Sri Saraswat Gaudiya Vaishnava Sangha, an assemblage of 55 Gaudiya Mutts celebrated 181st Appearance day of Srila Sacchidanand Bhaktivinod Thakur, most prominent Acharya of Gaudiya Vaishnava society, at Surabhi Kunja, Swarupgunj , Nadia district on Saturday 22nd September from 9 am onwards with zeal and fervour. Thousands of devotees of Indian and foreign origin of various Gaudiya Mutts and International Society for Krishna Consciousness attended the festivities.
The celebration began with Bhajan at 9 am, followed by discourses by senior monks on the life and teachings of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. Post this devotees offered Pushpanjali, and honoured the MahaPrasadam which was served to everyone. Later in the afternoon a grand procession carrying the Sri Vigraha (deity) of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur on a beautifully decorated chariot was taken out from BhaktiVedanta Arogya Ashram Jagannath temple at Swarupgunj to the bhajan kutir of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur. Large number of devotees from all over India and abroad performed ecstatic Harinama Sankirtan on a 3 km stretch of the circumambulation informed Tapar Swami spokesperson of the Sangha . The young devotees rendered soulful dance drama on the illustrious life of the Vaishnava saint, Acharya Bhaktivinod Thakur.
The objective of organising this festival was to inculcate feeling of love and compassion for every living being which is the philosophy of Sri Chaitanya MahaPrabhu. The proper understanding and observance of MahaPrabhu’s teachings is the perfect remedy to all the problems that human race is facing in this world and it can be the harbinger of global peace and harmony feels Srimad Bhaktivedanta Avadut Maharaja, President of Saraswat Gaudiya Viashnava Sangha
The Gaudiya Vaishnava saint Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur is credited to have identified the exact birth place of Sri Chaitanya MahaPrabhu at Mayapur, Nadia. As a result of his immense hard work and thorough research he is attributed to have revived the teachings, literature and places of spiritual relevance which were lost with passage of time. Further, Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur institutionalised the Vaishnava culture which was limited to few households before his endeavour. He had an accomplished career, he began his teaching career in rural areas of Bengal and Orissa and became an employee with the British Raj in the Judicial Service, from which he retired in 1894 District Magistrate. Also he was an erudite scholar who penned more than 100 books in Bengali, English, Urdu, Sanskrit. He envisioned the spread of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in foreign land in the 19th century. He had predicted that in near future the Germans, French, Englishmen will play “khol”, “kartal” and will perform Sankirtan shoulder to shoulder with Bengali devotees at Mayapur Dham. His dream was realised when His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad went to foreign land, spread Sanatana Dharma and started ISKCON in 1965 at NewYork. As a result of his preaching today Sri Chaitanya MahaPrabhu’s philosophy of Sankirtan has sprouted in every nook and corner of the world.
Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur has authored hundreds of Bengali Bhajans glorifying Lord Krishna and MahaPrabhu which are sung by devotees all across the world till date.
Subroto Das.