Yorkville, Toronto
Great Sadhu
One very inspiring monk of the 20th
century is our param-guru, our grand guru, the teacher of
Prabhupada. His name is Bhaktisiddhanta and he did much in terms of teaching
and sharing the Bhagavat philosophy through the subcontinent of India.
Today is his birthday.
The areas that he concentrated
on, through his sixty-four branches of the Gaudiya Math institution, were
extolling the glories of Krishna, challenging caste-ism and impersonal
conceptions of the Absolute. Bhaktisiddhanta was quite austere and made a
life-long vow to celibacy while also making a commitment to chanting a billion
names of Krishna over a period. He made successful inroads with British dignitaries,
some of whom took interest in the ways of the sages. He was very innovative in
his approaches; never compromising on his moral principles but definitely so on
how to engage newcomers to the fold.
On a day like today, our crew of
residential devotees take the opportunity to reflect on the achievements of
such great a personality. One time a very important gentleman expressed that
Bhaktisiddhanta should open temple ashrams in cities all over the world, and he
replied, “My real business is to establish temples in everyone’s heart.”
Bhaktisiddhanta had thousands of
students. He also organized walks to sacred places.
My day ended with a walk and
thoughts of this great sadhu, holy person.
May the Source be with you!
3 km
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