This is a biography I wrote of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura...a great Gaudiya Vaisnava devotee of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura: An Astonishing Personality
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838 – 1914) laid the foundation for the spreading of the teachings of Lord Caitanya and the chanting of the Hare Krsna mantra all over the world. This paper presents an account of his life showing the immense influence he had over the revival of Gaudiya Vaisnavism in India and its future growth worldwide. Bhaktivinoda Thakura almost singlehandedly revived the pure teachings of Lord Caitanya, and without him there almost certainly would be no chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, and Gaudiya Vaisnavism, in the western world. Gaudiya refers to Gauda or Bengal, where Lord Caitanya began His sankirtan (congregational chanting) movement, and Vaisnava means a devotee of Lord Vishnu or Krishna. Lord Caitanya is an incarnation of Lord Krishna in the mood of a devotee who appeared in this world at Navadvipa in Bengal, India in 1486. Lord Caitanya inaugurated the chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra as the method for God realization in this age of Kali, the age of quarrel, chaos, and confusion, and preached Vaisnavism, love for God, throughout many parts of India.
