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Bhaktivinoda-giti-dhara

Bhaktivinoda-gīti-dhārā Week 1: Śaraṇāgati

Bhaktivinoda-gīti-dhārā Week 1: Śaraṇāgati

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura ki jaya!

Today we begin our journey through the songs of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura.

As we prepare to enter the flow (dhārā) of his songs (gīti), we must start at the very entrance: Śaraṇāgati, or complete surrender.

Over the next five weeks, I will send out a selection of his songs every Thursday from these five categories:

  • Śaraṇāgati (Surrender)
  • Upadeśa (Instructions to the Mind)
  • Daily Kīrtans (Ārati, mahā-prasāda songs, etc.)
  • Nāma and Dhāma
  • Siddhi-lālasā (Hankering for Perfection)

This week, we focus entirely on the songs of surrender. Why do we begin here? Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Śaraṇāgati is the very foundation of our spiritual life.

Any activity we perform without the mood of śaraṇāgati has no value. Śaraṇāgati is synonymous with śraddhā (faith); it is the outer, visible symptom of śraddhā. In Bhagavad-gītā (17.28), Śrī Kṛṣṇa declares that any activity performed without śraddhā is impermanent. It is called asat (unreal) and is useless both in this life and the next. Therefore, wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we must always begin on the platform of faith and surrender.

In his introduction to the 1948 edition of Śaraṇāgati he published, Śrīla Bhakti Prajñāna Keśava Gosvāmī Mahārāja described the unique potency of these songs:

“In the treasury of devotional songs and literature, Śaraṇāgati holds the highest position. Its poetic beauty, depth of feeling, and melodic charm are incomparable. Within the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava world, from the beginning to the end of the disciplic line established by Śrīman Mahāprabhu, such songs are not found anywhere.”

It is from this sacred collection that we will draw our inspiration for the week ahead.

Your Selection for Week 1

Below is a link to the selection form for this week. I invite you to read through the list and select up to four songs that stand out to you.

Please do not feel the need to overthink this choice or find the "correct" songs. There is no wrong choice here.

CLICK HERE TO SELECT YOUR WEEK 1 SONGS

Join the Daily Program

Today (January 1st), we officially began our daily online sessions where we humbly approach these songs, discussing their meaning and how to apply them in our daily lives.

I am writing this just after finishing our first session, which you can watch here.

If you haven't yet seen the full details of the program, you can read the overview here.

In that post, I describe the system we are establishing today to ensure that no day of 2026 goes by without being graced by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura's songs. If you are short on time to read the full post, I recommend scrolling down to that specific section ("The System")—it is the heart of our plan for the year.

I look forward to embarking on this journey through the treasury of his songs with you.

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