Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji
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Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji (1838 - 1915 CE) is a well known figure from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, and is regarded as a Mahatma or saint by followers of his lineage. During his lifetime Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji became famous for his teachings on the process of Bhakti Yoga and for his unorthodox avadhuta like behaviour as a sadhu, or babaji in Vrindavan.
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[edit] Background
He was born on November 17th, 1838 in a well-to-do mercantile family in the village of Vagyana, near to 'Tepakhola' in the district of Faridpur, part of modern day Bangladesh. After the death of his wife when he was thirty years old, he accepted the life of a Babaji in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition under the tutelage of Srila Jagannatha dasa Babaji, after meeting the latter's disciple, Srila Bhagavat dasa Babaji. He became a mendicant, staying in the holy cities of Vrindavan and Navadwip, deeply absorbed in singing and chanting the sacred names of Radha and Krishna (Bhajan).
[edit] Legacy
1900 was a significant year, as Srila Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji gave initiation (diksha) to his only disciple, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura. The former gave the latter the name 'Varsabhanavi devi dayita Dasa'. Gaura Kisora dasa Babaji's legacy would live on his only disciple Bhaktisiddhanta, as he would later go on to preach all over India with his Gaudiya Math. Bhaktisiddhanta in turn gave diksha to A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who preached the philosophy and culture of the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition on a worldwide basis through his International Society for Krishna Consciousness.
