Brilliant As The Sun

Subtitles

[00:31]: Five thousand years ago in India many saints and sages gathered
[00:36]: on the banks of the sacred river Ganges.
[00:38]: They came from throughout the world to witness the last seven days
[00:43]: in the life of the great devotee, King Pariksit.
[00:46]: The King had renounced his fabulous wealth
[00:49]: to dedicate his few remaining days to spiritual enlightenment.
[00:52]: At that meeting Sukadeva Goswami, the most exalted sage in the assembly
[00:58]: narrated the pastimes and teachings of Lord Sri Krishna,
[01:02]: the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
[01:05]: He discussed all aspects of knowledge from the creation of the material universe
[01:10]: to the culture of spiritual life and held the King and sages in rapt attention.
[01:24]: His teachings, known as the Bhagavata Purana or Srimad-Bhagavatam
[01:30]: were transcribed in the ancient Sanskrit language
[01:33]: and their glories are thus explained in the Bhagavata itself.
[01:37]: This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the sun and has arisen just after the departure of
[01:43]: Lord Krishna to His own abode accompanied by religion and knowledge, etc.
[01:50]: Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of this age of Kali
[01:54]: shall get light from this Purana.
[01:57]: Through the ages these teachings about Lord Sri Krishna were transmitted intact
[02:04]: from spiritual master to disciple.
[02:06]: Sripada Madhvacharya
[02:09]: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
[02:12]: The Goswamis of Vrindavana
[02:15]: Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
[02:20]: Sri Gaurakisora dasa Babaji
[02:24]: And, in the early 20th century, Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Saraswaiti Thakura
[02:29]: who ordered his disciples to preach Krishna consciousness around the world.
[02:34]: He especially desired to distribute Krishna conscious literature in the Western countries.
[02:39]: His disciple, His Divine Grace, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
[02:45]: took this order as his very life.
[02:49]: In 1966 he founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
[02:54]: for worldwide preaching.
[02:56]: Then for worldwide publishing he established the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust.
[03:01]: Srila Prabhupada himself is the author of all of the books.
[03:06]: He has been acclaimed as the world’s most distinguished scholar and teacher
[03:09]: of Vedic philosophy and culture.
[03:12]: While translating each Sanskrit verse he refers to books of commentary
[03:16]: by previous spiritual masters and then gives a thorough explanation of the text.
[03:29]: Srila Visvananta Chakravati Thakura gives in this connection a description
[03:36]: of the difference of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and ordinary living being.
[03:45]: So this is…
[03:59]: This has been described in the previous verse.
[04:11]: The purport is that Supreme Lord, He is omnipotent, omniscient. He knows everything.
[04:24]: But the living being does not know actually what is the position
[04:33]: of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
[04:36]: That is the difference between the Supreme Personality of Godhead
[04:42]: and ordinary living being.
[04:47]: Now we will follow one verse as it journeys from translation by Srila Prabhupada
[04:52]: through the process of book publication to its distribution around the world.
[05:00]: This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the Sun. And it has arisen
[05:08]: just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode, accompanied by religion,
[05:17]: knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance
[05:26]: in this age of Kali shall get light from this Purana.
[06:35]: Navadvipa dasa please report to graphic design. Navadvipa dasa.
[06:47]: Damodar Prabhu please pick up on line 40.
[06:57]: Srimad-Bhagavatam, we require one hundred thousand copies.
[07:00]: But on this reprint we’d like two hundred and fifty thousand.
[07:06]: Prabhu this package just arrived by air freight from India.
[07:09]: Jaya. This is the latest translation of Srimad-Bhagavatam by our spiritual master.
[07:14]: Prabhu take this manuscript to the Sanskrit department
[07:18]: and tell them it’s first priority. And put a mark against Srila Prabhupada’s name.
[07:29]: From the production manager the manuscript goes to the Sanskrit department.
[08:00]: Here we see that the ancient script has been rendered into Roman letters.
[08:05]: The editor is adding diacritical marks as a guide to pronunciation.
[08:15]: This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the Sun comma
[08:19]: and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Krishna to cap-H His own abode comma
[08:25]: accompanied by religion comma knowledge comma etc.period…
[08:30]: The English editor now checks the manuscript for proper punctuation , grammar
[08:34]: and spelling. He dictates the corrected text onto a tape.
[08:50]: This recording is then transcribed.
[08:59]: In the composing room devotees retype the text on computerized machines
[09:05]: that transfer each typed letter into an electronic code.
[09:08]: The codes are recorded on magnetic tape. Any language can be composed in this way.
[09:38]: The tape, with its coded information, is now fed into an electronic computer.
[09:55]: The coded impulses from the tape are stored in the computers memory bank..
[10:00]: Then the computer activates a phototypesetter. The typesetter converts the stored codes
[10:06]: into light sensitive impressions on photographic paper.
[10:13]: When the paper is developed in a processor the resulting image looks
[10:17]: exactly as it will appear in the finished book.
[10:20]: The typesetting machine can run off more than two thousand characters per minute.
[10:25]: At this rate the entire Srimad-Bhagavatam as Sukadeva Goswami first spoke it
[10:31]: could be reproduced in twenty-four hours.
[10:46]: The layout man cuts the photographic paper to page size and mounts it on art-board.
[11:05]: Next the page is photographed on a reproduction camera.
[11:30]: The retoucher removes any blemishes from the negative.
[11:44]: Before the book is printed blueprints are made of all the negatives
[11:49]: and the blueprints are carefully proof-read.
[11:56]: Meanwhile, during this entire operation, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust artists
[12:02]: illustrate verses and purports from pages of the Bhagavatam.
[12:21]: They begin with pencil sketches portraying the scenes exactly as they are written.
[12:27]: These sketches are sent to Srila Prabhupada for approval and then traced on canvas.
[12:33]: With great care and devotion oils are applied.
[12:37]: The artists have to work quickly to keep pace with modern book production techniques.
[12:42]: This painting, for instance, took only two weeks to complete.
[12:52]: For reproduction the finished painting is photographed with a special studio camera.
[13:01]: A reading on a color analyzer assures that the colors are correctly balanced on the final print.
[13:13]: The devotee technician programs a computer processor which automatically develops the print.
[13:44]: Next the picture goes to the layout department where it is scaled to the proper size.
[14:01]: The book is now ready to print.
[14:27]: At this point page proofs are checked for accurate color reproduction.
[14:38]: After being printed the books are stored at the BBT warehouse in Los Angeles.
[14:44]: From there they are shipped throughout the world.
[15:02]: Devotees load thousands of books into special air containers to jet-freight
[15:07]: rush orders within twenty-four hours.
[15:53]: The narrations concerning the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Krishna,
[15:59]: are the oldest writings known to man. Over generations they have influenced civilizations
[16:05]: in both the East and the West. Now, under Srila Prabhupada’s guidance,
[16:11]: the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust has become the world’s largest publisher and distributor
[16:16]: of these spiritual classics.
[16:18]: In English language editions alone the book trust has sold thirty million magazines
[16:23]: and ten million books.
[16:27]: It’s greatest undertaking is the continuing publication of the sixty-volume
[16:31]: Srimad-Bhagavatam, the essence of all spiritual and material knowledge.
[16:38]: The ultimate source of everything that be is explained rationally and authoratively
[16:44]: in the beautiful Bhagavatam therefore it is the transcendental science meant for the
[16:50]: re-spiritualization of the entire human society.
[16:55]: Another publication of major importance is the seventeen volume
[16:59]: Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. The original Bengali verses translated and explained by
[17:07]: Srila Prabhupada describe the life and teachings of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
[17:12]: The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna Himself appeared
[17:17]: as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to deliver the easiest and most sublime process
[17:22]: for self-realization in this age.
[17:28]: These books offer original Sanskrit and Bengali texts, Roman transliterations,
[17:34]: word-for-word English synonyms, concise translations and readable purports
[17:39]: by Srila Prabhupada.
[17:42]: They also feature detailed glossaries, general indexes and verse indexes,
[17:48]: pronunciation guides and original full-color paintings and photographs.
[17:54]: Also published by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust are a number of shorter works
[18:03]: in cloth and paper editions.
[18:11]: In 1944 Srila Prabhupada started publishing “Back to Godhead” magazine in India.
[18:17]: Now his disciples are continuing this work in many other countries.
[18:21]: The English language edition has a monthly circulation of one million copies
[18:25]: making it the West’s most popular periodical on Vedic philosophy and culture.
[18:31]: His Divine Grace is the spiritual master of a world-wide movement
[18:37]: and his books have thus been translated into fifteen major languages
[18:42]: including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese, Italian, Swedish, Dutch,
[18:50]: Portuguese, Polish, Swahili, Gujarati, Hindi and Bengali.
[18:59]: Bhagavad-gita As It Is is the Western world’s best selling and most widely used
[19:03]: edition of India’s greatest religious classic.
[19:06]: Nearly one million copies of the English edition have been sold.
[19:12]: Srila Prabhupada’s books are studied in universities and colleges throughout the world.
[19:17]: In America alone ninety percent of the colleges have already ordered these books
[19:22]: for their students, professors and libraries.
[19:25]: Harvard, Yale and Oxford lead the list of prestigious schools
[19:29]: that have placed standing orders for all seventeen volumes of Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
[19:35]: and the entire sixty volume set of Srimad-Bhagavatam.
[19:40]: Throughout the world scholars glorify Srila Prabhupada’s writings.
[19:47]: Dr. J. Bruce Long of Cornell University praised Srila Prabhupada’s works as,
[19:53]: “A cause for celebration.”
[19:55]: And Dr. Daniel H. H. Ingles of Harvard said,
[19:59]: “I am most happy to have these handsomely printed volumes.”
[20:03]: Dr. Garry Gelade of Oxford University wrote,
[20:07]: “This is a work to be treasured. The spirit of its message shines brightly from the pages.”
[20:22]: Devotees at the temples of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
[20:27]: study their spiritual masters books daily.
[20:30]: They have dedicated their lives to presenting the teachings of Krishna consciousness
[20:35]: to the entire human society.
[21:00]: Hare Krishna Sir. May I have a moment of your time? –Yea. Sure.
[21:04]: I’m from the Krishna temple and on the request of my spiritual master,
[21:08]: His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada,
[21:12]: we’re making these ancient books on transcendental knowledge
[21:15]: available to the people here in the West.
[21:17]: This is the history of the life and activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead,
[21:23]: Lord Sri Krishna.
[21:24]: I’ll show you one verse which is very good, it gives a basic idea of the book.
[21:29]: It says, “This Bhagavata Purana is as brilliant as the Sun and it has arisen
[21:36]: just after the departure of Lord Krishna to His own abode accompanied by religion,
[21:41]: knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness in this age
[21:48]: of Kali shall get light from this Purana.

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