Bhajana Rahasya excerpts (Introduction)


I first did the translation work on Bhaktivinoda Thakur's Bhajana Rahasya in 2002 on behalf of Mandala Publishers, which was the publishing arm of Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj and the Gopinath Gaudiya Math, the current Acharya of which is Sripada Bhakti Bibudh Bodhayan Maharaj.



They gave me a great opportunity to study this book again in depth, since this book played an important part in my own spiritual life and progress. Once again I have to show my great gratitude to the Gaudiya Math and its branches. As it happened, this book and Harinama-chintamani, which I also worked on at around the same time, were never published. Recently through the intercession of a couple of ISKCON sannyasis who had seen the earlier work on these books I had done, recommended to Srila Bodhayana Maharaj that he should publish them. Bodhayan Maharaj agreed and so for the past month I have been revising my work and upgrading it, and with Bhajana Rahasya especially making additions.

I thought that I would give a few samples so that the devotees can see the form that this new edition of Bhajana Rahasya will take. For the sake of those who do not know this book, I will start by giving my introduction. The actual book itself includes the Foreword to the first Gaudiya Math edition of 1927, written by Prabhupada Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, as well as the preface of Srila Bhakti Promode Puri Maharaj from the first Chaitanya Gaudiya Math edition (1994) and Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirth Maharaj's preface to the second CGM edition (1996). These prefatory remarks are all very important and should be read, but I will not post here.




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