Srimad Bhagavatam: The Wisdom of God [Paperback]

translated by Swami Prabhavananda (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 30, 2007

The Srimad Bhagavatam is one of the most popular scriptures in India, and one of the most important, next to the Upanishads and Bhagavad Gita. This version focuses primarily on the teachings of Krishna, and the generally more interesting portions of the book. The translation's aim is to be true to the spirit of the original Sanskrit and be easily readable.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Swami Prabhavananda was, until his passing in 1976, the founder and head of the Vedanta Society of So. California. He wrote numerous titles including How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Patanjali, Bhagavad Gita: The Song of God, Upanishads, Breath of the Eternal, Narada's Way of Divine Love: The Bhakti Sutras

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

From the PREFACE

AFTER the Upanishads and the Bhagavadgita, the Srimad Bhagavatam is the most authoritative of the Indian Scriptures. By means of stories from the lives of Avataras, sages, devotees, and kings, it popularizes the truths contained in the Vedas. At this moment more than two hundred million Hindus find in it their most cherished expressions of religious faith and their dearest exemplars. To study it is the best of all ways to become acquainted with the living religion of India.

Its peculiar excellence is that it reconciles the heart with the head, devotion with learning. "It is fried in the butter of Knowledge;" says Sri Ramakrishna, the latest of Indian prophets, "and steeped in the honey of Love."

Only the more generally interesting portions of the work- amounting to somewhat less than half of the whole-are included in the present version. Of this version, again, about half is summary and paraphrase rather than translation; the remainder, however, consisting of the teachings of Sri Krisna to his disciple Uddhava (Book XI), has been rendered without omission and with approximate literalness.

Everywhere the primary object has been to interpret in English, the inner spirit of the Sanskrit text. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Vedanta Press & Bookshop (January 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 8178233150
• ISBN-13: 978-8178233154
• Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 3.9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #259,315 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Swami Prabhavananda was one of the pioneer swamis sent to America by the direct disciples of Ramakrishna to build on the work started by Swami Vivekananda at the turn of the century.

The swami was born in India on December 26, 1893. In 1914, after graduating from Calcutta University, he joined the Ramakrishna Order of India and was initiated by Swami Brahmananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna.

In 1923, Swami Prabhavananda came to the United States. After two years as assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco, he established the Vedanta Society of Portland. In December 1929, he came to Los Angeles where he founded the Vedanta Society of Southern California the following year.

Under the able care of the swami, the Society grew into one of the largest Vedanta Societies in the West, with monasteries in Hollywood and Trabuco Canyon and convents in Hollywood and Santa Barbara.

Swami Prabhavananda was a man of letters as well as a man of God. He wrote and translated a number of books with the object of making the spiritual classics of India available and understandable to Western readers. He was assisted on several of the projects by Christopher Isherwood or Frederick Manchester. His comprehensive knowledge of philosophy and religion attracted such disciples as Aldous Huxley and Gerald Heard. His publications, which include the Bhagavad-Gita, The Upanishads, Breath of the Eternal, How to Know God: The Yoga Aphorisms of Pantanjali, The Eternal Companion, and The Sermon on the Mount According to Vedanta, continue to this day to capture interest and draw people to the Vedanta philosophy.

Swami Prabhavananda passed away on the bicentennial of America's independence, July 4th 1976, fitting for one who gave so much of his life to this country.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads like Scripture., August 12, 2005

By 

James (st louis, mo) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Srimad Bhagavatam: The Wisdom of God (Paperback)

If you are familiar with reading Hindu scriptures, like the Bhagavad Gita, and or the Upanishads, and you enjoyed that, I think that you would enjoy this. The Srimad Bhagavatam reads like a series of essays on proper living. A guide book to spiritual discipline, the over all message of the book is to love and serve the lord. Many of books with in this book are short stories of noble men and there spiritual journeys. The Srimad Bhagavatam is pleasant, uplifting, and inspiring.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthwhile time spent on the path to enlightenment, May 17, 2000

By 

"pjsc69" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Srimad Bhagavatam: The Wisdom of God (Paperback)

For those with an understanding of Hindu concepts and a desire to investigate further the path to Bhraman, reading this book is a worthwhile step. Whether the journey is accomplished via jnana, karma, bhakti yoga, or a combination of the three, one can realize some value by the stories and lessons provided here. The edition I read from the library included a glossary of terms in the back for convenient reference. I found it easier to read and comprehend than the Upanishads, yet encountered numerous references, concepts, and passages common to both. I feel that one read is not enough. This book should be studied like the Gita, and practiced in earnest.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Juicy with the love of God, November 4, 2010

By 

B. Wagner (St. Louis, MO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Srimad Bhagavatam: The Wisdom of God (Paperback)

This rendering of the Srimad Bhagavatam touched me to the core when I first read it. It is so simply put yet somehow imbued with a sweet love of God that I couldn't help but yearn for the Divine. I have read other versions of the Srimad Bhagavatam, but somehow Swami Prabhavananda does what other translators couldn't do for me - he gave me a direct taste of bhakti as I read the book. This book is not the full version of the Srimad Bhagavatam, it is a summation of it. But it is the kind of summation that a mother would give a child as she shares her love of God and wants to pass that on to her child. This book captures devotion in its essence, in a very simple way. It is not overly burdened with trying to be an accurate and full rendering of the Srimad Bhagavatam. Instead it goes for the inner truth of it.

Also, this version is a great place for western seekers to start with if they are interested in Indian spirituality and the devotional path to God. It is very user friendly as a translation.