Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupada was, in addition to being a dear devotee of Lord Krishna, a living encyclopedia for his vast knowledge of the Vedic scriptures. Thus thousands and millions that flocked to hear him were able to have their doubts dispelled as to the true conceptions of the Absolute Truth. Śrīla A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, founder-ācārya of ISKCON, summed up the teachings of his spiritual master in a poem he wrote for his Vyāsa-pūjā: “Absolute is sentient Thou hast proved/ Impersonal calamity Thou hast moved/ This gives us a life/ Anew and fresh.”
Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura was a tireless speaker and writer, and he never stopped teaching the precepts of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu until the time of his passing in 1937. His speeches were not recorded mainly because his disciples, being eager to listen, didn’t draw their attention away to jot down notes. However, one magnanimous devotee and one of Śrīla Sarasvatī Prabhupāda’s dearest disciples, Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda Prabhu, sacrificed his own spiritual ecstasies to compile a number of his guru’s lectures and conversations and make them into books. The lectures in this book were originally taken down in shorthand by Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda Prabhu as he sat at the feet of his divine master. What a gift he has given us!
This book, Vaktṛtāvalī, consists of forty-three lectures presented in three sections. These are not essays written by disciples but Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda’s handwritten capturing of the lectures as they were given. The majority of them have appeared in the Gauḍīya, the official mouthpiece of the Gauḍīya Mission established by Śrīla Sarasvatī Prabhupāda. Śrīpāda Sundarānanda Vidyāvinoda was its chief editor.
People often think Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī’s words difficult to understand and shy away from reading them. However, a real seeker of the Absolute Truth will not limit him or herself because the language is difficult. And we know that even those who are illiterate can be blessed by such hearing.
Vaktrtavali is collection of lectures by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Thākura. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta was an uncompromising acarya famously known as lion-guru during his time. These lectures are great gift to the world and in especially at present time when people are mostly immersed in ignorance and often take what is irreligion to be religion and vice versa. This book is the need of a serious devotee and also dive deeply into various philosophical irregularities of bhakti that pervades the world. It trully establishes what is and what it not bhakti. The answer to a truthful seeker.
CONTENTS OF THE BOOK
Introduction
Philosophy
Address on Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā Day
Kāladharma, or The Nature of Time
Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda’s Contribution
Festival of Śrī Nanda Mahārāja
The Daughter of Vṛṣabhānu
The Appearance of Śrī Madhvācārya
The Place of Vaiṣṇava Philosophy in the World of Religion
Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura
Śrīpāda Īśvara Purī
Śrīla Jagadīśa Paṇḍita
The Present Yuga-dharma
Address on Vyāsa-pūjā day”
“Regarding Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana
Pāncarātrikī Dikṣā and the Conception Of Varṇa
Ātma-dharma, or the Propensity of the Soul, and Mental Speculation:
Śrī Caitanyadeva and His Teachings
Transcendental Religion And Mundane Religion
Puṣṭi Mārga
Pure devotion and Pseudo-devotion
The Soul’s Eternal Propensity
The Supremacy of Mankind
Śrīmatī Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī
Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda and Māyāvāda
Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda
Śrī Caitanya’s Compassion
Śrī Gaura’s Mercy and Krishna-saṅkīrtana
Religion For the Three Yugas and Kṛṣṇanāma kīrtana
The glorification of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam ” “on Śrī Vyāsa-pūja day
The Glories of Śrī Gaura’s Abode
Mahā-prasāda
Śrī Govinda
The Path of Śrī Rūpānuga-bhajana
Popularity and Truthfulness
About Śrī Baladeva
Śrī Krishna’s Appearance
The Vaiṣṇava
The Appearance of Śrī Sītādevī
The Truth About Śrīmad Bhāgavatam
The Service of Śrī Krishna
The Recitation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam on Vyāsa-pūjā Day
The Congregational Chanting of the Holy Name
The Eternality of Service to Hari”
