Sri Brhad-Bhagavatamrta: Srila Sanatana Gosvami (Part 2 Volume II)

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The importance of Brhad-bhagavatamrta is described in the Sri Caitanya-caritamrta (Antya 4.218-19): Srila Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami collected many revealed scriptures, and from the evidence in those scriptures, and from the evidence in those scriptures they excavated all the lost sites of pilgrimage. Thus they established temples for the worship of Lord Krsna. Srila Sanatana Gosvami compiled the Brhad-bhagavatamrta. from this book one can understand who is a devotee, what is the process of devotional service, and who is Krsna, the Absolute Truth.

In a purport, Srila Prabhupada wrote: Sri Sanatana Gosvami Prabhu, the teacher of the science of devotional service, wrote several books, of which the Brhad-bhagavatamrta is very famous; anyone who wants to know about the subject matter of devotees, devotional service and Krsna must read this book.

In the first part of Brhad-bhagavatamrta, Narada Muni sets out on a quest to find the person or persons who have received the mercy of Lord Krsna to the greatest degree. This quest leads Narada to the heavenly planets, the abodes of Brahma and Siva, the palace of the Pandavas, and finally to Dvaraka, where Lord Krsna was residing. It was there that Narada Muni came to the conclusion that the residents of Vrndavana were the foremost recipients of the mercy of the Lord's mercy.

In this second part of Brhad-bhagavatamrta, a cowherd boy from Govardhana Hill, Gopa-kumara, narrates to a brahmana the story of his extensive travels. After being initiated into the chanting of a ten-syllable mantra of Lord Madana-Gopala, Gopa-kumara began his travels throughout the universe and beyond the universe, in search for the ultimate goal of his life. This quest took him to Svargaloka, Tapoloka, the coverings of the universe, Sivaloka, and Vaikuntha, Ayodhya, and Dvaraka, before he ultimately reached Goloka.

In this second volume of the second part of Brhad-bhagavatamrta, both the Mathura brahmana and Gopa-kumara revive their dormant eternal relationship with Lord Krsna, being reinstated in their original, transcendental forms. We see that the Lord had been very anxious for Gopa-kumara to come back to Him in the spiritual sky. At the time of being reunited in Vaikuntha, the Lord had said, "Dear friend, somehow you passed many births without coming to see Me. Hoping that in this, in this, in this, in this birth you would turn to Me, I danced as a fool. Brother, I could not find a pretext to bring you to my abode and still protect the ancient rules of religion."

This is one of the things that no other literature I know of reveals to us-what it is like for the fallen conditioned should to be reunited with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and what the Lord Himself experiences at the time of reunion. It appears that, although there are unlimited parts and parcels of the Lord, when he is reunited with a soul that had been absent due to being entangled in the cycle of repeated birth and death in the material world, He takes it as a very great gain.

Another very significant perspective we get in this great literature is how the pastimes of Gloka in the spiritual world are going on. The author explains how the pastimes of Goloka are eternal, and as they reoccur again and again, the residents of Vraja take them to be ever-new, having completely forgotten their previous experience. This, the chastising of the Kaliya serpent, for example, goes on eternally.

This English rendering by Kusakratha Prabhu is very poetic and relishable, making the story come to life, while at the same time giving one vivid clarity of meaning. In this third volume of Brhad-bhagavatamrta, Kusakratha Prabhu has extracted only brief parts of the author's Dig-darsini commentary. It was a great pleasure for me to go through this book and I am confident that you will have a similar experience.

Back of the Book

Glory to He who is a great ocean of many sweetness, who is scented with the fragrance of youth, and who, in the form of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, descended (to this world) to give pure love for His own lotus feet and to personally taste the perfected eternal love felt by the gopis.