Sri Sri Raga-Vartma-Chandrika (Sripad Vishvanatha Cakravartipad)

sa ca bhagavat kripa hetuko’nuragi bhakta kripa hetukas ceti dvividhah. tatra bhakta kripa hetuko dvividhah praktana adhunikas ca. praktanah – paurva bhavika tadrisa bhakta kripotthah, adhunikah etaj janmavadhi tadrisa bhakta kripotthah. adye sati lobhanantaram tadrisa guru caranasrayanam. dvitiye guru caranasrayanantaram lobha pravrittir bhavati. yad uktam:
krishna tad bhakta karunya matra lobhaika hetuka
pushti margataya kaiscid iyam raganugocyate

“There are two causes for the appearance of the aforementioned sacred greed: The mercy of God or the mercy of another anuragi devotee. There are again two kinds of mercy bestowed by a devotee: praktana and adhunika. praktana means mercy bestowed by a raganuga bhakta in a previous life, and adhunika is mercy bestowed in the present birth. The praktana-devotee takes shelter of the lotus feet of a raganuga guru after the sacred greed has arisen in him, the adhunika will get that sacred greed only after having surrendered to the feet of such a guru. It is said (in Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu): “The only causes of the appearance of sacred greed is the mercy of Krishna or His devotee. Therefore some call the path of raganuga bhakti also pushti marga (the path of grace).”

Kripa-kanika Vyakhya by Radhakunda Mahanta Srila Ananta das Babaji:

After giving the definition of the cause of sacred greed the blessed author now describes the causes for attaining this greed. Greed for raganuga bhajana can only be attained by the grace of Sri Krishna or the grace of the great saints that are themselves passionately attached to the sweet feelings of Sri Krishna’s associates. Krishna rarely bestows His mercy on new aspirants, therefore almost always this sacred greed arises by the grace of the aforementioned saints.
There are two kinds of sacred greed that arises by the grace of the saints – praktana and adhuniki.
Those who have attained lobha by the mercy of raganuga saints in previous births will revive the cultivation of that lobha in their present birth and go on with raganuga bhajana, taking shelter of the feet of a guru according to their previous lives’ samskara (cultivation), which can be dasya or sakhya or so. Those who did not cultivate such greed in their previous lives first take shelter of the lotus feet of a guru, and after they hear about the great love of Sri Krishna and His eternal associates the greed awakens within them. There is no other means than the grace of Sri Krishna and His pure devotees to attain this greed for raganuga bhajana, and the blessed author has proven it by quoting a sloka from Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu. In his commentary on this sloka Srimat Jiva Gosvamipada has written: krishneti – matra padasya vidhi marge kutracit karmadi samarpanam api dvaram bhavatiti tad vicchedarthah prayoga iti bhava.
“The word matra is used in the above sloka ‘krishna tad-bhakta karunya matra labhaika hetuka’ because sometimes the offering of fruitive activities can lead to entry into vaidhi bhakti, whereas raganuga bhakti is only (matra) attained through grace.” Greed for raganuga bhakti is more rarely attained than bhava or rati in vidhi bhakti, and it is only attainable through grace (Sri Mukunda Dasa Gosvami). The devotees from the Vallabha Sampradaya call this raganuga marga pushti marga (the path of grace). (6)

TEXT 7:

tatas ca tadrisa lobhavato bhaktasya lobhaniya tad bhava praptyupaya jijnasayam satyam sastra yuktyapeksha syat. sastra-vidhinaiva sastra-pratipadita yuktyaiva ca tat pradarsanat nanyatha. yatha dugdhadishu lobhe sati katham me dugdhadikam bhaved iti tad upaya jijnasayam tad abhijshapta jana kritopadesa vakyapeksha syat. tatas ca gam krinatu bhavan ityadi tad upadesa vakyad eva gavanayanatad ghasa pradana tad dohana prakaranadikam tata eva sikshen na tu svatah. yad uktam ashtama skandhe – yathagnim edhasy amritam ca goshu bhuvy annam ambudyamane ca vrittim yogair manushya adhiyanti hi tvam guneshu buddhya kavayo vidanti.

“Now, when both the above-mentioned kinds of ‘greedy’ devotees become inquisitive about how to attain the desired feeling of Krishna’s eternal associates in Vraja, then we see that they are dependent on information from the revealed scriptures or on logical arguments. The way can only be shown through the rules set forth by the scriptures and their resultant logical arguments. There is no other way. Just like when one is greedy for cow’s milk, one must ask someone who knows about it how to get that milk, and one is dependent on that trusted person’s instructions. That person will say: “You should buy a cow”, and will also instruct one how to bring the cow, how to feed it grass and how to milk it. One does not attain the required knowledge just-like-that, without being instructed. It is said in the Eighth Canto of Srimad Bhagavata: “Just as people get fire from firewood, milk from cows, foodgrains and water from the earth and money from trade, and thus keep themselves alive, in the same way, O Vishnu, You are attained by the practice of different kinds of yoga, through the attributes of nature and through the use of one’s intelligence. That is what the poets say.” (S.B. 8.6.12)

Kripa-kanika Vyakhya:

Previously it was mentioned that there are two kinds of greedy devotees – the praktana and the adhunika. Greed for any mortal worldly thing is temporary, and is satisfied as soon as this insignificant object has been attained. But greed for the loving service of Sri Krishna is not like that. Greed for the Unlimited is also unlimited; without attaining the Unlimited this greed is not satisfied. The special thing about raganuga bhakti is that one is greedy for the sweet relish of the love of the Vrajavasis and their skill in relishing Sri Krishna’s sweetness. When sacred greed has awoken by the grace of such great saints the greedy aspirant will inquire about where to get the desired object, and for this he is dependent on the scriptures and logical arguments. Although there is no dependence on the scriptures and logical arguments when sacred greed awakens, the means to obtain the desired object are shown through the scriptural injunctions and the scriptural arguments. There is no other way to get it, for, although raganuga bhajana is not prompted by regulative principles it is not un-Vedic. It is known as Vedic because taste for it is a reality. Although it is seen to be independent from scriptural revelation , these (scriptural arguments) are prompted by taste for raga, and thus it is to be known as situated within raganuga.
To make this subject matter easily accessible the blessed author has given an example. Just as someone who is eager to drink milk will approach a trusted and experienced person and ask him how he can get to drink milk, and this person will tell him to buy a cow, give it grass to graze to nourish it and to milk it, and that thirsty person will obtain milk by following these instructions, there being no other way, in the same way an aspirant who is greedy after the sweet feelings of the people of Vraja will have to inquire from the saints who already relish these sweet mellows and from the relevant scriptures about how to attain these feelings. It is in no way possible to get to know these means of attainment automatically, without scriptural guidance. In the eighth Canto (6.12) of Srimad Bhagavata it is written:

yathagnimedhasyamritam ca goshu bhuvyannam ambudyamane ca vrittim
yogair manushya adhiyanti hi tvam guneshu buddhya kavayo vadanti

Lord Sri Brahma told Lord Vishnu in his praises: “Just as people get fire from firewood, milk from cows, foodgrains and water from the earth and money from trade, and thus keep themselves alive, in the same way, O Vishnu, You are attained by the practice of different kinds of yoga, through the attributes of nature and through the use of one’s intelligence. That is what the poets say.” In other words, just as by rubbing wood fire is produced, by milking a cow milk is extracted, by ploughing and digging one can get grains and water from the earth and by doing trade one can make profit, similarly the learned sages in this material world, that consists of three modes of material nature, can attain You, who are transcendental to the three modes of material nature, by following the process of bhakti yoga in the form of hearing and chanting Your glories as ordered by Sri Guru, and, being engaged by You, they will also instruct others in the means by which they can attain You (purports by Srila Sridhara Svamipada and Sri Visvanatha). The purport of this verse is that just as there are scriptural instructions given by which to attain all kinds of desired things within the material world, similarly the scriptures are also describing how to attain feelings in relation to Sri Krishna. Therefore, although there is no dependence on the scriptures while sacred greed awakens, there is a dependence on scriptural injunctions when one wants to attain the desired feelings. When one sees that the taste of a devotee is opposed to scriptural injunctions we must understand that no real taste has awoken within that person, but that person has just developed some mayika (illusory, mundane) feeling, appearing as some transcendental feelings. When real ruci has awoken the scriptural injunctions will follow it (it will be ordained by the scriptural injunctions). Before ruci has arisen bhajana will be done according to scriptural injunctions, and after ruci has arisen the scriptural injunctions will follow the ruci. In this way it is to be understood. (7)

TEXT 8:

sa ca lobho raga vartma vartinam bhaktanam guru-padasraya lakshanam arabhya svabhishta vastu sakshat prapti samayam abhivyapya ‘yatha yathatma parimrijyate’sau mat punya gatha sravanabhidhanaih, tatha tatha pasyati vastu sukshmam cakshur yathaivanjana samprayuktam. iti bhagavad ukter bhakti hetukantah karana suddhi taratamyat prati dinam adhikadhiko bhavati.

Lord Krishna Himself describes (in Srimad Bhagavata 11.14.26) how the devotee on the path of sacred passion advances and becomes more purified and more obsessed with sacred greed by the day, from the initial stage of surrender to the feet of a guru up to the point in which he directly attains the Lord: ‘The more one’s mind gets purified by hearing and chanting of My beautiful pastimes, the better one is able to discern the subtle reality (of the Self), just as the eye is better able to perceive more and more subtle things when it is treated with medicinal ointment’.

Kripa-kanika Vyakhya:

The definition of the generation of sacred greed has been given as follows: It is the craving to relish the sweet mutual feelings of Sri Krishna and the residents of Vraja, that awakens after hearing stories about it from devotional scriptures like Srimad Bhagavata and which is independent from scriptural injunctions and logical arguments. Practically, the craving for one’s beloved object is named ‘greed’. When the greed of a raganuga aspirant leads him down the road of raga, keeping his beloved object in the centre, then it awakens a special taste for the forms and pastimes of Sri Krishna and His associates. At first the greed of an aspirant will be scattered over many different subject matters and cannot focus on the actual beloved object, but when sadhana bhajana ripens this greed will give up all other subject matters and will focus on the beloved. In this paragraph the blessed author shows how this sacred greed gradually develops.
After the raganugiya practitioner has taken shelter of the lotus feet of Sri Guru the stream of his bhajana starts flowing as he engages in hearing and chanting the glories of the Lord in the company of the devotees. Thus his heart is gradually cleansed from vices like lust and becomes completely immaculate. The purer his heart gets through this cleansing-process, the stronger the sacred greed will get in his heart. The blessed author then quotes a verse from Srimad Bhagavata, which emanated from Sri Krishna’s lotus mouth, to prove his point –
yatha yathatma parimrijate’sau mat punya gatha sravanabhidhanaih
tatha tatha pasyati vastu sukshmam cakshur yathaivashjana samprayuktam (Bhag. 11.14.26)

Sri Krishna told Uddhava: “O Uddhava! Just as the eyes that are anointed with siddha ointments gradually become cleansed and free from disease so that they will be able to perceive more and more subtle objects, similarly the practising devotee will perceive more and more subtle things as his heart gets purified by hearing and chanting about My sacred pastimes.” In his commentary on this verse Sripada Visvanatha Cakravarti has written: adi bhajanam arabhya kevalaya bhaktyaivatma sodhana taratamyena sravana kirtana smaranadi taratamyat man madhuryanubhava taratamyam prapnotityaha yatha yatheti. “As one commences the path of bhajana and cleanses one’s heart more and more through the practice of pure devotion, consisting of hearing, chanting and remembering the glories of the Lord, one will be able to experience My sweetness more and more. This is described in this verse.” (8)

TEXT 9:

udbhute tadrise lobhe sastra darsiteshu tat tad bhava prapty upayeshu ‘acarya caitya vapusha svagatim vyanaktityuddhavokteh keshucid gurumukhat keshucid abhijna mahodayanuragi bhakta mukhat abhijnateshu keshucid bhakti mrishta cittavrittishu svata eva sphuriteshu sollasam evatisayena pravrittih syat. yatha kamarthinam kamopayeshu.

“When the aforementioned sacred greed has appeared in the heart one becomes enlightened in different ways. Uddhava Mahasaya says in Srimad Bhagavata (11.29.6): ‘Krishna reveals Himself through the acarya (spiritual master) or through the agency of the Supersoul.’ Thus some devotees attain knowledge about the feelings of Krishna and His Vraja-associates from the mouth of a guru, some from the mouth of a learned raganuga-devotee, and some, whose hearts have been purified by the practice of devotional service, will have this knowledge directly revealed to them from within their hearts. Then, just as a sense enjoyer automatically becomes engaged in having his senses gratified, without depending on anyone’s encouragement, similarly the raganugiya practitioner will automatically be seen as very happy in attaining his desired feelings.

Kripa-kanika Vyakhya:

How the sacred greed for the expert love of the people of Vraja will gradually increase within the heart of a raganugiya sadhaka once it has awoken there is described by the blessed author in this paragraph. In Srimad Bhagavata we find the following statement spoken by Uddhava to Sri Krishna –

naivopayantyapacitim kavayas tavesa brahmayushapi kritamriddhamudam smarantah
yo’ntar bahis tanu-bhritam asubham vidhunvann acarya-caitya vapusha svagatim vyanakti

(Bhagavata 11.29.6)

‘O Lord! The wise devotees attain the pinnacle of transcendental bliss when they remember Your benevolence, and even if they had a lifetime of Brahma at their disposal they would not be able to pay off their debt to You, for You appear externally as the Guru to teach them and internally You are present to guide them, destroying all unfavorable and inauspicious desires for sense gratification and giving their hearts experience of Yourself.” Following this statement of Uddhava some devotees obtain the nectar of instruction from the lotusmouth of Sri Guru and others proceed with raganuga bhajana under the guidance of an experienced raganuga saint. Some of them will even have the craving for bhajana automatically infused within the heart, which is purified by the practice of sadhana bhakti. Then, just as a sense enjoyer automatically becomes engaged in having his senses gratified, without depending on anyone’s encouragement, similarly the raganugiya practitioner will automatically be seen as very happy in attaining his desired feelings. (9)

TEXT 10:

tac ca sastram sarvopanishat sarabhutam ‘yesham aham priya atma sutas ca sakha guruh suhrido daivam ishtam’ ityadi vakya nicayakara sri bhagavata maha puranam eva. tatha tat pratipadita bhakti vivarana cancu sri bhakti rasamritarnavadikam api. tatratyam vakya-trayam yatha – krishnam smaram janam casya preshtham nija samihitam. tat tat katha ratas casau kuryad vasam vraje sada. iti. seva sadhaka rupena siddha rupena catra hi. tad bhava lipsuna karya vrajalokanusaratah. iti. sravanotkirtanadini vaidhi-bhaktyuditani tu. yanyangani ca tanyatra vijneyani manishibhih. iti. trikam atra kamanuga pakshe eva vyakhyayate.

“In Srimad Bhagavata Maha Purana, which is the essence of all the Upanishads, Lord Kapila speaks the following words (3.25.38): ‘To the devotees I am the beloved, the very Self, the son, the friend, the spiritual master, the well-wisher, Fate, or the chosen deity.’ And the ‘Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu’ of Srimad Rupa Gosvami, which describes the devotion propounded by Srimad Bhagavata, provides the following three verses: ‘The devotee should remember Krishna and an eternally liberated devotee of Krishna’s of his own choice. He should always live in Vraja and be attached to topics concerning Krishna and that favorite devotee of his.’ (1.2.294); ‘Both in his material and in his (mentally conceived) spiritual body should one follow in the footsteps of the people of Vraja, always desiring their feelings and activities.’ (1.2.295); and: ‘The practitioner of raganuga bhakti should also perform all the limbs of vaidhi bhakti, such as hearing and chanting, as far as they are favorable. This is what the learned say. (1.2.296)” These three verses explain the position of the kamanuga devotee (those serving in a transcendental erotic feeling).”

Kripa-kanika Vyakhya:

Herebefore we have indicated that the scriptural injunctions are the means to attain the desired transcendental feelings. Now it is described which scriptures we must rely on for that. Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana, which is the essence of all the Upanishads and Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu, the book which contains all the divine bhagavata rasa that was bound within the whorl of Srimat Rupa Gosvamipada’s lotuslike heart and that explains all the devotion that was propounded by Srimad Bhagavata – from all these scriptures the rules of worship of ragatmika bhakti and its subsequent raganuga bhajana is learned.
The blessed author first quotes a verse (3.25.38) from Srimad Bhagavata, which was spoken by Sri Kapiladeva – yesham aham priya atma sutas ca sakha guruh suhrido daivam ishtam. Bhagavan Kapiladeva says: “I am their (My devotees’) lover, soul, son, friend, preceptor, heart’s friend and worshipable deity.” When Srimat Jiva Gosvamipada describes raga bhakti in Bhakti Sandarbha (310) he quotes this verse and explains it as follows: “In this verse the word priya refers to Sri Krishna as the lover of the gopis, atma refers to the Param Brahma, in which form the four Kumaras and other santa-bhaktas see Him, suta means the son of Sri Vrajesvara (Nanda Maharaja), sakha the friend of Sridama and others, and guru the superior of Pradyumna and others. All these devotees are interlocked in a loving relationship with Sri Krishna. He is someone’s brother, someone else’s maternal uncle, someone else’s husband, etc., and in many ways He manifests Himself as the heart’s friend (suhrit) of all these devotees that have all these different relationships with Him. For His servant Daruka He manifests Himself as the worshipable deity (ishta-deva), this is very well known.
Previously it has been said that the love which carries the strong desire to attain union with the Lord is called raga. But the raga which Rudra showed towards the Lords form of Mohini Murti is not to be accepted like that. This is because the Lord accepted the appearance of Mohini Murti to deceive Sri Rudra, and when Rudra saw this appearance of Mohini Murti his mind became very agitated by desires to unite with Mohini. The attachment that Rudra had for Mohini cannot be called raga, because he had been deluded by maya and had attained feelings of lust. This lust was caused by his enchantment with Her form, therefore this cannot be accepted as raga.
The devotion that is thus prompted by raga (divine attachment), in which particular attachments exist with defined self-identifications such as consorthood, and that mainly consists of hearing, chanting, remembering, serving the lotus feet and offering oneself is called ragatmika bhakti. This raga bhakti manifests itself automatically, just like the waves of the Ganga. This is sadhya bhakti, not sadhana bhakti. This means that there is no procedure of sadhana here. The kind of devotion that follows in the wake of this sadhya bhakti. that consists of sravana, kirtana and so, is named raganuga bhakti.
In Sri Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu Srimat Rupa Gosvami describes raganuga bhajana in three verses. The first of them is – krishnam smaran janam casya preshtham nija samihitam. tat tat katha ratas casau kuryad vasam vraje sada (1.2.294) ‘Remembering one’s own beloved Nandanandana Krishna and His dearmost associates of one’s own choice and taste, being attached to speaking about them and living in Vraja (if possible physically, if not then at least always mentally).” The second verse: seva sadhaka rupena siddha rupena catra hi; tad bhava lipsuna karya vrajalokanusaratah “On the path of raganuga bhakti one is engaged in the service of Sri Krishna in one’s sadhaka rupa, which means the present physical body, as well as in one’s siddha deha, which means one’s mentally conceived, own desired body, desiring the ecstatic love of Sri Krishna’s beloved devotees that are situated in Vraja and following in their footsteps.” The third verse runs: sravanotkirtanadini vaidha bhaktyuditani tu; yanyangani ca tanyatra vijneyani manishibhih “All the items of devotion that were discussed for vaidhi bhakti are also practised and depended upon in raganuga bhakti. The wise devotees practise the items that are proper for their own mood, but they do not act contrary to their own mood.” The blessed author will later explain these three verses in connection with kamanuga.
The devotion that follows in the wake of ragatmika bhakti is called raganuga bhakti. The devotion that is manifest in Krishna’s eternal associates in Vraja is called ragatmika bhakti. This ragatmika bhakti is twofold – sambandha rupa and kama rupa. The devotion of servants like Raktaka and Patraka, friends like Sridama and Subala and parents like Nanda and Yasoda are called sambandha rupa ragatmika bhakti, while only the amorous devotion of Sri Radha and the other beautiful girls of Vraja is famous as kama rupa ragatmika bhakti. Just as there are two kinds of ragatmika bhakti, namely sambandha-rupa and kama rupa, there are also two kinds of raganuga followers of them – sambandhanuga and kamanuga. Sriman Mahaprabhu and the Gaudiya Vaishnava Acaryas that surrendered to His lotus feet have preached the kamanuga bhakti-love of radha dasya, or manjari bhava sadhana to the world. Therefore, the blessed author has determined that he would explain these above three verses in the scope of kamanuga bhakti. (10)