Srimad Bhawatam - India's Message of Peace and Goodwill
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Sixty Volumes of Elaborate English Version by
Tridandi Goswami
A.C. BHAKTIVEDANTA SWAMI
CARRIED BY
THE SCINDIA STEAM NAV. CO., LIMITED
BOMBAY
The sufferings of the entire human society can at once be brought under control simply by individual practice of "Bhaktiyoga" a simple and easy process of chanting the holy Name of God. Every country, every nation and every community throughout the world has some conception of the holy Name of God and as such either the Hindus or the Mohammedans or the Christians every one can easily chant the holy Name of God in a meditative mood and that will bring about the required peace and good will in the present problematic human society.
Any enquiry in this connection will be gladly answered by Sri Swamiji.
The Hindus generally chant the holy Name of God in sixteen chain of transcendental sound composed of 32 alphabets as "Hare krishna, hare krishna, krishna krishna hare hare., Hare rama, hare rama, rama rama, hare hare." The Vedic literatures like the Upanisads and the Puranas do recommend chanting of the abovementioned sixteen holy Names at a stretch and Lord Sri Chaitanya, Who preached this cult of chanting the holy Name of God, gave special importance on these transcendental sounds. In this age of Kali or the age of hate, hypocrisy, corruption and quarrel, the only remedial measure is that every man should chant the holy Name of the Lord both individually and collectively.
The Glories of the holy Name have been described by Sri Chaitanya in His eight verses of "Siksastak" which run as follows:-
- Glory to the Sri Krishna Samkirtanam which cleanses the heart of all the dust accumulated for years together and thus the fire of conditional life of repeated birth and death is extinguished. Such Samkirtan movement is the prime benediction for the humanity at large because it spreads rays of the benediction—Moon. It is the life of transcendental knowledge, it increases the ocean of transcendental bliss and it helps to have a taste of the full nectarine for which always anxious we are.
- Oh my Lord! Your holy Name can alone render all benediction upon the living being and therefore you have hundreds and millions of Names like Krishna, Govinda etc. In these transcendental Names you have invested all your transcendental potencies and there is no hard and fast rules for chanting these holy Names. Oh my Lord! You have so kindly made easy approach to you by your holy Names but unfortunate as I am, I have no attraction for them.
- One can chant the holy Names of the Lord in an humble state of mind thinking himself as lower than the straw on the streets, tolerant more than the tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and being ready to offer all kinds of respects to others.
- Oh the Almighty Lord, I have no desire for accumulating wealth nor I have any desire to enjoy beautiful woman; neither I want any number of followers of mine. What I want only is that I may have your causeless devotional service in my life birth after birth.
- Oh the son of Maharaj Nanda, I am your eternal servitor and although I am so, some how or other I have fallen on the ocean of birth and death. Please therefore pick me up from the ocean of death and fix me up as one of the atoms of your lotus feet.
- Oh my Lord when shall my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing incessantly by chanting your holy Name? And when all the holes of hairs on my body will have erruptions by the recitation of your Name?
- Oh Govinda, feeling your separation, I am considering a moment as 12 twelve years or more than that and tears flowing down my cheeks like the torrents of rains. I am feeling all vacant in the world without your presence.
- I do not know any one except Krishna as my Lord and He shall remain as such even if he handles me roughly by His embrace or He may make me broken hearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything but he is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally.
Chanting of the holy Name of God is recommended for every one both for the mass of people and the class of people. Those who are scholars, philosophers, scientists, religionists and educated, may read the English version of SRIMAD BHAGWATAM by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami with particular attention to the purports appended with each and every verse.
They have appreciated the publication as follows:-
"At a time when not only the people of India but those of the west need the chastening quality of love and truth in a corrupting atmosphere of hate and hypocrisy, a work like this will have uplifting and corrective influence. What is God? He is truth, He is love. Even an atheist must accept the supremacy of those qualities and how much they are needed by the people of the world who have been tought to deny God and these qualities, do not require much emphasis."
"The author has attempted a tremendous task...A perusal will give us in the sample measure a knowledge of the original. The essence of Śrīmad Bhagwatam is the exposition of the Absolute Truth, we would recommend this book."
"The editor's vast and deep study of the subject and critical insight are reflected in these notes and."
"We have no doubt that with the publication of these volumes the rightful interpretations of the Bhagwatam, which has been the gift of Sri Chaitanya and His Goswami followers, has now been available to the English knowing world for the first time."
"The elaborate method is very helpful to the ardent student of Bhagwatam who lack in Sanskrit language. It is admitted in all hands that Bhagwatam is the most difficult text amongst the puranas. The author richly deserve the gratitude of the devotees for his pious learned labour of love."
"These volumes speak very highly of Swamiji's scholarship and specially of his love of cultural pursuits, when we look into the enormous labour and sacrifice in producing them single-handed and that too, at ripe old age of 68. We earnestly pray to the Almighty that He may spare Swamiji for all the years he may require to finish the Magnum opus of 60 volumes, and earn the love and gratitude of his fellowmen in pursuit of Divine Love and Grace, nay of the entire humanity."
"You have done a first class work and you desire the hearty commendations of every Indian every Hindu. Your deep and penetrating study of the subject and your philosophic insight are reflected in this book." etc. etc.