First Installment

With commentary by Sri Srimad Jiva Gosvami and translation and purport by Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya (108) Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami

[Editor's Note: This is the first installment of the Brahma-samhita, the Hymns of Brahma, including a foreword by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the translator and commentator, and the first two verses and purports of the Fifth Chapter of this work. Brahma is the first created entity in this universe, born out of a lotus flower sprouting from the navel of the Garbhodakasayi Visnu, the Great God, and he is the greatest of the demigods, being directly empowered by Lord Krsna to create the solar and planetary systems and all life that dwells therein. Despite his great power, at his birth Brahma knew neither his whereabouts nor his identity. Therefore the Supreme Lord, Sri Krsna, imparted Vedic knowledge into his heart, and these hymns are Brahma's articulation of that knowledge. It is not surprising then that the Brahma-samhita is in praise of Govinda (Krsna), the primeval Lord who is the very origin of Brahma.

His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati renders, in his foreword and purports, detailed information which reveals his great scholarship and devotion. The greatest exponent of Vaisnavism in this century, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta founded the Gauḍiya Mission in India. He is the spiritual master of His Divine Grace Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami and therefore the grand spiritual master of the Krsna consciousness movement in the West.]