Sri Sankalpa Kalpadrumah (The Desire tree of Auspicious Resolve)

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After taking shelter of this desire- tree of aspirations presented by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, that is to say, in order to attain the desire for the seva described in this compilation, one should sincerely, and without duplicity, with body, mind and words, remain under the guidance of the devoted persons who are completely immersed in this seva. These topmost, incomparable and transcendental aspirations can then quickly be fulfilled. Thus, the name of this book, Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah, is appropriate, because it makes one's desires bear fruit. The sadhaka's life attains success only when the impetus to obtain these transcendental aspirations appear in the heart by the causeless mercy of the guru and Vaisnavas." (Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja).

Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Gosvami Maharaja appeared in 1921 in Tivaripura, a village near the ganga River in Bihar, India . In 1946, he met and recieved initiation from the great Gaudiya Vaisnava acarya, Sri Srimad Bhakti Prajnana Keseva Gosvami Maharaja , who five years later awarded him the renounced order of life.

Now in his eighties, Srila Bhaktivedanta narayana Gosvami Maharaja has circled the globe more than twenty- five times, expounding Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's message of pure, transcendental love. Simultaneously, he is publishing book on the Science of bhakti in Hindu, English and other languages.

Today I am most joyful to be able to present this Hindi edition of Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah to the faithful reader. This scripture is composed by the crown jewel among Sri Gaudiva Vaisnava acaryas, the greatly learned scholar, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura. Just as Srila Jiva Gosvami's Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah is like a table of contents of the pastimes described in his Sri Gopala- campuh, this book by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti is like an index of his Sri Krsna -bhavanamrta. This Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah is originally the twenty-first prayer of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's Sri Stavamrta-lahari.

Although there are many available Bengali and Hindi editions of Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's Bengali translation, on which we have based this present Hindi edition, is from various points of view unequalled. This particular translation will enable the learned devotees in the line of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura to further appreciate the importance of this book by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura.

There are a total of 104 verses in this Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah. In the first 88 verses, the author anxiously prays to Sri Vrsabhanu- raja-nandini Srimati Radhika to be able to perform intimate seva to Her. In the next three verses (89-91), he humbly prays to the great personalities in his guru-parampara, mentioning the names of their eternal spiritual forms; and in verses 92-94, he prays to attain the guidance of Manjulali Sakhi, Guna Manjari, Rasa Manjari, Bhanumati, Lavanga Manjari, Rupa Manjari and others. In the following verses (95-103), he prays to Sri Krsna (or Sri Gaurahari), to Sri Lalita-devi, to Sri Visakha-devi, to all the priya-sakhas and priyanarma-sakhis, to Sri Giriraja-Govardhana, to Sri Radha-kunda, to Yogapitha, to Sri Vrnda-devi and to Sri Gopisvara Mahadeva for his aspirations to bear fruit. In the last verse (104), the author indicates the state of his heart and advises the devotees who have a strong desire to relish the ocean of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna's playful pastimes in Vrndavana to take shelter of this Sri Sankalpa-kalpadrumah with great faith.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura himself is an eternal associate of Sri Sri Radha-Govinda. For the supreme welfare of the qualified sadhakas, however, he has clearly described here what the ultimate ambitions of the bhakti-sadhakas coming in the line of Sri man Mahaprabhu should be and has also shown how these ambitions can enter one's heart. And at the same time, he has delineated how to accept the guidance of the residents of Vraja in order to fulfill these ambitions.

After taking shelter of this desire-tree of auspicious resolve presented by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, that is to say, in order to attain the desire for the seva described in this compilation, one should sincerely, and without duplicity, with body, mind and words, remain under the guidance of the devoted persons who are completely immersed in this seva.Thesetopmost, incomparable and transcendental aspirations can then quickly be fulfilled. Thus, the name of this book, Sri Sankalpa- kalpadrumah, is appropriate, because it makes one's desires bear fruit. The sadhaka's life attains success only when the impetus to obtain these transcendental aspirations appear in the heart by the causeless mercy of the guru and Vaisnavas.

When Sri man Mahaprabhu prescribed to Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami his duties, He concluded by saying, "vraje radha- krsna seva manase karibe - render service within the mind to Sri Sri Radha-Krsna in Vraja" (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya- lila. 6.237). From this instruction of Sriman Mahaprabhu, it is clearly understood that He is inspiring all practising devotees, through the example of Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, to attain this kind of qualification.

In this present literary work, manasi-seva, or the remembrance of the eight-fold daily pastimes of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna within the purified mind, has been specifically described. However, in order to attain the qualification for such remembrance, the practicing devotees should also carefully follow the other instructions of Sriman Mahaprabhu, such as (Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya- lila 6.236-7):

Do not listen to ordinary talks, do not speak about ordinary matters. Do not eat palatable dishes and do not dress opulently.

Do not expect any respect, but offer it to others. In this way, always chant Sri Krsna's holy name.

If these instructions are not followed, one's efforts will only result in anarthas, or desires unbeneficial for spiritual life, not artha, or prosperity.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura appeared in a family of brahmanas from the Radhiya community of the Nadiya district in West Bengal. He was celebrated by the name Hari-vallabha, and he had two older brothers, Ramabhadra and Raghunatha. During his childhood, he completed his study of grammar in Devagrama village. He then studied devotional scripture at the home of his spiritual master in the Saiyadabada village of the Mursidabad district. While living in Saiyadabada, he wrote Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu, Ujjvala-nilamani -kirarna and Bhagavatamrta-kana. Soon after, he renounced household life and went to Vrndavana, where he wrote many other books and commentaries.