By Madhava Smullen
A new 10-session course on Bengali Learning – Beginner Level will be offered online on Zoom or Google classroom by the Bhaktivedanta Research Centre (BRC); the course will run Monday to Friday for two weeks from September 28th to October 9th 2020.
About fifty participants are expected to attend from around the world, primarily practicing Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees, although all are welcome. The course is designed for students over fifteen years of age, and will be taught in English.
BRC Course Coordinator Aradhya Bhagavan Das explains the benefits of learning Bengali for Gaudiya Vaishnava devotees:
“Srila Prabhupada writes in the Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-Lila 8:39 that ‘If one reads the original Caitanya-caritamrta in Bengali he will relish increasing ecstasy in devotional service.’ And Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Prabhupada said, ‘The time will come when the people of the world will learn Bengali to read Sri Caitanya-caritamrta.’”
Aradhya Bhagavan adds: “Sri Chaitanya Charitamrita, just like many other Gaudiya Vaishnava texts – including Sri Chaitanya Bhagavat and Sri Chaitanya Mangala – were written in choice poetry, or kavya format. So, as both Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura point out, the readers will relish increasing ecstasy in reading the original composition of these divine poetic texts in the Bengali language.”
Read more: https://iskconnews.org/bhaktivedanta-research-centres-bengali-course-will-allow-devotees-to-read-gaudiya-vaishnava-texts-in-original-language,7517/
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