Personally I am so happy to see the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust (BBT) publish this beautiful and complete collection of the transcendental poems written by His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.

"Kavi" or poet is one of the 26 qualities of a Vaisnava (devotee of Lord Krishna) and in these transcendental poems Srila Prabhupada exhibits his ability as a poet in a most brilliant way.

Prabhupada's poems expose his intense eternal love and devotion to Lord Krishna, the transcendental cowherd boy playing in beautiful forests of Vrindavan. They show his personal and intimate connection with the preaching mission of his spiritual master, Srila Bhaktsiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada, his dedication to the orders of his spiritual master, and his personal distress at what happened in the Gaudiya Matha after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktsiddhanta.

I am unable to properly express the beauty, majesty and power of A Shower of Divine Compassion. I spent a couple of days reading it and through this book Srila Prabhupada gave me such an increase in inspiration and enthusiasm to push on, to try and advance in Krishna consciousness, even though there are so many obstacles on the path.

I believe this book is an essential read for any follower of Srila Prabhuapda. These poems of Srila Prabhupada give an intensely personal glimpse into Srila Prabhupada's unfailing dedication to the mission of Lord Caitanya and his spiritual master and his direct, personal relationship with Krishna, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Srila Prabhupada's poems are a source of great inspiration for us as we can see that he also had to face many of the very same problems we are facing within ISKCON now when his spiritual master's preaching mission, the Gaudiya Matha, disintegrated after the disappearance of Srila Bhaktsiddhanta.

As I said, I cannot express my joy and delight on seeing this complete collection of the poems of Srila Prabhupada published by the BBT and this is an essential book for every follower of Srila Prabhupada to read and to keep in his library. It is not a big book, you can read it within a couple of days, and I can personally guarantee that Srila Prabhuapda's poems will touch your heart and uplift your spirit. -- Madhudvisa dasa

From the Publishers:

Just when Srila Prabhupada's followers might have thought that all his literaty works had been gathered and published, we are surprised and pleased to receive this complete collection of his poetry, compiled and translated by Dasaratha-suta Prabhu. It is not that ISKCON has never seen these poems; Srila Prabhupada himself presented some of them to his disciples, and others have been available in the Bengali Vaisnava Songbook for years. Now, however, for the first time they have been collected in one book and presented in English.

With great reverence we place before you this anthology of Srila Prabhupada's poems. Most are written in Bengali, one is in English and the final one is in Sanskrit.

All the Bengali poems are currently included in the ISKCON Mayapur Bengali songbook, Bhakti Giti Sancayana, and are well known and sung by the Bengali devotees. However, they have been inaccessable to the English-speaking devotees, even though more than thirty years have passed since Srila Prabhupada's disappearance in 1977. I pray that these confidential writings of our spiritual master, finally coming to light at this late hour, may increase the devotional mood of the devotees worldwide.

Throughout time, pure devotees of Lord Krishna have composed poetry describing devotional service to Him.

This collection of poems reveals the heart and feelings of Srila Prabhupada, the guru who first spread Krishna consciousness worldwide.

"The froth upon the seawater arises one moment and disappears the next;
the play of Maya's worldly illusion is just like that." (from section 4 - "Froth on the Seawater")

Whoever daily fights the battle of life only for Lord Krishna's sake discovers prosperity, mystic perfection, and transcendental knowledge in the palm of his hand." (from section 13, "The Message of the Bhagavad-gita")