An ISKCON devotee, his Grace Krishna Chandra das from Bellary, set an All India Record by being the first individual to recite the entire 700 verses of the renowned book of knowledge Bhagavad Gita in the least amount of time.
The least amount of time for an individual to recite the 700 slokas of the Bhagavad Gita is 73 minutes.
The feat was achieved in the month of January this year in Bellary, State of Karnataka when two officials representing the All India Book of Records officiated at the recorded recital of the 700 slokas, all rendered by memory.
This sets an all India record that could become a hallmark in the
Guinness Book of World Records.
Asked why he undertook this unprecedented task Krishna Chandra explained that he wanted to clear the doubt many often express as to the time factor taken to speak the entire Bhagavad Gita by establishing the fact that Lord Krishna’s conversation with Arjuna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra 5,000 years ago took approximately one hour.
Not only can Krishna Chandra recite the entire 700 verses but he can identify the chapter and verse number of any translation read to him.
In addition, simply by hearing the chapter and verse number he can immediately recite the translation.
This month of March he received the official certificate and medallion from representatives of the All India Book of Records as reported in several national newspapers.
The achievement validates the claim that sages of bygone days could capture to memory entire books of Vedic teachings such as the original Vedas for which they received titles such as Caturvedi (memorizing four Vedas) and Trivedi (memorizing three Vedas).
One of the important activities for students in the traditional Vedic educational system of Gurukula is the recitation and memorization of various mantras and indeed entire books by following prescribed Vedic techniques that facilitate such memorization.
Teachers in such traditional Gurukulas warn, however, that such achievements are only possible when students avoid modern day gadgets or machines such as cell phones and computers that cripple the natural learning abilities that lie dormant within all individuals.
By: HH Bhakti Raghava Swami
