Picture of Swami Prakashanand Saraswati and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Glorious kirtan with Lord Chaitanya and Swami Prakashanand Saraswati

Glimpse of a wonderful chanting session with Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Swami Prakashanand Saraswati, two famous Saints of the 16th Century India, with hundreds of devotees. You can really feel the ecstatic joy of the devotees and the Lord as devotees play musical instruments and dance and sing and faint with joy. As the latest news of the Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Prakashanand Saraswati spread throughout the district, more and more people joined the chanting and felt blessed to be part of this blissful scene.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Prakashanand

Mahaprabhu and Prakashanand Saraswati

More about Swami Ji here.

After associating with Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Shree Rangam, Shree Swami Prakashanand Saraswati converted from Shree to Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Empowered by Shri Chaitanya, he taught Shrimad Bhagavatam and other devotional works to Gopala Bhatta Goswami, his nephew. His eloquent speech would engladden everyone.

Good qualities and pure devotion to the Supreme Personality of Godhead ornamented his life. Even while sleeping he would remember Lord Chaitanya. Prakashanand Saraswati was an extremely enthusiastic exponent of Shree Chaitanya's doctrine and divinity.

parama-vairagya-sneha murti manoram

maha-kavi gita vadya-nrtye anupam

"Very austere and renounced, Prakashanand Saraswati overflowed with love for the Devotees. His handsome form pleased the eyes. He was a learned poet and scholar. No one could compare with him in the arts of singing, dancing, and playing musical instruments." (Bhakti-ratnakar)

Leaving Shree Rangam, he lived a detached life in Shree Vrindavana as a fully dedicated servant of Radha-Govinda. He was a rasika acharya, perfect in describing the nikunja-lilas of Gandharvika-Giridhari. He glorifies Lord Chaitanya, Radha-Krishna, Navadwipa, and Vrindavana with enlightened devotion. Prabodhananda Saraswati's writings bless the beginner with bhakti and shower rasika Vaishnavas with pure nectar. Sangita Madhava, Navadwipa-sataka, Chaitanya-chandramrta, Radha-rasa-sudhanidhi, Vrindavana-mahimamrta are some of his books.

Prakashanand Saraswati serves Shree Radha in Golok Vrindavan as Tungavidya-gopi, one of Her asta-sakhis. His samadhi is behind Kaliya-ghat near the Kadamba tree of Krishna leela.