Svalikhita-jivani

A faded sepia photograph of an old man with neck beads on a deteriorated paper page.
A page with angular Bengali handwriting and a square diagram.
(left) Bhaktivinoda Thakur's photo with his autograph and (right) the first page of his original Svalikhita-jivani (1896).

Svalikhita-jivani is an autobiography written in 1896 by Kedarnatha Datta Bhaktivinoda (also known as Bhaktivinoda Thakur), a prominent thinker of Bengali Renaissance and a leading philosopher, savant and spiritual reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism[1] who effected its resurgence in India in late 19th and early 20th century[2] and was hailed by contemporary scholars as the most influential Gaudiya Vaisnava leader of his time.[3]

Written in Bengali on the request of Bhaktivinoda's son Lalita Prasad, Svalikhita-jivani gives a detailed autobiographical account that spanned most of his life from his birth in 1838 until retirement in 1894. The book was published by Lalita Prasad in 1916, after Bhaktivinoda's demise.

Summary

A deteriorated printed page with Bengali lettering
A deteriorated printed page with Bengali lettering
Pages one and two of Bhaktivinoda Thakur's Svalikhita-jivani printed in 1916.

On the request of his son Lalita Prasad, in 1896 Bhaktivinoda wrote an extensive and compellingly detailed autobiography called Svalikhita-jivani that covered fifty-six years of his life from birth up until that time.[4][5] Recounting his life's episodes with astonishing candor, Bhaktivinoda portrayed his path as full of financial struggle, health issues, internal doubts and insecurity, and deep introspection that gradually led him, sometimes in convoluted ways, to the deliberate and mature decision of accepting Caitanya Mahaprabhu and his teachings as his final goal.[4] Bhaktivinoda dis not display much concern for how this candid autobiographical account would reflect on his status as an established Gaudiya Vaisnava spiritual leader with a large following, in the eyes of thousands of his intellectual bhadralok disciples.[4] In this context it is especially telling that Bhaktivinoda in Svalikhita-jivani never refers to himself as feeling or displaying any special spiritual acumen, saintlihood, powers, or charisma – anything worthy of veneration.[6] Rather, this extremely honest, almost self-deprecating narrative portrays Bhaktivinoda as an genuinely, exceptionally humble and modest man, which serves as the best exemplar and foundation of the teaching he dedicated his later life to spreading.[7] The book was published by Lalita Prasad in 1916 after Bhaktivinoda's passing.[8]

Footnotes

  1. Fuller 2005, pp. iv, 3, 90, 102.
  2. Hopkins 1984, p. 176.
  3. Fuller 2005, p. 6.
  4. 1 2 3 Fuller 2005, p. 42.
  5. Dasa 1999, pp. 9-10.
  6. Fuller 2005, p. 42-43.
  7. Fuller 2005, pp. 43-44.
  8. Dasa 1999, p. 9.

See also

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bhaktivinoda Thakur.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, August 07, 2014. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.