PREFACE. Çré Çrémad Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Goswämé Prabhupäda

By

Ç ré Ç ré mad Bhaktisiddhä nta Sarasvaté Goswä mé Prabhupä da

(Translated from the original Bengali)

According to the instructions of Ç ré man Mahä prabhu, Ç ré la Sanä tana Goswä mé Prabhu compiled a Vaiñ ë ava små ti called the 'Hari Bhakti Vilä sa' which was published by Ç ré Gopä la Bhaö ö a Goswä mé Prabhu. Ç ré Gopä la Bhaö ö a Goswä mé also wrote a book on the ten saà skä ras which is known as 'Sat Kriyä Sä ra Dé pikä ' and a manual called 'Saà skä ra Dé pikä ', which is a book on the rules for taking sannyä sa.

Almost half a century after the Hari Bhakti Vilä sa was published, the non-Vaiñ ë ava små ti compiler, Raghunandana Bhaö ö ä cä rya Mahä ç aya, wrote a work called 'Añ ö avià ç ati Tattva'. Before that, the paddhati of Bhavadeva and the Sat Kriyä Sä ra Dé pikä were the most famous books on saà skä ras in Bengal.

After this, due to the strong influence of the Smä rtas, Sat Kriyä Sä ra Dé pikä became obscure. The 'Nå sià ha Paricaryä ' of Ç ré Krishnadevä cä rya and 'Små ti Nibandha' of Ç ré Keç ava Bhaö ö a were also published before another non-Vaiñ ë ava paddhati, 'Nirnaya Paddhati' of Kamalä kara Bhaö ö a was compiled.

We can observe from the writings of the Smä rta Bhaö ö ä cä ryas that there are certain differences of opinions between Vaiñ ë ava små ti and non-Vaiñ ë ava små ti, in other words, between the smä rta -små ti paddhatis and the Ç ré Hari Bhakti Vilä sa of the Vaiñ ë avas. There were many obstacles in the preaching of the Vaiñ ë ava-små ti due to the popularity of the non-Vaiñ ë ava små tis. The Vaiñ ë ava and non-Vaiñ ë ava paddhatis differ in many places regarding demigod worship, ç rä ddhas, ekä daç i vratas etc. Also, due to a lack of genuine Vaiñ ë ava gå hastas, for some time, the Smä rta ceremonies were accepted as Vaiñ ë ava. Non-Vaiñ ë ava rituals are not accepted as bona-fide by the Vaiñ ë ava world, and since this has been logically proven with ç ä stric evidence, those sense-enjoyers who are inimical to pure devotional service find this fact unpalatable. Therefore, they have endevoured to stop the publication of books containing Vaiñ ë ava rituals and etiquette. However, there is no doubt that the vain hopes and desires of the non-Vaiñ ë avas will be uprooted by the re-publication of this book.Those whose hearts feel pain as if pierced by a lance, by the spreading of Vaiñ ë ava-små ti, will not be able to appreciate topics of devotional service. Nontheless, the customs of the society of pure Vaiñ ë avas, being like the Pole Star will shine forth brightly even in the darkness of the new moon.

It is not that the erroneous smä rtavä da misconceptions have only penetrated the Vaiñ ë ava community of Bengal, they have also spread to other Vaiñ ë ava societies all over India; in some places more, in others, less. Therefore, the Sat Kriyä Sä ra Dé pikä is not very famous now. By the endevour of Ç ré Ç ré mad Bhaktivinoda Ö hä kura, who re-established the flow of pure devotion, this book was published again some time ago. Now, this is the third printing and we view this as an opportunity to propagate the Vaiñ ë ava faith and the rules, regulations and etiquette of devotional service.

For some time now, many people, who understood the value of following Vaiñ ë ava sadacä ra, felt the neccesity of printing this book again after the second edition was depleted. By the desire of Ç ré yukta Avidyä haraë a dä sä dhikä ré and Sevabandhava Mahä ç aya, Mahopadeç aka Paë ò ita Ç ré yukta Yadavara Bhaktiç ä stri (Saà pradä ya Vaibhä vä cä rya, M.A. B.L.) has helped to correct this new edition. Without his endevour, this book would not have been published in such a nice way. He takes full credit from the Gauò é ya Vaiñ ë ava community for this work.

In this edition of Sat Kriyä Sä ra Dé pikä we have also included the 'Veç ä ç raya Paddhati' with the Bengali translation of Ç ré la Ö hä kura Bhaktivinoda.

FOOTNOTE:

The “Veç ä ç raya Paddhati” has been published seperatly by the Bhaktivedanta Academy under Gopä la Bhaö ö a Gosvä mé s’ original title, “Saà skä ra Dé pikä ”.