Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura – Diary of 40 Life Events!
(1) Srila Bhakti Vinoda Thakkura is a Pioneer who was called “the God-sent pioneer of unalloyed devotion to God” spread the teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu effectively.
(2) Birth: 02.09.1838 Birnagar, British India
(3) Father: Seventh son of Raja Krishnananda Datta, a great devotee of Lord Nityananda.
(4) Actual Name: Kedarnath Datta
(SRI NITYANANDHA PRABHU – DIARY OF EVENTS WHEN HE APPEARED ON EARTH! READ HERE!)
(5) He received his elementary education at the primary school started by his grandmother in Biranagara.
(6) Later he attended an English school at Krishnanagar that had been established by the King of Nadia, but after studying there a while he had to discontinue his lessons and return to Ulagrama upon the unexpected death of his older brother due to cholera.
(7) When Thakura Bhaktivinoda was eleven years old his father passed away.
(8) In 1850, when Kedaranatha Bhaktivinoda was twelve years old, by the efforts of his mother he was married to the five year old daughter of Madhusudana Mritra Mahasaya who was a resident of Rana Ghata.
(9) In 1856, at the age of eighteen, Kedaranatha Bhaktivinoda began his first year of college in Calcutta. During this time he wrote many articles and essays and had them published in various English and Bengali journals and he also gave many lectures in both English and Bengali.
(10) At the beginning of 1859 when Bhaktivinoda Thakura was 21 years of age, his grandfather departed from this world. Bhaktivinoda Thakura was with him at this time and after receiving his grandfather’s last instructions he traveled to all the monasteries and temples in the state of Orissa.
(11) He came to Jagannatha Puri and there in Puri, passing a teachers examination, he got the position of a teacher in a school at Cuttack and gradually, working in the position of headmaster in a high school in Bhadraka and later in Madinipura, he drew the specific attention of the school board authorities.
(LORD JAGANNATHA OF PURI – A to Z DETAILS YOU SHOULD KNOW! READ HERE!)
(12) While residing in Bhadraka, his first son, Annada Prasada (Acyutananda) was born.
(13) In 1860 Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote one book in English titled Maths of Orissa which gave a description of and report about all the various temples and Ashramas in the state of Orissa that he had traveled to.
(14) At this time Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s wife passed away and in the town of Jakapura he accepted in marriage a second wife whose name was Bhagyavati devi.
(15) In the year l86l, Bhaktivinoda Thakura accepted the post of a Deputy Magistrate under the government of Bengal.
(16) After some time, having noticed the corruptness of the peons, he gave up his post as a Deputy Magistrate and was offered the position of a Collectorate Officer.
(17) During this period he established an organization called the “Bhratr Samaja”.
(18) In l863 he wrote an English book called “Our Wants” and at this time he constructed a home in Rana Ghata.
(19) In this same year of 1863, during his stay in Burdwan, the Thakura composed two very novel poems in Bengali. One was entitled Vijanagrama (a deserted village) and the other poem was called Sannyasa.
(SRILA PRABHUPADA LIFE HISTORY – DIARY! READ HERE!)
(20) Between the years 1874 and 1893 Thakura Bhaktivinoda wrote several books in Sanskrit such as Sri Krishna-samhita, Tattva-sutra, and Tattva-viveka which was sometimes known as Sac-cid-anandaubhuti. He also wrote many books in Bengali such as his Kalyana-kalpataru and besides those, in the year 1874 he composed his famous Sanskrit work Datta-kaustubham.
(21) Much of his time was spent in seclusion chanting the Holy Name of Krishna with great faith and love. Always anxious to use every moment in loving service of Krishna, he followed a strict austere daily schedule:
8-10 P.M. Rest (two hours)
10PM-4 A.M. Write
4-4:30 A.M. Rest
4:30-7 A.M. Chant Japa
7-7:30 Correspondence
7:30-9:30 Study sastras
9:30-10 Bath, prasadam (half-liter milk, fruit, 2 chapatis)
10-1 P.M. Court Duties
1-2 P.M. Refresh at home
2-5 P.M Court Duties
(21) Serving as the manager of Puri Jagannath temple In the courtyard of the Jagannatha Temple, where the footprints of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are preserved, Thakura Bhaktivinoda established the ‘Bhakti-mandapa’ and at that place he arranged for daily discourses on Srimad-Bhagavatam to take place.
(22) The Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s fourth son who took birth in 1874 and who was named him Bimala Prasada, later on was known as Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, the powerful acharya of the Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya and the founder of the Gaudiya Matha.
(GAURA PURNIMA : SRI CAITANYA MAHA PRABHU LIFE HISTORY – DIARY AND SIKSASHTAKAM! READ HERE!)
(23) Taking leave from Jagannatha Puri on special business, Bhaktivinoda Thakura returned to Bengal and there visited many places such as Navadvipa, Shantipura and Kalana. After his leave was over he put in charge of the sub-division Mahisharekha in the district of Naora. After that he was transferred to Bhadraka. In August of 1878 the Thakura was put in charge of the subdivision of Naraila in the district of Yashohar.
(24) While the Bhaktivinoda Thakura was residing in Naraila his two famous books, Sri Krishna-samhita and Kalyana-kalpataru were published.
(25) In the year 1877 Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s fifth son, Varada Prasada, took birth. In 1878 the Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s sixth son, Viraja Prasada, was born. Both of them appeared at Rana Ghata.
(26) Bhaktivinoda Thakura formally accepted Pancharatrika initiation from a descendant of the Jahnava family of Baghnapara. This Vaishnava family line is coming from Srimati Jahnava devi, the wife of Lord Nityananda.
(27) At this time the Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s seventh son, Lalita Prasada, took his birth at Rana Ghata.
(28) From the year 1881 the Bhaktivinoda Thakura began publishing his Vaishnava journal, the Sajjanatosani which proclaimed the divine teachings of Sri Caitanya to all parts of Bengal.
(29) In 1886, the last year of his stay at Barasat, the Thakura, at the request of Babu Sarada Carana Mitra, ex-judge of the Calcutta High Court, undertook the task of publishing a good edition of the Srimad-Bhagavad-gita with the Sanskrit commentary of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura and his own Bengali translation called Rasika-ranjana.
(30) The year was 1887 and this discovery was a shining landmark in the history of Vaishnavism in India. Bhaktivinoda Thakura had brought to light the divine place of Caitanya’s birth and his discovery was confirmed by Jagannatha dasa Babaji, the then religious head of the Gaudiya Vaishnava community in Nadia.
(SRI RAMANUJACHARYA LIFE HISTORY (DIARY OF 20 EVENTS)! READ HERE!)
(31) After the discovery of Mahaprabhu’s birth place at Mayapura, Jagannatha dasa Babaji and Bhaktivinoda Thakura began worshiping Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu there. Once one of the Thakura’s young sons was suffering from a skin disease and Jagannatha dasa Babaji told the boy to lie down at the birth site of Lord Caitanya. The boy followed his instructions and the next day he was cured.
(32) Then due to health reasons he got transfer to a good station, ie, the village of Netrakona in the district of Mayamanasimha.
(33) In Dinajapura Bhaktivinoda’s youngest son, Sailaja Prasada, was born. When Bhaktivinoda was stationed in Dinajapura he took up writing his Vidvad-ranjana commentary and translation of the Bhagavad-gita and in 1891 he published it along with the Sanskrit commentary of Srila Baladeva Vidyabushana.
(34) In 1891, Bhaktivinoda Thakura took leave from government duties for two years with the aim of preaching Harinama.Then he worked hard for this purpose for years.
(35) In 1891, on the full moon appearance day of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a large sankirtana festival was held in which the deities of Lord Caitanya and Vishnu Priya [Sri Caitanya’s wife] were installed at Mahaprabhu’s birth site. The installation was held with great pomp and splendor and thousands of Vaishnavas attended from all parts of India. At this time all the learned panditas of the Navadvipa area, considering all of Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s evidence, accepted beyond a doubt that this was the true place of birth of Sri Caitanya maha Prabhu.
(36) Then Sri Caitanya’s teachings and Harinam was established in Tripura western India etc with the pioneering efforts of Bhaktivinodha and his associates.
(SRI ADVAITA ACHARYA – LIFE HISTORY -DIARY : PART-1 – READ HERE!)
(37) When Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati left Puri to reside at Sri Navadvipa Mayapura, Bhaktivinoda gave up all connection with the Gandharvika Giridhari Matha and constructed his own place of bhajana on the sea beach there. He called this place Bhakti Kuti.
(38) In 1908 Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura formally accepted the dress of a paramahamsa by taking sannyasa at the place in Jagannatha Puri known called Satasana. At this time he was still writing some books and staying sometimes in Navadvipa and sometimes in Calcutta.
(39) In the year 1910, for being constantly engaged in the service of the Divine Couple of Vraja Dhama [Sri Sri Radha-Krishna], the Thakura shut himself up, pretending to be afflicted with paralysis, and entered into a perfect state of samadhi. These days were very happy for him as he could thus shun the turmoil and bustle which are the concomitant parts of worldly existence.
(40) DISAPPEARANCE:
On June 23, 1914, corresponding to the disappearance of Sri Gadadhara Pandita, just before noon in Jagannatha Puri, the dearly beloved of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, departed from this mundane plane for his eternal services to Radha and Krishna in the divine realm of Sri Vrindavana Dhama.
(SRILA BHAKTI SIDDHANTA SARASVATI THAKURA LIFE HISTORY – DIARY OF 50 POINTS! READ HERE!)