Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Encyclopedia
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...
Vaishnavas of Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, was born Kedarnath Datta in the town of Birnagar, Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, India. He was the son of Raja Krsnananda Datta and Jagat Mohini Devi. Professionally, he was a High Court judge in Jagannath Puri in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
.
Bhaktivinoda married and had several children, including Bimal Prasad (later Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada,, was a preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was born as Bimal Prasad Dutta in the seaside pilgrimage town of Jagannath Puri, Orissa, India...
), the founder of the Gaudiya Math
Gaudiya Math
The Gaudiya Math was formed on 6 September 1920, about 30 months after Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura took sannyasa, the renounced order of life. On 7 March 1918, the same day he took sannyasa, he established the Sri Chaitanya Math in Mayapura, later recognised as the parent body of all...
and the guru of A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
. Bhaktivinoda was also the father, as well as the initiating guru
Diksha
Diksa also spelled deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism...
, of Lalita Prasad Thakur. The two brothers had substantial disagreements on how their father's spiritual heritage was to carry on, Bimal Prasad more inclined for preaching and the establishment of Varnashrama-dharma
Dharma
Dharma means Law or Natural Law and is a concept of central importance in Indian philosophy and religion. In the context of Hinduism, it refers to one's personal obligations, calling and duties, and a Hindu's dharma is affected by the person's age, caste, class, occupation, and gender...
, Lalita Prasad more inclined for the esoteric mode of raganuga-worship.
He revived the Sankirtan Movement started by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Bhaktivinoda was among the first Vaishnava scholars to present the teachings of Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the principles of Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology to the English speaking world.
Bhaktivinoda took initiation (diksha
Diksha
Diksa also spelled deeksha or deeksa in common usage, translated as a "preparation or consecration for a religious ceremony", is giving of a mantra or an initiation by the guru in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism...
) from Bipin Bihari Goswami, a descendant of the family dynasty of Vamsivadananda Thakur, a companion of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
, and an initiate in the lineage descending from Sri Jahnava Thakurani
Jahnava Devi
Jahnava Devi is the wife of leader of Gaudiya Vaishnavas in Bengal,Nityananda. She became a leading figure and a diksa guru head of sampradaya.-References:...
, the wife of close associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
, Nityananda
Nityananda
Image:Panca-tattva Altar.jpg|thumb|This is interactive image-map. Click! on lotus feet. Sri Krishna Chaitanya , Sri Nityananda Prabhu , Sri Advaita Acharya , Sri Gadadhara Pandit , Sri Srivas Pandit...
. In his autobiography entitled Svalikhita-jivani, Bhaktivinoda narrates how he had long prayed for a suitable guru, and felt his prayers were responded to in a dream as Sri Chaitanya himself directed him to Bipin Bihari.
From the very beginning of Chaitanya's bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
movement in Bengal, Haridasa Thakur
Haridasa Thakur
Haridasa Thakur was a prominent Muslim-Vaishnava saint, instrumental in the early appearance and spread of Hare Krishna movement. He is considered to be the most famous convert of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, apart from Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami themselves, and the story of his heroism in the...
and others Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
or Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
by birth were the participants. It is said that this openness received a boost from Bhaktivinoda Thakura's broad-minded vision in the late 19th century and was institutionalized by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in his Gaudiya Matha in the 20th century.
He predicted coming of the day when fortunate non-Indian Vaishnavas would perform Harinama Sankirtan in different cities of the world. This prediction was fulfilled by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
.
Bhaktivinoda later accepted siksa (instruction) from Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji
Jagannatha dasa Babaji
Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī was an influential leader in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, and is respected as a Mahatma or saint by followers of his lineage. He accepted initiation from Jagadananda Goswami of Vrindavan, and later accepted Babaji initiation from Madhusudana dasa Babaji...
Maharaj, who is said to have lived for 135 years. Bhaktivinoda accepted the babaji
Babaji
"Babaji" may refer to:* Guru Nanak, the universal enlightener and founder of sikhism, often known as "Baba Nanak" or "Babaji"* a Muslim, Sufi, Hindu or Sikh ascetic or holy man, including:...
vesh (cloth) in 1908 and adopted the lifestyle of a Vaishnava recluse. He continued to travel between Calcutta and Puri until 1910. Then he spent most of his time living quietly at home unable to travel much due to poor health until his death June 23, 1914. His remains were interred at Godruma, one of the nine islands of Navadwip.
Predictions
Many Gaudiya followers believe that Thakura predictions laid the foundation of the worldwide spread of the bhakti yogaBhakti yoga
Bhakti yoga is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God....
movement. He predicted the coming of the day when fortunate non-Indian Vaishnavas would perform Harinama Sankirtan in different cities of the world.
In one of his articles entitled "From Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
to Mahaprabhu" he remarked:
He also envisioned that many devotees from all nationalities would assemble at Mayapur
Mayapur
Mayapur is located on the banks of the Ganges river, at the point of its confluence with the Jalangi, near Navadvip, West Bengal, India, 130 km north of Kolkata...
to sing the names of Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
and Chaitanya. He predicted that a great acharya
Acharya
In Indian religions and society, an acharya is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men...
would come to create a worldwide movement to propagate the sankirtana mission.
His Works
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has broadcast the teachings of Sriman Mahaprabhu in many different languages. He has written approximately one hundred books in Sanskrit, Bengali, Oriya, Hindi, Urdu and English. The names of some of the more important of these works have been given below along with their dates of publication:1 Hari-katha: Topics of Lord Hari, 1850
2 Sumbha-Nisumbha-yuddha, 1851
3 Poriade, 1857-58
4 Mathas of Orissa, 1860
5 Vijana-grama, 1863
6 Sannyasi, 1863
7 Our Wants, 1863
8 Valide Rejishtri, 1866
9 Speech on Gautama, 1866
10 The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy, Its Ethics, and Its Theology, 1869
11 Garbha-stotra-vyakhya, 1870
12 Reflections, 1871
13 Thakura Haridasa, 1871
14 The Temple of Jagannatha at Puri, 1871
15 The Monasteries of Puri, 1871
16 The Personality of Godhead, 1871
17 A Beacon of Light, 1871
18 Saragrahi Vaishnava, 1871
19 To Love God, 1871
20 The Atibadis of Orissa, 1871
21 The Marriage System of Bengal, 1871
22 Vedantadhikarana-mala, 1872
23 Datta-kaustubham, 1874
24 Datta-vamsa-mala, 1876
25 Bauddha-vijaya-kavyam, 1878
26 Sri Krishna-samhita, 1879
27 Sri Sajjana-toshani, (monthly magazine) 1881
28 Kalyana-kalpataru, 1881
29 Review of Nitya-rupa-samsthapanam, 1883
30 Visva-Vaishnava-Kalpatari, 1885
31 Dasopanishad-curnika, 1886
32 Bhavavali (commentary), 1886
33 Rasika-Ranjana, (commentary on Bhagavad Gita) 1886
34 Sri Caitanya Sikshamrita, 1886
35 Prema-pradipa, 1886
36 Published Sri Vishnu-sahasra-nama, 1886
37 Manaù-Siksha (translation and commentary), 1886
38 Sri Caitanya-Upanishad (commentary), 1887
39 Sri Krishna-vijaya (published), 1887
40 Vaishnava-siddhanta-mala, 1888
41 Sri amnaya-sutram, 1890
42 Siddhanta-darpanam (Bengali translation), 1890
43 Sri Navadvipa-dhama-mahatmya, 1890
44 Sri Godruma Kalpatari (essays on nama-hatta), 1891
45 Vidvad-ranjana (commentary on Bhagavad Gita), 1891
46 Sri Harinama, 1892
47 Sri Nama, 1892
48 Sri Nama-tattva-sikshashtaka, 1892
49 Sri Nama-mahima, 1892
50 Sri Nama-pracara, 1892
51 Sriman Mahaprabhura Siksha, 1892
52 Tattva-vivekaù or Sri Saccidanandanubhutih, 1893
53 Saranagati, 1893
54 Gitavali, 1893
55 Gitamala, 1893
56 Soka-satana, 1893
57 Nama Bhajana, 1893
58 Tattva-sutram, 1894
59 Vedarka-didhiti (commentary on Sri Isopanishad), 1894
60 Tattva-muktavali or Mayavada-satadushani, (translated and published), 1894
61 Amrita-pravaha-bhashya (commentary on Caitanya caritamrita), 1895
62 Sri Gauranga-lila-smarana-mangala-stotram, 1896
63 Sri Ramanuja Upadesa, 1896
64 Jaiva-Dharma, 1896
65 Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, His Life and Precepts, 1896
66 Brahma-samhita (commentary), 1897
67 Sri Goloka-mahatmya (Bengali translation of Brihad Bhagavatamrita), 1898
68 Sri Krishna-karnamritam, (translation), 1898
69 Piyusha-varshini-vritti (commentary on Upadesamrita), 1898
70 Sri Bhajanamritam (translation and commentary), 1899
71 Sri Navadvipa-bhava-taranga, 1899
72 The Hindu Idols, 1899
73 Sri Harinama-cintamani, 1900
74 Sri Bhagavata Arka-marici-mala, 1901
75 Sri Sankalpa-kalpadruma (Bengali translation), 1901
76 Sri Bhajana-rahasya, 1902
77 Sri Prema-vivarta (published), 1906
78 Svaniyama-dvadasakam, 1907