FOUNDING GAUDIYA VEDANTA SAMITI

My Gurudeva was then called Pujyapada Sri Vinode Vihari Brahmacari Krti-Ratna. The name Krti-Ratna, which means one who is a jewel of managers, was awarded to him by Srila Bhaktidsiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada because he managed the Gaudiya Matha so expertly. This was before my Gurudeva took sannyasa. In his heart there was a desire to show Vedanta-sutra as bhakti-sutra, and he quoted slokas of Srimad Bhagavatam to prove this. He would always state, "Wherever there is any sign of mayavadism, bhakti cannot be preached in full force. So we have to remove mayavada from the root." Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu also liked this idea very much. "We must kick out mayavada," he would always say. Both of them had this understanding; they were very united in their preaching. My Gurudeva gave the name 'Bhaktivedanta' to those of us who took sannyasa from him, and when they formed an organization, they called the samiti 'Gaudiya Vedanta', which denoted that Vedanta is synonymous with bhakti.

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After the disappearance of their Srila Prabhupada and after the Gaudiya Matha institution had broken apart, my Gurudeva together with Abhay Caranaravinda Prabhu and Narottamananda Brahmacari (later Srila Bhaktikamala Madhusudana Maharaja) filed the establishment papers for the Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti. This was done on April 7th, 1940, the day of aksaya tritiya in a rented house at 33/2 Bosapada Lane, Calcutta. (Appendix 3)

Although they separated from the political upheaval happening within their Guru Maharaja's institution, they did not give up Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada or his mission and his siddhanta. They wanted to re-establish his bona-fide ideas and instructions, but they did not give up his Gaudiya Matha. Therefore the names of the manhas established by the Gaudiya Vedanta Samiti were Devananda Gaudiya Matha, Uddharana Gaudiya Matha, Kesavaji Gaudiya Matha and many others.