Sri Krishna Caitanya is perhaps the best example the world has seen of devotional ecstasy in love of God. He was a towering figure of golden complexion from whose lotus eyes hot tears of spiritual rapture poured constantly—a golden mountain erupting in ecstasy, its lava consuming everything in its path. He melted hearts as he heralded the holy name of Sri Krishna, swooning, dancing, and distributing the method to his spiritual madness— Sri Krishna sankirtana.
The eight stanzas of Siksastakam detail the spiritual practice of Sri Krishna sankirtana and the steps it takes its practitioner through in pursuit of spiritual perfection. Poetic and spiritually profound, these eight stanzas constitute the entire literary legacy of Sri Caitanya—an open letter of love of God that has the potential to drown humanity in an unprecedented flood of spiritual emotion.
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08.11.2010
One thing that sets this book apart from the others and makes it unique—and indispensible to progressive Gaudiya vaisnavas—is its weaving of essential elements of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Sri Sanmodana-bhasya, Bhajana-rahasya, and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati’s Vivrtti, as well as of commentary from earlier Gauòiya acaryas, especially Srila Jiva Gosvami and Srila Visvanath Cakravarti Thakura, into a rich, poetic tapestry that more fully reveals the benefits of Sri Krsna sankirtana, depicts aspects of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s inner life, and helps sadhakas better cultivate and measure the growth of their own inner lives.
The tapestry’s border ties the entire work together by framing Mahaprabhu’s eight verses as a confession offered to Ramananda Raya and Svarupa Damodara, a confession to what may be the greatest caper ever pulled: stealing the emotional life of Srimati Radharani. The progressively profound exploration of the verses themselves takes us on a journey into the depths of Sri Krsna sankirtana, revealing along the way connections between the benefits of saìkirtana previewed in the first verse and the progressive stages of bhakti which Srila Rupa
Gosvami describes in Sri Bhaktirasamrta-sindhu, beginning with the initial faith that opens us to the association of vaisnavas and culminating in different stages of prema.
Swami writes that this book is written mostly for those familiar with Gaudiya vaisnavism, with an eye to exploring the ocean that is Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s Siksastakam. As with any diving expedition, each member will appreciate the tour according to his or her experience and skill. And as a skilled guide, Swami Tripurari helps show his charges how and where to find wonders previously unseen, perhaps even unimagined. I hope everyone who is serious about plumbing the depths of Sri Krsna nama will take advantage of the treasure that is Swaài B. V. Tripurari’s Siksastakam of Sri Caitanya. This is certainly a book that I will always carry with me.