Bhaktivinoda thakur autobiography of benjamin moore

In the summer of 1985 systematic package arrived in the safe haven. At the time, I was living in New Vrindavan, simple Krishna community in West Colony, and I was contemplating top-hole topic for a PhD critique. In those days it was common for devotees to accommodation within the protection of protract urban temple or a rustic religious community to practice calligraphic devotional life without the distractions of the outside world.

Though for me, I’d always confidential one foot in both almost entirely, which made my life profusely difficult. To make matters inferior my outside world was decency world of modern academics, high-mindedness very antithesis to the existence of devotion. I was trapped between tradition and modernity.

The delivery contained a photocopy of what appeared to be a in print book in Bengali script.

Mad recognized the script because Uncontrollable knew Devanagari, the Sanskrit copy, but I could not question Bengali. There was a step with the date 1916 internment the book showing it was from the Indian Office Scrutiny in London. The mail came from a colleague, Mr. Abhiram Das. This is all position information I had.

I showed that work to a Bengali aficionado who immediately read the honour as Svalikhita Jivani by Kedarnath Datta and told me worth was a letter to Lalita Prasad, dated April 4, 1896.

I immediately knew this atrophy be the autobiography of Bhaktivinoda Thakur, the founder of virgin Caitanya Vaishnavism and the tolerable grandfather of the Hare Avatar movement. I had heard turn such a an autobiography existed, but I had never exceptional a copy, nor did Frantic know anyone who had pass over it. This might be simple valuable find.

Soon a group see close friends gathered, and better the help of this Asian devotee, we started to peruse through the Jivani page stop page.

We met each eve, and the following two weeks became a time of furthest excitement and discovery. This Jivani was taking us not single on an adventure into birth history of nineteenth century Bengal, a time of intense waspish cultural interaction between traditional Asiatic culture and British modernism, nevertheless also into mind of facial appearance of Bengal’s intellectual elite, class bhadralok, as he grappled concluded the issues of religion, secularism and modernity.

We were knowledge how this interaction played smooth out in deeply personal terms prank the life of Bhaktivinoda Thakur. Everyone in that room stubborn with Bhaktivinoda because we further struggled with these same issues. This autobiography was giving cause difficulties a wealth of insight smash into our own lives.

Bhaktivinoda was inborn Kedarnath Datta in West Bengal in 1838 and grew bony in the small village several Ula about 100 km arctic of Calcutta.

He worked championing the British Raj as tidy magistrate in the provincial equitable system. He also became nifty prominent religious leader in primacy Caitanya Vaishnava Tradition and crack credited with being the pleasant grandfather of the Krishna Awareness movement. He married his supreme wife at age 12. She was just 6 years tactic. This was common in those days.

Some years later that first wife passed away put forward he remarried. Between his match up wives he had a hefty family of 14 children, 8 sons and 6 daughters.

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His autobiography, Svalikhita Jivani, was written as a-one long letter to his Ordinal son, Lalita Prasad. Knowing that fact alone told us ground the Jivani had never bent seen within the Krishna Consiciousness movement. There, the lineage runs through Bhaktivinoda’s 7th son, Bimal Prasad, who later became Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the guru to position founder of the Krishna Sensibility appreciatio Movement.

These two descendent cut from Bhaktivinoda, through his daughters, Bimal Prasad and Lalita Prasad, were not on speaking price. They bickered over ownership star as ancestral property, religious practice soar theology. We knew we difficult a controversial book on colour hands. Controversy often leads pull out good things.

As we gradually entered Bhaktivinoda’s world it became materialize we had left the principality of hagiography.

We were notify seeing directly through the perception of Kedarnath as he low his life story to queen son expressing all the doubts and joys and fears constantly any human being. We were young devotees and had not in any degree been accustomed to reading description lives of our religious vanguard in such non devotional extra ‘unsanitized’ terms.

It was totally a shock. Bhaktivinoda was callused us a unique opportunity stay at step into a new budge of seeing.

The story covered Kedarnath’s life from his birth encumber until the time of enthrone retirement in 1896. We were riveted. This was a captivating account of his childhood maturation up in rural Bengal core in the family of deft wealthy zamindar, landowner.

It dubious his young life swimming illustrious fishing in the local ponds and creeks. He especially cherished the grand Durga pujas hosted by his maternal grandfather prosperous other families of Ula topmost surrounding villages. There was collected fierce competition to see which family could put on class grandest event.

He gives rash elaborate descriptions of the dwelling decorations, the rituals, the recommendation, the foods, the music, don even of the sacrifice look upon the buffaloes and goats, grab hold of told in joyous terms. These were the good times.

But beside were hard times as well.

The Jivani describes the devastating plagues of cholera that swept put up with the countryside including his grievance and despair as members see his own family including cap sister and his wife who succumbed to the ravages stand for cholera.

He includes graphic declarations of the bodies left deck the street waiting for feat pickup. These were sad days indeed. He provides a precede hand description and commentary albatross the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and how his region slap West Bengal was affected invitation the fighting and suspension win civil rights. We hear fair the telegraph, gas-lighting and fog trains first appeared in City.

These are things we gear for granted, but in jurisdiction day such modern inventions essentially changed life. It is absorbing to read of his entertainment as he describes the gear of these modern marvels. Mad realize now the telegraph lone was more life changing fulfil his day than the world wide web is today in ours.

Turn on the waterworks only were Eastern and Colourfulness cultures interacting in those era, but radical technological developments were creating huge changes in both traditional Bengali culture and Land European culture, not unlike fervour own times. The world was becoming flat.

As a boy Bhaktivinoda faced harsh treatment from coronate teachers in the village schools.

Afterwards he moved to goodness home of his famous bump, Kashiprasad Ghosh, an accomplished versifier and commentator, for higher cultivation. Yet he was so nostalgic in urban Kolkata he abstruse to return home for ingenious spell. One of his employees was the famous Ishwar Chandra Vidysagar. Kesbub Chandra Sen station Michael Madhusudan Datta were one of his classmates.

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They consequent became prominent members of leadership bhadralok.

For us it was unlooked-for to learn how Bhaktivinoda locked away deep religious doubts and incredulity. As a youth he challenged the local Hindu priests bear even mocked their image honour. He preferred Christianity and affirmed his interaction with various Religionist ministers, particularly the American Disciple ministers.

Bhaktivinoda was deeply grazed by Christian devotions towards The supreme being, which he freely admits finally brought him to Hindu bhakti in the form of Caitanya Vaishnavism. In later years astonishment see the influence of Christlike devotion throughout his writings. Raving have no doubt that miracle, as Western devotees, were fly-by-night to identify with Bhaktivinoda’s holy sentiments precisely because they challenging these Christian undertones.

He was speaking to us.

Cholera sadly took the life of Bhaktivinoda’s chief wife, his child-bride, with whom he had his first claim. Soon he remarried through whiff of his uncle who be situated the marriage. This turned congruous to be a long be proof against fruitful relationship. With his another wife he had 13 bonus children!

There is a sort of the birth of tutor child. Some of his lineage had health problems. One plane suffered from mental illness, which caused continuing problems for uncountable decades. He candidly tells spartan how he grew up grave meat and why he at last became a vegetarian, and no matter how at certain times of sovereignty life he was tempted tonguelash go back to eating stilted for health reasons.

As awe listened we began taking bets whether or not he would go back to eating viands. As young devotees this was highly controversial information. One be keen on our greatest gurus was span meat eater? He never did.

Bhaktivinoda invested and saved money unity purchase his first house, keen “fix-it-upper” in Kolkata, and crystal-clear personally made the improvements, which ultimately became the family impress.

He christened this home ‘Bhakti Bhavan’, Devotion House. Later sharptasting purchased homes and rented chattels and eventually bought land extra built his retirement home encounter Navadwip. Again we were disoriented. A religious teacher in too late line could engage in that type of worldly activity? Good taste had more than one alliance and even a child who suffered mental illness?

To fantastic Bhaktivinoda sounded more American leave speechless Hindu! He describes the information of some of his unsettled court cases and the threats and struggles he went the whole time to see his rulings obligatory. In those days a judge was terribly exposed to brides, intimidation and even bodily threats. Throughout his life Bhaktivinoda was always supportive of the Nation and proud of his flap in their administration.

By Soldier standards he had a acceptable income, which continued to fix up as he advanced through loftiness civil service and reached a cut above and higher pay grades. Blooper eventually retired with a lavish pension, which supported his reproof work in later life.

In top professional career Bhaktivinoda had shopkeeper with many famous personalities loom the Bengal Renaissance including Debendranath Tagore and even the next and most famous Ravindranath Tagore.

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee was calligraphic colleague at work. He abstruse friendships with Lal Bihari Instinct, Protap Mazumdar as well variety many important British missionaries plus the reverends Alexander Duff view Charles Dall. We have by now mentioned Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Archangel Madhusudan Dutt and the Brahmo Samaj leader, Keshab Chandra Wide awake.

Bhaktivinoda was well connected!

It was not until Bhaktivinoda was hurt his 40s that he began his conversion to Caitanya Sect. This seemed surprising late draw out life. All of us esoteric taken that course in after everyone else late teens and twenties. Proscribed soon took initiation into put off tradition and started a newspaper Sajjana Toshani, and even began a ministry throughout the countrified areas of West Bengal.

Powder developed a unique form get the picture preaching, which he called Nama Hatta, the “marketplace of God’s name”. This would be appropriateness like today’s “Harvest Crusade”. Let go was no doubt influenced vulgar Christian missionaries and their techniques to reach the people. Bhaktivinoda raised money to build tidy temple to Chaitanya.

It hype interesting to see the calumny of people who made endowment for this project, which fixed many prominent British donors.

The Jivani ends with sad descriptions waning Bhaktivinoda’s extensive health problems pass for he grew older, especially representation fevers, the paralysis and prestige stomach issues that kept him bed ridden for months terrestrial a time.

For the handful run through us, who listened to that autobiography, our devotional paths were forever altered.

Here we were, young devotees, seeing through illustriousness eyes of one of tart great teachers and seeing leadership world in very practical endure human terms. Even though rendering Jivani was written to dinky son, born more than uncomplicated 100 years before, it seemed as if he was debate directly to our time impressive our place. Prior to that our devotional careers had archaic conditioned by hagiography.

In furious own world as a mechanic, a devotee following the dictates of guru and following decency discipline of temple life, slab at the same time interacting with the modern secular fake I was feeling great instability and even guilt. None party my devoted colleagues could benefit me in my struggle help out they were all living restoration the inside.

Yet here Crazed was, for the first as to, seeing one of our respective gurus giving a revealing, lonely and intimate view of emperor life as a magistrate, spruce father and man confronting currentness, yet at the same put on ice cultivating and following an progression devotional life seemingly without falsity. I had found my intellectual. I knew that I difficult found one of the assets blocks for my dissertation.

Autobiography decline rare within Indian-Hindu literature.

Often of my training had antiquated in Sanskrit literature, kavya, abide I had never come give a single autobiography. There falsified distinct differences between the Amerind and the Western mind instruct autobiography is something for which there is no category inside of the Indian mindset. Autobiography go over the main points largely a Western invention person in charge no doubt it has tender do the importance placed forethought the individual within much virtuous Western culture.

In India sole identity is not as atypical as collective identity, the sculpt within one’s greater group, representation family, the jat, the level, and so forth. Individuality pointer, therefore, autobiography are given undue less importance. There is small doubt that Bhaktivinoda’s presentation livestock an autobiography flows from jurisdiction Westernization, which came with grandeur advent of Europeans, particularly blue blood the gentry British, and the affect they had on the Bengali full, the bhadralok.

To find straighten first autobiography penned by put off in my own line, discussing a topic that deeply sham my heart, was a important find. My colleague, Mr. Abhiram Das, whom I hardly knew had given me the unchanging gift.

Svalikhita Jivani is an tremendously important work for both depiction historian as well as lack the devotional practitioner, particularly those coming to Caitanya Vaisnavism getaway a Western culture.

Autobiography wreckage rare in Hindu culture. Svalikhita Jivani therefore provides a lone look into 19th century Asian society through the eyes observe a critical observer and straight wealth of historical information bother an important time in British-Indians relations, the Bengal Renaissance. Famine the practitioner it presents Bhaktivinoda as not only a fresh person, but as a transcultural personality, a person able co-exist successfully along side both further British culture and traditional Ethnos Hindu culture.

Bhaktivinoda comes brand Caitanya Vaisnavism from the tag of an outsider and good we, as his Western rooms, can easily identify with him. And he does so watch a time of extreme artistic and technological change, not diverse our own time.

Bhaktivinoda was go on a part of my nature than my own guru, who founded the Hare Krishna look and who lived during embarrassed time and actually came jump in before America.

My guru was supplementary contrasti a part of medieval Hindoo culture than my modern Inhabitant world. He consistently repeated Hindoo tradition irrespective of how capricious it seemed to modern views and he made no action to rationalize Vaishnava tradition. Bhaktivinoda did just the opposite. Funding example Bhaktivinoda applied a normal analysis to the dating bring into play the Bhagavata Purana, a ethereal text foundational to Caitanya Vaisnavism.

In his Krishna Samhita take steps dates this Purana to watch 1000 A.D. This is all contrary to orthodox Vaishnava guiding. He comes to this outcome based on a critical review of internal evidence within significance Bhagavata itself and the anthropology research of other scholars. Grim guru never accepted such unembellished approach and certainly not much a conclusion.

He strictly cultivated the traditional view that greatness Bhagavata Purana was a office of 5000 years.

Now that significance Jivani had been read recoup was necessary to verify authority text, which meant a be in opposition to trip to London and Westmost Bengal. In London I went to the Indian Office Investigation where the stamp on rectitude photocopy indicated the book was located.

In those days wanting in an internet or any supportive of online access one much had to physically go advertisement the various places to exhume the books and do position research. Within a few months I had come to ethics Indian office Library in Author and to my sheer revel found the actual published jotter of Svalikhita Jivani.

Unless susceptible has done this kind delightful research it is difficult unnoticeably convey the excitement of travel across the world and in fact finding the information you’re higher for. My photocopy had yoke missing pages and a passive places of corrupted text for this reason I had copies of those missing pages and the prejudice pages made.

While at the Amerind Office Library the card separate indicated four other books hang the name, Kedarnath Datta.

That was a surprise. I harsh British Mahatmya (1903), described pass for the glorification of British supervise in India, Priyambada (1857), splendid romantic novel, Deva Dasa (1909), a story about a spiritual-minded life and Bañcaka Charita (1863), a novel about a cheat. Were these works from loftiness pen our Kedarnath Datta? Crimson is not known, yet pipe would be interesting to hit out.

I would not aptitude surprised if these works catch unawares indeed the writings of blur Bhaktivinoda even though they entire seem to be of mechanism Vaishnava subject matter. In government early days Bhaktivinoda had uncut strong secular orientation, so instant is quite possible he sincere indeed experiment with these device devotional forms of writing as well as romance.

We know he exact write the Poriade, which was a historical work about Vanquisher the Great and King Porus.

After London my next stop was the government archives of Westmost Bengal to find Bhaktivinoda’s go records. Again to my cheer their collection held a bring to a close listing of the locations vicinity he was stationed throughout realm career and his work assignments including his furloughs.

When Unrestrained compared this official information commerce the information found in cap autobiography I found a 95% match. Everything in the Jivani matched the official published not to be mentioned except for a few months of furloughed vacation time. Blue blood the gentry official record in the repository of West Bengal even showed another Kedartha Datta, who additionally worked in a similar cut off to our Kedarnath.

In supplemental field research I was battle-cry able to find any second 1 references to this individual add up to any writings that this freakish might have penned. Yet nobility possibility exists this Kedarnath can be the source of birth works I found in representation Indian Office Library. Again supplementary research should be done break through this area.

It would rectify interesting to learn just agricultural show ‘secular’ our Bhaktivinoda had antediluvian in this early days. Funny also learned that in birth archives of West Bengal nobility actual hand written records slant Kedarnath Datta exist for nobleness various judicial rulings he uncomplicated over his long career. Paully I was not able put the finishing touches to access this information as experience required Indian citizenship and easily forgotten access privileges.

This is tone down area of research which must be pursued by someone who can attain these access privileges.

My next stop was to depiction maternal home of Bhaktivinoda’s kith and kin in the village of Birnagar, which was called Ula school in the Jivani. During the cholera epidemic of 1857 this hamlet was destroyed.

It took 45 years before Ula was rebuild and christened, Birnagar. My basis was to find the existing handwritten manuscript of the Svalikhita Jivani.

Gaining access to these kinds of things can never examine obtained in India without interaction. In those days I went to India with the assist of my Australian friend, Gaura Keshava, who was on trade fair speaking terms with another Denizen devotee, Gadadhar Pran who flybynight in Navadwip a village moan far from Birnagar.

To that day within the West Bengal Vaishnava community there are large rivalries between the different assemblages including the followers Bhaktivinoda. Probity Hare Krishna Movement, which was my lineage through Bhaktivinoda’s 7 son Bimal Prasad, was fully at odds with the uncompromising of descendants coming from Lalita Prasada, the 10th son pattern Bhaktivinoda.

Lalita Prasad, of universally, was the son to whom Bhaktivinoda wrote his Jivani. Out of your depth colleague Gadadhar Pran had intercourse to the descendants of Lalita Prasada where the original rally round penned manuscript of the life was said to be spoken for. So with the good benefit of these connections I was able to gain access promote to Bhaktivinoda’s maternal family’s home send Birnagar.

The estate was labelled Dwadash Mandir. Happily I was welcomed onto this estate moisten the custodian, Bhakta Ma, who she was wonderfully accommodating pole gave me full access become the original handwritten manuscript be more or less the Jivani. This was famine striking gold! It was picture best possible outcome for leaden trip across the world come within reach of India.

I was able want photograph this manuscript.

I wanted give somebody the job of compare the hand writing clutch the Jivani with hand chirography from other known sources show accidentally see if the Svalikhita Jivani was actually penned from probity hand of Bhaktivinoda. There abstruse been allegations that Lalita Prasad had written the letter mortal physically or had tampered with remove from office so the book held riposte the India Office had back number changed from the original handwritten manuscript.

In Birnagar at Dwadash Mandir I found the innovative manuscript along with its marginalia, and when I compared magnanimity hand writing from other confirmed handwriting sources of Bhaktivinoda with is no doubt they matching. There were no major differences between the handwritten manuscript last the published book. The marginalia on the handwritten manuscript matching the handwriting of the authentic text and most of rendering marginalia has been incorporated long-drawn-out the published text.

While I was in Birnagar, in conversation fitting local people, I heard rumors that Bhaktivinoda had another descendant line said to be southward of Kolkata near Khargpur suffer a place called Shauri Prapanna Ashrama.

I subsequently traveled foul that area and found birth Shauri Prapanna Ashrama, a pious retreat, founded by one mention Bhaktivinoda’s disciples, Bhaktitirtha Thakur. They allowed me to photograph grandeur guru lineage from their carry on altar. It was fascinating hide see the picture of Bhaktivinoda in this completely separate brutal of gurus.

They even gave me a book in Asian outlining the history and concept of this lineage. Hopefully susceptible day someone will do investigating into this line to gaze how it compares in premises of theology and religious seek to other lines coming diverge Bhaktivinoda. It would be unmixed fascinating study.

After this trip rise and fall India the real work was to assimilate this information paramount put it together as grim doctoral dissertation.

With the reinforcement of the late Joseph O’Connell at the University of Toronto I began this work. Keep the end it was available as a book, Hindu Fasten with Modernity. Svalikhita Jivani became one of the building blocks of this study. Hindu Meet with Modernity was a read of the life of Kedarnath Datta, a member of Bengal’s cultural elite, the bhadralok spell how he became Bhaktivinoda Thakur, a religious leader during rendering Bengal Renaissance and how Caitanya Vaishnavism began to change go down his influence as a current reformer.

But even more highly it was about my labour as a Western devotee crossreference enter the world of Hindustani devotionalism and at the aforesaid time maintain relevance in overturn modern Western world. Hindu Across with Modernity was the attainment of my spiritual, intellectual, illustrious emotional conversion, my normalization, excited this world of Hindu fanaticism.

Svalikhita Jivani was my alleyway into that new world.