In Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā verses 55 and 56, Śrīla Narottama Dās Ṭhākura opens the treasure chest of rāgānugā-bhakti and shows us the simple, luminous pathway:

“What I contemplate in my sādhaka-deha, I shall attain in my siddha-deha. The only difference is ripeness and unripeness: unripe is sādhana, ripe is prema.”

Here the mystery of bhakti is revealed in the sweetest, most approachable way. My practice, my remembrance, my inner meditation—this becomes my eternal service in Vraja. When the fruit is still green, we call it sādhana. When it ripens, it is prema. Nothing more is required, nothing less will do.

But then arises the question: what makes this fruit ripen?

Rūpa Gosvāmī gives us the answer in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.228):

“Even a moment’s association with a devotee of the Lord cannot be compared with heaven or with liberation.

What to speak, then, of any other benedictions for mortal men?”

This is not just any devotee association. The tradition is very precise: sajātīya-āśaya-snigdha-saṅga—the company of those whose inner aspirations (sajātīya) are the same, and whose hearts are softened with affection (snigdha). And on top of that, there should be more advanced sadhakas in that kind of sañga from whom we can learn.

It is only in such sanga that the verses of Narottama truly come alive. Without this warm, kindred association, the sādhaka may recite the verses, may even practice remembrance, but the current does not flow. The fruit remains hard, the inner longing struggles to ripen.

With sajātīya-snigdha sanga, however, the opposite happens. The heart softens, bhāva awakens, and what was once “unripe sādhana” effortlessly matures into the sweet nectar of prema. The sādhaka finds shelter, encouragement, and a mirror of his or her own eternal aspiration in the faces of beloved devotees.

So the teaching is clear:

Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 55–56: sādhana becomes siddhi, unripe becomes ripe. Rūpa Gosvāmī: but only when touched by sajātīya-snigdha association.

Without that, the outcome of Narottama’s verses is nil. The treasure remains locked.

But with it—ah, then the promise blossoms into reality. Then remembrance becomes life, longing becomes identity, and the green fruit of sādhana bursts open with the fragrance of eternal love in Vraja.