A Brief Biography of Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura

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Saptam Gosvami Saccidananda Sri Srimad Bhaktivinoda Thakura

 

Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura appeared in an educated and cultured

family on September 2, 1838, in the village of Viranagara, which is near the

place of Mahaprabhu's appearance, Sri Dhama Mayapura, in West Bengal. His

childhood name was Sri Kedaranatha Datta. He was a scholarly and ingenious

student.

 

During his household life, he held a high position as a government official

under the rule of the British Raja. During that time he served the innermost

desire of Sri Gaurasundara by translating the Upanisads, the Brahma-sutra,

Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-gita, the commentaries of the Gosvamis,

composing his own devotional books, and by publishing weekly and monthly

spiritual journals. In addition, he established nama-hatta programmes for

the distribution of harinama-sankirtana and hari-katha from village to

village and town to town, and he revived many forgotten holy places.

 

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is an intimate eternal associate of the saviour

of the masses in the age of Kali, Sacinandana Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. After

the associates of Sri Gaurahari such as the Six Gosvamis, Sri Krishnadasa

Kaviraja, Sri Narottama Thakura and Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura

left this world and entered the unmanifest pastimes, the one-hundred years

that followed are considered a dark period for the Gaudiya Vaisnava line.

 

This is because during this period in the Gaudiya line no powerful acarya

appeared who could carry forward the teachings of Sriman Mahaprabhu in their

pure form as was done previously. As a result, in a short span of time, on

the pretext of following and preaching the prema-dharma taught by Sriman

Mahaprabhu many false sects like Aul, Baul, Karta-bhaja, Neda-nedi, Sai,

Sahajiya, Sakhi-bhekhi, Smarta and Jati-gosai appeared and, while engaged in

abundant misbehaviour, started preaching their own imaginary and materially

motivated deceitful principles. They defamed Gaudiya Vaisnavism to such an

extent that educated and respectable people started viewing it with

abhorrence. Gradually the Gaudiya conception of devotion began disappearing.

 

At this time, Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura auspiciously appeared.

By compiling approximately one-hundred authoritative books on the science of

bhakti in Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, English and various other languages, he

ushered in a new era in the Gaudiya Vaisnava line and re-established its

lost glory. For this great effort, the Gaudiya Vaisnavas will remain

eternally indebted to him. In the modern age, Srila Bhaktivinoda

Thakura set in motion once again the bhakti-bhagirathi, or flowing river of

pure devotion.

 

Due to his having propagated in different ways the pure philosophy of divine

love (prema-dharma) exhibited and preached by Sriman Mahaprabhu, he is

famous as the Seventh Gosvami. Because he manifested Mahaprabhu's holy names

(sri-gaura-nama), Mahaprabhu's holy land (sri-gaura-dhama), Mahaprabhu's

innermost desire (sri-gaura-kama) and the narrations of Mahaprabhu's

pastimes (sri-gaura-lila), he is considered the incarnation of Vyasa in

Mahaprabhu's pastimes.

 

In the end he renounced his wealth and family and took up permanent

residence at Sri Svananda-sukhada-kunja, a garden in Sri Godruma which is

situated on the banks of the divine Bhagirathi River within the boundary of

Sri Dhama Navadvipa. There he remained possessionless and established the

ideal of the system for practicing spontaneous devotional worship

(raganuga-bhajana). If he had not appeared in this world, Mahaprabhu's

birthplace, the places where Mahaprabhu performed pastimes and Mahaprabhu's

instructions would still be concealed.

 

By his influential and impeccable discourses, articles and books about pure

bhakti, and by his establishing Sri Nama-hatta, or the marketplace of the

holy name in every town and village, he laid the foundation for widespread

distribution of rupanuga-bhakti throughout the world.

 

Today, in all corners of the world, hari-nama-sankirtana is being joyously

celebrated and the very high waves of Sri-gaura-krsna bhakti are inundating

the entire world. Thousands of educated Western youths are drinking the

mellows of devotion (bhakti-rasa) and dancing, being overcome with spiritual

joy.

 

It is none other than Bhaktivinoda Thakura who again inaugurated this flow

of bhakti. He composed approximately one hundred books in Sanskrit, Bengali,

Hindi, English, Oriya and other languages. The names of a few of them are as

follows: commentaries on ancient scriptures such as Brahma-sutra,

Bhagavad-gita, some of the Upanisads, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri

Caitanya-caritamrta; and his own compositions such as Jaiva-dharma, Sri

Caitanya-siksamrta, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhura Siksa, Datta-kaustubha, Sri

Krishna-samhita, Tattva-viveka, Bhajana-rahasya, Dasa-mula-siksa,

Saranagati, Gitamala, Kalyana-kalpataru, Harinama-cintamani, Prema-pradipa,

and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu - His Life and Precepts. He disappeared from

this world on June 23, 1914.

 

(From http://gaudiya.net/bhaktivinodathakura.htm)