Journal 'The Harmonist' Edited by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. We shall conclude this brief account of Thakur Bhaktivinode by presenting the reader with a few short extracts from the Thakur's writings embodying his views

(No. 4, Vol. XXV, September 1927)

We shall conclude this brief account of Thakur Bhaktivinode by presenting the reader with a few short extracts from the Thakur's writings embodying his views regarding nama-bhajan (Adoration of the Holy Name) which constitutes the fundamental doctrine of the shuddha-sanatana-dharma and the solution offered by him of some of the most pressing problems that confront the generation.

The Holy Name: — “There are many persons who failing to understand the distinction between ‘the dimly perceived Name’ (namabhasa) and the Holy name Himself (shri-nama), suppose that the Holy Name is only an ordinary word made up of certain letters of the alphabet and that, therefore, the taking of the Holy Name without faith (shraddha) is also effective. They adduce as proofs the history of Ajamila and certain passages of the Scriptures such as “ sankantyam pari hasyam va ” etc. It has already been stated that the Holy Name is the 'Absolute Truth Himself (chaitanya) and 'the embodiment of the elixir of the highest ecstatic emotion (rasa-vigraha); and is not attainable by the organs of sense. This being so, if one dees not seek the help of the Holy Name with a mind free from offence, no good result is possible. The effect of the utterance of the Holy Name by a person devoid of faith (shraddha) is that thereby it becomes possible for such person subsequently to take the Holy Name with faith. Therefore, those who, deliberately misinterpreting for a selfish purpose, explain the Holy Name as being merely the juxtaposition of a number of letters forming only a constituent part of fruitive ceremonials, are utterly impious; and their taking of the Name is an offense against the Holy Name Himself” (Harinama).
“Sriman Mahaprabhu with His associated counterparts, attendants, powers and associates has taught the jivas of the world sankirtan (congregational chanting) of Harinama (the Name of Hari) which is the proper religion in Kali- yuga. It is not the fact that His appearance was for the purpose of the deliverance of a small number of people of India. On the contrary, His purpose was to deliver all jivas by the propagation of the eternal religion to all countries of the world. Mahaprabhu Himself declared this in the following words —

prithivite achhe yata nagaradi-grama
sarvatra prachara haibe mora nama

(Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Antya-khanda, 4.126)

‘My Name will spread into all the regions and villages of the Earth’.
There is no doubt that this indisputable command will very shortly turn into a fact. It appears to be absolutely certain that all the religions of the world will mature into one universal church of the sankirtan of the Holy name......
Oh! When will that day arrive, when in England, France, Russia, Prussia and America, fortunate men of those countries, with flags, drums, khole and karatal (cymbals) etc, in their native towns, shouting ever and anon the Holy Name of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu will send a thrill of ecstatic delight all over the world! When will that auspicious day make its appearance when, from one end of the earth white men of Europe and America forming into procession and shouting, ‘All glory to Shri Shachinandana’, will meet halfway and embrace us as brothers and the devotees of our country will reciprocate advancing from the other end! When will that day be when those Europeans will declare, ‘Brothers, we have betaken ourselves to the Holy Feet of Shri Chaitanya Deva — the Ocean of Love; we beseech you to embrace us as a token of your kindness!’ When will that day dawn when the absolutely pure transcendental love of Vishnu will be the only religion of all jivas; and, like rivers meeting the ocean, all the narrow creeds will finally merge in the eternal Vaishnab Religion” (The Sajjana Toshani, vol. IV, page 41).

Varnashrama-dharma: — “It is not the purpose of any patriotic Indian to destroy the varnasrama-dharma (the duties of the four varnas and of the four stages). It is our duty to eliminate the impurities that have crept into the system. In order to rejuvenate varnasrama-dharma, it will be necessary to adopt the following principles — (1) No one's varna will be settled by birth alone (2) the varna of every person should be settled in accordance with the nature formed by the association of early years and by the course of acquisition of knowledge and experience” (The Sajjana Toshani, vol. II, page 123).

The selection of Sadguru (true Spiritual Guide): — “At the time of accepting a preceptor one must satisfy himself that (1) he must be well acquainted with the true significance of the Scriptures that will enable him to dispel the gloom of ignorance from the mind of the disciple and that (2) he must be above all human frailties and ever devoted to the Transcendental Truth. Such a preceptor is doubtless capable of instructing the disciple in knowledge of every kind. The preceptor who initiates should never be renounced except for the two following reasons (1) the disciple should renounce his preceptor when he discovers that his Guru does not possess the above qualities due to the disciple's mistake in choice; (2) the disciple should repudiate his preceptor in case he (preceptor) becomes a hater of Vishnu and Vaishnaba” (Jaivadharma, ch. XX).
“Within the Gaudiya Sampradaya an abundant crop of evils have sprung up during the last four hundred years. The first and foremost duty of an Acharyya is to uproot those evils completely......He alone is an Acharyya who teaches the dharma that he himself practices”.

Thakur's two predictions: —
(1) Some person imbued with the power of God will again establish the true varnasrama-dharma in accordance with the Divine Dispensation.
(2) Within a short time there will exist only one sampradaya (school) in the realm of devotion ‘ bhakti ’. Its name will be ‘Shri Brahma Sampradaya’. All other sampradayas will merge in this Brahma Sampradaya.

The author is unknown

^* Part 1, part 2.1 of this article.