For years I had been uncertain that I would ever see the day
when an A.B. would follow my name. I seldom use the title without
reflecting that it was a divine gift, conferred on me for reasons
somewhat obscure. Occasionally I hear college men remark that
very little of their crammed knowledge remained with them after
graduation. That admission consoles me a bit for my undoubted
academic deficiencies.
On the day I received my degree from Calcutta University, I knelt
at my guru's feet and thanked him for all the blessings flowing
from his life into mine.
"Get up, Mukunda," he said indulgently. "The Lord simply found it
more convenient to make you a graduate than to rearrange the sun
and moon!"
{FN23-1} I must do Professor Ghoshal the justice of admitting
that the strained relationship between us was not due to any fault
of his, but solely to my absences from classes and inattention
in them. Professor Ghoshal was, and is, a remarkable orator with
vast philosophical knowledge. In later years we came to a cordial
understanding..
{FN23-2} Although my cousin and I have the same family name of
Ghosh, Prabhas has accustomed himself to transliterating his name
in English as Ghose; therefore I follow his own spelling here.
{FN23-3} A disciple always removes his shoes in an Indian hermitage.
{FN23-4} MATTHEW 6:33.
CHAPTER: 24
I BECOME A MONK OF THE SWAMI ORDER
"Master, my father has been anxious for me to accept an executive
position with the Bengal-Nagpur Railway.
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