Bhaktipragyan Kesava Goswami

The future Bhaktipragyan Kesava Goswami was born on January 24, 1898 in the village of Banaripara in Jessore County in East Bengal (now Bangladesh), into a family of landowners. His father's name was Saratchandra Guhathakurt, and his mother was Bhuvanamohini Devi. His parents gave him the name Vinod-Bihari and raised the boy in an atmosphere of devotion and worship of God .

His two aunts became the first female students of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati , the founder of the Gaudiya Math . In 1915, the young Vinod-Bihari went with them to Mayapur to celebrate Gaura Purnima . There he saw the scene of the appearance of Caitanya and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Being attracted to the person of Bhaktisiddhanta and his instructions, he promised himself to follow this great saint and serve him all his life. After completing the entire parikrama in the holy land of Navadvipa , he received initiation and the spiritual name Vinod-bihari Das from Bhaktisiddhanta, becoming one of the first disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta. ^[four]

Vinod-bihari subsequently became the CEO of the Gaudiya Math, which included 64 branches throughout India. Vinod-bihari studied for several years in college, but in 1919 he left school and refused to take final exams. Material life has lost all meaning for him. Having renounced his rich house and enviable position in society, he came to Mayapur with his guru Bhaktisiddhanta, deciding to devote his whole life to serving the mission of Chaitanya. On duty, Vinod-bihari often traveled to courts and government offices. He was widely known in Nadia : he was elected a member of the district administration, a member of the committee on finance, education, etc.

Vinod-bihari wore white clothes, but despite this he enjoyed great respect and trust in the math. Even the sannyasis first bowed to him and asked him for directions. In 1926, Sridhara Goswami joined the Gaudiya Math. From the first days of his life in the math, Ramananda Das (that was the name of Sridhara Goswami then) developed a close relationship with Vinod-bihari. Ramananda always considered him his elder spiritual brother (although he received sannyasa before Vinoda-bihari and gave him initiation into sannyasa in 1941). All these years, they liked to arrange philosophical discussions with each other, discussing the most complex issues of siddhanta . ^[5]

In April 1940, the Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti organization was founded in Calcutta . The registration act was signed by three of its founders: Bhaktipragyan Keshava Goswami, Abhay Charanaravinda Das (later known as Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada ) and Nrsimhananda Das. ^{[2] [6]}

At the invitation of Bhaktipragyana Kesava Goswami, his guru brother Abhay Charanaravinda spent 4 years in the Kesawaji temple in Mathura with Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami , a diksa disciple of Bhaktipragyana Kesava Goswami. Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami enthusiastically described these years of close association with Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in his book My Shiksha Guru and Dear Friend. In 1959, in Mathura, Abhay Charanaravinda Das received from Bhaktipragyana Kesava Goswami the initiation of sannyas and the title of Bhaktivedanta Swami. ^[7] In 1965, Bhaktivedanta Swami went to preach Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the West, and in 1966 founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness in the USA. Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami sent him deities for new temples, paraphernalia, musical instruments, books and sweets. ^[3]

Following the example of his guru, Bhaktipragyan Kesava Gosvami systematically criticized the Mayavada philosophy in his books and sermons. ^{[8] [9]}

• Sri Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti

• Texts of Bhakti Pragyan Keshava: books, articles
• Bhaktipragyana Keshava Goswami Maharaj at Hari Katha.org
• Spiritual Leaders - Gaudiya-Vaisnava Acaryas - Srila Bhakti Prajna Kesava Maharaja (Neopr.) . www.goloka.com. Date of treatment August 3, 2008. Archived on April 20, 2012.