Acarya Kesari Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami – His Life and Teachings
Introduction to the first English edition
This book is unique and very significant. It presents for Western readers the life and teachings of a recent acarya in a Gaudiya Vaisnava (rather than a Western) environment. Here we directly see the activities and interactions of deeply realized vaisnavas within an authentic Gaudiya Vaisnava culture. We are also privileged to witness the guru-disciple relationship in a line of empowered acaryas, and to see a variety of expressions of guru-nistha.
Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja has presented an overview of essential Gaudiya siddhanta. He has shown practically how an acarya preaches and teaches, from the ‘jungle-cutting’ challenges to mayavada and the threats of apasampradayas and apasiddhanta, to the prayojana of Vraja bhakti. This present volume therefore has a very important role in the protection of our sampradaya, both in dispelling illusion and in establishing the real goal.
This is a more or less literal translation of Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja’s Hindi biography of Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami. We request the reader to be patient with our efforts. The English language is not capable of conveying the deep significance of one maha-bhagavata’s statements about another maha-bhagavata. In addition, the patterns of speech in Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja’s eloquent, literary Hindi are quite different from those in conventional written English, and it is impossible to translate one into the other. Over and above that, our incompetence and inexperience must necessarily give rise to all sorts of imperfection, inaccuracy and inconsistency.
We have tried not to burden the Western reader with many unnecessary Sanskrit words and terms. However, we cannot appreciate or understand the Gaudiya presentation of tattva and rasa without becoming familiar with many Sanskrit words and terms for which there are no exact English equaivalents. We have tried to introduce these in a systematic and reader-friendly way, using translations in the body of the text and in footnotes.
This book has been produced by the combined efforts of many disciples and followers of Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja. The list of the names who helped is far too long to publish.
Srila Maharaja has glorified his Guru Maharaja, saying that he accepts the very insignificant service of his servants as being very great. We pray that Srila Maharaja will show us the same mercy, but in much greater measure, because of our deep and real lack of qualification. He has accepted so much trouble and disturbance in trying to help his Western disciples and followers, who find no other shelter at the present time. We do not yet know what guru-seva actually is, but we helplessly pray to him that he will kindly continue to help and inspire us to become free from our deep attachment to maya-vasana, and to dive deep into the ocean of Sri Rupanuga Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta and sadhana-bhajana.
It is said that the grandfather is much more affectionate than the father. We surrender at the lotus feet of Acarya Kesari Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja, whose preaching has helped to save us from a dark destiny and to bring us towards the light. We humbly pray that he will bless our very feeble efforts to serve his beloved disciple Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, his dear Godbrother and sannyasa disciple Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja, and our whole Gaudiya vaisnava parampara.
We pray at the lotus feet of Jagadguru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarsvati Prabhupada for a particle of service to his disciples and successor acaryas, who are kindly and boldly continuing his mission and protecting his sampradaya.
On the occasion of the disappearance day of
Sri Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja,
Sarada Purnima, Samvat 2055 (October 24th, 1999)
The publishers.
Introduction
(to the Hindi edition)
Today I am most pleased that we have published the biography of Paramaradhya Nityalilapravista Om Visnupada Astottarasata Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami, combined with his tattva-siddhanta and teachings. The absence of this important scripture had been causing unease for a long time.
The preaching of harinama-sankirtana is increasing every-where today by the effort of the disciples and grand-disciples of Jagadguru Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada. He is the maha-purusa who is mainly responsible for preaching Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s visuddha bhakti and harinama-sankirtana throughout the entire world. This was predicted by the Seventh Gosvami, Srila Saccidananda Bhaktivinoda Thakura. As Bhagiratha brought down Bhagirathi Ganga, so Thakura Bhaktivinoda re-established the flow of Bhagirathi bhakti. That is to say, Srila Thakura again established the long-lost desire of Sri Sacinandana Gaurahari, who is the most magnanimous form of Vrajendranandana Sri Krsna, resplendent with the bhava of Sri Radha. My most worshipful Srila Gurupadapadma, who is Srila Prabhupada’s intimate follower, has especially made the fulfillment of Srila Prabhu-pada’s innermost desire the sole duty of his life. In this regard he had all kinds of help from many of his Godbrothers, amongst whom Srimad Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja is prominent. Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami’s causeless compassion and inspiration encouraged Srila Svami Maharaja in his preaching, and I (the author) am also making some slight endeavour to fulfill his innermost desire. Any success I am achieving in this endeavour is only due to his special mercy.
Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami is the sannyasa-guru of Srimad Bhaktivedanta Svami Maharaja, who is the outstanding preacher of suddha bhakti and nama-sankirtana throughout the entire world in modern times. I am an insignificant person in all respects, but by his transcendental and causeless mercy I am also very successfully preaching the teachings of Gaurasundara everywhere in the world to fulfill his innermost desire. Seeing this, all faithful people at home and abroad are very eager to learn about this transcendental maha-purusa’s supramundane character, his life-story and the speciality of his conceptions. These people have repeatedly requested me to publish his biography. Many of my respectable Godbrothers have also made the same request. However, I had to postpone the project because I was busy with other services, and also had some problems with my health.
13 years ago, in 1985, my Godbrother Pujyapada Parivrajakacarya Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Vamana Maharaja, who is the President and Acarya of Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti, and a follower of transcendental knowledge, compiled Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami, which is an account his life, tattva-siddhanta and teachings. This book is written in Bengali, and is based on Paramaradhyatama Srila Gurupada-padma’s articles, essays, poems and writings which have been published in the daily Nadiya-prakasa, and the weekly and monthly Sri Gaudiya and Sri Gaudiya-patrika. In this book he has very briefly described Srila Gurupadapadma’s supramundane life-story and the speciality of his conceptions. This is extremely beneficial for those who speak Bengali, but not for the vast numbers of faithful people who speak Hindi. This lack has been causing unease for a long time. I pray at the lotus feet of my Godbrothers and especially at the lotus feet of Srila Gurupada-padma, who is the ocean of compassion, to install power in my heart to be able to fulfill this task of making his life-story available in Hindi.
I had the good opportunity to stay with Srila Gurupada-padma personally and perform all kinds of seva from 1945 until he entered aprakata-lila in 1968. I stayed close to him, hearing his lectures, his scriptural debates with opposing parties, and his discussions and questions and answers at different places. During this whole time I took notes in my note book. Sometimes I could not stay quiet near him, and with great humility I enquired from about deep and confidential subjects, and I also had discussions with him. I wrote all these subject matters in my note book, and they also became inscribed in my heart. These discussions and interactions with Srila Gurudeva proved very useful for me.
While we were living in Sri Uddharana Gaudiya Matha in Chunchura, we repeatedly requested Srila Gurudeva’s younger brother, Sri Pulina Vihari Guhathakurta, to write a booklet about Srila Gurudeva’s life beginning with his childhood until the time that he joined the matha. This he did, and on the request of our Godbrothers, Sri Yaminikanta Dasa (M.E.B.T.), Jirata High School’s very able principal, wrote Srila Gurudeva’s biography in Bengali poetry based on this booklet. In addition to the topics covered in Pulina Bihari Guhathakurta’s booklet, Sri Yaminikanta Dasa also incorporated some details about Srila Gurudeva’s life in Caitanya Matha and the later inauguration of Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. Pujyapada Vamana Maharajaji took help from this for his biography on Srila Gurudeva. The primary materials for this present edition are Sri Yaminikanta Dasa’s book, together with my own note book and memories. I personally heard from Srila Gurudeva’s mouth the many incidents from his own life and from the lives of Srila Prabhupada, Srila Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji Maharaja and Sri Vamsidasa Babaji Maharaja.
I have divided Srila Gurudeva’s biography into eight parts. The faithful readers may carefully read the different subject matters in this book, and judge the results for themselves.
Sriman Haripriya Brahmacari and Sriman Navinkrsna Brahmacari ‘Vidyalankara’ have worked very hard to prepare the manuscript for this book. The service endeavours of Srimati Santi Devi Dasi and Sriman Purandara Brahmacari in composing and correcting this book are notable. In addition to this, the efforts of Sri Omprakasa Vrajavasi (M.A., L.L.B.) ‘Sahityaratna,’ Sriman Subhananda Brahmacari ‘Bhagavata-bhusana,’ Sriman Premananda Brahmacari ‘Sevaratna,’ Sriman Paramesvari Brahmacari, Sriman Pundarika Brahmacari and others in proof-reading and performing other tasks in connection with this book are extremely praiseworthy. My humble prayer at Srila Gurupadapadma’s lotus feet is that he may shower abundant kindness upon them and may engage them in his desired service.
On the occasion of the appearance day of
Sri Srila Bhakti Prajnana Kesava Gosvami Maharaja,
Samvat 2055 (February 3, 1999)
An aspirant for a particle of mercy
of Sri Hari, Guru and Vaisnavas,
Tridandi Bhiksu Sri Bhaktivedanta Narayana