Today is the disappearance day of a great saint, Srila Narottama Das Thakur! 

Appearing as the son of a king, Shri Narottama Dasa Thakura (Shri Thakura Mahasaya) showed all the bodily symptoms of a mahapurusha (an exalted divine person). He had long arms, a deep navel, golden-complexion, beautiful eyes shaped like the lotus petals. In school, he was a sruti dhara (able to memorize whatever he hears) Although he quickly mastered Sanskrit and the Vedas, he hankered to serve Krishna. He was a lifelong brahmachari. He took diksha from Shri Lokanatha Goswami and siksha in Gaudiya philosophy from Shri Jiva Goswami.

When he arrived in Navadwipa-dhama all the Devotees asked him about the health and activities of the Goswamis in Vrindavana. After visiting all of Gauranga’s pastime places in Gaura Mandala, Narottama Dasa did the same in Shri Kshetra Dhama (Jagannatha Puri). Then he went to see the Devotees and Shri Chaitanya’s pastime spots in Shantipura, Shri Khanda, Kanthak Nagar, Ekachakra, and Kheturi Gram.

In Kheturi, Shri Narottama Dasa Thakura arranged the famous Kheturi Mahotsava. This was the first “Gaura-Purnima” festival to honor the divine appearance day of Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. During the festival six Deities were installed: Shri Gauranga Deva, Shri Vallabhi Kanta, Shri Vraja Mohana, Shri Krishna, Shri Radha Kanta, Shri Radha Ramana. .

Narottama Dasa Thakura wrote many devotional songs about the spiritual master, the Devotees, devotional service, the six Goswamis, Gaura-Nityananda and Radha-Krishna. Although composed with sweet melodies in simple Bengali language, Narottama Dasa’s songs give shastric siddhanta and devotional inspiration.  Prarthana and Prema-bhakti-chandrika are Narottama’s most famous works.

yad-bhakti-nishtha pala-rekhikeva
sparshah punah sparsha-maniva yasya
pramanyam evam shrutivad yadiyam
tasmai namah shrila-narottamaya

I offer my repeated obeisances to Shrila Narottama Das Thakur, whose firm devotion is…

Source: Gauranga Das Official