Srimad Bhagavatam: to get rid of prejudices

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You can also read the previous page: “Those Who Have Not Done So Remain Fearful”)

When we were in the college, reading philosophical works of the West, and exchanging thoughts with the thinkers of the day, we had a real hatred toward Srimad Bhagavatam. The great work looked like a collection of wicked and stupid ideas, scarcely adapted to the 19th century, and we hated to hear any arguments in its favor. Then, the volumes of Channing, Parker, Emerson, and Newman had more weight than all the Vaishnava books. Greedily we poured over the various commentaries of the Bible and of the labors of the Tattva Bodhini Sabha, which contained extracts from the Upanisads and the Vedanta, but no work of the Vaishnavas had any favor with us.

When we advanced in age and our religious sentiment developed, we turned to our own belief and prayed, as Jesus prayed in the garden. Accidentally, we came across a book about the great Caitanya and on reading it with some attention to settle the historical position of that Mighty Genius of Nadia, we had the opportunity of gathering His explanation of Bhagavata Purana, given to the wrangling Vedantists of the Benares school.

The accidental study created within us a love for all the works that we find about our Eastern Savior. With difficulty, we gathered the famous Karchas (diaries) in Sanskrit, written by the disciple of Caitanya.

The explanations of Bhagavata that we got from these sources were of such a charming character that we secured a copy of the complete Srimad Bhagavatam. We studied its texts (difficult of course for those not trained in philosophical thoughts) with the assistance of the famous commentaries of Sridhara Swami. From such study, we have gathered the real doctrines of the Vaishnavas. Oh! What a trouble to get rid of prejudices gathered in unripe years. (The Bhagavat: Its Philosophy, Its Ethics & Its Theology)

Another revelation, Why are the instructions of Sri Caitanya the essence of all Sastras?. Check out the previous page too: “Those Who Have Not Done So Remain Fearful”. You will benefit from reading the whole work: Books (Free!).

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Harih Om Tat Sat.