Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838-1914) is a prominent preceptor acharya in our succession of spiritual masters and disciples coming from Lord Krishna. He was a pioneering spiritual leader, a householder, a magistrate working in colonial India under the British rule, a prolific preacher, writer, and poet. He wrote volumes of books reintroducing the pure teachings of Lord Chaitanya at a time when those teachings had practically become lost. He composed hundreds of devotional songs glorifying Krishna to uplift the consciousness of the suffering people of this world. He corresponded with philosophers, theologians, leaders, scholars, and professors of his time and sent books, including The Life and Precepts of Lord Chaitanya, to university libraries in foreign countries, planting the seeds for a worldwide movement of Krishna consciousness. Bhaktivinoda Thakura discovered and excavated the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya. Along with his devoted wife, Bhagavati Devi, he raised ten children, including the illustrious Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, who would become a great spiritual leader in his own time and the spiritual master of ISKCON's founder-acharya, His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
Above all, Bhaktivinoda Thakura taught devotion to Krishna by his personal example. His life story, excerpted below, demonstrates a tremendous amount of courage, character, and perseverance in the face of many difficulties and gives hope to those of us who may be wondering just how to find the time to serve Lord Sri Krishna, His holy names, and His devotees in our ever so busy lives.
In many ways, aspiring devotees of Krishna today owe a significant debt to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura for charting the course and laying the foundation for the modern-day Krishna consciousness movement.
Once, as he looked out from his window across the river towards the birthplace of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Bhaktivinoda Thakura had a vision that people from all nations would soon come together there in harmony through the blissful chanting of the holy names of Krishna, sankirtan.
His great-grand-disciple, Srila Prabhupada, who humbly and fearlessly spread Krishna consciousness to the far corners of the world, thought it significant that he was born in 1896, the year the Thakura sent copies of The Life and Precepts of Lord Chaitanya to universities across the oceans.
namo bhaktivinodaya
sac-cid-ananda-namine
gaura shakti svarupaya
rupanuga varayate
"Ofrezco mis respetuosas reverencias a Sacidananda Bhaktivinoda, que es la energía transcendental de Caitanya Mahaprabhu. El es un estricto seguidor de los Gosvamis, liderados por Srila Rupa."
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura permaneció en este mundo desde el año 1838 hasta 1914, todas sus actividades fueron dirigidas para remover la aflicción eterna de la humanidad. Fue Bhaktivinoda Thakura quien localizó el lugar sagrado donde nació Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, en la región bengalí conocida como Sri Mayapur.
Encarnación de Kamala-mañjari.
Restableció, a finales del siglo diecinueve, las enseñanzas del Señor Caitanya, que para entonces en gran parte, habían sido falseadas o estaban perdidas. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura escribió casi cien libros para explicar la ciencia de la Conciencia de Krishna, desenmascarando seudo encarnaciones de Dios, y derrotó conceptos erróneos acerca del sendero del servicio devocional. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura era un activo predicador y un Magistrado Legislador en Jagannatha Puri, Orissa, así como el padre de diez niños. Uno de estos hijos fue Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, fundador del Gaudiya Matha y maestro espiritual de Srila Prabhupada.
Escribió muchos libros de poesía y filosofía, como Saranagati y Jaiva Dharma, así como comentarios sobre el Bhagavad-gita y el Chaitanya Charitamrita. En 1896 envió su libro: “Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu: Su Vida y Preceptos”, a distintas universidades alrededor del mundo.
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