Everything in this universe is embedded in time, space and person. Whatever we see, whatever we touch, hear, taste or smell, is all within the scope of relativity. Everything that exists is within the domain of relativity, and the only entity which is beyond the realm of relativity is Parama Puruśa. So each and every entity coming within the scope of these three dimensions has an existential awareness. Within the realm of these three dimensions, various objects are constantly assuming form in various ways; some are maintaining their structural solidarity, and some are being destroyed. Whatever is created does not exist forever; what is created in one moment starts undergoing the phase of destruction in the next moment. The intervening period from the point of creation to the point of annihilation is what is known as existence. This existential awareness depends upon the balance amongst time, space and person.

The Bengali society today is not exactly as it was about 1000 years ago: it has undergone a great change. The males of those days used to wear dhoti in the málkoca⁽¹⁾ style; they would wear an undershirt with short sleeves stitched by hand, and a pair of wooden sandals. The women used to wear their saris with the end piece tucked in at the waist, as it was not the fashion then to wear a blouse. They used to cook rice, greens, and shukto;⁽²⁾ it is not written anywhere whether or not the people of ancient Bengal used to eat pulses. Probably the use of pulses came to Bengal at some time from southern or northern India. There is reference to a kind of food preparation called mugshaolii – whole green grams boiled in milk. Of course, rice was in wide use because Bengal was essentially a land of lakes and ponds, canals and marshy land, and rice was always the principal crop of the area. Old Bengali literature provides us with a long list of food items popular in those days:

Oggara bhattá rambhá patta
Gaikka ghittá dugdha sajattá
Nália gacchá moallá macchá
Drjja kamá khá punyavanta.

[Warm rice served on banana leaves, with clarified butter and well-boiled milk, green leaves and moalla fish – this food the wife is distributing, and the husband is eating.]

Along with the changes in time, dress, ornaments and human taste are all undergoing change. The girls of those days were very fond of using ornaments; but the girls of today prefer social prestige to ornaments. Even if some of them want ornaments, they do not desire them as much as the girls of the past. The girls of those days never cared for social prestige; rather they felt that it was not meant for women, so they were content with ornaments.

The social system has also undergone changes. In Bengal there was no caste division at any time. The division of society into four varńas was never accepted in Bengal or Manipur; it developed from the Aryan influence at a later period. The famous law-giver of Bengal, Raghunandan Bhattacarya, introduced this caste system into society. In ancient Bengal there were only two varńas or castes: the vipras (intellectuals) and the shúdras (labourers). So you see, as the result of internal changes within the scope of relativity, the social system also underwent change. In ancient Bengal, people did not at all like to use intoxicants and stimulants like wine, hashish, etc. The people of the rest of the world did not frown upon the habit of drinking, but the people of Bengal were different from others.

The social consciousness of the people of Bengal was very well-developed; among them there were no kings or nobles. In the ancient India of the Aryans, as well as in the medieval age, there was a monarchy; and much later due to the influence of the Aryan kings, that system also spread to Bengal. In spite of that, if the kings of Bengal were harsh or tyrannical, the people would rise in revolt against them and remove them from power. The kaevartta rebellion in Bengal, the monks’ rebellion in the 18th Century, and the peasants’ uprisings throughout the entire 19th Century, are the outstanding proofs of this. The rebellious kaevartta subjects of the Pál kings under the kaevartta leader Bhiim and his nephew Divyok rose in revolt against the tyrannical king Devpal and ousted him from power. Autocratic monarchy is not consistent with the Bengali psychology; and the Bengali psychology in this respect is also at variance with the psychology of the inhabitants of other parts of India.

[The following section was also printed separately as part of “Tantra in Bengal” in Discourses on Tantra Volume 1. This is the Discourses on Tantra Volume 1, 2nd edition, version.]

The social system of Bengal was basically Tantric, for the Vedic influence was minimal. In the higher realms of spiritual practice, the influence of Tantra was enormous; only in the middle and lower strata of spiritual practice was there some slight Vedic influence. In the local customs and social systems, and in some ceremonies conducted by women, the influence of Tantra was quite evident. Even today the avidhavás [married, unwidowed women] of the family play a prominent role in various social observances. The [modern Bengali] word eyo⁽³⁾ developed from this word avidhavá through a process of linguistic distortion.

In the various rituals of worship, banana, betel leaves and betel-nuts were widely used. This is not in accordance with the Vedic system. The word kadalii is not used in the Vedas; but in non-classical Sanskrit, a banana is called rambhá and a plantain is called kadalii. In non-classical Sanskrit betel-nut is called guváka or pungiphalam. With changes in the temporal and spatial factors, various other things as well have undergone change. Bengalees are Austrico-Negro-Dravidian; thus they were fond of chewing betel leaves like the Dravids, and they used to keep a container with them for this purpose. Young people used to carry a betel-nut cracker at the time of their wedding. Bengalee women used to work in the fields and farms all day long, and after the day’s work was over they would wash their hands and face and, with a daub from their collyrium casket, would make a black mark on their foreheads. The women of Bengal were quite fond of cosmetics, so they used to tuck this collyrium casket into their hair-buns. They still do this at the time of their marriage ceremony.

The ancient society of Bengal was basically Tantric. Both the young men and the young women would use the surnames of their fathers before and after marriage [i.e., the young women would not give up their surnames]. The young women would use their father’s surname, suffixed by the word duhitá [daughter], even after marriage. Women, though belonging to a new gotra [clan] after marriage, were entitled to observe the funeral rites of their departed parents. They would observe ashaoca [mourning] for three days and three nights after their father’s or mother’s death, and on the fourth day would perform the shráddha ceremony [in commemoration of the departed]. In the rest of India, the rule was that the women after marriage would lose their parental gotra and as such would not be entitled to observe the shráddha ceremony of their departed parents. In the rest of India, women’s right to make pińd́a [offerings] to their ancestors is not recognized, but in Bengal it is recognized. In ancient days, the social life of Bengal was based on Tantra as introduced by Shiva.

[end of section that was printed separately as part of “Tantra in Bengal”]

The system of astrological calculation popular in the Vedas was primarily a lunar system. When the Aryans first entered India from the northwest, the system of astrological calculation they brought with them was basically the lunar system. The various social ceremonies such as the marriage and funeral ceremonies, and the ritual worship of various worldly gods and goddesses are all observed on lunar days. In some years Durgapúja festival is held in the early part of the month of Ashvin, and in other years it might be held at the end of the month.

If the month of Malmas comes, then there is a gap of one month. Furthermore, after a gap of sixty-four or sixty-five years, another additional month comes which is known as Ksáyamás. That is to say, there has to be an adjustment between the solar year and the lunar year. Every year there is a difference of ten or twelve days, because the lunar year according to the old Aryan system of astrological calculation comprises 354 days; whereas a solar year according to the Tantrik system takes 365 or 366 days. The English system of calculation is not accurate. For the advantage of calculation, every four years there is a leap year, but that is not actually correct. A leap year is supposed to be of 366 days, but actually the year is calculated as 365 days. In Bengal this system is not followed from the point of view of astrological calculation, the Bengali system seems to be more scientific.

The Vedic Aryans brought the ancient lunar system of calculation to Bengal from Central Asia. In the Shráddha ceremony there is mention of ekádashyám tithao, that is, “on the eleventh day.” This tithi or lunar date is calculated according to the lunar system of astrological calculation, not according to the solar system. There is always an attempt to bring about an adjustment between the lunar day and the solar day. When the Aryans first came to India, they had to adjust the year to thirteen months every three years, because the lunar year comprises 354 days; and so in three years one month’s time is added. If this adjustment between the solar year and the lunar year is not made, then the first month of the Bengali year (Vaeshákh) will sometime fail in summer season and sometimes in winter season, because the months are not adjusted with the seasons. When the Aryans first came to Bengal, they had to make an adjustment between the local Tantrik Shaeva religions and their own Vedic religion; and accordingly they had to make an adjustment between the lunar months and the solar months of Bengal. Those Aryans who refused to make the adjustment, had in fact thirteen months in their year every three years, according to their lunar calendar, and so they had to assimilate the thirteenth month in the year. But it was decided that during that additional month they would not be able to observe any festival or ceremony, thinking as if that month was not even existing. And the people of Bengal, too, while adjusting with the lunar calendar of the Aryans, decided to assimilate that additional month by not observing any festivals. So they named that additional month Malmás or “unholy” month, because no religious festival could be held then. Bengal’s indigenous calendrical system was the solar calendar which is popular even to this day; and rightly so, because it is properly adjusted with the lunar calendar.

And while following this system of calculation, King Akbar observed that the Arabic calendar was also a lunar calendar and thus their biggest festival, Mahram, was celebrated sometimes in jyaeśt́ha (the second month of the Bengali year) and sometimes in the month of Mágh, the tenth month). Akbar was a rational king, and he found that in some years during the time of the Mahram festival, paddy seedlings were being transplanted in the fields, and in other years, the harvesting was taking place. During those years when the harvesting was going on during the festival of Mahram, the farmers found it easy to pay their taxes, but during those years when seedlings were being transplanted, then the farmers failed to pay their taxes. So for the benefit of the government treasury, the solar calendar, that is, the calendrical system of Bengal, was suitable, because it was adjusted with the seasons. Thus King Akbar introduced a new system of revenue year by adjusting the then hizrii calendar with the Bengalee calendar, and this new revenue year was named the Faslii year. It was not necessary for Bengal to accept this system of faslii year because the Bengal’s own calendrical system was already adjusted with the seasons. Since then the Bengali year has started from the month of Vaeshákh rather than from the month of Agraháyan. The rationale behind this is that the first zodiac of the month of Vaeshák is Meśras or Aries, for in this month the sun enters the zodiac sign of Aries; and this is a very scientific system. Some adjustment is made with the calendrical system of the rest of India by declaring one month as Malmás. At that time in Bengal, particularly in southwest Bengal, there was a king named Shálibáhan, who took an active role in introducing this new calendar. At that time also there was a renowned astrologer in Midnapur named Jayanta Páńigráhii who assisted the king in this regard.

Footnotes

(1) A particular style of wrapping the lower cotton garment customarily worn by Bengali men. –Trans.

(2) A Bengali vegetable dish with bitter flavouring. –Trans.

(3) Editors’ note: With the same meaning, a married and unwidowed woman.