Vaiṣṇava Nimantraṇa (Invitation to the Vaiṣṇavas)

translated by Swami Bhaktivijñāna Giri

‘Vaiṣṇava Nimantraṇa’ is a rare Bengali poem written by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in Bihar in 1870. This was unpublished during the Ṭhākura’s lifetime and was first printed in Sajjana Toṣaṇī Vol. 19, Issue 2 in 1916.
In Vaiṣṇava Nimantraṇa, Bhaktivinoda laments not having been born during the time of Caitanya Mahāprabhu to personally witness His pastimes, His deliverance of the impersonalists, and the flood of divine love that He distributed through the Holy Name. The poem then transforms into an impassioned spiritual call – abandon dry karma, dry logic, and impersonal speculation, and instead fill the heart with Mahāprabhu’s prema. Through the holy name, the soul awakens to its eternal nature as loving service to Kṛṣṇa, attaining peace, one’s spiritual identity, and ultimately limitless divine love.