Comments on: Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Raganuga-Bhakti http://harmonist.us/2010/02/sri-bhaktisiddhanta-saraswati-and-raganuga-bhakti/ Tue, 22 May 2012 13:40:14 +0000 hourly 1 By: KB das http://harmonist.us/2010/02/sri-bhaktisiddhanta-saraswati-and-raganuga-bhakti/comment-page-1/#comment-3686 KB das Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:10:26 +0000 http://harmonist.us/?p=4312#comment-3686 Personally, I have found that raga in it's purest and most pristine form is exactly that - spontaneous, intuitive and naturally occurring. We will get hints and clues and gradually we start to naturally think of ourselves as serving Krishna in Vrindavan in a particular way. Even Lord Brahma did not understand fully all the details, but he did understand to some degree that he was an eternal maidservant of Krishna. So, the law of raga allows all of us to look within ourselves, examine our feelings, aspirations and spiritual intelligence to arrive at some basic understanding of our siddha-deha and nitya-seva. Being told by someone else about these things in a line of false siddhas who make a living selling siddha-dehas is simply a big block to the actual true development of raga bhakti and realizing who we are in Vrindavan and Navadvip simulataneously. As is well presented in the lineage of Bhaktivinode, the only way in is really through Navadvip so firstly and foremost we have to realize who we are in Gaura-lila and then automatically understand who we are in Krishna-lila. So, great preachers and teachers like Tripurari Maharaja who are great sannyasis in the Gaura-lila of Mahaprabhu's Sankirtan movement automatically understand their rasa with Krishna and their siddha-deha in considerable detail. This is raga bhakti and it comes automatically in the heart of the purified Saraswata Goswamis. Personally, I have found that raga in it’s purest and most pristine form is exactly that – spontaneous, intuitive and naturally occurring.
We will get hints and clues and gradually we start to naturally think of ourselves as serving Krishna in Vrindavan in a particular way.
Even Lord Brahma did not understand fully all the details, but he did understand to some degree that he was an eternal maidservant of Krishna.
So, the law of raga allows all of us to look within ourselves, examine our feelings, aspirations and spiritual intelligence to arrive at some basic understanding of our siddha-deha and nitya-seva.

Being told by someone else about these things in a line of false siddhas who make a living selling siddha-dehas is simply a big block to the actual true development of raga bhakti and realizing who we are in Vrindavan and Navadvip simulataneously.

As is well presented in the lineage of Bhaktivinode, the only way in is really through Navadvip so firstly and foremost we have to realize who we are in Gaura-lila and then automatically understand who we are in Krishna-lila.

So, great preachers and teachers like Tripurari Maharaja who are great sannyasis in the Gaura-lila of Mahaprabhu’s Sankirtan movement automatically understand their rasa with Krishna and their siddha-deha in considerable detail. This is raga bhakti and it comes automatically in the heart of the purified Saraswata Goswamis.

]]> By: Kula-pavana http://harmonist.us/2010/02/sri-bhaktisiddhanta-saraswati-and-raganuga-bhakti/comment-page-1/#comment-3653 Kula-pavana Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:04:58 +0000 http://harmonist.us/?p=4312#comment-3653 Maharaja writes: "I doubt that there are many devotees from any of these lineages that have taken the time to seriously investigate each other’s approach, and most base their opinions on things that they have heard from third parties. While in some cases they have heard from their superiors, they often base their present position regarding the practices of other lineages upon things that superiors in their own lineages experienced decades ago." That is a nice way to put it. I also very much agree that "we should not criticize unless we know something is amiss by first-hand experience. Furthermore, we should judge any approach to raganuga-bhakti by the results it brings." It is amazing how much common ground we can find if we only lay aside the prejudices we inherited from our superiors, and use some common sense in our own analysis. Maharaja writes: “I doubt that there are many devotees from any of these lineages that have taken the time to seriously investigate each other’s approach, and most base their opinions on things that they have heard from third parties. While in some cases they have heard from their superiors, they often base their present position regarding the practices of other lineages upon things that superiors in their own lineages experienced decades ago.”

That is a nice way to put it. I also very much agree that “we should not criticize unless we know something is amiss by first-hand experience. Furthermore, we should judge any approach to raganuga-bhakti by the results it brings.”

It is amazing how much common ground we can find if we only lay aside the prejudices we inherited from our superiors, and use some common sense in our own analysis.

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