JANUARY 8, 2011 BY SACCITANANDA108
Bhaktisiddhanta’s Opinion On What Books To Read
– by Maha Mantra das –
“All the devotees connected with the Krishna consciousness movement must read all the books that have
been translated (the Caitanya-caritamrta, Srimad-Bhagavatam, Bhagavad-Gita and others); otherwise,
after some time, they will simply eat, sleep and fall down from their position. Thus they will miss the
opportunity to a ain an eternal, blissful life of transcendental pleasure.” Srila Prabhupada’s purport,
Madhya 25.279
Haribol Prabhus. Jaya Prabhupada.
I’ve been reading since the dissappearance day festival of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada, a
book in rough form consisting of mainly interviews Bhakti Vikash Swami made with Jyotishekhara
Prabhu (disciple of Bhaktisiddhanta-now left the planet some few years ago, recently).
In this long interview, there are some interesting passages about Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s views on
which books to read and how much of each one should read. It makes for nice reading. I hope you like
it.
ys Mahamantra das
here goes..
The last time Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada left Puri, shortly before his disappearance,
after following the kartika vows there, he was leaving in his car from the Math, when one disciple of his
came and said, “What shall I do now that you are leaving.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada
said, “Hear the Bhagavat daily in the Math.” That was his advice.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada read both Caitanya Caritamrta and Caitanya Bhagavata 108
times and told others to do likewise, expecting everyone to do that. Of course, it’s doubtful if anyone
did, but the idea was meant to read again and again and absorb the mind in Gauranga. Just as
Mahaprabhu liked to hear the stories of Dhruva and Prahlada Maharaja. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Prabhupada said to read Caitanya Bhagavata first then Caitanya Caritamrta, and then S.B. The reason
being that C.B is very easy reading for Bengali people because it has no difficult philosophy and is
mostly lila. Caitanya Caritamrta is also very a ractive with some very difficult sections also. In the
Srimad Bhagavatam the language is difficult Sanskrit.
(In a similar vein-Just like Srila Prabhupada recommended our ISKCON devotees to read Krsna book).
Once, when Jyotisekhara was new in the Math, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada asked him if
he was reading Caitanya Bhagavata, when he said “No” he told him he should read it early in the
morning, before mangal arati, at 5.00am * (Footnote: Jyotisekhara said it would be difficult for him to
read so early, because he had a bad cough). “Starting from tomorrow, you read from 4.00am -5.00am.
Read it clearly and loudly and it will clear any cough in your throat.” Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati
Prabhupada said the Caitanya Bhagavata and Caitanya Caritamrta, even though in Bengali verse, are full
of all sastric conclusions, and he recommended them, along with Srimad Bhagavatam especially the
sections on Dhruva Maharaja, Prahlada-charitra, the story of Prahlada, and Kapiladeva’s instructions).
He recommended all of these to be read 100 times.
(For the simple Bengali public) He did not recommend reading the gita and Srimad Bhagavatam, but
Caitanya Bhagavata, except learned scholars, whom he would recommend to read the gita and Srimad
Bhagavatam. For the ordinary Bengali he recommended Caitanya Bhagavata and Krsna Prema
Tarangani, a Bengali verse edition of Srimad Bhagavatam by Bhagavatacarya, a disciple of Lord
Caitanya. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said that there were four books that every
Gaudiya Vaishnava should read: Chaitanya Bhagavat, by Vrndavan Das Thakur, Dasa mula siksa, by
Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Sri Krsna Bhajanamrta, by Narahari Sarkara and Prema Bhakti Chandrika, by
Naro ama Das Thakur.
He said that Chaitanya Bhagavat should be read 100 times. Gaudiya Vaishnava scholars generally
consider Chaitanya-Charitamrta to be the most important biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, even
more so than Chaitanya Bhagavat, in as much as it deals with: (a) the philosophy of Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu in great detail and (b) the highest ecstacies of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, which areb refered
to only somewhat in Chaitanya Bhagavat.
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada himself would generally explain philosophy very deeply,
but he said that Chaitanya Bhagavat is more important than Chaitanya-charitamrta for the common man
because it is a lila-grantha. Without describing so much about philosophy, it describes the lila of
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and is therefore easy for the common man to follow and understand the
philosophy, even though Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada himself mostly explained
philosophy, he said that philosophy is only for the greatly learned people, and for the common men
Chaitanya Bhagavat is more important, so he said, “Read Chaitanya Bhagavat from time to time.”
If anyone came to him he would ask them if they had read Chaitanya Bhagavat. He often asked people
this, including non-devotees. He recommended that for ordinary people, the first Vaishnava literature
they read be Chaitanya Bhagavat. This was of course, because he was preaching mostly in Bengal and
Orissa, so this was Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada’s special advice for them. He
recommended to everyone to first read Chaitanya Bhagavat, then Prema Bhakti Chandrika, then Srimad
Bhagavatam. He recommended that Prema Bhakti Chandrika be translated and published and
distributed in different languages of the world. He said that in Prema Bhakti Chandrika all of the
siddhantas of the Goswamis were expressed.
He told the sannyasis and brahmacaris, “Don’t keep many books with you. Don’t have big big libraries:
Just three books. Three or four books are sufficient.”
(N.B. If you can read books in the original script, then even large books become less volumous, non-the-
less it’s be er a few books studied with more concentration, then a big library studied less).
Once, in Dhaka, he told Sundarananda Vidyavinoda to give a series of lectures on the Gita in colleges.
Although generally he would have people go to the Bhagavatam or Vaishnava literatures
immediately. Of course the Gita is also a Vaishnava literature that is considered to be for beginners.
Those books which deal exclusively with Bhakti which are not used by other schools as the Gita is; that
means the Chaitanya Bhagavat, as we discussed, Prema Bhakti Chandrika, Srimad Bhagavatam. These
books Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada recommended people to go to directly.
However, we should always remember that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada was preaching
in Orissa and Bengal, where most of the people who came to him already had some background, or at
least some understanding of Vaishnava philosophy. His understanding was that the Gita was for the
people in varnasrama; karmis, jnanis, yogis; then they may come to Bhakti. But in the case of the people
amongst whom he was preaching, he wanted them to take directly to Bhakti (don’t get hung-up). Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada was so strict that Jyotisekhara recalled that in the time of Srila
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada in the Gaudiya Math they had never seen the Rasa-grantha. That
means that the books dealing with the intimate rasa pastimes of Radha and Krsna, such as Gita-
Govinda, Govinda-lila-amrta, etc. His rule was not to read rasa-grantha. Even in the Chaitanya-
charitamrta there are some sections which describe the feelings of rasa that Radharani is expressing for
Krsna. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada said to his disciples, “Don’t read this section. It’s not
for you. You are not at this stage!” Only one or two disciples who had been given Manjari svarup were
allowed to read it, but not publicly, only privately to themselves.
Conversation, 24 January, 1977: “My guru maharaja Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada used to
say that,
When our members become sahajiyas, they will be more dangerous.'”
Those who are outside and are sahajiyas, we know their position, they are not following any correct
siddhanta or any proper acharya. So we know they are sahajiyas, and we avoid their association. But if
someone, in the name of being a follower the proper acharya, if he’s also a sahajiya, if our own men
become sahajiyas, in the guise of being bona fide followers of a proper acharya, then they are more
dangerous, because, in the name of doing the right thing, they will be misleading people into doing the
wrong thing.
