Reading guide
Recommended books
Śrīla Prabhupāda wrote more than sixty volumes. You don’t need to read them all, or in any order: this is a sensible route, from the simplest to the deepest, with a link to read each book free.
Every book can be read free on screen. Printed copies are sold at the shop of any temple and in the online shops listed in Shops. Mundo Bhakti does not sell books or take any commission.
1. To begin
Short books, one or two evenings each, written for people who know nothing yet. Any of them works as a first read.
The Science of Self-Realization
Interviews, talks and essays by Prabhupāda on the perennial subjects: the soul, karma, yoga, science, society. It is the best overview and can be dipped into anywhere.
Beyond Birth and Death
Very short. It explains what the soul is, what happens at death and how to get out of the cycle of births.
Perfect Questions, Perfect Answers
Prabhupāda’s conversations with a young American Peace Corps volunteer in India in 1972. The doubts are those of any Westerner, which is why it reads so well.
The Perfection of Yoga
What the Bhagavad-gītā says about yoga and why it places devotion above all other practices.
Rāja-vidyā: The King of Knowledge
A walk through the central chapter of the Gītā, where Krishna explains devotion.
On the Way to Kṛṣṇa
A short book on the search for real happiness and why it leads, in the end, to Krishna.
2. The foundation
The three books every devotee has read. They are studied slowly, verse by verse, with the commentary.
Bhagavad-gītā As It Is
The conversation between Krishna and Arjuna, with the Sanskrit, a word-for-word translation and Prabhupāda’s commentary on every verse. It is the fundamental book.
Śrī Īśopaniṣad
Eighteen mantras from one of the oldest Upaniṣads. Short and very dense: it teaches that everything belongs to God and how to live accordingly.
The Nectar of Instruction
Eleven verses by Rūpa Gosvāmī that sum up how to practise: what helps devotion, what spoils it and whose company to keep.
3. Going deeper
Once the foundation is in place. These books tell who Krishna is and describe devotion from the inside.
Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
The life of Krishna, told in prose from the tenth canto of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam: Vrindavan, Mathura, Dvārakā. It reads like a novel.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya
What Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught His main disciples, summarised from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
The Nectar of Devotion
Prabhupāda’s study of Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: the complete science of bhakti, from practice to pure love.
Teachings of Queen Kuntī
The prayers to Krishna of Kuntī, mother of the Pāṇḍavas. One of the most moving texts of the tradition.
Light of the Bhāgavata
A short, poetic text that compares the rainy season in Vrindavan with spiritual life.
4. The great works
Reading for a lifetime. Devotees read a passage every day, and temples hold a class on them every morning.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
Twelve cantos and eighteen thousand verses. It tells of God’s appearances in the world and the lives of His devotees. The tradition considers it the ripened fruit of all Vedic literature.
Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta
The life and teachings of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, written by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja. It is the highest theological work of the Gaudiya school.
To get to know Prabhupāda
Śrīla Prabhupāda-līlāmṛta
Prabhupāda’s biography, written by his disciple Satsvarūpa dāsa Gosvāmī: from his childhood in Calcutta to the voyage on the Jaladuta and the twelve years in which he founded a worldwide movement.
How to read them
- A little every day. Ten minutes a day gets you further than three hours on a Sunday.
- With the commentary. In the Gītā and the Bhāgavatam, the verse is the seed and the commentary the explanation. Don’t skip it.
- No rush to move on. One verse understood is worth more than a chapter read.
- In company, when you can. Temples read and discuss them in groups, and many classes are streamed online.
Frequently asked questions
Which one do I start with if I am only going to read one?
With The Science of Self-Realization if you want an overview in plain language, or go straight to the Bhagavad-gītā if you prefer to go to the source.
Why only books by Prabhupāda?
Because they are the common reference for all Krishna devotees in the West, they are complete, and they give the original text alongside the commentary. There are other very valuable authors in the tradition; these are the starting point.
Is any translation of the Bhagavad-gītā the same?
No. There are hundreds, and many interpret it through ideas foreign to it. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is presents it as the Vaishnava tradition understands it, which is the tradition of the one who spoke it. We explain this in The Bhagavad-gītā.