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           vande
  bhakti-vinodam                       
~Srila
  Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Maharaj  I
  bow to Sri Thakur Bhaktivinoda, Mahaprabhu's
  love divine personified. He is the king of all knowers of the purpose of the
  scriptures, and he is the ocean of Sri Radha's
  devotion.           namo bhaktivinodaya saccidananda-murtaye           gaura-sakti-svarupaya
  rupanuga-varayate I
  offer my obeisances to you, O Bhaktivinoda,
  the form of eternity, knowledge and bliss, the incarnation of Gaura’s potency and the best of the followers of Rupa Goswami. __________________________________________________________________
         
 Illuminating the Gaudiya
  Sky Our divine great-grandfather Acharyya, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur, appeared at a time when the world of
  Gaudiya Vaisnavism
  was in a dire situation. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
  Saraswati Thakur wrote that when Mahaprabhu and his associates had left this world to enter
  the Lord’s eternal pastimes, “the sky over Bengal slowly darkened, covered by
  the thick clouds of sense enjoyment and false renunciation. The sky was
  covered and the world was bereft of the rays of light coming from Mahaprabhu’s sankirttan.
  One by one, the sun, the moon and the unlimited stars of that sky faded from
  view…Almost 350 years after the appearance of Mahaprabhu,
  the Divine Sun, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur came to illuminate the Gaudiya sky.”  
 He took birth in a well-known aristocratic Kayastha family
  on 2 September 1838 in the town of Ula, near Birnagar, in the district of Nadia, Bengal. He was the
  son of Raja Krsnananda Dutta,
  a great devotee of Nityananda Prabhu,
  and Jagat Mohini Devi and
  was given the name Kedarnath Dutta.
  He studied at Krishnanagar College and was
  extremely well known by the surrounding educated society for his goodness,
  vast intellect, scholarly nature and his exceptional talent at debating and
  writing. He accepted the role of government service
  for his livelihood and for a time was posted as an officer in Orissa and as
  inspector of the Jagannath Puri
  Temple.  His duty there was to guard
  against corruption. He established regulated worship of the Deity and he organised daily discourses in Srimad Bhagavatam in the Temple courtyard. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur spent
  much time chanting the Holy Names and regularly took darshan of the holy places in
  Sri Puri Dham—especially Tota-Gopinath Mandir, the samadhi of Srila Haridas Thakur, Siddha Bakul
  and the Gambhira.  While serving in Dinajpur,
  He gave his speech saying, “The Bhagavat,
  the revealed scripture of the Vaisnavas, does
  not allow its followers to ask anything from God except eternal love towards
  Him.” Knowing that in the future Vaisnavism would spread across the world, he said, “See
  how universal is the Vaisnava
  religion! It is not intended for a certain class of Hindus alone, but it is a
  gift to man at large, in whatever country he is born and in whatever society
  he is bred.” A Simple and Dignified Gift 
 Feeling
  compassion for suffering humanity, he delivered, in sweet and lucid style,
  Sri Chaitanyadev’s message of taking the Holy Name
  in a mood of surrender. Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj said that Bhaktivinoda Thakur saw it as self-evident that the
  intelligentsia could not but be attracted by such a plain, simple and
  dignified gift--the gift of Mahaprabhu, the
  conception of Mahaprabhu. And Thakur Bhaktivinoda himself said, “Many things are going on in
  religion in the name of the highest solution of our life, but what Mahaprabhu has given very soon will be detected by the
  intelligentsia of the world, and all will flock to the banner of Sri Chaitanyadev and will sing the glory of Mahaprabhu and Krishna.”         
  sri-nama-chintamani-sampracarair         
  adarsam acara-vidhau
  dadhauyah         
  sa jagarukah smrti-mandire kim                                  
         
  nityam bhaved
  bhakti-vinoda-devah                   ~Srila
  BR Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj When will Bhaktivinoda
  Prabhu, who gave us the example of how to act by
  preaching the jewel of the Holy Name, remain alive in the temple of my
  memory? According to its Necessity Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur once surprised his audience by saying
  that shallow thinkers appreciate Vrndavan, but a
  man of real bhajan,
  real divine aspiration, will aspire to live in Kurukshetra.
  He noted that Thakur Bhaktivinoda, after visiting
  many different places of pilgrimage, remarked, “I would like to spend the
  last days of my life in Kurukshetra.”  Srila BR Sridhar Dev-Goswami
  Maharaj revealed the conception behind this
  statement--“Service is more valuable according to the intensity of its
  necessity. According to its necessity, service is valued.” In Kurukshetra, Srimati Radharani is in the highest necessity because Krishna is
  so close, but Their vrndavan-lila is
  impossible. Krishna is there in Kurukhsetra, so
  near, but He is in the role of a king and They cannot meet intimately. At
  this time, Srimati Radharani
  needs the highest service from her group of servitors. Srila
  Bhaktivinoda Thakura says
  that, in this heartbreaking situation, a drop of service will draw the
  greatest amount of prema, divine love. Mahaprabhu’s Birthplace 
 Thakur
  Bhaktivinoda said, “After I came back from Tarakeswar, every Saturday I would go from Krishnanagar to Nabadwip to
  look for the places of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes. But I
  could not find anything, and that made me very sad.” Once when visiting Kuliya, now Nabadwip, he
  looked, late at night, from the rooftop overlooking the Ganges. In the
  introduction to Sri Chaitanya
  Mahaprabhu—His Life and Precepts it says,
  “During deep meditation on the birthplace of Chaitanya
  Mahaprabhu, he is said to have seen in a vision a
  luminous building towards the northeast. 
 We Should Adore, We Should Worship His Divine Grace Srila
  AC Bhaktiventa Swami Maharaj
  spoke to group of new disciples in London saying, “Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur was a great Acharyya of this disciplic succession from Krishna…We should adore, we
  should worship, because in the modern age he reintroduced the disciplic succession…In this succession the Acharyyas are authorities. Our process of
  knowledge is very simple. We take it from the authority. Chaitanya
  Mahaprabhu five hundred years ago taught this
  philosophy…So our adoration, our worship is to Bhaktivinoda
  Thakura today because he may bless us to make
  peaceful progress in Krishna consciousness. Acharyya-upasana,
  simply by the blessings of the Acaryyas we
  can make very rapid progress. Vedenu durlabham adurlabham atma- bhaktau.          rupanuga-varya
  hana sri-bhaktivinoda Srila Saraswati Thakur
  said, "Srila Bhaktivinoda
  Thakura is the best of the followers of Sri Rupa Gosvami. The pure joy of
  devotional service comes in the stream that started with him."  His Divine Grace Srila
  Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj has said
  that Srila Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur relished the deeply devotional writings of Sri Yamunacharyya.
  Even though Yamunacharyya was in the Laksmi-Narayan Sampradaya and
  not the line coming down from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur very much appreciated his divine
  sentiments and this has carried on in our line since then.  In
  one talk, Srila Govinda Maharaj noted, “In the book Saranagati
  there are so many songs which are necessary for us to translate. Whoever
  understands the meaning of the poetry of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur will understand what is dedication, what is renunciation, and what is devotion.
  One who is dedicated with devotion will get so many qualities and
  qualifications. One who is fully dedicated must get progress in his spiritual
  life.” Srila Bhakti Raksak
  Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
  noted that, before beginnng to write his book, Sri
  Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam,
  he thought, Saranagati is the basis, but
  what is saranagati? On reading Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur's Saranagati book, this point impressed him
  most: 
               sad
  anga saranagati haibe yanhara 
 "If you want Nanda Kumar, you must
  have this six-fold saranagati." [The six limbs
  of saranagati are: acceptance of the favorable;
  rejection of the unfavorable; full confidence in the Lord's protection;
  embracing the Lord's guardianship; full self-surrender; and surrender in
  humility.]  The
  title Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam
  means, prapannanam, jivane,
  amrta-svarupam: "The nectar in the life of
  the surrendered souls." This was my conception from the beginning: prapanna-jivanamrta. Those who have come to take
  this, to feel it, this will be like nectar to them. To those who have
  surrendered, it will be nectar to them, but others, the ordinary people, may
  not appreciate it.  
 Ontological
  Depth and Happy Style 
 In
    Guardian of Devotion it is said,
    “During the lifetime of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
    Saraswati Prabhupad, in
    1936, Srila BR Sridhar Maharaj
    composed a poem describing the ontological positions of Srila
    Bhaktivinoda Thakur and the line of disciplic succession stemming from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur read it with a very critical eye. By the
    time he reached the fifth verse in particular, he became especially satisfied
    to understand that Srila Guru Maharaj
    had captured Srila Bhaktivinoda
    Thakur's conception.  Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Prabhupad was so pleased with the poem's ontological
  depth and its happy style that he remarked: "Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur has written this through him. Now
  I am satisfied          ha ha bhaktivinoda-thakkura! guroh! dvavimsatis te sama         dirghad-duhkha-bharad-asesa-virahad-duhsthikrta bhuriyam         jivanam bahu-janma-punya-nivahakrsto mahi-mandale         avirbhava-krpam
  chakara cha bhavan sri-gaura-saktih svayam  [1] Alas, alas! O Bhaktivinoda
  Thakura, O Supreme Guru, for twenty-two years this
  world has been plunged into misfortune, long grief-stricken in your
  intolerable separation. You are the divine potency of Sri Gaura,
  and you graciously made your advent in this earthly plane, being attracted by
  the living beings' virtuous deeds performed throughout many lifetimes. Referring to this poem, Srila
  Sridhar Maharaj once said, “I attempted to write
  something about  Bhakt ivinoda Thakur, and I
  thought this was the key to Prabhupad Saraswati’s affection toward me. His attention was drawn
  to me because I tried to give the greatness of Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur’s character to the public in a systematic way. It is my own feeling.
  He can give everything to one who is a little attached to Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur.” The Seventh Goswami           godruma-dhame
  bhajana-anukule 
  mathura-sri-nandisvara-samatule            tahi maha surabhi-kunja-kutire  baithobun hama sura-tatini-tire                                          
 ~Bhakti-anukula-matra Karyera Svikaran,  song 2                                                     
~Saranagati On the banks of the celestial Ganges River
  I will dwell in a cottage at Surabhi-kunj in Godruma-dhama. This land of Godruma
  is very conductive for performing devotional worship of the Supreme Lord and
  is non-different from the sacred place called Nandagram,
  located in the holy district of Mathura. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura ended his manifest pastimes in Jagannath Puri on the 23rd
  of June 1914, the disappearance day of Sri Gadadhar
  Pandit. He returned to his sweet pastimes in the
  spiritual world and his earthly body was taken back to his beloved Godruma in the holy Dham.           hari-kirtana-madhyagatam
  svajanaih          parivestita-jambunadabha-harim          nija-gauda-janaika-krpa-jaladhim          bhaja godruma-kanana-kunja-vidhum                                 
    ~Srila
  Bhaktivinoda Thakur Worship
  the moon of Godrum’s forest bowers, the ocean of
  mercy for His own companions from the land of Gauda;
  He dances in the midst of the kirttan, surrounded
  by these associates, His effulgent form appearing to be of refined gold. 
 
 Srila Saraswati Thakur
  arranged a public meeting hall for offering condolences. Numerous respectable
  people, great scholars and beloved associates attended and spoke of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur’s
  immeasurable glories. In an obituary about Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sarada Carana Mitra, Calcutta High Court Judge, wrote: "I knew
  Thakur Bhaktivinoda intimately as a friend and a
  relation.  Even under the pressure of
  official work as a magistrate in charge of a heavy subdivision he could
  always find time for devotional contemplation and work, and whenever I met
  him, our talk would turn in a few moments to the subject of 'bhakti'
  and 'achintya bheda abheda', 'dvaitadvaita-vada'
  etc., and the saintly work that lay before him--service of God.” It was noted that he showed genuine
  humility—refusing all honours and titles even in
  his government work--and always maintained strict moral standards. Many
  recognized that Thakur Bhaktivinoda gave new and
  fresh thought about religion and one’s eternal position. His studies and
  revelations on Vaisnavism
  excelled that of all the modern Acharyyas. Shishir Ghosh said, “We have
  heard of the Six Goswamis of the time of Mahaprabhu, but Bhaktivinoda’s
  writings prove that he holds the seventh position amongst the Goswamis. He has left us such extensive and original
  writing about the teachings of Sri Chaitanyadev.”   Srila Saraswati Thakur
  once predicted, “That day is not far distant when the priceless volumes
  penned by Thakur Bhaktivinoda will be reverently
  translated, by the recipients of his grace, into all the languages of the
  world.” Srila Bhakti Raksak
  Sridhar Maharaj has said that “Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur left the world his literature—he is in his literature, present forever. He has delivered his writings
  about the teachings of Mahaprabhu and Bhagavatam in a systematic and scientific
  way, suitable to the modern age. Our debt to his Holy Feet has no end.”  From
  the Inner Chambers of His Heart 
 Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj has shared how Srila Saraswati Thakur became
  angry at any suggestion that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur was of the nature of an ordinary
  human being. The conception Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur gave cannot come from the human
  section, and his "chamber of bhajan"
  is extremely difficult to open.  In
  a Gaudiya Darshan
  article Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
  Saraswati Thakur has said, “Thakur Bhaktivinoda’s greatest gift to the world consists in
  this; that he has brought about the appearance of those pure devotees who
  are, at present, carrying out the movement of unalloyed devotion to the Feet
  of Sri Krishna by their own whole time spiritual service of Divinity.” 
          hari-sevaka-sevana-dharma-paro          hari-nama-rasamrta-pana-ratah          nati-dainya-daya-paramana-yuto          bhaja godruma-kanana-kunja-vidhum                       
~Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur 
 Become
    fixed in the religion of serving the servants of Hari.
    Be fixed in drinking the nectar of the Holy Names. Always be fixed in
    respect, humility and compassion. Worship the moon of Godrum’s
    forest bowers.  
 The Seed of Highest Benefit In Srila BR
  Sridhar Maharaj’s book, Heart and Halo, it
  is said, “In the teachings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, whose
  preaching was inspired by Sri Gadadhar Pandit and Sriman Mahaprabhu, we find all the
  substance that is present in that plane of vibration. These two
  personalities, Sri Gadadhar Pandit
  and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, are our great gurus, our guides, and by
  offering our worship to them we can sow the seed of our highest benefit. By
  the grace of that great Guru-Maharaj Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada, we have
  been able to understand this. “And Bhaktivinoda
  Thakura, though generally he has his own position,
  as understood from the consideration of the disciple, Prabhupada
  Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati
  Thakura has seen Srimati Radharani in him: a ‘relative’ vision. He once said that Radharani represents the full play of asta-nayika,
  the eight characteristics of the heroine; we see that they are all perfectly
  represented in Her. In other places we may find partial representations of
  them, but we find them fully manifest only in Her.  Only Those of Deep Vision “He said, “I see my Gurudeva
  as Guna-manjari, and in that manjari form he has some partial representation of
  Radharani. But if I attempt to look more deeply, I
  find him identified fully with Her; the eight kinds of qualities displayed in
  the service of Krishna (asta-nayika) are to
  be found there. If I look at him with my head a little more erect, I can see
  that he is one with Radharani acharyyam
  mam vijaniyat: know the Acharyya
  as Myself. If I give more attention to this sastric
  rule and try to search out the meaning, I find that Radharani
  comes to take Her place there, in the position of my gurudeva.”
  In this way he has seen in Bhaktivinoda Thakura the fullest representation of the cult of Sri Gauranga. “This realization is expressed in his poem
  in which he says that he saw Svarupra Damodara Goswami in Gaura-kishor Dasa Babaji, and Sri Gadadhara Pandit in Srila Bhaktivinoda Thahura. In one
  place he has written: gadadhara-din dhari’ paiyacche gaurahari, he has accepted the day of the disappearance
  of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura to be identified with that of Sri Gadadhar Pandit. In another
  place, in his poem at the conclusion of his Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta commentary,
  he has written: “Here, in Nabadwip Dhama, the
  eternal pastimes are going on continuously; only those who have got that deep
  vision can perceive it.           gadadhara
  mitra-vara, sri svarupa damodara,           sada kala gaura-krsna yaje           jagatera dekhi’ klesa, dhariya bhiksuka-vesa,           aharahah krsna-nama bhaje           sri gaura icchaya dui, mahima ki
  kava mui,           aprakrta parisada-katha           prakata haiya seve, krsna-gaurabhinna-deve,           aprakasya
  katha yatha tatha 
 “He has written this in his poem concluding
  Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta.
  So Gadadhar Pandit was
  identified with Srila Bhaktivinoda
  Thakura. That was the vision of our Gurudeva, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura. He could see
  in them the same identity. He considered siksa-guru
  parampara to be the most substantial thing.
  Eliminating the sahajiya-vada which gives
  much importance to the outer cover, try to look within, and see things more
  deeply. Try to understand the deeper vibrations of the outside environment,
  and see within yourself also. Dive deep, and you will find the plane of the
  finest vibration which will carry that news to you, and you will see that
  truth.”                saksad-dharitvena
  samasta-sastrair                uktas
  tatha bhavyata eve sadbhih                kintu
  prabhor yah priya eva tasya                vande
  guroh sri-charanaravindam                                       
~Sri
  Sri Gurvvastaka I worship the lotus feet of the Divine
  Master (who is the simultaneously inconceivably distinct and non-distinct
  manifest embodiment of the Supreme Personality of Godhead): all the
  scriptures sing the glories of his being the direct non-different form of the
  Supreme Lord Sri Hari, and the pure saints also
  concede this; yet, he is the most beloved of the Lord. Everything Was Bhaktivinoda
  Thakura It is said by Srila
  BR Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj
  that although Srila Saraswati
  Thakur, on the suggestion of Bhaktivinoda Thakur,
  took initiation from Gaura-kisora Das Babaji Maharaj, he always held
  Thakur Bhaktivinoda substantially as his own Guru.
  From the internal consideration, Bhaktivinoda
  Thakur was his divine Sri Guru. It is found that his outside and inside—interior
  and exterior are filled with Bhaktivinoda Thakur.
  He could not but feel this within his heart. He saw everything only through his Gurudev. He started many temples and very often
  named the Deities “Vinoda-Vilasa,” “Vinoda-Rama,” “Vinoda-Prana, “and
  more. Srila Sridhar Maharaj
  reminds us that we are asked to see Gurudev
  not as opaque, but as transparent—transparent to such a degree that through
  him the highest end, the highest conception of Service, can be seen and
  attained. If we are earnest, we shall find the highest link, from the very
  Source. We can attain it there. According to the disciple’s sraddha, he will see the Lord present in his Gurudev. Guru-tattva, is very
  special, very noble and very deep.” We have seen this in Srila
  Saraswati Thakur. Srila Bhaktivinoda was his very being. Everything was Bhaktivinoda Thakur. 
           dachaitanya-devasya-dayavatara           sa gaura-saktir bhavita kim           padam drsor bhakti-vinoda-devah                     ~Srila BR Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj O
  ocean of unlimited compassion, you are the incarnation of Chaitanya
  Deva’s mercy. You are the energy of Gauranga. O
  Lord Bhaktivinoda, when will you again be visible
  to me? 
 I
  offer obeisances to the lotus feet of our divine Guru-varga and to the divine Vaisnavas on this holy
  occasion. Your lotus feet are my shelter and my grace. sarvva-vaisnavera pa’ ye kari namaskara, I
  bow at the feet of the Vaisnavas;  jaya
  gaura bhakta-gana, gaura yanra prana saba bhakta mili' more bhakti deha' dana All
  glories to all the devotees of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, for the Lord is
  their life and soul. All of you, kindly bestow
  devotional service upon me.                                                           
~Cc. Antya-lila11.8 jd  | 
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