Srila B. S. Siddhanti Maharaj

Sri Srimad Bhakti Sri-Rupa Siddhanti Gosvami Maharaja

The very embodiment of bhakti, Sri Srimad Bhakti Sri-rupa Siddhanti Gosvami Maharaja was one of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarsvati Prabhupada’s foremost disciples. As Siddha-svarupa Brahmacari, he once created an uproar in an assembly of followers of Vivekananda and Ramakrsna by exposing them as charlatans, inducing the people to assail him with slogans and stones. His Godbrothers reported this disturbance in their preaching to Srila Prabhupada but, to their surprise, he was thrilled to hear of such fearless and uncompromising preaching of the truth. Srila Prabhupada then himself came to that town and called for another assembly. He now called upon Siddha-svarupa Brahmacari to defeat the philosophy of Vivekananda, which he did, point for point. This time the people lauded him.

 Srila Bhakti Sri-rupa Siddhanti Gosvami Maharaja was very close with his Godbrother Srila Bhakti Viveka Bharati Maharaja, whom he honoured as his siksa guru. After Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance, they jointly founded the Sri Sarasvata Gaudiya Ashram & Mission, which has three branches. He initiated seven sannyasi disciples.

Srila Bhkati Sri-rupa Siddhanti Gosvami Maharaja worked tirelessly in the service of his Gurudeva, and this is reflected in his outstanding literary contribution. He published and wrote many important books, Guru Prestha being one of them, and others which were out of print for a long time. By translating Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana Prabhu’s Sri Govinda-bhasya into Bengali, he satisfied one of his Gurudeva’s unfulfilled inner desires.

He also wrote commentaries on the twelve principle Upanisads, and translated Srila Bhaladeva Vidyabhusana’s and Srila Visvanatha Chakravartipada’s Sanskrit commentaries on Bhagavad-gita, for which the Gaudiya Vaisnava community remains deeply indebted He also constructed three elaborately decorated temples with permanent theistic exhibitions incorporated into the sculptures of the entire temple.

Gaudiya Saraswata Ashram is the name of the amazing temple located north of Haridas Thakur's samadhi on Satasan Road, in Jagannatha Puri, Orissa. This temple, is very popular. It has beautiful diaromas covering virtually every inch of the temple, grounds and inside of the boundary wall. The deity worship is very nice here. The temple has nice Radha Krishna deities, many Salagram silas and a Shiva linga on an altar behind Radha Krishna. Srila Siddhanti Maharaja wrote commentaries on several Upanishads which are sold here at the temple. This temple also has nice discourses on the Bhagavat that are attended by many pilgrims.