this humble servant earnestly prays … that this crown-jewel of sacred writings, Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam, may remain with her merciful presence in every land, in every home, and in every heart.
Srila Gurudev’s eloquent glorification of Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam, Life-Nectar of the Surrendered Souls, in his Publisher’s Note to the 1988 English edition.
All glory to the Divine Master
and the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya
Publisher’s Note
Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam, Life-Nectar of the Surrendered Souls, is the crown-jewel of divine literatures as the eternal elixir of life for the exclusively surrendered souls, the bestower of the perpetual relish of full-fledged nectar, and the awakening and sustaining fountainhead of life in divine consorthood. Indeed, who can fittingly portray her holy glory and renown? In the same way we cannot but feel ever inadequate when we attempt to sing the glories of the illustrious author, our most worshipful Divine Master, Om Visnupad Sri Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj, the dearmost intimate attendant of the great pioneer pre-eminent among the Gaudiya Acharyas, Sri Gauranga’s transcendental message incarnate—Prabhupad Sri Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur. Even without world itinerancy, the seat of universal Guru (Jagad-guru) of the world’s renowned Gurus has been gracefully won by Srila Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj while presiding in the grand, noble distinction of his venerable years of devotional life at the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math of Nabadwip, his exclusive, personal holy place of bhajan.
Since its first printing, which was in Bengali, this sublime literature has brought heartfelt satisfaction to the stalwart devotees of the highest order, being hailed by them as an essential scripture to be unfailingly sung and cultivated as a daily devotional function in spiritual life, as is customarily practised with the holy scriptures such as the Srimad Bhagavad-gita. In both the Eastern and Western countries, its English publication will doubtlessly be similarly worshipped with the utmost reverence, constantly studied and sung with devotion by the surrendered souls of fine theistic intellect, and by the noble souls engaged in their divine search for the Supreme Lord.
This monumental work was originally composed in the Sanskrit language. The authentic Bengali translation that was sanctioned by the author is extremely developed, profoundly exploring the heart of the book; scholars who know the internal conclusive scriptural purports can alone realise how difficult is its translation and publication into English. However, by the boundless mercy of the most magnanimous Supreme Lord Sri Chaitanyachandra, the fountainhead of all incarnations of Godhead, and by the causeless grace of His most beloved, our Divine Master, and the pure devotees whose hearts are absorbed in divine love—this formidable task has now been fulfilled. Thus, I again and again worship the holy lotus feet of Them all.
For their tireless efforts to usher in the advent of the present edition in its perfectly elegant form, all those godbrothers and godsisters who served in the various facets of the publication have attained the unending graces of our Divine Master and the Vaisnavas. They have bound us in eternal gratitude. For executing the task of the English translation, proofing, and editing, special mention is due to Tridandi Swami Sripad Bhakti Ananda Sagar Maharaj, assisted by Sriman Nimaisundar Brahmachari Vidya Vinod. And for their dedicated effort in securing the necessary funds and assistance for the printing and publishing of the work in a most dignified presentation, special mention is due to Sripad Dayadhar Gauranga Das Brahmachari Bhakti Prabhakar Prabhu and all the good devotees assisting him.
In conclusion, invoking the charming verse of Sri Guru Pada-padma, this humble servant earnestly prays at his holy lotus feet that this crown-jewel of sacred writings, Sri Sri Prapanna-jivanamrtam, may remain with her merciful presence in every land, in every home, and in every heart. And in her gracious acquiescence, may she acknowledge the glorious victory of her goodwill by churning and overflooding the entire living universe with her supramundane wave of ecstatic love, to bless all souls with the supreme good fortune.
śrī-śrīmad-bhagavat-padāmbuja-madhu-svādotsavaiḥ ṣaṭ-padair
nikṣiptā madhu-bindavaś cha parito bhraṣṭā mukhāt guñjitaiḥ
yatnaiḥ kiñchid ihāhṛtaṁ nija-paraśreyo ’rthinā tan mayā
bhūyobhūya ito rajāṁsi pada-saṁlagnāni teṣāṁ bhaje
“The bees, intoxicated in the festival
of drinking the honey of the Lord’s lotus feet
busily humming the glories of the Lord
drops of honey from their mouths fall and scatter all around;
for my divine prospect, I’ve carefully collected
some of those drops herein—
and thus do I worship the dust
of the holy lotus feet of those saints, again and again”
I beg to remain most humbly,
Tridandi Bhiksu
Sri Bhakti Sundar Govinda
16 October 1987
On the 93rd Holy Appearance Day
of His Divine Grace
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar Dev-Goswami Maharaj