some reviews of Srila Prabhupada's books (1)

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It is axiomatic that no book can be expected entirely to satisfy all its

potential readers. Here is one, Srimad-Bhagavatam, however, which can be

said to come remarkably close to that ideal. Clearly this book is intended

mainly for those who are interested in, or may become so, transcendental

science and, more specifically, in Krsna consciousness. For them it could

hardly be bettered, since the elaborate purports attached to each text

explain elegantly and lucidly and in every possible detail the underlying

meaning of the Sanskrit verses and their relevance to this increasingly

popular philosophical outlook. The work is at the same time no less

impressive to one who is a layman in the context of transcendental science.

A student of Sanskrit or a general linguist with only a smattering of the

language would gain much from going through this book and others in the set.

That this is so is the result of the way the texts are presented. Each text

in Devanagari is followed by an exact roman transliteration. This in turn

followed by an English transliteration of each separate word. After this

comes a translation in flowing English. The result is that with only a

modest amount of effort one can succeed in reading and understanding the

Sanskrit verses, and the experience is very rewarding. At the end of the

book is appended a goodly amount of further helpful material. There is a

glossary of important Sanskrit terms, a Sanskrit pronunciation guide, an

index of Sanskrit verses in the whole of the First Canto of

Srimad-Bhagavatam, and a general index to the First Canto. In other words,

we have here the ideal of what an edition of a Sanskrit text for a Western

audience should be.

 

As a native of India now living in the West, it has given me much grief to

see so many of my fellow countrymen coming to the West in the role of gurus

and spiritual leaders. Just as any ordinary man in the West becomes

conscious of Christian culture from his very birth, any ordinary man in

India becomes familiar with the principles of meditation and yoga from his

very birth. Unfortunately, many unscrupulous persons come from India,

exhibit their imperfect and ordinary knowledge of yoga, cheat the people

with their wares consisting of mantras, and present themselves as

incarnations of God. So many of these cheaters have come, convincing their

foolish followers to accept them as God, that those who are actually well

versed and learned in Indian culture have become very concerned and

troubled. For this reason I am very excited to see the publication of

Bhagavad-gita As It Is, by Sri A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srila

Prabhupada, from his very birth, was trained in the strict practice of

bhakti-yoga, and he appears in a succession of gurus that traces back to the

original speaking of Bhagavad-gita by Sri Krsna. His knowledge of Sanskrit

is impeccable. His penetration into the inner meaning of the text is

befitting only a fully realized soul who has indeed perfectly understood the

meaning of Bhagavad-gita. Personally, I intend to use this book in the

courses which I am directing by invitation of the Mexican government on the

language, culture, and philosophy of India. This authorized edition of the

Gita will serve a double purpose in Spanish-speaking countries. One, it will

help to stop the terrible cheating of false and unauthorized gurus and

yogis; and two, it will give an opportunity to Spanish-speaking people to

understand the actual meaning of Oriental culture.

 

>>> Ref. VedaBase => Morning Walk -- March 13, 1976, Mayapur