Shri Guru-parampara

 

by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada

 

 

1

krishna hoite catur-mukha, hoy krishna-sevonmukha,

brahma hoite naradera mati

narada hoite vyasa, madhwa kohe vyasa-dasa,

purnaprajna padmanabhia gati

 

2

nrhari madhava-bamse, aksobhya paramahamse,

sisya boli' angikara kore

aksobhyera sisya jaya- tirtha name paricaya,

tara dasye jnanasindhu tore

 

3

taha hoite dayanidhi, tara dasa vidyanidhi,

rajendra hoilo taha ha'te

tahara kinkora jaya- dharma name paricaya,

parampara jano bhalo mate

 

4

jayadharma-dasye khyati, shri purusottama-jati,

ta ha'te brahmanya-tirtha suri

vyasatirtha tara dasa, laksmipati vyasa-dasa,

taha ha'te madhavendra puri

 

5

madhavendra puri-bara, sisya-bara shri-iswara,

nityananda, shri-adwaita vibhu

iswara-purike dhanya, korilen shri-chaitanya,

jagad-guru gaura mahaprabhu

 

6

mahaprabhu shri-chaitanya, radha-krishna nahe anya,

rupanuga janera jivana

viswambhara priyankara, shri-swarupa damodara,

shri-goswami rupa-sanatana

 

 

 

7

rupa-priya mahajana, java, raghunathu hana,

tara priya kavi krishnadasa

krishnadasa-priya-bara, narottama seva-para,

jara pada viswanatha-asa

 

8

viswanatha-bhakta-satha, baladeva jagannatha,

tara priya shri-bhaktivinoda

maha-bhagavata-bara, shri-gaurakisora-bara,

hari-bhajanete ja'ra moda

 

9

ihara paramahamsa, gaurangera nija-bamsa,

tadera carane mama gati

ami seba-udasina, namete tridandi dina,

shri-bhaktisiddhanta saraswati

 

 

(1)     In the beginning of creation the science of devotional service was received by the four-headed Brahma from the Supreme Lord Shri Krishna. Devarsi Narada's understanding of this divine science was obtained from Brahma. The great sage Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, who was empowered to compile the Vedic literatures, be-came a disciple of Devarsi Narada. Shripada Madhvacarya, the founder of the suddha-dvaita school of Vedanta philosophy, who visited Vyasadeva at Badarikasrama in the thirteenth century to learn from him Vedanta philosophy, calls himself a servant of Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa. Purnaprajna Tirtha [Madhva] is the guru and sole refuge of Padmanabha Tirtha.

 

(2)     The two other principal disciples of Madhva are Nrhari Tirtha and Madhava Tirtha. Madhava Tirtha accepted the great paramhamsa Aksobhya Tirtha as a disciple. The principal disciple of Aksobhya Tirtha was known as Jayatirtha. Jayatirtha's service was for his disciple Jnanasindhu.

 

(3)     Dayanidhi received the science of devotional service from Jnanasindhu, and the servant of Dayanidhi was Vidyanidhi [Vidyadhiraja Tirtha]. Rajendra Tirtha became a disciple of Vidyadhiraja Tirtha. Rajendra Tirtha's servant was known as Jayadharma or Vijayadhvaja Tirtha. In this way you should properly understand this disciplic succession.

 

(4)     The great sannyasi Shri Purusottama Tirtha received his knowledge in the service of his guru, Vijayadhvaja Tirtha [Jayadharma]. The principal disciple of Purusottama Tirtha was Subrahmanya Tirtha. His servant was the great Vyasatirtha [Vyasa Raya]. Vyasatirtha's servant was Laksmipati Tirtha, whose disciple was Madhavendra Puri Gosvami.

 

 

 

(5)     The chief disciple of Madhavendra Puri was Isvara Puri, and two of his other disciples were the renowned incarnations of Godhead Shri Nityananda and Advaita Acarya. Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the spiritual preceptor of all the worlds made Isvari Puri greatly fortunate by accepting him as His spiritual master.

 

(6)     Mahaprabhu Shri Chaitanya is non different from Shri Shri Radha and Krishna and is the very life of those Vaishnavas who follow Shri Rupa Gosvami. Shri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami, and Sanatana Gosvami were the givers of great happiness to Visvambhara [Shri Chaitanya].

 

(7)     The great souls Jiva Gosvami and Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami became very dear to Rupa Gosvami. Jiva Gosvami was a disciple of Rupa Gosvami, and Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami, a disciple of Advaita Acarya's disciple Yadunandana Acarya, was accepted by Rupa and Sanatana as their third brother. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami's beloved student was Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. Krishnadasa Kaviraja was an intimate friend of Lokanatha Gosvami. They lived together in Vrndavana and always discussed the topics of Krishna with one another. Lokanatha Gosvami, a disciple of Gadadhara Pandita, had only one disciple, whose name was Narottama Dasa. Narottama Dasa was always engaged in the service of his guru, and he also engaged himself in the service of his guru's intimate friend. Thus he became very dear to Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami. To serve I the feet of Narottama Dasa Thakura was the only desire of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, who was the fourth acarya in disciplic succession from Narottama Dasa.

 

(8)     Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura was the siksa-guru [instructing spiritual master] of Baladeva Vidyabhusana, to whom he taught the precepts of Shrimad-Bhagavatam. Jagannatha Dasa Babaji was a very prominent acarya after Shri Baladeva Vidyabhusana and was the beloved siksa-guru of Shri Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Bhaktivinoda Thakura's intimate friend and associate was the eminent maha-bhagavata Shri Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji, whose sole joy was found in hari-bhajana.

 

(9)     These treat saintly Vaishnavas are all paramahamsas, or devotees of the highest order, and they are all part of Lord Gauranga's own spiritual family. Their holy feet are my refuge. I have no real interest in devotional services and I am a poor and lowly tridandi sannyai named Shri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati.

 

*Because this song has been composed by Shri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, he has placed his name at the end of the song, as is customarily done by Vaishnava poets. In order to glorify Shri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and his beloved disciple Shri A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada as spiritual teachers in the preceptorial succession from Shri Chaitanyadeva, the following verse has been added and may be optionally sung instead of the song's ninth verse.

 

 

 

 

shri-varsabhanavi-bara, sada sevya-seva-para,

tahara dayita-dasa-nama

tara pradhan pracarako, shri-bhaktivedanta namo,

patita-janete doya-dhama

 

 

The renowned Shri Varsabhanavi-dayita Dasa [the initiated name of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati] is always engaged in the service of his spiritual master, Shrila Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji. His foremost disciple-preacher is Shri A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who has spread the message of Lord Chaitanya throughout the world and is thus a reservoir of mercy and compassion for all fallen souls.