I talked with him in so many ways, "Who will hear your Caitanya's message? We are dependent country." At that time I was Gandhi's devotee. In 1920 I gave up my educational career and joined this Congress Movement. Because Gandhi's program was to boycott the university education and the British law court, so we took this opportunity and gave up education. You see? (chuckles)
So then Dr. Bose, he was my father's friend, so he asked, "What this Abhaya is doing?" So my sister told him, "Oh, he has appeared in the B.A. examination, but he is not doing anything." So Dr. Bose was my father's friend. So he appointed me the manager of his laboratory. I did not know anything, still, he appointed me. So that was in 1921. In 1920 I gave up my education. Of course, I was married in 1918, and I got my first child in 1921.
So in 1922, when I saw my Guru Mahārāja and when I was convinced about his argument and mode of presentation, I was so much struck with wonder. I could understand that, "Here is the proper person who can give real religious idea." That I appreciated at that time. And at that time I thought, "This great personality is asking me to preach. I would have immediately joined, but now I am married. It will be injustice." Of course, I thought like that, in that way. Of course, Guru Mahārāja did not say anything that, "You give up your family life." No, never said. He simply gave the idea. So I thought that, "It would have been better if I was not married."
Anyway, then 1923 I left Calcutta on my business, and I established my headquarter at Allahabad. So all the days I was thinking of this, "Oh, I saw a very nice saintly person. But I am now off from Calcutta." So I was thinking like that. Practically he initiated me, because I was thinking of . . . always.
Then in 1928 there was a big fair which is called Kumbha-melā. At that time I was doing business in Allahabad. My business was very flourishing. It is well-known drug shop. So the persons who went to organize our Gauḍīya Maṭha's camp in that fair, somebody has told that "Here is a Bengali gentleman's business. You can go, and he is very religious man. He will help." So all the disciples of Guru Mahārāja, they approached my shop, my store, drug store.
And I was . . . because I was thinking of them, so I thought, "Oh, here is the men." You see? You see? I was very glad—"So they have come again"—because I was separated from them in 1923, and again I saw them in 1928, after five years, and I was thinking of Guru Mahārāja simply in this way: "Oh, I met a very nice saintly person. Very nice saintly person. If I can see him again?" Like that. So in this way, with my help, the Allahabad center of Gauḍīya Maṭha was established.
Then I was initiated in 1933. In 1933. And in 1936 I was, at that time, in Bombay, and Guru Mahārāja was very much indisposed, and he was at Purī, Jagannātha Purī. We have got our temple there. Guru Mahārāja established sixty-four temples, small and big. Just like I am increasing, he increased. So most of the temples were in Bengal. In Bengal there were about fifty out of sixty-four, and one temple was at Allahabad, one was in Madras.
In this way, outside Bengal, about three, four, one Benares.