Born in 1838 in Bengal, educated in the British school system, and deeply familiar with American and English literature, Thakur Bhakti Vinod, the nineteenth century Vyas, was eminently qualified to introduce the ancient teachings of the Bhagavat to the modern Western reader.
His penetrating studies of both the religious classics of the West and the important sacred writings of India’s saints was tempered by his broad spiritual vision. While Emerson and Thoreau searched the pages of the Vedas and Upanisads for a glimpse of Absolute Truth, Thakur Bhakti Vinod, witnessing the gradual extinction of Vedic culture, worked to preserve India’s spiritual tradition and liteature. From 1849 to 1907, he edited, composed, and published more than 100 books in Sanskrit, Bengali, and English, including two different editions of Bhagavad-gita, his definite commentary on Chaitanya-charitamrta, as well as numerous original works.
One of his contemporaries in the Bengali literary renaissance of the late nineteenth century remarked of Thakur Bhakti Vinod, «When I used to dress as a European and when I comprehended everything from Europe that was to be known and understood, at that time Bhakti Vinod caused us to know what bhakti (devotion) is. Upon reading and studying the books of Bhakti Vinod, one is able to understand the reason for his coming to this world. His place in the kingdom of literature as we know it is unexcelled. When his literary works were published, the following used to come to mind: from where are these brilliant bolts of lightning coming?»