The Backward Glance - A Detailed Overview of Srimad-Bhagavatam Cantos Eleven and Twelve

Srila Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvati Thakura once offered a telling reply to a provocative question: Do all panditas in India accept Srimad-Bhagavatam, or do scholars of other schools stand opposed to its authority? His char acteristically straightforward response nonetheless surprises: "There is no deliberation in the world which is not against the Bhagavatam. All the different currents of thoughts of jivas averse to God from time im memorial are against it." In that same mood, Srila Prabhupada branded his books revolutionary, for they are "an attempt to glorify Krsna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Nothing more. There is no literary career." (Lecture on Srimad Bhagavatam 1.8.20, Mayapur, September 30, 1974).

Canto by canto, the Srimad-Bhagavatam draws us onward, encouraging, purifying, and guiding us to stop clutching at straws of matter in our search for happiness and security. Instead, the Bhagavatam implores us to grasp Lord Hari's lotus feet tightly by hearing about Him and glorifying Him, for those feet are the boat that will ferry us across the dangerous ocean of material existence and transport us to His abode, Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Thus Srimad-Bhagavatam, from its inception to its close, glorifies Kṛṣṇa as it carries us forward in its mission to help our love for Krsna, the Su preme Personality of Godhead, blossom through hearing and chanting His glories, names, and pastimes.

**Contents and Sample Pages**