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Sacred Preface


Swami B.V.Tripurari


Sri Caitanya and his four principal associates, known collectively as the Panca-tattva, are the subject of a robust body of sacred narratives and philosophical texts dating from the sixteenth century into the present. Central to this literary contribution is Sri Caitanya-caritamrita, which was instrumental in establishing an orthodox doctrine of Gaudiya Vedanta. Exactly who Sri Caitanya is and what he taught is elucidated in the pages of the text.

Sacred Preface is an extended commentary on the auspicious invocation—mangalacarana—of Krsnadasa Kaviraja’s Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. Krsnadasa inserted his own commentary on this fourteen-verse invocation into the body of his hagiography, and this elaboration on the significance of his invocation no doubt served the Gaudiya community well. Much of the book’s philosophy and theology is packed into this commentary, and it thus sets a philosophical stage on which the drama of the life and lila of Sri Caitanya is played out.

Sacred Preface, written over five hundred years after Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, is a testament to the vitality of Krsnadasa’s text, as it explores the implications of Krsnadasa’s invocatory verses and auto-commentary from the perspective of a modern practitioner.

Available at Darshan Press
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  1. 160507 Sacred Preface Katha: And the Golden Lord BlushedHillsborough, NC on May 7, 2016
  2. 160506 Sacred Preface Katha: The Homeless Comfort of Kaviraja KrishnadasaHillsborough, NC on May 6, 2016
  3. 160501 Sacred Preface Release Festival, Talk 3: Bhakti-Tattva As Sri GadadharaAnanda Ashrama, Saragrahi, NC on May 1, 2016
  4. 160430 Sacred Preface Release Festival, Talk 2: Srila Krishnadasa's Panca-TattvaAnanda Ashrama, Saragrahi, NC on April 30, 2016
  5. 160429 Sacred Preface Release Festival, Day 1: The Effort of Holding the RopeAnanda Ashrama, Saragrahi, NC on April 29, 2016
  6. 140726 The Sacred Preface of Caitanya-Caritamrta, Lecture 6: The Wondrous Dispensation of Sri Sri Gaura NitaiPoland on July 26, 2014
  7. 140725 The Sacred Preface of Caitanya-Caritamrta, Lecture 5: Krishna Is Svayam Bhagavan, Mahaprabhu Is KrishnaPoland on July 25, 2014
  8. 140724b The Sacred Preface of Caitanya-Caritamrta, Lecture 4: In Like A Needle, Out Like Balarama's PlowPoland on July 24, 2014
  9. 140724a The Sacred Preface of Caitanya-Caritamrta, Lecture 3: Sri Sri Gaura Nitai, the Sun And the MoonPoland on July 24, 2014
  10. 140723b The Sacred Preface of Caitanya-Caritamrta, Lecture 2: Three Perspectives On the GuruPoland on July 23, 2014
  11. 140723a The Sacred Preface of Caitanya-Caritamrta, Lecture 1: Three Perspectives On LilaPoland on July 23, 2014

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