Sri Bhaktisidhanta Saraswati Thakura gave shape to the divine vision of Kedarnatha Thakura Bhaktivinoda, establishing sixty-four monasteries throughout India and a prolific publishing arm. His mission also reached out to the West beyond the borders of India. However, the shape of his mission led some to believe that he had deviated from the substance of Thakura Bhaktivinoda’s precepts, especially with regard to the esoteric path of raganuga-bhakti. Nothing could be further from the truth. This fifty-page booklet discusses Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura’s approach to raganuga-bhakti and how it represents the spirit of what he imbibed from Thakura Bhaktivinoda.
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08.19.2010
It may be that the author’s tone is as significant as the essay’s subject. Tripurari Maharaja’s essay may be an example of what communication scholars have come to call “invitational argument.” Such a rhetorical approach is concerned less with dominance than with inviting interlocutors into a conversation based on mutual regard and exploration. This may be a model of dialogue more appropriate for the discussions among devotees than the more agonistic response to controversies arising in the movement over the past few years. Maharaja points out that his essay is somewhat exploratory, meant more to open discussion than to close it down. In his introduction he writes, “I offer this article as food for thought and with openness to information that I may not be aware of that might alter its conclusions. . . .” Scholars who read Sri Guru-parampara will apprehend more clearly the dynamic nature of the Krishna consciousness movement. Leaders and preachers within the movement who read this booklet—including those in ISKCON—may be better prepared to defend the sampradaya they serve when asked about apparent deviations from Gaudiya traditions or apparent gaps in the lineage. If those who accept Tripurari Maharaja’s invitation also examine its manner of presentation, they may benefit from both its substance and its form.