Disappearance Day of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur

[Spoken by Gurudeva on June 18th, 2023, Delhi]

First of all, I offer my humble obeisances unto the lotus feet of my paramārādhya-pāda,

Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Śrīla Vāmana Gosvāmī Mahārāja,
Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Śrīla Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja,
Śrīla Trivikrama Gosvāmī Mahārāja,
my spiritual grandsire, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja,
Śrīla Bhaktivedānta Svāmī Mahārāja,
along with the associates of Prabhupāda Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and the entire Guru-varga.

I convey my daṇḍavat praṇāmas to all the Vaiṣṇavas and Vaiṣṇavīs and to all the devotees gathered around the world, encouraging me to speak some Hari-kathā.

Today is a very, very auspicious day. It is the disappearance day of the Seventh Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and also the disappearance day of Gaura-śakti Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita.

For the first 15 minutes, I will speak in English, and afterwards, I will continue in Hindi.

So why was Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura given the title “Seventh Gosvāmī”?
We know the original Six Gosvāmīs:
Śrī Rūpa, Śrī Sanātana, Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, Śrī Jīva, Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, and Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.

After them, many ācāryas appeared, but prior to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, none were honored with the title “Seventh Gosvāmī” by the Vaiṣṇava community.

Naturally, a curiosity may arise: Why was Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura given this title? What did he do to deserve it?

To answer this, we must first understand the mission of the original Gosvāmīs.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu first sent Lokanātha Gosvāmī and Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī to Vṛndāvana. Later, He sent Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana, His “Commander Generals”, to perform four major tasks:

1. Lupta-tīrtha-uddhāra – Rediscover the lost holy places of Vraja-maṇḍala.
2. Śrī-vigraha-prakāśa – Establish and manifest the deities (Vigrahas) of the Lord.
3. Bhakti-grantha-praṇayana – Compose and publish devotional scriptures.
4. Vaiṣṇava-sadācāra – Establish proper Vaiṣṇava conduct and etiquette.

After Kṛṣṇa’s disappearance from this world, time covered all the holy places in Vraja. Nobody knew where Madhuvana, Tālavana, Kumudavana, Bahulāvana, Kāmyāvana, Khadirāvana, Vṛndāvana, Bhadrāvana, Bhandīrāvana, Bilvāvana, Mahāvana, and Lohāvana were located.

Mahāprabhu ordered Rūpa and Sanātana: “Lupta-tīrtha-uddhāra – discover these sacred places!”

Second, there were no Deities—only forest after forest. So, they were instructed to perform “Śrī-vigraha-prakāśa” – establish the worshipable forms of the Lord.

Third, “Bhakti-grantha-praṇayana” – to compose and distribute devotional literature.

Fourth, “Vaiṣṇava-sadācāra” – to set the standard for proper Vaiṣṇava behavior.

With these instructions, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī discovered Madan Mohan, and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī discovered Govindadeva – fulfilling “Śrī-vigraha-prakāśa”.

They rediscovered all sacred places of Vraja-maṇḍala: twelve forests (dvādaśa-vana), twelve sacred groves (dvādaśa-sakhī-vana), and thirty-two smaller groves (upavana).

Regarding scriptures, Sanātana Gosvāmī first composed the Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta, and Rūpa Gosvāmī later authored Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, Lalita-mādhava, Vidagdha-mādhava, and others.

Sanātana Gosvāmī also composed the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa with the help of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, whose family hailed from South India.

When Mahāprabhu toured South India, He stayed at the house of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa’s family in Śrīraṅgam, which is still there today.

Later, Sanātana Gosvāmī requested Gopāla Bhaṭṭa to collect scriptural evidence, which he did. Sanātana Gosvāmī then composed Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, providing his own commentary for future generations, but published it in the name of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, demonstrating great humility and generosity.

Now coming to Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.

After retiring from government service as a magistrate during British rule, he did not return to his ancestral village in Bīrnāgar (Ulāgrāma). Instead, he settled in Godrumadvīpa and engaged in bhajana.

His servant, Kāmal, a former office assistant who later became his disciple, was renamed Kṛṣṇa dāsa Bābājī after accepting renounced life.

One night, just after midnight while chanting, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura had a divine vision. From the northern direction, he saw a great light, within which appeared Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Prabhu Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita, Śrī Gadādhara, Śrīvāsa, and all the Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda, dancing and chanting:

“Haribol! Haribol! Gaura-premānande! Hari Haribol!”

He wondered: “Am I dreaming?” But he was fully awake.

The next night, the vision repeated.

Guided by the landmark of a tall palm tree, he went to the location. The entire area was overgrown with large Tulasi plants, though the land was under Muslim occupation.

He asked a Muslim worker there:

“Why have you planted so many Tulasis, when you don’t even worship her?”

The worker replied, “Bābu, don’t ask such questions! Whatever seeds we plant, only Tulasi grows—nothing else! Even after cutting, Tulasi grows back again and again. We gave up trying.”

Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura became convinced: “This must be Mahāprabhu’s birthplace!”

However, considering himself just a householder, he humbly feared others wouldn’t believe him.

So, he sought confirmation from his śikṣā-guru, Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, then around 140 years old.

Due to extreme old age, Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī could not walk, sit, or see properly. His sevaka, Bihārī Prabhu, would carry him in a basket on his head.

When brought to the site, the miraculous happened.

This aged saint, unable to stand moments earlier, suddenly jumped from the basket and began dancing with uplifted arms, crying:

“Haribol! Haribol! Gaura-premānande! Hari Haribol!”

Declaring, “This is indeed the birthplace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu!”

His prāṇāma-mantra for Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura reflects this great service:

gaurāvirbhāva-bhūmes tvaṁ nirdesta saj-jana-priyaḥ
vaiṣṇava-sarva-bhauma śrī-jagannāthāya te namaḥ

Out of humility, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura attributed the discovery to his śikṣā-guru.

So, he accomplished lupta-tīrtha-uddhāra by discovering Mahāprabhu’s Janmasthāna (birthplace).

Next, śrī-vigraha-prakāśa: He installed the Deities of Gaura-Gadādhara, non-different from Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa for Kali-yuga. These Deities are still worshiped in Godruma today during Navadvīpa-parikramā.

Third, bhakti-grantha-praṇayana: He composed over 100 transcendental books. Among these, Śrī Jaiva-dharma stands as a crown jewel. In it, he guides the conditioned soul from the lowest material consciousness (saṁsāra-daśā) to the highest stage of spiritual attainment (sampatti-daśā) in a systematic and accessible way.

Other works include Śrī Caitanya-śikṣāmṛta, Bhakti-tattva-viveka, Prema-pradīpa, and many more.

Finally, Vaiṣṇava-sadācāra: He authored small yet powerful works like Vaiṣṇava-siddhānta-mālā, delineating proper Vaiṣṇava behavior and conduct.

Thus, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura fulfilled the same four missions as the Six Gosvāmīs. That is why the entire Vaiṣṇava community honored him with the title “Seventh Gosvāmī”.

Now, I will continue in Hindi.

Vañchā-kalpa-tarubhyaś ca kṛpā-sindhubhya eva ca
patitānāṁ pāvanebhyo vaiṣṇavebhyo namo namaḥ.