Srila Prabhupada writes: “Love of God is dormant in everyone, and if one is given a chance to hear about the Lord, certainly that love develops. Our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement acts on this principle.” [CC, Adi 7.141]

This fundamental principle, which we find throughout the writings of Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Prabhupada, is currently under assault. Some claim that this teaching contradicts Srila Jiva Gosvami’s Sandarbhas and is merely a recent innovation by Bhaktivinoda Thakura that finds no support in sastra or tradition, and is therefore apasiddhanta. Others claim it was really just a “preaching strategy” that has now “reached its shelf life”.

In this presentation, Sundar Gopal das, who is currently working on his PhD at the University of Oxford on this topic, will establish definitively that Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s presentation is not his own recent innovation, but closely follows a long and highly respected sastric commentarial tradition.

Presenting newly discovered, ground-breaking textual evidence, he will collapse the claim that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s teachings are apasiddhanta or that they were merely a “preaching strategy”. Furthermore, he will show why it cannot be said that Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura is discontinuous with the Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition and Srila Jiva Gosvami.

This presentation is on September 18th, the appearance day of both Srila Jiva Gosvami (in India) and Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (in countries west of India).

Direct link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85108148564?pwd=RDhwNXZKVTA0L1JGMllmS3NrMkRQdz09