Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্ত সরস্বতী (Bengali) |
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Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati editing an article. ca.1930s
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Religion | Hinduism |
Founder of | Gaudiya Math |
Philosophy | Achintya Bheda Abheda |
Personal | |
Nationality | Indian |
Born | Bimala Prasad Datta 6 February 1874 Puri, Indian Empire |
Died | 1 January 1937 Calcutta, Indian Empire |
(aged 62)
Guru | Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji |
Disciple(s) | Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada and others |
Literary works | Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati bibliography |
Honors | Siddhanta Sarsvati ("the pinnacle of wisdom"); propagator of Gaudiya Vaishnavism; founder of the Gaudiya Math; acharya-keshari (lion-guru) |
Signature |
Let me not desire anything but the highest good for my worst enemy.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati (Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī; Bengali: ভক্তিসিদ্ধান্ত সরস্বতী; Bengali: [bʱɔktisid̪d̪ʱanto ʃɔrɔʃbɔti]; 6 February 1874 – 1 January 1937), born Bimala Prasad Datta (Bimalā Prasād Datta, Bengali: [bimɔla prɔʃad d̪ɔt̪t̪o]), also referred to as Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, was a prominent guru and spiritual reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the early 20th century in India.
Bimala Prasad was born in 1874 in Puri (Orissa) a son of Kedarnath Datta Bhaktivinoda Thakur, a recognised Bengali Gaudiya Vaishnava philosopher and teacher. Bimala Prasad received both Western and traditional Indian education and gradually established himself as a leading intellectual among the bhadralok (Western-educated and often Hindu Bengali residents of colonial Calcutta), earning the title Siddhanta Sarasvati ("the pinnacle of wisdom"). Under the direction of his father and spiritual preceptor, Bimala Prasad took initiation (diksha) into Gaudiya Vaishnavism from the Vaishnava ascetic Gaurakishora Dasa Babaji, receiving the name Shri Varshabhanavi-devi-dayita Dasa (Śrī Vārṣabhānavī-devī-dayita Dāsa, "servant of Krishna, the beloved of Radha"), and dedicated himself to arduous ascetic discipline, recitation of the Hare Krishna mantra on beads (japa), and study of classical Vaishnava literature.