Bhaktivinoda Thakura was a pioneering spiritual leader, writer and poet in the bhakti tradition. He wrote many books and devotional songs reintroducing the pure teachings of bhakti at a time when those teachings had almost become lost.

His poems express the feelings of a pure soul and are recited by bhakti practitioners around the world. The following ones are among the most famous.

Gopinath

(1)
 gopinath, mama nivedana suno
 vishayi durjana, sada kama-rata,
 kichu nahi mora guna
  
 (2)
 gopinath, amara bharasa tumi
 tomara carane, loinu sarana,
 tomara kinkora ami
  
 (3)
 gopinath, kemone sodhibe more
 na jani bhakati, karme jada-mati,
 porechi somsara-ghore
  
 (4)
 gopinath, sakali tomara maya
 nahi mama bala, jnana sunirmala,
 swadina nahe e kaya
  
 (5)
 gopinath, niyata carane sthana
 mage e pamara, kandiya kandiya,
 korohe karuna dana
  
 (6)
 gopinath, tumi to’ sakali paro
 durjane tarite, tomara sakati,
 ke ache papira aro
  
 (7)
 gopinath, tumi kripa-parabara
 jivera karane, asiya prapance,
 lila koile subistara
  
 (8)
 gopinath, ami ki doshe doshi
 asura sakala, pailo carana,
 vinoda thakilo bosi’

Translation:

(1) O Gopinatha, Lord of the gopis, please hear my request. I am a wicked materialist, always addicted to worldly desires, and no good qualities do I possess.

(2) O Gopinatha, You are my only hope, and therefore I have taken shelter at Your lotus feet. I am now Your eternal servant.

(3) O Gopinatha, how will You purify me? I do not know what devotion is, and my materialistic mind is absorbed in fruitive work. I have fallen into this dark and perilous worldly existence. 

(4) 0 Gopinatha, everything here is Your illusory energy. I have no strength or transcendental knowledge, and this body of mine is not independent and free from the control of material nature.

(5) 0 Gopinatha, this sinner, who is weeping and weeping, begs for an eternal place at Your divine feet. Please give him Your mercy.

(6) 0 Gopinatha, You are able to do anything, and therefore You have the power to deliver all sinners. Who is there that is more of a sinner than myself?

(7) 0 Gopinatha, You are the ocean of mercy. Having come into this phenomenal world, You expand Your divine pastimes for the sake of the fallen souls.

(8) 0 Gopinatha, I am so sinful that although all the demons attained Your lotus feet, Bhaktivinoda has remained in worldly existence.

Commentary:

This poem is dedicated to Gopinatha, the Lord of the gopis. Gopinatha is another name for Krishna or Govinda.

Bhaktivinoda Thakura is showing extreme humility in his song, considering himself a wicked materialist and a sinner. This feeling of humility is a sign of advanced bhaktas, who naturally feel themselves small and insignificant although they are actually elevated souls.

Because Gopinath has appeared to deliver everyone, Bhaktivinoda Thakura prays to be included in the Lord’s mercy.

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Manasa Deha Geha

(1)
 mānasa, deho, geho, jo kichu mor
 arpilū tuwā pade, nanda-kiśor!
  
 (2)
 sampade vipade, jīvane-maraṇe
 dāy mama gelā, tuwā o-pada baraṇe
  
 (3)
 mārobi rākhobi-jo icchā tohārā
 nitya-dāsa prati tuwā adhikārā
  
 (4)
 janmāobi moe icchā jadi tor
 bhakta-gṛhe jani janma hau mor
  
 (5)
 kīṭa-janma hau jathā tuwā dās
 bahir-mukha brahma janme nāhi āś
  
 (6)
 bhukti-mukti-spṛhā vihīna je bhakta
 labhaite tāko sańga anurakta
  
 (7)
 janaka, jananī, dayita, tanay
 prabhu, guru, pati-tuhū sarva-moy
  
 (8)
 bhakativinoda kohe, śuno kāna!
 rādhā-nātha! tuhū hāmāra parāṇa

Translation:

1) Mind, body, and family, whatever may be mine, I have surrendered at Your lotus feet, O youthful son of Nanda!

2) In good fortune or in bad, in life or at death, all my difficulties have disappeared by choosing those feet of Yours as my only shelter.

3) Slay me or protect me as You wish, for You are the master of Your eternal servant.

4) If it is Your will that I be born again, then may it be in the home of Your devotee.

5) May I be born again even as a worm, so long as I may remain Your devotee. I have no desire to be born as a Brahma averse to You.

6) I yearn for the company of that devotee who is completely devoid of all desire for worldly enjoyment or liberation.

7) Father, mother, lover, son, Lord, preceptor, and husband; You are everything to me.

8) Thakura Bhaktivinoda says, “O Kana, please hear me! O Lord of Radha, You are my life and soul!”

Commentary:

Bhaktivinoda Thakura surrenders everything, his mind, body and family, to Krishna, the son of Nanda. He recalls how, by this attitude, he has been saved from all of lives difficulties.

The mood of surrender to get Krishna’s full protection under all circumstances is exactly what Lord Krishna suggests in the Bhagavad-gita (Chapter 18, Verse 66) to all living beings.

But Bhaktivinoda only desires to remain a devotee fixed in his service and the association of a like-minded soul.