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EDITORIAL September 26, 1999 VNN4803 Comment on this story Essential Changes In Nectar Of Devotion BY TIRTHAPADA DASA EDITORIAL, Sep 26 (VNN) — The purpose for making some changes to om visnupada nitya-lila pravesta Sri Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja's (His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada) The Nectar of Devotion, chapter fifteen, "Spontaneous Devotional Service," into verse-by-verse is twofold. The first intention is to bring light to some serious errors that have happened through editing this transcendental literature. Secondly, it is also to clarify even more the deeper meaning on the scientific presentation of Krsna consciousness. Otherwise, the book stands by itself, a classic in transcendental translations. In the translation, Srila Swami Maharaja had assistance of new disciples; therefore their depth of siddhanta, their philosophical comprehension, was questionable to say the least. Thus, such errors have arisen that I should be corrected to quickly cut short any unknown future misunderstandings in the Vaisnava philosophy amongst the disciples of Srila Swami Maharaja that could invariably lead to unnecessary faultfinding. Approaching one senior God brother who had edited Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja's books for many years, I asked him, "Who edited The Nectar of Devotion?" His reply was "Raya Rama Dasa (aka Raymond Marais, a lawyer who Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja mentions as one of his initiated disciples as early as 1966)." Then I asked him, "Are you aware that there are some mistakes in the fifteenth chapter that should be corrected." He said, "What?" I replied, "The word ragatmika is missing in the entire chapter. Someone has taken it out and used only the word raganuga." "Oh," he said, "Those are not very important errors..." I tend to ardently disagree with this statement. Without understanding these mistakes many devotees will confuse raganuga-bhakti with ragatmika-bhakti. Also, it is very easy to think raganuga-bhakti and bhava-bhakti are the same, if we don't discern the differences. This has subsequently contributed to unfounded criticism against "Gaudiya Matha acaryas" as preaching "too high." This also may be part of the confusion in understanding that there is not only one form of sadhana but also two forms of sadhana mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion. Why? Because ragatmika-bhakti relates to the nitya-siddha parikaras, or eternal associates of Krsna, but raganuga-bhakti-sadhana refers to devotees who are following in the wake of those ragatmika-bhaktas or eternally liberated devotees. Ragatmika-bhakti is not a sadhana, raganuga-bhakti is. This must be definitely understood: the two forms of sadhana mentioned in The Nectar of Devotion are raganuga and vaidhi. Raganuga-bhakti is superior to vaidhi-bhakti, but vaidhi-bhakti has its initial necessity also. Srila Rupa Gosvami wrote: shravanot-kirtanadini vaidha-bhakty-uditani tu yany angani ca tany atra vij–eyani manisibhih (BRS 1.2.296) "As to the angas, or limbs, of vaidhi-bhakti, such as ham, kirtanam, smaranam, and so on, that have been previously described, the learned know their utility in ra-bhakti as well." Otherwise, if that were not so, then the first part of The Nectar of Devotion, that is, the first fourteen chapters, would be useless. It would be ludicrous to think like this, therefore, persons progressing through the initial stages are not to be faulted, and persons on the initial stages are certainly not to fault those who have entered onto the raganuga stage. A person with actual ruci, taste, or lobha, divine greed, can enter onto the raganuga platform, because, for one thing, he learns to distinguish between vaidhi and raganuga. Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja has translated raganuga as "Spontaneous Devotional Service" (chapter fifteen) and bhava as "Ecstatic Love" (chapter seventeen), then in chapter nineteen he translates prema-bhakti as "Devotional Service in Pure Love of God." After this the first part, the purva-vibhaga, or Eastern Division ends. The Eastern Division is divided into four laharis or waves: samanya-bhakti, general devotional service sadhana-bhakti, practical devotional service, bhava-bhakti, spontaneous loving service and prema-bhakti, devotional service in pure love. Vaidhi and raganuga-bhakti are discussed in the second lahari, defining what is actual sadhana, the sadhaka, and the two different types of sadhana. So, it is not the intent of this verse-by-verse rendering of chapter fifteen to find fault in my own beloved spiritual master, Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, rather it is to correct the errors in the book in a spirit of a graceful change of heart÷and simultaneously "showing the dangers in changing the words of the spiritual master" carelessly through an editing process. Someone may counterattack me and say that haven't you yourself changed the words of your spiritual master? But this paper is done as a critique not as a criticism. A criticism is ambiguous and can mean either "evaluate" or "find fault with." A critique is an evaluation; it is a critical essay or analysis. It is not a product of criticizing but criticism as a product. It is done in the spirit of weeding out some unwanted plants that may have arisen in understanding the intrinsic nature of sadhana. I have stuck as close to the words as Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja's original as possible for obvious reasons of correction on the topics of raganuga and ragatmika. For the anvaya, or word-for-word, I have referred to Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Gosvami's brilliant Bengali edition of Sri Bhakti-Rasamrita-Sindhu, and also Srila Bhakti Hridaya Bon Maharaja's excellent, out-of-print English edition, which finished the vital first and second waves. Both editions have been extremely helpful in understanding the discrepancies in this fifteenth chapter. It was also very helpful to see Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura's Sri Bhakti-Rasamrta-Sindhu-Bindu, translated from the Hindi edition of Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Narayana Maharaja. All these editions have been quite useful. Although there was a dispute between Srila Swami Maharaja and Srila Bon Maharaja, in the latter days of Srila Bon Maharaja, he praised the astounding work that Srila Swami Maharaja had done. Such transcendental dealings between God brothers by their disciples are not fully understandable, but all disciples should be ready to accept a graceful change of heart by anyone and not be too eager to enter into such higher disputes with overzealous pride. Srila Sridhara Maharaja used to say, "To err is human, to forgive is divine." The latter part of this proverb has been sorely neglected. In this age of quarrel and hypocrisy, one is quick to condemn but slow to forgive. Some fifteen years ago, I was very irate to hear that one devotee was saying that Srila Swami Maharaja had confused the words raganuga and ragatmika in The Nectar of Devotion. Without investigating the matter further, I shoved it off as an offense against Srila Swami Maharaja. Nowadays, I see that he was not completely wrong in this point, but also that it was not Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja's fault that the editors and proofreaders who knew very little siddhanta at that time. Now, in the spirit of gracefully changing the heart of those who have read The Nectar of Devotion, and because of undue criticism against such stalwart acaryas like Srila Bhakti Raksaka Sridhara Gosvami Maharaja and Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja in regards to teaching something different than Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja, this critique is being put forth. I hope this matter regarding The Nectar of Devotion resolves some of these unfounded differences. My final objective is to beg all western devotees to co-exist happily with devotees of the Gaudiya Mathas, not falling prey to the sectarian ways of materialistic-minded people. We should be able to work together with a mentality of critiquing, or critically analyzing, each other, but not criticizing, or needlessly faultfinding each other with unfounded rumors that the philosophy is different. Vaisnavism is non-sectarian. Just like in America, there is one USA but different states, or in India, there is one India but different provinces like Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and so on, so Vaisnavism is with so many bona fide acaryas preaching in their own unique ways, under the same banner. Srila Bhaktivedanta Narayana Maharaja smilingly quotes the wise-old adage, "It's old wine in a new bottle." Let us try to appreciate how the words of the spiritual masters are changing and not fall prey to what Srila Bhaktisiddhanta says, "The Supreme Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in pursuance of the teachings of the scriptures enjoins all absence of conventionalism for the teachers of the eternal religion." Please read the remaining article at: http://www.igvp.com/rays Comment on this story  Contact VNN about this storySend this story to a friend
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