Srila Srinivasa Acarya was a member of the party that first brought the books of the six Gosvamis from Vrndavana to Bengal and Orissa. He converted King Birahambira to the Vaisnava religion and helped organized the first Gaura Purnima festival, celebrating the birth anniversary of Lord Caitanya, in Kheturi Gram.
Srila Srinivasa Acarya is one of the most important personalities in the religious history of Bengal, perhaps the most important Vaisnava teacher in the generation immediately following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
After witnessing Lord Gauranga's sannyasa ceremony at Katva, Chaitanya Dasa and his pregnant wife visited Lord Caitanya in Jagannatha Puri. "Soon your wife will give birth to a son named 'Srinivasa' said Lord Caitanya, "And through Srinivasa all the bhakti sastras of Rupa and Sanatana will be distributed."
When his father left this world Srinivasa visited the remaining associates of Lord Gauranga in Katva, Navadwipa, Jagannatha Puri. They blessed Srinivasa and gave him valuable instructions for spiritual advancement. Seeing his absorption in Gauranga prema, they knew he was "an embodiment of Gaura-shakti, the energy of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu."
It was the middle of the sixteenth century. Aspiring for perfection in spiritual life, young Srinivasa had tried to meet Lord Caitanya and His disciple Gadadhara. But Srinivasa came too late they passed away before he could become their student.
He came to Vrndavana, toured the twelve forests, and took diksa from Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. Sri Jiva Gosvami taught him the complete philosophy of Gaudiya Vaisnavism. Acknowledging his vast learning, Sri Jiva gave Srinivasa the title "Acarya."
Accepting Sri Jiva's order, Srinvasa and his two friends Syamananda Prabhu and Narottama Dasa Thakura pioneered the first transcendental book distribution party. They took a bullock cart of the Gosvami's devotional writings from Vrndavana and passed them out all over Bengal and Orissa.
Srinivasa Acarya initiated many disciples (Ramachandra Kaviraja and others), wrote songs full of bhakti (Sad Goswami-ashtakam), and introduced a special kirtana style. When leading kirtana he would sometimes lose his voice from chanting so long.
In the Bhakti-ratnakara (325) it says that: “Srinivasa Acarya was a great scholar who benedicted the world by distributing those valuable Vaishnava books.”
Besides his external activities of preaching and writing, Srinivasa Acarya practiced intensive raganuga bhajana. Raganuga bhajana is the spontaneous internal worship of Radha and Krsna based on the mood and sentiments of the eternal residents of Sri Vrndavana dhama, such as the gopis. While doing manasi seva (service to Radha-Krishna within one's mind in a mentally conceived spiritual form) he would often bring tangible paraphernalia from these meditations back with him upon returning to external consciousness.
Once Srinivasa sat Lord Gauranga on a jeweled throne within his mind. Then he worshiped the Lord with a golden handled camara whisk and a five flower garland. Pleased with his service, Gaura Raya offered the garland back to Srinivasa, who then immediately awoke and lost the meditation. A surprised Srinivasa found the sweetest flower garland he ever smelled hanging around his neck when he returned to external consciousness.
Another time Srinivasa was in his siddha svarupa as Mani-manjari watching Srimati Radharani, Sri Krsna, and the gopis in Holi lila (joyfully throwing colored powders and dyes on each other). The gopis told Mani-manjari to supply colors to Radhika and side with them in their "war" against Syama. The earth shook from Their furious battle. Srinivasa's meditation abruptly broke. His body was completely covered from head to toe with fragrant and exotic rainbow colored powders imported from the spiritual world.
Srinivasa Acarya's samadhi is in the Dhira Samira samadhis area.
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