Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja was born in India in 1895, in a respected brāhmaṇa family at Hāpāniyā, Burdwan District, West Bengal. In 1926, he joined the Gauḍīya Maṭha and became an initiated disciple of its founder, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. He accepted the renounced order of life (sannyāsa) in 1930 and was given the title, ‘Bhakti Rakṣaka’ (the Guardian of Devotion). After the passing of his spiritual master in 1937, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja established his own āśrama, the Śrī Caitanya Sārasvata Maṭha, on the banks of the sacred Ganges in Navadvīpa-dhāma, the holy land of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Having deeply assimilated the teachings of Śrī Caitanya, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja composed numerous songs, prayers, and commentaries in Bengali and Sanskrit such as Prapanna-jīvanāmṛta, a comprehensive study of śaraṇāgati (surrender), Prema Dhāma Deva Stotram, a Sanskrit poem summarising caitanya-līlā, and his outstanding commentary on the gāyatrī-mantra in the line of Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the Gāyatrī Nigūḍhārtha. At present, the teachings of Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja are being spread throughout the world via the noble efforts of his many loyal and dedicated followers.
