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A nice letter

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Srila Bhaktivionda ThakurSaraswati!

People of this world who are proud of their own aristocratic birth attack the pure Vaisnava… Thus they commit offenses. The solution to the problem is to establish the order of daiva-varnāśrama-dharma—something you have started doing: you should know that to be the real service to the Vaisnava. Because pure devotional conclusions are not being preached, all kinds of superstitions and bad concepts are being called devotion by such pseudo sampradāyas as sahajiya and ativādi.

Please always crush these anti-devotional concepts by preaching pure devotional conclusions and by setting an example… Please try very hard to make sure that the service to Sri Māyāpur will become a permanent thing. The real service to Sri Māyāpur can be done by acquiring printing presses, distributing devotional books, and sankirtana-preaching. Please do not neglect to serve Sri Māyāpur or to preach for the sake of your own reclusive bhajana. When I am not present any, more, please take care to serve Sri Māyāpur dhāma which is so dear to you. This is my special instruction to you.

I had a special desire to preach the significance of such books as Srimad-Bhagavatam, Şat-Sandarbha, and Vedānta Darśana. You have to accept that responsibility. Sri Māyāpur will prosper if you establish an educational institution there. Never make any effort to collect knowledge or money for your own enjoyment. Only to serve the Lord will you collect these things.

signed Kedarnātha Datta Bhaktivinoda

Srila Sacchidananda Bhakti Vinod Thakur

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Srila Bhaktivionda Thakur

Pranam mantra

vande bhaktivinodam sri-gaura-sakti-svarupakam
bhakti-sastrajna-samrajam radha-rasa-sudha-nidhim

“I offer my obeisance unto Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, the embodiment of Sri Gaurasundar’s potency. He is the king of all knowers of the scriptures of pure devotion and an ocean of the nectar of devotion to Srimati Radharani.”

guru-dam grantha-dam gaura-dhama-dam nama-dam muda
bhakti-dam bhuri-dam vande bhakti-vinodakam sada

“I offer my obeisance forever with joy unto the Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur who is the prolific giver of Sri Guru, the scriptures, the abode of Sri Gaura, the Holy Name, and pure devotion.”

A brief biography

Srila Sachchidananda Bhakti Vinod Thakur, the nineteenth century pioneer of Krishna consciousness, was born in 1838 in Bengal. He worked tirelessly to preserve the spiritual tradition and literature of India; he composed, edited, and published more than 100 books in Sanskrit, Bengali, and English.

The pioneer of pure devotion, it was Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur who foretold that people the world over would join under the banner of Sri Chaitanya Maharabhu’s Hari-nam-sankirtan [congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Lord Krishna]. By his profuse writings, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur infused the current which was to be the renaissance of a devotional civilisation, which had become overgrown with spurious interpretations and misrepresentation.

He advocated exclusive surrender [saranagati] to the service of the Supreme Lord’s pure devotees as the life of devotion, and to this end he composed a great stream of books, prayers, poems, and commentaries in Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, English, and other languages, which are now revered by the genuine devotees as scripture. His style of presentation was chiefly analytic, simple, and appealing. He taught that the apparently sophisticated philosophies and doctrines which deviate one to materialism, salvation, voidism, etc. (karma, jnana, sunyavada, etc.) must be abandoned by the true aspirants of devotion; yet, he acknowledged that from the universal standpoint such ‘charming’ distractions served to segregate the insincere from the sincere. Thus, he foresaw that inevitably the intelligentsia of the world must come to appreciate the all-attractive path of divine love given by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

The Thakur inaugurated the worship of Lord Chaitanya at the holy site known as Sri Yoga Pith, the advent location of Sri Chaitanyadev in the holy Sri Dham Mayapur.

On the Appearance Day of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur

Sunday, 17 October 1955, Sri Gaudiya Darshan, Volume 1, Issue 3 By Om Vishnupad Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj

mukam karoti vachalam pangum langhayate giri
yat krpa tam aham vande sri guru dina-taranam

“I offer my obeisance unto Sri Guru, the deliverer of the destitute, by whose mercy a mute speaks and a cripple crosses a mountain.”

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Glories of Sri Gauranga

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Herein lies the secret of secrets which the living entities bound by Maya cannot discern. One who does not attain love of God after worshipping Krishna birth after birth has certainly committed heaps of offenses. For only by chanting Krishna’s name without offenses can one attain incessant Krishnaprema. Sri Chaitanya’s incarnation, however, is most uncommon. By His mercy, a serious person, though filled with offenses, can quickly obtain love of God. When someone calls out the names of Nitai and Chaitanya, Krishna-prema comes looking for him. Offenses do not hinder his progress, and he soon sheds tears of ecstasy out of pure love of God. By the mercy of Sri Chaitanya, all the offenses quickly flee away, the heart becomes pure, and love of God fully blossoms. Because people in Kali-yuga commit unlimited offenses, which are difficult to check, there can be no means of deliverance other than Gauranga’s name. Therefore, in Kali-yuga, I see no alternative to Sri Gauranga. This is also the proclamation of the scriptures.

— Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya

Souls a quality of independence.

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Srila Bhaktivionda ThakurSrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s
Vaisnava-siddhanta-mala

Q. Why don’t souls remain in their true position, free from material designations?

A. Those souls who accept nothing other than service as their eternal occupation do not give up their transcendence to material designations, which is natural in their true position (svarupa). Their attraction to facing Krsna is everlasting. But those who consent to the notion of selfishly seeking the enjoyment of their own so-called happiness turn away from Krsna, and for this reason they are shackled within the prison-house of the material world made of maya.

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About other types of religion.

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Srila Bhaktivionda ThakurSrila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s
Vaisnava-siddhanta-mala

Q. These truths of Sri Krsna-tattva are the religious principles of the Vaishnava-dharma. What about people who are involved with other types of religion?

A. Different religions have different instructions for the worship of either Isvara (the personal God), Paramatma (the localised Supersoul in the heart) or Brahma (His all-pervading impersonality) – but all three of these types of religions are ultimately pointing in the direction of Krsna-Tattva. After the jivas evolve upwards through their various courses of development, they eventually will attain Krsna Bhakti in the end. Even though they attain the incompleteness of their various religious paths, Sri Krsna Bhakti is still available to them. The awareness of the supreme nature of Sri Krsna-tattva is the ultimate knowledge inherent within each and every living entity.

Instruction of reading literature

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What is Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s instruction to those who are fond of reading literature?

Do not remain confined simply by the discussion of literature. Rather, you should approach saintly persons and Vaisnavas and understand from them the distinction between sdadhana-bhakti, bhava-bhakti, and prema-bhakti. The science of Vaisnavism is not confined within books. The word nirgrantha defines the spiritual master and the Vaisnavas as beyond the books. Therefore the science of Vaisnavism is a mystery, because it has to be understood only from devotees. (Sajjana Tosani 6/2)

Sri Bhaktivinoda Vani from Sri Bhaktivinod Vani Vaibhav

Tolerance

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Tolerance

What kind of compassion is indicated by the phrase “more tolerant than a tree”?

The phrase “more tolerant than a tree” indicates that although a tree is cut, it does not protest. Rather, it helps others by its shade, fruits, and flowers. Similarly, Krisna’s devotees should show greater compassion than a tree by helping everyone whether friends or enemies. Such compassion is the ornament of the non envious devotees who chant the holy names.
(Sikshastakam)

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Kabe Mui Vaisnava Cinibo

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Song Name: Kabe Mui Vaisnava Cinibo

Official Name: Ucchvasa: Prarthana Lalasmayi Song

Author: Bhaktivinoda Thakura

 

Book Name: Kalyana Kalpataru

 

Language: Bengali

(1)

kabe mui vaisnava cinibo hari hari
vaisnava carana, kalyaner khani,
matibo hrdaye dhori’

1) Oh Hari, when will I be able to recognize a Vaishnava
The feet of the Vaisnava is the source of auspiciousness
Keeping those feet on my very heart I will be fully ecstatic


(2)

baisnava-thakura aprakrta sada,
nirdosa, anandamoy
krsna-name priti jade udasina,
jibete dayardra hoy

2) The venerable Vaishnava is always transcendental
He is innocent and joyous He feels pleasure in chanting the name of Krishna, at the same time he is oblivious to the material world He is deeply compassionate to the living entities

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Unalloyed Surrender to the Holy Names

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What are the characteristics of a person who has taken complete shelter of the holy names?

By misusing the six propensities of the heart (lust, anger, greed, illusion, pride, and envy) one commits sin. One who has taken complete shelter of the holy name does not commit sin.

He engages his lust in discussing topics about Krsna and maintaining his Vaisnava family based on service to Krsna.

He never engages in sinful activities, such as enjoying the wives of others, accumulating more money than he requires, desiring name and fame, cheating, or stealing. He uses his anger against those who are envious of Krsna and the Vaisnavas. In this way, he remains aloof from materialistic association. He avoids subduing and torturing others. Thus, his anger transforms into the tolerance of a tree.

He uses his greed to relish the mellows of ecstatic love for Krsna and thereby does not bother to eat palatable foodstuffs, wear opulent clothes, enjoy beautiful women, or accumulate unlimited wealth.

He uses illusion in experiencing transcendental mellows and thus becomes bewildered by the beauty of Krsna’s pastimes and the Vaisnavas’ characteristics. Wealth, followers, and material happiness do not enamor him. Not bewildered by their improper conclusion, such a person does not become involved in impersonalism, atheism, or false argument.

He engages pride in Krsna’s service and thus renounces the pride coming from high birth, wealth, beauty, education, followers, and bodily strength.

He totally renounces envy and violence toward others. By regulating his life in this way, he does not have the opportunity to commit sin. Rather, his propensity for sinful activities is uprooted. If, however, he accidentally commits a sin, it is nullified without his having to practice atonement.

Sri Bhaktivinoda Vani from Bhaktivinoda Vani Vaibhava

(Sajjana Tosanl 8/9)

Suno He Rasikajana Krsna Guna Aganana

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Srila Bhaktivionda ThakurBook: “Kalyana Kalpataru.”
Official Song Name: “Ucchvasa: Ucchvasa Kirtana Guna Kirtana Song 2”.
Author: Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

LYRICS:

(1)
suna, he rasikajana krsna guna aganana
ananta kahite nahi pare
krsna jagatera guru krsna vascakalpataru
navika se bhava-parabare

(2)
hrdaya pirita ja’ra krsna cikitsaka ta’ra
bhava roga nasite catura
krsna bahirmmukha jane premamrta vitarane
krame laya nija antahpura

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