In honour of the appearance day of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, we are presenting a verse from the Sri Laghu-chandrika-bhasya of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj which summarises the gifts Bhakti Vinod Thakur gave to this world and some excerpts from a Bengali article of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj about this holy day.
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj:
guru-daṁ grantha-daṁ gaura-dhāma-daṁ nāma-daṁ mudā
bhakti-daṁ bhūri-daṁ vande bhakti-vinodakaṁ sadā
(Śrī Laghu-chandrikā-bhāṣya: 1.8)
“I perpetually offer my obeisance unto Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur with great joy. Guru-dam: he is the bestower (first and foremost) of sri guru—Bhagavan Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur (the inaugurator of the new era of Gaudiya Vaishnavism). Grantha-dam: he is the author of numerous commentaries, treatises, articles, novels and songbooks (which represent the comprehensive and condensed essence of revealed truth). Gaura-dhama-dam: he is the revealer of the abode of Sriman Mahaprabhu (which had been lost over the course of time). Nama-dam: he is the giver of the Name (the proper conception of the Name). Bhakti-dam: he is the granter of pure devotion (the practice of pure devotion in the line of Srila Rupa Goswami Prabhu). Bhuri-dam: he is the bestower of an abundance of divine fortune (and ultimately the service of Srimati Radharani).”
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj:
“Srila Saraswati Goswami Prabhupad in brief gave the secret identity of Thakur Mahashay … At the end of his Anubhashya on Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta, Srila Prabhupad wrote:
tā̐hāra karuṇā-kathā, mādhava-bhajana-prathā
tulanā nāhika tribhuvane
tā̐ra sama anya keha, dhariyā e nara-deha,
nāhi dila kṛṣṇa-prema-dhane
sei prabhu-śakti pāi’, ebe ‘anubhāṣya’ gāi’,
ihāte āmāra kichchhu nāi
yāvat jīvana rabe, tāvat smariba bhāve
nitya-kāla sei pada chāi
‘There is no comparison within all the three worlds to His merciful teachings of the practice of devotion to Madhav. No one like him has ever assumed a human form and distributed the wealth of Krishna-prem. Being empowered by him, I am now presenting this ‘Anubhashya’ within which there is nothing of my own. So long as my life will remain, I will remember him within my heart. I aspire for his feet eternally.’
When we hear these verses, our mouth and pen completely stop; what am I thinking?! Attempting to prepare a deity of Śiva, we have ended up making a monkey! Where is our ability to sing the glories of Thakur Bhakti Vinod like this? What is the spotless character of that super-human great personality and who am I, a greatly fallen, lowly human being! We simply have this solace, that even a remote connection with Srila Bhakti Vinod Prabhu can bestow ultimate welfare upon the jivas.”
“ … Churning all the scriptures like Vedavyas, Thakur Bhakti Vinod has liberally distributed everywhere in an easy and simple way the butter of Krishna-prem.”
“In a word, Thakur Bhakti Vinod was in one person the combined form of Sri Svarup, Sanatan, Rupa, Raghunath, Ray Ramananda, Hari Das, Sri Jiva, Krishna Das and Narottam. This is because the perfection of the endeavours of all the goswamis is seen within him in full form … Fortunate persons who see the glory of his supramundane ability in all subjects roll about at his feet.”