Page 31 - GOTIL (ENG) Sample

Introduction xxix

to explain each and every point in detail. For instance,
an attempt to define “Śrī Vaiṣṇava” could be the subject
of a doctoral thesis. As anthropologists concur, to really
understand a culture one must live within it. Nonetheless
readers of this book should be able to get some feeling
of what life was like in traditional India.

Many words from Indian culture used herein have now
entered the English language and are listed in standard
dictionaries; non-English and technical terms are
explained in the Glossary. Some words from Sanskrit
and vernacular Indian languages have been rendered
with diacritical marks, a guide to which is provided
at the end of the book. To retain their original flavor,
conversations conducted in that curious dialect known
as “Indian English” are mostly left unedited.

I plan to follow this publication with Vaiṣṇava Culture,
Etiquette, and Behavior — a large work giving extensive
guidance to devotees; and other books, such as Family
Life in Kṛṣṇa Consciousness, that will similarly combine
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s directions with practical observations
of Vedic culture at work. I pray to the Supreme Lord Śrī
Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu to guide my thoughts, and to
all Vaiṣṇavas present and future that they may appreciate
this endeavor and find it helpful in their lives. 7

Thanks are due to Nanda Kumāra Dāsa and Śobha Rādhikā
Dāsī for transcription of interviews, to the interviewees for

7. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu — the form of Kṛṣṇa who
descended 500 years ago to distribute the highest love of God
by the process of chanting His holy names.