Manaḥ Śikṣā by Raghunātha Dāsa Goswāmī

translated by Swami Bhaktivijñāna Giri

Written in 1886, Manaḥ Śikṣā with Bhajana-darpaṇa Bhāṣya presents Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Bengali commentary on Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī’s celebrated Manaḥ Śikṣā (“Teachings to the Mind”). Composed of twelve terse Sanskrit verses, the Manaḥ Śikṣā is one of the most intimate and direct works in the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava canon, addressing the mind directly and instructing it in the cultivation of pure devotion. Bhaktivinoda’s commentary, entitled Śrī Bhajana-darpaṇa Bhāṣya (“A Mirror that Reflects One’s Bhajana”), illuminates each verse with characteristic depth and practical insight. He also composed an accessible Bengali prose rendering of the original Sanskrit, making the text available to a wider readership.