Overview
The following is the preface to the Upadeśāmṛta of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī with the illuminations of Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja by Śrīpāda Bhakti kiśora Āraṇya Mahārāja.
Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto my initiating spiritual master, Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda, who rescued me from the ocean of repeated birth and death, and who established within me the understanding of what is what in relation to my ultimate prospect – love of God. It was he who guided us to the lotus feet of Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣaka Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja, who out of his causeless mercy, gave us shelter and protected us after the calamitous reactions that took place after the departure of Śrīla Prabhupāda. It was Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja who refined and enhanced our conception of divinity. What Śrīla Prabhupāda gave us in his books, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja drew out the essence of those instructions and imparted them to the Vaiṣṇava world, both by practical and personal directives to all that came to hear from him.
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī penned this great and formidable treatise, Upadeśāmṛta, a practical guide on how to proceed in bhakti step by step, beginning with sense, mind and emotional control, enabling one to move towards the highest level of devotional sentiments in line with the maidservants of Gāndharvā Śrī Rādhā, the topmost servant of Śrī Govindadeva.
Inspired from deep within, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja gives his clear and spontaneous, inspirational śikṣā on each and every verse penned by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, who is none other than Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. These clear and illuminating revelations prove that Sarasvatī Ṭhākura saw in Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja a person qualified to carry on the proper conception of divinity, just as Mahāprabhu Himself considered Rūpa Gosvāmī to be the most qualified person to receive and elucidate His directives.
The explanations spoken by Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja to these eleven verses are taken from a compilation of various discussions with disciples of His Divine Grace Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda over a period of seven years.
It was the arduous sevā of our dear friend and godbrother, Śrīpāda Bhakti Gaurava Narasiṅgha Mahārāja (Jagat-Guru Svāmī) along with his dear disciples who extracted the relevant śikṣā and correlated it to the appropriate verses of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī that makes this exceptional treatise of devotion an absolutely necessary addition to ones progressive march towards the ultimate goal of life – service in the line of Śrī Śrī Gāndharvikā-Govindasundara as propounded by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
May the readers of this work be blessed by the compassionate hand of our Guardians in order that that they may give proper and clear directives to all that they meet, so that they may become family members of Govinda. As a result, the Vaiṣṇava community will prosper in a happy, harmonious and progressive way.
Swami Bhakti Kiśora Āraṇya
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Our new publication of the Upadeśāmṛta of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī with the illuminations of Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī is now available as a hardcover book and ebook format. You can read it online for free, download a pdf or purchase a copy Read or purchase Upadesamrta here.
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- Preface to the Upadeśāmṛta by Śrīla Bhakti Kiśora Āraṇya Mahārāja
Further Reading
From Śraddhā to Prema
The following article is adapted from a class on Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.68, given by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja on Rādhāṣṭamī, September 10th 1997. Mahārāja systematically explains the process of bhakti starting with śraddhā and culminating in prema, which is personified as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Understanding the Guru’s Legacy
What truly constitutes the guru's legacy? Gaura Gopāla Dāsa explores this question and delves into the significance of the guru's teachings beyond the bricks and mortar that make up his āśramas and temples.
Śri Rūpa Mañjarī Pada
This article is based on a class by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja, give on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s appearance day at Myrtle Beach, USA on August 29th, 1994. Mahārāja speaks about the song “Sri Rūpa Mañjarī Pada’ and how this song is related to His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Ten Prayers to the Foot-Dust of Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmī (Śrīmad Rūpa Pada Rajaḥ Prārthanā Daśakam)
With the forthcoming observance of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmi’s disappearance, we present ‘Śrīmad Rūpa Pada Rajaḥ Prārthanā Daśakam’ (Ten Prayers to the Foot-Dust of Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmī), a Sanskrit composition by Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja. first published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśana magazine, Vol.11, Issue 1 in 1965.
From Śraddhā to Prema
The following article is adapted from a class on Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 4.68, given by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja on Rādhāṣṭamī, September 10th 1997. Mahārāja systematically explains the process of bhakti starting with śraddhā and culminating in prema, which is personified as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Beyond Bricks and Mortar: Understanding the Guru’s Legacy
What truly constitutes the guru's legacy? Gaura Gopāla Dāsa explores this question and delves into the significance of the guru's teachings beyond the bricks and mortar that make up his āśramas and temples.
Śri Rūpa Mañjarī Pada
This article is based on a class by Śrīla B.G. Narasiṅgha Mahārāja, give on Śrīla Prabhupāda’s appearance day at Myrtle Beach, USA on August 29th, 1994. Mahārāja speaks about the song “Sri Rūpa Mañjarī Pada’ and how this song is related to His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda
Ten Prayers to the Foot-Dust of Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmī (Śrīmad Rūpa Pada Rajaḥ Prārthanā Daśakam)
With the forthcoming observance of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmi’s disappearance, we present ‘Śrīmad Rūpa Pada Rajaḥ Prārthanā Daśakam’ (Ten Prayers to the Foot-Dust of Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmī), a Sanskrit composition by Śrīla Śrīdhara Deva Gosvāmī Mahārāja. first published in Śrī Gauḍīya Darśana magazine, Vol.11, Issue 1 in 1965.