Bimala was becoming recognized as a nascent genius. Delighting in debates on many diverse subjects, his masterful command of knowledge and insight rendered him nigh undefeatable. And although generally respectful and polite toward his mentors, as was the norm in those days, he was so dedicated to truth that he could not brook any misleading statements or misrepresentation of fact in any field, and did not hesitate to expose insufficiencies in opposing positions even if presented by honorable superiors.
Mr. C. Little was a mathematics teacher assigned to teach physics to Bimala’s class. He would read from the textbook three times, then say, “I think all of you can understand this.” He kept a list of the first three students’ names, and looking at the list would ask questions. One day outside of class he queried some students about the teachings of the Bible, knowing that most of them disliked having to learn it. But only Bimala was bold enough to pipe up: “In your scripture prayers like ‘Give us our daily bread’ resemble the outlook of the viddha-sakteyas (corrupted votaries of Durga) in this country. The Supreme Lord is the object of devotion, not the servant of us who have turned from Him. Those who take His name wanting Him to serve them have no devotion in their hearts.”
Even in his youth, Siddhanta Sarasvati’s odium toward distortions of truth naturally also alerted him to the fallacies of Mayavada. He once went with others to the place of Pandita Isvara Candra Vidyasagara, an elderly esteemed Sanskrit scholar who had taught Sanskrit grammar to many persons, including Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura. When the conversation turned to the nature of Godhead the pandit remarked, “You see, my friends, when I have no actual experience of Godhead or His real self, then even taking it for granted that He exists, if I give any account of Him but He proves to be unlike what I say in all sincerity, then certainly I risk being taken to task by Him after death. For that reason I don’t like to discuss about Bhagavan, but teach only conventional moral instructions that I can understand and abide by.” Siddhanta Sarasvati retorted, “Why then did you write in your book Bodhodaya, isvara-nirakara-caitanya-svarapa: ‘The Lord is comprised of consciousness and is formless’? Did you write this after actually seeing Him, or did you merely rely on stereotyped doctrines?”
In 1892 Sri Siddhanta Sarasvati entered Calcutta’s Sanskrit College but showed little enthusiasm for the prescribed books, as he was more interested in philosophical works in the college library. He kept Narottama dasa’s Prarthana and Prema-bhakti-candrika in a drawer of his desk at Bhakti Bhavana, and while pretending to do homework would instead read them, during which he was once caught by a family elder and stiffly reprimanded. He also read Krsna-karnamrita, Gita-govinda, and other esoteric texts, keeping to himself editions of these works in the original Sanskrit and without translations, so that others would have no access to them.
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