Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada.

A Ray of Vishnu
http://www.sivaramaswami.com/?p=893

On the fifth day of the dark lunar fortnight of the month of

Govinda [corresponding to February 6th, 1874 A.D. by the
western calendar], at 3:30 in the afternoon, Bimala Prasad Datta,
later to be known as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura,
made his appearance in Purusottama Ksetra [Jagannatha Puri] in
the state of Orissa, not far from the temple of Lord Jagannatha.
He was the fourth son of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Sriyukta
Bhagavati Devi, and at the time of his birth all thirty-two bodily
symptoms of a maha-purusa, a great personality, were pointed
out by an experienced astrologer. Furthermore, the boy was born
with his umbilical cord wrapped around his neck like a Brahmin’s
thread. The astrologer commented at his birth, “I have done
many horoscopes in my life, but I have never before seen such a
horoscope filled with all the signs of a great personality. This child
will become world famous as a brilliant teacher of life’s ultimate
goal.”

When the child was six months old, Lord Jagannatha’s Rathayatra
Festival was in procession, and the cart stopped in front of Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s house for three days. Following the
instructions of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Bhagavati Devi
brought the child before the cart and an offered garland fell from
the neck of the Lord, encircling the boy. This was taken as a sign
of special favor by all present. The grain ceremony was observed
on the cart at this time and was done with Jagannatha prasada.
When the boy’s vocational inclination was tested, he immediately
embraced the Srimad-Bhagavatam, indicating his future as a
preacher. Therefore, from the very beginning of his appearance,
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura exhibited all the signs of
an exalted, eternal associate of the Lord, who had descended in
answer to Srila Bhaktivinoda’s prayer for a “ray of Visnu” to help
him spread the Krsna Consciousness Movement.

Although family lineage may be ultimately irrelevant when

considering the appearance of an eternally liberated associate of
the Lord, still it is interesting to see what sort of family is blessed
with such a transcendental personality. As history shows us, Lord
Brahma himself appeared in the family of Muslims as Srila
Haridasa Thakura, and there are other instances of exalted
persons taking birth in humble families. Still, as a point of
interest, we may hear something of the lineage of Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.

His family line traces back to Lord Brahma from the descendants
of Chitragupta, and they are known as the Brahma kayasthas.
Bharata is in the 87th generation from Chitragupta, Bharadvaja is
the 88th. After him came Angira, and after him appeared
Brhaspati. In the 149th generation of descendants, Purusottama,
son of Sivadatta, went to Bengal upon the summons of the King of
Bengal, Adisura. Purusottama’s youngest son took sannyasa and
became famous as Kanaka Dandi. In the 7th and 8th generations
of Purusottama’s family Binayaka and his son Narayana Datta
both did ministerial work for the king of Bengal. In the 15th
generation from Purusottama, Raja Krsnananda, the king of
Kheturi (in Bengal), and the father of Srila Narottama dasa
Thakura, the great Vaisnava acarya, appeared. Raja Krsnananda
was also a great devotee and was personally favored by Lord
Nityananda Prabhu. The 7th generation from Raja Krsnananda
saw the appearance of Madanamohana Datta, who was very
famous in Bengal and Calcutta for his spiritual qualities. His great-
grandson was Anandachandra Datta, and his son was Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura, whose 4th son was Bimala Prasad. The
name Bimala or Shri Bimala Devi refers to the para sakti (internal
potency) of Lord Jagannatha, so his name literally means the
mercy of the internal potency of the Lord.

Bimala Prasad stayed in Jagannatha Puri for ten months after his
appearance and then journeyed to Bengal by palanquin on his
mother’s lap. He grew up in his early years in Ranaghata in the
District of Nadia, hearing about Krsna from his mother. When he
was a small boy, perhaps two or three years old, Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura brought some ripe mangoes from the
market. Bimala Prasad took one to eat, saying, “This is mine.”
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura got up and said in a grave voice,
“What is this? New fruit has come into the house. It has not been
offered to Giridhari and you have taken it first? Remember, new
fruit is to be given first to the Lord. Without giving the first share
to the Lord, nothing is to be taken.”
The child was very repentant and exclaimed, “Oh, what evil
thoughts I have had! Throughout my whole life I shall not eat
these again. This is the right punishment for one ruled by greed.”
He made the promise and observed it throughout his whole life.
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
comments on this incident: “Whenever we offered him mango he
said, ‘No, I am an offender. I cannot take mango.’ He was thinking
that I have offended [Krsna] in my childhood by taking the mango
of the Deity. So this is the characteristic of the acarya. They teach
by their life’s action-one should be so much determined. A child
took the mango, there is no offense, but he took that vow.”

Education

When Bimala Prasad was seven years old, Srila Bhaktivinoda

Thakura was constructing the Bhakti Bhavan in Calcutta at
Ramabagana. During that construction, a Deity of Lord Kurma was
unearthed. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura ordered his son to begin
regulated worship of that Deity.

From the very beginning the boy used to hear the preaching of his
father with rapt attention. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, as well as
his audience, were amazed to see how a small boy could hear the
topics of Krsna consciousness with such total absorption. By the
age of seven he had committed the entire Bhagavad-gita to
memory and could wonderfully explain the verses as well. Later
on he was trained in publishing and proof-reading at Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s printing press in connection with the
Thakura’s well-known spiritual journal the Sajjana-Tosani. At the
age of eleven, Bimala Prasad toured the various places of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lilas with his father.

Bimala Prasad had an eidetic memory. Whatever he would read

once he could later recall with perfect clarity. He was trained in
mathematics and astrology at the Sri Ramapura School, and he
achieved such astounding scholarship that he was eventually
awarded the title Siddhanta Sarasvati by his tutors, Pandit
Mahesh Chandra Chauramani and Pandit Sundar Lal.

During this period he used to attend the Sunday weekly meetings

of Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s Visva-vaisnava-raja-sabha and hear the
Thakura lecture on the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu of Srila Rupa
Gosvami. He was never known to study his school assignments,
and while sitting at home, would replace those assignments with
studies of Srila Narottama dasa Thakura’s Prarthana,
Premabhakti-candrika and other devotional literatures. However,
whatever questions he was asked by his teachers, he would
immediately answer, and he got excellent results on all of his
examinations.
He used to debate everyone he met on all sorts of subjects. No
one who argued with him was ever able to defeat him. Just as Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu had defeated a great scholar, Kesava
Kasmiri at a young age, so similarly Bimala Prasad once, during
his later college days, debated a scholar named Panchanana
Sahityacharya, the disciple of Vasudeva Sastri, a very famous
professor of that time on topics of astrological calculation. The
debate was held in the home of Sri Rajendra Chandra Sastri and
judged by him as well. After some discussion that scholar had to
accept defeat. In fact, the scholar became so mortified that he
could not check the calls of nature. After that, everyone was
reluctant to debate him for fear of being defeated.

At the age of eleven, while in the fifth class, Bimala Prasad

invented a type of short-hand writing called Bicanto, and it was
during this period that he took a tour of the holy places with his
father.

When the boy was in 7th class (equivalent to today’s eighth

class), and about 13 years old, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
brought tulasi beads for his son from Jagannatha Puri and gave
him the name of Hari and a Nrsimha mantra to chant which he
executed very faithfully, along with the worship of his Kurma
Deity, according to the instructions of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

At the age of sixteen, while his schooling continued, the books of

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura formed the serious content of his
studies. He also began writing books on astrology, and during this
time he formed the Cirakumara Sabha or the August Assembly
amongst his friends with whom he met regularly at Calcutta’s
Beadon Square. There they used to discuss topics related to
religion, and the members were required to take a vow of
celibacy. The Society was formed with the purpose of giving
people a chance to remain seriously engaged in worship of the
Lord and detached from family life. But Bimala Prasad was the
only one who observed his vows immaculately.

In 1892, at the age of eighteen, he took an entrance examination

and entered Calcutta’s Sanskrit College. As before, he paid scant
attention to the prescribed books, but he found the time to read
all of the philosophical books contained in the library.

During his college holidays he would discuss the Vedas with the
scholar Sriyukta Prithvidhara Sharma. Although Siddhanta
Sarasvati had become learned in all six branches of Vedic
knowledge: siksa (pronunciation), kalpa (sequences of Vedic
sacrifice), vyakarana (grammar, especially the use of word roots,
inflected words and sentences), nirukta (meanings of inflected
words and word roots), chandah (recitation of Vedic mantras) and
jyotisa (astrological and astronomical calculation), still to study
the vyakarana, the grammatical branch of the Vedas, he
approached the Pandit Prithvidhara Sharma. The Pandit praised
him for his achievements and encouraged him to study the
Siddhanta Kaumudi throughout his life. Siddhanta Sarasvati
replied, “My life is for the single-minded cultivation of the
teachings of Sri Caitanya, not for the cultivation of grammar. I
have only studied the Vedas, the branches of the Vedas and their
related parts in a secondary manner.”

In 1895 he left the college, as he was very eager to execute his

worship of the Lord and to remain free from the pressure to enter
family life. He stated in his autobiography:

“If I remain studying with careful attention at the College, then

extreme pressure will be brought upon me to enter family life, but
if I am considered to be foolish and inefficient, then no one will
put such an inducement upon me for becoming so engaged. By
this consideration, I left the Sanskrit College, and, in order to
maintain my life for the service of Hari, I was desirous of getting
an honest occupation which I could perform with the intention of
earning a humble income.”

During his student days he also wrote essays on spiritual topics

for various magazines and strongly condemned various religious
malpractices which had become prominent in society. At the
Bhakti Bhavan in 1897 he established a catuspathi (a small
academy) called Saraswati Chatuspati where many learned
persons from Calcutta attended his lectures and discourses on
astronomy. He also published the magazines Jyotirvid and
Brihaspati and other old astrological texts like the Surya-
siddhanta, a famous and highly regarded Sanskrit astronomical
treatise. Here he also established and edited the Bhakti Panjika,
an almanac. He was well-acquainted with both the Eastern and
Western branches of astrology, but naturally favoredthe Vedic
one. He was offered a chair in astronomy at the University of
Calcutta by Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, but Siddhanta
Sarasvati declined it, thinking it an impediment to his spiritual life.
At the request of Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji he composed the
Sri Navadvipa Panjika, a Krsna-ized almanac in which the months,
lunar fortnights, days, lunar days, stars, etc.were all given names
of Visnu. He did not spend very long in his astronomical pursuits,
however, and soon dedicated himself fully to the worship and
distribution of the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

He was also employed by the royal kings of Tripura from 1895 to

1905 in various services. Initially he accepted the post of editor,
under Panchasrika Maharaja Virachandra Manikya Bahadur, and
he edited a history of their family entitled Raj Ratnakar. During
this time he studied all of the principal books in the Royal Library.
A year later, however, the Maharaja departed from this world. The
succeeding king, Maharaja Radhakisore Manikya Bahadur
entrusted Siddhanta Sarasvati with the instruction of the sons of
the king in Bengali and Sanskrit. The king also requested him to
put an end to various cheating activities of persons who were
misappropriating royal wealth. Siddhanta Sarasvati quickly
stopped this nonsense much to the delight of the king. He
assisted the royal family in different ways until 1905. At that time
he requested to be given leave, and this was granted along with a
full pension, which he accepted for some time and then later
discarded.

During this ten year period many other significant events took
place as well. In 1897 he began to strictly observe the vows of
Caturmasya, including the practice of cooking for himself one
preparation daily, taking the food from the ground and lying on
the earth without any bedding or pillow. In 1898 he toured
Benares, Prayaga, and Gaya with Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and
discussed philosophy with persons in the line of Sri
Ramanujacarya. In 1899, Siddhanta Sarasvati published a number
of articles on spiritual topics in the magazine called Nivedana, a
Calcutta weekly.

Initiation

Siddhanta Sarasvati had been engaged in regularly chanting the

maha-mantra and a Nrsimha mantra given to him by Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura when he was in the Seventh Class, and he
had been worshiping the Kurma Deity (discovered in laying the
foundation of the Bhakti Bhavan in Calcutta) since the age of
seven. Without fail, he had been executing that worship and
chanting since his boyhood, and from 1885 onward he had
received special training in printing, editing, etc. at the press at
the Bhakti Bhavan.

Thus, the young man was a very qualified candidate for becoming
the disciple of a guru. Many pseudo-gurus (mantra-peddlers) of
the sahajiya category wanted to have him as their disciple to
increase their false prestige. After all, Siddhanta Sarasvati was a
magistrate’s son, he was a strict renunciate from birth, he was
learned and deeply attached to the scriptures. But Siddhanta
Sarasvati was not interested in such pretenders.

In 1898, after Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura had constructed his

residence in Navadvipa Dhama at Godruma Dvipa and called it
Svananda-sukhada-kunja, and sometime after the discovery of
Lord Caitanya’s birth site by the Thakura and Srila Jagannatha
dasa Babaji, Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja arrived in
Navadvipa Dhama to see the site of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
birth and to hear the discourses of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
When he arrived, he was singing in ecstasy. His only possessions
were the tulasi mala which he wore around his neck and another
set he kept in his hand for counting. He kept a
few books, such as Narottama dasa Thakura’s works: Prarthana
and Prema-bhakti-candrika.

Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji had been performing bhajana for many
years in Vrndavana. He was extremely renounced and was the
disciple of Bhagavata dasa Babaji, the disciple of Jagannatha dasa
Babaji. He was not well-educated and had been a grain-merchant
in his previous existence, but it was widely known that he was a
liberated paramahamsa of the highest caliber in the area of Vraja-
mandala.

At the time of his arrival, he was wearing a cap made of tiger skin
and was carrying a basket of various items and materials for his
service. He spotted Siddhanta Sarasvati and offered him four or
five pieces of knotted rope for chanting rounds, a tilaka stamp
with the initials for Hare Krsna, the tiger skin cap and
paraphernalia for worship. Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji Maharaja had
received the basket and cap from his spiritual master, Bhagavata
dasa Babaji. Siddhanta Sarasvati was very attracted to Gaura
Kisora dasa Babaji’s lotus feet at first sight. He was later to
comment with great humility:
“I have been busy within this material world trying to bring sense
gratification within the grasp of my hand. I have often thought
that by obtaining the objects of sense gratification, all my short-
comings will be fulfilled. I often attained different facets that were
indeed very rare, but my own personal short-comings were never
mitigated. In this material world I have had the association of very
high-class, aristocratic persons. However, seeing their various
deficiencies, I could not offer them praise. The most merciful
Supreme Lord Sri Gaurasundara, seeing me in such a lamentable
condition at such a time of adversity, gave permission to His two
dearmost devotees Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Gaura
Kisora dasa Babaji to grant their blessings to me. Because I was
always intoxicated with a worldly false ego, wanting again and
again self-appraisal, I deprived myself of my own real benefit. But
because of the influence of my previous births’ activities in
devotional service, I came into the association of Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura, who was the form of my spiritual well-
wisher.

“My spiritual master [Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji] would go

and visit Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, and many times would
reside with him. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, out of his compassion
for other living entities, pointed out my spiritual master, Srila
Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji. Upon seeing my spiritual master, the
extent of my worldly false ego diminished. I knew that all the
other living entities who have taken the human form of life were
also fallen and low like myself. But by gradually observing the
spiritual character of my master, I realized that only a Vaisnava
could reside in this material world and be of exemplary
character.”

At Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s urging, the young man

approached Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji for initiation in the
month of Magh of the year 1900. Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji
expressed reluctance to accept him, knowing Siddhanta Sarasvati
to be a great scholar. Finally, when Siddhanta Sarasvati pleaded
with him for initiation, Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji replied,
“Mahaprabhu will be asked. If He gives permission, your desire
will be fulfilled.” On another day Siddhanta Sarasvati approached
him again and asked, “What was Mahaprabhu’s order?” Gaura
Kisora dasa Babaji replied, “I forgot to ask.” The third time Babaji
Maharaja was requested, he replied, “I asked. I did not receive the
command of Mahaprabhu.” Siddhanta Sarasvati then stood up, his
heart breaking, and said, “You [Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Srila
Gaura Kisora] are both worshippers of Krsna, the Crest Jewel of
Debauchees, therefore why will you take mercy on someone
dedicated to ordinary morality like me? In His pastimes as the
exemplary teacher, Mahaprabhu has given instructions on the
worship of Krsna, the Crest Jewel of Debauchees. Therefore, why
will He give the command to take mercy on me? But, karuna na
haile kandiya kandiya prana na
rakhibe ara-If there is no mercy, weeping and weeping, I can
sustain my life no more. If I do not receive your mercy I do not
see any need in holding onto life.”

After thus indicating his readiness to take his life, Siddhanta

Sarasvati began to cry. Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji’s heart was
melted to see this, so he told him to take bath in the Sarasvati
and then come back to him. At the time of initiation, he gave
Siddhanta Sarasvati the name: Sri Varsabhanavi-devi-dayita dasa.

This pastime bears a striking resemblance to the relationship

between Narottama dasa Thakura and Lokanatha Gosvami-
[Lokanatha Gosvami was also an extremely humble and
renounced paramahamsa who was reluctant to take any disciples,
considering himself unqualified, but finally accepted Narottama
dasa Thakura as his only disciple.] It shows how eager and
determined one must be for the mercy of a pure devotee of
Krsna.

In Puri

In 1898 Siddhanta Sarasvati had accompanied his father to Kasi,

Prayaga and Gaya and had gathered many facts about all these
holy places, which were later incorporated into his commentary
on the Caitanya-caritamrta called Anubhasya. In 1900 he
published a book called Bange Samajikata, which described the
origin, location and philosophy of various societies, castes and
religions, and he expounded the clear superiority of Lord
Caitanya’s doctrine of inconceivable, simultaneous oneness and
difference. In March he accompanied Bhaktivinoda Thakura to
Orissa where they visited the temple of Ksira-cora-gopinatha at
Remuna, and also saw Bhubaneswar and Puri. While in Puri, Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura decided to build a place for bhajana just
near the samadhi of Srila Haridasa Thakura, and so Siddhanta
Sarasvati stayed and served his father in various ways, assisting
him in establishing his Bhakti Kuti by the sea.
At that time the Maharaja of Kasimbazar was camped nearby, and
he came regularly to hear from Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and
Siddhanta Sarasvati. Siddhanta Sarasvati was giving regular
classes from the Caitanya-caritamrta in the presence of his father,
and many listeners were assembling just to hear it. The famous
Radharamanacarana Dasa Babaji used to come at that time to
hear the discourses.

Later relations with the Babaji were broken because of

two deviations by him:

1. He introduced the chanting of Bhaja Nitai Gaura Radhe Syama

Japa Hare Krsna Hare Rama. This was introduced with the idea of
stopping the audible chanting of the maha-mantra. The first
problem with this was that the concocted mantra had the faults of
siddhanta-virodha-an opposing conclusion and rasabhasa-
conflicting rasas. The second problem was that trying to suppress
the audible vibration of the maha-mantra was against the desire
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, as established by His activities and
teaching, as well as by the teachings of the Gosvamis. Rupa
Gosvami had written in the Prathama Caitanyastaka, text five:
hare krsnty ucchaih-”Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chants the Hare
Krsna mantra in a loud voice …” Therefore, Rupa Gosvami, an
eyewitness to the activities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
recipient of His full blessings and empowerment for establishing
His mission, personally testifies here that Lord Caitanya did not
confine the maha-mantra to inaudible muttering, but loudly
proclaimed it to all.

2. Radharamanacarana Dasa Babaji also introduced the

Sakhibheki doctrine by dressing his follower Sri Jayagopala
Bhattacarya as Lalita Sakhi. This was against Mahaprabhu’s
teaching as well, as an ordinary jiva was being worshipped as
though he were an expansion of Srimati Radharani. Both Srila
Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Siddhanta Sarasvati instructed the
Babaji to give up these fallacious practices, but he refused.
Siddhanta Sarasvati began to preach publicly and strongly against
these misconceived teachings, proclaiming that the maha-mantra
is for both japa and kirtana, and that kirtana is ultimately superior
to japa. This created quite a controversy in Puri with many taking
the side of the Babaji out of misplaced sentiment and others
siding with Siddhanta Sarasvati.
During this period Siddhanta Sarasvati was engaged in the
compilation of a Vaisnava encyclopedia which contained an
explanation of Vaisnava terminology, brief biographies of great
Vaisnavas, an introduction to the books of the Vaisnava acaryas,
a description of the Vaisnava tirthas, the various conclusions of
Vaisnava sects. etc. He called it Vaisnava-Manjusa-Samahriti, and
it was later published in four volumes. A Vaisnava scholar
commented on it by saying, “This work is only possible for a
supra-mortal, a great personality like Prabhupada Srila Sarasvati
Thakura. Even if 25 to 30 scholars and 10 to 15 men taking the
treasury of a king began the work, they would be unable to edit
it.” The work of compilation was begun in Puri and continued as
Siddhanta Sarasvati made his preaching rounds of Sri Mayapur-
dhama, Sri Jagannatha Puri-dhama and Sri Vraja-dhama. He also
studied the books of Srila Madhvacarya and Srila Ramanujacarya
and published some of them in Bengali. He also published
biographies of these and other Vaisnava saints in the Sajjana-
Tosani magazine of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.

He toured South India in 1904 and again in 1905-places like

Tirupati, Srirangam, Singhachal, Raj Mahendry, Madras,
Perambadur, Conjeveram, Kumbhakonam and Madurai. While on
tour he collected all the information about the rites and rules of
Vedic tridanda Vaisnava sannyasa from a Ramanuja tridandi
swami at Perambadur. Wherever he would go in his travels he
would lecture, write and debate the learned panditas of the day.
He soon acquired such a reputation that his name would strike
fear in the hearts of his philosophical adversaries. All bogus cults
and sects were doomed in his presence.

However, in Puri, Siddhanta Sarasvati experienced such severe

oppression and censure due to his preaching against the rhyming
kirtana and sakhibheki doctrine of the popular
Radharamanacarana Dasa Babaji that finally Srila Bhaktivinoda
Thakura instructed him to go and perform bhajana near the
Yogapitha, the birthsite of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Nama-Bhajana

In 1905, at the age of 31, he began his great vow, following the
example of Namacarya Haridasa Thakura, of chanting three lakhs
of names (192 rounds) per day. He determined that at the rate of
300,000 names daily, it would take about 9 years to complete one
billion names. He resided in a grass hut at the Yogapitha for four
years, and in February of 1909 he built a cottage near the
Yogapitha at Vrajapattana (town of Vraja) on the site of the house
of Sri Candrasekhara Acarya, the uncle of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. This place is considered to be non-different from the
banks of Radhakunda. There he remained,
uninterruptedly executing his chanting. He strictly followed his
vow and observed Caturmasya, cooking rice (which had been
dried in the sun) in ghee and eating it from the floor in the
manner of a cow. He would take rest lying on the ground, never
using any pillows and constantly chant and study the scriptures.
Seeing his renunciation, his Gurudeva, Srila Gaura Kisora Dasa
Babaji Maharaja said, “I observe that the renunciation of Sri Rupa-
Raghunatha is manifest in my Prabhu.” He used to address his
disciple as “my Prabhu.”

In commenting on this period Srila Prabhupada states, “From

childhood he was a strict brahmacari, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Gosvami Maharaja. And he underwent very severe penances for
starting this movement: world-wide movement. That was his
mission.”

When the roof of his kutir became broken, rather than take time
away from his chanting, he would simply use an umbrella when it
rained and go on chanting. Sometimes, he had to go to different
places, but he continued very strictly and completed his vows
always.

In 1906 Sri Rohinikumara Ghosh, (the nephew of

Chandramadhava Ghosh Mahasaya, a former justice of the
Calcutta High Court), had a wonderful dream, and as a result
approached Siddhanta Sarasvati for initiation. The boy had gone
to stay with some Bauls, a so-called guru and his consort who he
was instructed to address as “Mother” and “Father”. These
persons were actually sinful rascals in the guise of devotees, but
while he was in Mayapur, he had the good fortune to hear from
Siddhanta Sarasvati for a long time. He returned to the place of
the Baul, and feeling ill, he lay down to rest. In a dream, the Baul
took the form of a tiger and the consort, the form of a tigress.
They were about to devour the unfortunate lad who was trying his
best to take shelter of Lord Gaurasundara. At that moment
Siddhanta Sarasvati arrived on the scene, chased the tigers away,
and began to lead him to Mayapur. The boy awoke at daybreak
and proceeded to Mayapur where he heard discourses from
Siddhanta Sarasvati for several days. Finally, he begged for
initiation from his savior so feelingly that Siddhanta Sarasvati took
mercy on him.

Prior to this, Siddhanta Sarasvati had never given initiation to

anyone. His character was such that he never regarded his
disciples as his disciples, but he used to see them as being that
which was received from the lotus feet of his guru. He used to
address them as “Prabhu.” In his address to the Gaudiya Math’s
first Vyasa-puja, he has addressed his disciples as, “My friends,
rescuers from danger.” He also wrote, “If a Vaisnava does not do
the work of a guru, then the spiritual Vaisnava lineage will stop.
Again, if he does the work of a guru, then he becomes a non-
Vaisnava. For if a guru thinks, ‘I am a guru.’ then the first ‘u’
letter in the word guru disappears (the word becomes ‘garu’ or
cow). A real guru does not make disciples and thus remains a
guru. Here we see Siddhanta Sarasvati giving a very strong
warning about entertaining the conception of overlordship or
being the master of anyone. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada observed that when he offered obeisances to
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he used to return, “Daso
’smi”: “I am your servant.” And in a lecture in 1973 on the
occasion of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura’s Disappearance
Day observance, Srila Prabhupada in the same ecstatic mood
spoke, ‘Anyway, it is by his grace I was forced to give up my
family life, and he brought me some way orother in preaching his
gospel. So, this is a memorable day. What he desired, I am trying
a little bit and you are all helping me, so I have to thank you
more. You are actually representatives of my Guru Maharaja,
because you are helping me in executing the order of my Guru
Maharaja. Thank you very much.”

In the course of Siddhanta Sarasvati’s travels throughout India he

became much pained at the erroneous teachings of many pseudo
sects and sahajiya groups. There arose in his heart a burning
desire to widely preach the true siddhanta according to the desire
of the Six Gosvamis and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Although Srila
Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji ordinarily never allowed anyone to
touch his feet, he had voluntarily placed his feet on the head of
Siddhanta Sarasvati and ordered him to preach extensively and
advised him, “… to preach the Absolute Truth and keep aside all
other works.” Siddhanta Sarasvati said of
this occasion: “On receiving just a touch of the lotus feet of my Sri
Gurudeva, I lost all sense of this external world. I do not know
whether any transcendental agent equal to him in greatness has
ever appeared in this world. How may those, who are busy with
the lust, anger, etc. of the world ever know him?”

The Gaura Mantra

Later in 1911 a controversy surfaced, challenging that the name

Gaura in the Gayatri mantra chanted by Gaudiya Vaisnavas was
not an eternal name of Godhead, was not found in the original
Vedas, and that Lord Caitanya was not an incarnation of Godhead,
but rather, by His own admission, a devotee of God.

Although it is clearly established in the pages of Caitanya-

bhagavata and Caitanya-caritamrta that Lord Caitanya is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, there were some
persons who did not believe that His position as an avatara was
revealed in the original Vedas. Of course one actual proof of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s divinity was the darsanas He provided to
a number of exalted devotees during the maha-prakasa
manifestations in the home of Srivasa Thakura, to Lord
Nityananda as a six-armed Visnu form, as Sad-Bhuja to
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya, as Radha-Krsna to Srila Ramananda
Raya, and so on. These proofs along with many convincing verses
supplied by Krsna dasa Kaviraja and Vrndavana dasa Thakura in
their Caitanya-caritamrta and Caitanya-bhagavata, repectively,
were sufficient for reasonable men. But the more stubborn
worldly scholars and critics wanted proof from the original Vedas.
The smartas objected to the worship of the Deity form of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu and claimed that the Gaura-mantra was not
an eternal Vedic mantra.

Siddhanta Sarasvati cited proof from the Sruti, particularly from

the Caitanyopanisad from the Atharva Veda:

sa hovaca: rahasyam te vadisyami, jahnavi-tire navadvipe

golokakhye dhamni govindo dvibhujo gaurah sarvatma
maha-puruso mahatma maha-yogi trigunatitah sattva-rupo
bhaktim loke kasyatiti. Tad ete sloka bhavanti

Brahma said: “I shall tell thee a secret! On the bank of the

Jahnavi, at Navadvipa, which is called Goloka Dhama, shall
Govinda, in a two armed form, as Gaura, the Great One, the Great
Mystic, Who is transcendental to the three modes of material
nature, and Whose form is eternal, reveal Bhakti to the world!
There are a number of verses in that regard.” [Text 5].
Other evidence was cited from the Svetasvatara Upanisad, as well
as the Smrti, Tantras, Puranas, and especially the Srimad-
Bhagavatam. Siddhanta Sarasvati addressed a large assembly at
Navadvipa’s Bada Akhada Hall, where many erudite scholars had
gathered, headed by Sri Madhusudana Gosvami Sarvabhauma.
He forcefully and brilliantly proved the eternality and glory of the
Name, Form, Attributes, etc. of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Although Siddhanta Sarasvati was unaware of it, Srila Gaura
Kisora dasa Babaji was there in one corner of the meeting, and
when he heard Siddhanta Sarasvati’s lecture he was
extremely pleased with him. All of the Gaudiya Vaisnavas who
heard the discourse were filled with bliss and began to chant
Siddhanta Sarasvati’s glories again and again. Due, in large
measure, to Siddhanta Sarasvati’s strong preaching on this point
throughout his life, the Deity form of Sri Caitanya. Mahaprabhu is
now worshipped and accepted all over India as the eternal form of
the Lord, and many thousands have received the Gaura mantra
with great faith and for eternal benefit.

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

commented on Siddhanta Sarasvati’s strong preaching
against the caste gosvamis and smartas:
“My Guru Maharaja’s contribution is that he defeated the caste
gosvamis. He defeated this brahmanism. He did it the same way
as Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. As Caitanya Mahaprabhu said, kiba
vipra, kiba nyasi, sudra kene naya, yei krsna tattva-vetta, sei
‘guru’ haya: ‘There is no consideration whether one is a sannyasi,
a brahmana, a sudra, or a grhastha. No. Anyone who knows the
science of Krsna, he is all right, he is gosvami and he is
brahmana.’

“This was my Guru Maharaja’s contribution. And for this reason,

he had to face so many vehement protests from these brahmanas
of the caste gosvamis.

“Once they conspired to kill him-my Guru Maharaja told me

personally. By his grace, when we used to meet alone he used to
talk about so many things. He was so kind that he used to talk
with me, and he personally told me that these people, ‘They
wanted to kill me.’

“They collected twenty-five thousand rupees and went to bribe

the police officer in charge of the area, saying, ‘You take these
twenty-five thousand rupees. We shall do something against
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, and you don’t take any steps.’ He
could understand that they wanted to kill him. So the police
officer frankly came to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati: ‘Of course, we
accept bribes, and we indulge in such things, but not for a sadhu,
not for a saintly person. I cannot dare.’ So, the police officer
refused and said to my Guru Maharaja, ‘You take care. This is the
position.’ This was because he so vehemently protested.

“When my Guru Maharaja was present, even big, big scholars

were afraid to talk with even his beginning students. My Guru
Maharaja was called ‘living encyclopedia’. He could talk with
anyone on any subject, he was so learned. And no compromise.
So-called saints, avataras, yogis-everyone who was false was an
enemy to my Guru Maharaja. He never compromised. Some
Godbrothers complained that this preaching was a ‘chopping
technique’ and it would not be successful. But those who
criticized him fell down.”