The disciplic succession (also known as a Sampradaya or Guru Parampara) is a succession of Spiritual Masters through which a particular conception of spiritual knowledge is transmitted from Guru to disciple. Revealed Truth comes down to us through this succession of instructing Spiritual Masters. The Krishna conscious disciplic succession is the link which connects us to The Supreme Lord Sri Krishna, who likes to distribute Himself through His agents, or Spiritual Masters.
“In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the bona fide Spiritual Master in discipline succession, who is fixed in The Absolute Truth.”
— Mundaka Upanishad (1.2.12)
Bhakti Marga - The Path of Loving Devotion
Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math was established in 1941 by His Divine Grace Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, the foremost disciple of Prabhupad Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. Known for his ability to draw out the inner meaning of the scriptures, Srila Sridhar Maharaj was given the position as the 'Guardian of Devotion' (Bhakti Raksaka) by His own Divine Master. Srila A.C.Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupad declared to his senior disciples on more than one occasion "I consider Srila Sridhar Maharaj to be my Siksa-Guru", and they both spent many years in close association.
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Maharaj the principle disciple of Srila Sridhar Maharaj was serving Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami at this time, receiving both their divine teachings and blessings. Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaj, referred to Srila Govinda Maharaj as his ‘dear-most son’. Srila Govinda Maharaj was the first distributor of Srila Swami Maharaj’s now well known Back to Godhead magazine. Srila Sridhar Maharaj and Srila Govinda Maharaj had an intimate unique Guru-disciple relationship, and Srila Sridhar Maharaj had the highest regard for his beloved disciple.
"The distribution of prema Bhakti (Love of God) is the special department of Sri Krsna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. Our Guardians (Guru’s) have Successfully propagated The devotional teachings, preached the message of Sriman Mahaprabhu around the world and gave shelter to sincere seekers of the Absolute Truth.
Our prayer to Them is that they may forgive us for our offences and engage us in Their service, to continue to preach Krsna consciousness according the proper conception. We humbly endeavour to sincerely serve Sri Guru, the Vaishnava’s and all aspiring devotees."
Disciplic Succession
sri-krishna-brahma-devarshi-badarayana-saàjïakan |
sri-madhva-sri-padmanabha-sriman-narahari-madhavan ||
akshobhya-jayatirtha-jïanasindhu-dayanidhin |
sri-vidyanidhi-rajendra-jayadharman kramad vayam ||
purushottama-brahmanya-vyasatirthaàs ca saàstumaù |
tato lakshmipatià madhavendraà ca bhaktitaù ||
tac-chishyan srisvaradvaita-nityanandan jagad-gurun |
devam isvara-sishyaà sri-caitanyaà ca bhajamahe |
sri-krishna-prema-danena yena nistaritaà jagat ||
The disciplic succession goes from Krishna to Brahma, to Narada, to Vyasa; then to Madhva, Padmanabha, Narahari, and Madhava. Then to Akshobhya, Jayatirtha, Jïana-sindhu, Dayanidhi, Vidyanidhi, Rajendra and Jayadharma. From them, it passes to Purushottama, Brahmanya and Vyasa Tirtha. With devotion, I praise all these spiritual masters, then Lakshmipati and his disciple Madhavendra, whose disciples were the spiritual masters of the universe Advaita and Nityananda. I worship Lord Sri Chaitanya, the disciple of Isvara Puri, who delivered the entire universe with the gift of love for Krishna. (Prameya-ratnavali 1.7)
Madhavendra Puri was the disciple of Lakshmipati, and it is by him, this religion was founded. His disciple, the sannyasi Isvara Puri, took up the mood of conjugal devotion, while Advaita Acharya (also the disciple of Madhavendra) took up the moods of servitude and friendship. Gaura accepted Isvara Puri as his guru, and then flooded the material and spiritual worlds (with divine love).
Srila Sridhar Maharaj Talks on Our Loving Guardians.
Guru Parampara Pranam Mantras
Srila Jagannath Dasa Babaji Maharaj - 1776 - 1880
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Biography
Srila Jagannath Das Babaji was the shiksha-guru (instructing spiritual master) and babaji-guru of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur. Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur was known to be especially fond of hearing his discourses on Srimad Bhagavatam.
Although physically crippled, Srila Jagannath Das danced in divine inspiration upon discovering the holy birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. It is said that he lived for 125 years, and he was known and revered by all the devotees of both Vrindavan and Nabadwip.
gaura-vrajāśritāśeṣair vaiṣṇavair vandya-vigraham jagannātha-prabhuṁ vande premābdhiṁ vṛddha-vaiṣṇavam
I offer my obeisance unto my lord, the ocean of divine love, Śrīla Jagannāth Dās Bābājī Mahārāj. He is the senior-most devotee, and worshipped by all who have taken shelter in Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām and Śrī Vraja Dhām.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur Goswami Maharaj - 1838 - 1914
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Biography
Srila Sachchidananda Bhakti Vinod Thakur, the nineteenth century pioneer of Krishna consciousness, was born in 1838 in Bengal. He worked tirelessly to preserve the spiritual tradition and literature of India; he composed, edited, and published more than 100 books in Sanskrit, Bengali, and English.
The pioneer of pure devotion, it was Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur who foretold that people the world over would join under the banner of Sri Chaitanya Maharabhu’s Hari-nam-sankirtan (congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Lord Krishna). By his profuse writings, Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur infused the current which was to be the renaissance of a devotional civilization, which had become overgrown with spurious interpretations und misrepresentation.
He advocated exclusive surrender (sharanagati) to the service of the Supreme Lord’s pure devotees as the life of devotion, and to this end he composed a great stream of books, prayers, poems, and commentaries in Sanskrit, Bengali, Hindi, English, and other languages, which are now revered by the genuine devotees as scripture. His style of presentation was chiefly analytic, simple, and appealing. He taught that the apparently sophisticated philosophies and doctrines which deviate one to materialism, salvation, voidism, etc. (karma, jnan, sunya-vad, etc.) must be abandoned by the true aspirants of devotion; yet, he acknowledged that from the universal standpoint such ‘charming’ distractions served to segregate the insincere from the sincere. Thus he foresaw that inevitably the intelligentsia of the world must come to appreciate the all-attractive path of divine love given by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
The Thakur inaugurated the worship of Lord Chaitanya at the holy site known as Sri Yoga-Pith, the advent location of Sri Chaitanyadev in the holy Sri Dham Mayapur.
vande bhaktivinodaṁ śrī- gaura-śakti-svarūpakam bhakti-śāstrajña-samrājaṁ rādhā-rasa-sudhā-nidhim
I offer my obeisance unto Śrīla Bhakti Vinod Ṭhākur, the embodiment of Śrī Gaurasundar’s potency. He is the king of all knowers of the scriptures of pure devotion and an ocean of the nectar of devotion to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Srila Bhakti Gaura-kishora Dasa Babaji Maharaj - 1838 - 1915
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Biography
Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj was the embodiment of worldly detachment and devotional attachment. He was the babaji disciple of Srila Bhagavat Das Babaji Maharaj, who was the babaji disciple of Srila Jagannath Das Babaji Maharaj. An intimate associate of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, Srila Gaura Kishor Das uncompromisingly refuted pseudo and professional religiosity. Constantly absorbed in the devotional mood of divine separation, his external actions could not be comprehended by the general public.
On the direction of Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur received holy initiation (diksha) from Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj. Although by nature Srila Gaura Kishor was seen to be prevalently dedicated to bhajan in solitude, his beloved disciple Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati felt that the mercy of his gurudevoverflowed within his heart, inspiring Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati to dedicate himself to a life of preaching the message of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur sang the glories of his revered Gurudev, Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, saying: “All spiritual knowledge is contained within a particle of the dust of his lotus feet.”
namo gaurakiśorāya bhaktāvadhūta mūrtaye gaurāṅghri padma-bhṛṅgāya rādhā-bhāva-niṣeviṇe
I offer my obeisance unto the divine form of the devotee- avadhūt Śrīla Gaura Kiśor Dās Bābājī Mahārāj, who is a honey-bee at Śrī Gaurasundar’s lotus feet and a servant of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī imbued with deep loving attachment.
Srila Bhaktisiddanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada - 1874 - 1937
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Biography
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad, the disciple of Srila Gaura Kishor Das Babaji Maharaj, is the guru of both Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Maharaj and Srila A.C. Bhakti Vedanta Swami Prabhupad.
Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Prabhupad preached that the Gaudiya Math stood for the dignity of the entire human race, by teaching wholesale surrender to the Absolute Good. Especially active in the field of publishing transcendental literature, his erudition was profoundly commanding and elaborate. He revolutionized Krishna conscious preaching by giving preference to pure devotional qualifications over lineage, and it was he who set the precedent of Vaishnav tridanda-sannyas (the renounced order of devotional life) in accordance with the injunctions of the revealed scriptures.
In a poem describing the descending divine succession of the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiy-sampraday, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur Prabhupad wrote mahāprabhu śrī chaitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya, rūpānuga janera jīvana, “Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than Sri Sri Radha and Krishna, the life and soul of the true followers of Srila Rupa Goswami.”
To exemplify this sublime ideal, Srila Bhakti Siddhanta established sixty-four Gaudiya Maths in India in the 1930’s, and all through he embraced the line of worship of Lord Chaitanya as nondifferent from Sri Sri Radha and Krishna.
The deep sense of urgency he felt to propagate the divine teachings of Lord Chaitanya for the benefit of the suffering world of misconception is exemplified in the indomitable conviction of his statement: “If fire burns the whole world, do not waste time trying to put it out. All necessities can be met only by serving Krishna.”
Although outwardly he was like a lion, inwardly he was very, very sweet—yet it could be traced only in his internal sweetness. Outwardly, the way of love was worshipped by him with grandeur, awe, and reverence, but his object was the simple and beautiful Divine Love of Vrindavan, and his temperament in establishing that in the world was just like a lion’s.
nikhila-bhuvana-māyā-chinna-vichinna-kartrī
vibudha-bahula-mṛgyā-mukti-mohānta-dhātrī
śithilita-vidhi-rāgārādhya-rādheśa-dhānī
vilasatu hṛdi nityaṁ bhaktisiddhānta-vāṇī
(Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj)“With his first step, he vigorously cut asunder the whole plane of exploitation, and with his second, he put a stop to all the calculations of the different scholars with their different conceptions of salvation, liberated stages. With his third step, he minimized the hardness and stiffness of the rules and regulations of calculative devotional service, by a touch of the Divine Love: crossing Vaikuntha, he gave us the worship of Sri Sri Radha and Govinda.”
Calculation, the rules and regulations, awe, reverence, all these things are minimized, checked, slackened with the softness of Vrindavan within, and with the hardness of a devastator without, he created havoc in the materialistic world, fighting with one and all. Single-handedly fighting against the whole world, and cutting asunder everything—that was his external attitude. And his second attitude was to put a stop to all scholarly researchers and doctorates of different departments, and to stop their boasting research; and third, to minimize, to slacken the grandeur of the worship of Narayan.
He caused the domain of love to descend into this plane with the service of Radha-Govinda, establishing the flow of divine love from the heart as all in all. With that we come to serve our object of worship, and he represented the service of Radha Govinda as the highest attainment. That was his history.
The real existence of Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur Prabhupad is in bhakti-siddhanta-vani, his divine teachings. May that bhakti-siddhanta-vani dance eternally within the core of your heart.
śrī-siddhānta-sarasvatīti vidito gauḍīya-gurv-anvaye bhāto bhānuriva prabhāta-gagane yo gaura-saṅkīrtanaiḥ māyāvāda-timiṅgilodara-gatān uddhṛtya jīvanimān kṛṣṇa-prema-sudhābdhi-gāhana-sukhaṁ prādāt prabhuṁ taṁ bhaje
I serve my lord, who is known as Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur. Within the Gauḍīya sampradāya’s lineage of Gurus, he shines like the sun in the morning sky. Through the saṅkīrtan of Śrīman Mahāprabhu he rescues the souls engulfed within the belly of the timiṅgila of illusionism and bestows upon them the ecstasy of swimming in the nectar- ean ocean of divine love for Kṛṣṇa.
Srila Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar Goswami Maharaj - 1895 - 1988
devaṁ divya-tanuṁ suchanda-vadanaṁ bālārka-chelāñchitaṁ sāndrānanda-puraṁ sad-eka-varaṇaṁ vairāgya-vidyāmbudhim śrī-siddhānta-nidhiṁ subhakti-lasitaṁ sārasvatānām varaṁ vande taṁ śubhadaṁ mad-eka-śaraṇaṁ nyāsīśvaraṁ śrīdharam
I offer my obeisance unto my lord, Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj, whose speech is most pleas- ing; whose divine form is adorned with garments the colour of the newly-risen sun; who is an abode of intense, ecstatic devotion; who is the sādhus’ sole choice; who is an ocean of renunciation and knowledge; who is a treasure-house of perfect conclusions; who is resplendent with pure devotion; who is the best of Śrīla Saraswatī Ṭhākur’s followers; who is the giver of all good; who is the leading general of the tridaṇḍi-sannyāsīs; and who is my sole shelter.
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda-Dev Goswami Maharaj - 1929 - 2010
gurvvābhīṣṭa-supūrakaṁ guru-gaṇair āśīṣa-saṁbhūṣitaṁ chintyāchintya-samasta-veda-nipuṇaṁ śrī-rūpa-panthānugam govindābhidham ujjvalaṁ vara-tanuṁ bhakty anvitaṁ-sundaraṁ vande viśva-guruñ cha divya-bhagavat-premṇo hi bīja-pradam
I offer my obeisance unto he who perfectly fulfils his Gurudev’s most cherished desires; who is fully adorned with the blessings of his Gurudev’s associates; who is expert in all aspects of Vedic knowledge, both conceivable and inconceivable; who is the pre-eminent follower of Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu’s line; who is known as ‘Govinda’— Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj; whose beautiful, effulgent, exalted form is infused with pure devo- tion; who is the Guru of the entire universe; and who is the giver of the seed of divine love for the Supreme Lord.
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj - 1962 - May 2021
pūjya śrī-guru-varga-vandita mahābhāvānvitāyāḥ sadā paurvā parya paramparā prachalita prājya pramūrttā kṛteḥ bhakter nirmala-nirjharasya nibhṛtaṁ saṁrakṣakaṁ sādaraṁ vande śrī-gurudevam ānata-śirā āchārya-varyaṁ nijam
I bow my head in eternal obeisance to my Gurudev, the best of Āchāryas, Śrīla Bhakti Nirmal Āchārya Mahārāj. He is the ever vigilant, stalwart guardian of the current of pure devotion whose highest form flows from our most worshippable
Śrī Rūpānuga Guru-varga in their exclusive dedication to Mahābhāva, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
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Biography
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj surrendered at the lotus feet of Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj in 1992, and immediately began serving His Divine Grace and his Mission, Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math, with full energy. Excelling in all fields of service, Srila Acharya Maharaj’s earnest desire to satisfy Srila Govinda Maharaj has always been evident for all to see. His traveling throughout India leading pilgrimage parties, collecting foodstuffs and supplies for the Math’s service, and establishing centres has profoundly increased public participation in the Mission of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. His dynamic international preaching as Srila Govinda Maharaj’s representative has attracted the hearts of devotees worldwide and inspired them with new life in their practice of Krishna consciousness. His extensive works expanding the facilities of the Mission include manifesting gloriously Sri Govinda Kunda, the long-standing desire of Srila Sridhar Maharaj, as well as establishing beautiful temples in Srila Govinda Maharaj’s divine appearance place of Sripat Bamanpara and in Siliguri. Srila Acharya Maharaj also established an unprecedented temple and ashram in Sri Ekachakra Dham.
On the grand occasion of the inauguration of this ashram, which was likely the largest festival ever arranged by the Math, a day on which Srila Acharya Maharaj made arrangements for 1,00,000 people to take prasadam, Srila Govinda Maharaj proclaimed in his broadcasted address:
“We are so indebted and so much blissful to Acharya Maharaj because he hears what Guru Maharaj wants, what I want, and he makes that … He has done everything, all arrangements. He has capacity, he has done so much and it is miracle… Sripad Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj, he is an impossible man! A miraculous man whose energy is over-flooded for the service of our society. He is my very dear friend, very dear disciple, very dear worker, everything. My blessings to him. He is doing all of my own attending service duties and I am so happy.”
Just prior to this indicative pronouncement Srila Govinda Maharaj also glorified Srila Acharya Maharaj in a darsan in Kolkata in 2009:
“Srila Guru Maharaj trained me from my childhood, ‘Serve the Vaishnavaswithout enviousness.’ If we see a devotee doing our own job better than us then we must consider that they are doing much good for us. We should not be envious of him. When Acharya Maharaj is doing so much that I cannot do, I am praising him for that, I am not criticising him.”
Srila Govinda Maharaj gave Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj tridandi-sannyas ten years earlier in 1999 after being prompted by some of his intimate associates to select his successor. In this connection it is noteworthy that Srila Govinda Maharaj previously expressed in private that he would only give the name ‘Acharya Maharaj’ to whom he would select as the next acharya of the Math so as to make his desire abundantly clear.
After first hinting at his desire through the choice of Srila Acharya Maharaj’s name and publicly indicating his desire through his heartfelt glorifications of Srila Acharya Maharaj, Srila Govinda Maharaj formally dictated his desire in his Last Will and Testament. Furthermore, on the last Sri Vyas Puja celebration of his manifest Pastimes,
4th December 2009, before a packed assembly and a worldwide audience, Srila Govinda Maharaj publicly declared Srila Acharya Maharaj as his successor:“He (Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj) is highly qualified and I have chosen him as next acharya of this Math. All of you should unitedly proceed under his guidance, serve under him faithfully and love him. His love for the Math is his greatest quality. That the Math should not lose even one inch of its land, even one inch of its property—he is continuously working towards this end. I am now asking him to speak Hari-katha as my representative… [Following Srila Acharya Maharaj’s speech Srila Govinda Maharaj continued:] Math secretary, Math manager, future Math acharya, Sripad Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj ki jay! After me, all of you should continue as his followers. Everyone makes mistakes, but I very rarely see anyone with a sincere, heartfelt service mood like him. The type of profound vision and attentive care he has for every matter cannot be seen anywhere. May the Lord bring him all goodness and auspiciousness.”
Following the divine disappearance of Srila Govinda Maharaj, Srila Acharya Maharaj continued to give great nourishment to the worldwide followers of Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math. His unparalleled mood of chaste devotion and dynamic preaching both in India and abroad is an invaluable inspiration and shelter for sincere seekers everywhere.