Books for inspiration

[Braja Bhushan das]

While writing about the three gunas, it occurred to me that we could have a thread where we could post the names of those books which have had an impact on our devotional life. I believe that by inspiring one another in this manner we can better cultivate our relationships and broaden our horizons on this devotional path. I suggest every post contain 4 parts: the title of the book and its author, basic info about its content, why it had an impact on you, and, if possible, a link to it (or ISBN or other book data).

[Braja Bhushan das]

Nectar of Discrimination: A Treatise on the Three Modes of Material Nature by Kundali Dasa

An excellent ISKCON book which analyses the three gunas as described in Bhagavadgita and Bhagavatam. It gives the gunas its deserved importance and teaches you how it is essential to know how they work and adjust your life accordingly. In my opinion a must read for all those starting on the path of bhakti.

I was lucky enough to read it at the beginning of my devotional "career" because it helped me learn to discriminate between sat and asat, between matter and spirit, and made me aware of how to make my lifestyle more sattvic. Equipped with this knowledge I have been able to better understand behaviour of people around me. It has given me a necessary self-confidence and reduced the chances of me getting exploited by others.

Unfortunately, I am not sure whether the book can still be acquired but you may ask around at this link: http://www.antiqbook.com/boox/kbo/mon0000013230.shtml

[Braja Bhushan das]

Srimad Bhagavad Gita with the Gloss of Sridhara Swami, translated by Swami Vireswarananda

This is a Bhagavad Gita with high quality English translation, accompanied by a commentary by Sridhara Swami, the famous medieval saint who comments word by word every verse with a lot of devotion despite formally belonging to Sankara school. It is a new way to see how our acaryas commented the scriptures, especially if you are used to lengthy commentaries by modern day gurus. Sridhara Swami´s authenticity has been corroborated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself so this commentary is certainly of great use to Gaudiya Vaishnava sadhakas.

This Bhagavad Gita had a great impact on me, because it comments the verses word by word, often giving its synonyms so that the reader understands perfectly what Krishna wants to convey. I learned a lot from Prabhupada´s Gita, but there were still many places which I simply did not comprehend or was quite unsure about. Sridhara Swami´s commentary clarified many things or misconceptions which I had, and prepared me for studying other works of our acaryas, where it is customary to offer commentaries following the word for word style. If you want to study Maharajji´s books in original, this Gita would be, in my opinion, a great preparation. And lastly, the translation is excellent and it has helped me a lot in the process of learning sanskrit.

You can get it here: http://www.exoticindia.es/book/details/IDG598/ or if you want a second edition which includes also the original sanskrit commentary, see http://www.exoticindia.es/book/details/IDK748/.

[Govinda das]

Very inspiring read about the gunas and the books, and absolutely wonderful idea about the list of influential books.
Thank you!

[Adin]

Thank you Braj,
Very lucid article,

How are you?

[KrisWiggins]

Thank you for the link! I always wanted to read the tika of Sridhara Swami, and after that the tika of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura

Here is a book that im still curently reading but is a great book of inspiration:

Nectar of the Holy Name by Manindranath Guha published by Blazing Sapphire

It is a great book dealing with the importance of the Holy Name, it was written by a devotee for devotees. He gives many qutoes from the sad Goswamis but in particular Sri Sanatana Goswami. Mahindranath is a disciple of Sri Kanupriya Goswami, and he receved the blessings of his siksha Guru Tin Kudi Goswami.

Even though im not finish I do suggest this book and would be happy to send it to anyone interested after i finish the reading.