ABSTRACT
From Acharya Pranavananda early days the young Binode was drawn to spiritual pursuits and a kind of ascetic athleticism. The battles and struggles of faraway Europe and the restlessness of many beyond Bengal were to be reflected in the streams and ponds of the green Bengali countryside. We have an example of Binode as a youthful guru for youths, a friend and equal, yet also someone with sincere beliefs and great self-control and power. So Binode felt himself to be following a path of great struggle to perfect himself as an instrument of the Divine Being for his life's work, which he foresaw as having to do with a regeneration of the Hindu spirit in the context of the national struggle. The headmaster of his school tells how during the Shiva festival he, another teacher, a Sanskrit pandit and Binode decided to keep the vigil for the whole night.
