A French Savant on Dr. Bhagavan Das

"World-a phantom! This is the idea which reigns over Benares since ages. In one of the most ancient Upanishads-Brihadaranyaka–there is a learned discourse given by Ajata Satru, King of Benares, to Balaki. Brahman, said the philosopher-king, ‘the Real Being, is not in the appearances, visible forms, nor in the being who sees them; He is in the soul which meditates over them. These forms are nothing but the successive dreams of Brahma–the Creator. He is to be found, in the highest measure, in the soul which sleeps but does not dream, in the dark slumber wherefrom emerges and wherein submerges all phantom.’ This teaching which the ancient king gave to his disciple more than two thousand years ago, a Brahman repeated to me yesterday in this very holy city of Benares."

Thus wrote Monsieur Andre Chevrillon, a reputed French Savant, in his book Sanctuaires et paysages d'Asie. M. Chevrillon belonged to the generation of Ernest Renan, Pierre Loti, and Gustav Ie Bon. Like these celebrated men of letters, M. Chevrillon was an acknowledged authority on Oriental institutions and learning, in France. In his second visit to India more than three decades he met, at Benares, a young philosopher endowed with rich intellectual faculties, and possessed of vast scholastic attainments, who made a deep impression on the Western seeker of truth. Today, this young philosopher needs no introduction to Indian readers, He is no other person than Dr. Bhagavan Das of Benares.

In his book, the French author has devoted more than forty pages to the exposition of the philosophy of Babu Bhagavan Das, in whom he found the worthiest exponent of Hindu philosophy. "Wisdom of a Brahman"–this is the caption of the chapter in which he has tried to elucidate to his French readers the fundamentals of Indian philosophy. ‘Brahman,’ this word has been employed by the author in its fullest significance which a Western Indienist is apt to attach to it. It is indeed, an intellectual treat to go through this chapter which is resplendent with literary beauty. Foran Indian, it is singularly gratifying to see a foreign author's deep admiration for the brilliant personality, erudite scholarship, lucid thinking and charming style of expounding subtle problems of Hindu metaphysics; The tribute paid to our compatriot-philosopher becomes all the more remarkable when we consider that these words of glowing appreciation were written when Babu Bhagavan Das was in his early thirties.

At that time he was Professor of Religion and Philosophy in the Central Hindu College, the then newly started institution of which he was one of the founders along with Dr. Annie Besant. Though young in years, he had laid a solid foundation of a rich and fruitful career in the realm of letters and thought. He made his debut in the academic world at a considerably young age. Taking the Master of Arts degree at the age of eighteen from the Calcutta University, he never shelved his books, and soon appeared in the role of an author. His brilliant treatise on psychology, The Science of Emotions, ¹earned him fame both in India and in foreign countries.

Monsieur Andre Chevrillon, in his quest for an Indian thinker who could give him a definite idea of the fundamentals of Hindu philosophy, had wandered far and wide in the country of Kanada and Gautama. Ultimately in Bhagavan Das he found a true representative of the ancient thinkers. Him, he accepted as the best exponent of Indian philosophy. He says:- "The Pandit to whom I listened, has deeply penetrated into modern European thought as well as in the ancient wisdom of the East. His familiarity with Hegel and Fichte, Stuart Mill and Spencer, and all the scientific ideas of the West, is as astounding as his vast knowledge of the Oriental sciences distilled by the ancient Rishis. With a remarkable dexterity he has interpreted the profound intuition of the Oriental Seers in the scientific language of the Occident.

"In that little snug apartment of the Central Hindu College, furnished with tasteful austerity, Bhagavan Das–Serviteur of God–received me with a graceful greeting in the Hindu style. With what patience, modest serenity, and lucid simplicity he replied to my questions! I wonder if he realised my growing respect for him and also my regret at the thought that such a vast treasure of science–knowledge–was hidden in him, and that he could never belong to that legion of scholars in Europe whose names are on the lips of the crowd. He spoke on most difficult problems. There was a singular dignity in his countenance and accent which is characteristic of a soul which has enjoyed the blissful peace of a higher plane. He was dressed in a very simple, rather severe European costume; his bright visage so dominated me that I could not possibly observe anything but the face. It charmed me. Young and handsome, a complexion of very clear bronze with a deep nuance of gravity indicating, perhaps, a little melancholy, often brightened by a radiating smile, yet always in contemplative mood.

"Indeed, there was no laughter to break the calmness of his physiognomy; it slowly changed from gravity to smile, and from smile again to sweet gravity. His eyes were fixed on mine and the dark bright lueur of his eyes captivated me. Brahmanic love–love that does not make distinction between oneself and others–radiated from his eyes; admirable and tranquil light, clarified by ascetism and meditation, purged of the passions and egoist will, like a man who has attained two superior stages: Vairagya–the death of desire, and Kritabuddhi in the self and real intelligence which does not see things but only in the terms of eternity.

"With that sweet and firm peace of his looks, that benevolent austerity of his visage, that expression of high and modest dignity, that studied and discreet tenue, that supple form of the body to which nature has not bestowed anything which is not necessary and decent–the body which recedes into distance before the radiant spirituality of his forehead–with that unfailing vigilance practised on the self,–I felt myself in the presence of a Lucius Verds or a Marcus Aurelius, the great Stoician masters.

"Of all that I heard in that retreat under the image of Saraswati, I retain a faint idea; but the distant smile, the accent of his words shall always remain vivid in my memory. It was a tete-a-tete, a veritable Upanishad with the brief questions of the disciple who seeks initiation. I carried a durable impression of respect for this great philosopher of Benares." ²