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EDITORIAL July 15, 1999 VNN4305 Comment on this story Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika BY SWAMI B.G. NARASINGHA  EDITORIAL, Jul 15 (VNN) — A Book Commentary Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika has been compiled for the pleasure of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the followers of His disciplic succession known as the Gaudiya Vaishnava sampradaya. This publication presents the remarkable madhurya conception of gayatri as revealed by sastra, sadhus, and acharyas. When the contents of this book are examined by the serious readers, surely all will agree that the Gaudiya Vaishnava conception of gayatri is the summit of theistic thought. The recent publication "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika," now available at Mandala Publishing Group http://www.mandala.org, was released on Gaura Purnima day 1999 and was significantly blessed by His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktipramoda Puri Goswami Maharaja. Srila Puri Maharaja repeatedly called the new publication 'gupta-ratna-prakash,' which means 'A Manifestation of the Hidden Wealth of the Gaudiya Sampradaya.' For nearly one and one half hours a discussion regarding the gayatri publication was held with Srila Puri Maharaja. It was the main concern of Srila Puri Maharaja that the book did not contain any mental speculation. When His Divine Grace came to know that "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" contained the writings of Srila Viswanatha Cakravarthi Thakura, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, Srila Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja, and his humble self, Srila Bhaktipramoda Puri Maharaja, he was very pleased. The contents of each and every chapter and its author, including the chapters authored by contemporary acharyas such as Sripad Bhaktinandan Swami Maharaja and Sripad Bhaktivedanta Tripurari Maharaja were pointed out to Srila Puri Maharaja thus invoking his transcendental pleasure. Commenting many times that the "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" was the wealth of the sampradaya, His Divine Grace also said that it was better to reveal the hidden truths given by our acharyas rather than to find the defects in others. (Video footage of this event will soon be available for the devotees to order along with other transcendental videos from Mandala Publishing Group in San Francisco. http://www.mandala.org/ ) Some doubt has arisen in the minds of a few devotees who were not present in Jagannatha Puri on Gaura Purnima day to the effect that they have speculated that Srila Puri Maharaja would not authorize such a publication as "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" - what to speak of bless it. It is a fact that Srila Puri Maharaja did not originally commission myself to compile this book, but upon receiving the finished publication he was very pleased and placed it many times to his head with great reverence for its content. Witness to this event were at least ten or more of Srila Puri Maharaja's intimate disciples and followers. Contrary to the opinions of uninformed persons, "Sri gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" was a welcome contribution to the existing library of transcendental literature at Sri Gopinatha Gaudiya Matha. The inspiration to compile "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" came to us from our divine master Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada by whose grace we heard the sacred meaning of sri-gayatri from Srila Bhaktirakshaka Sridhar Deva Goswami Maharaja. Throughout the ages the acharyas of the Gaudiya-sampradaya have written here and there on each and every aspect of sri-gayatri. Printing the gayatri-mantras in various publications our acharyas have given their commentary in Sanskrit, Bengali, and English. The only difference between Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika and that of the previous publications by our acharyas is that all the writings and references of previous acharyas are now published in one book. The four additional chapters of Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika by contemporary acharyas are also cent per cent bona fide as per the conception of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. Due to a poor fund of knowledge some persons have commented that I have become the mantra-guru of anyone who reads the "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" - this they attribute to the fact that my humble self was the main person responsible for this publication. However, such a statement or conception from my critics is absolutely foolish. One does not become initiated by reading mantras in a book. Besides, it is to be expected that whoever reads "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" has already taken mantra-diksa from a bona fide spiritual master. Otherwise what interest would they have in such an elevated topic? If one has already received mantra-diksa from a bona fide guru then one might further question the necessity of reading "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika." Here, my reply in the form of a question, is quite simple, "If you already know that Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead why do you continue to read the Srimad Bhagavatam?" It is obvious - those who are attached to Krishna always relish hearing about Krishna from bona fide sources. If one does not want to displease his spiritual master then it is always advisable to take permission from the guru before reading any particular book. The duty of the spiritual master is to guide the disciple as to what books to read and what books not to read. Not everyone may recommend Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika to be read by their disciples and I do not have a problem with that - it is to be expected. I would expect though that the guru himself should first read Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika before making any hasty judgement. When the consideration is made from the Absolute stand point then I am confident that Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika will become a highly recommended reading material for both gurus and disciples alike. Sometimes lusty persons who simply chase after sense gratification and keep the company of unchaste women want to criticize the preaching of a sannaysi, but factually such persons should try to control their senses before they venture to find fault with others. The enemy is 'within' not 'with others.' Actually those who are criticizing "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" have obviously never read it. If they have read it and they still want to criticize it, then they must be blinded by their envious nature. Otherwise such persons would immediately understand that this book is filled with divine instructions and revelations on the Gaudiya conception of sri-gayatri, that which has been revealed by our self-realized acharyas and that the book is thus beneficial for all devotees of the Supreme Lord. Everything stated in "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" is par-excellent siddhanta in the line of Sri Rupa-Saraswati. In most cases those who are criticizing "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" would do well to take lessons from it. In South India both the Ramanuja-sampradaya and the Madva-sampradaya have published extensive literature in Sanskrit, Tamil, Kannada, and English propagating their respective conceptions of sri-gayatri. Not to mention that the Shankara-sampradaya, whom we differ with extremely, has done the same. We of course side with Ramanuja and Madhva-acharya - that the worship of Vishnu/Narayana is the object of gayatri meditation, but we again differ with both these sampradayas when we say that Krishna is Supreme. Sometimes the Ramanujas or the Madhva-sampradaya will give us some credit regarding the divinity of Krishna but as for the divinity of Radharani, neither of these sampradayas will concede to the conception of the Gaudiyas. The Gaudiya conception that Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Goddess of Fortune is based on Srimad Bhagavatam and this is certainly most authoritative. However a member of another Vaishnava sampradaya will say that if the Bhagavatam proclaims that Radharani is the Supreme Goddess of Fortune then you must be able to prove this statement by explaining your conception through the meaning of gayatri, because Bhagavatam is the purport of gayatri. Thus you must be able to explain how gayatri ultimately worships Srimati Radharani or Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. gayatri-bhasya-rupo 'sau vedartha-paribrmhitah "The commentary of the brahma-gayatri is also there in Srimad Bhagavatam and fully expanded with all Vedic knowledge." This is mainly what Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika does - it extracts the conception from the heart of Gayatri, that Srimati Radharani is the Supreme Goddess of fortune and that Her Divine Service is the supreme goal of life. Knowing how to explain the Gaudiya conception through the meaning of gayatri will thus enable one to establish Gaudiya-siddhanta as the summit of theistic thought - at least that is in the circles of educated and learned transcendentalists. gayatri-muralista-kirtana-dhanam radha-padam dhimahi "Gayatri being the flute song of Sri Krishna, the gayatri thus only sings of the glories of Srimati Radharani." Without a proper conception of sri-gayatri the chanting of the mantra is almost a useless labor. The more exact one's conception of sri-gayatri is, then the more focused one's meditation on the mantras will be. Therefore Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika is an essential literature for all those devotees desiring progress on the path of self-realization (particularly for those who are limited to the English language). If on the other hand you have heard the Gaudiya conception of sri-gayatri from the lotus lips of sri-guru, then although the "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" will remain a nectar literature for you, it may not be essential. But the fact is that even amongst those who sometimes give mantra-diksa, especially in the western countries, hardly one in ten have heard the purport of sri-gayatri from our acharyas. Therefore even a guru who gives mantra-diksa will find "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika" a useful and enlightening literature. When the guru himself better understands the meaning of sri-Gayatri then he can better enthuse the potency of the mantras into the hearts of his deserving disciples. It may also be briefly mentioned here that among the many thousands of devotees in western and eastern countries who have received mantra-diksa, a few hundred of them have received the gopi-bhava-mantra at the time of accepting sannyasa. Sadly not only are many initiated devotees lacking in the proper conception of sri-gayatri but the meaning of the sannyasa-mantra is also widely unknown - even among those sannyasis who are preaching the glories of the sankirtan movement all over the world. Again I remind our readers that without a proper conception of a mantra, it is next to impossible for one to receive the fruits of such mantras. If one has not heard the meaning of the sacred mantras from the lotus lips of his guru-deva then one must humbly approach the guru for such divine instruction. In the unfortunate case that the guru is himself unaware of the meaning of the mantras, then the disciple should seek out a qualified siksa-guru and receive divya-jnana, divine knowledge, from him. The fact that many devotees chant sri-gayatri and even sannyasa-mantra with little or no proper conception was indeed an unsettling thought which eventually led us to the determination to publish "Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika - Illuminations on the Essential Meaning of Sri Gayatri." We have brought out this publication not to become the guru of everyone, as our critics have insinuated, but we have brought out this publication to serve those who are indeed worthy of service and to widely broadcast the Gaudiya conception of sri-gayatri to the whole world as the summit of theistic thought. Indeed the Gaudiya-acharyas are the jagat-gurus, the spiritual masters of the whole world - some realize this while others do not! We kindly request our readers to put aside any considerations that might arise based on society consciousness, and even the consciousness of ami-guru-jagat-guru, which spring from ignorance of the Absolute Truth, and order your copy of Sri Gayatri Mantrartha Dipika today! Available online at: http://www.mandala.org/ [soon with secure server shopping cart] Discover the "Hidden Wealth of the Gaudiya Sampradaya" - it is blessed from above! Gaura Haribol! About the Author  Other Stories by this AuthorComment on this story Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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