In praise of Srimad Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj
By Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur
Translated from a Bengali article
in the 25 Magh 1335 (7 February 1929)
issue of the daily Nadia Prakas.
In the great land of Bharat, from distant Kashmir near the high peaks of the Himalayas to the banks of the Indian ocean, who does not know Bhakti Saranga Prabhu? …
Sri Bhakti Saranga Prabhu is the brightest jewel in the lineage of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. His detachment is the full manifestation of the path preached by Sri Nityananda. Although he adheres to the scripturally ordained duties of a householder, he is a genuine goswami and naturally detached from everything unrelated to Krishna. Every quality-appreciating servitor in Sri Chaitanya Math and the twenty-eight primary Maths of Sri Gaudiya Math greatly respects him.
Every Gaudiya preacher and the numerous supporters of the tridandi preachers from the ocean to the Himalayas throughout the land of the Aryans and the south know of Sri Bhakti Saranga Prabhu’s eloquence and capability in Sanskrit, English, and Bengali.
Nearly every single fortunate resident of Gauda has seen, more or less, his holy character, his pure heart’s ecstasy, his earnestness for Krishna, and his profound love for Sri Gaurasundar.
With his assiduousness, his constant, all-rounded endeavours from dawn until midnight for the benefit of the society of Gaudiya Vaisnavas, his unparalleled spirit of dedication to Krishna and His devotees, he is fulfilling his name ‘Atula’ [‘unparalleled’].
He has wiped away the moon’s imperfections and replaced them with the immense light from the moon of the sole path to Krishna-prema. Thus, by reproaching even the pleasant, shining moon, his position as the unparalleled moon [‘Atulachandra’] amongst Gaurachandra’s exclusive followers has been realised.
He is the teacher [‘Upadhyaya’] of worshippable [‘Vandya’] Vaisnavas. He is the sole reformer of the rsi’s laws. His heartfelt endeavours are the enlivening energy of Sri Chaitanya Math’s Institute for Spiritual Education (Paravidya Pith). He is a genius amongst the goswamis and himself is a genuine goswami. The pure devotees have heard that he is renowned to be ‘Bhakti-Saranga’ [‘the embodiment of the essence of devotion’] on account of his expertise and excellence in devotion. Seeing the beauty of the holy lotus feet of this great transcendentalist, the world of pure Vaisnavas is enchanted.
He is the secretary of the Sri Visva Vaisnava Raja Sabha and is one of the editors of Sri Gaudiya Math’s Srimad Bhagavatam. He is an exemplar in the world of the pure Vaisnavas, a follower of the Sri Rupanuga Vaisnavas, and thus worshippable to the world.
Note
At the time this article was written in 1929, prior to his accepting sannyas from Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj in 1940, Srila Bhakti Saranga Goswami Maharaj’s title, as printed in Gaudiya, was Sripad Atulachandra Vandhyopadhyaya Bhakti Saranga Goswami. Throughout this article, Srila Prabhupad describes how Srila Goswami Maharaj personified each part of his title.
