Prabodhananda Saraswati

[Jagat]

As you can see, dear friends, I have taken the honest option of a scholar. How can anyone declare with absolute certainty that Prabodhananda and Prakashananda are one and the same person?

 

If you wish, I can go on with the discussion of Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi, though some of you may find it a little boring, because there is a great deal of discussion about Sanskrit and poetics and the such, and lots of references, etc.

 

At the end of the other article, I return to the question of why Prabodhananda is not mentioned in Chaitanya Charitamrita.

 

Puru Das has found nothing convincing at all in this presentation. I heartily welcome any proof or argument that would make this discussion more authoritative.

 

Thank you all for your enthusiasm.

 

Your servant,

 

Jagadananda Das.

[Puru Das Adhikari]

 

"Secondly, they think that Sri Prabhodananda Sarasvati and Prakasananda Sarasvati are the same person, although there is so much difference between them. This cannot be so. Will a person of the Ramanuja Sampradaya go down to become a Mayavadi like Prakasananda Sarasvati, and then again become Prabhodananda Sarasvati, who was so exalted that he became the guru of Srila Gopala Bhatta Gosvami? This idea is absurd. Prabhodananda Sarasvati and Prakasananda Sarasvati were contemporaries. Will the same person go back and forth, being a Vaisnava in South India, then becoming a Mayavadi, again becoming a Vaisnava in Vrndavana, and again becoming a Mayavadi? Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has vividly written about this, and great historians and research scholars have also rejected the idea that they are the same person.

Srila B.V. Narayana Maharaja

 

Take this statement or leave it as you wish.

Seems much clearer thinking on the topic to me than all the muddled inconclusive conclusions of jagat's paper that there is no definitive way to say what is what or who is who!!

 

In the Mundaka Upanisad (1.2.12) it is said:

tad-vijnartham sa gurum evabhigacchet

samit-panih srotriyam brahma-nistham

"In order to learn the transcendental science, one must approach the bona fide spiritual master in disciplic succession, who is fixed in the Absolute Truth."

 

You and jagat are both missing the point of Bg. 4.34 by your own choice. As you wish.

Birds of a feather fly together. Happy goose chase.

 

"It is not empiric wisdom that is the object of quest of the devotee. Those who read the scriptures for gathering empiric wisdom will be pursuing the wild goose chase. There are not a few dupes of their empiric Scriptural erudition. These dupes have their admiring under-dupes. But the mutual admiration society of dupes does not

escape, by the mere weight of their number, the misfortunes due to the deliberate pursuit of the wrong course in accordance with the suggestions of our lower selves.

 

What are the Scriptures? They are nothing but the record by the pure devotees of the Divine Message appearing on the lips of the pure devotees. The Message conveyed by the devotees is the same in all ages. The words of the devotees are ever identical with the Scriptures. Any meaning of the Scriptures that belittles the function of the devotee who is the original communicant of the Divine Message contradicts its own claim to be

heard. Those who think that the Sanskrit language in its lexicographical sense is the language of the Divinity are as deluded as those who hold that the Divine Message is communicable through any other spoken dialects."

SBSST

 

[This message has been edited by Puru Das Adhikari (edited 07-16-2001).]

[Puru Das Adhikari]

jagat has written:

Nevertheless, it is clear that Prabodhananda shared with Harivams a strong belief in a path of devotion which did not consider the limits of scriptural injunctions, rAgAnugA bhakti according to the Gaudiyas, puSTi-mArga according to the Vallabhis and rasa-mArga according to the Radha-vallabhis. This idea he may have taken to a degree unacceptable to the Gaudiyas, as we shall see in the next sections of this article.

 

The remainder of Prabodhananda's life was spent writing books that defined a devotional attitude somewhat independent of the Gaudiya school. This was apparently done in close contact with the circle of devotees that included Hita Harivams, Swami Haridas, and Hariram Vyas. He continued to be respected by the descendants of Harivams, whom he outlived, even collaborating on a work in Sanskrit by Harivams's son, Krishna Chandra. He probably did not live much beyond 1578, which is when he assisted Krishna Chandra Goswami in writing KarNAnanda. His samadhi, however, is found in Kalidaha in Vrindavan where it is under the aegis of the Gaudiya sect, indicating that his association with Gaudiyas evidently continued to the end of his days. . . Whether for this reason or any other, it seems that Prabodhananda was independent in his opinions, making him a rather exceptional character who was not necessarily appreciated by those who considered Rupa Goswami to be the supreme authority of the Gaudiya school. Prabodhananda's close friendship with Harivams in particular may not have been looked upon with great favor by the Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Let us now turn to an examination of Harivams' relationship to Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

 

and Srila Bhaktisidhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments about such kinds of conclusions in his purport to sloka 37 of Sri Brahma samhita:

 

What the unalloyed devotee of the Supreme Lord says is all true and is independent of any consideration of unwholesome pros and cons. There is, however, the element of mystery in their verbal controversies. Those, whose judgment is made of mundane stuff, being unable to enter into the spirit of the all-loving controversies among pure devotees, due to their own want of unalloyed devotion, are apt to impute to the devotees their own defects of partisanship and opposing views.

 

This remark is made by SBSST in connection with a so called controversy concerning Srila Jiva Gosvami,who is fraudulently juxtaposed to Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana, but the principle still applies.

 

jagat claims scholarly neutrality, but when it suits his agenda he is quick enough to accept the history of Prabhodananda according to his Radha Vallabhi sources and reject the statements of the gaudiyas. If this is neutral unbiased scholarship then political agendas are written by scholars. I am not certain so no one can be certain. Sounds like the frog in the well philosophy to me.

 

 

 

[This message has been edited by Puru Das Adhikari (edited 07-16-2001).]

[Jagat]

May I point out to you, Puru Prabhu, that Bhaktivinoda Thakur, Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, and even Narayan Maharaj here, are using their own proofs to state their position. Nowhere did Bhaktivinoda Thakur say that this is revealed knowledge.

 

Just so that everyone can fully know the Gaudiya Math position, I will here give you a translation of Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha's article on Prabodhananda Saraswati, which contains Siddhanta Saraswati Thakur's entire introduction to Chaitanya Chandramrita.

<hr>

 

<font color=#5C3317>

<center>tungavidyA vraje yAsIt

sarva-zAstra-vizAradA |

sA prabodhAnanda-yatir

gaurodgAna-sarasvatI ||</center>

 

<blockquote>The gopi Tungavidya, who was most learned in all the scriptures, has today become the sannyasi Prabodhananda, whose words are all used in the glorification of Lord Gauranga. (Gaura-gaNoddeza-dIpikA 163)</blockquote>

 

Venkata Bhatta lived in South India. He held a special position amongst the Brahmins as he was very learned in all the scriptures.

 

<blockquote>There was a Vaishnava of the Sri Sampradaya named Venkata Bhatta who respectfully invited the Lord to his house. (Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.9.82)</blockquote>

 

In his commentary to this verse of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur has written: “Venkata Bhatta, Trimalla Bhatta and Prabodhananda Saraswati were previously acharyas of the Sri Sampradaya. Gopal Bhatta Goswami was the son of Venkata Bhatta.”

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur has also commented on the same verse: “Sri Venkata Bhatta was a Brahmin of the Sri Sampradaya who lived in Srirangam. Srirangam is situated in Tamil Nadu, where people do not use the names Venkata and Tirumalai (the name of Venkata’s brother), so it is likely they came from elsewhere. This family had possibly moved to Srirangam not long before Mahaprabhu’s visit there. Venkata Bhatta belonged to the Varagalai branch of the Ramanuja sampradaya. One of his brothers was the tridandi sannyasi, Prabodhananda, who acted as an acharya of the school. Venkata Bhatta’s son was Gopal Bhatta Goswami.”

 

These three brothers were originally worshipers of Lakshmi Narayan, but were later converted to the worship of Radha and Krishna by the grace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Krishna Das Kaviraj Goswami has described this conversion in his Chaitanya Charitamrita.

 

Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati’s disciple was his own nephew, Gopal Bhatta, one of the six Goswamis.

 

<center>bhakter vilAsAMz cinute prabodhA-

nandasya ziSyo bhagavat-priyasya |

gopAla-bhaTTo raghunAtha-dAsaH

santoSayan rUpa-sanAtanau ca ||</center>

 

<blockquote>Gopal Bhatta, the disciple of Prabodhananda who is dear to the Lord, has compiled these devotional activities to satisfy Raghunath Das, Rupa and Sanatan Goswamis. (HBV 1.2)</blockquote>

 

Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati wrote a number of books, including Vrindavana-zataka, Navadvipa-zataka, Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi and Caitanya-candrAmRta, which are especially loved by rasika devotees. Some of his other works are Sangita-madhava, Ascarya-rasa-prabandha, Sruti-stuti-vyAkhyA, Gita-govinda-vyAkhyAna and Kama-bija-kama-gayatri-vyakhyana.

Is Prabodhananda Prakashananda?

 

In the third chapter of the Madhya-khanda of the Chaitanya Bhagavata, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Prabhupada makes the following observation: “Prakashananda was a teacher of the Mayavada doctrine and a sannyasi. During his discourses on the Veda, he would cut the Lord’s divine and transcendental body into pieces. Some simplistic people say that this Prakashananda is the very same person as Venkata Bhatta’s younger brother Prabodhananda, who lived on the banks of the Kaveri. This erroneous belief has found its way into the Sahajiya text Bhakta-mäla and even into the writings of many modern scholars.” (Gaudiya-bhashya, Madhya-khanda, 3.37.)

 

The observations made here by Saraswati Thakur are quite true. In his dictionary, Ashutosh Deb states, “Prabodhananda was a Vaishnava philosopher, whose real name was Prakashananda Saraswati. Chaitanya Deva gave him the name Prabodhananda.”

 

Furthermore, Haridas Das has also written in his Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana: “Some people hold that Prabodhananda is the Vaishnava name given to Prakashananda... It is quite clear from the last verse of the RAdhA-rasa-sudhA-nidhi that Prabodhananda had at one time been a Mayavadi sannyasi.”

 

We would argue that the words to which Haridas Das refers -- mAyAvAdArka-tApa-santapta (“roasted by the burning sun of impersonalism”) – are not acceptable as proof of Prabodhananda’s former adherence to the impersonalist philosophy or of his having been a Mayavadi at one time. Mahaprabhu and all of his followers argued against the impersonalist doctrines as much as they could because of its extreme opposition to devotion. In this spirit, Prabodhananda is simply glorifying Mahaprabhu’s quality as the deliverer of the most fallen and drawing attention to just how far-reaching his mercy is. The Lord’s deliverance of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and Prakashananda Saraswati are even greater feats of mercy than the salvation of sinners like Jagai and Madhai.

 

Saraswati Thakur’s introduction to Caitanya-candramrita

 

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur has given an excellent account of Prabodhananda Saraswati’s life in his introduction to the Chaitanya Math edition of Caitanya-candramrita. Since we feel that we cannot improve on this description, we reproduce it here in full for the benefit of the reader:

 

In 1510 AD, Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu went to South India, ostensibly on pilgrimage. In fact, his real purpose was to show his mercy to his devotees. Starting from Puri in Orissa, he travelled southward to the Godavari River and then continued onward through various other holy places. Mahaprabhu found himself in Srirangam on the Ekadasi of the waxing fortnight of the month of Asharh. The sannyasis of the Dashnami order to which he belonged normally follow the Chaturmasya vows, and so the Lord decided to spend this four-month period in the town of Srirangam.

 

Srirangam is the residence of many Vaishnavas of the Sri Sampradaya. The Vaishnavas of this school are strict in their practice, and as a result, the Smarta Brahmins throughout southern India find it difficult to live in villages where they have a strong presence. At the time Mahaprabhu visited Srirangam, it was a holy place inhabited exclusively by Vaishnavas of the Sri Sampradaya. He thus considered it to be a most favorable environment for the execution of his four-month vow and so he spent the period in visiting the temple of Ranganath and preaching about Krishna.

Three brothers, Tirumalai, Venkata and Gopalguru had recently come from Mysore to live in Srirangam. They were not Tamils, but either from Andhra or Uttar Pradesh. The Lord was particularly merciful to this Brahmin family and spent the four months of the rainy season in their house. The Vaishnavas of the Sri Sampradaya are devoted to the worship of Lakshmi Narayan. By Mahaprabhu’s blessings, the Bhatta family developed a taste for Krishna rasa.

 

The middle brother, Venkata, had a five-year-old son, Gopal, who later became famous as one of the six Goswamis. The Lord’s conversation with Venkata Bhatta is described in the ninth chapter of the Chaitanya Charitamrita’s Madhya-lélä. Although we know nothing more about Tirumalai, we can surmise that he, like his brothers, was totally devoted to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

The third brother, Prabodhananda, was unequalled in his attachment to Sri Chaitanya. It was through his pure teachings that Venkata’s son Gopal Bhatta later became a great acharya of the Gaudiya Vaishnava school. Prabodhananda himself has a particularly elevated position amongst the followers of Sri Chaitanya. Kavi Karnapur identified him as Tungavidya in his Gaura-gaNoddeza-dIpikA. In the Hari-bhakti-vilAsa, he is identified as Gopal Bhatta Goswami’s guru and as extremely dear to Lord Chaitanya. And in the Bhakti-ratnAkara, the following passages about him are found:

 

<blockquote>Everyone glorified Prabodhananda’s virtues and he was thus given the title Sa

[Guest guest]

Very nice and unbiased presentation Jagatji. Actually very convincing due the serious search and brilliant explanation. Thanks and congratulations. Those who prefers to repeat whatever they had heard from their sectarian preceptors, who are themselves repeating whatever they had heard, are to be placed in the ridiculous situation of ordinary blind followers. Sad. Very sad indeed, as quest for knowledge is the basis of all sanata-dharma thought. All sects start with a quest for knowledge - knowledge on devotion, or Vedas, or philosophy etc. If the quest for knowledge is itself abandoned, the sect stops growing intellectually and the subsequent generations of followers find that they can only regurgitate the sayings of the masters of the past.

[Puru Das Adhikari]

jagat wrote:

One who "makes" faith by basing it on falsification and appeals to

authority is ultimately building a house on a very shaky foundation.

 

Whose foundation is shakey? Always under guidance jagat, otherwise we are simply rudderless ships.

 

rupa-raghunatha-pade ha-ibe akuti

kabe hama bujhaba se yugala-piriti

 

"When I shall be eager to understand the literature given by the Gosvamis, then I shall be able to understand the transcendental love affairs of Radha and Krsna."

 

TEXT 34

 

TEXT

 

anugrahaya bhaktanam

manusam deham asritah

bhajate tadrsih krida

yah srutva tat-paro bhavet

 

SYNONYMS

 

anugrahaya--for showing favor; bhaktanam--to the devotees; manusam--humanlike; deham--body; asritah--accepting; bhajate--He enjoys; tadrsih--such; kridah--pastimes; yah--which; srutva--having heard; tat-parah--fully intent upon Him; bhavet--one must become.

 

TRANSLATION

 

"Krsna manifests His eternal humanlike form and performs His pastimes to show mercy to the devotees. Having heard such pastimes, one should engage in service to Him."

 

PURPORT

 

This text is from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.33.36). The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable expansions of His transcendental form who eternally exist in the spiritual world. This material world is only a perverted reflection of the spiritual world, where everything is manifested without inebriety. There everything is in its original existence, free from the domination of time. Time cannot deteriorate or interfere with the conditions in the spiritual world, where different manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the recipients of the worship of different living entities in their constitutional spiritual positions. In the spiritual world all existence is unadulterated goodness. The goodness found in the material world is contaminated by the modes of passion and ignorance.

The saying that the human form of life is the best position for devotional service has its special significance because only in this form can a living entity revive his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The human form is considered the highest state in the cycle of the species of life in the material world. If one takes advantage of this highest kind of material form, one can regain his position of devotional service to the Lord.

Incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear in all the species of life, although this is inconceivable to the human brain. The Lord's pastimes are differentiated according to the appreciating capacity of the different types of bodies of the living entities. The Supreme Lord bestows the most merciful benediction upon human society when He appears in His human form. It is then that humanity gets the opportunity to engage in different kinds of eternal service to the Lord.

Special natural appreciation of the descriptions of a particular pastime of Godhead indicates the constitutional position of a living entity. Adoration, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love are the five primary relationships with Krsna. The highest perfectional stage of the conjugal relationship, enriched by many sentiments, gives the maximum relishable mellow to the devotee.

The Lord appears in different incarnations--as a fish, tortoise and boar, as Parasurama, Lord Rama, Buddha and so on--to reciprocate the different appreciations of living entities in different stages of evolution. The conjugal relationship of amorous love called parakiya-rasa is the unparalleled perfection of love exhibited by Lord Krsna and His devotees.

A class of so-called devotees known as sahajiyas try to imitate the Lord's pastimes, although they have no understanding of the amorous love in His expansions of pleasure potency. Their superficial imitation can create havoc on the path for the advancement of one's spiritual relationship with the Lord. Material sexual indulgence can never be equated with spiritual love, which is in unadulterated goodness. The activities of the sahajiyas simply lower one deeper into the material contamination of the senses and mind. Krsna's transcendental pastimes display eternal servitorship to Adhoksaja, the Supreme Lord, who is beyond all conception through material senses. Materialistic conditioned souls do not understand the transcendental exchanges of love, but they like to indulge in sense gratification in the name of devotional service. The activities of the Supreme Lord can never be understood by irresponsible persons who think the pastimes of Radha and Krsna to be ordinary affairs. The rasa dance is arranged by Krsna's internal potency yogamaya, and it is beyond the grasp of the materially affected person. Trying to throw mud into transcendence with their perversity, the sahajiyas misinterpret the sayings tat-paratvena nirmalam and tat-paro bhavet. By misinterpreting tadrsih kridah, they want to indulge in sex while pretending to imitate Lord Krsna. But one must actually understand the imports of the words through the intelligence of the authorized gosvamis. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura, in his prayers to the Gosvamis, has explained his inability to understand such spiritual affairs.

 

rupa-raghunatha-pade ha-ibe akuti

kabe hama bujhaba se yugala-piriti

 

"When I shall be eager to understand the literature given by the Gosvamis, then I shall be able to understand the transcendental love affairs of Radha and Krsna." In other words, unless one is trained under the disciplic succession of the Gosvamis, one cannot understand Radha and Krsna. The conditioned souls are naturally averse to understanding the spiritual existence of the Lord, and if they try to know the transcendental nature of the Lord's pastimes while they remain absorbed in materialism, they are sure to blunder like the sahajiyas.

 

TEXT 35

 

TEXT

 

'bhavet' kriya vidhilin, sei iha kaya

kartavya avasya ei, anyatha pratyavaya

 

SYNONYMS

 

bhavet--bhavet; kriya--the verb; vidhi-lin--an injunction of the imperative mood; sei--that; iha--here; kaya--says; kartavya--to be done; avasya--certainly; ei--this; anyatha--otherwise; pratyavaya--detriment.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Here the use of the verb "bhavet," which is in the imperative mood, tells us that this certainly must be done. Noncompliance would be abandonment of duty.

 

PURPORT

 

This imperative is applicable to pure devotees. Neophytes will be able to understand these affairs only after being elevated by regulated devotional service under the expert guidance of the spiritual master. Then they too will be competent to hear of the love affairs of Radha and Krsna.

As long as one is in material, conditioned life, strict discipline is required in the matter of moral and immoral activities. The absolute world is transcendental and free from such distinctions because there inebriety is not possible. But in this material world a sexual appetite necessitates distinction between moral and immoral conduct. There are no sexual activities in the spiritual world. The transactions between lover and beloved in the spiritual world are pure transcendental love and unadulterated bliss.

One who has not been attracted by the transcendental beauty of rasa will certainly be dragged down into material attraction, thus to act in material contamination and progress to the darkest region of hellish life. But by understanding the conjugal love of Radha and Krsna one is freed from the grip of attraction to material so-called love between man and woman. Similarly, one who understands the pure parental love of Nanda and Yasoda for Krsna will be saved from being dragged into material parental affection. If one accepts Krsna as the supreme friend, the attraction of material friendship will be finished for him, and he will not be dismayed by so-called friendship with mundane wranglers. If he is attracted by servitorship to Krsna, he will no longer have to serve the material body in the degraded status of material existence, with the false hope of becoming master in the future. Similarly, one who sees the greatness of Krsna in neutrality will certainly never again seek the so-called relief of impersonalist or voidist philosophy. If one is not attracted by the transcendental nature of Krsna, one is sure to be attracted to material enjoyment, thus to become implicated in the clinging network of virtuous and sinful activities and continue material existence by transmigrating from one material body to another. Only in Krsna consciousness can one achieve the highest perfection of life.

 

Cc. ADi lila 4.34-35

HDGACBSP

 

 

[This message has been edited by Puru Das Adhikari (edited 07-20-2001).]

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

I spent two hours trying to recover the lost messages but with no luck, except for the four messages above. If you have the texts saved, you could try reposting them. Sorry for the inconvenience.

 

[kailasa]

>knowledge of history and philosophy

The ornaments sometimes of advantage(benefit) do not bring.

 

Interestingly who will win? .... Clear that ISKCON

 

[Ananga]

Puru:

 

Are you really sure that you are in line with your own acaryas?

 

Read on:

 

"Eligibility for Raganuga Bhakti

16 a) The siddha-deha does not just come falling out of the sky, but must be formed here and now by mental practise. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura sings:

 

 

sadhane bhavibe yaha, siddha dehe pabe taha

raga marge ei sei upaya

 

"Whatever you think of during your sadhana, you will attain in your siddhi-body. Those are the ways of raga marga."(Prema-bhakti-candrika, 57)

 

 

sadhane ye dhana cai, siddha dehe taha pai,

pakkapakka matra se vicara

 

"The treasure I covet during my sadhana I will receive in my siddha body. The only difference between the two is being ripe and unripe. (Prema-bhakti-candrika, 56)" This means that the difference between the struggling practitioner and the siddha is only in quantity and not in quality.

 

That the siddha-deha does not come from out of the blue, but must be formed through constant meditation is also confirmed in Bhagavad Gita, 8.6:

 

 

yam yam vapi smaran bhavam tyajanty ante kalevaram

tam tam evaiti kaunteya sada tad bhavabhavitah

 

"Whatever one contemplates throughout life is what one attains when one leaves the body."

 

In the Srimad Bhagavata (7.1.27) it is said:

 

 

kitah pesaskrtaruddhah kudyayam tam anusmaran

samrambhabhayayogena vindate tatsvarupatam

 

"The caterpillar imprisoned by a wasp in (its nest on) a wall, and constantly thinking of the latter through intense hate and fear, attains the form of the wasp."

 

In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.295) we find:

 

 

seva sadhakarupena siddharupena catra hi

tadbhavalipsuna karya vrajalokanusaratah

 

"A person who desires loving attraction to his beloved deity Sri Krsna in Vraja must serve in allegiance to the people of Vraja, both in the current practitioner's body as well as in the spiritual, mentally conceived body, which is fit for serving the beloved deity." Mental service must be rendered in the spiritual body in allegiance to Sri Radha, Lalita and Rupa Mañjari and service in the current physical body must be rendered in allegiance to Vraja-people like Sri Rupa and Sanatana, according to the commentary thereon by Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti, as well as in his Raga-vartma-candrika. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, (Madhya, 22.154-155):

 

 

bahya antara ihara dui to sadhana

bahya - sadhaka dehe kore sravana kirtana

mane - nija siddha deha koriya bhavana

ratri dine kore vraje krsnera sevana

 

"There are two kinds of practise - external and internal. In the external practitioner's body the nine devotional practices of hearing, chanting, praising, deity worship etc. are performed and in the mentally conceived spiritual body one renders mental service to Krsna in Vraja day and night."

 

This siddha body should be received from the guru, according to Sri Gopalaguru Gosvami (disciple of Vakresvara Pandita, personal servant of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and first mahanta of the Gambhira Matha in Puri), Dhyanacandra Gosvami (disciple of Gopalaguru Gosvami) and Sri Bhaktivinoda Thakura (last chapter of his book Harinama-cintamani), who was the father of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. Sri Jiva Gosvami says in his Bhakti-sandarbha (283) on initiation:

 

 

divyam jñanam hyatra srimati mantre bhagavatsvarupajñanam tena bhagavata sambandhavisesa-jñanam ca

"Initiation bestows on the disciple not only the mantra, that is God's very form, but also knowledge about his specific relation with Him." In the Bhakti-sandarbha (321) Sri Jiva Gosvami says:

 

 

saksadvrajajana-visesayaiva mahyam srigurucaranair madabhista-visesa-siddhyartham upadistam bhavayami

 

"I meditate on the specific form of one of Krsna's associates in Vraja, which my Sri Guru-carana has instructed me in, so that I can attain my specifically desired siddhi." We must assume that this means a little more than the self esteem of: "I am a 20-year old book distributor for Krsna on a parking lot," however devotional this may be.

 

Modern Gaudiya Math acaryas desperately try to escape from the above scriptural evidence by saying: "yes, but nowadays nobody is qualified for siddha-pranali anymore." To this can be said (1) that Bhaktivinoda wrote his Jaiva-dharma and Harinama-cintamani in the 20th century, not the 16th and (2) the Bhagavata (11.5.38) states: kalau khalu bhavisyanti narayana-parayanah, "throughout the age of Kali there will be Vaisnavas."

 

16 b) Raganuga bhakti is not only for perfected souls beyond the stage of anartha-nivrtti. In the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.5) Rupa declares that there are two kinds of sadhana (after first explaining that sadhana-bhakti means practise with the senses, by souls that are still conditioned)- vaidhi and raganuga, and nowhere it is said that raganuga bhakti is a post graduate state of vaidhi bhakti. In the Caitanya-caritamrta (Madhya 22.108) Kaviraja confirms this:

 

 

ei sadhana bhakti dui to prakara

eka vaidhibhakti - raganuga bhakti ara

 

"There are two kinds of devotion in practise. One is called vaidhi bhakti and the other raganuga bhakti." There is no mention of the latter's being a culmination of the former. Krsnadasa also declares (C.c., Adi, 4.231-237) that, although raganuga bhakti is indeed a confidential topic, it must still be discussed, for otherwise no one would be able to enter into this knowledge. In the Srimad Bhagavata (10.33.36) we find that Krsna performed the Rasa-lila out of compassion for all conditioned souls and that anyone who hears it becomes a devotee. Sri Jiva Gosvami teaches us in his Vaisnava-tosani comment on this verse:

 

 

ataeva tadrsabhaktaprasangena tadrsih sarvacittakarsinih krida bhajate, yah sadharanir api srutva bhaktebhyo 'nyo 'pi janas tatparo bhavet. kim uta rasalilarupam imam srutvetyarthah. vaksyate ca: vikriditam vrajavadhubhir idam ca visnoh (S.B. 10.33.39) ityadi. yad va, manusam deham asritah sarvo 'pi jivas tatparo bhavet, martyaloke sribhagavadavatarat tatha bhajane mukhyatvac ca manusyanam eva sukhena tac chravanadisiddheh

"Krsna performs this all-attractive game for His devotees, but even ordinary people are attracted to this game by hearing about it. Even they thus become exclusively devoted to the Lord. There is no doubt about this, and it will be further explained in verse 10.33.39. The words manusam deham asritah also indicate that the jivas that attained a human form are able to hear of this game and thus become devotees. The Lord descends on the human planets and it is here that the worship of the Lord assumes its most important form. Hence human beings can blissfully attain perfection by hearing of this game." In the S.B. (10.33.39) one hears that the senses do not become sexually agitated by hearing or reading of the Rasa-lila, but rather that they become freed from lust:

 

 

vikriditam vraja-vadhubhir idam ca visnoh

sraddhanvito 'nusrnuyad atha varnayed yah

bhaktim param bhagavati pratilabhya kamam

hrdrogamasvapahinotyacirena dhirah

 

"Anyone who faithfully hears and describes the pastimes of Lord Visnu (Krsna) with the ladies of Vraja (the gopis) will attain supreme devotion to God and will soon become free from the heart's disease of lust." Sri Jiva Gosvami comments as follows on this verse:

 

 

sraddhaya visvasenanvita iti. tad viparitavajñarupaparadhanivrttyartham ca nairantaryartham ca. tacca phalavaisistyartham, ataeva yo 'nu nirantaram srnuyat. athanantaram svayam varnayec ca, upalaksanam caitat smarec ca. bhaktim premalaksanam param srigopikapremanusaritvat sarvottamajatiyam. pratiksanam nutanatvena labdhva; hrdrogarupam kamam iti bhagavadvisayah kamaviseso vyavacchinnah, tasya paramapremarupatvena tadvaiparityat. kamam ityupalaksanam anyesam api hrd-roganam. anyatra sruyate (srigita, 18.54): "brahmabhutaprasannatma na socati na kanksati, samah sarvesu bhutesu madbhaktim labhate param." ityatra tu hrdrogapahanat purvam eva paramabhaktipraptih. tasmat paramabalavad evedam sadhanam iti bhavah.

"Sraddhanvita means hearing with faith. This word is used to avoid the offence of disbelieving or disregarding the scriptures - that is contrary to the principles of hearing and chanting. The highest devotion is that of the gopis and hearing and chanting of their devotion is so powerful that this supreme devotion appears in the heart even before the heart's disease of lust is chased out of it. This despite the verse 18.54 of the Gita, which shows an opposite sequence. This shows that hearing and chanting of the Rasa-lila is the most powerful sadhana in existence." In other words, saying: "Don't read Rasa-lila unless you are free from sex desire" is like saying "Don't take the medicine unless and until you are cured." How will you get cured without taking the medicine?

 

Sri Prabodhananda Sarasvati says in his Vrndavana-mahimamrta (4.38):

 

 

yam yam rupavatim navinatarunim lavanyalilakala-

madhuryair munimohinim anuratam bhavotsavavyañjanim

tam tam viksya sa thutkaroti paramam divyam api sphuritam

sriradhapadakinkaripada-nakha-pranto 'pi yasyatmani

 

"A person in whose heart even the borders of the toenails of Sri Radha's female foot-servants have arisen will spit in disgust when he sees even the most beautiful young, elegant, playful artistic girl, whose sweetness may bewilder even great sages, and who causes a festival of loving feelings."

 

There is no guarantee at all that someone who practises vaidhi bhakti is automatically promoted to raganuga bhakti, rather Srila Rupa Gosvami says in his Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu: krsna-tadbhakta-karunya-matra-labhaika-hetuka, "only by the grace of Krsna and His devotees is this path of raganuga bhakti attained." The bhavas or feelings that come forth from the two different paths (vaidhi and raganuga) are totally different (see the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.3.7-14) and so are the kinds of prema (love) (see Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 1.4.5-8).

 

By reading the books of the Gosvamis, the seed of raganuga bhakti can be sown. If we were not allowed to read them because we are still conditioned, then they were written for nothing, for how can you become free from conditioning without having read them? This is described in Srila Rupa Gosvami's Padyavali:

 

 

krsnabhaktirasabhavita matih

kriyatam yadi kuto 'pi labhyate

tatra laulyam api mulyam ekalam

janmakotisukrtair na labhyate

 

"No ten million lifetimes of following regulative principles will give you taste for Krsna-bhakti. The only price is greed! Purchase it as soon as it is available anywhere!" It is on sale where the rasika bhaktas speak about Radha-Krsna. In connection with the above sloka, to use the saying "Fools rush in where Angels fear to tread" is an offense to Sri Rupa Gosvami and all his followers, calling them fools. This 'fools rush in' is a mundane saying which only applies to mundane impulsive people and their actions. Srila Visvanatha Cakravartipada teaches in his Raga-vartma-candrika (1.5): napi lobhaniyavastupraptau svasya yogyayogyatvavicarah ko 'py udbhavati, "no candidate ever considers whether he is qualified for this path of raganuga bhakti or not."

 

One cannot learn vaidhi bhakti from the guru and then just learn raganuga bhakti from books, because one's guru did not teach one raganuga bhakti. One should take both initiation and teachings from a raganuga guru (asambhasya tadbhavagambhiracittan kuto syamasindho rasasyavagahah says Raghunatha dasa Gosvami: "How can one enter into the Syama-ocean without having conversed with a devotee whose heart is steeped in love for Radha?")

 

16 c) Bhaktisiddhanta's self-styled theory 'first maranam (death of the ego) and then smaranam (remembering Krsna's pastimes)" is also contrary to the teachings of the Gosvamis. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura sings in the Prema-bhakti-candrika:

 

 

sadhana smarana lila, iha na koriho hela

 

"Do not neglect the sadhana (practise, not perfection) of smarana." Again the reverse order: First smarana, then marana, not 'first get cured and then take the medicine." And not just smarana, Srila Narottama dasa Thakura even goes further to specify yugalavilasasmrtisara, "the essential smarana is of the amorous pastimes of Radha and Krsna."

 

16 d) The idea that "Radharani's name can only be sung on Radhastami" is refuted by Srila Prabodhananda Sarasvati in the Radha-rasa-sudhanidhi (144): radhanamaiva hy anudinamilitam sadhanadhisakotih, "millions of sadhana are fulfilled by daily singing the holy name of Radha." Srila Narottama das Thakura sings: krsna-nama radha-nama upasana rasa-dhama, "singing Krsna's name and Radha's name is the most tasty spiritual practise," jaya jaya radha-nama vrndavana jara dhama krsna-sukha-vilasera nidhi, "all glories to the holy name of Radha that has its abode in Vrndavana and forms the ocean of Krsna's blissful game," and the next couplet, ihate vimukha yei, tara kabhu siddhi nei, yeno nahi suni tara nama, "anyone who is against this will never reach perfection. Let us not even hear their names."

 

16 e) Some say that Krsna and the gopis only kiss and caress, but do not have actual sexual intercourse. However, the Brahma-samhita says angani yasya sakalendriya-vrttimanti, Krsna performs all sensual activities. Furthermore, Srila Sanatan Goswami writes in his commentary on Srimad Bhagavata 10.14.33 and in his Brhad Bhagavatamrta-tika (2.7.99): nanu na bhavatu pumsam upasthendriyadvara tat gopinam kila saksadeva sampadyate iti cet tarhi dharstyapariharaya, "Of course, male people of Vraja do not relish Krsna's sweetness through their genitals, but the gopis certainly have direct experience of that. Brahma, however, was too shy to mention that." In the Srimad Bhagavata (10.8.31), the elderly gopis complain: evam dharstyany usati kurute mehanadini vastau, "Krsna is so impudent to pass urine in our houses." How can He urinate without genitals? Also in the Bhagavata (10.22.17) it is said: panibhyam yonim acchadya "The gopis covered their sexual organs with their hands." In the Bhagavata at 10.55.2 we find: krsnaviryasamudbhavah "Pradyumna came forth from Krsna's semen."

 

17) Doing bhajana is not selfish, or acting purely for one's own liberation. To understand this, one first must understand what is the self. Srimad Bhagavata (10.14.55) says: krsnam enam avehi tvam atmanam akhilatmanam, "Krsna is the Self of the selves." The whole preceding story of Krsna's calves and cowherd boyfriends being kidnapped and His expanding Himself into them, and then the mothers and the cows loving their (the Krsna-expanded) boys and calves twice as much as their own offspring, is meant to demonstrate this. In other words, bhajana is done to please Krsna, who is our highest Self, and not to reach personal salvation. The Vedanta-sutra states: anandamayo 'bhyasat, "everyone seeks happiness."

 

For the same reason, the aspiration to relish rasa is not a selfish one. Indeed, Srila Rupa Gosvami has stated in the Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu that the goal of bhakti sadhana is to relish rasa:

 

 

samagripariposena parama rasarupata (2.1.4)

vibhavair anubhavais ca sattvikair vyabhicaribhih

svadyatvam hrdi bhaktanam anita sravanadibhih

esa krsnaratih sthayi bhavo bhaktiraso bhavet (2.1.5)

praktanyadhuniki casti yasya sadbhaktivasana

esa bhaktirasasvadas tasyaiva hrdi jayate (2.1.6)

...

bhaktanam hrdi rajanti samskarayugalojjvala

ratiranandarupaiva niyamana tu rasyatam (2.1.9)

krsnadibhir vibhavadyair gatairanubhavadhvani

praudhanandacamatkarakastham apadyate param (2.1.10)

kimtu prema vibhavadyaih svalpair nito 'pyaniyasim

vibhavanadyavastham tu sadya asvadyatam vrajet (2.1.11)

 

"Along with these ingredients it becomes the form of highest rasa. This relishable rasa is brought to the hearts of the devotees by vibhavas, anubhavas, sattvikas and vyabhicari bhavas through the practises of hearing, chanting etc. Those who have had the aspiration for devotion in this life and in previous lives, will have the relish of bhakti rasa awakened within the heart. When these two samskaras or cultivations of devotion (from this life and the previous life) reside in the hearts of the devotees it will culminate in the experience of rasa in the form of rati ananda, with the help of vibhavas (incitements) such as Krsna. Then the summit of astonishment and ecstasy will be achieved. Although very small incitements will bring forth very meager relish, this relish will come to full fruition of relish through proper practise."

 

Preaching is not a greater service to Krsna than contemplation. The often (mis-)quoted verse ya idam paramam guhyam madbhaktesvabhidhasyati (Gita, 18.68) contains the words madbhaktesu, proving that this verse describes Krsna-katha amongst the devotees, not disturbing of the minds of the ignorant, which is condemned earlier in the Gita (3.29, tan akrtsnavido mandan krtsnavin na vicalayet), and which is also an offence to the chanting of the holy name (asraddadhane vimukhe 'pyasrnvati yas copadesah sivanamaparadhah). Furthermore, the aforementioned Gita verse (18.68) mentions the words paramam guhyam which means the greatest secret, pearls that are not to be thrown before swine. How do the conditioned souls become devotees then? The Katha Upanisad (1.2.23)provides the answer:

 

 

nayam atma pravacanena labhyo na medhaya na bahuna srutena

yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas tasyaisa atma vivrnute tanum svam

 

"God cannot be attained by preaching lectures, nor with the intelligence, nor by hearing a lot of scripture. He is attained only by him upon whom He confers His grace. To this person He will reveal His transcendental body."

 

Subsequently, those who think: "I am making devotees", or "He has made so many devotees" is bewildered by false ego. The Bhagavad Gita (3:27) says: ahankara vimudhatma kartaham iti manyate, "Those who are bewildered by false ego think: "I am doing things." The verses in sastra that glorify or encourage preaching and preachers are for those who are on that level of mentality and realisation. Unfortunately most preachers are after labha, puja and pratistha - money, worship and distinction.

 

18) The origin of the jiva is not the spiritual, but the material world: There is ample evidence in the Srimad Bhagavata (2.9.10):

 

 

pravartate yatra rajas tamas tayoh

sattvam ca misram na ca kalavikramah

na yatra maya kim utapare harer

anuvrata yatra surasurarcitah

 

"In Vaikuntha there is no mode of passion, darkness or even mixed goodness, there is no power of time, and there is no maya (who can pull the devotee out of the spiritual world)."

 

In the Srimad Bhagavata (4.28.52) it is mentioned that the jiva was with God, but according to Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti in his Sarartha-darsini commentary the jiva meant there only merged with Him as Mahavisnu during the universal dissolution. Sri Jiva Gosvami declares the same in his comment on Srimad Bhagavata, verses 4.28.54 and 64:

 

 

svasthah pradhanikavesarahitah san tad vyabhicarena purvam isvarakhyahamsabahirmukhataya nastam tirohitam smrtim janasi api kim sakhayam mam ityapi smarasi catmanam avijñatasakham ityatra purvoktam sakhyanusandhanam punarapa iti. atra punahsabdena smrtisabdena tadvismrter nasadikhandanam vivaksitam kintu anadyavrtasyapi sakhyasya svabhavikatvad anaditvam ityeva krtahanyakrtabhyagamaprasangat.

"Being svasthah means 'being free from the possession of material nature" tad vyabhicarena means 'not devoted to the swan called isvara. Because of this the memory was lost - nastam. Punar apa means 'regained the consciousness of friends' as was stated in words such as janasi kim sakhayam mam (4.28.52). Here the use of the words punah and smrtih is to indicate the disappearance or destruction of forgetfulness. But that forgetfulness is certainly beginningless although the friendship, which is also covered without beginning, is natural."

 

In the Srimad Bhagavata (6.5.11) we find: bhuh ksetram jivasamjñam yadanadi nijabandhanam, "the earth is a field known as the jiva who has been conditioned since beginningless time," and again (11.2.37): bhayam dvitiyabhinivesatah syad isad apetasya viparyayo 'smrtih, "the apeta, or turning away from God by the jiva, is anadi, beginningless, and that also accounts for fear bhaya. Asmrti means, according to Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti, not forgetting Krsna, but one's own spiritual nature. Viparyaya means taking something for what it isn't, like identifying oneself with the body, which one is not.

 

More evidence is provided by Srimad Bhagavata (11.11.4)

 

 

ekasyaiva mamamsasya jivasyaiva mahamate

bandho 'syavidyayanadir vidyaya ca tathetarah

Sri Krsna tells Uddhava: 'Although I am one, O highly intelligent one, it is in relation to the jiva alone, which is a reflection of Mine, that bondage has existed from beginningless time and it is in relation to the jiva alone that the other state (liberation) is brought about through spiritual knowledge."

 

In the Srimad Bhagavata (11.11.7) we find: yo 'vidyaya yuk sa tu nitya-baddho vidyamayo yah sa tu nitya-muktah. "The ignorant soul is eternally bound and the soul filled with knowledge is eternally free," and in the Vedanta-sutra (2.1.35): na karmavibhagad iti cen nanaditvat. "If someone says that the theory of karma cannot explain the inequality within the world, because everyone must have had the same karma in the beginning of creation, then that is not true, for karma is beginningless." In the Mandukya Upanisad (1.9) is the statement: bhogartham srstir ity anye kridartham iti capare, devasyaisa svabhavo 'yam aptakamasya ka sprha. "Some say that He created the world for His enjoyment and others say for His play. That is simply His nature. He is, after all, Self-satisfied - which desires has He left to fulfill?" and (1.16): anadimayaya supto yada jivah prabudhyate, ajam anidram asvapnam advaitam budhyate tada - "When the living entity, who is sleeping the beginningless slumber of illusion, awakens, he realises the unborn, unsleeping, undreaming non-dual truth." [Neither of these citations are in the Mandukya Upanisad. Their source is currently unknown. - Ed.]

 

Sri Jiva Gosvami writes in his Paramatma-sandarbha (46):

 

 

tadevam ananta eva jivakhyas tatasthah saktayah. tatra tasam vargadvayam. eko vargo 'nadita eva bhagavadunmukhah anyas tvanadita eva bhagavatparanmukhah. svabhavatas tadiyajñanabhavat tadiyajñanabhavac ca.

 

 

"There are innumerable spirit souls and they are the marginal potency of God. There are two classes of them: one class is favorable to God from beginningless time, and the other class is turned away from God from beginningless time. The first class is naturally full of knowledge and the other is without knowledge."

 

In the Caitanya-caritamrta, (Antya, 3,72-74):

 

 

prabhu kahe sab jiva mukti yabe pabe

ei to brahmanda tabe sab sunya habe

haridasa bale 'tomara yavat martye sthiti

tavat sthavara jangama sarva jivajati

 

sab mukti kari tumi vaikunthe pathaibe

suksma jive punah karma udbuddha karibe

sei jiva habe iha sthavara jangama

tahate bharibe brahmanda yena purva sama

 

Mahaprabhu said: "If all the conditioned souls would attain liberation the world would become empty." Haridasa replied: "As long as You are in this mortal world You will liberate all the mobile and immobile creatures and send them to Vaikuntha. Then You will again engage subtle (dormant, new) living entities in further fruitive activities, and these mobile and immobile living entities will fill the world up like before"

 

This is in line with Visnu-dharmottara Purana (1.81.12):

 

 

ekaikasmin nare muktim kalpe kalpe gate dvija

abhavisyajjagac chunyam kalasyader abhavatah

 

"Because time has no beginning, the world would be empty by now if only one person per kalpa had been liberated."

 

Markandeya answers (1.81.13-14):

 

 

jivasyanyasya sargena nare muktim upagate

acintyasaktir bhagavan jagat purayate sada

brahmana saha mucyante brahmalokam upagatah

srjyante ca mahakalpe tadvidhas capare janah

 

"When someone is liberated, the Supreme Lord, who has inconceivable potency, creates another jiva and and thus always keeps the world full. Those who attain Brahmaloka become liberated along with Brahma. Then, in the next kalpa, the Lord creates similar beings."

 

Sri Jiva says in the Priti-sandarbha (1):

 

 

atha jivas ca tadiyo 'pi tajjñana-samsargabhava-yuktatvena tanmayaparabhutah san natmasvarupajñanalopan mayakalpitopadhyavesac canadisamsaraduhkena sambadhyate iti paramatmasandarbhadav eva nirupitam asti. paramatmavaibhavaganane ca tattatasthasaktirupanam cidekarasanam apy anadiparatattvajñanasamsargabhavamayatadvaimukhyalabdhacchidraya tanmayayavrtasvasvarupajñananam tayaiva sattvarajastamomaye jade pradhane racitatmabhavanam jivanam samsaraduhkam ca jñapitam.

 

 

"Although the jiva is part of the Lord, he is without knowledge of Him and this deficiency has no beginning. Because of this he is covered by maya. Thus he is united with the beginningless material miseries because his knowledge of his svarupa is covered and he is absorbed in false designations. From beginningless time he is bereft of knowledge of the Supreme truth and thus he has attained the fault of aversion towards God, whose maya covers over his knowledge of his constitutional position and fills him with feelings created by maya, consisting of sattva, rajas, and tamas. This was explained in the Paramatma-sandarbha (47): tatparanmukhatva-dosena labdha-chidraya mayaya paribhutah, where labdha, the attainment, must be considered without time sequence, anadi as stated above.

 

In the Bhakti-sandarbha (120) Jiva quotes from the Vasanabhasya:

 

 

mukta api prapadyante punah samsaravasanam

yady acintyamahasaktau bhagavaty aparadhinah

 

"Offenders to the Lord will again get material desires, even if they are liberated souls."

 

Here the word punah means 'again', which proves that this verse does not apply to eternally liberated souls who fall from the spiritual world. The aparadhis (offenders) mentioned here are the mayavadis that are described in Srimad Bhagavata (10.2.32): aruhya krcchrena param padam tatah patanty adho 'nadrtayusmadanghrayah. But this does not count for the bhaktas, as is described in the next verse (10.2.33): tatha na te madhava tavakah kvacid, bhrasyanti margat tvayi baddha-sauhrdah. Srila Jiva Gosvami comments (Bhakti-sandarbha, 120): yatha purve arudhaparamapadatvavasthato 'pi bhrasyanti, tatha tavaka margat sadhanavasthato 'pi na bhrasyanti, kimuta mrgyat tvatta ityarthah. Mayavadis fall down even from the stage of perfection, but even in the stage of sadhana Your devotees do not fall down, what to speak of after attaining You?"

 

According to Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti's commentary on Srimad Bhagavata (3.7.10): tatra bhagavatah prsthasthitaya anadyavidyaya tamahsvarupaya anadivaimukhyarupabhagavatprstha-sthanam jivanam jñanam yal lupyate tasya na vastutvam karanam napi prayojanam kim apy asti. "Ignorance, which is beginningless, is situated on the Lord's back. She covers the knowledge of the jivas who are situated on the Lord's back and are non-devotees. Their non-devotion is anadi. There is no real reason or purpose for their knowledge being covered."

 

Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti's commentary on Srimad Bhagavata (10.87.32) also shows no jivas that have fallen from the spiritual world:

 

 

te ca meghopamaya avidyaya avrta baddhajiva eke anye bhaktimajjñanena tadavaranonmukta muktajivah anye kevalaya pradhanibhutaya va bhaktya tadavaranonmocitaprapitacidanandamayabhajanopayogisarirah siddhabhakta anye avidyayogarahita eva nityaparsada iti caturvidhah

 

 

"There are four types of jivas: 1. baddha - those under the influence of the avidya potency. 2. mukta - those liberated from the covering of avidya through bhakti, but who have not yet attained a spiritual body. These are also called jivanmuktas or liberated while living in the material body. 3. siddha - those who have attained a siddha-deha on the strength of bhakti. These are called baddha-muktas or those liberated after being in bondage. 4. nitya-parsadas - those eternally free from contact with ignorance. They never become conditioned, and are also called nitya-siddhas or nitya-muktas."

 

In his comment on Bhagavad-gita (13.20) Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti declares that the conditioning of the conditioned souls is beginningless: mayajivayor api macchaktitvena anaditvat tayoh samsleso 'py anadir iti bhavah. "Illusion and the conditioned souls are both My energies. They are both beginningless and they have been interconnected since beginningless time as well." The word dvesa in Bhagavad-gita (7.27) does not mean envy of Krsna, for you cannot be envious of someone you don't know.

 

In the Brhad-bhagavatamrta Sarupa calls himself a newcomer, nutna (2.6.359): dure 'stu tavad varteyam tatra nityanivasinam, na tisthed anusandhanam nutnanam madrsam api, and later (2.6.366): tallokasya svabhavo 'yam krsnasangam vinapi yat, bhavet tatraiva tisthasa na cikirsa ca kasyacit. "Nobody desires to leave Goloka."

 

Assuming that previously fallen jivas who return to the spiritual world are superior to those who have stayed, because they are shocked by their experience, is not just a speculation, but also an offence to the nitya-muktas. This presupposes that it is better to fall down than to stay and that the 'returners' can anyway remember their ordeal in the material world when they return. That would make devotion out of fear of punishment greater than spontaneous loving devotion, and would make the spiritual world into a concentration-camp. Regarding free will, this is gradually given up in the course of surrender. A siddha-bhakta will never misuse this free will because his surrender is irreversible. When the sadhana-siddha jiva attains the spiritual world he remembers nothing of the material world, for his subtle body has been dissolved through the transcendental process of bhakti.

 

Regarding the fall of Jaya and Vijaya: The feeling of enmity they acquired for the Lord was not because of the Kumaras' curse, but by the will of the Lord. Even so, the Lord did not consider them His enemies. He just wanted to enjoy fighting with them. One should not think that Jaya and Vijaya chose to become the Lord's enemies so that they could finish the curse quickly, because great devotees like them do not desire even salokya mukti without bhakti. And with bhakti they are willing even to go to hell (Bhag. 3.15.48: natyantikam viganayanty ...) They wanted to please the Lord by fighting with Him, but they did not literally choose to become the Lord's enemies so that they could give pleasure to Him. Such a desire is undevotional. Srila Jiva Gosvami further says that their inimical feelings were not real but feigned (abhasa). They entered into demoniac bodies but remained untouched within.

 

As far as Citraketu is concerned, although he offended mother Parvati, he did not fall into material life. Even in a demon's body, as Vrtrasura, he recited wonderful prayers to the Lord.

 

In conclusion: there is no scriptural evidence for the jivas' falling from the spiritual sky. It is not supported by the acaryas, not by our acaryas, nor by those of any other sampradaya. The spiritual world would not be Vaikuntha, the fearless abode, nor would it be free from maya.

 

19) Loud japa is not better than mental japa. In the Haribhakti-vilasa the Narasimha Purana and Yajñavalkya are cited (17.155-159):

 

 

trividho japayajñah syat tasya bhedan nibodhata

vacikasca upamsusca manasasca tridha matah

...

mantram uccarayed vyaktam japayajñah sa vacikah

...

kiñcicchabdam svayam vidyad upamsuh sa japah smrtah

...

upamsuyuktasya tasmacchataguno bhavet

sahasro manasah prokto yasmad dhyanasamo hi sah

 

"There are three kinds of japa - vocal, muttering and mental. Loud chanting of the mantra is called vocal japa, whispering is called upamsu and mental chanting is called manasika japa. Whispering is a hundred times better than loud japa and mental chanting is a thousand times better. This is equal to meditation."

 

20) There is no santa-rasa in Vraja; the animals and non-moving species are not in santa rasa. Mahaprabhu proclaims in Caitanya-caritamrta that He makes the three worlds dance in four rasas (cari bhava bhakti diya nacaimu bhuvana), not in five. Hantayam adrir abala haridasa varyah (Bhag. 10.21.18) confirms that mountains like Giriraja are in dasya-rasa. The cows in Vraja are in vatsalya-rasa (see the Bhagavata Canto 10, Chapter 13). The statement vamsi priyasakhi from the Brahma-samhita prove that even the flute is in madhura-rasa.

 

21) Regular devotees are not addressed with prabhu. eka mahaprabhu, ara prabhu dui jana (C.C.): "There is only one Mahaprabhu and there are two prabhus (Nitai and Advaita)." Of course, great acaryas or eternal associates of the Lord are sometimes called prabhu, but this title has never been used for ordinary devotees."

 

 

So, you folks that want to take that anti-siddha pranali stance are going to have to face the facts at some point that you are in opposition to the above mentioned authorities.

 

As jijaji says: PEACE NOW