Tridandi Swami Bhakti Hridaya Bon 1901-1982

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Paramahansa Sad-guru

Tridandi Swami Bhakti Hridaya Bon (Vana) Maharaj

1901-1982

 

Note - 2 pics are attached: 1) Young sannyasi Swami Bon, 2) Old

sannyasi Swami Bon

 

HIS EARLY LIFE:

 

His Holiness was born Narendra Nath Mukherji in 1901 in East Bengal,

the Gaudiya Vaishnava Brahman son of Brahmarishi Rajanikanta, who was a

renowned Vedic scholar and devotee. Vana Maharaj was a life-long

celibate and as a brahmacari he joined and took initiation from the

early 1900s

 

Later, in 1924, at the age of 23, he was the third disciple to accept

life-long Tridanda Sannyasa from Srila Saraswati Prabhupada and quickly

became one of his leading preachers. He was the most bright and

educated among his godbrothers and under his Gurudeva's order he

preached the message of Lord Chaitanya delivering literally thousands

of lectures all over India, including at the Royal Albert Hall in

Calcutta. He also established new Gaudiya Math's for his Gurudeva (such

as in Madras) and he organized theistic exhibitions in Calcutta and

Dacca which drew 100,000 visitors daily.

 

He was so successful and aggressive a preacher, introducing the message

of Srila Sarasvati Prabhupada and Lord Chaitanya up to the highest

levels of social and intellectual society of that time (during the

British Raj) that he soon became famous all over India.

 

Because of his good breeding and high education he was sent by his

Gurudeva, Srimad Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, to UK and

Germany to preach. Unfortunately the 1930's were not like America

during the mid-1960's prosperity and " counter-culture " revolution, and

although he took Lord Chaitanya's teachings to the very top of mletccha

society (He was even received in audience by H.M. The King of England)

and gave many lectures throughout England and Europe, still it was (to

quote Lord Zetland) almost " impossible " to make beef eaters of that

time and place turn into Brahmin-Vaishnavas. Vana Maharaj, being born a

Bengali brahmin and living as a celibate Tridandi sannyasi, suffering

in the bitter cold and damp London during the British Raj AND the Great

Depression.

 

Still, Vana Maharaj influenced many souls and converted two German

gentlemen (Dr. E.G. Schulze and Baron Koeth) whom he brought back to

India and offered at the feet of Srila Sarasvati Prabhupada, his

Gurudeva, for initiation.

 

Upon his return to Calcutta he received a grand reception by one lakh

of people. But at the Matha he was returning in disgrace and being

called a failure. At that time he felt very wounded by the harsh

treatment of his spiritual master and the jealous plotters, so he went

away to stay at another Gaudiya Matha outside Bengal.

 

In 1942, after the disappearance of his Gurudeva, Srila Sarasvati

Prabhupada, and the breakup of the Gaudiya-Matha into factions, Vana

Maharaj voted for Srila B.V. Tirtha Maharaj to be the next Acharya.

 

And (it is known) that Srila Vana Maharaj spent one month living on a

raft in the middle of the Ganga to atone for any possible

misunderstanding with his great spiritual master, Srila Sarasvati

Prabhupada.

 

Later, when the disputes within Gaudiya Math became serious, Srila Vana

Maharaj went by foot on a solitary pilgrimage into the Himalayas for

many years of severe tapasya (only chanting Hare Krishna!).

 

His vows were (1) not speaking to anyone, (2) eating only fruits and

nuts off of trees, (3) sleeping bare bodied on the ground, and (4) not

taking a single step without chanting the Maha-mantra. He journeyed 650

miles on foot and lived at the source of the Yamuna River under very

severe circumstances. During these years alone Vana Maharaj describes

in his Bengali book, Vaikunther-pathe, how he had vision darshan of his

Gurudeva, who revealed to him his siddha-bhajan-pranali, and ordered

him to go serve Sri Vrindavana-dhama.

 

Thereafter he retired in Vrindavana where he constructed a small

bhajan-kutir on land donated to him. He also excavated an under-ground

cave-room where he spent many years performing secluded bhajan

(chanting in meditation).

 

HIS LATER LIFE:

 

By the age of 70 Vana Maharaj had many thousands of initiated Bengali

and other Indian born disciples. I personally went on a tour of several

East and West Bengali villages where the entire populations were his

disciples. And all Vana Maharaja's bona fide disciples worship, respect

and serve Lord Krishna through him. He is known as a siddha-purusa by

all his disciples.

 

During his life Vana Maharaj wrote and translated some excellent books

including his master-piece translation and commentary of Sri Rupa

Goswami's classic, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. Other books by Swami Vana

which have also been published include the Gita As a Chaitanyite Reads

It, Sri Chaitanya, Viraha-vedana, On the Way to Vaikuntha (Hindi &

Bengali), and seven more books in German, English, Hindi and Bengali.

 

Vana Maharaj also served Vraja-dhama by offering the Vraja-vasi's local

accredited education...

 

1) He built the Vaishnava Theological University (later became

affiliated with the University of Agra as the Institute of Oriental

Philosophy), in Vrindavana, where many Vraja-vasi's received BA, MA and

Ph.D. degrees without leaving the Dhama;

 

2) He also constructed the Sri Krishna Chaitanya Primary School next to

Sanatana Goswami's bhajan-kutir in Nandagrama which is the first school

there in 5,000 years; the local kids used to take a bus to Kosi in

order to even begin studies;

 

3) He also maintains Sri Sanatana Goswami's bhajan kutir in Nandagrama

where many of his Godbrothers would stay, and even now this sacred

tirtha is still under the care of his babaji disciples. It is also the

sacred spot where Akinchan Krishnadas Babaji Maharaj left his old body.

If anyone takes darshan of the Nandagrama bhajan kutir altar they will

see the Guru Parampara descending to Srila Vana Maharaj.

 

4) His personal Math is called " bhajan kutir " in Vrindavana where he

lived a quiet life with brahmacari and sannyasi disciples. Vana Maharaj

was always very strict with the four regulative principles, and he

never acted or spoke sahajiya or fallen in any way; he was a fixed-up,

life-long celibate sannyasi disciple of Srila Sarasvati Prabhupada who

mostly performed private bhajan after returning from his tapasya. He

was very concerned about the Nitya-lila pastimes of the Divine Couple

and his own service therein.

 

Sripad Bon Maharaj's BEST FRIEND was Srila Krishnadas Babaji Maharaj.

Many of Bhakti Siddhanta's disciples who would often come to visit Vana

Maharaj in Vraja; he also went to visit his Godbrothers in Bengal every

couple years. Vana Maharaj was a clearly dear friend with his many

Godbrothers, and both the exalted Srila Krishnadas Babaji Maharaj and

Srila B.S. Ashram Maharaj would come to live with Vana Maharaj every

year for many months at a time.

 

HIS PASSING:

 

After an entire life of intense unbroken devotional service (preaching,

tapasya, bhajan, and Vraja seva) Srila Vana Maharaj departed this

material world at 9:04 PM on July 7, 1982 at his Bhajan kutir in

Vrindavan, U.P. India.

 

Here are the facts about the disappearance of HDG Srila Vana Maharaja

as reported in the book " Supreme Divinity and Sad-guru " by Dr. Tapodhir

Krishna Dastidar.

 

" Our hearts, laden with anguish and anxiety, we spent all day taking

part by rotation in the kirtan which somehow continued even after the

expiry of the midday of July 7. In the evening when a few of us were

singing sadly kirtan before the ashram Deities, we were hastily

summoned from the Natmandir by Swami Rasikananda Maharaj and requested

to gather round Gurudev's bedside.

 

" While ceaselessly chanting the " Hare Krishna " Mahamantra over and over

again, we watched helplessly as Gurudev's chest slowly heaved up and

down with every intake and exhalation of breath. All the while, even in

his semi comatose condition, his tongue was rhythmically chanting the

Holy Name of Krishna. Swami Keshavananda Maharaj was feeling Gurudev's

pulse all the time. The end, as already stated, came at 9.04 PM on July

7, 1982. The last giant amongst the best exponents of Gaudiya

Vaishnavism, His Holiness Swami Bhakti Hriday Bon Maharaj left his

mortal coils to join the company of the Supreme Godhead's Eternal

Associates who are ever engaged in offering esoteric and supra-mundane

devotional service to Sri Krishna and His Counter whole projection Sri

Radha in their transcendental love-sports. We shall never see the like

of him again. " (SDASG, 83-84)

 

Afterwards, when his corpse was taken out for a parikrama of Vrindavan,

his eyes opened when the palanquin left the Bhajan Kutir, and they

closed when it returned. Also, Lalit Krishna Brahmacari reported that

there was a distinct smell of sandalwood coming from his transcendental

body.

 

Please accord full respect to the sacred memory of H.D.G. Tridandi

Swami Srila Bhakti Hridaya Vana Maharaj and ALL his devoted and blessed

disciples. His vapu-samadhi temple is located on Madan-mohan Ghera in

Sridham Vrindavana, and the murti is a very good likeness of Srila Vana

Maharaj at about 72 years of age. Some of what is known about Srila

Vana Maharaj is his siddha-pranali realization and his eternal service

in Radha-Krishna's Vrindavan nitya lila.

 

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