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Saraswati Puja Paddhati
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ContributorsPriests
Kanai L. Mukherjee, Bengali Association of Greater Nashville (BAGN), TN, USA Bibhas Bandyopadhyay, Sanaskriti, Washington, DC, USA Pijush Bhattacharya, BAGN, Nashville, TN , USA Translator Ratna De, BAGN, Nashville, USA Transliterator Dilip Das, Wellington Durgotsav Committee (WDC) New Zealand Bengali Script Writer Sujit Das, BAGN, Nashville, USA Technical Assistants Amitabha Chakrabarti, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Shuvajit Das, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Editors Arundhati Khanwalkar, Allentown, PA, USA Henry Arthur Pallerin III, Durham, NC, USA Monisha Chakravarthy, Rohini Chakravarthy, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Tara Chattoraj, Maya Chattoraj, Chicago, IL, USA Reviewers Raktima Datta, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Arnav Ghosh, Mumbai, India Aurin Chakravarthy, Washington DC, USA Saoni Ghosh, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Smriti Bardhan, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Global Communication Dilip Som, Washington, DC, USA Amitabha Chakrabarti, BAGN, Nashville, TN, USA Volkmar Dierolf, Allentown, PA, USA |
PREFACEThis book is compiled with the goal of explaining to children (and their parents) of Bengali origin, who have immigrated to the United States, the hidden history, significance and meaning of the mantras used in common Bengali Hindu puja rituals. A book like this is desperately needed as both the language used in the rituals, Sanskrit, and the script in which the rituals are transcribed, Bengali, are both foreign to these children and their parents.
Unlike the children growing up in India, children in the west are constantly challenged by their neighbors, peers, friends and teachers to explain the basis of Hindu faith and belief. This I never faced when I was growing up in India (1920s). “We were born as a Hindu and died as a Hindu”. No questions were asked. Thus, I felt strongly as “Cyber Grandpa” to share my thoughts with my beloved grandchildren, growing up outside India, before it is too late. I was born in a priest family. I started to perform puja rituals soon after receiving my sacred thread at the age of twelve. Now I am 86 years old. Priesthood was our family trade. But, like all other professional priests, I had no knowledge of Sanskrit, the language of Hindu Puja rituals. We were trained to hear and remember (sruti and smriti) and stay away from explaining. In addition, in my childhood days under the British rule, learning of Sanskrit was looked down upon and Sanskrit scholars remained obscure. So I moved to science and technology for a better future. Yet, the soul of my ancestors never left me and I had to perform pujas upon request from time to time. The community was satisfied with the ignorant professional priests as they devotedly watched Hindu rituals while praying in their own ways. God listened. The problem came with my grandchildren, the budding new generation of the twenty-first century. Hindu students at universities were disappointed with the local temple priests who could not speak their language (English) or explain the meaning and significance of the rituals. They were eager to reestablish India’s pride as the spiritual leader of world civilization. Here, “Faith” is not the key word; instead it is “Human Reality”. I was overwhelmed by their enthusiasm. This book is the outcome of that call. Spirituality has many facets that accept the natural diversity of the human mind. I am not worried whether my grandchildren are believers, nonbelievers, agnostics or athiests. But I feel immensely satisfied to tell them my own story of how I came to depend on my Invisible Care Taker who was always beside me when I needed Him. Fifteen such booklets will be published during the next three years. They will then compile into one final book after we receive the feedbacks. I am grateful to the World community of open minded spiritual seekers, Hindus and non-Hindus, to provide support for this humble endeavor of mutual understanding. Cyber Grandpa |
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