F: Sadhaka and Siddha: Two classes of devotees

There are two classes of devotees, the sadhaka and the siddha. Those at the stage of sadhana are called sadhakas, and those at the stages of bhava and beyond are called siddhas. The stage of bhava is the stage of the awakening of the svarupa. Vishwanath Chakravartipada describes this blessed stage as follows:

buddhir apatantam evArtham avadhArayantI jAgrat-svapna-suSuptiSu tadIya-smRti-vartmany eva pAnthatvam adhyavasyet | ahantA ca prApsyamAne sevopayogini siddha-dehe pravizantIva sadhaka-zarIraM prAyo jahAtIva virAjeta | mamatA ca tac-caraNAravinda-makaranda eva madhukarIbhavitum upakrameteti | sa ca bhaktaH prAptaM mahA-ratnaM kRpaNa iva janebhyo bhAvaM gopayann api kSAnti-vairAgyAdInAm AspadIbhavan lasal-lalATam evAntardhanaM kathayatIti nyAyena tad-vijJa-sAdhu-goSThyAM vidito bhaved anyatra tu vikSipta ity unmatta iti sajjata iti durlakSyatAM gacchet || mk 7.3

The bhava bhakta’s intelligence then unfailingly has this single purpose. The Lord remains on the path of his memory whether he sleeps, dreams or is awake. Then his sense of identity (ahantA, “I”) enters a perfected body (siddha-deha) suitable for his desired service to the Lord; it is almost as if he has left the present sadhaka body. His sense of possessiveness (mamatA, “mine”) becomes like a bee ready to relish the nectar of the Lord’s lotus feet. In this stage the devotee tries to conceal his feeling of love like a miserly person hiding a precious jewel. There is a saying that a bright face tells of hidden wealth. Because the bhava bhakta has qualities such as patience and renunciation, he is recognized by the realized devotees, but the common people are baffled by his activities and think he just has a disturbed mind.

For the bhava-bhakta, there is no question of absence from the lila. He is always absorbed and present in his svarupa and the related services in the svarasiki-lila. Needless to say, such souls are extremely rare in this world, and tend to keep themselves hidden from the public view.

At the stages prior to the awakening of the svarupa where the svarupa is being cultivated and meditated on, the vision of the lila appears whenever the consciousness of the sadhaka enters into the svarupa. At this stage, the lila is yet to become a "concrete" reality, in contrast to the substantial attainment at the stage of bhava. While the visions of the lila he receives are certainly real, being the reciprocal revelation of the ista-deva, the sadhaka is yet to attain permanent, active presence in the nitya-lila. The reality of the lila appearing in his meditations is a subjective presence brought forth with the lord's grace with the aim of nourishing his greed for the desired attainment.

Q&A: Siddha-identity in everyday life: Harmonizing siddha-deha with ordinary activities

Q: I have been wondering how one harmonizes one's siddha-identity with "ordinary" activities like bathing, eating, going to the toilet etc. Or is that a kind of mental switch, like during bhajan I am X gopi (siddha-deha), then I turn into Y das (sadhaka-deha) and do my ordinary activities until its bhajan time again? How can I meditate upon myself as a perfected, spiritual entity while being sick, driving a car, using my mobile phone or arguing with the boss in the office etc.?

A:  In his Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, Sripad Rupa Goswamipad presents the famous two-fold division of seva to be undertaken by those who seek to follow the raga-marga:

sevA sAdhaka-rUpeNa siddha-rUpeNa cAtra hi |
tad-bhAva-lipsunA kAryA vraja-lokAnusArataH || brs 1.2.295

"Serving in the sadhaka-form, as well as in the siddha-form, engaged in activities while desiring the mood of the residents of Vraja, following in their wake."

The external sadhaka-life is to be undertaken while emulating the example of the Goswamis of Vrindavan, engaged in the varieties of devotional services led by sravana, kirtana, archana and so forth. These activities are classified as svAbhISTa-bhAva-sambandhi, or as having a direct relationship with one's desired feelings. These activities, even though undertaken in the external body, lead one to the identity within. Therefore, there is no essential conflict between the two realms in which service has been undertaken.

Such activities of devotional service are also known as svarUpa-siddha-bhakti, or acts that are inherently devotional by their nature. This classification has been presented in contrast to saGga-siddha-bhakti, or elements that attain the quality of devotion through contact with devotion, and aropa-siddha-bhakti, or activities over which the quality of devotion is superimposed, and that are therefore considered to be akin to bhakti.

The quality for kindling inner revelation that is inherent in activities of svarUpa-siddha-bhakti lacks in the two other categories. Activities such as maintaining one's livelihood through work in the society, and thereby maintaining one's facility for devotional services, are generally known as aropa-siddha-bhakti, or activities that become devotional through superimposition. The activities are not devotional in and of themselves, their quality is transformed after the event through the devotee's internal spirit of offering and surrender.

Though elements of aropa-siddha-bhakti are also helpful, and indeed a necessity at a certain stage, they must begin to withdraw as one enters into the world of siddha-rUpa-sevA. Lacking a direct connection with the transcendent realm in which the seva is to take place, they have a great potential for distracting the mind. Some elevated souls are able to transmutate even worldly activities into direct acts of devotion through the power of their smarana, remaining aloof from external influence. However, most sadhakas will find that such external activities will prove to be obstacles in the practice of smarana.

Some aspects of ordinary daily life have qualities that are parallel to the course of the lila. Therefore, someone conversant with the lila can easily attribute the self-conception of the svarupa and the flow of the lila over them and remain in the proper self-identity in the course of the said activities. One should, as far as possible, seek to organize his life in a manner that facilitiates absorption in the lila throughout the day.

The adoption of a specific transcendent identity and the subsequent gradual absorption in the nectarine services of Radha-Krishna possess a vast potential for attracting and containing the consciousness beyond and away from this world. Therefore, as one becomes more accomplished in such practices, he will find it harder and harder to dwell amidst a mundane environment, so much so that time spent in distraction will begin to be felt as painful, and indeed unbearable. The two worlds don't mix together all that well.

For success in smarana, it is vital that one protect the consciousness from outer influences, as smarana is dependent on the purity of the mind – smaraNaM tu zuddhAntaH-karaNatAm apekSate (BhS 276). The foremost among the purifiers of the heart is the chanting of the divine Name, which one should chant at least one lakh, or sixty-four rounds, daily. Before exposing the matter of raga-bhajana (verse 8) in his Upadeshamrita, Srila Rupa Goswamipad has laid emphasis on the worship of the Name as the healer of the polluted heart (verse 7). Chanting a lakh of Names or more, along with the other devotional duties that must be undertaken to support the inner worship, take a substantial amount of time.

All of this has led some mahatmas to conclude that one should renounce the world as a prerequisite for the practice of lila-smarana. While the formal acceptance of the life of a renunciate is not necessarily called for, a withdrawal from the world is instrumental in making the practice successful. Successful smarana calls for exclusivity, and it calls for the absolute rejection of mundane desire. A heart riddled by the mundane, devoid of suddha-bhakti, is not eligible for entrance into the kingdom of rasa.

One must remember that svarupa-meditation and lila-smarana are not a matter of mere techniques of visualization. The lila is self-manifest by nature and arises of grace, grace that is drawn towards one who forsakes all for the sake of a wholehearted devotional pursuit. The appearance of the lila in the chamber of the heart cannot be forced. It flows naturally in a pure and devoted heart, and is therefore aptly called svarasiki. The varieties of meditation, memorization and visualization that are undertaken, despite their being instrumental in supporting the attainment, do not possess the power for revealing the lila and bestowing saksat-seva.

One may also, disregarding all of the above, engage in a semblance of cultivation of svarupa-meditation and lila-smarana. While through that bhajana-siddhi will not be attained, often a favorable samskara is created, a samskara that will in due course of time lead the devotee to the shelter of realized bhajananandi-mahatmas who infuse him with the power to leave behind the mundane and embrace a life of bhajan. Prior to that, practices of smarana are reminiscent of a child's play with dolls. Feeding a doll and putting it to sleep gives a conception of what having a baby is like, and yet the experience is far removed from the labor a mother must bear in caring for a child.

ADB: Smarana and Purity of Heart (Darshan transcript)

The following is a transcript of a discussion with Sri Ananta Das Babaji on the 23rd of March, 2005.

Smarana and Purity of Heart

23rd of March, 2005 – Radha-kunda

Babaji Maharaja: What?

Madhava: About meditation on our svarupa, and lila-smarana. The question is that, not my question but some devotees are asking, that it is quite hard to see yourself in your own svarupa, so perhaps what the acharyas have told, like the methods of meditation, is not sufficient for Western devotees, because Western devotee and Bengali devotee, Indian devotee, there are different mind. So whether...

Babaji Maharaja: Different mind not. Bhakti is for all universe. Not Bengali, not Orissan, not U.P. person, not any question for it. Bhakti is all universe. Then, Bengali and Western no matter. Jiva Goswamipada has written, that zuddhAntaH-karaNaz cet kIrtanAparityAgena smaraNaM kuryAt. If your heart clean, then you do this smarananga-bhajana, memory. And with memory, you of course chanting name, mala. zuddhantaH karanaz cet. Cet mane if. If your heart clean, then you - without avoiding harinama's chanting - do smarana. Astakaliya-lila-memory. It is Goswamipada advice. There is no Bengali-man, no Western man, there is no any difference. [laughs]

Madhava: For everyone.

Babaji Maharaja: By bhajan his heart clean, my heart clean, I, why, how I that understand? You understand when your, that, your astakaliya-lila want your mind. It is very nice, of course I will smarana it.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: And up to now, when that is very, your mind take very difficulty. No that easy it will come. And no that taste. Up to now you bring force of your sravana-kirtana, for bhajana, for raga bhajana. Then when will come that taste, and your mind also enter into pleasure, happiness for lila-smarana, that time you do lila-smarana, no problem.

Madhava: Their question is that sometimes, for example...

Babaji Maharaja: Western and here Indian, no matter...

Madhava: Right. For example, someone may say that chanting one lakha harinama is very troublesome, so maybe, because one time you told that if...

Babaji Maharaja: One time, one lakha harinama, or half lakha, or three lakhas, that is why your lila memory smarana take another time. And it is another thing. Name chanting, when your heart no clean, that time also you make chant three lakhas harinama, no problem. But which is memory of lila, smarana, for that need little pure heart.

Madhava: Right. Right.

Babaji Maharaja: So at first purify, you chant name, and puja, and sat-sanga and read your book, sravanam kirtanam, these all bhajana-bhakti path, and when your mind take pleasure, happiness and come taste...

Madhava: Then svarupa comes.

Babaji Maharaja: Before that, you can practice little little. How your mind gradually enters that lila.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: But by force and sixty-four hours I will do this bhajana that won't...

Madhava: Will not work.

Babaji Maharaja: Own power not possible, that will automatically will come.

Madhava: Right. So there is no short-cut. Some are thinking that because this bhajana-process is some slowly going, dhire dhire, but we want to go very fast, so we should find something different that will...

Babaji Maharaja: That is fast, but not your... like that, not can go to fast. You try, sadhaka, first, no heart not clean, then cannot that going fast, not possible. And if going fast, twenty-four hours taking this harinama, and that with your lila-smarana, then also that will be vidhi-bhakti, not raga-bhakti. Raga-bhakti, Jiva Goswamipada has written, raga-bhakti ruci. Ruci will come. Your no hunger, no appetite, and many kinds of your all good food, but no hunger...

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: And when hunger, then come ruci. When you see that food, then greed and ruci. Like taste that lila-smarana, then will come ruci.

Madhava: Right.

Babaji Maharaja: Need, then very need. Jiva Goswamipada has written that raga-bhajana is ruci.

Madhava: So the method, the bhajana-marga and the methods that acharyas have given, they are already the fastest method.

Babaji Maharaja: Yes.

Madhava: The best method.

Babaji Maharaja: Gradually, dhire dhire dhire.

Raganuga - 3.7: Internal Sadhana

The inner, contemplative practices of raganuga-bhakti are divided into two categories, namely spontaneous (svarasiki) and static (mantramayi).

tatra nAnA-lIlA-pravAha-rUpatayA svArasikI gaGgeva | ekaika-lIlAtmatayA mantropAsanA-mayI tu labdha-tat-sambhava-hrada-zreNir iva jJeyA || (krishna-sandarbha 153)

"Spontaneous pastimes are like the flow of the Ganges, as there are many different pastimes that flow into one another continuously. The static pastimes are compared to a lake created by the Ganges in which one particular pastime is concentrated upon. This is generally meditated upon at the time of mantra worship, hence the name mantramayi."

The contemplation on the spontaneous pastimes refers to contemplating on the eight-fold daily pastimes (asta-kaliya-lila) of Sri Radha and Krishna in Vraja. The outline of these pastimes is mentioned in the Govinda-lilamritam of Sri Krishna Das Kaviraja:

kuJjAd goSThaM nizAnte pravizati kurute dohanAnnAzanAdyAM |
prAtaH sAyaM ca lIlAM viharati sakhibhiH saGgave cArayan gAH ||
madhyAhne cAtha naktaM vilasati vipine rAdhayAddhAparAhne |
goSThaM yAti pradoSe ramayati suhRdo yaH sa kRSNo 'vatAn naH || (1.4)

"At the end of the night, the Lord returns home from the forest; in the morning, he milks the cows and takes his meal. In the forenoon, he takes the cows to pasture and at noon meets with Srimati Radharani at Radha Kunda. In the afternoon, he returns to Nandagrama with the cows and cowherd boys, enjoying different pastimes with them through the evening. In the later evening he takes a meal and then goes off to meet with Radha in the forest. May Lord Krsna, whose daily activities are such, be kind and deliver us all."

However, inner participation in the eight-fold daily pastimes necessitates a considerable absorption in one's internally conceived siddha-form, which is suitable for direct service of Sri Radha and Krishna, as well as acquaintance with the scenery of the pastime along with its numerous characters. Therefore, the practitioners first focus their attention on static meditation. A classical depiction of such meditation is to be found in the invocation of the Caitanya Caritamrita:

divya-vRndAraNya-kalpa-drumAdhaH |
zrImad-ratnAgAra-siMhAsana-sthau ||
zrImad-rAdhA-zrIla-govinda-devau |
preSThAlIbhiH sevyamAnau smarAmi || (cc 1.1.16)

"I meditate on Sri Radha and Srila Govinda Deva, who are seated on a beautiful throne in a jewelled palace under the shade of the desire trees of Vrindavana, surrounded by many dear friends and handmaids who eagerly serve them."

Such meeting takes place in a yogapitha, "the seat of union". Sri Radha and Krishna, along with their associates, assemble thrice daily on the platform of yogapitha to bless the practicing devotee and to accept his service. The morning-time meeting takes place at Gupta-kunda near Nandisvara, the mid-day meeting takes place in Madana-sukhada-kunja at Radha Kunda, and the nocturnal meeting takes place in a jewelled temple of the Maha-yogapitha and Govinda-sthali.

The golden platform of yogapitha is shaped like an eight-petaled lotus. Sri Radha and Krishna are surrounded by Their confidantes, namely the eight sakhis (girl-friends), who are located on the outer part of the inner eight petals of the lotus, the eight manjaris (maidservants) who are located on the inner part of the inner eight petals of the lotus, and the eight additional sakhis located on the eight outer petals of the lotus. Following his guru who has assumed a form similar to the confidantes of the Divine couple, the aspirant renders various services to everyone in his own internal guru-given form of a maidservant.

Sri Narottama Das Thakura has written a captivating poem depicting the scenery of the yogapitha.

vRndAvana ramya-sthAna, divyA-cintAmaNi-dhAma |
ratana-mandira manohara ||
AvRta kAlindI-nIre, rAja-haMsa keli kare |
tAhe zobhe kanaka kamala ||
tAra madhye hema pITha, aSTa-dalete beSTita |
aSTa-dale pradhAnA nAyikA |
tAra madhye ratnAsane, basiyAchen dui jane |
zyAma-saGge sundarI rAdhikA ||
o rUpa lAvaNya-rAzi, amiya paDiche khasi |
hAsya parihAsa sambhASaNe ||
narottama-dAsa kaya, nitya-lIlA sukha-maya ||
sadAi sphuruka mora mane || (prarthana)

"What a delightful place, this Vrindavana, the abode of celestial touchstone! There is a charming jewelled temple surrounded by the Yamuna River, which is filled with playing swans and golden lotus flowers.
"In one such large golden lotus is a podium surrounded by eight large petals in which stand the chief girlfriends of Radha. In the very centre is a jewel-bedecked throne upon which the beautiful Radharani is seated in the company of the blackish and enchanting Sri Krsna.
"Their forms are like a mountain of loveliness from which nectar is tumbling like waterfalls. They laugh and exchange joking conversation. Narottama Dasa says: 'The eternal pastimes of the Lord are full of happiness; may they always be manifest in my mind!'"

Raganuga - 2.3: Eligibility for Hearing Lila-katha

We shall now take the question one step further, examining the nature of those deeds, namely hearing about and seeing the object of one's desires, which provoke the aforementioned spiritual greed.

satAM prasaGgAn mama vIrya-saMvido |
bhavanti hRt-karNa-rasAyanAH kathAH ||
taj-joSaNAd Azv apavarga-vartmani |
zraddhA ratir bhaktir anukramiSyati || (bhag. 3.25.25)

"In the association of saints, discussing the narrations of My wonderful deeds acts as the life-giving elixir for the heart and the ears. Being thus satisfied, one quickly proceeds on the path of liberation, as faith, attraction and devotion gradually appear."

The glory of hearing about the loving sports of Sri Krishna is narrated everywhere in the scriptures.

vikrIDitaM vraja-vadhUbhir idaM ca viSNoH |
zraddhAnvito yaH zRNuyAd atha varNayed vA ||
bhaktiM parAM bhagavati parilabhya kAmaM |
hRd-rogam Azv apahinoty acireNa dhIraH || (bhag. 10.33.39)

"One who faithfully hears or describes the loving sports of Sri Krishna and the young maidens of Vraja will quickly drive away the heart-disease of lust, become sober, and attain supramundane devotion of the Lord."

However, is everyone eligible for hearing such confidential topics, which may invoke thoughts of mundane sexuality in the eyes of an ignorant spectator?

kintu rahasya-lIlA tu pauruSa-vikAravad indriyaiH pitR-putra-dAsa-bhAvaiz ca nopAsyA svIya-bhAva-virodhAt | rahasyatvaM ca tasyAH kvacid alpAMzena kvacit tu sarvAMzeneti jJeyam || (bhakti-sandarbha 338)

"However, these secret sports are not to be worshiped by those who experience male transformations in their senses, or by those who are in the moods of father, son and servant, for it would be contrary to their moods. Confidentiality is understood according to the partial or complete touching of limbs."

Thus the individual who desires to absorbe himself in narrations of the Lord must himself assess his own eligibility and aspire to hear narrations in accordance with his capacity. However, such confidential topics should never be narrated to antagonistic individuals who are likely to disrespect the supremely sacred human-like sports of the Lord.

azraddadhAne vimukhe 'py azRNvati yaz copadezaH ziva nAmAparAdhaH || (padma-purana, brahma-khanda 25.15-18)

"One who describes the auspiciousness of the Name unto those who are faithless, opposed and unwilling to hear, is an offender against the Holy Name."

Hence the aforementioned verse (Bhag. 10.33.39) lays emphasis on hearing such narrations with faith. Faith in the divinity and the purifying nature of the deeds of the Lord awakens through associating with faithful saints, as one learns about the scriptural conclusions regarding the supramundane status of the Lord from them.

For the faithful people, whether pure or impure in heart, hearing narrations of the deeds of the Lord is recommended. The immense potency of the nectarine pastimes of Sri Krishna is praised in the Govinda Lilamritam, one among the original texts narrating the eight-fold daily pastimes of the Lord.

yat pItaM zrutivAG manobhir anizaM tRSNApradaM tvadbhutaM |
saMsArAmaya hAryapi praNayajonmAdAndhya mohAdikRt ||
zazvac carvitam eva bhUri rasadaM dehAdi hRt puSTidaM |
taj jIyAd amRta spRhA haram idaM govinda lIlAmRtam || (gl 1.5)

"Glory to the immortal nectarine pastimes of Sri Govinda, which defeat the nectar of the demigods and the desire for liberation, which constantly bestow a wonderful thirst to the ears, words and mind whenever it is drunk, which cure the disease of material life, yet producing delusions and blindness of loving intoxication, and give inexhaustible relish, even if they are consumed again and again, nourishing even the body."

Indeed, who could fail to be attracted by such beauty and sweetness?

ko nirvRto hari-kathAsu ratiM na kuryAt || (bhag. 2.3.12)

"Who is there who has no taste for absorption in narrations about Hari?"

nivRtta-tarSair upagIyamAnAd |
bhavauSadhAc chrotra-mano-'bhirAmAt ||
ka uttamazloka-guNAnuvAdAt |
pumAn virajyeta vinA pazughnAt || (bhag. 10.1.3)

"Description of the qualities of the Lord who is praised with the best of verses is sung and relished in the minds of those whose thirst for the mundane is quenched, and it is the remedy for material existence as well. Who else than a butcher could keep himself away from hearing such descriptions?"

Thus a faithful person desirous of attaining the ultimate goal of life, having heard of the scriptural conclusions regarding the truths about the Lord and His infinite potencies, should engage himself in hearing narrations depicting the sweet, love-laden pastimes of Sri Krishna and His Vraja-associates.