LET CHATTISGARH HAVE A BRILLIANT FUTURE ANANDA NAGAR IS THE BEACON LIGHT FOR THE UNIVERSE FORWARD MOVEMENT IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE THE HISTORY OF MITHILA THE HISTORY OF THE MAETHILI LANGUAGE THE HISTORY OF THE BHOJPURI LANGUAGE LET CHATTISGARH HAVE A BRILLIANT FUTURE official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 4 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 4 1st edition version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Human beings come onto this earth for a very short period, and within this short period they are required to complete everything. So there is a great deal of work to be done, but the time is very short. Thus intelligent people make the best use of every moment of their time - wasting one's time is the height of foolishness. No human being on this earth will remain for long, and the very goal of human life is to attain the Supreme Stance. Human beings while moving forward towards that Goal which is fixed before their minds, will have to perform many interrelated works. That is why it is said, Keep one hand on the feet of Parama Purus'a, and with the other hand do your mundane duties. Let the mind be constantly attached to Parama Purus'a. And while performing one's mundane duties one should always remember that these duties are also the task of Parama Purus'a. This very earth in which we are living is also a creation of Parama Purus'a, so to serve this world means to serve the children of the Cosmic Father. When someone takes care of the children of another family, which mother or father will not be satisfied to see that someone is caring for their children? So Parama Purus'a will certainly be pleased with those who serve His children. While discharging their mundane duties, they must remember that these duties are not intended for their personal interest; their only purpose is to serve Parama Purus'a. Is there any end to the mundane duties in the world? However, the goal of all sorts of mundane duties is that human beings should live in this world in such a way that no one exploits others, no one causes misery to others. If there is less exploitation in the external world there will be less misery also; and in that case people will get more time to pursue their spiritual practices. Then human beings will attain the supreme state of spiritual fulfillment in life. If there is severe exploitation in the society, human attention is drawn towards that; and as a result their attention is diverted from their main goal. Then there arises some slackness in the path of their spiritual endeavour to realise Parama Purus'a. That is why you should remember that if a spiritual human society is to be built, human beings must be spared from exploitation and injustice. There should be proper arrangements for ensuring food, clothes, accommodation, education, and medical treatment for each and every human being. Those of you who want to establish righteousness and create virtuous people in this world, your bounden duty is to lay the foundation of a healthy society within a very short period. If all of you will work collectively in this effort, then it will not take a very long time; rather it will be accomplished very quickly. I want that the present distressed condition of Chattisgarh should come to an end, and it should have a very bright future. Let the people from other parts of the world come here and learn how far the people here have achieved progress, and in which ways they are going to bring about progress in other spheres of life. Let the light of Chattisgarh be ever effulgent, like a luminous star in human society, so that all may learn and be benefitted by it. 16 October 1979, Raipur ANANDA NAGAR IS THE BEACON LIGHT FOR THE UNIVERSE official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 4 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 4 1st edition version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. We have come again to Anandanagar after a long time. Anandanagar is the nucleus of this universe. It is not merely the physical Anandanagar, it is also the Anandanagar of our inner heart. We will have to build it in all possible ways, we will have to take all steps for its rapid development so that it can show light to the entire universe. But why should this be done so rapidly? Because human beings do not live by material objects alone; they also have their pra'n'a dharma (their vital inner essence). Even if they are provided with all their material needs-their food, clothes, and all necessary requirements, they will die an inglorious death if they are detached from their pra'n'a dharma. Anandanagar will provide that ancient eternal vital force. Thus it must be developed in all respects. This brooks no delay : to delay means to impair the cultural progress of the entire human society. We will not allow this to happen. Thus we must build Anandanagar in all ways. Anandanagar has a unique glory, and that glory has developed out of the great sacrifice of many noble souls. Let Ananda nagar provide guidance to the entire universe in spiritual practice, service, sacrifice, renunciation, and culture. This is what we should pray for, and this is the reason that we should build Anandanagar and help it radiate light to the universal humanity. This is what I want. After a long, long time, we have assembled here together again. What can be more joyful than this? When I entered Anandanagar, I was overwhelmed with joy. When I was looking at you, I could hardly restrain myself -- I felt so happy, and I think that you, too, felt the same, because we have been able to again come and sit together here. What can be more delightful than this? Each of the objects in the world has a vehicle, a medium. Let Anandanagar be the medium of our cultural progress ; let us try to build Anandanagar and its adjoining villages in all respects -- economically, socially and culturally. Any work which is difficult for one person to accomplish is not difficult for many people to perform. A bundle of sticks is a burden if one person carries it, but if it is divided amongst many, it becomes only a light load. Similarly if we all work together unitedly, it will not be difficult to establish Anandanagar as an ideal cultural and spiritual center. Let us dedicate ourselves to this noble task from this very moment. 20 October 1979, Anandanagar FORWARD MOVEMENT IS THE ESSENCE OF LIFE official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 4 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 4 1st edition version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. Nothing in this world is without a cause: there is a cause behind everything. All the entities emanate from one particular starting point, and end in a particular culminating point. They emanated from a causal factor, and they rush towards the effect factor. Thus nothing in this universe is static; in each and everything there is latent mobility. Where there is no mobility, the existence of an entity remains unsubstantiated. So wherever there is existence, there is bound to be some mobility. If there is a tree, it is obvious that there was a seed. But wherever there is a seed, it cannot be said that it will become a tree. Human beings move on: the impetus for their forward movement is derived from their previous stage, and the goal of their movement, as well as the strength for this movement, is Parama Purus'a. Human beings have to move, and move on ceaselessly. When they are endowed with the strength of movement, they will have to move in a proper manner. Where there is strength, that strength must be properly utilised. One must not slip into slumber, allowing this strength to remain inert. Parama Purus'a has given this power to be utilised. The knowledge of the learned, the strength of the strong, the intelligence of the intellectuals -- all these faculties have been given not to be merely preserved but to be utilised. Those persons who do not utilise their faculties have no right to ask for anything from the Lord, and those who misuse their faculties are also doomed to destruction. The misuse of one's qualities not only brings harm to the world, but it also exhausts one's own inherent strength. You have seen with your own eyes that in the past certain powerful persons thought, in their extreme vanity, that they could make or break anything. They perpetrated indescribable tortures and atrocities on Ananda Marga. But even in the face of such torments, Ananda Marga held its head high. There is no power in the universe, in the heaven or in the underworld, which can annihilate Ananda Marga, because Ananda Marga is established on the solid foundation of rationality and righteousness. If those wicked forces engage in fight with Ananda Marga, they will themselves be pulverised: they will be crushed like ants. Human beings steeped in their vanity of power and ego, sometimes betray their bitter hostility; but then when they later repent for their misdeeds, their repentance is to no avail, because destiny has already taken its course. You know, there was a person who wielded enormous power; and in his or her sky-kissing arrogance, that person used to think, "I can do anything and everything." But what that person did not know was that one of the names of Lord Nara'yana is "the stealer of vanity" (dharpaha'rii). He does not tolerate anyone's vanity -- He grinds it into dust. You must continue to work, and whatever strength and intelligence and spiritual power you possess, you must continue to utilise and move ahead. No one has come in this world to remain motionless. Everyone will have to move, and move they must. You know the story of the Vedic rs'i Rohita. He was a great scholar of ancient days, but because of his vast scholarship there was great vanity in him. He thought to himself, "What is the necessity of work? It is better to idly while away my time." His father was also a great rs'i. He noticed this defective thinking of his son and told him, Kalao shaya'no bhavati sandiha'nastu dva'dparah Uttis't'han treta' bhavati kratam' sampadyate caram. "All the creatures in this world come to perform some deeds; no one has come to remain motionless, certainly not to waste their time lazily sitting and sleeping." How beautiful is the face of a person, glistening with the sweat of hard labour! Even the king of the gods would consider himself fortunate to have such a person as his companion. Such a person deserves to be recognised as a great personality, as a superior human being. Thus I say, Caraeveti, caraeveti -- move ahead, move ahead. Do not be motionless or waste your time in sleep. It is not at all proper to waste one's valuable time in lazily sitting or sleeping. As long as people sleep, their fortune also sleeps. When they awake and think to rise up, their fortune also begins to awaken. The moment they sit up, their fortune also rises; and as soon as they start moving, their fortune also advances. So everyone has to move forward along the path of righteousness, while fighting against wrongs and injustices. While moving one must move in an intelligent manner, in a righteous way, struggling against evil with the vow to protect the good and innocent. Those who are not moving and are not endeavouring to discover their own true selves, are steeped in dark inertness. It should be understood that in their lives, it is the age of Kali Yuga (the Iron Age or the age of static darkness). When one sleeps in the darkness of ignorance, that is the state of Kali Yuga. Though they have attained a human form, for them it is of no avail. Kali Yuga has no other meaning than this. And the person who suddenly comes to his or her senses thinks "What am I doing? Even after attaining a human form, I am just wasting my time in utter negligence. I am not utilising the human body, the human intellect, the human wisdom with which I have been endowed." When this awareness dawns in the human mind, it should be understood that one's life is now entering Dvapar Yuga (the Age of Copper). Immediately after this awakening, when people spring into action and think, "Now I must wake up and start my work," then their lives are entering Treta' Yuga (the Age of Silver). And when they start moving forward, their lives enter Satya Yuga, the Golden Age. Thus Kali Yuga, Dva'par Yuga, Treta' Yuga and Satya Yuga in fact do not exist in the external world; they lie embedded in the very psychology of human beings. 27 October 1979, Anandanagar THE HISTORY OF MITHILA official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 4 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 4 1st edition version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. One thing that should be remembered is that in this universe nothing is useless or meaningless. Each word, each existence has a certain meaning; perhaps that meaning is not known to you, but whether you know it or not, there is a meaning. Take for example the colour white. You see white colour with your eyes; the vibration of this colour enters your brain, and there this vibration emits a sound wave, "dhab, dhab, dhab." From this sound came the Sam'skrta' root verb dhav, and from this root verb came words like dhavala ("white" in Sam'skrta) and dhavla' ("white" in Hindi). So you see, from a particular acoustic vibration has evolved a word with a particular meaning. On the north of this land of Mithila stands the Himalayas; to the west the Na'rayan'ii-Gan'd'aka river; in the south the Ganges, and to the east, the old Kaoshii river. The ancient name for Mithila was Videha. When the Aryans first entered India from Central Asia to the west, in the first stage they advanced up to Allahabad, and then they proceeded to Varanasi. In Central Asia there was neither sufficient land nor water; but after arriving in India they found that the land there was very fertile; there were plenty of resources for food, clothing, etc. Thus they first named the country Jambudviipa ("an island with an abundance of stones of the colour of blackberries") and later renamed it Bha'ratvarsa. The root verb -bhr means "to feed" or "to maintain"; ta means "that which helps in expansion", and vars'a means "land". So the name Bha'ratvarsa means "the land where there is an abundance of resources for existence and expansion." However, as the Aryans advanced eastward from Varanasi, they noticed that the people of the eastern regions did not lag behind in culture. Some minor clashes occurred between the indigenous population and the advancing Aryans; and the Aryans' sense of superiority and vanity of culture was increasingly deflated as they moved eastward from Allahabad. Allahabad was originally named Praya'ga; pra means "well" and ya'ga means "activity"; so Praya'ga means "the place where the different activities of life are performed in a very nice way." After coming to Varanasi, the Aryans found it futile to fight with the virtuous people there, because the entire land was a Tantrik area. So they declared that those who would advance eastwards would be degenerated. The purpose behind this declaration was to prevent people from moving eastward in order to avoid any struggle with the people of eastern India; for such a struggle would certainly mean the Aryans' defeat. Thus Mithila, Magadha, Bengal and Assam were declared as non-Aryan land, and all Aryans were prohibited from going there. But the land of Mithila was extremely fertile, and the Aryans were greedy to possess it. So the Aryans were in a dilemma: whether or not to advance and occupy the land. Those of them who crossed the Sarayu river and entered the non-Aryan land were declared to be of an inferior caste ; they were called Sarayu'pa'r'ii Bra'hman. But as their greed increased more and more, they crossed the Nara'ya'nii Gan'd'aka and entered Mithila. Those who came to Mithila became quite prosperous, and those who stayed behind began to feel extremely envious. So they declared that those who crossed the river were of an inferior caste. The inhabitants of Mithila were of Aryan-Austriko-Mongoloid stock. Those who crossed the Nara'ya'nii-Gan'd'aka river were hated by the others, and behind this psychology of hatred was the instinct of greed. In those days there was a rule that during the period of performance of a sacrifice, five scholars were required to be present: one of them was a scholar of the Atharva Veda who was called Bra'hmana ; another was a scholar of the Yajur Veda who was called Adhvarju; one was a scholar of the Sa'ma Veda called Udga'ta, and the fourth was a scholar of the Rg Veda who was called Rtvika. The supervisor of all the four scholars was called Hota'. In those days the land of Mithila was called Videha. The king of Videha declared that if the people perform yajinas or sacrifices, they would become holy (ignorant people think like this). The king thought, "Well, I will perform a sacrifice according to the injunctions of the Vedas, and then people can no longer declare this country as unholy, non-Aryan land. So he assembled three prominent hota's or sacrificial supervisors, and performed the sacrifice; and thus the land where the sacrifice was performed with the help of those three hotas became known as Trihotriiyabhu'mi. Gradually the word became transformed into Tirhotiiyabhumi in Ma'gadhi Pra'krta, and in old Maethili it became Tirhut. So the second name of Mithila became Tirhut. The king who performed the sacrifice was King Mithi, and in Sam'skrta' the root verb la means "to hold"; so Mithi+la+suffix d'a+t'a' (feminine suffix) = Mithila'. Thus Mithila means, "the land which holds, or which is held by, King Mithi". This is the history of Mithila in a nutshell. 26 October 1979, Gaddopur THE HISTORY OF THE MAETHILI LANGUAGE official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 4 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 4 1st edition version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. The inhabitants of Mithila are of Aryan-Austriko-Mongoloid stock. The percentage of Aryan blood is less than the percentage of Austrik and Mongoloid blood. It is natural that the number of dark-complexioned people should be more than that of the fair-complexioned people. These are the original inhabitants of Mithila. Different countries have different kinds of pronunciation. For example, the Chinese people cannot pronounce the sound 'r' properly. In Mithila also there is a special kind of pronunciation; the sam'vrta style of pronunciation is more common than the vivrta style. For instance, in certain parts of India ka, kha, ga and gha are pronounced somewhat like ka', kha', ga' and gha', which is commonly known as the vivrta style of pronunciation. In some places it is pronounced as ko, kho go, and gho. This is called tiryak style of pronunciation. Another speciality of the pronunciation in Mithila is that the vowel sounds ending in long "ii" become changed into short "i", and the last vowel is pronounced before the consonant ; for instance, ma't'i is pronounced as ma't'. Similarly pa'nii is pronounced as pain. Mithila is situated in the eastern part of India. The system of astrological calculation of western India and that of Mithila are not the same. Those of you who are the students of geography know that the time of a clock changes according to the longitude of a place. In those days saptasindhu (the land of the seven rivers) was the centre of the land of the Aryans, The system of astrological calculation will not apply in Mithila. After coming to Benares the Aryans found that the Tantrik system of astrological calculation was in vogue there. Further eastward, that is in Mithila, the system of calculation was supposed to be different. So the almanac that was used in the Mithila area did not conform to that of northern India or Varanasi -- Mithila has its own almanac. In the Patna and Gaya areas of Magadha, the Varanasi almanac can be used, but not in Mithila. There the tirhutii almanac was in wide use, because Mithila is situated in the eastern part of India, at a different longitude, and as such it should, and does, have its own almanac. Due to ethnic differences, it is natural that there should also be some difference in social systems and customs, and in fact there were different social customs in the Mithila area. Manu was an illustrious author of social treatises among the Aryans. The social code written by Manu was popular throughout India, but the people of Mithila found that some alterations were necessary according to local situations. Thus in Manu's social code there were certain local variations. For example, the Tamil variation of Manu's social code which has certain specialities of its own, is popular in Tamilnadu and Madras. The second variation is that of Maharashtra, with its own distinct specialities as well. The third variation is that of the Punjab. According to Mann's social code, sons are entitled to paternal property ; but according to the Punjabi variation, although sons have the birthright to their paternal property, they cannot claim it during their fathers' lifetime. This is the speciality of the Punjab school of Manu's social code. The fourth variation is that of Varanasi, and the fifth is that of Mithila. Mithila has its own code of inheritance which is prevalent from the Nara'ya'nii Gand'haka to the Kaoshii river. Thus we see that in all respects Mithila has its own specialities. In ancient India three scripts arose upon the death of Bra'hmii and Kharos't'hi scripts. The Sa'rada script was used to the northwest of Allahabad ; the scholars of Kashmir even today write Sam'skrta' in Sa'rada' scripts. To the southwest of Allahabad the Na'rada' script is used ; for example, in Gujarat, in Rajasthan, etc.; and those who use this script are known as Na'gara Brahmins. The Brahmins of Gujarat are called Na'gara Brahmins, and their script is known as Na'grii script. The script which is used east of Allahabad -- that is, in Bihar, Bengal, Assam and Orissa -- is known as Kut'ila' script. All this took place about 3000 years ago. Naturally the Mithila script of Tirhut script is Kut'ila' script. All the rock inscriptions or copper inscriptions which have been unearthed in these areas are all written in the Kut'ila' script. Thus this proves that Mithila has all along had its own script and its own alphabet. All this indicates that Mithila had all the special characteristics that an independent state should have. Thus you, the children of the present-day Mithila, should remember that even five or six thousand years ago there was a great civilisation at Mithila, and it was a pre-Aryan civilisation : that is, it existed even before the Aryans migrated to India. Thus you can easily understand how ancient was the civilisation of Mithila. Prior to the Aryan migration to India, the ideas of the common people were based on the science of Tantra. Tantra means the practical process of intuitional science, of spiritual realisation; it does not mean any external rituals. The very land of Mithila is the land of Tantra. Here the Nyaya school of philosophy attained prominence only 700 years ago, but prior to that, Tantra enjoyed the dominant position. According to Buddhist Tantra, this Mithila school of Tantra had a close relation to that of China, Kamrup, Bengal, and Kashmir. It is one of the very ancient traditions of Tantra. The people of Mithila are very rational-minded and intellectual by disposition. There was no differentiation of caste among them even as far back as in the post-Buddhist age. The discrimination of caste arose during the British rule, and it was injected in people's minds for political reasons. These matters of caste are not very old. You must completely root out these sorts of discriminatory feelings arising from external sources and try to become people of elevated standard, as your ancestors were. Now I would like to say a few words about language. This discourse will be incomplete if nothing is said about the history of the Mithila language. According to the system of astrological calculations, sometimes people's longevity is counted at 108 years, and sometimes 120 years. The first system is known as a's't'ottariiya, and the second one is called vitwshottariiya. Similarly, each language emerges after 1000 years and a script emerges after 2000 years. Here script means letters (ABC, etc). About 4000 years ago, the Aryan or Vedic language died, and in its wake emerged its seven daughters. In eastern India, that is, east of Allahabad, appeared the Magadhi Pra'krta. In central north India arose the Shaorasenii Pra'krta ; in central west India arose Paesha'cii Pra'krta ; in the far-off Northwestern Frontier Province, Pa'shcha'ttya Pra'krta ; in Sind and Baluchistan, Pahlavii Pra'krta in Rajasthan, west Madhya-Pradesh and Gujarat, Ma'lavii Pra'krta ; and Maha'ra's'tra and Goa, Maha'ra's't'rii Pra'krta. Prakrta language means "people's language"; that is, the language of the common masses. Lord Buddha and Lord Maha'viira preached their religions in eastern India using the Magadhii Pra'krta, which many people call Pali language. One thousand years after its birth, Magadhii Pra'krta also died a natural death, because as I have said earlier, the average life-span of any language is roughly one thousand years. Magadhii Pra'krta left behind its two daughter, eastern demi-Magadhii and western demi-Magadii. One thousand years later, these languages also died out. The languages born out of this eastern demi-Magadhii are still alive ; Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Angika and Maethili. Western demi-Magadhii also left behind two daughters, Magahi and Bhojpuri. The languages descended from eastern demi-Magadhii have certain characteristics. One is that the sound ca appears at the end of a verb, for instance, ham ja'yche ("I am going) in Angika, ham ja'ycham in Maethili, ami jacchi in Bengali, mo ja'yche in Assamese, and mu a'uchi in Oriya. Similarly, there is the sound la as the verb ending in the past tense ; for example, for "I went": ham ga'ylii in Angika, ham ga'yliiye in Maethili, a'mi gela'm in Bengali, man galo in Assammese. Similarly, in the future tense, the va sound occurs as a verb ending; for example, ham ja'ybo in Angika, ham jaybae in Maethili, a'mi ja'bo in Bengali. In this way in the two languages of western demi-Magadhii, Magahi and Bhojpuri, there is the sound -la in the past tense, for instance, tun gaila in Angika, tun gailun in Maethili. But in the present tense there is no ca sound. In Magahi people say ham ja'hii, in Bhojpuri hamja'tahii. That is, in the verb endings of the present tense, ca is not used at all. Thus this Maethili language is born from the Vedic language, which left behind two daughters--eastern demi-Magadhii and western demi-Magadhii, and Maethili belongs to the eastern demi-Magadhii group. This language is approximately 1200 years old. Sometimes a language has a number of branches or dialects. Even in the villages there are differences between the spoken or colloquial languages. Maethili language has three main dialects. One is Kaoshii dialect of Sahars'a' : in this dialect people pronounce chae instead of aich. In pure Maethili the word bat'uk is used for a minor boy, whereas in the Kaoshii dialect people say bedra'. There are some local variations like this. The second dialect is Madhubanii dialect, which is spoken in central Mithila; this is the standard Maethili, in which books are written. The third dialect of Maethili language is Bajjaka' Maethili. The western part of Mithila, that is Muzzafurpur and Hazipur regions, was previously known as Vajrabhuma'. This is the reason why the local language of this area is known as Vajika' Maethili. There are some minor differences between Vajika',Maethili and standard Maethili ; for example, in standard Maethili the word chatha is used, but in Vajika' Maethili hathii is used. In some places there is difference in the use of words, also ; for instance, in standard Maethili, sugar cane is called kushiya'r, but in Vajika' Maethili it is called ukh. In Vajika' Maethili, guava is called amrud, but in standard Maethili it is lata'm. All the words are Maethili, but there are local variations in the spoken dialects. Maethili language also has a history behind it ; in fact, it can be said that the Maethili language has the oldest history of all the Sam'skrta-derived languages in India. The most ancient language is Tamil, about 3500 years old, and Maethili is the second most ancient. This language is at least 1200 to 1300 years old, and its literature is 900 years old. 26 October 1979, Gaddopur, Bihar THE HISTORY OF THE BHOJPURI LANGUAGE official source: A Few Problems Solved Part 4 cross-references: none this version: is the printed A Few Problems Solved Part 4 1st edition version (spelling mistakes only may have been corrected). I.e., this is the most up-to-date version as of the present Electronic Edition. When the Aryans first entered India, their first colony was saptasindhu, "the land of the seven rivers," which is nowadays known as the Punjab. The seven rivers are: Shatadru (Sutlej in English), Ira'vatii (Ravi), Vipa'sha' (Bia's), Chandrabhaga' (Chenub), Vitasta' (Jhalu'm), Sindus (Indus), and Kabul. Then the Aryans advanced up to the Jamuna river, that is, up to Haraya'na' (Haritdha'nya -- Hariyaha'nna -- Hariyaha'nna--Hariha'na). In the third stage the Aryans moved to Praya'ga (Pra means well or ideal, and ya'ga means action ; so Praya'ga means a place where all kinds of activities are properly performed. Thereafter the Aryans reached Ka'shi (Benares); the last colony of the Aryans was Ka'shi. The original inhabitants of this area were mainly Austriks, but there were some Mongolians and Aryans also. So the ancient inhabitants of Kashi as a whole were Arya-Austriko-Mongoloids. The boundaries of a particular country, state or province are always subject to change. The recognised boundaries of the kingdom of Kashi were Praya'ga in the west, Na'ra'yanii Gan'd'aka in the east, the Himalayas in the north, and the Vindhyas in the south. The original name of this territory was the kingdom of Kashi, and its capital was the city of Kashi. One of the kings of this kingdom was King Bhoja. People used to say that Kashi is a holy place, and thus it should not become the capital city ; so King Bhoja shifted the capital and called it Bhojpura. Thus the language of this area was known as Bhojpuri after King Bhoja and his capital Bhojpura. This Bhojpuri language belongs to the eastern demi-Magadhi Pra'krta. All the languages of east India are derived from Magadhii Pra'krta, which the Buddhists call the Pali language. You know that the average lifespan of a language is 1000 years ; so when eastern Magadhii Pra'krta died after 1000 years, there arose two languages: eastern demi-Magadhii and western demi-Magadhii. One of the common characteristics of these languages is that, in the endings of the verbs in the past tense there is sound "la" : samajh gaila ('have you understood ?" in Bhojpuri) ; and in the future tense there is ba sound (ham jaiba in Bhojpuri, a'mi jabo in Bengali. In the present tense in eastern demi-Magadhii Pra'krti, the sound ca is used. For example, ham ja'ychii in Aungika, mo ja'ucho in Mithila, ami ja'cchi in Bengali, and mun jauchi in Oriya. But in the western demi-Magadhii languages, that is, Magahi and Bhojpuri, the ca sound is not used in the present tense. For instance, in ham ja'tarahalba'hi ("I am going" in Bhojpuri) and ham ja'tahi in Magahi, there is no ca sound. This is the recognised system in western demi-Magadhii. Each language usually has several dialects. In Bhojpuri also there are three dialects: 1) A'rrah dialect 2) Varanasi dialect which is also called Kashika dialect 3) Campa'ran' dialect. The ancient name of Campa'ran' was Campaka'ran'ya. There is very little difference amongst Campa'ran' dialect, A'rra'h dialect, and Varanasi dialect. For instance, in some places people say ba'n'ii, in other places, ba'tii, and still in others kha'tiir or lah or ba'de. These minor local variations can be found, and although Bhojpuri is an east Indian language, it is slightly influenced by Shaorasenii Pra'krta. In some areas there is also some difference in the verb endings, but not in all cases. For instances, karata' and karatiiya', gaila and gailun. These are the specialities of Bhojpuri. Its pronunciation is sam'vkta, that is, the pronunciation of a word ends in -a sound, as in manda'. As the people of this area belong to Aryo-Austriko-Mongoloid stock, there are numerous Sam'skrta words in the language ; but the system of pronunciation is different from that of Sam'skrta. History shows that during the last phase of the Aryan colonisation, the Aryan influence in Northern India was totally obliterated: that is, from other side of the Na'ra'yanii-Gand'haka or on the Shon river, the Aryan influence became altogether extinct. But in the Bhojpur area the Aryan and Austrik influence was fully retained. The Mongolian influence was minimal. From the economic point of view the soil of this area is extremely fertile, but the local people are very poor. The people are industrious, and the soil is fertile, but the local people are extremely poor. What is the reason? Because there is tremendous exploitation in the area. Nowadays education is being developed, and the task of the educated boys and girls of this area is to free their land from exploitation as soon as possible. The land is not poor -- only the people are poor. If the land is not poor, why should the people be poor? There should not be poverty among the people at all in this area. So it is your bounden duty to make this beautiful fertile land free from exploitation. 29 October 1979, Varanasi