|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 6, 2009 14:03:06 GMT -6
On Monday, I finally laid my hands on the book by Shyamlal Goswami called Sri Sri Gaurasundara arthat Sri Krsnacaitanya Mahaprabhu Carita. It is in Bengali with frequent quotations from other Bengali texts and from some Sanskrit texts. It is essentially the Goswami's retelling in his own words of the life of Mahaprabhu. He says that he has drawn on the many traditional biographies for his account and has mixed where appropriate elements of the philosophy of the tradition. The book is beautifully printed, in tiny Bengali script, and covers 544 pages. it was published in 1907 by Bani Press. The Goswami's address is given in the book. It is #11 Nimu Goswami Lane, Calcutta. I wonder if any of his descendants still live there who might yet have copies of his books (wink, wink, hint, hint).
Subrataji, do you know anything about this Goswami and his family? Or, where that location may be in Kolkata? He is described in one of the books I have seen as in the lineage of Sri Nityananda, perhaps even in the family. I have to find that again and look at the exact wording.
Among his other works, I saw his edition of the Sat-sandarbha which was rather sparse compared to the other books I have seen. It was all done in Devanagari instead of Bengali script and had no notes or translation. It was clearly created for the specialist, not the ordinary reading public.
I was very proud that I appeared to have captured a book of Goswamiji's that was not in the BL. Well, yesterday I found out that that was a false pride. The BL has not one but two copies of that text it appears. Ah well.
Here are some of the chapter headings of Sri Sri Gaurasundara:
Gaudiya Vaisnava Sampradaya (What is the GVS)
Purvabhasa (Introduction)
Avatarana (Descent)
Avirbhava (Appearance)
Balyalila (Childhood sport)
Paugandalila (Boyhood sport)
Kisoralila (Adolescent sport)
Yauvanalila (Youthful sport)
Digvijayi parajaya (Defeat of the Conqueror)
Purva Banga Yatra (Trip to East Bengal)
Gayadhama yatra (Trip to Gaya)
Bhavantara (Transformation)
and so forth ...
It looks quite fascinating. If I have time I will translate some of the early sections for the symposium. It would be great to have copies of his works. He also did an edition of the Bhagavadgita with Baladeva's and Sridhara's comms. and his own comm. with word-for word paraphrasing and Bengali translation. He seems to also have done an edition of the Bhagavata with Sridahra's commentary. I think I have the Fourth Skandha of that at home.
Anyway, what a prodigious talent! More later.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 11, 2009 7:14:16 GMT -6
On Friday, I checked out Syamlal Goswami's edition of the Siddhanta-ratnam, Baladeva's introduction to his commentary on the Brahma-sutras. It is delightful. He has the full text and his own commentary and a detailed Bengali translation. Since this book is important for the second volume of Fundamentals of Vedanta, I have decided that I may as well get it copied. It will be expensive, but not as bad as I thought. I anticipate doing something similar with the good Goswami's edition of the Isa Upanisad which has Baladeva's comm, his own comm, Sankara's comm. and Anandagiri's comm. All those comms. and yet the book is under 60 pages.
I also looked at a very old book by a scholar named Anupanarayana Siromani. It was his commentary on the Brahma-sutras as well. I first noticed his name when I was searching the catalog of the Kolkata Sanskrit College years ago. He was listed as a Vedantin of the Caitanya school and dated around the end of the 18th century and beginning of the 19th. His commentary in the book I viewed on Friday did not give any explicit indication of his participation in the CV tradition except perhaps at the end where he argues that the sutras point to the worship of Param Brahma by which he seems to mean Sri Krsna. The commentary is rather short and to the point. The book was published in 1810 which makes it one of the earliest printings of a (potentially) Caitanyite text. It took me a while to get used to the type and so I need to examine it some more before I can be sure of its Caitanyite orientation.
I also started to translate the introduction to Sri Syamlal Goswami's book, Sri Krsna-lila. It is only about eight pages long, but the Bengali type is quite small. I will post that here once I have finished a sizable part of it.
|
|
|
|
Post by Sakhicharan Das on Oct 12, 2009 2:20:04 GMT -6
Nitai Dasji, thanks again for your interesting updates from your findings in the BL.  |
|
|
|
Post by Ldd on Oct 12, 2009 9:48:34 GMT -6
Though their brains are wired with science they somehow got an"intuition" that there is a thing called radha krishna you supposed to love ..... Strange happenings indeed !
So we're getting books, translations, forums.... good going guys... Keep doing the work for us.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ldd on Oct 12, 2009 9:50:21 GMT -6
grind out the books for us.. you toil... and we enjoy rasa...
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2009 13:24:39 GMT -6
Jay Nitai,
Just to inform Nitai das Ji , presently I am in US , to your neighbouring state AR for some of my professional work and would be here for couple of months. Would love to meet you if possible. I am in touch with JD though.
Subrata
|
|
|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 12, 2009 17:13:16 GMT -6
Subrataji,
There you are in the USA and here I am in the UK. Hopefully, we will be back before you depart. How long is your stay in the US? We are here until near the end of December.
|
|
|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 12, 2009 17:25:01 GMT -6
I still haven't made up my mind on the sectarian association of Sri Anupanarayana Siromani Bhattacarya. I keyed in his comm. on the first sutra today while at the BL. There is nothing that is specially connected to the CV tradition in it. I plan to type in his comm on the first four sutras and put it with a translation in an appendix of the third volume of Fundamentals of Vedanta. There is a passage at the back that may settle things. After completing the comm. he seems to express his own views on upasana and has specifically mentioned Sri Krsna, but I still cannot tell whether it is favorable or critical. It will require further study.
I am quite interested in these later Vaisnava writers like Radhamohan Goswami, of the Advaitavamsa, and perhaps this Anupanarayana Bhattacarya. They stand at a time when India was just beginning to adjust to the presence of the British and to the modern yuga. How did they regard the things going on around them? I understand from various readings that Radhamohan Goswami may have known personally some the British rulers of his day (last half of the 18th century).
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Oct 12, 2009 22:52:59 GMT -6
In that sense Sripad Rasik Mohan Vidyabhusan was quite a credible personality at that time who has insight both with modern/western phylosophy and Vedic/CV reality. He was an quite extraordinary researcher and talent. Presently I am going throuhg his commentry and translation of Sarbasambadini of Sri Jiva Goswami. It is always a experience to go through his writings.
Jay Nitai
|
|
|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 13, 2009 3:21:45 GMT -6
In that sense Sripad Rasik Mohan Vidyabhusan was quite a credible personality at that time who has insight both with modern/western phylosophy and Vedic/CV reality. He was an quite extraordinary researcher and talent. Presently I am going throuhg his commentry and translation of Sarbasambadini of Sri Jiva Goswami. It is always a experience to go through his writings. Jay Nitai Yes, I have several of his books including the one you are reading at present. I find him a fascinating and insightful scholar/bhakta of the tradition. Some day I hope to come out with a translation of one or more of his works. He is a bit later than the other two of whom I spoke before. He was a younger contemporary of Sri Shyamlal Goswami. The others, Sri Radhamohan Goswami (not to be confused with Radhamohan Thakur) and Sri Anupanarayana Bhattacharya were a hundred or more years earlier. |
|
|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 13, 2009 4:35:00 GMT -6
Though their brains are wired with science they somehow got an"intuition" that there is a thing called radha krishna you supposed to love ..... Strange happenings indeed ! So we're getting books, translations, forums.... good going guys... Keep doing the work for us. How about a little work from you, too! Why not post some of your writings and ruminations, Maharani. Why should we do all the work? |
|
|
|
Post by Nitaidas on Oct 13, 2009 5:23:03 GMT -6
When you say that "we create our own subjective realities inside ourselves" I must ask what creates us?We are all little micro-mano-bhavas (kamadevas and kamadevis) born from the mind of Adi Kamadeva/devi Sringar rasa is adi-rasa. Kama (Prem) is all that is. Prem is vastu. Vastu is prem. Humm. Suitably vague and mysterious. It is true that Kama is at the root of things and the Vedic and Upanisadic texts have reflected that admirably. But, what is Kama really? We need a phenomenological analysis of it to more truly understand it. We need to let it reveal itself to us, rather than impose ourselves on it. Why do we want things? |
|
|
|
Post by maasikdharma on Oct 14, 2009 14:06:41 GMT -6
Why do we want things?
I will muse that the nature of the jiva (and the nature of everything) is syntropy, rather than entropy, and that is why we desire.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ldd on Oct 16, 2009 8:30:48 GMT -6
Some time ago we heard that of the people here only about ten are initiated into vaisnava lineage. The recommendation is everyone should march to Radhakund to get initiated by baba to be able to represent the tradition.
So submissive innocent lambs grab the bait and rush to Radhakund for diksha. Come back and click on CV forum for “sanga” This “sanga” is a new something called “sane vaisnavism” because the other vaisnavas are certainly insane. This “sane vaisnavism” is I guess an adaption of Krishna culture that would appeal to a fragment of the population – the academic populace of Europe and America.
The motive is noble and I’m in accordance with it. Every one should benefit from Krishna.
But a sane “vaisnava” will not make a mockery of the wisdom and sentiments of baba, guru, Bhagwat gita, Bhagwat etc. He’s too humble to challenge those at least publicly, even though he may be internally confused at times. He is so focused on bhajan that Krishna illuminates his heart.
Like some people who are so confused and sick to death of their own existence, they come here pretending to be intellectual giants and incarnations of Darwin to try to win at least one admirer..
Though you are “sane” by today’s standards, I’m sorry to say you are not vaisnava. If you were honest you won’t hold on to this fraudulent claim. But you are not - you use the word vaisnava to attract people to join your cult. Doubtlessly you like Krishna. That is noble and admirable. You want to hear of Bhagwan, you even chant his name. You dabble in his philosophy. It’s wonderful, from my standpoint. But Krishna bars you from knowing the truth – and you remain buried in delusion. He says in Gita that this knowledge is meant for those with faith. You cannot wage a public battle against the wisdom of the sadhus and seers and call yourself devotee.
This asampradaya you are trying to form may attract a few people blinded by science, and I said ‘may’. But Iskcon has been making Krishna devotees out of university students worldwide, without having to make a mockery of sastra and guru. Iskcon actually make the devotees, Krishna is acting through them - face it. If you are arrogant, you cannot convince another arrogant – so you cannot convince anyone about Krishna in your circle. You pretend to guide and advise people coming out of Iskcon and GM. That’s all you can do.
You can broadcast evolution and Darwin mixed with a bit of Krishna all you want. But you are not vaisnava. Be honest now. Sanskrit scholars live billions of planets away from Krishna. He does not care for them, nor Bengali scholars.
There are bhakta Sanskritists elsewhere, who are adhere to vaisnava siddhanta. They have sites and blogs on the internet.
These here though they’re so called “properly initiated” do not represent the tradition. They are regular professionals with some academic knowledge of Krishna. They have absolutely no faith in Him. They are hopelessly inflated and come here to show off… Fame is their game.
|
|
|
|
Post by Ekantin on Oct 16, 2009 16:09:34 GMT -6
Does anyone else want to step up on the Friday Night soapbox and get something off their chests?
|
|
