Krsna: The Supreme Personality of Godhead - Hardcover

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0892133333 ISBN 13: 9780892133338

Publisher: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, 2008

Synopsis

Since time immemorial, yogis, sages, and mystics have forsaken the pleasures of the ordinary world and gone to secluded places to meditate, eager to attain even a momentary vision of Lord Sri Krsna. To help the realization and remembrance of those who wished to fully absorb their consciousness in Him, Sri Krsna descended to earth from His transcendental abode five thousand years ago and revealed His eternal spiritual pastimes. The great sage Vyasadeva carefully recorded those pastimes in his Sanskrit writings, headed by Srimad-Bhagavatam, the crown jewel of all Vedic literature. "Krsna" is Srila Prabhupada's summary study of the Bhagavatam's essence -- its Tenth Canto -- and is thus the first comprehensive exposition in English of those extraordinary events. These stories transport the reader from the mundane and commonplace, beckoning him to participate in a miraculous journey to a transcendental realm beyond space and time, a realm where everything and everyone lives in the blissful light of the Supreme Absolute, an eternal transcendental youth -- Lord Sri Krsna, the ultimate object of knowledge and the supreme goal of life. This one-volume edition of Krsna, The Supreme Personality of Godhead will inspire the sincere reader to ever-new levels of spiritual experience each time he or she opens its covers.

About this title

About the Author

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada appeared in this world in 1896 in Calcutta, India. He first met his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami, in Calcutta in 1922. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, a prominent religious scholar and the founder of sixty-four Gaudiya Mathas (Vedic institutes) in India, liked this educated young man and convinced him to dedicate his life to teaching Vedic knowledge. Srila Prabhupada became his student and, in 1933, his formally initiated disciple. At their first meeting Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati requested Srila Prabhupada to broadcast Vedic knowledge in English. In the years that followed, Srila Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-gita, assisted the Gaudiya Matha in its work, and, in 1944, started Back to Godhead, an English fortnightly magazine. Single-handedly, Srila Prabhupada edited it, typed the manuscripts, checked the galley proofs, and even distributed the individual copies. The magazine is now being continued by his disciples in the West. In 1950 Srila Prabhupada retired from married life, adopting the vanaprastha (retired) order to devote more time to his studies and writing. He traveled to the holy city of Vrndavana, where he lived in humble circumstances in the historic temple of Radha- Damodara. There he engaged for several years in deep study and writing. He accepted the renounced order of life (sanyasa) in 1959. At Radha-Damodara, Srila Prabhupada began work on his life's masterpiece: a multivolume commentated translation of the eighteen-thousand-verse Srimad-Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana). He also wrote Easy Journey to Other Planets. After publishing three volumes of the Bhagavatam, Srila Prabhupada came to the United States, in September 1965, to fulfill the mission of his spiritual master. Subsequently, His Divine Grace wrote more than fifty volumes of authoritative commentated translations and summary studies of the philosophical and religious classics of India. When he first arrived by freighter in New York City, Srila Prabhupada was practically penniless. Only after almost a year of great difficulty did he establish the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, in July of 1966. Before he passed away on November 14, 1977, he had guided the Society and seen it grow to a worldwide confederation of more than one hundred asramas, schools, temples, institutes, and farm communities. Srila Prabhupada also inspired the construction of several large international cultural centers in India. The center at Sridhama Mayapur is the site for a planned spiritual city, an ambitious project for which construction will extend over many years to come. In Vrndavana are the magnificent Krsna-Balarama Temple and International Guesthouse, gurukula school, and Srila Prabhupada Memorial and Museum. There is also a major cultural and educational center in Bombay. Major centers are planned in Delhi and in a dozen other important locations on the Indian subcontinent. Srila Prabhupada's most significant contribution, however, is his books. Highly respected by scholars for their authority, depth, and clarity, they are used as textbooks in numerous college courses. His writings have been translated into over fifty languages. The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, established in 1972 to publish the works of His Divine Grace, has thus become the world's largest publisher of books in the field of Indian religion and philosophy. In just twelve years, despite his advanced age, Srila Prabhupada circled the globe fourteen times on lecture tours that took him to six continents. Yet this vigorous schedule did not slow his prolific literary output. His writings constitute a veritable library of Vedic philosophy, religion, literature, and culture.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0892133333
• ISBN 13: 9780892133338
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 832