1.

September 1, 1986, In accordance with Bengali tradition, the mother had gone to the
home of her parents for the delivery, and so it was that on the bank of the Ādi Gaṅgā, a
few miles from his father’s home, in a small two-room, mud-walled house with a tiled
roof, underneath a jackfruit tree, Abhay Charan was born.
2. He would rise at around seven or eight. Then, after taking a bath, he would go
purchasing. Then, from ten o’clock to one in the afternoon, he was engaged in pūjā.
Then he would take his lunch and go to business. And in the business shop, he would
take a little rest for one hour. At 10 o’clock in the night, Gaur Mohan De would lock up
his cloth shop, set a bowl of rice in the middle of the floor to satisfy the rats so that they
would not chew the cloth in their hunger, and return home. There he would read from
Caitanya-caritāmṛta and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He would chant on his Japa beads, and
worship the Deity of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
3. Abhay Charan- Parents, Moti-Siddhesvar Mullik who was his friend, Nandulal- Uncle,
Kocha, Kacaurī-mukhī- grandmother
4. Abhay Charan, “one who is fearless, having taken shelter at Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.”
Charan means having taken shelter at Lord Krishna’s lotus feet and Abhay means one
who is fearless.
5. The astrologer made a prediction that when this child reached the age of seventy, he
would cross the ocean, become a great exponent of religion, and open 108 temples.
6. Originally the Mulliks had been members of the De family, a gotra (lineage) that traces
back to the ancient sage Gautama. Then, several generations later, a daughter of the
Des had married into the Mullik family, and the two families had remained close ever
since.
7. There was an arched gateway within the red sandstone wall bordering the Rādhā-
Govinda Mandira, and as Abhay and his friend rode underneath the ornate metal arch
and into the courtyard, they saw high above them two stone lions, the heralds and
protectors of the temple compound, their right paws extended. In the courtyard was a
circular drive, and on the oval lawn were lampposts with gaslights, and a statue of a
young woman in robes. The heavy double doors leading into the inner courtyard were
open, and the servant eased the carriage wheels down a foot-deep step and proceeded
through the foyer, then down another step and into the bright sunlight of the main
courtyard. There they faced a stone statue of Garuḍa, perched on a four-foot column.
This carrier of Viṣṇu, Garuḍa, half man and half bird, kneeled on one knee, his hands
folded prayerfully, his eagle’s beak strong, and his wings poised behind him. The temple
area itself, open like a pavilion, was a raised platform with a stone roof supported by
stout pillars fifteen feet tall. At the left end of the temple, pavilion stood a crowd of
worshipers, viewing the Deities on the altar. The Deity had slanted eyes. Rādhā and
Govinda were freshly bathed and dressed and now stood on Their silver throne amidst
vases of fragrant flowers. Govinda was about eighteen inches high, and Rādhārāṇī,
standing to His left, was slightly smaller. Both were golden. Rādhā and Govinda both
stood in the same gracefully curved dancing pose, right leg bent at the knee and right
foot placed in front of the left. Rādhārāṇī, dressed in a lustrous silk sārī, held up Her
reddish right palm in benediction, and Kṛṣṇa, in His silk jacket and dhotī, played on a
golden flute. At Govinda’s lotus feet were green tulasī leaves with pulp of sandalwood.
Hanging around Their Lordships’ necks and reaching down almost to Their lotus feet
 were several garlands of fragrant night-blooming jasmine, delicate, trumpetlike blossoms
resting lightly on Rādhā and Govinda’s divine forms. Their necklaces of gold, pearls, and
diamonds shimmered. Rādhārāṇī’s bracelets were of gold, and both She and Kṛṣṇa
wore gold-embroidered silk cādaras about Their shoulders. The flowers in Their hands
and hair were small and delicate, and the silver crowns on Their heads were bedecked
with jewels. Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were slightly smiling. Beautifully dressed, dancing on
Their silver throne beneath a silver canopy and surrounded by flowers, to Abhay They
appeared most attractive.
8. With his cousins, Abhay would take pleasure in watering the plants with a sprinkling can.
He would find a nice bush and make a sitting place.
9. The devotees would chant from door to door and street to street chanting the maha-
mantra. Shortly after this, the plague subsided.
10. Being a Vaishnava himself, Gour Mohan wanted Abhay to become a servant of
Radharani. He wanted him to become a preacher of the Bhagavatam and to learn to
play the mridanga.
11. Whenever Abhay was to go out even to play, his mother, after dressing him, would put a
drop of saliva on her finger and touch it to his forehead. She once offered blood from her
breast to one of the demigods with the supplication that Abhay be protected on all sides
from danger. She had made a vow to eat with her left hand until the day her son would
notice and ask her why she was eating with the wrong hand. She thought that by the
strength of her vow he would continue to grow, at least until he asked her about the vow.
Had he not asked, she would never again have eaten with her right hand, and according
to her superstition, he would have gone on living, protected by her vow. For his
protection, she also put an iron bangle around his leg. When Abhay once swallowed a
watermelon seed, He ran to his mother, who assured him by saying that she would say a
mantra to protect him. His mother would often take him to the Ganges and personally
bathe him. She also gave him a food supplement known as Horlicks. When he got
dysentery, she cured it with hot purīs and fried eggplant with salt, though sometimes
when he was ill Abhay would show his obstinacy by refusing to take any medicine. But
just as he was stubborn, his mother was determined, and she would forcibly administer
medicine into his mouth, though sometimes it took three assistants to hold him down.
12. Gour Mohan was always lenient with Abhay and careful to see that his son got whatever
he wanted. He would buy Abhay a pair of shoes imported from England and each year,
through a friend who travelled back and forth from Kashmir, Gour Mohan would present
his son a Kashmiri shawl with a fancy, hand-sewn border. However, Gaur Mohan also
ensured that his son was made to study and perform his prescribed duties. Abhay once
complained that he did not want to go to school and wanted to play all day. His mother
complained to Gaur Mohan and knowing his father’s leniency he said that he will go
tomorrow. But the next morning Abhay complained that he was sick, and his father
indulged him. Gaur Mohan made Abhay learn mridanga by a professional mridanga
player at a very young age. Making sure that his son would become a pure Vaishnava,
he ensured that he would not fall behind in his studies and devotional service.
13. Siddhesvar Mullik was one of the friends and assistants of Abhay Charan. He used to
call me Moti (“pearl”), and his nickname was Subidhi. If one day this friend did not see
him, he would become mad. He would not go in the perambulator without me. We would
 not separate even for a moment. They would go to the Radha Govinda temple together.
They would pray together in the temple.
14. Abhay engaged his playmates in helping him and he became their natural leader.
Responding to his entreaties, amused mothers in the neighbourhood agreed to cook
special preparations so that he could distribute the prasādam at his Ratha-yātrā festival.
Like the festival at Purī, Abhay’s Ratha-yātrā ran for eight consecutive days. His family
members gathered, and the neighbourhood children joined in a procession, pulling the
cart, playing drums and karatālas, and chanting. Wearing a dhotī and no shirt in the heat
of summer, Abhay led the children in chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and in singing the appropriate
Bengali bhajan, Ki kara rāi kamalinī.
15.
16.