Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati and Raganuga-Bhakti

By Swāmī Śrī Bhaktivedānta Tripurāri

Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was of the opinion that ajata-ruci raganuga sadhakas (practitioners without taste) should adopt the methods of raganuga sadhana that they are qualified to adopt in proportion to their development of sacred greed (lobhamayi sraddha), while following the angas (limbs) of vaidhi-bhakti (regulated devotion).

This follows Sri Jiva Goswami’s Bhakti-sandarbha 311:

ajata-tadrsa-rucina tu sad-visesa adaramatradrta raganugapi vaidhi-samvalitaivanus heya
tatha loka-sangrahartam pratis hitena jata-tadrsa-rucina ca atra misratve ca
tyatha-yogyam raganugayaikikrtyaiva vaidhi kartavya

One in whom this taste (ruci) has not arisen but who has come to appreciate raganuga-bhakti only on account of appreciation for a particular saint or scripture (sat), may still practice raganuga-bhakti but with an admixture of vaidhi-bhakti. In the same way, for the sake of preaching (loka-sangrahartaham) one who is advanced and in whom taste has manifested should also practice raganuga with an admixture of vaidhi. Such mixing of the two kinds of bhakti means that one practices vaidhi-bhakti by uniting it with whatever raganuga practices one is capable of.

In the opinion of Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, such mixing of the two kinds of bhakti means that one embrace the angas of vaidhi-bhakti with a view to attain greater eligibility for raganuga-bhakti and its sadhya (goal) by uniting them with whatever raganuga practices one is eligible for (yatah-yogyam). In his opinion, this did not include an emphasis on meditating on the pastimes of Radha-Krishna from the vantage point of one’s siddha deha for those who had not attained the stage of nistha, based on the reasoning that dhyana (meditation) requires a pure heart, whereas kirtanam (chanting) does not. He reasoned, as has Sri Sanatana Goswami in Brhad-bhagavatamrta, that smaranam (remembering) arises naturally out of kirtanam. Thus he emphasized nama smaranam for beginners, stressing inoffensive chanting that would lead naturally to meditation on Krishna’s form (rupa samaranam), qualities (guna smaranam), and pastimes (lila smaranam). Of course, he also emphasized mantra dhyana of Gopala mantra, kama gayatri, etc., and these mantras were given to sadhakas only after they had attained a degree of steadiness in nama smaranam (japa).

In some ways, his position was a reaction to what he perceived as a sleight of hand in the name of giving—or in some cases making a business out of—a type of siddha deha. In this initiation one’s svarupa (spiritual identity) is thought to be revealed by the guru to the disciple for the purpose of aiding him in lila smaranam. Bhaktisiddhanta’s opinion was that while sadhakas were aspiring for Vraja bhakti they should do kirtanam, and as kirtanam qualified them, they should combine it with smaranam. Furthermore, he maintained that through kirtanam one’s svarupa would be glimpsed in the higher devotional stages of ruci and asakti, at which time effective and meaningful lila smaranam from the vantage point of one’s svarupa could take place, thus propelling the sadhaka into bhava-bhakti. As one’s svarupa arises through sadhana and the mercy of great souls, the guru helps the disciple to cultivate its realization.