01The sun on the neem tree
His name means “the sun in the neem”. The sampradaya tells that a sannyasi guest came to his ashram near Govardhan after sunset, when by his vow he could no longer eat. The acharya held the sun’s light on a neem tree until his guest had eaten. The parampara runs from Hamsa (Bhagwan Narayana) to the four Kumaras, to Devarshi Narada, and to Nimbarka. In 2004 the sampradaya celebrated his 5,100th jayanti at Salemabad, which gives a sense of how far back it places him.
02Works and teaching
His commentary on the Brahma Sutras is the Vedanta Parijata Saurabha, short and exact. The Dashashloki, ten verses, gives the whole teaching in brief: Brahman is Shri Krishna with Radha at his left; the soul is a part of him, distinct yet never separate; and the way is surrender (prapatti) and loving service. Historians have dated him anywhere from the 7th to the 13th century, and no agreement has been reached.
