A Lotus of Devotion

In honour of Srimad Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj’s appearance day today, we present the pranam mantra Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj wrote for him, which is recited daily throughout his Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mission.

“I offer my obeisance unto the great Guru Srimad Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan Maharaj. His tall, tranquil form, adorned with a tridanda and garments the colour of the newly risen sun, is the embodiment of mercy. He is an affectionate king amongst the Gaudiya Vaishnava sannyasis, an ocean of Vedantic knowledge, and always rapt with the ecstatic taste of Sri Sri Guru-Gauranga’s kirtan.”

Srimad Madhusudan Maharaj received the title Bhakti Kamal (‘a lotus of devotion’) from Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur as a brahmachari. When Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj gave him sannyas, he gave him the name Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan. While Madhusudan is commonly thought to be a name of the Lord that refers to His killing of a demon named Madhu, Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj has explained that madhu in the name Madhusudan can also mean ‘nectar’, ‘honey’, or, more deeply, ‘rasa’, and that Madhusudan can thus mean ‘He who devours (relishes) rasa’. This meaning is sweetly expressed in the name Bhakti Kamal Madhusudan, ‘He who relishes the nectar of the lotus of devotion.’

Srimad Madhusudan Maharaj was a longstanding friend and affectionate well-wisher of Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj and Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj.