By Radhakrishna Dasa
The step from vaidhi to raganuga is a deliberate conscious one, Those who say it is automatic or the result of preaching may equate preaching as that deliberate effort, but as has been pointed out, preaching is a limb (anga) of bhakti and as such, it can be performed either in the vaidhi or the raganuga mood. One may be preaching in vaidhi, or move deliberately upwards to preach in raganuga.
Bhaktivinode Thakura, in his Sri Chaitanya Siksamrita, has described that the soul naturally evolves upwards, first from animalistic materialism, to the theistic morality of varnasrama, to vaidhi bhakti and finally to raganuga bhakti, but none of these transitions are automatic. Each requires great effort and desire to overcome the attachment to the former rung. As he writes:
“On the path of gradual development, care must be taken to to become steadily elevated to a higher level, no matter what the present level. By good fortune, the tendency of the soul is to elevate itself gradually, but there are certainly obstacles along the path, and so the soul may fail to reach the ultimate goal. Those who desire to reach a higher standard must always be conscious of this fact. In progressing from one level of life to the next, two things should be considered. The aspirant should be firmly fixed in one position to take a firm step to the next higher level. Then in order to advance successfully to the higher level, when one foot gives up the previous place, that foot must firmly fix itself in the higher level before the other foot can follow on to that new level. Simultaneously, the aspirant must give up attachment to the lower level, becoming firmly established on the higher level. By moving too quickly, the aspirant will fall. By moving too slowly the results will come slowly…
Some people lament that they have not attained devotion to Krsna but at the same time they do not make any real attempt to raise themselves to the level of Krsna bhakti. They remain bound to one of the levels and do not attempt to progress to the practices of the next higher level- this is known as niyamagraha. If people stop at one stage, how can they expect to progress to the top? Thus, many devotees on the level of vaidhi-bhakti make no attempt to progress to bhava bhakti, but then lament they have not attained bhava”
“Real attempt” and “must give up attachment” and “progress to the practices of the next higher level” all indicate deliberate effort and desire. There is nothing automatic about it.
How one makes this deliberate step to ragaunuga or nishta bhakti is also described. First one must be firmly situated in the level before it- anartha nivritti. Through humility and introspection and primarily through the help of the Lord within, one’s anarthas become progressively and painfully more and more obvious. One then feels lost and hopeless, powerless to overcome the illusory energy. One feels thoroughly unqualified. This may be spurred on by humility and awareness of subtle desires, or if that is not present, the illusory energy may help by causing gross fall down. Then one of two things may happen, If one’s faith is compromised, one falls from the path. One feels that the process is too hard for me, I should try something else. If however, faith is strong, then the feelings of hopelessness and desperation continue. Finally, they reach a cathartic point where one feels that on one’s own, by one’s own efforts, I am going nowhere. I cannot do it. One then “lets go”, as Draupadi did, of all confidence in oneself, and like a baby weeps helplessly for the Lord to intervene, to come into one’s heart and clear out these unwanted things- I have tried, I failed, I give up. Only you can do it, oh hari-nama!
Such intense feelings of longing, such intense desire and reaching out like a child to be picked up, is the pre-qualification for entering raga, which is characterized not exactly by the clearing of desires, anartha nivritti, but by the inflammation of desires that ever increase upon themselves to reach a fever pitch. Thus, lobha, or spiritual greed is a first step on the raga path. It is far greater than the desire to move from varnasrama to vaidhi, or from materialistic life to varnasrama, regulated theistic morality. That is why it is called greed- it becomes so intense, it can only be called an obsession. A greedy person is obsessed with his object of greed. Being thus obsessed, and feeling hopelessly inadequate, leads to the feeling of desperation for hari nama to enter my heart, and clear out all the dirt. I cannot do it. I tried and I failed.
Listening to a devotee on the raga path, again and again describe this as the only qualification for success, I can understand its importance. I have only ineptitude in such an attitude myself. I pray that by writing about it, I may please him and get his mercy.
I have described how if faith is not strong, one falls away, as one’s spiritual greed is not strong enough to pass the tests that anartha nivritti throw us. This stage by its nature, is a “make it or break it” stage, full of self-doubt and crises. If one is feeling peace and fulfillment in devotional service, one has not reached it yet. One is at bhajana kriya. Bhakti in the stage of raga is characterised not by peace, but the agitation of intense desire. One who has tasted even the smallest droplet of such spiritual nectar is never attracted again to the ocean of peace. Anartha nivritti facilitates that. But one’s faith or foundation must be strong and one’s motivation unwavering. Through good sadhu sanga this is possible.
We must become, as described above, obsessed with our object of greed- Krsna and the pastimes He enjoys with his devotees. Raganuga seems very selfish, because in it, we don’t do anything because someone tells us to- we do it because we want to. We like to hear about certain types of pastimes, more than others. If we hear by rote of rule, by our authorities telling us “you should go to Srimad Bhagavatam class. It’s at 8 am” or “read Srila Prabhupada’s books, in the morning and evening” that is hearing, but in vaidhi bhakti. In ragaunuga bhakti, it is about me- what I want, in my relationship with the Lord. As long as we are hearing out of a sense of duty about what should be done, or what our temple president or even Srila Prabhupada wanted of us, that sense of duty and lack of obsessive greed, ensures we are firmly on the vaidhi path. Being so firmly situated, we may criticize those on the raga path as selfish, and if we give out books- also out of a sense of duty, or possibly honor, this “better than thou” attitude may become firmly established.
Besides that, even out of a sense of duty, when one considers not just obeying, but really pleasing Srila Prabhupada, we may remember that when he was asked “What will please you most?” he replied “You becoming Krsna conscious!”. If taking time out, to get strong within by constant hearing, chanting and remembering the name, form, fame and pastimes of Krsna, is needed for that, then we should do it, to please him most. (Then how potent will our preaching be? This is Aindra prabhu’s point, most excellently and passionately argued in his deeply felt treatise “The Transcendental Heart of Book Distribution”
Abandoning such a sense of duty and entering the path of attraction, one should constantly hear Krsna lila in the association of pure devotees, if possible. Raganuga sravanam is hearing that which one is attracted to. If one is attracted to hearing about how the gopis serve Krsna- their qualities and the moods that they do it in, then one naturally hears and reads more and more of those pastimes, spurred on only by attraction. Then one proceeds to chanting in that mood, praying for their mercy. The same things happens in any of the rasas. Two things facilitate our progress- the negative realization of our helplessness and the subsequent feebleness and insufficiency of our own efforts, feeling amply and hopelessly unqualified, and the positive realization of sweet nectarean attraction. Spurred on ever more by attraction, and feeling more and more unqualified, one ‘s spiritual greed takes over, and in an ever more humble and appreciative mood, one reads with a greatly prayerful attitude and great hope and aspiration- desire- to become part of those pastimes, or as the acaryas put it “one covets a desire” It is called “coveting”, as we do not deserve it, feeling and knowing our ample disqualifications. We have no money for the goods, but want them anyway, and indeed we are obsessed with having them. That is greed.
Sometimes it is said that “one covets a secret desire”. Inflamed by greed, we become very fearful that our aspirations may be taken away by “skeletons in the closet”: the anarthas produced by bhakti, such as desire to be seen as an advanced devotee. No devotee should ever tell anyone that he is on the raga path. Greed by its nature is obsessive, and has only one object.
We should not become discouraged by our anarthas…and we should become discouraged by them. They are stumbling blocks, but while we have stumbled, we are in a low position, ready to call out for help. If we are in the process of stumbling, we are also desperately crying out for help. They are meant to discourage us from relying on our own efforts and accustom us to beg helplessly. We feel we are “up against a rock and a hard place” with no way out. This is a great place to be, in terms of spiritual catharsis. Security, comfort, respectability in the ISKCON society are protections against reaching this place. The temple room floor should be wet with tears after every kirtan, or something is not quite right, especially if “senior” devotees are present.
Therefore, maya arranges major stumbling blocks for us. Our gurus do not fall down- they fall up. Only when one is down, can one look up for help. They are being helped along by the illusory energy, and ultimately by the hand of Krsna. We all are. But if all we see around us is the hard ground and the rocks of hopelessness, and not the hopefulness of His kind hand, ready and ever willing to pull us up and out of our quandary, and have us part of His blissful spiritual entourage, then we will have reached the meeting place of two paths, and have gone the wrong way…
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False devotees, lacking the conclusion of transcendental knowledge, think that artificially shedding tears will deliver them. Similarly, other false devotees think that studying books of the previous ācāryas is unadvisable, like studying dry empiric philosophies. But Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, following the previous ācāryas, has inculcated the conclusions of the scriptures in the six theses called the Shat-sandarbhas. False devotees who have very little knowledge of such conclusions fail to achieve pure devotion for want of zeal in accepting the favorable directions for devotional service given by self-realized devotees. Such false devotees are like impersonalists, who also consider devotional service no better than ordinary fruitive actions.”
(End of Bhaktivedanta Purport)
Therefore it is not enough to mentally imagine the eternal associates of Vraja and their transcendental seva. By forcing the mind to remember Krsna’s asta-kaliya-lila, it will be material and can never be called ‘siddha rupena catra hi’, internal absorption in seva.
The process of raganuga-bhakti sadhana is not an artificial imposition on the mind, but rather, a natural manifestation from the heart. Having acquired transcendental greed, the devotee engages in the process of hearing and chanting with the proper moods and naturally the heart becomes saturated with bhakti-rasa. Internal meditation on Krsna lila will then manifest automatically.
Raga is defined as the unquenchable loving thirst (prema-mayi trsna) for the object of one’s affection (Sri Krsna) which gives rise to spontaneous and intense absorption (svarasiki paramavisthitah) in that object. These are not ordinary mundane feelings, but transcendental love and affection that Sri Krsna’s eternal associates have for Him in the spiritual world.
So, it is not by having a nervous breakdown or by throwing a tantrum, that one will reach the platform of spontaneous love and unalloyed service at the Divine Couple’s lotus feet.
Rather, it is a natural process, which one is granted access to, by kripa only, as a result of one’s seva and selfless dedication to Sri Guru & Krishna’s pleasure, saṁsiddhir Hari-toṣaṇam
Morning Walk at Stow Lake — March 27, 1968, San Francisco:
Srila Prabhupāda: So whole program is for Kṛṣṇa. And that is Kṛṣṇa karma. You are preparing, you are earning money, you are distributing prasādam. Why? For Kṛṣṇa’s sake. Otherwise, why should you work so hard? But we have voluntarily accepted, “Oh, Kṛṣṇa will be satisfied.” This is Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Samsiddhir hari-tosanam. Everyone may act in his own duty. It doesn’t matter what kind of duty he has got. But he has to see whether by execution of that duty Kṛṣṇa is satisfied. Then he’s successful. That is the version in the Srimad-Bhāgavatam:
ataḥ pumbhir dvija-śreṣṭhā
varṇāśrama-vibhāgaśaḥ
svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya
saṁsiddhir hari-toṣaṇam
(SB 1.2.13)
Svanuṣṭhitasya dharmasya, everyone has got a specific duty. So one has to see that by his specific duty, entrusted with or discharging that duty, whether Kṛṣṇa is being satisfied. That’s all. Therefore one has to accept a bona fide spiritual master to know whether Kṛṣṇa is being satisfied by his work. Who will certify? You cannot concoct, “Oh, I am doing for satisfaction of Kṛṣṇa.” No, that is not possible. It must be accepted by the representative of Kṛṣṇa, “Yes, by your work, Kṛṣṇa is satisfied.” Then it is all right.”
Moreover, one should carefully study and follow the process as evoked by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself in Siksastakam.
In this way, one will realize that before attaining the stage of bhava “nayanam galad-ashru-dharaya…”, one has to go through and realize:
trinad api sunichena
taror api sahishnuna
amanina manadena
kirtaniyah sada harih
One should chant the holy name of the Lord in a humble state of mind, thinking oneself lower than the straw in the street; one should be more tolerant than a tree, devoid of all sense of false prestige and should be ready to offer all respect to others. In such a state of mind one can chant the holy name of the Lord constantly.
na dhanam na janam na sundarim
kavitam va jagad-isha kamaye
mama janmani janmanishvare
bhavatad bhaktir ahaituki twayi
O almighty Lord, I have no desire to accumulate wealth, nor do I desire beautiful women, nor do I want any number of followers. I only want Your causeless devotional service birth after birth.
ayi nanda-tanuja kinkaram
patitam mam vishame bhavambudhau
kripaya tava pada-pankaja
sthita-dhuli-sadrisham vichintaya
O son of Maharaja Nanda [Krishna], I am Your eternal servitor, yet somehow or other I have fallen into the ocean of birth and death. Please pick me up from this ocean of death and place me as a particle of dust affixed to Your lotus feet.
As it is, many may be aspiring to become a gopi or a manjari, but how many are praying, prior to that, to become a speck of dust at Krishna’s lotus feet…?
However, it is only by developing such genuine spiritual feelings, that one may become eligible to further hanker:
nayanam galad-ashru-dharaya
vadanam gadgada-ruddhaya gira
pulakair nichitam vapuh kada
tava nama-grahane bhavishyati
O my Lord, when will my eyes be decorated with tears of love flowing constantly when I chant Your holy name? When will my voice choke up, and when will the hairs of my body stand on end at the recitation of Your name?
and then become eligible to attain to higher spheres of bhakti, and experience genuine vipralambha:
yugayitam nimeshena
chakshusha pravrishayitam
shunyayitam jagat sarvam
govinda-virahena me
O Govinda! Feeling Your separation, I am considering a moment to be like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I am feeling all vacant in the world in Your absence.
and further develop pure unalloyed love of God, prema bhakti:
ashlishya va pada-ratam pinashtu mam
adarshanan marma-hatam karotu va
yatha tatha va vidadhatu lampato
mat-prana-nathas tu sa eva naparah
I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord unconditionally.
Actual Post 1
I was surprised after reading this article, that there was practically no mention of either seva, or Guru-kripa.
To the contrary, one shouldn’t loose sight of the fact that it is only by taking shelter of a pure Vaishnava’s lotus feet and performing devotional service under his guidance, while obeying the personal instructions given specifically to us, that we can have any chance of being bestowed, by his divine grace, the treasure of prema bhakti…
In the Caitanya-caritamrta Adi-lila 2.117, Srila Prabhupada writes:
siddhānta baliyā citte nā kara alasa
ihā ha-ite krishne lāge sudridha mānasa
A sincere student should not neglect the discussion of such conclusions, considering them controversial, for such discussions strengthen the mind. Thus one’s mind becomes attached to Śrī Krishna.
PURPORT
“There are many students who, in spite of reading the Bhagavad-gītā, misunderstand Krishna because of imperfect knowledge and conclude Him to be an ordinary historical personality. This one must not do. One should be particularly careful to understand the truth about Krishna. If because of laziness one does not come to know Krishna conclusively, one will be misguided about the cult of devotion, like those who declare themselves advanced devotees and imitate the transcendental symptoms sometimes observed in liberated souls.
Although the use of thoughts and arguments is a most suitable process for inducing an uninitiated person to become a devotee, neophytes in devotional service must always alertly understand Krishna through the vision of the revealed scriptures, the bona fide devotees and the spiritual master. Unless one hears about Śrī Krishna from such authorities, one cannot make advancement in devotion to Śrī Krishna. The revealed scriptures mention nine means of attaining devotional service, of which the first and foremost is hearing from authority. The seed of devotion cannot sprout unless watered by the process of hearing and chanting. One should submissively receive the transcendental messages from spiritually advanced sources and chant the very same messages for one’s own benefit as well as the benefit of one’s audience.
Actual Post 2
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“When Brahmā described the situation of pure devotees freed from the culture of empiric philosophy and fruitive actions, he recommended the process of hearing from persons who are on the path of devotion. Following in the footsteps of such liberated souls, who are able to vibrate real transcendental sound, can lead one to the highest stage of devotion, and thus one can become a mahā-bhāgavata. From the teachings of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Sanātana Gosvāmī (Madhya 22.65) we learn:
śāstra-yuktye sunipuna, dridha-śraddhā yāńra
‘uttama-adhikārī’ sei tāraye samsāra
“A person (the uttama-adhikari) who is expert in understanding the conclusion of the revealed scriptures and who fully surrenders to the cause of the Lord is actually able to deliver others from the clutches of material existence.”
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, in his Upadeśāmrita (3), advises that to make rapid advancement in the cult of devotional service one should be very active and should persevere in executing the duties specified in the revealed scriptures and confirmed by the spiritual master. Accepting the path of liberated souls and the association of pure devotees enriches such activities. Imitation devotees, who wish to advertise themselves as elevated Vaishnavas and who therefore imitate the previous ācāryas but do not follow them in principle, are condemned in the words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.24) as stone-hearted. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Thākura has commented on their stone-hearted condition as follows: bahir aśru-pulakayoh sator api yad dhridayam na vikriyeta tad aśma-sāram iti kanishthādhikārinām eva aśru-pulakādi-mattve ‘pi aśma-sāra-hridayatayā nindaishā. “Those who shed tears by practice but whose hearts have not changed are to be known as stone-hearted devotees of the lowest grade. Their imitation crying, induced by artificial practice, is always condemned.” The desired change of heart referred to above is visible in the reluctance to do anything not congenial to the devotional way. To create such a change of heart, conclusive discussion about Śrī Krishna and His potencies is absolutely necessary.”
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