away. At his deathbed, one of his last instructions to his good wife was to always remain in good terms with Probin Acharya’s family as he happened to be Acharya Sir’s son.

A few students of Acharya Sir in spite of their becoming petty thieves had their respect for Sir intact. Such a group accosted once a family, which had arrived from Mariani around midnight. The group took away whatever they could from the family. Then in order to fix the fare of the rickshawalla, they asked them their destination. When the group came to know that the family was heading for Acharya Sir’s place, they not only returned whatever they had taken, but also safely escorted them to Sir’s house.

Acharya Sir had to struggle hard with acute poverty during his childhood. But even then he did not let poverty thwart his personal aspirations. He was able to manage the affairs of his family smoothly and give proper education to all his children, for he was able to prioritize needs and catered for them accordingly. He bought a “banjo” for his second son having interest in music, and sitars for his daughters. He also got his eldest and third son educated in Agra and Delhi respectively. He never took any debts during his lifetime and left no debts on his death. Instead, he established the family fortunes on firm and strong foundations during his lifetime itself. Only once when he was severely ill and was bed-ridden for some months, his wife’s immediate elder brother Captain (Dr) Atul Chandra Baruah sent him some money for those months to meet the expenses of the special rich diet Acharya Sir was instructed to be on by his doctor.

It was difficult to gauge the number of sets of clothes that he had. Most probably not many. But everyday he was neatly turned out. Acharya Sir never used torn clothes or shoes and never gave his shoes to anybody else to wear.

Apart from his school job, Acharya Sir also used to impart tuitions, planted vegetables in his kitchen garden, and at times even prepared breakfast and lunch for his family. But in spite of this busy schedule, he found time to author a textbook in Sanskrit, titled “Naba Siksha Patham.” He also translated from Sanskrit into Assamese the “Murkha-Shatak” and wrote a book - “Bharotor Shresta Nari” or Great Women of India, which was, however, not published due to lack of funds. Regarding his social obligations, he was always in the forefront. At public meetings, whether in Dibrugarh, or in Mangaldoi, he could enthral the audience with his speeches, which he laced with Sanskrit slokas and anecdotes. Whether the meeting was of a group of teachers or a group of scholars, whatever the subject on which he was expected to speak, he spoke with equal ease. Acharya Sir was one of those few Assamese pundits who could deliver speeches in Sanskrit.

Posted for many years outside Dibrugarh, the town in which he had settled along with his family, whenever Acharya Sir used to come to visit his residence at Chiring Chapori, Dibrugarh, there used to be a veritable mela or fair at his house. The walking encyclopedia of knowledge that he was, a visit to the not too far off market used to take him thrice the time it should ordinarily take, for people hailed him from all nooks and corners and he had to stop to exchange greetings and at least a few words with them.

So deep was his attachment to learning that he built up a personal library of books, the Acharya Puthi Bharal, which included several rare and old volumes in Sanskrit and Assamese along with the modern English classics. After obtaining his B.A. degree in Philosophy and Sanskrit from Benaras Hindu University, Varanasi, and Vyakaran Tirtha, Sastri and Sahitya Bhusan degrees from traditional Sanskrit institutions of learning in the early 1930s, Janardan got his B.T. degree from Shillong in 1950. Once his shoes having got worn out, he went to the market to purchase a new pair. But he chanced to come across a good book he did not possess, so he bought that book instead of a pair of shoes with the limited money he had!

As Janardan Acharya was well versed in the scriptures, and also perhaps because the Deka or Junior Satradhikar of Garmur Satra (one of the four big principal Satras of Majuli, the seat of Neo-Vaishnavite culture) had been taken by him to Benaras, he was sometimes invited to adjudicate disputes among the Satras when the Deka Satradhikar became the Satradhikar of Garmur Satra. Once one of the Satradhikars was camping on the bank of the Brahmaputra at Dibrugarh. It was the tradition then to present poka mithoi (a traditional sweetmeat ball) to honoured guests as a mark of respect. When Acharya Sir visited the camp, he was presented with an especially large poka mithoi as a mark of honour and respect, and he was then escorted to the Satradhikar, while his children were given small balls of mithoi to eat.

The one most important trait in Sir’s character that we all should try to emulate is his strong will power as also his great presence of mind. He was also a very insistent but disciplined person. Though having a fiery temper, he kept it well under control.

Born into a poor family of Jhanji’s Bamungaon in Sivasagar district of Assam, which at times could not even afford two square meals a day, Acharya Sir, after matriculation, left for Benaras to pursue his higher education, with a tin box of 20 inches and a bag on his shoulder as his only belonging. In his bag, he carried some rice, a small pan, a water pot and a matchbox. Whenever he used to feel hungry, he got down at stations, took out his rice and pan and began to cook. Sometimes the train left, even before he could finish cooking. But he waited patiently for the next train. That was because he used to take rice cooked with his own hands only. In order to buy train tickets to Benaras, he after reaching Kolkata, got down there and found employment with a Vaid or Ayurvedic physician. After having trained in the basics of Ayurveda and having earned the required sum of money, he got up on a train for Benaras framing one sentence in Hindi, “Kashi Kitni Dur”, meaning, "How far is Kashi or Varanashi (another name for Benaras)?"

After reaching Benaras, Janardan took shelter at the house of an aristocratic Bengali family. He struck a deal with the family that he would gather flowers and tulsi (Holy Basil leaves) needed for puja (ceremonial worship) for them, and in return he will have two meals at their home. Gradually he picked up the Hindi language and began to conduct tuitions. With the help of the Bengali gentleman, he even secured admission in a college of Benaras Hindu University. Though he secured admission, there was another hindrance in his path, that of paying his college fees. But here too, he found a way out. Janardan found employment in a newspaper and through this and other such means was able to pay his college fees. There was an interesting incident during Janardan’s stay in Benaras. There was a Professor in Benaras Hindu University by name Puntam Baker. He was formerly a Barrister but had one drawback, his uncontrollable temper. Once he had even beaten up the Judge with his slippers and had to undergo imprisonment due to that. But Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya brought him as teacher in Benaras Hindu University keeping in view his sterling academic attainments. Now, a fellow student of Janardan from Jorhat once gave proxy in Prof. Puntam Baker’s class. The Professors those days had great powers and Prof. Baker expelled that student for ever and hung up a notice in the notice board. The unfortunate student approached Janardan to find out some solution. Janardan decided to approach Acharya Dhruba, the pro-Vice Chancellor. It was well known that if anyone approached Acharya Dhruba just after he came out of his shrine early in the morning, and asked anything from him, Acharya Dhruba never said no. The problem was how to enter the guarded house of the Acharya. Anyhow, the next day after Acharya Dhruba had come back from his dawn bath in the Ganga and entered his shrine to do homa (ritualistic oblations to the sacred fire), Janardan and his classmate surreptitiously entered his house and hid under the stairs of the shrine. Just as Acharya Dhruba came out after puja, they fell at his feet. Acharya Dhruba never thought of inquiring how they had come inside. He greeted them warm-heartedly. Janardan told that the classmate had done a grievous wrong by putting proxy and had been expelled for ever by Prof. Puntam Baker. Acharya Dhruba endorsed Prof. Baker’s action. Then Janardan beseeched on behalf of his fellow student that his life would go waste, etc., etc. At this Acharya Dhruba said that, “Okay, I am reducing the term to one year.” Upon further pleading that the student had come from far away Assam, etc., etc., the Acharya reduced the sentence to one month, then one day, and finally on being told of the bad reputation that the student would earn, he cancelled the expel after warning that the student was never to repeat his action. Going to the University, Acharya Dhruba tore off the expel notice from the notice board, and as a consequence for one whole month thence, he was berated by Prof. Puntam Baker! As for the student from Jorhat, his fellow students advised him not to attend Puntam Baker’s classes for one month at least, or else he would be beaten up!

Janardan while studying at Benaras, also took his parents there on a pilgrimage. He went on to pass his B.A. exams with Sanskrit and Philosophy and secured admission in the M.A. classes. But before he could sit for his final exams, he had to return home, for his father Jyogeshwar Acharya had taken ill and passed away soon after. After that he could not return to Benaras to appear for his final exams, but many took him to be a Masters degree holder. His mother Tirthada having passed away before, Janardan was forced to settle down in life, i.e., take a job and marry in due course of time, by his elders.

Acharya Sir was adept at all kinds of work, be it cooking in the kitchen or performing the duties of a priest in a puja. When he was offered in marriage Padmapriya (Shrimati), the pampered daughter of the Mouzadar of Teok, who happened to be the youngest sister of Dhwani Kavi Binanda Chandra Baruah, the famous poet of Assam, he took upon himself the task of teaching her the household works right from cleaning fish to weaving. His relationship with his wife was a mentor-disciple relationship which was at the same time tender and gentle. He used to take his wife out to see films in cinema halls, his favourite film being “Do Aankhe Barah Haat.” Guiding his wife in all important matters, he had promised her that he would explain to her the purport of the Vedas, Upanishads and other scriptures once he came home after retirement. But cancer prevented him from fulfilling his promise, and he died just after retiring as Principal, Normal School (Teacher’s Training School), Sootea, Assam. Decades later, at her deathbed, his wife’s only complaint against her husband was that he had left her so early in life. As for his students, there are preserved in his home at Dibrugarh still letters of farewell given by his students admiring his saintly behaviour and his building up his life through hard struggle and seemingly unsurmountable odds. Indeed, while at Benaras or Varanasi as a student, he was down with cholera, and left to die alone and helpless, but he survived and lived on for many years.

When Acharya Sir was at Dibrugarh, he used to himself read the newspapers (which was delivered in the evening time only) first, then get his children to come one by one starting from the youngest, and ask them also to read the newspaper and then report to their mother the latest news. Acharya Sir used to jokingly say, “If you want to get first-class, study for one hour daily, and if you want to get second class, study for two hours daily!” He wanted his children to study with all concentration during the time they devoted to studies, but not be without play and fun and other such activities, hence perhaps his saying quoted above. He used to get up very early and wake up his children too by passing by the children’s bedroom chanting Sacred Sanskrit slokas (incantations), his kharams (wooden slippers) making a clattering sound. Generally on evenings, he used to gather his children on the inside verandah and tell them stories from Shakespeare, from the Classics like Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels, from Sanskrit texts like the Hitopedesha or Nitishataka sloka or recount anecdotes of teachers at Benaras Hindu University like Pt. Madan Mohan Malaviya, Acharya Dhruba, and others.

Janardan had a great sense of humour. It was believed in those days, that crying “Narada, Narada” when a quarrel was going on increases the quarrel! Hence he used to clap his hands and cry out “Narada, Narada,” when his neighbours used to quarrel!! However, it must be added here that Narada, the Divine bard, sage and mischief-maker always had a good end in mind and his mischief ultimately proves beneficial to all the parties concerned. Acharya Sir used to often quote Benudhar Sharma’s words to the effect that weighing the gravity and need of a task at hand, one should not hesitate to even wash the feet of a goat!

Acharya Sir never accepted defeat in the struggle of life. In day-to-day affairs, he could accept defeat and victory both with equal ease. He worked tirelessly and did not care for the result. He used to quote from the Gita and advised his students that, one should treat happiness and unhappiness, victory and defeat equally. He also emphasized after the Gita that we have the right only to work, but have no say with regard to the outcome, or to put it another way have no right to expect a certain outcome suiting our convenience for a certain work.

Janardan Acharya was indeed an Acharya who was a good student, a good teacher and above all, he was a good human being.

An astrologer that he was, Janardan Acharya perhaps had premonition of his death. On 19 January 1969, at 2 a.m. in the night, Acharya Sir’s eventful life came to an end. Though he is no more in his mortal frame, his ideals still continue to inspire many.

* Published in the Prantik, 1-5 October, 1997 issue. Translated from original Assamese by Ms. Jolly Saikia Gogoi. Suitably edited by Ankur Acharya, Janardan Acharya’s grandson with the help of his parents, Probin and Bandana Acharya, and published in Ishani in 2008. Revised on 10 April 2012 in New Delhi and posted in Holy Mother's Courtyard of Holy Mother Cyber Tantu.

Source: Chinta, Smriti Ityadir Dusa Pristha: A collection of articles of current interest by Dr. Gokul Goswami. Published by Mrs Prativa Goswami, Nagaon – 782 001. First Edition: July 2003.

** Dr Gokul Goswami, my Uncle in relation, retired as Principal Scientist, Dalmia Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research, Orissa and is now settled in Nagaon.

(3,709 words)

Location: New Delhi

Dear Ankur,

Thank you for sharing this wonderful profile of your noble grandfather. You must be very proud to be his grandson!! I would enjoy seeing your photograph.

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Thanks again for sharing this very interesting profile.

Your sister,
Rosemary

Location: New Bern, Nc

Dear Ankur ji,

Regarding Posting images. here are the instructions for BB code:

http://www.teamopolis.com/tools/bbcode-reference.aspx

Thank you for your kind words, Ankur ji, and you must be very proud of your grandfather. Thanks for sharing his story.

Om Shanthi Om.

Thank you for your kind words, dear and respected Tom ji. And yes, I am proud of my grandfather, and sometimes wish that I had the habit of persistent hard work and punctuality that he had, but I haven't cultivated till now, I think.

Thank you again, Tom Ji.

With regards,

Ankur

Location: New Delhi

Thanks again and again, dear Sister Rosemary. Thank you for your kind words. I do feel these days the need for some morale boosting, for positive inputs. Hence perhaps these posts of mine.

With regards,

Ankur

Location: New Delhi

Location: New Delhi, India

A very spiritual looking man.

Here is my grandfather:

Thank you, brother Tom Ji. It is nice to see your grandfather. Just out of curiosity may I ask something, viz., your grandfather being in the Navy and thus a sea-faring gentleman, have you inherited his love for the seas?

With regards,

Ankur

Location: New Delhi

Dear brother Ankur,

I have no love for the sea at all. I do enjoy a nice prawn curry, though....