Bhakti Shastri (160) Nectar of Devotion Chapter 16

Podcast

Thank you Welcome back to the Bhakti Shastri course we are discussing the Bhaktirasa Amritsindhu and we are now discussing Raghanuga Bhakti so, the way which talked about the oceans divided into parts, so in the eastern ocean, there is a way which talks about Vaidhi Bhakti in fact, so in the Vaidhi Bhakti, that Vaidhi Bhakti got over in the 14th chapter and 15th and 16th chapters talk about Raghanuga Bhakti so now Vaidhi and Raghanuga both are parts of Sadhana Bhakti so let’s look at Raghanuga Bhakti further in the quick recap of the previous chapter to continue our discussion from there, Raghanuga and Raghatmika so Raghatmika is the Bhakti it is, we could put it Raghatmika and Raghanuga as Raghatmika is the perfection of spontaneous devotion and Raghanuga is the practise of spontaneous devotion so Raghatmika means, say the devotee like Yashodamayi, she for her, Raga is the Atma, is filled with spontaneous attraction for Krishna, so the word Raga here refers to spontaneous attraction and a devotee who wants to serve in the mood of Yashodamayi, that devotee will be said to be Raghanuga means the devotee is doing practise to develop spontaneous devotion so there is a Raghatmika, that is the perfection of spontaneous devotion, Raghanuga is the practise of spontaneous devotion, Anuga, Anuga means to follow, now in the footsteps of and there when we discuss, while we were discussing about Raghanuga Bhakti, we discussed about Raghatmika Bhakti and based on the Bhagavatam Shloka where, how different devotees attain perfection by absorption in Krishna, so there Gopya, Kaman, Bhayarth comes, so so like that, that was when we discussed Sambandha, Krishna Snehad, so there when we discussed these different categories so different devotees so we discussed how the devotees who are in various categories if the mood is unfavourable that is say Bhayarth or Vesharth then that is not the nature in which anybody will be serving in the spiritual world so that is not Raghatmika Bhakti and similarly the Pandavas and the devotees like Narada they are not always serving in the mood of spontaneous devotion, there may be an awareness of the awareness of the greatness of the Lord and there may be awe and reverence which leads to serving in the mood of duty and therefore the Raghatmika Bhaktas are primarily Sambandha Rupa which are the Dwaraka Vasis they are related with the Lord and they are Kama Rupa they are the Praja Vasis especially the Gopis, they are not directly related with the Lord but they serve the Lord spontaneously out of their attraction and then we discussed how that attraction is not material attraction, it is spiritual, it is Rupa Goswami gives repeats the example which is also given by Krishna Das and Viraj Goswami, both of them talk about similar concepts that one is selfish, lust is selfish, love is selfless so the example which is given is lust is like copper and love is like gold so lust and love can seem similar it can seem similar because if copper is gold coated then it can appear to be shining like gold but then if the copper plate which is gold coated appears to be like gold but then if it is exposed to some hot temperature or exposed to some rough surface and the gold coating comes off and the inner copper gets revealed, so like that sometimes love may seem to be selfless or lust may seem to be selfless but once some difficulties come up, the heat comes up, heat of challenges, difficulties troubles comes up then the selfish core gets revealed, gets exposed rather and then that seem to be not love but lust so there is a difference between love and lust now after discussing this then we also discussed how we have to be careful about this kama rupa, not mistake it to be material, not mistake it to be this worldly pleasure and then after that now in this chapter, let’s look at chapter 16 over here spontaneous devotion further explained so in the spontaneous devotion further explained so Prabhupada writes in the attitude of the denizens of Vrindavan such as Nanda Maharaj and Mother Eshoda is to be found the ideal transcendental concept of being the father and mother of Krishna the original personality of Godhead so the ideal transcendental concept of being the father and mother, that is ideal conception, that they have spontaneous love now what is the eligibility for spontaneous devotional service so to understand this Prabhupada writes first of all that we have to go beyond which means the disappearance of all material contamination so let’s try to understand this now we know the nine stages of the progression of bhakti so and there is and so what is the qualification for practising Ravanuga bhakti one has to go beyond one has to come to the level of nishtha so one starts with so this bhajana kriya which we talk about that is talked about, that is vaidhi bhakti so the impetus is by vithi, is by rules this is what one must do because these are the rules and starts with vaidhi bhakti and then after that one moves forward so once one is done one comes to nishtha and then one can start practising Ravanuga bhakti so Ravanuga bhakti it’s important to understand it is also in the jurisdiction of sadhana sometimes we think that Ravanuga is actually it’s bhava or prema, no bhava bhakti is the 8th stage prema bhakti is the 9th stage whereas Ravanuga is something which comes within the earlier stages only so it’s a part of vaidhi bhakti and it is important to understand this point because sometimes Ravanuga itself is mistaken to be the goal, but it’s not the goal it’s a part of the process so to understand Ravanuga more clearly, actually Prabhupada describes it in his summary study we will look at the relevant Sanskrit verses which come in the bhakta samvatsindhu and then we will look at the concept of Ravanuga bhakti better so Prabhupada mentions over here before we go to that there is a stage called anarthanivrtti which means the disappearance of material contamination so without giving this anarthanivrtti Prabhupada says when one is actually spontaneously attracted to the loving principles of the gopis then we found no trace of any mundane contamination in his character so if somebody is having mundane attraction that person is not qualified for Ravanuga bhakti we have discussed earlier how the male female attraction in this world is like the reflection of the mango in a river and the transcendental attraction between Krishna and the gopis that is like the mango in the real mango above the river on the tree so by jumping into the river towards the reflection one will only break one’s head if one hits a rock underwater one will not get the mango one has to come out of the river and climb up the tree and then reach the mango so as long as one is in material illusion one has a tendency for material sexual attraction that means that one is jumping into the river and one is going into the river then one cannot climb up the tree and get the mango so anarthanivrutti means one understands that okay there is nothing in this reflection that anartha is what what is the word anartha means anartha means meaning, anartha means that which has no meaning so anarthas cause us to see meaning where there is no meaning what does anartha do anartha makes us see artha where there is no artha that is anartha so where there is no mango anartha makes us see oh there is a mango over here there is pleasure over here and that is how we are infatuated so anarthanivrutti, retirement of anarthas nivrutti the word used for retirement so retirement of anarthas means what there are two aspects to it that the anarthas get retired and we retire from the service of the anarthas so first we have to retire from the service of the anarthas then the anarthas will get retired that means we have to start saying no to the anarthas the last comes and proposes why don’t you do this, come on enjoy he says no actually of course we don’t stay busy saying no no no we focus on saying yes to Krishna and that yes to Krishna fills our mind so much that automatically a no to the anarthas comes up and eventually when we keep saying no no no no again and again and what happens, anarthas see that ok here there is no scope, this person is not going to fall to my temptation anarthas go away sometimes some sales person comes along and knocks on the door so once, twice, thrice like that once one says no once and for all then that sales person understands ok I am not going to get anything over here, I will just be wasting my time so like that or some other example could be that suppose we had a pet dog and we loved the pet dog and now now we understood that this dog has got rabies, very dangerous just by touching it, it may bite us and we may get get the terrible disease, so we have to understand I have to give away this dog, I have to push away this dog so for a long time when petting and fondling and caressing that dog and suddenly we push the dog away the dog says hey what’s happening why are you pushing me away so the dog comes back again again we push away and the dog comes back again and again we push away and then somehow the dog comes there and again we think oh once in a while if I fondle it it doesn’t matter, but if you once fondle it then what happens, the dog starts oh my master still loves me and then ten times also if you say push the dog away, the master fondles you, so the master is simply playing with you and later on he will accept you, so what has to be done is, the dog has to be pushed away and nothing doing, no fondling, just every time it comes, push it away then only the dog will understand oh this person doesn’t want me and then the dog will go so that is how lust also works, like a dog which has been made into a pet, lust is like that we had ourselves adopted lust when we are materialistic we try to find newer and newer ways to stimulate and agitate the imagination with lust and therefore I get some pleasure, so we have fondled and caressed and embraced lust and then when we understand maha shino maha paapma viddhiye namih vairinam this is an enemy, this is an enemy, I have to keep it up then we start talking, no no I am not indulging it, so so lust proposes and we say no again and again we say no then finally what happens, after a few times of saying no, then somehow we say yes and then oh this person is still ready to enjoy, there is a lot of scope to persuade this person, then again lust starts proposing forcefully so anartha nivritti means a firm and persistent no no means no nothing doing means nothing doing when that sort of nivritti happens we retire from the service of lust and then once and for all, it’s a permanent retirement, it’s an irreversible retirement and then after that lust retires from making its proposals to us, but lust will not retire before that in fact lust will only do that afterwards, first we have to retire from its service, then lust will become tired of its proposals and then after it becomes tired, then it will retire, so that’s how it is to move forward, so anartha nivritti without anartha nivritti to imagine oneself to get the level of spontaneous devotion is sahajiyaik so there are people who are, as Prabhupada writes, they are having they talk and act as if they are in Gopi Bhaav, but then there is so much male-female attraction over there that is travesty it’s actually a great atrocity against the exalted principles of devotion which Rupa Goswami is talking about over here, so Prabhupada was very cautious and he put when Bhaktivedanta Swami put raga marga he said this is worth puja for us to be worshipped by us, it’s a very exalted position although it’s not a position of prema, still it’s an exalted position and we should respect it and put it in a position of reverence and by that we can gradually take it up, gradually as we become spiritually advanced we will develop that raga bhakti, so now coming to the point that raga anuga is also a part of sadhana bhakti so just as in Raga Atmika, there was Sambandha Rupa and there was Kama Rupa so like that here also there is Sambandha Rupa and Kama Rupa, so we will go to that, but before that let’s look at some of the concepts about raga anuga bhakti which we are going to talk about over here, so here Prabhupada talks about siddha pranali so siddha pranali what it is and how it is mistaken they imagine that they have become associates of the lord simply by thinking of themselves like that this external behaviour is not at all according to the regularity principles so now Prabhupada in these sentences has concentrated a depth of meaning and to unpack this, let’s look at the Sanskrit verses of the Bhakti Rasamangala Sindhu so before that Prabhupada mentions no necessity of discussing further he says that in the stage of devotional service where regularity principles are followed, there is no necessity of discussing this law, for it must develop itself at a more advanced stage what does it mean? that one should not prematurely trespass into the realm of Raga Atmika Bhakti why? because here the goal is not to talk about Raga Atmika, we are not trying to talk about Yashodamayi’s love for Krishna we are talking about how a Raganuga devotee who is modelling one’s love on Yashodamayi’s love how that person will be able to practise it’s not, Prabhupada is not banning the discussion of Raganuga Bhakti he is talking about the not necessity of talking about Raga Atmika Bhakti right now so now let’s look at what is the qualification for practising spontaneous devotional service so here, actually now what has been talked about here in the Bhakti Saamsindhu is also derived from Chaitanya Charitamruta because there is a conversation of Rupa Goswami with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu over there, so let’s look at this verse tat tat bhavadi ma dhurye, shute dhiryata pekshate, natra shastram tanna yuktimcha tal labho patti lakshanam so tat tat bhavadi ma dhurye tat tat bhavadi means according to one’s bhava that is, there is five rasas are there tat tat bhavadi, shute dhiryata pekshate shute when one hears about it then dhiryata pekshate dhiryata pekshate means one’s intelligence becomes attracted intelligence becomes attracted and then natra shastram na yuktimcha natra shastram though one does not depend on the instruction of shastra, na yukti yukti refers to logic and argument so why should I practise bhakti one doesn’t need logical arguments nor does one need scriptural statements then what does one need tal labho patti lakshanam lobho patti when that lobha is there, when one starts coveting a particular type of devotion, that is raga anuka bhakti so let’s look at this once again so tat tat bhavadi ma dhurye shute dhiryata pekshate there are many pastimes of the lord and then we hear different pastimes actually now we may hear say yashodamayi time of krishna in damodar mila we feel very attracted to it tat tat bhavadi ma dhurye there are various bhavas and then one hears about it shute dhiryata pekshate the heart, the intelligence becomes attracted devotee becomes attracted I want to serve in the mood of yashodamayi then why do I want to serve because there is attraction when there is attraction, even in this material world also when there is what people call as love it is actually only a shadow of love, it’s largely lost but people can’t listen to logic over there the force of love doesn’t nearly push from logic once the force of love comes it is so fast as compared to that either the push of logic or the stop of logic neither work one doesn’t need to be pushed in that direction by logic nor does one need, one can be stopped one just moves forward it’s a far higher force this is just a shadow and the original is in the relationship with Krishna one that when that and that is awakened and one doesn’t one doesn’t need logic nor scripture now one doesn’t need scripture doesn’t mean that one doesn’t care for scripture they are two different things one doesn’t have to one doesn’t have to depend on scripture for getting the impetus for practising bhakti one’s heart is attracted that’s why one starts practising bhakti so one will still follow the scripture rules and regulations we will discuss that later but at this stage when the attraction for Krishna is awakened and that makes one practise bhakti that is sadhana that is raga anura bhakti so Prabhupada writes over here so these raga anura devotees do not follow the regulative principles very strictly but by spontaneous nature they become attracted to some of the eternal devotees they try to follow in their footsteps spontaneously so now when we say that they do not follow the regulative principles that means, doesn’t mean that they do not follow means they neglect no, they follow but their impetus for following is not the scriptural warning or the scriptural statement it is their attraction so for example we have sadhana bhakti where we chant sixteen rots now why do we chant? because our spiritual master has told us and we have taken a vow but when our devotee has got taste has come to raga anura level then that remembrance of Krishna and the desire to remember Krishna so spontaneous that one does it because one is attracted to it not because one is told by scripture to do it now what is the qualification for this? so let’s look at the qualification to understand the practise of spontaneous devotional service the qualification is that one has to have pure spontaneous love and no other attraction to material things so let’s look at the practise of raga anura bhakti this is 1 to 294 so 2 refers to the second wave 294 krishnam svaram janam jasya preshtam nija samhitam tat tat katharathas jasam kuryadvasam jasam rajesadam so krishnam svaram janam jasya so krishnam svaram so till now we have always talked about yena kena prakarana mana krishnani so here there is remembrance of Krishna but there is some special remembrance janam jasya preshtam nija samhitam janam means a devotee krishna jana, a devotee of Krishna is preshtam preshtam means very dear nija samhitam according to our attraction whichever rasa whichever devotee we are attracted to that devotee tat tat katharathas jasam tat tat katha means the katha of the pastimes of that devotee and that devotee’s relationship with Krishna that devotee’s service to Krishna ratas, one becomes absorbed in that rata means absorbed kuryadvasam vraje sada while doing this one should always reside in vraja in Vrindavan kuryadvasam vraje sada so there are many stages for us, you know we develop a habit of hearing about Krishna and initially some pastimes may attract us, some pastimes may not attract us and it may happen that some devotees may hear about some devotees have been born and brought up in a culture where they were hearing Ramlila earlier, so they may think oh whenever I hear Ramlila I feel very attracted to Ramlila so maybe my Swarupa is in Ayodhya, it is not in Vrindavan we shouldn’t assume such things, it’s possible but by no means necessary, in the initial stage our attraction may simply be cultural, it may not be spiritual cultural means just like sometimes some children, sometimes some people they go back to some village where they had lived in their childhood or they had visited some relatives in childhood stayed for a few months over there in vacations and after many years they go back there is a feeling of nostalgia oh it was so nice I was here I remember I have been here, I was playing over here we had gone here, so that nostalgia has got nothing spiritual so something similar may happen because in childhood we have heard something about Lord Ram and now we hear about it again so we think oh Lord Ram’s pastimes are so sweet, I want to hear about them more now that doesn’t mean that our Swarupa is necessarily Lord Ram, this is simply cultural attraction, it’s not necessarily spiritual attraction, based on our childhood culture again that attraction is surfacing, so only when we are purified of our material conditionings and actually even for Shantaras the qualification is complete detachment from matter and complete detachment to Krishna that can come only after Anathanaivati so then we’ll start getting attracted so when we hear Krishna’s pastimes this particular associative, charms my heart and then we want to hear more and more about that associative, learn more and more about how that devotee serves Krishna and when we learn that and absorb ourselves in service to Krishna in that mood of that devotee and then what happens that’s the time that’s how Raga Bhakti starts so first stage is that we hear about a particular devotee’s pastimes with Krishna that particular devotee’s service to Krishna, that particular devotee’s relationship with Krishna so after this starts happening then let’s see what happens in the next stage so Prabhupada translates this Chaitanya Charita Amrit he explains this so you know we have discussed how Prabhupada often integrates the purport in the translation so one should live in Vrindavan and then he says however if one is physically unable to go to Vrindavan he should mentally live there mentally live there so actually mental presence in Vrindavan is far more important than physical presence physical presence is also wonderful but even more essential is mental presence our heart should be attracted to Krishna our thought should be focused on Krishna in the mood of Vrindavan and that is possible everywhere it is possible outside Vrindavan also if we have developed a small bond of strong bond of attraction towards Krishna and towards Krishna in Vrindavan so actually Prabhupada established branches of Krishna conscious movement all over the world and sometimes some devotees wanted to say no we just want to go and live in Vrindavan so devotees were living in Vrindavan and they thought okay we can just chant Radhe Radhe Shyam Shyam and we can wander around in Vrindavan dancing in ecstasy but Prabhupada told them construct temples so get purchase cement and make plans for architecture so we thought what is this we came here to practise bhakti what are we doing Prabhupada said this is how you make spiritual advancement the essence of bhakti is not doing what we get enjoyment in doing the essence of bhakti is giving enjoyment to Krishna and to have a beautiful temple of Krishna in Vrindavan will give a lot of enjoyment to Krishna and that’s how we will get real spiritual enjoyment so the point is we cannot prematurely jump to advanced certainly we would like to be absorbed even maddened in remembrance of Krishna but that is not our issue it comes once we have come to advanced stage so wherever we are we render service to Krishna with the internal remembrance of Krishna in Vrindavan gradually this absorption will come and then attraction to particular associate will come and then we will start hearing more and more about that associate and then after that what happens the next verse so this is BRS 12295 sevā sādhak rÅ«peṇa siddha rÅ«peṇa cātrahi tadbhāva nipsuṇā kārya rajalokānusāratah tadbhāva so sevā sādhak rÅ«peṇa so there is sādhak rÅ«pa and siddha rÅ«pa let us see what refers to tadbhāva nipsuṇā kārya rajalokānusāratah so sādhak rÅ«pa and siddha rÅ«pa what is this referred to is something which is often misunderstood and you have to understand it very carefully see now if we consider there is there is Gaur lila and there is Krishna lila and many of the associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu almost all the important associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu they are already present in in Krishna lila and they are generally in Krishna lila for example we have say rÅ«pa manjari so she is an associate of Srimati Radharani and she is present in Gaur lila as rÅ«pa Goswami so in this particular verse the meaning that rÅ«pa Goswami is giving is that siddha rÅ«peṇa sādhak rÅ«peṇa so siddha rÅ«pa of that devotee is Radharani sorry is rÅ«pa manjari and the sādhak rÅ«pe is rÅ«pa Goswami so when we are meditating on that particular exalted associate of the lord so the idea is rÅ«pa Goswami is telling that we meditate on both the sādhak rÅ«pe and siddha rÅ«pe so when we are doing when we are actually acting over here then so just as those associates exist in both realms rÅ«pa manjari is there in goloka rindavan and rÅ«pa Goswami is there in lord Chaitanya’s pastimes and both of them are there so we meditate internally we can try to cultivate the mood of Srimati of say rÅ«pa manjari and by cultivating the mood of rÅ«pa manjari we can meditate on how rÅ«pa manjari, manjaris are the special associates in Krishna’s pastimes there are gopis and there are manjaris so gopis actually they are of the conjugal age they are in the age of puberty and they unite with Krishna and in that union there is the greatest ecstasy the manjaris are slightly younger and the manjaris actually they don’t directly unite with Krishna they assist the gopis and when they assist the gopis and when the gopis and Krishna are performing pastimes and they are uniting at that time the manjaris observe and actually because they have the selfless mood to serve therefore they just by observing the pastimes of Krishna with the gopis they get great ecstasy in fact according to samacharyas they get greater ecstasy in observing the union than in participating in the union why? because participating in the union they are on one side the gopis they are uniting with Krishna but when they are observing they can see Krishna’s ecstasy they can see the gopis ecstasy and they can get immense ecstasy by that of course these are very exalted subjects and you cannot prematurely rush into it but the point is the manjaris they are younger and they have a special role in Krishna’s pastimes so now rupa manjari has a particular service in the spiritual world so seva sadhak rupena siddha rupena chatra so siddha rupa means if a devotee is attracted to rupa manjari then the devotee will meditate on rupa manjari internally and contemplate how rupa manjari serves Krishna at the same time the devotee externally will see how rupa goswami is serving because rupa goswami is acting as a sadhaka of course he is a paramahamsa nitya siddha we could say all those epithets for the great soul and they are true but the way rupa goswami is living he is living not as a siddha he is a sadhaka that’s why goswami performs such austerities they will live under different trees and they will eat meagre food and chant and follow the rules of bhakti with such immense rigidity and sankhya purvak na magana tibhi sankhya purvak na magana meticulously keeping a track of the numbers they will chant the holy names basically goswami is demonstrating sadhaka sadhaka life of course sadhana standards are very high they are mind bogglingly high for most of us but still the point is they are representing sadhaka life so you remember now we are discussing sadhaka but what kind of sadhaka in sadhana bhakti there is vaidhi bhakti and there is raganuga bhakti so we are talking about raganuga bhakti over here so Radha Krishna so in a sammohita so they would become punmatta, they would become sammohita gunas luther madhurimanandena sammohita so when they would remember the qualities of Radha and Krishna, gunas luther then madhurimanandena madhurima, the sweetness of those qualities and the corresponding vastans, anandena sammohita they become completely overwhelmed by that when they become overwhelmed by that then that becoming overwhelmed enables them to that completely transport them to a different life so we can, this is the service, devotional service which the goswamis perform is described in you see shanugoswami astakam by Srinivas Acharya so one can meditate on that when Prabhupada gives sannyas to Rudra and Maharaj, Rudra and Maharaj ask how can I know how I should practise sannyas so Prabhupada told him, study the Goswami astakam very carefully shanugoswami astakam there you will understand the mood of sannyasi so the point is we can sadhak rupena so the devotee should externally contemplate the service of the gopis of say Rupa Manjari and externally contemplate the service of Rupa Goswami, externally act accordingly strictly, devotional service in the mood of a sadhaka and in this way one should render service now in siddha pranali there is a confusion that happens so vraja loka anusaratha vraja loka anusaratha aha in this way one should follow in the footsteps of the vraja loka vraja loka means those who are in Vrindavan we should follow in their footsteps so now there is siddha pranali what is the siddha pranali actually the word siddha pranali has a very simple meaning siddha is liberated souls pranali is the sequence or the list siddha pranali means the list of the liberated souls, of course the word can have many meanings there are many liberated souls and our parampara itself is a sequence of liberated souls but in the siddha pranali mantra what they do is those who misinterpret this they have two misconceptions first is vraja loka anusaratha means we have to follow in the footsteps of the vraja loka but they assume that the vraja loka refers only to the vrajavasis and they do not accept the fact that the vrajavasis also that the siddhas who are there in Vrindavan leela they also have sadhaka roop in gaur leela, they don’t accept that point or they don’t consider that point relevant to the understanding of this verse and they say that actually when we have to do vraja loka anusaratha that means in siddha roopa and in sadhaka roopa both we have to do vraja loka anusaratha that means we have to sort of act according to or imitate the actions of the vrajavasis in both internal as well as external moods and actions so because of this what happens is there may be men and those men think that okay I am a gopi in the spiritual world so internally they try to cultivate the mood of a gopi and externally they will wear a dress like a gopi they will dress like a female with saree and bangles and nose rings and they are males this is very artificial this is not at all what Rupa Goswami is telling over here so one is not meant to imitate externally why there is no need to imitate externally because actually the body has got nothing to do with the soul the body is just something which we have got by our past karma and so the soul is different and what has to be done is the soul’s original nature has to be brought out so by changing around the soul there is a body around putting some further covering on the body is not going to revive the nature of the soul it’s artificial this is not what is recommended so there is gopi bhava and there is gopi rupa so what is important is that we cultivate the gopi bhava and the gopi bhava cultivation is also what actually the mood of service selfless selfless service to Krishna and to Krishna’s devotees and when we cultivate that then as we become purified and become liberated then the gopi rupa will manifest so the siddha pranali those who misinterpreted they say that we as you take on the gopi rupa by wearing those dress and ornaments and cosmetics and things like that and it is complete misunderstanding our acharyas have never supported this idea of of imitating physically the dress and the garments and the garments ornaments and the behaviour of gopis externally no internally it is to be done and externally we continue participating in Vrindavan nila as the you continue participating in our service to our spiritual master according to the way the great siddhas are doing in the sadhak rupa siddhas are doing in sadhak rupa means the way rupa goswami is doing in his in his service to lord chaitanya mahaprabhu so this is the misinterpretation which has to be corrected so the pranali the way it is commonly misinterpreted is not supported by shastra it is based on a wrong understanding now let’s look at the procreation first verse is talking about okay hear about a particular society second is okay start serving in the mood of that associate internally in the way that associate with the siddha and externally the way that associate as a sadhaka serve in this way and then what will happen as described in the next verse so prabhupada writes that so prabhupada writes about these things how do we act externally a devotee is actually advanced in Krishna consciousness who is constantly engaged in devotional service should not manifest himself even though he has attained perfection the idea is that he should always continue to act as a neophyte devotee as long as the material body is there activities in devotional service and regulative principles must be followed even by the pure devotee that means what the raganuga devotee somebody the raganuga bhakta it’s not that he should put a label on the forehead raganuga bhakta for dandavat no not like that one should act as like a neophyte devotee neophyte devotee doesn’t mean that one keeps succumbing to danarthas neophyte devotee means that we should follow the rules and regulations strictly as we were following in the neophyte stage that means as one is practising vaidhi bhakti one follows when one is also in sadhana bhakti and then after that let’s look at the third verse yeah this is 1 to 296 shravanad kirtanadimi vaidhi bhakti udithanitu yanyangani chatanyatra vigyayani manishi bhi manishi bhi so vigyayani manishi bhi manishi bhi means those who have learned acharya vigyayani they know what that the 60 vaidhi bhakti udithanitu whatever are the limbs of vaidhi bhakti like what are the limbs like shravanad kirtanadimi so like shravan and kirtan these limbs of bhakti yanyangani chatanyatra so these angas are also useful in raga anuga bhakti what does it mean when one starts coming to raga anuga level it’s not that suddenly the devotee starts doing something new no the devotee will continue hearing and chanting the way a vaidhi se bhakta is hearing and chanting but while doing it the devotee will do something special also what is that the devotee’s hearing and chanting will be focused on something specific what is that that specific focus will be the particular devotee who is the ragatmika devotee on whose model the devotee is trying to become practise raga anuga bhakti so if somebody is attracted to ishodamayi then one will want to hear more and more about the pastimes of ishodamayi and in this way one doesn’t give up the sadhana bhakti vaidhi bhakti limbs but those vaidhi bhakti limbs become focused concentrated on particular actions or particular associates and their particular actions and in this way the raga anuga bhakti is not necessarily different in form from vaidhi bhakti it is different in focus in vaidhi bhakti we do general hearing, raga anuga bhakti we do focused hearing and in this way raga anuga bhakti is to be practised, so the first one is talking about hear about that associate second is that okay serve externally and internally in the mood of that associate and third one is talking about continue the activities of vaidhi bhakti also but do them with a focus on that particular associate in this way raga anuga bhakti is to be practised and once one practises raga anuga bhakti in this way then one starts this is also sadhana and by this sadhana bhakti gradually one will come to bhava so prabhupada writes that how prabhupada places this is learned acharyas recommend that we follow the regular principles even after development of spontaneous love for krishna, this is regular principles means hearing and chanting but what is the speciality then one should specifically engage himself in the type of devotional service for which he has a natural aptitude, so the difference is not in form, the difference is in focus in this way everyone should act according to his individual taste, so now we come to kama anuga and sambandha anuga, so earlier we discussed about how in raga anuga bhakti in raga atmika bhakti there was sambandha rupa and there was kama rupa, so corresponding to sambandha rupa there is sambandha anuga and corresponding to kama rupa there is kama anuga what does this mean this means that those devotees who are in those eternal associates who are kama rupa, those who are attracted to krishna in the madhureras, in the conjugal rasa then for them if they are our raga atmika bhakti model then our bhakti will be kama anuga in raga anuga it will be kama anuga so now further it is explained that in this kama anuga there are two ways because the devotion of the pure devotees in the madhureras itself in two forms, there is svakiya and there is parakiya, svakiya means one’s own, parakiya means someone else’s, para itself means someone else’s, so svakiya is the queens in vrindavan sorry the queens in dwarka they are krishna’s wedded queens, they are krishna’s own and their relationship is in svakiya bhaav and the relationship of krishna with the gopis of vrindavan is in parakiya bhaav, parakiya bhaav means it is out of wedlock and out of wedlock it is actually considered to be a purer, greater love why is it greater? not because in this world if a man and a woman have a relationship outside of marriage that is considered immoral, but with respect to krishna and gopis it is not considered immoral actually it is trans-moral so there are three levels, immoral means below morality, then there is morality but that is just far above morality that is trans-moral the gopis relationship with krishna are trans-moral, they are transcendental and there is a transcendental morality involved in that so what is the speciality? actually you know when we talk about devotion purity of devotion is that not only is one ready to give up the bad for krishna’s sake but one is also ready to give up the good for krishna’s sake so give up the bad means you give up sinful activities for krishna’s sake but give up the good means you have to give up punya also, so for a woman chastity faithfulness to her husband is considered to be a very great virtue but for the sake of krishna one should be ready to give up his chastity also and that is the supreme sacrifice of the gopis so there is in that unwed love or love not just unwed love, love outside wedlock, that means there is wedding somewhere else but there is an outside love there is a special excitement, a special adventure there is, how it is is, see if an elephant has a lot of strength but the elephant doesn’t realise its strength, say elephant is in rut and is attracted to the elephant of the opposite gender say male is attracted to female and the male wants to run towards the female and there is no obstacle, the male will just run like that but the male is tied by strong ropes see the male pulls and pulls and pulls and when it is in the rut it wants to run towards the female and then it is pulling so what happens is the elephant has strength but it doesn’t realise its strength so when there is the ropes tying it then there is internal realisation and external expression of that strength so the elephant itself doesn’t know how strong it is but when it is impelled by the desire to go towards the female and then it pulls and pulls and then oh I can bring down this if the rope was tied to a tree, I can bring down this tree there is internal realisation and along with that there is what people may not know how strong the elephant is but then when the elephant pulls and the tree starts toppling over wow it is so strong there is external expression so people it is expressed for the world to see and it is realised for oneself to know also so like that now what I was comparing here the elephant is compared to the knots of of worldly relationships, so the gopis are married to someone else and that restricts them, when Krishna is playing the flute and he is calling all of them then the gopis cannot go in the Gopi Gita they are praying gopis that we have left all our relatives we have left all our associates or our relatives rather and we have come for yourself Krishna so actually it is not easy so there is opposition but the gopis overcome that opposition and come and in that way there is internal realisation, external expression of the intensity of their love so it is not immoral because ultimately the gopis, the wives husbands don’t belong to the wives the wives and husbands all belong to Krishna ultimately so what is Krishna? Krishna is calling and taking, there is nothing immoral in it now when Krishna calls the gopis it is parakiya it is considered more exalted because there is sacrifice even of the good for the sake of Krishna so some devotees may be attracted to Krishna that Raghatmika may be in the parakiya bhava and for some it may be in the swakiya bhava both are possible so Raghatmika model is in swakiya then the Raganuga who will be in Raganuga that is Kamanuga, that Kamanuga will be in swakiya and if the Raghatmika is in parakiya then the Kamanuga will also be in parakiya so if you are getting confused Raghatmika means the perfection of spontaneous love, Raghatmika is the practise of spontaneous love so if the perfection of spontaneous love is parakiya, say it is a gopi in Vrindavan then the practise of spontaneous love will also be similar it will also be in parakiya bhava like that actually one moves forward and advances in the path of devotion now now let’s look at this further, so now in the Raganuga Bhakti we discussed there is Sambandh Rupa, Sambandh Rupa means Radha to Rasa, Vatsalya and Swakiya, friendship and parental and Kamanuga is conjugal love, that is Bahadurya now Kamanuga can also have two types till now we talked about Swakiya and Parakiya but this is not Swakiya and Parakiya, this is something different this is Sambhog Ichchamai and then Tattat Bhav Ichchatrika so this is the mood of the heroine and mood of the heroine’s maid what does this mean? Sambhog Ichchamai means that the devotee wants to enter service in the mood of wanting to unite with Krishna wanting to unite with Krishna and that is the mood of a Gopi and then Tattat Bhav Ichchatrika means that means that the devotee doesn’t want to unite with Krishna rather the devotee is not considering oneself to be a Gopi, the devotee is considering oneself to be the maid of the Gopi maid servant of the Gopi and one devotee wants the Gopi to unite with Krishna and then in observing the devotee relishes that so that is also very exalted that is also very pure and that, both of them are pure devotional ecstasy it’s very exalted but these are two varieties and there are different devotees who are attracted we shouldn’t think that one uniting with Krishna is higher and observing the union of someone else with Krishna is lower, no, both are exalted so whichever is the one’s natural attraction, that natural attraction will awaken in our heart in due course of time and in that way we will become attracted to the particular devotee and will start rendering service with that devotee as our Agatmika model, all this will come gradually now if we look at it, let’s go look at the Sambandhanuga Sambandhanuga means those devotees who are in the mood of parenthood or friendship so now here also these two can be there here also these two categories will be there either one wants to take up that role of being the parent or one can take up the role of watching Krishna’s or being an assistant to Krishna’s parents, so now actually there is a danger, now wanting to be Yashodamayi or wanting to be Krishna, sorry wanting to be Jandamaharaj is dangerous so what is the danger in that okay before we go there, Srila Prabhupada talks about eligibility in males and it’s not, so now when one wants to eligible, Prabhupada gives the example of and Rupa Goswami gives the example of Dandakarini sages so one may think that if one wants to be having a have a Kamanuga attraction, Kamanuga attraction means that attraction to Krishna in the Madhuri Bhava, male female attraction towards Krishna, so Krishna is male and the devotee is female, so is that possible for somebody who is in the male body yes it is definitely possible and the example of Dandakarini sages when Lord Ram was in the Dandakaranya when he was in Vanvas, he was in different places, first for the first few years he was in Chitrakoot, then he came to Dandakaranya and when he was Dandakaranya is Maharashtra, Chitrakoot is still North India only, when he came to Dandakaranya and he was living there, at that time the sages were there and the sages there saw the Lord and they saw the Lord’s pastimes with Sita Devi and the intimate love that they shared with each other and in their heart also the attraction was awakened, that we also want to serve the Lord in a similar way and then the Lord told them that actually I am a Yadav Purushottam now but in a future lifetime when I come, then I will accept you, so it is described that the Gopis were present in Krishna’s pastimes they were different kinds of Gopis so they are Rishicharya Gopis Rishicharya Gopis means these were Rishis in previous lives those who were Rishis in previous lives, they come in this life and they become the Gopis of Krishna, some of the Gopis of Krishna, not all Gopis, some of the Gopis of Krishna are eternal associates or descended with Krishna, even from the spiritual world so the point of this example is that our physical gender has got nothing to do with our eternal Swarupa, somebody may be in a male form right now, but still they can have that Kamanuga aspiration as these sages of Ayurveda, Indrakaranya had and at appropriate time, the Lord will make the arrangements to fulfil that aspiration so after talking about this, then that discussion moves forward to talking about what the associates are doing or rather now it goes to other associates of the Lord, that means apart from the Kamanuga, Sambandhanuga Sambandhanuga so he talks about Sambandhanuga also of two categories, being the parent or being the assistant of the parent now being the parent is dangerous because one wants to in one sense displace or replace Nanda Maharaj or Yashodanaya one thinks I’ll be Nanda Maharaj, I’ll be Yashodanaya that is actually almost like Mayavada now because we want to take up a position of Krishna or take up a position replace an internal associate of Krishna that is not an aspiration that is considered proper, it is not considered devotional it’s a not a very good aspiration, so devotees aspire in this mood primarily to become associates or become assistants of Krishna’s parents and in that way they can also attain perfection, so if somebody has this Raganuga mood then that will also be used and then Prabhupada for this Sambandhanuga Sadhana Bhukti so Prabhupada is telling over here in Anody, he is quoting from Upagoswami’s BRS, in Skanda Purana there is a story of an old man residing in Hastinapur, capital of the kingdoms of the Pandus, who desired Krishna as his beloved son this old man was instructed by Narada to follow in the footsteps of Nanda Maharaj and thus he achieved success so he was told what? to follow in the footsteps of Nanda Maharaj so what is this referring to? this is referring to Raganuga Bhukti but Raganuga not in the Kamanuga mood, it is in the Sambandhanuga mood and in that way one can move forward and attain perfection now if we look at the time when Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared and then he gave instructions to Upagoswami, so at that time there was also the Pushti Marga that developed and in the Pushti Marga they also have very similar concepts, so this Raga Marga, like the path of spontaneous devotion that is also called as Pushti Marga by some people so Prabhupada refers to that and earlier Vaidhi Bhakti is called as the Maryada Marga Maryada means limited issue, so because one does not have yet have attraction to Krishna so one is limited, circumscribed by scriptural injunction and one acts accordingly, so this is how the Raganuga Bhakti is practised and by this practise of Raganuga Bhakti either in Sambandha Rupa or Kama Rupa one can or Sambandhanuga or Kamanuga one can move forward and attain the Bhava and Prema so how do we come to this, we may see we scorn devotees, what about us are we practising Raganuga Bhakti and Shloka Prabhupada explained to us that if we keep practising our devotional service sincerely, according to our level, Chanting 16 rounds, following the four other principles, the advances of devotion will manifest and more important than advances of devotion manifesting is that we will by Krishna, Lord Krishna, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Shloka Prabhupada’s mercy attain the ultimate perfection of life how it specifically will happen that may not be very easy for us to conceive with our with our brain which are so much conditioned and contaminated by various faults but it will happen primarily by us, but by understanding this profound analysis of how there are so many so many deep levels of Bhakti and relishable technicalities in Bhakti, we can appreciate the glory of the treasure that we have been given entry into and we cherish that treasure at the level that we are at and gradually we will be promoted by Krishna’s mercy to higher and higher levels till we attain the supreme perfection. Thank you very much Hare Krishna.