Śuddha-bhakti-cintāmaṇi - The Touchstone of Pure Devotional Service

The dedication to Śuddha-bhakti-cintāmaṇi reads as follows: “This book is dedicated to those Vaiṣṇavas for whom the path of pure devotional service bestowed upon humankind by Lord Caitanya, and subsequently taught to the world by Śrīla Prabhupāda, is everything.”

As Śivarāma Swami embarked on writing about Kṛṣṇa’s Vṛndāvana pastimes, many asked about the qualification required to access such literature. Which books are to be read and at what stages of a devotee’s spiritual development? In addressing these questions, what was meant to be a short paper expanded, as the scope of the book widened to include many topics of fundamental importance for our growth in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. The result was Śuddha-bhakti-cintāmaṇi, fourth in the Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana Series.

From a pure seed comes pure faith, and from pure faith grows a pure creeper of devotional service. By the same token, an impure seed of devotion leads to impure devotional service being performed. But how does one know whether one’s seed, faith, and thus service are impure or pure? What are the typical impurities that arise? And how does one go from impure to pure devotion? What are the stages of pure devotion, and how does advancement take place? What are the potential pitfalls? All this and many more topics are discussed in this must-read treatise on the science and practice of bhakti.

Finally, in the Foreword, Gopīparāṇadhana Prabhu writes as follows:

“In Śuddha-bhakti-cintāmaṇi, Śivarāma Swami is making a major statement to the devotees of ISKCON as he traces the progression of faith, attraction, and devotion through regulated devotional practice. What he says here is invaluably useful for all who have strayed from Kṛṣṇa and are serious about going back to Him. He explains how the adhikāras for various depths of hearing kṛṣṇa-līlā are acquired in the course of this standard cultivation. In this way he gives us the information we need to decide for ourselves what we are ready to hear and speak about. And he does this with strict adherence to guru, śāstra, and sādhu.”

822 pages
Hardbound
Gilt-edged
136x208mm / 5.3x8.2in

Also available in e-book format.

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Sample chapter from the book: