By the disciples of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda

An excerpt from Rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava Ācāryas in the Gauḍīya Sampradāya from the chapter on the life of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja
by Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja

Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja is the eternal object of worship for Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura is, in turn, the dear-most associate of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī. This secret will never be embraced in the hearts of those who try to calculate, on the basis of their external vision, someone’s intimacy with śrī guru or any exalted personality.

Śrīla Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda was not the dīkṣā disciple of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, according to the pāñcarātrika system. Furthermore, he did not massage the hands, feet and limbs of Śrīla Bābājī Mahārāja, nor did he cook for him or render other personal services. Also, he never performed the service of carrying the elderly Bābājī Mahārāja from one place to another on his shoulders, as some other disciples did. Nor, from an ordinary perspective, did he continually remain by his side. Yet, in the śrī rūpānuga lineage, it was Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura alone who completely fulfilled the innermost desires of vaiṣṇava-sārvabhauma Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and is thus his dear-most servant (preṣṭha-sevaka) and intimate associate (antarāṅga nija-jana). This was solely because the citta-vṛtti, or inclination of heart, and philosophical conceptions of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura were identical with those of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja.

In that place where the guru and disciple share the same propensity of heart, then, like hari-hara [At Harihara-kṣetra Navadvīpa, Śrī Hari (Viṣṇu) and Śrī Hara (Śiva) are manifest together in one deity, signifying that as the topmost Vaiṣṇava, Sadaśiva is very dear to Śrī Hari, and therefore non-different from Him.], the qualities of intimacy (antaraṅgatā) and dearness (preṣṭhatā) manifest. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura advented solely to fulfil the heart’s desire (mano’bhiṣṭa) of Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī, and he performed guru-sevā by offering him everything he possessed. He did not perform partial service, nor did he cheat himself by accepting wealth, women, prestige or any other type of deception as remuneration for his guru-sevā.

The crest jewel of bona fide spiritual masters, vaiṣṇava-sārvabhauma Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja, therefore entrusted Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura with the responsibility of disseminating the message of Śrī Gaurasundara among the scholarly section of society by writing books to propagate Gaura’s holy abode (gaura-dhāma), Gaura’s holy name (gaura-nāma) and Gaura’s very desires (gaura-kāma). Indeed, Śrīla Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja’s own intense enthusiasm to preach the dharma of śuddha-bhakti manifested exclusively in his true follower, Śrī Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura. Thus inspired, the nitya-siddha associate of Gaura, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, fully dedicated his life and soul to preach the inner heart’s desire of Śrī Śrī Guru-Gaurāṅga.

Translated from - Rūpānuga Vaiṣṇava Ācāryas in the Gauḍīya Sampradāya - Compiled and translated into Hindi by

(Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Nārāyaṇa Gosvāmī Mahārāja)