from Shri Raga Vartma Candrika and pranama mantra to Visvanatha Chakravati Thakura

[Paramananda das]

visvasya natharupo ’sau
bhakti-vartma-pradarsanat
bhakta-cakre varttitatvat
cakravarty akhyayabhavat

[“Because he indicates the path of bhakti, he is known by the name Visvanatha, the Lord of the universe, and because he always remains in the assembly (cakra) of pure devotees, he is known by the name Cakravarti (he around whom a circle or assembly turns).”]




Shri Shri Raga Vartma Candrika



Prathama Prakashah (First Diffusion)

1. Again and again I offer my humble obeisances to those devotees who are like cakora birds, relishing the nectar of Shrila Rupa Goswami’s words. Through even their slightest mercy I am able to speak this book “Raga Vartma Candrika”.

2. Previously I gave a concise description of the path of raganuga bhakti, or devotion following one’s spiritual desires, in my book “Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu Bindhu8 0.

3. When one’s devotion is prompted by orders received from the revealed scriptures, then it is called vaidhi bhakti. But when one is prompted simply by spiritual greed, then it is called raganuga bhakti.

4. The word pravartakah (in the previous verse) means being fixed in devotional practices. The two kinds of candidates for devotional service (vaidhi and raganuga) should have fear of scriptural injunctions and intense spiritual greed respectively.
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5. Shrila Rupa Goswami has personally given the following definition of lobha (sacred greed). “When the heart yearns for the sweetness of the moods of Krishna and His eternal associates in Vraja, and one is not prompted by scriptural injunctions or logical arguments, then that is the definition of ‘sacred greed’. If one thinks ‘let such greed arise in me also’, after hearing about moods such as the transcendental conjugal mood toward Krishna of His associates the gopis in Vraja, then one need not wait for suitable sanctions from the revealed scriptures or logical arguments. If such impetuses are there, then it cannot be justly called greed. This greed never arises in anyone on such bases, nor does the candidate ever consider whether he is qualified for the path of raganuga bhakti or not. Rather, simply after hearing about the subject matter, or seeing it, that greed will arise in him.

6. There are two causes for the appearance of 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 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 greed has arisen in him, and the adhunika will get that 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 greed is the mercy of Krishna or His devotee. Therefore some call the path of raganuga bhakti pushti marga (the path of mercy).”

7. Now, when both the above-mentioned kinds of devotees become inquisitive about how to attain the mood of Krishna’s eternal associates in Vraja, then we see that they are again dependent on information from the revealed scriptures and 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 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 8th Canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam: “As one can derive fire from wood, milk from the milk bag of the cow, food grains and water from the land, and prosperity in one's livelihood from industrial enterprises, so, by the practice of bhakti-yoga, even within this material world, one can achieve Your favour or intelligently approach You. Those who are pious all affirm this.” (Shrimad Bhagavatam 8.6.12)

8. Lord Krishna himself describes in Shrimad Bhagavatam 11.14.26 how the devotee on the path of greed advances and becomes more purified 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 more able is one to discern the subtle reality of the self, just as the eye is better able to perceive subtle things when it is treated with medicinal ointment.”

9. When this greed ha s appeared in the heart, one becomes enlightened in different ways. Uddhava says in Shrimad Bhagavatam 11.29.6: “Krishna reveals Himself through the acarya (spiritual master) or through the agency of the Supersoul.” Thus some devotee attains knowledge about the moods 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 practise of devotional service, will have this knowledge directly revealed to them from within their hearts. They advance in great transcendental bliss, just as one sees a lusty man enjoying great pleasure when his desires are fulfilled.

10. In Shrimad Bhagavatam, 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.” Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu of Shrila Rupa Goswami, which describes the devotio n propounded by the Shrimad Bhagavatam, provides the following three verses: “the devotee should remember Krishna and an eternally liberated devotee of Krishna of his own choice. He should always live in Vraja and be attached to topics concerning Krishna and that favourite devotee of his.” (1.2.294) “Both in his material and in his mentally conceived spiritual body he should follow in the footsteps of the people of Vraja, always desiring their moods and activities.” (1.2.295) “The practitioner of raganuga bhakti should also perform all the limbs of vaidhi bhakti, such as hearing and chanting, as far as they are favourable. This is what the learned say.” (1.2.296) These three verses explain the position of the kamanuga devotee (those serving in a conjugal mood).

11. First of all, through the words “remembering Krishna” (BRS 1.2.294), it is indicated that remembrance (smaranam) is the main item of raganuga bhakti. Raga is a special feature of the mind.
The beloved is the Lord of Vrindavana, Shri Krishna, who enjoys pastimes suitable to His own mood. By “His people also” is meant His beloved eternal associates in Vraja, and particularly that transcendental personality that the practising devotee favours, like Vrindavaneshvari Shrimati Radharani, Lalita, Vishakha, Rupa Manjari etc. Although they are Krishna’s favourites, they are also more favourite to those devotees who desire to enter into the glistening conjugal relationship with Krishna.
If one cannot live in Vraja physically one must at least mentally do so. But the next verse (1.2.295) clearly explains how one must live in Vraja physically. Living with the sadhaka rupa means in the physical body of the practising devotee, and the siddha rupa means one’s own desired mentally conceived spiritual body, that is suitable for direct transcendental service to Lord Krishna. Tad bhava lipsuna means being eager to attain the glistening conjugal moods towards Krishna of one’s favourite devotees in that mood, like Shrimati Radharani and the gopis.
How to serve? With paraphernalia that are collected either mentally (in siddha rupa) or physically (in sadhaka rupa).
How to follow in the footsteps of the people of Vraja? In one’s physical body one follows in the footsteps of Shrila Rupa Goswami and other saints that lived in Vraja, and in the mentally conceived spiritual body one follows in the footsteps of Shrimati Rupa Manjari and the other eternal associates of Krishna. The people of Vraja that should be followed, such as Candrakanti, the sages of the Dandaka forest, whose story is told in the Brihad Vamana Purana, as well as the Shrutis, have attained their spiritual relationship with Krishna. One should act like them. In this way the first two verses described smaranam and living in Vraja and the third verse20(1.2.296) describes practises such as hearing about Krishna’s pastimes. All other limbs of devotional practise are attained through the practise of hearing and chanting. Without hearing and chanting one’s following in the footsteps of the people of Vraja will remain fruitless. This was said by the learned sages after elaborate consideration. One should only practise those limbs that are favourable to one’s own devotional mood and not those that are opposed to it.

12. Worshipping oneself, using mudras or nyasa, meditating on Krishna’s pastimes in Dvaraka and worshipping Krishna’s Queens in Dvaraka are practises not to be done by a raganuga sadhaka, although they are described in the Vedic scriptures. If, on the path of devotion, there is a slight deficiency on the part of the devotee, that will not be a fault; that can be seen in the scriptures. In the 11th canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam the 9 Yogendras tell King Nimi: “O King! A person who takes shelter of the path o f devotion will never be in danger. Even if he runs over this path with his eyes closed he will not trip or fall.” The Lord also tells Uddhava in Shrimad Bhagavatam 11.29.20: “O Uddhava! In this endeavour of devotion to Me there cannot be the slightest loss or destruction!” The word yan in the former verse means that there can be no fault if one takes shelter of the process of hearing and chanting. It is also said in the Narada Pancaratra that that exclusive devotion to Lord Hari that does not follow the rules and regulations prescribed in the scriptures is simply the cause of disturbance.
If someone, overcome by spiritual greed, begins on the path of bhajana, but still feels that it is not proper to give up all the rules prescribed by the revealed scriptures, even if they are unfavourable to his own sweet, spontaneous mood, and meditates on Dvaraka-lila etc., then he will attain the transcendental position of an associate of the Lord’s Queens in Dvaraka. This is confirmed by the scriptures: “One who has the great desire to have a conjugal relationship with the Lord, but who worships Him solely with vidhi bhakti will become a Queen in Dvaraka.” (BRS 1.2.203)=2 0The meaning of the word kevala in this verse is kritsnenaiva, not being able to give up any unfavourable item of his practise, such as worshipping the Queens of Dvaraka and being dedicated exclusively to vidhi bhakti. The Amara Kosha dictionary confirms that the word kevala can mean kritsna. Still we cannot suggest that, just as if one worships exclusively in vidhi marga one will become Lord Krishna’s Queen in Dvaraka, so one will attain Krishna in the abode of Mathura by practising a mixture of vidhi bhakti and raganuga bhakti. How can one, after all, become a Queen in Mathura like in Dvaraka? If you answer that you will become an associate of Kubja in Mathura, then I say that this is unfair. After all, the rasa of Kubja with Krishna is inferior to the rasa of the Queens of Dvaraka (as explained in Ujjvala Nilamani). How then can one get something inferior through the practise of mixed vidhi and raganuga bhakti, which is superior to simply vidhi bhakti? The Gopala Tapani Upanishad proves that Rukmini was married in Mathura. One verse states: “Krishna, Balarama, Aniruddha, Pradyumna and Rukmini eternally dwell in Mathura.” Therefore the explanation that one will become an associate of Rukmini in Mathura as a result of mixing vidhi bhakti with raga bhakti is also not reasonable, because not everyone confirms that Rukmini is married in Mathura. How can one become an associate of Kubja or Rukmini after worshipping Shri Shri Radha Krishna? That is a second injustice.
Actually, when one follows vidhi marga, prompted by greed, that is called raganuga bhakti, and when one follows vidhi marga and is prompted by the orders from the revealed scriptures, that is called vidhi bhakti. When one worships Krishna without following the rules set out by the scriptures, as the aforementioned verse of the Narada Pancaratra proves, then it is considered to be a disturbance.

13. The scriptures show five kinds of devotional practises to make clear which limbs of devotional service are to be practised in raganuga bhakti, what they are like, what is their actual nature, what is to be done and what is not to be done. They are: those which are filled with the desired mood, those which are related to t he desired mood, those which are favourable to the desired mood, those that are not opposed to the desired mood and those which are opposed to the desired mood.
Of them, some are both the practise and the goal (the only difference being that the former are in an unripe state, and the latter are ripe), some are the direct cause of attaining the goal (prema), some are the indirect cause, some are helpful, some are harmful and some are neutral. All these divisions have been shown.

14. Servanthood, friendship and so on are all both the means and the goal and are svabhishta bhavamaya — full of the desired mood. Items of bhajana, from “taking shelter of the feet of a guru”=2 0up to “mantra japa and meditation” are bhava sambandhi or “related to the desired mood” and are direct causes for attaining the goal, love of God. Statements such as “always do japa with a fixed mind” indicate nitya kritya, or perpetual duties. Those who follow the order of the Gaura Ganoddesha Dipika “always do japa of Krishna’s holy name, which is related to the desired mood” in their mentally conceived spiritual bodies, are also called “related to the desired mood” which is a direct cause for attainment of their goal. The explanation of the Gopala mantra according to Gaura Ganoddesha Dipika is: “The lover of the gopis (gopijana vallabha) is pervading all my senses (govinda). Krishna’s holy name in the form of the 18 syllable or 10 syllable Gopala mantra is the best example of what is related to the desired mood. Another direct cause of what is bhava sambandhi is hearing about Krishna’s transcendental forms, qualities, names and pastimes. It is said: “One should wander alone, giving up all shyness and sing the names of Krishna, glorifying His sweet form” and “all the devotees attain paramount bliss by constantly describing, remembering and hearing about Your character.” In this way the practises are proven to be related to the desired mood (bhava sambandhi).
Previously it was discussed that smaranam is the chief item of raganuga bhakti, but even this is dependent on kirtana. In the present Age of Kali everyone can enter into bhajana through the means of kirtana. All the scriptures proclaim that kirtana is the very best limb of bhakti. in the Ujjvala Nilamani it is found that the srutis had attained birth in Vraja as gopis as a result of performing penance full of love. But in the present Kali yuga the performance of penance is denounced and the Lord Himself says: “Those vows taken for My sake are actually penance.” Hence penances such as fasting on Ekadashi and Janmastami are indirect causes of prema. We can understand that these occasional duties are perpetual because one can learn that giving up such vows will create obstacles on the path of the practising devotee. In the smrtis it is said the fasting on Ekadashi will lead to the remembrance of Govinda, so it is a direct cause for the devotional limb of smaranam.
On the other hand, the Skanda Purana and other scriptures say t hat one who does not fast on Ekadashi is as sinful as the killer of one’s own mother, father, brother or spiritual master. Thus he is an offender to the holy name. In the Vishnu Dharmottara it is said that through atonement one may be freed from the sin of drinking liquor, stealing or having sex with a superior, but the sin of eating grains on Ekadashi is indestructible. All these denouncing statements prove that vows like Ekadashi are compulsory. Such vows should always be kept. What more can be said? The Skanda Purana says “one may be in great distress or in great ecstasy, but anyone who does not give up the vow of Ekadashi has made his Vaishnava initiation a success,” and “anyone who offers all his activities unto Lord Vishnu is a successful Vaishnava.” These two statements give a definition of Ekadashi and a Vaishnava. It is forbidden for a Vaishnava to eat food which is not offered. Even maha prasada is forbidden for a Vaishnava on Ekadashi.
The vow in the month of Kartikka is an indirect cause for the limb of penance and a direct limb for the limb of hearing and chanting. In many places, Shrila Rupa Goswami has called Shrimati Radharani “Kartikka d evata”, “Urjjadevi”, or “Urjjesvari”, the goddess of the month of Kartikka, so it is clear that in the month of Kartikka one has a special opportunity to attain Her.
With the statement “O King Ambarisha! Always listen to Shrimad Bhagavatam spoken by Shuka Muni!” from the smritis, we see that hearing Shrimad Bhagavatam is also a perpetual duty.
From the statements: “Thus I fully glorified the Maha Purushas to you”, and “Those who desire pure devotion to Lord Krishna should always hear the glorification of His attributes, that destroy all inauspiciousness” from the 12th Canto of Shrimad Bhagavatam, we can understand that hearing of the character of Lord Krishna, which is especially related to the 10th Canto of that book, is a perpetual duty that must be repeatedly performed, and that is related to development of the desired mood. Wearing beads of tulasi, tilaka, the names or footprints of Krishna drawn with gopicandana are favourable to developing the desired mood.
Serving tulasi, circumambulating and offering obeisances are also favourable to developing the desired mood. Honouring cows, dhatri and ashvattha trees and brahmanas is not opposed to developing the desired mood and is helpful, but serving the Vaishnavas is the most special item> This should be counted amongst all that is mentioned. We have seen in Shrimad Bhagavatam that Mother Yashoda made her beloved Krishna wait for His breastmilk in order to take milk which was also meant to nourish Him from the fire.
For this she had to leave Krishna who was sucking her breast. Similarly it is also not improper for a raganuga devotee to pay attention to the abovementioned limbs of devotions which nourish the main limbs of hearing and chanting.
Meditating on oneself, nyasa, mudera, meditating on Dvaraka-lila and worshipping Lord Krishna’s Queens are harmful for developing the desired mood and are practises that should not be performed. Hearing stories from the Puranas are neutral factors. They are not helpful, nor are they harmful. Although there is no transformation or change in transcendental devotion, it has nevertheless been divided in parts like “direct cause” etc., to make it more easily understandable, which it would not have been otherwise. Just as it is said in the devotional scriptures “the 6 bhavas like sneha are manifestations of prema” and the rasa shastras define rasa with words like vibhava and so on, so I have also used terms like upadana karana (indirect causes) etc. to make my point more easily understandable. May the saints forgive me.