Proof of Bipin Bihari Goswami's position

[Guest guest]

> If there was any other evidence of a strain in the relationship, then this

> could be taken as further evidence, but by itself it really tells us

> nothing conclusively.

 

I just want to put my two pennies in this discussion about Bipin Bihari

Goswami. There are many historical evidences of a major strain in the

relationship between Bhaktivinode Thakura & Bipin Bihari Goswami which can

be considered as conclusive evidence of the Bipin Bihari Goswami's position.

I will give a few:

 

(1) With the help of Jagannatha dasa Babaji, Bhaktivinode Thakura was able

to discover the place of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's appearance.

Simultaneously it was declared that the so-called Yogapitha at Navadvipa on

the other side of the Ganges was false. Many caste goswamis objected to the

site at Sri Mayapur being the original site. Bipin Bihari Goswami at that

time rejected Bhaktivinoda's preaching in a small newspaper of his own

called Gauranga-sevaka Patrika in 1919. One could say at this point-that at

the very least they did not see eye to eye or that their feelings for

placing distance in their relationship was mutual-indeed a difficult

relationship to maintain between "guru and disciple." (The Gaurangasevaka

Patrika and article available at Caitanya Research Institute, Calcutta)

 

(2) We do not find any association of Bhaktivinode Thakura with Bipin Bihari

Goswami except for short time in Narail, East Bengal and this does not

include any reference to the latter instructing Bhaktivinode in the matter

of pure devotional service.

 

(3) In 1911 there was an famous assembly of scholars held in Medinpur

(Bengal) wherein the topic of debate was to be "Brahmana and Vaisnavas."

Bipin Bihari Goswami was present at that assembly and, as already known, he

would side with the brahmana community in the platform that brahmana

Vaisnavas were automatically superior to non-brahmnana Vaisnavas, due to a

brahmana being born in a higher caste. Bhaktivinode Thakura was also invited

to attend that assembly. The conflict between he and Bipin Bihari was

destined. Bhaktivinoda Thakura - not wanting to take a position of

confronting & attempting to defeat his "diksha guru" in a public forum

declined to attend the meeting on the pleaa of bad health. In his place he

sent Sarasvati Thakura (age 37) to represent the Gaudiya Vaisnava Siddhanta

in the line of Sri Rupa & Raghunatha dasa Goswami, as per the teachings of

Mahaprabhu. We all know what happened in the meeting.

 

(4) It is clear also in studying the life of Bhaktivinoda that he did not

imbibe any of the conceptions of Bipin Bihari Goswami. BVT stressed on the

chanting on the Holy Names in contrary to the stress on siddha-pranali given

by BBG.

 

(5)In later years Sarasvati Thakura reinitiated (hari-nama, mantra-diksha &

sannyasa) a prominent disciple of Bipin Bihari Goswami, who became known as

Bhaktivivek Bharati Maharaja.

 

(6) There are some points which may not be proved directly like for instance

it is known that Bipin Bihari mixed very freely with the degraded sections

of Bengal society and associated with anti-Vedic philosophers like the

Brahma Samaja. Even after his return to Vaisnavism he continued bad habits

like smoking etc. - thus Sarasvati Thakura, who was himself very strict in

this principles, saw this as a sign of lower Vaisnava adhikari (kanishtha

adhikari), although Bhaktivinoda Thakura remained unspoken on the issue.

 

(7) Bhaktivinoda Thakura did for sometime show formal respect to Bipin

Bihari Goswami. But when the Goswami disrespected Srila Raghunatha dasa

Goswami by thinking that he can give blessings to Raghunatha dasa, the

prayojana-acarya, because Raghunatha dasa was from a "lower caste", the

Thakura distanced himself more from Bipin Bihari Goswami.

 

Your servant,

Nayana-ranjana dasa