17. A Spiritual Legacy

17. A Spiritual Legacy:

Along with revealing the lost tirthas of His pastimes, Lord Caitanya also unveiled the benediction rays of His sankirtana mission to illuminate the whole world in love of Godhead. This spiritual legacy was unfolded through the great ācāryas of the Madhva-gaudiya sampradaya-namely Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, his son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's disciple, Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

Often called the Seventh Gosvami, Bhaktivinoda Thakura, is credited with re-establishing Lord Caitanya's teachings as the apex of bonafide Vaishnava philosophy. He wrote many books and in 1896 pioneered preaching in the West by sending his book "The Life and Precepts of Lord Caitanya," to scholars in different western countries. In 1914, shortly before leaving this world, Thakura Bhaktivinoda instructed his son and spiritual successor, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura: "Develop Sri Navadvipa- dhama parikrama, for by its performance all people of the world can be liberated." Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's mother also reminded him of this instruction shortly before she left her body.

With the blessings of his spiritual master and his father upon his head, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura continued to develop what his father had begun. In 1918 he took sannyāsa and initiated the annual parikrama of Navadvipa-dhama. This was held in grand style with elephant parades and thousands of pilgrims participating. Śrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura preached the teachings of Lord Caitanya vigorously and established many printing presses and mathas throughout India.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura also sent his leading sannyasi preachers to the West to preach Krsna consciousness. After some time, they returned to India with any tangible success, saying it was impossible for people in western countries to accept Krsna consciousness. Then, just two weeks before leaving this world (in 1937), Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur sent a letter to a householder disciple, Abhaya Caraņāravinda, instructing him to preach Krsna consciousness in the West.

By taking this instruction to heart, he later became A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami, founded the International Society for Krsna Consciousness (ISKCON), and inherited the spiritual legacy of the previous acaryas.