Sri Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu Bindu (A Drop of The Nectarean Ocean of Devotional Mellows)

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Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu, a drop of the nectarean ocean of devotional mellows, is a brief summary of the essential topics from Srila Rupa Gosvami's classic devotional treatise Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. It consists of twenty-seven verses, some of which were taken from Bhakti-rsamrta-sindhu, but most of which were written by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura in Sanskrit. Our esteemed Srila Gurudeva, om visnupada paramahamsa parivrajakacarya astottara-sata Sri Srimad Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja, has given an illuminating translation of these verses into Hindi. His translation and commentary is named Sri Bindu-vikasini-vrtti, or the commentary that reveals the meaning of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu. In this commentary he has expanded the subject matter by including Srila Cakravartipada's own commentary to the verses that were taken from Bhakti- rasamrta-sindhu. He has also drawn additional material from Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu and relevant verses from Srimad- Bhagavatam, Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Bhakti- sandarbha and other scriptures. In addition, he has made very significant comments to facilitate comprehension of the subject matter. Some of these comments were footnotes to his original Hindi commentary and others were spoken by him in English. These comments are identified in this edition simply as "Comment". The end of such comments are indicated by a lotus flower symbol, at which point the text returns to the translation of Srila Gurudeva's Bindu-vikasini commentary.

The first English edition of Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu was published in April 1996, just before Srila Gurudeva's first preaching tour of Western countries. In this second edition several improvements have been made to help the reader assimilate the material. First, the presentation of the material has been made simpler and more direct. Secondly, the typography throughout has been made consistent and the layout has been brought up to a professional standard. Thirdly, the text has been lightly edited in places to improve its clarity.

In the first edition of this book, the sequence of Verses 22-5 was changed from Srila Cakravartipada's original sequence in order to accommodate the additional material taken from Bhakti-rasamrta- sindhu. In this second edition we have changed one of those verses back to reflect the author's original sequence, but we left three still differing from it. This has been done to ensure that, in light of the abundance of material added from Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, the subject matter is presented to the reader in the most logical and effective manner.

Further, the explanations of the primary and secondary rasas found in the second half of the book are in places rather intricate. To aid comprehension of these topics, the reader is advised to refer back as needed to the chart entitled "Components of bhakti-rasa" on.

Finally, we would like to briefly mention the contribution made to our sampradaya in the modern era by nitya-lile-pravista om visnupada astottara-sate Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Single-handedly, and in a relatively short span of time, he introduced the science of krsna-bhakti to the English- speaking world. He was an intimate friend of Srila Gurudeva, and in 1972 he published an excellent summary study of Bhekti- rasamrta -sindhu entitled Nectar of Devotion. Praying that this current work be pleasing to both Srila Gurudeva and Srila Prabhupada, we are confident that it will be appreciated by devotees who are eager to taste a drop of the nectarean ocean of bhakti-rasa.