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Bhaktivedanta purports

Srila Prabhupada, ,

Previous Acharyas have already written many commentaries on Bhagavad Gita.  Then why did Srila Prabhupada write another commentary?

The Bhaktivedanta purports as Srila Prabhupada‘s commentary popularly called are based on the commentaries of the previous acaryas.

Srila Prabhupada would work from a Bengali translation of the Bhagavatam, with commentaries by twelve acaryas, such as Vishvanatha Cakravarti, Jiva Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Sridhara Svami, Bir Raghava Gosvami, Madhvacarya, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Bhaktivinoda Thakura. The Bhagavad-gita is dedicated to and follows the commentary of Srila Baladeva Vidyabhushana; the Caitanya-caritamrita purports are summarized from those written by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati and Bhaktivinoda Thakura. Even if we consider that  Prabhupada’s purports are partly translations of previous commentaries, this does not diminish our gratitude for his preaching and giving us access to the thoughts and devotion of the disciplic succession. Once, the devotees were commenting on how quickly Prabhupada was writing.  Prabhupada said “O, I can finish very quickly, but I have to present it for your understanding.  It requires deep thought, very carefully to present”. (Srila Prabhupada-lilamrita)

And neither were his purports just static translations of other commentaries, but he struggled to apply the words of the previous acaryas to the present-day mentality of the westerners.  We can imagine how difficult this must have been trying to present the principles of Vedic government, or the position of women in Vedic culture, or even the necessity to avoid sinful life to persons who were addicted to sense gratification and who had no idea what was wrong with it.  He saturated his purports with Krishna, and built the groundwork to supply his readers with the cultural language to enable them to enter into the pages of the Bhagavatam.

Dream and Material Life

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And if we accept the Vedic conclusion as stated in the Bhagavad-gita that these material bodies are perishable in due course of time (antavanta ime dehah) but that the soul is eternal (nityasyoktah saririnah), then we must remember always that the body is like a dress; therefore why lament the changing of a dress? The material body has no factual existence in relation to the eternal soul. It is something like a dream. In a dream we may think of flying in the sky, or sitting on a chariot as a king, but when we wake up we can see that we are neither in the sky nor seated on the chariot. The Vedic wisdom encourages self-realization on the basis of the nonexistence of the material body. Therefore, in either case, whether one believes in the existence of the soul or one does not believe in the existence of the soul, there is no cause for lamentation for loss of the body.

Banyan tree & vedic hymns

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The entanglement of this material world is compared here to a banyan tree. For one who is engaged in fruitive activities, there is no end to the banyan tree. He wanders from one branch to another, to another, to another. The tree of this material world has no end, and for one who is attached to this tree, there is no possibility of liberation. The Vedic hymns, meant for elevating oneself, are called the leaves of this tree. This tree’s roots grow upward because they begin from where Brahma is located, the topmost planet of this universe. If one can understand this indestructible tree of illusion, then one can get out of it.