Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha (24 April 1924 - 21 April 2017) was a disciple of Bhakti Dayita Madhava and an acharya and initiating spiritual master (Sri

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

) in the

Gaudiya Math The Gaudiya Math (, ; ) is a Gaudiya Vaishnava ''matha'' (monastic organisation) formed on 6 September 1920,Devamayī dāsi, "A Divine Life: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda" in ''Prabhupada Saraswati Thakur: The Li ...

following the philosophy of the Bhakti marg, specifically of

Caitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

and

Gaudiya Vaishnava theology Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meani ...

. He was the President Acharya of Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math, headquartered at

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and having more than 22 branches in India. He was president of the World Vaisnava Association and founder of GOKUL (Global organization for Krishna Chaitanya's Universal Love). He wrote extensively in Bengali, Hindi, and English. His most read and referenced book is Sri Caitanya and His Associates, which details the lives of an entire lineage of Gaudiya Vaishnava spiritual leaders, from the 10th century to the present day. Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha died on April 21, 2017, at the Sree Caitanya Gaudiya Math Temple, Kolkata. His samadhi was installed on April 22 in the holy city of Mayapur at Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya math, Mayapur.

Early life

He was born on 13 April 1924, on the day of

Ram Navami Rama Navami () is a Hindu festival that celebrates the birthday of Rama, the seventh avatar of the deity Vishnu. people from different parts of Jharkhand attended the world famous international Hazaribagh procession organized in the city every ...

, in

Goalpara Goalpara, Pron: ) is the district headquarters of Goalpara district, Assam, India. It is situated to the west of Guwahati. Etymology The name Goalpara is said to have originated from the word "Gwaltippika" meaning Guwali village, or The villa ...

Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...

. He is a disciple of Bhakti Dayita Madhava, who founded Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math in 1953. He was appointed as the president for Sree Chaitanya Gaudiya Math in 1979. He also serves as the president of the World Vaishnava Association (WVA). He travelled and spread the teachings of

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krish ...

around the world. He is among the most read masters in the speaking tree initiative of

The Times of India ''The Times of India'', also known by its abbreviation ''TOI'', is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by The Times Group. It is the third-largest newspaper in India by circulation and largest ...

. Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj left the world on the night of April 20, 2017 at his temple in the city of

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

in the Indian state of West Bengal. On April 22 a large procession was carried out from Calcutta to the city of Mayapur in the same state. In the temple of Sri Chaitanya Gaudiya Math the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

rituals pertinent to the Rupanuga branch were finally carried out and their body was covered with lime and a temple known as "samadhi" will be built there.

Publications

One of the major contributions of Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj are the books authored by him. His books are based on

Vedic scriptures upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

and are clear reflections of the teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and of

Gaudiya Vaishnavism Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meani ...

. Below is the list of his books: * ''Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates'' ( ) * ''Dasavatara'' () This is a commentary on the Ten Manifestations of Sri

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

, described in

Gita Govinda The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan. The ''Gita ...

, composed by

Jayadeva Jayadeva (; born ), also spelt Jaideva, was a Sanskrit poet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poem '' Gita Govinda'' which concentrates on Krishna's love with the '' gopi'', Radha, in a rite of spring. This poem, which pres ...

Goswami. * ''Sages of ancient India'' () * ''A Taste of Transcendence'' () * ''Sudha Bhakti'' () * ''Affectionately Yours-Divine Letters'' This book is an extensive collection of letters (1981-2012) written by Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha to his disciples as a response to their spiritual inquiries. * ''Sages, Saints and Kings of Ancient India'' This book is a compilation of pastimes of legendary personalities from Vedic Scriptures such as

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the s ...

and

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. * ''Harikatha And Vaishnava Aparadha'' * ''Nectar Of Harikatha'' * ''Path of Pure Devotion''

Footnotes

References

* * * * *

External links

* http://trove.nla.gov.au/result?q=creator%3A%22Bhakti+Ballabha+Ti%CC%84rtha.%22 * http://www.nineislandspress.org/A-Life-Of-Devotion/ * http://www.spiritualbangalore.com/why-we-need-to-remember-god-by-b-b-tirtha-maharaj-president-all-india-sree-chaitanya-gaudiya-math/ * http://www.wva-vvrs.org/pbook/pkb16.htm * http://www.gokul.org.uk/ * http://www.bvml.org/SBBTM/ * http://vanisource.org/wiki/750902_-_Letter_to_Bhakti_Ballabh_Tirtha_written_from_Vrndavana * http://oldchakra.com/2002/03/24/tkg.by.bhakti.ballabh.tirtha.sw/print.htm * http://vaishnava-news-network.org/world/WD0204/WD24-7283.html *http://vinacc.blogspot.com.co/2017/04/srila-b-b-tirtha-goswami-maharaj.html

Early life

Publications

Footnotes

References

External links

Further reading