Raganuga - 3.3: Specific Spiritual Identity

sAkSAd vraja-jana-vizeSAyaiva mahyaM zrI-guru-caraNair mad-abhISTa-vizeSa-siddhy-artham upadiSTaM bhAvayAmi || (Bhakti-sandarbha 312)

”I meditate on the specific form of one of Krsna’s associates in Vraja, which my revered guru has instructed me in, in order to attain my specifically desired perfection.”

Therefore, the eager disciple will at one point in time approach the guru, inquiring about the eleven-fold existence (ekadasa-bhava) of his own eternal form (siddha-deha) in the spiritual world, along with the identities of the predecessor gurus in his lineage. The eleven prominent aspects of the siddha-form are known as follows:

1. nama – name of a manjari;
2. rupa (varna) – form (complexion);
3. vayas – age;
4. vesa – color of cloth;
5. sambandha – relationship;
6. yutha – group (of a certain sakhi);
7. ajna – order;
8. seva – service;
9. parakastha – highest aspiration;
10. palyadasi-bhava – the mood of a maintained maidservant;
11. nivasa – residence.

The unbroken chain of gurus, leading back to the eternal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is called guru-pranali (channel of gurus), and its celestial counterpart, the lineage of gurus in their Vraja-identities, is called siddha-pranali (channel of the perfected). Through this channel, the divine love of Vraja flows down into the heart of the aspirant.

eSA tu bhaktis tan nitya parikaragaNAd ArabhyedAnIntaneSvapi tad bhakteSu mandAkinIva pracarati . . . sA tathAbhUtA nitya dhAmni nitya pArSadeSu nityaM cakAsti surasarid iva tad bhakta praNAlyA prapaJce 'vatarati || (Siddhanta-ratna of Baladeva)

“This bhakti is being promulgated from the eternal associates of Sri Hari down to the present day practicing devotees like the current of the Mandakini-river (the celestial Ganges). Bhakti is always present within the Lord’s eternal associates within the eternal abode, and flows down to the mundane world through the drain of Sri Hari’s devotees like the stream of the Mandakini.”

In their daily meditation, the practitioners of raganuga-bhakti always meditate on the divine forms and characteristics of their predecessors along with the eternal associates of Sri Radha and Krishna.

tatrAdau maJjarI-rUpAn gurvAdIn tu svIyAn svIyAn praNAly-anusAreNa saMsmaret zrI-guru-parama-guru-krameNeti tataH zrI-rAdhikAM dhyAyet | tataH zrI-nandanandanam || (Paddhati of Dhyanacandra Gosvami, 344)

“In this meditation, before anything else, the practitioner should meditate on the manjari-forms of his guru-pranali, beginning with his guru, then parama-guru, etc. Then he shall meditate on Sri Radhika, and after that Sri Nandanandana (Krishna).”

Just as one hears narrations of the form and qualities of Sri Radha and Sri Krishna from authoritative sources, as they are inaccessible through the faculties of sensual perception and speculation, similarly one hears of the forms, qualities and so forth of all of Their associates, including the guru, from a realized person who is absorbed in the eternal service of Radha and Krishna in his eternal, spiritual identity.

maJjaryo bahuzaH rUpa-guNa-zIla-vayo ’nvitAH ||

nAma-rUpAdi tat sarvaM guru-dattaM ca bhAvayet |

tatra tatra sthitA nityaM bhajet zrI-rAdhikA-harI ||

bhAvayan sAdhako nityaM sthitvA kRSNa-priyA-gRhe |

tad AjJA-pAlako bhUtvA kAleSv aSTasu sevate || (ibid. 107-109)

”One should meditate on the various forms, qualities, natures, blooming youth and so forth of the manjaris, as described by the guru. One should always stay with them, worshiping Sri Radhika and Hari. The practitioner shall stay in the home of Sri Radha, the beloved of Krishna, following their orders and rendering service throughout the eight phases of the day.”

Thus, having taken shelter of a genuine guru, one proceeds on the path of raganuga-bhakti-sadhana.