Narrator:
Salutations to Shri Shri Gupta Sadhak Shyama Khyapa. Greetings! We are starting our program from Shanti Kunj by offering our respects to Guru Dev Gupta Sadhak Shri Shri Shyama Khyapa. Let us all listen to the invaluable words of Guru Dev.
Devotee:
Salutations, Guru Dev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Blessings, my son, blessings. Go ahead.
Devotee:
We often hear the term "Kalapani" (Black Water). Many prominent figures crossed the Kalapani, such as Michael Madhusudan Dutt and Raja Ram Mohan Roy. What exactly is this "Kalapani"?
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Also, don't forget another nameâSwami Vivekananda. He crossed it too.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
See, the society of that timeâabout 200, 250, or 300 years agoâwas extremely rigid. It was incredibly strict. Back then, it was said that if anyone crossed the seaâbe it the Indian Ocean or the English Channelâthey would be ostracized. They would be barred from society because they had "crossed the Kalapani."
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
At that time, the British were ruling us. People never truly accepted them because they were foreigners; therefore, they were seen as "untouchables." If someone went to England in those daysâ250 years agoâthey were not allowed back into society. They were given no place.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
The same thing happened to Michael Madhusudan Dutt. He went abroad thinking, "If I go to England, I will earn a lot of money and gain a massive reputation." But while living there, as he gradually became impoverished and lacked money, his mind began to sour.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
At that time, there was one manâthe creator of Borno Porichoy, who taught people the alphabetâIshwar Chandra Vidyasagar Mahashay. His name is famous throughout India. Vidyasagar Mahashay tried very hard, despite facing much criticism and verbal abuse from the public, to send money so that Michael could return to India. Such a great poet, beyond comparison! Even today, if you go to the cemetery near Moulali, you will see a stone slab with his words inscribed: "Stop, wayfarer..." You can still see and read it today.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
When Michael was in a dire state and couldn't even afford food, Vidyasagar Mahashay found out and arranged for the money to bring him back to India. Even then, because he had crossed the Kalapani, society was reluctant to accept him.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Then you have Raja Ram Mohan Roy. He became exhausted from legal battles. He also crossed the Kalapani and was ostracized. His father disowned him, and his mother even fought a fierce court case against him. In the end, his mother left him and went to Puri, where she spent her life selling Tulsi beads.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Ram Mohan Roy established the Asiatic Society. There are many books there today that people go to read and study. When Vidyasagar came to Ramakrishna Paramahansa, Ramakrishna looked at him and said, "Oh, you are the Ocean of Knowledge (Vidyasagar), but you are full of salt water." He said this because he didn't like the social rigidness of those times. He tried his best to end that bigotry.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Ram Mohan Roy was supported in this by Vidyasagar. Ram Mohan Roy traveled to Varanasi to study the Vedas and Upanishads. After studying them, he realized that this social system could not continue. People needed to be liberated from it. He believed in Monotheismâthat God is one. He studied Hindu scriptures thoroughly in Varanasi and then fought to abolish the practice of Sati.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Can you imagine how horrific Sati was? If a husband died, the wife had to be cremated alive with him. She had to jump into the fire. It was a mandatory custom. People would play loud music, beat drums, and celebrate while forcing the woman into the flames. Ram Mohan Roy put an end to this with Vidyasagar's help.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Vidyasagar argued that the Vedas and Upanishads allow for widow remarriage. Society revolted, asking, "What is widow remarriage?" But Vidyasagar stepped forward and practiced what he preached by marrying his own son to a widow. This was an extraordinary act.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
We tend to forget these things today. Ram Mohan Roy's Asiatic Society still stands, housing countless books. Later, Swami Vivekananda went across the Kalapani. He traveled by ship. When he went to Chicago, gave his famous speech, and returned, there wasn't even a single person to give him a garland. When he stepped off the ship onto the dock, no one was there to receive him. It's an amazing thingâa man who made the world respect Hinduism, who made "the tiger and the cow drink from the same watering hole" in America!
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
When he returned, despite his global success, he faced immense suffering because he had crossed the Kalapani. His friends, relatives, and neighborsâno one supported him. Later, when he decided to build Belur Math, his own companions didn't support him. In anger, he even said, "I will sell this land; we don't need it." Some people eventually calmed him down and brought him back. But do you know what the most unfortunate part was? Vivekananda was not allowed to enter the Bhavatarini temple (Dakshineswar) because he had crossed the Kalapani. I am telling you the inner truth.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
"Crossing the Kalapani" was a terrifying prospect back then. If you read Ramnarayan Tarkaratna's book, Kulin Kula Sorbojsho, you will understand the atrocities committed by Kulin Brahmins against women. A single Kulin Brahmin might marry 150 to 200 women. They kept lists of how many wives they had in which village. They would go there, extort money from the wives, eat, and leave. We have been liberated from that inhumanity today thanks to Vidyasagar, Ram Mohan Roy, and Vivekananda. They were reformers.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
There is also Dinabandhu Mitra's Buro Saliker Ghare Ro. You might not read it, but it depicts how harsh and corrupted society was. Lastly, I must mention Gautam Ghose Mahashay. His film Antarjali Jatra explains the state of society back then. I offer my respects to him for making that film. It shows a young girl being married off to an old man because of the Kulin Brahmin tradition.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Today, those customs are gone, but they existed once. Kulin Brahmins exploited the system, marrying hundreds of girls, visiting them for a night or two just to collect money. We are free from that now. Whether it is Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Narendranath (Vivekananda), Ram Mohan Roy, or Vidyasagarâtheir contributions are immense.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Finally, I suggest you read Ramnarayan Tarkaratna's Kulin Kula Sorbojsho and Dinabandhu Mitra's Buro Saliker Ghare Ro. You must know history; without history, nothing can be understood.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
So, "Kalapani" as a taboo no longer exists. Today, people cross the oceans by plane in comfort.
Devotee:
Nowadays, traveling abroad is a matter of prestige.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Yes, everything is fine now. But back then, it was a matter of dishonor, and one would be cast out of society. That is what Kalapani was.
Devotee:
Friends, we have heard a detailed discussion on Kalapani from Guru Dev. Please subscribe to the Gupta Sadhak Shyama Khyapa YouTube channel, like the videos, and leave your thoughts in the comments. If you have any specific topics you want to know about, please write them in the comments, and we will try to get detailed answers from Guru Dev. Salutations, Guru Dev.
Guru Shyama Khyapa:
Blessings, my son.