Foreword to Vaisnava Amrta

[Paramananda das]

I dedicate this book to the lotus feet of my beloved Gurudeva Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Goswami, to my eternal savior Srila Prabhupada without whom I would never have come to Krsna consciousness,I would not even know what it is.Especially this book is dedicated to Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
When I started writting this book I realized the standards given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has in some big parts been lost.For example what devotee knows that we have to fast on Radhastastami ? This has been lost to almost 1000 percent of devotees ,Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada taught 2 slokas : ekadasyam sahasrena yat phalam labhate narah Radha janma astami punyam tasmat satagu nadhikam :
Whatever result one can attain by fasting on 1000 ekadasis one hundred times greater results can be attained by fasting on Radhastami and Janmastami days Brahma Khanda of Padma Purana 7.8
Secondly :
Veda sastra anurakta ye tulasi vana palakah ,Radhastami vrata rata, vijneyas ce ta vaisnavah,Sri Krsna purato ye ca dipam ,Yacchanti Sraddhaya para nindam na kurvanti vijneyas te ca vaisnavah
Padma Purana ,Brahma Khanda 1.31.32
Those who are attached to studying Vedic literatures ,those who protect Tulsi forests .those who fast on Radhastami day ,those who offer a lamp to Krsna with good faith and those who do not critizise others are understood to be vaisnavas
Secondly Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada did not compromise on Gaudiya Vaisnavas having to chant 64 rounds daily ,so I have quoted so many things from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada to establish this siddhanta given by him.
In Caitanya Bhagavad we find Lord Caitanyas statement about chanting 100.000 holy names daily around 64 rounds daily they are centered for example around these verses :In Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Antya Khanda 9.121-122,
(121) prabhu bale,-"jana, 'lakshesvara' bali kare?
prati-dina laksha-nama ye grahana kare"
"Do you know who is a laksesvara? He is someone who chants one laksa or 100,000 holy names (64 rounds of the Hare Krishna maha-mantra) everyday."
(122) "se janera nama ami bali 'lakshesvara'
tatha bhiksha amara, na yai anya ghara."
"Lord Gauranga continued-I call such a person a laksheshvara. I only accept meals in such a person's house. I never go anywhere else."
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada has strongly commented on these slokas
Purport by Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:
shri gaurasundera balibena-"jini pratidina laksha-nama grahana karibena, tanharai grihe bhagavan sevita hana.
Shri Gaurasundera spoke as follows-"The Supreme Personality of Godhead accepts service only in the home of those who chant one hundred thousand names daily.
"bhagavan tanharai nikate bhoga-dravyadi grahana karena.
"The Lord accepts bhoga (foodstuffs) and other ingredients only from such personalities.
"jini laksha-nama grahana karena na, tahara nikate haite bhagavan naivedya svikara-dvara seva-saubhagya pradana karena na.
"Those who don't chant 100,000 names (64 rounds) daily, are never awarded the great fortune of rendering service to the Lord by offering Him naivedya (bhoga). This is because the Lord never accepts (svikara) their offerings.
Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:
"bhagavad-bhakta matrei pratyaha laksha-nama grahana karibena natuva vividha visaye asakta haiya bhagavad-seva karite asamartha haibena."
The Lord continued-"Those who consider themselves devotees of the Lord must compulsorily chant 100,000 names of Krishna everyday otherwise they will gradually but surely become attached to varieties of sense-objects and thus become incapable to rendering any kind of service to the Lord."
Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:
tajjanyai shri chaitanyadevera ashrita sakalai nyuna kalpe laksha-nama grahana kariya thakena. natuva gaurasunderera udeshya pradatta naivedya tini grahana karibena na.
(Shrila Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada continues) "Therefore all the devotees who have taken shelter of Lord Chaitanyadeva perform the chanting of a minimum of 100,000 names of Krishna daily as their first and primary duty. Because they know that if they don't do so then Lord Gaurasundera will never accept the very bhoga (naivedya) which they cook for Him daily.
hrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:
shri chaitanya bhaktagana abhaktera sahita sambhashana karena na. jini bhaktivyatita karma, jnana o anyabhilashara kathaya pradatta tahara sahita bandhutva karibe na.
"The devotees of Lord Shri Chaitanya never talk with such non-devotees. They never do friendship with those who are engaged in the cultivation of karma, jnana or other desires which are devoid of bhakti.
pratyah laksha-nama grahana na karile patita vyaktiganera visaya-bhoga pravritti vriddhi paya, takhana ara tahara shri gaurasunderarera seva karite pare na.
"Those who don't accept this vow of chanting 100,000 names daily, fall down even more although they were fallen in the first place (due to the contamination of Kali-yuga). Thus their propensity for enjoying the senses and sense-objects continually and steadily increases and ultimately they are not able to render any kind of service even to the most merciful Lord Gaurasundera.
lakshesvara vyatita gaura-bhaktira adarsa gaudiyajana kehai svikara karena na.
"This is the precise reason why the real Gaudiya-bhaktas do not accept any other ideal (adarsa) in Gaura-bhakti or Krishna-bhakti except the process of chanting 100,000 names of the maha-mantra daily.
Shrila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada:
adhapatita va adhapete gana eka-matra bhajana-sabda-vacya shri-nama-bhajane vimukhata-vasata laksha-nama grahana karibara parivarte anya bhajanera chalana korena, taddvara tahadera kona mangala haya na.
"Those spiritual aspirants who are already fallen or will fall down from spiritual life in the future are averse to this sole means of deliverance called nama-bhajana, which is the worship of the sound incarnation of God in the form of chanting 100,000 names of the the Holy Names daily. Coming under the sway of their averseness to chant laksha-nama daily, they duplicitously invent (chalana) other means of devotional service (bhajana) to justify their not chanting 100,000 names daily but it is to be clearly understood that by this action they will not achieve anything auspicious (mangala) in their spiritual life."
One of the third teachings that has got lost of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada is that Sri Advaita Acarya never had a beard though stated by various devotees including our Srila Prabhupada and Srila Narayana Maharaja .So I intend no offence in pointing out the short comings in this ,but this is to honor Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada and to establish the proper Siddhanta given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada and his father Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
So if no one else will appreciate what I have presented on these 3 important siddhantas Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura will bless me ,I live to get their blessings on my head ,and I know this is not jumbing over other authorities about simply helping establish the Siddhanta given by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Prabhupada that could not tolerate appasidhantas
nama om vishnu-padaya krishna-preshthaya bhu-tale
srimate bhaktisiddhanta-sarasvatiti namine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto His Divine Grace Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who is very dear to Lord Krishna, having taken shelter at His lotus feet.
sri-varshabhanavi-devi-dayitaya kripabdhaye
krishna-sambandha-vijnana-dayine prabhave namah
I offer my respectful obeisances to Sri Varshabhanavi-devi-dayita dasa [another name of Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati], who is favored by Srimati Radharani and who is the ocean of transcendental mercy and the deliverer of the science of Krishna.
madhuryojjvala-premadhya-sri-rupanuga-bhaktida
sri-gaura-karuna-sakti-vigrahaya namo ’stu te
I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, the personified energy of Sri Caitanya’s mercy, who deliver devotional service which is enriched with conjugal love of Radha and Krishna, coming exactly in the line of revelation of Srila Rupa Gosvami.
namas te gaura-vani-sri-murtaye dina-tarine
rupanuga-viruddhapasiddhanta-dhvanta-harine
I offer my respectful obeisances unto you, who are the personified teachings of Lord Caitanya. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. You do not tolerate any statement which is against the teachings of devotional service enunciated by Srila Rupa Gosvami.