INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER
BY THE TRANSLATOR
This translation is offered as a humble tribute to my father's memory, in the hope that it may reach a wider circle of readers than the original could possibly command. To facilitate a fuller comprehension of this simple narrative, I subjoin a short sketch of my father's life, and of the Brahma- Samaj with which he was so thoroughly identified; carrying it for the sake of completeness beyond the period covered by the Autobiography.
Devendranath Tagore, latterly known Maharshi, or the Saint, was born in Jaishtha (May) 1817, in the family mansion at Jorasanko, Calcutta. Having acheived an early education in the school founded by Raja Rammohan Roy, he, in his fourteenth year, joined the Hindu College; which was, in those days, an educational institution of some standing and repute. My father, son of the wealthy Dwarkanath Tagore whose lavish expenditure earned for him the
title of prince, was, as may be imagined, brought up in the midst of pomp and luxury. In the formation
