Course Duration
40 Hours
40 Hours
Videos
90 Minutes Each
90 Minutes Each
No. Of Sessions
27
27
Sessions per week
3
3
Language
English
Eligibility
N/A
Schedule of Classes
Starts on
-
7:00 to 08:30 PM IST
Regular classes onMon, Wed & Fri
About the Teacher
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Kamalalochan Das
About the Teacher
He was born in Mysore (Karnataka, India) on 20th April, 1973.
Madhusudan Masa (Vaishaka Pouranimantah)
Krishna Paksha Tritiya, Vishaka Nakshatra (4th Pada).
His grandmother named him Krishna Kiran as she had vowed to Sri Udupi Krishna in her prayers to Him that a male child born will be named after Him.
Childhood
Born into an orthodox Madhva family, he spent his childhood in and around Madhava Mutt (Uttaradi Mutt) learning all the rituals and mantras. Hanuman and Sripad Madhvacharya were his natural heroes. His grandmother’s Mahabharata and Ramayana stories became his passion. Later he did his schooling in Tenali (the place of famous Tenali Ram) regularly visiting the Hauman’s deity (Mukyaprana) installed by Narahari Tirtha (No. 7 in our Guru Parampara list).
Youth
When he was just 14, the usually naughty and playful nature in him suddenly changed into a serious and philosophical one after the demise of his mother. While studying in college (Marine Engineering) he tried to explore sense gratification under peer pressure, but found it against his nature. It was in the 3rd year of college that he heard a lecture by HG Dayaram Prabhu and made up his mind not to marry.
As he read the Gita many times and frequently heard from HH Bhakti Vidyapurna Swami at the Mayapur Gurukul, his conviction to dedicate his life for preaching the message of the Bhagavad-gita became strong.
Shastric study
While working in the Merchant Navy as an engineering officer, he utilised his abundant spare time studying Srimad Bhagavatam for hours a day. In the meantime, during his 3 months of break from his job in Shipping, he got the divine association of HG Atmatatva Das who further inspired him to study Srila Prabhupada’s books and dedicate his life for preaching and told him that life is not meant for doing some shudra work. He gave up his highly lucrative job and joined ISKCON Mira Road on Aug 20th 1997.
Services done in ISKCON
As soon as he joined ISKCON Mira Road in 1997, he took up the responsibility of “New Bhakta training” and youth preaching. he got his first initiation in Jan 1998. Circumstances led me to become the Vice-president of ISKCON Mira Road in 1999. He took up congregation development and teaching in VIHE in the year 2002 after his second initiation. In 2007, he was made the President of ISKCON Mira Road, which came out to be a very strong community with a beautiful temple. He is known more for his philosophical discourses than his managerial abilities. He has also produced leaders and set up many temples and preaching centres in Vapi, Bhavnagar, Bhilwara, Udaipur, and many other places.
He has served as WIDC Vice-Chairman and has also completed the GBC College training from its first batch.
Current Services
Along with being the President of ISKCON Mira Road, he is also the member of the ILAC.
He travel extensively in South Gujarat, South Rajasthan and Punjab for preaching and guiding in setting up a standard gurukul as envisioned by Srila Prabhupada. Education is his passion; so he identify himself as teacher of Bhakti Shastri, Bhakti Vaibhav, Shad darshnas and other scriptures.
Course Overview
Course Description:
Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya is a commentary on Ramayana and Mahabharata by Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy. Although this composition primarily deals with Ramayana and Mahabharata, actually it is a work which gives us true understanding of all the sastras. It is a work, which compiles stories from Mula Ramayana, Vaimiki Ramayana and other Puranas, along with Mahabharata, bringing out their essence along with their inner meanings. Mahabharata is the essence of all the sastras, and Mahabhaarata Tatparya Nirnaya is the essence of Mahabharata. It is a critical exposition of Mahabharata and gives an authentic version of the entire theme of Mahabharata, supplementing the details from Harivamsa, Visnu Purana, Srimad Bhagavatam, and other sattvika puranas. In fact it is a critical digest of all these. Ramayana is also summarized in it. This gives us a complete picture of transcendental pastimes of Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, and Pandavas.
Course Content:
This work gives us the understanding of Vedanta Philosophy in two ways:
1. It contains all essential teachings of Vedanta Philosophy.
2. It helps us understand the purport of the Veda and Upanisads.
It is well said that itihasapuranabhyaam vedam samupabrahmayet. While Vedas and Upanishads teach the theory of Vedanta, the Mahabharata teaches the practice through appropriate illustrations.
The Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya has 32 chapters (5202 slokas). The whole text can be divided into three broad sections:
1. Chapters 1-3 deal with the true understanding of sastras and the process of creation.
2. Chapters 4-9 deal with Ramayana.
3. Chapters 10-32 deal with Mahabharata.
Course materials: Notes will be provided for every session
Target audience: Open for all
Assessment Plan: Multiple-choice questions at the end of the course
Course Requirement: None
Impact on society/what students will gain from this course:
1. They will know how glorification of Sri Krishna and Pandavas is the main purpose of Mahabharata.
2. Madhvacarya summarizes in order the pastimes of Krishna (SB 10th canto) and Pandavas (Mahabharata) in relation to each other, which is otherwise difficult to know.
3. Many misconceptions about different characters of Ramayana and Mahabharata are removed and the truth is revealed. Many confidential details are also revealed.
4. Madhvacarya covers all the major themes of Vedanta in a very simple language.
5. Students will develop devotion for Krishna and Pandavas along with deep philosophical insight.
6. Students will have proper understanding of Mahabharata and they will also develop better understanding of its true glories.