Haridas Das Babaji :: Servant of Gaudiya Sahitya
( originally posted on Gaudiya Discussions , 2004) Appearance: Bhadra 30, 1305 = Sept. 14, 1898 Disappearance : Ashwin 3, 1364 = Sept. 20, 1957 --o)0(o-- Before taking to the Vaishnava life, Haridas Das was known by the name Harendra Kumar Chakravarty. His birthplace was in the village of Madhugram in the Pheni subdivision of Noakhali district in what is now Bangla Desh. He came from a line of scholarly Brahmins: his father's name was Gagan Chandra Tarkaratna and grandfather was Goloka Chandra Nyayaratna. Haridas Das only had one brother, Manindra Kumar, who left home to take up a life of renunciation while still quite young. Neither brother ever married, but observed the principles of celibacy throughout their lives. Manindra Kumar took initiation from the same spiritual master as his brother and came to Nabadwip where he lived at the Haribol Kutir for fifteen years, taking the name Mukunda Das Babaji. Harendra Kumar was a very clever student and passed all his a...