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| EDITORIAL November 14, 1998 VNN2503 Reply To Vaikuntha Das BY PREMANANDA DASA EDITORIAL, Nov 14 (VNN) — Hare Krishna and dandavats Vaikuntha Das Ji. This is Premananda Das writing, I am the disciple of Srila Gadadhara-prana Prabhu who published his article on VNN. As Gurudeva lives in Mayapur Dham permanently, since the last 20 years, and he doesn't have access to the Internet I will humbly try to answer your questions. "1) In rereading parts of Srila Prabhupada's Brs. I do not find the word "Ragamika" anywhere and wanted to know if this is exists in the Sanskrit in India? Other texts? Is it the same as "raganuga?" Ragatmika is not the same as Raganuga. The term Ragatmika is to be found in Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu. It is defined as follows: iste svarasiki ragah paramavisthata bhavet tanmayi ya bhaved bhakti satra ragatmikodita "The spontaneous attraction for one«s istadevata (Sri Krsna) with complete absorption in thoughts of him coupled with an intense love is called Ragatmika bhakti." And Raganuga-bhakti: virajantim abhivyaktam vrajavasi janadisu ragatmikamanusritva ya sa raganugocyate "Ragatmika bhakti beautifully manifests itself in Krsna«s Vrindavan associates. The devotion which follows in the wake of Ragatmika bhakti (the moods and mellows of the Vrajavasis) is called Raganuga." "2) Is "bhakti-kriya" the same as the kriya-yoga mentioned in Brs? That is, this is usually performed prior to attaining devotional service usually by "mystic yogis" I believe. Am I correct in that assumption?" No, it is not the same. "3) When you say that raganuga-bhakti may begin "before" the stage of anartha-nivritti, that is, from the stage of "bhajana-kriya", do you mean to say that the "manasi-seva" (mana meaning mind), can take place for the "bhakta" prior to the dissolving of anarthas?? I agree with you in terms of what you have elaborated upon but am curious also:" Yes. This is explained by Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur in Harinama-cintamani as follows: "Thus cultivating one«s particular Sadhana with resolute determination, within a short time one attains the mature stage called Apana-dasha. One quickly becomes pure by developing one«s own unalloyed sentiment with constant contemplation and the mind becomes free from material consciousness. The jiva bound by matter remains oblivious of his own pure existence. With the conception of material consciousness the jiva misidentifies with the transient material body. If the bound jiva has the opportunity to lend aural reception to Krishna«s Lila, lobha or greed is aroused, whereby he attains the wealth of his own accomplished state. Thereupon, with constant contemplation of his spiritual identity, that eternal accomplished nature develops, dispelling the illusory condition. Smarana or recollection may be performed in either Vaidhi or Raganuga Sadhana. Contemplation on the Raganuga Path does not depend on the reasonings of Shastra. Recollection on the path of Raganuga is founded upon an overriding attraction for sweetness and beauty, and is quick in bringing about the condition of maturity. Contemplation on the Vaidhi path is always accompanied with determination of the favourable reasonings of Shastra. However, upon the appearance of bhava, shastric reasonings are abandoned as troublesome. Whoever graduates through the stages of shraddha, nishtha, ruchi and asakti comes to the stage of bhava. At the time of attaining maturity this same bhava becomes manifest. The Vedas and smritis declare that upon the manifestaion of bhava there remains no more distinction between Raganuga and Vaidhi devotees. Smarana, dharana, dhyana, anusmriti and samadhi are the five progressive stages of the practice of smarana. At the time of smarana of one«s svarupa during samadhi (trance) the bhavapana state is aroused. At this time the conception of one«s spiritual identity becomes firmly established. One then overcomes material bodily identification. Thereupon one perceives one«s pure self as an eternal resident of Vraja. Thus with the attainment of bhavapana one sees Vraja-vana and one«s own eternal self. Whoever attains svarupa-siddhi (attainment of one«s own intrinsic self) is certainly fortunate, and with the subsequent dissolution of the subtle ego, the treasure of Vastu-siddhi (final accomplished state) is attained." >From this text it is to be understood that through Raganuga-sadhana, the practitioner gradually becomes freed from all anarthas, all material consciousness. It has also been explained like this by Srila Visvanath Cakravarti in 'Ragavartma-candrika', and by contemporary acaryas such as Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayan Maharaj. "4) The Bhakti-rasamrta is a very, very deep book about "rasa" and difficult for the "common" man and even for some deevotees I would imagine esp. the neophyte. Can the neophyte have this raganuga-bhakti "unconsciously" in the beginning stages? Could it be unconscious on the part of the sadhaka at first, that is, before it matures or develops vaidhi-bhakti? that is, in devotional service?" If a bhakta who performs vaidhi-bhakti and after hearing about Sri Krsna«s lilas becomes attracted to and desires to attain the particular mood of a nitya-siddha associate, such as Sri Rupa Manjari, that devotee is no longer a vaidhi-bhakta but a raganuga-bhakta. The devotee may or may not know about the term 'raganuga-bhakti', so it can be that the devotee is not conscious of that he or she is a raganuga-bhakta. your humble servant, Premananda Dasa Please visit our homepage: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Troy/5725 NEWS DESK | EDITORIALS | TOP |
