Did Bābā Premānanda Bharatī have any influence on Srila Prabhupada?

[Guest guest]

Bābā Premānanda Bharatī was likely the first Gaudiya Vaisnava missionary on the Western soil. He arrived to the West in 1902, establishing a Krishna-temple called "the Krishna House" in Los Angeles, publishing the treatise "Sree Krishna" in 1904, and publishing a periodical called "Light of India" from 1906 to 1912. He also made a number of American disciples – according to some accounts, at one point he had a following as large as 5000 disciples.

 

 

Baba Bharati was the first known Vaisnava to use the phrase Krishna Consciousness [1], and is also reported to have employed several other "Westernized" expressions in describing themes of Vaisnava theology, such as the term "golden age" for satya-yuga.

 

Baba Bharati is reported [3] as having said of his Hindu predecessor preachers, "They have not presented Hinduism as it is, free from Western affectation."

[Guest guest]

 

Bābā Premānanda Bharatī was likely the first Gaudiya Vaisnava missionary on the Western soil. He arrived to the West in 1902, establishing a Krishna-temple called "the Krishna House" in Los Angeles, publishing the treatise "Sree Krishna" in 1904, and publishing a periodical called "Light of India" from 1906 to 1912. He also made a number of American disciples – according to some accounts, at one point he had a following as large as 5000 disciples.

 

 

Baba Bharati was the first known Vaisnava to use the phrase Krishna Consciousness [1], and is also reported to have employed several other "Westernized" expressions in describing themes of Vaisnava theology, such as the term "golden age" for satya-yuga.

 

Baba Bharati is reported [3] as having said of his Hindu predecessor preachers, "They have not presented Hinduism as it is, free from Western affectation."

 

 

Why was he called baba if he traveled around like a parivrajakacharya?

 

don't babas sit down for bhajan in a solitary place?

 

since when do babajis travel all over the world?

[sanatan]

 

Bābā Premānanda Bharatī was likely the first Gaudiya Vaisnava missionary on the Western soil. He arrived to the West in 1902, establishing a Krishna-temple called "the Krishna House" in Los Angeles, ...."

 

Is there anything in print or websites about him?

[Guest guest]

"Encycl. of American Religions, 3rd Ed. 1989 Gale Research ISBN 0-8103-2841-0" on Baba Premanand Bharati

 

 

 

Surendranath Mukerji (died 1914) better known by his religious name -Baba Premanand Bharati- was among the first Hindu teachers to come to America, arriving around 1902 from Bengal. He was a student of Swami Brahmanand Bharati and a follower of the Krishna Consciousness Movement (ultimately more well known thanks to 'Hare Krishna' movement of the '70's) and founded the "Krishna Samaj" (now defunct).

 

Bharati, the nephew of a prominent Bengali judge, formed the Krishna Samaj in N.Y.C. and lectured to popular audiences in other eastern cities. He eventually moved to L.A. where a temple was constructed and he had his greatest following. In 1909 he returned to India where, with a few of his American disciples, he opened a mission in Calcutta. The mission failed for lack of financial support and he & his followers returned to America. He died in Calcutta in 1914. The temple dissolved in America soon after Bharati's death.

 

In the years immediately after his death, Bharati was attacked by people opposed to the growth of Hinduism in America, such as Elizabeth A. Reed, whose study of Bharati and the other early gurus was a significant factor in building public support for the Asian Exclusion Act passed in 1917. The strength and devotion of Bharati's disciples, however, kept his memory alive over the years.

 

In the 30's, members of the Order of Loving Service (a California mystical group) dedicated the book "Square" as follows: " To Baba Premanand Bharati, who by his love, patience, and continued watchfulness has led me out of darkness into Light, out of out of weariness into Rest, out of confusion into Understanding, out of continuous striving into Perfect Peace."

 

In the 70's, members of AUM Temple of Universal Truth (founded in the 20's) were reprinting Bharati's writings in their periodical and selling pictures of "Our Beloved Baba Bharati".

[Guest guest]

 

In the years immediately after his death, Bharati was attacked by people opposed to the growth of Hinduism in America, such as Elizabeth A. Reed, whose study of Bharati and the other early gurus was a significant factor in building public support for the Asian Exclusion Act passed in 1917.

 

whoa! what is this Asian Exclusion Act! In America we have freedom of religion.

[Guest guest]

Found this on Wikipedia:

 

 

The Asiatic Exclusion League, often abbreviated AEL, was an organization formed in the early twentieth century in the United States and Canada that aimed to prevent immigration of people of Asian origin.

 

The Asian Exclusion League was formed on May 14, 1905 in San Francisco, California, by 67 labor unions. Among those attending the first meeting were labor leaders (and European immigrants) Patrick Henry McCarthy and Olaf Tveitmoe of the Building Trades Council of San Francisco and Andrew Furuseth and Walter McCarthy of the Sailor's Union. Tveitmoe was named the first president of the organization. The group's stated aims were to spread anti-Asian propaganda and influence legislation restricting Asian immigration. Specifically targeted at first were Japanese, Chinese, and Koreans. The league was almost immediately successful in pressuring the San Francisco Board of Education to segregate Asian school children. Indians were later targeted as were any other Asians. By 1908, the Asiatic Exclusion League reported 231 organizations affiliated, 195 of them labor unions.

 

California Attorney General Ulysses S. Webb spent great effort enforcing laws against asian ownership of property.

 

A sister organization with the same name was formed in Vancouver, British Columbia, on September 7, 1907 (as reported in the Vancouver News-Advertiser.) Their stated aim was "to keep Oriental immigrants out of British Columbia." On September 8th, serious riots erupted in Vancouver as the league members besieged Chinatown. Screaming racist slogans, a crowd of 9,000 marched into Chinatown, vandalizing and causing thousands of dollars worth of damage. On September 12, a mere five days after it was formed, the Vancouver organization disbanded.

 

Both of these organizations were part of an overall atmosphere of racism against Asians which prevailed in Canada and the United States from the 1800s on, culminating in the imposition of a Head Tax on Asian immigrants to Canada, and the internment of Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians during World War II.

[Guest guest]

 

He also made a number of American disciples – according to some accounts, at one point he had a following as large as 5000 disciples.

Sure... whatever people want to make up is fine.

 

But to be practical, Prabhupada, after travelling throughout the world, and distributing millions of books worldwide, had only 10,000 initiated disciples. And that with access to modern media such as television, etc.

 

The facts would be more like Premananda had 2 or 3 disciples if any. He was a historical nobody who had no impact on any of the Hindu gurus who came to the west.

[raga]

 

Good work Raga on your misinformation tactic to belittle Prabhupada. You people are a joke. Even now there are only a dozen followers of the Babaji's, and you want to pretend this person had 5,000 disciples in 1902 and was the real pioneer of Krishna consciousness in the West.

Are you suggesting that Baba Premananda Bharati didn't exist? I note that the figure 5000 is "according to some accounts" - what then do I pretend? He did not disappear into nobodyness if there's an entry on him in Encyclopedia of American Religions. Baba Bharati is a well-known figure outside IGM.

 

It may also be of interest to you that Baba Bharati's disciple, Mahanambrata Brahmacari, is told to have given 354 lectures in 63 US towns and spoken at 29 universities in the 1930's (1933-1939).

 

I am not a follower of either, and I really couldn't care less if they wouldn't have gone West before Prabhupada. Who was the first to go to China? Who are the current pioneers in Bangladesh? I wouldn't have a clue, and that doesn't make a lot of difference to me either.

 

Your faith in Prabhupada must be fragile if you need to attack others like this. Please identify yourself before commenting any further. Your Prabhupada signed his statements, he didn't write anonymous criticism of others.

[raga]

 

Why was he called baba if he traveled around like a parivrajakacharya?

 

don't babas sit down for bhajan in a solitary place?

 

since when do babajis travel all over the world?

There is no strict definition on what babajis do or don't do. Some sit in solitude, some travel far and wide.

[SishirSaha]

It seems a bit of a stretch to call Premananda Bharati a Vaisnava. I have always thought real Gaudiya Vaisnavas would call him a Mayavadi or maybe a sahajiya since he is a follower of Jagabandhu, not Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

[madhavachari]

It is remarkable that Premananda Bharati coined the phrase Krishna Consciousness, which is a part of the name International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Did A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami read Premananda Bharati´s books perhaps?

[raga]

 

It seems a bit of a stretch to call Premananda Bharati a Vaisnava. I have always thought real Gaudiya Vaisnavas would call him a Mayavadi or maybe a sahajiya since he is a follower of Jagabandhu, not Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

How well are you familiar with Premananda Bharati's teachings? Just because he found inspiration in someone we don't consider orthodox doesn't make him a mayavadi or a sahajiya.

[madhavachari]

Wow...

 

http://www.mahanambrata.org/saviour.htm

[raga]

Yes - they were inspired by Jagadbandhu, who was a peculiar case in the wild dawn of the 20th century.

 

Interesting trivia: The title "Sree Krishna" is mentioned in a letter written by Mahatma Gandhi to Leo Tolstoi on October 1, 1909, found in the Collected Works of Gandhi (#91, p.132 - PDF). Gandhi notes that Tolstoi had referred to the text frequently: "In the letter in question, you have quoted largely from Krishna and given reference to passages. I should thank you to give me the title of the book from which the quotations have been made."

[Kulapavana]

 

Bābā Premānanda Bharatī was likely the first Gaudiya Vaisnava missionary on the Western soil.

 

Very interesting. thank you for the info.

 

I am surprised some people will find presenting such information as an attempt to belittle Prabhupada. Prabhupada published so many books and opened so many temples all over the world in 11 years that his position is forever established in the history of world religions as very unique.

 

Why the need to knock down another obviously sincere Vaishnava preacher as of "little importance", "mayavadi" or whatever? That is demonic.

 

Those who try to elevate their guru by belittling others are only dragging down everybody into mud. If you properly respect and elevate others, you also elevate and make respectful your own camp.

[raga]

 

Sure... whatever people want to make up is fine.

 

But to be practical, Prabhupada, after travelling throughout the world, and distributing millions of books worldwide, had only 10,000 initiated disciples. And that with access to modern media such as television, etc.

 

The facts would be more like Premananda had 2 or 3 disciples if any. He was a historical nobody who had no impact on any of the Hindu gurus who came to the west.

You cannot guess or estimate facts. If you have something solid to go on, do present.

 

I also wanted to repost this quote from Prabhupada.

 

 

You have got, say, ten thousand followers. That does not mean success. Everyone has got some followers. This.... What is that? Guruji Maharaja. He has got also so-called followers. The T.M., he has got also some followers. Everyone has got some followers. But what kind of followers they have? That is quality. Everything has quality. Simply quantity is not. There are many Christians. Even up to date, some Christian fair or.... Many millions will come. What is the quality? Quality is all meat-eater. But Christian means he should not kill. Where is the Christian? So we have to test by the quality, followers. Not many followers, the quality of the followers. My Guru Maharaja used to say like that, that “If I get at least one quality disciple, then all my labor will be success.” He was saying like that: quality, not the quantity. By quantity if one is amazed, then he is also goru [cow].

That aside, it is not at all uncommon for Gaudiya Vaisnava gurus in Bengal to have 5.000 or 10.000 disciples even without broadcasting on TV or having a website.

[vijay]

I thought the term Krishna conciousness was a literal translation of Krishna chaitanya

[Guest guest]

The terminology of "Krishna consciousness" is a translation of original Sanskrit and Bengal terms.

It would not ber very amazing that more than one scholar translated something in the same way.

 

 

Just like Yamunacharya. He is praying, he is speaking, yad-avadhi mama cittah krishna-padaravinde nava-nava-dhamany udyatam rantum asit:

 

 

Krishna consciousness is derived from cittah krishna.

 

Sometimes we say Krishna Chittah etc.

 

The terminology is a standard translation of original Sanskrit and Bengal term.

 

Srila Prabhupada said somewhere that this term krishna chitta is where the term Krishna consciounsness comes from.

 

He didn't necessarily have to learn it from Bharati.

[raga]

I brushed up on the article and revised some bits on the basis of some interesting notes I just received from Mr. Carney.

 

http://wiki.gaudiyakutir.com/Baba_Premananda_Bharati

[Guest guest]

 

I brushed up on the article and revised some bits on the basis of some interesting notes I just received from Mr. Carney.

 

 

 

very nice presentation.

I am always impressed with Raga's works.

 

One thing I noticed about the images of bharati, Lokanatha and jagabandhu is that japa-mala beads and the bead bag are missing.

 

My experience is that the bhaktas of the Gaudiya schoo,l since the time of the Goswamis, have been portrayed with japa-mala and the japa-bag.

 

Does this show anything about the kind of Vaishnava they were or tell anything about their brand of devotion?

[raga]

Jagadbandhu seems to have been fairly unconcerned over formalities; I believe one of his specialties was that "diksha is not required at all". Though honestly, I'm not all that familiar with their ideology.

 

I am under the impression that Baba Bharati and Mahanambrata Brahmacari were, by all counts, much more "orthodox" in practice than their source of inspiration. The two photos of Premananda Bharati are not much to go by, but if you look at photos of his follower Mahanambrata, you'll see him in several photos with a mala.

 

On the other hand, I have a whole stock of illustrations of Gaudiya acaryas without their malas, all the way from the Gosvamis onwards, so no, I don't think much can be deducted on the basis of these photos.

 

This illustration, however, will certainly provoke some thoughts.

 

--

 

Madhavacari - I am not aware of Baba Premananda's having received diksa from any particular Gaudiya guru. That isn't to say he didn't, I just don't know. It's quite possible that he was content with whatever it is that he received from Jagadbandhu.

 

Then, to answer to the question I assume is written between the lines before you ask it, the difference is in maintaining a cordial relationship with the rest of the samaj; and to answer onwards, no, that does not make their beliefs on Jagadbandhu any more orthodox; and again onwards, my view is that as far as they conveyed the correct message, whatever they did was for the good.

[Kulapavana]

 

Jagadbandhu seems to have been fairly unconcerned over formalities; I believe one of his specialties was that "diksha is not required at all".

 

Mahanambrata Brahmacari on his site (as linked) presents Jagadbandhu as an incarnation of Lord Hari. did Jagadbandhu indeed presented himself in that way or was it yet another case where overzealous disciples turned their guru into god?

 

Looking at some current trends in Iskcon we can only thank the early deviants for their "Prabhupada is God" lunacy promulgated when Prabhupada was still on the planet. in that way he was able to smash that nonsense in unmistakable terms.

[raga]

I don't know from where the idea comes from, or at what point it surfaced, but I am under the impression that Jagadbandhu seems to have endorsed it himself. Specifically, he is supposed to be Nava-Gauranga, the new avatar of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. They also have an idea of his eventual resurrection, if I am not mistaken.

 

There was also an attempt to declare Radharaman Caran Das Baba ("Nitai Gaura Radhe Shyam") a joint avatar of Nitai and Gaura, but the Baba objected to this strongly and ousted the person suggesting this, one of his closest companions, from his sanga. Barha Baba's life was nothing short of miraculous, so such a suggestion was not altogether astonishing.

[Guest guest]

 

Jagadbandhu seems to have been fairly unconcerned over formalities; I believe one of his specialties was that "diksha is not required at all". .

 

I wonder if that means that he said that formal diksha was not required at all, or if he just rejected the whole concept of diksha even in it's most unorthodox form?

 

If he rejected diksha completely, then that is like some Buddhist type of spriituality where the Vedas are rejected entirely.

 

How could he be rejecting the Vedas and still accepting itihasa and purana?

[Guest guest]

The image of this Jagabandhu with his arms crossed as if in a stern and critical posture is very interesting.

 

I wonder what this posture is supposed to represent in the character of this Jagabandhu?

 

This crossing of arms in this way is a very judgemental type of posture and portrays an almost juvenile and incorrigible gesture.