Would you like to read Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata with me?

All glory to Śrīla Gurudeva! All glory to Pañca-tattvātmaka Śrī Gaurahari!

Tomorrow is Akṣaya Tṛtīyā – the day renowned as being most auspicious for starting new ventures. So on this day, by the mercy of Śrī Śrī Guru and Gaurāṅga, we will be commencing readings of Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata.

Here's the plan:

1. A WEEKLY Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata reading

Starting tomorrow, every Sunday at 7:30 AM (India time)

I will post a video weekly on my YouTube channel in which I will read the verses and translation of Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura's Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata.

2. A DAILY Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata reading

Starting in 2 months 11 days from now, Mon–Sat at 7:30 AM (India time)

On the first day of Caturmāsya (3 July), I will start over from the beginning again to read Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata with the Gauḍīya-bhāṣya (commentary) of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda.

So every week, one day will be for reading simply the verses and translation and the remaining six days will be for the commentary.

Why two separate Caitanya-bhāgavata readings?

The reason I chose to conduct these two separate readings is that I tend to forget the earlier portions of a book if I move too slowly. So the quick reading is to grasp the flow of the storyline, while the slow reading will be for delving deeper into the explanations of our guru-varga. In other words, as we proceed at a slower pace through Śrīla Sarasvatī Ṭhākura's Gauḍīya-bhāṣya, sometimes taking multiple days to cover a single story, we will have already become familiar with the flow of events and thus avoid ever feeling lost.

I'm postponing the Rūpa-śikṣā program

In a previous email, I mentioned that on Akṣaya Tṛtīyā I was thinking of continuing the video series for Rūpa-śikṣā that I did last year on the Vine of Devotion YouTube channel. But I said I'd only do it if at least five people committed to participating. Only three people were interested in joining, so I decided to postpone it till another time.

My idea for a Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata discussion group

I thought it would be nice to make this reading more interactive. Maybe we could meet together on Zoom once a week to review/summarize what we read, memorize key verses, and discuss points in the chapter that especially stood out to you. Would you be interested in joining something like that?

Over the next couple of months, let's make a plan. I'm eager to hear your thoughts. You can reply to this email or click on the comment icon below.

That's all for now. Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda Prabhu ki jaya!

Aspiring to please Śrīla Gurudeva and the Vaiṣṇavas,

Madhukar das