Swami B.B. Bodhayan is the current president and acarya of the Gopinath Gaudiya Math, where he succeeded his own spiritual master, Swami B.P. Puri. He was given the birth name Asim Das on August 21, 1964 in the village of Kanpur, West Bengal. His grandfather, Madan Mohan Das Adhikary, was a direct disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thankur, who led his entire family to the path of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.
In his childhood, Swami Bodhayan was accustomed to seeing holy men from the Gaudiya Math come regularly to his home to visit his grandfather. One of these saintly guests was his eventual spiritual master, Swami B.P. Puri. Every year Swami Bodhayan accompanied his entire family to Sri Mayapur for the annual festivals honoring Srila Prabhupada and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. These visits to Mayapur instilled in him a deep desire to lead a holy life, though his parents insisted that he first complete his education.
While writing his final high school exams, Swami Bodhayan received the Nrisingha mantra from his guru and began chanting it regularly. He received Harinam initiation in 1986, and was given the brahmachari name Achyutananda Das.
Swami Bodhayan joined Swami B.P. Puri’s new institution (the Gopinath gaudiya Math) in 1990, where he took on much of the responsibily for managing its affairs. Over the years he helped open branch maths at Chakra Tirtha in Jagannath Puri and in Vrindavan, as well as publish the organization’s monthly journal Bhagavata-dharma, to which he also contributed regularly.
Please with the services of his student, Swami B.P. Puri asked him to take sannyas in 1993, on Gaura Purnim. He gave him the new name Tridandi Bhikshu Bhakti Bibudha Bodhayan.
Swami Bodhayan continued to serve his spiritual master, taking on increased responsibility with his new status. Then, on Gaura Purnim, 1997, Puri Maharaj, who was 98 years old, suddenly announced that he was officially making Swami Bodhayan his successor at the helm of the Gipinath Gaudiya Math, designating him president and acharya after his departure. Two years later, when Swami B.P. Puri departed from this world, Swami Bodhayan took over those functions. Since then he has applied himself energetically to teaching the message of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, following in the footsteps of his spiritual master and Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur. His speaking engagements have taken him around the world.
Leave a comment