Raganuga bhakti en anglais
The practice of raganuga-bhakti in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition is in many ways unique among the devotional religions of India.I will help you to become acquainted with the mysteries of this beautiful path leading to the attainment of unprecedented, ecstatic love for the Supreme Lord, also known as prema.
Though the language of the text will be kept as simple and lucid as possible, we are bound to refer to the original Sanskrit and Bengali literature, which lies at the root of the tradition, in order to uphold the authenticity of the presentation. In the course of our presentation, we are mainly drawing from the works of Sri Rupa Gosvami, Sri Jiva Gosvami, Sri Krishna Das Kaviraja and Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti.
A General Examination of Bhakti
The word “raganuga” literally means “to follow loving attachment”, love directed towards God. To gain a deeper understanding of the concept, let us first examine the concept of bhakti, loving devotion for God, in general.
Bhakti is divided into three main categories in accordance with its development.
“This devotion is said to be of three kinds, namely practice (sadhana), feeling (bhava) and love (prema).”
The initial stage of practice (sadhana) is the time when the aspiring servant of God begins to cultivate his relationship with God. Practice is understood as follows:
“That, which is accomplished through the functions of the senses, and through which a loving devotional feeling (bhava) is attained, is called devotion in practice (sadhana-bhakti). The appearance of an eternally perfected feeling within the heart is called the stage of the attainment of perfection.” As the practice ripens, it culminates into specific loving feelings (bhava) towards God.
“A distinct manifestation of divine existence, akin to a ray from the sun of prema, the cause of tenderness of consciousness experienced as different tastes – this is called bhava.”
Foundational feelings of love of God are known to be of five kinds, namely (1) a peaceful, neutral relationship, (2) the affection of a servant, (3) the affection of a friend, (4) the affection of a parent, and (5) the affection of a consort, either as a wife or as a paramour lover. As the foundational feeling is further cultivated, it ripens into a wholesome rapturous experience of love for God (prema).
When bhava softens the heart altogether, endowed with an abundance of possessive feelings towards Him, being very intense by nature, the wise call it prema.”
God, being the infinite reservoir of love, is naturally the object of varieties of individual loving feelings. He appears to each individual devotee in that very form in which the devotee sincerely longs to see Him. This being the fact, there is a need to examine the two prominent varieties of practice of bhakti which lead to two distinct perfections.
Two Varieties of Practice – Vaidhi and Raganuga
The practice of devotion is divided into two distinct paths.
The word “vaidhi” is derived from the Sanskrit word “vidhi”, referring to the commandments of the scriptures. The word “raganuga” is a compound of two words, namely “raga”, “loving attachment”, and “anuga”, “following in the wake of”. The general characteristics of these two paths are explained as follows:
“When devotion is caused by scriptural injunctions, it is called vaidhi-bhakti, but when its cause is spiritual greed alone, it is called raganuga-bhakti.”
“That devotion which knows no attachment or greed, but which is prompted by the commandments of the scriptures, is called vaidhi-bhakti.”
“The devotion which is clearly present in the associates of the Lord in Vraja is called devotion filled with loving attachment (ragatmika-bhakti), and devotion following in the wake of this ragatmika-bhakti is called raganuga-bhakti.”
As one desires to approach the Lord, so the Lord will approach the aspirant. (bg 4.11) Whatever one remembers at the time of death, that he will attain without fail. (bg 8.6) Reflecting on these famous words of the Bhagavad Gita, one can easily understand that varieties of goals are attained in accordance with one's desires. It is not that all paths lead to the same goal.
“The paths of vaidhi and raganuga are known to be separate from each other. Engagement in these two forms of practice certainly awakens two distinct varieties of bhava.”
The goals of these two paths of devotion in practice are understood as follows:
“Through vidhi-bhakti, one will attain the form of an associate in Vaikuntha.”
“Those who worship according to scriptural commandments, being aware of the Lord's superhuman prowess, attain the four kinds of liberation in Vaikuntha.”
“Through raga-bhakti, one will attain the Lord Himself in Vraja.”
“He who worships on the path of raganuga will attain Vrajendra-nandana (Sri Krishna) in Vraja.”
In the realm of Vraja, the sweet and intimate human-like pastimes of God prevail. Only in such an atmosphere love can attain its pinnacle. Love which is filled with awareness of the Lord's almight is of an inferior quality. As stated by the Lord Himself:
“Everyone in this world worships Me through vidhi-bhakti. Vidhi-bhakti has no power for attaining the feelings of Vraja. The devotion of the world is mixed with knowledge of My divine prowess. I do not delight in love diluted with prowess.”
It is thus evident that there is a need to deeply reflect on the nature and practice of raganuga-bhakti for anyone who desires to perfect his loving faculty in relationship with God. There is no other means for tasting the ambrosial sweetness of the Vraja-pastimes of the Lord!
“Sweetness is very difficult to attain through fruitive activities, austerity, yoga, intellectual speculation, vidhi-bhakti, recitation of mantras or meditation. The sweetness of Sri Krishna is easily attainable only for the one who affectionately worships Him on the path of raga.”
The Nature of Raganuga-bhakti
Raganuga-bhakti specifically means devotion which is inspired by and follows in the wake of Sri Krishna's eternal associates in the divine realm of Vraja. Their love is known as ragatmika, being filled with natural loving thirst for the Lord.
“That devotion in which one is filled with abundant natural love for the Chosen One is known ragatmika.”
This love is splendidly manifest in the eternal residents of Vraja. Ragatmika-bhakti is known to be of two kinds.
“Its two divisions are that which has the form of an amorous desire (kamarupa) and that which has the form of a relationship (sambandharupa).”
The servants, friends and parents of the Lord are established in a relationship consisting of a recognized relationship in the society. However, the pinnacle of love present in the paramour lovers of the Lord consists of sole amorous desire, which unhesitatingly breaks through the boundaries of acceptable social interaction.
Just as there are two kinds of ragatmika-bhakti, so there are two kinds of raganuga-bhakti.
“As ragatmika is of two kinds, so is raganuga. It is known as that which follows the amorous desire (kamanuga) and that which follows the relationship (sambandhanuga).”
One who, upon hearing of the sweetness of the feelings of the Lord's eternal associates towards Him, becomes eager to attain feelings akin to theirs, begins the path of raganuga. Let us now proceed to examine the gradations between the various relationships to be attained.
The Specific Flavours of Raganuga-bhakti
Sri Krishna, the Original Personality of Godhead, descended to this world along with His associates some five thousand years ago in the land of Vraja, displaying His ever-sweet pastimes to attract the souls of this world to His divine abode.
“To show favor to His devotees He appears in a human form, enjoying such pastimes upon hearing of which one must become completely devoted to Him.”
After Sri Krishna and His associates disappeared from the visible realm of Vraja, various schools of thought and practice, intent on attaining His service, arose. In due course of time, Sri Krishna Himself, eager to taste the sweetness of His own service, descended to this world in the form of a great teacher and devotee named Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, known as Visvambhara during His earlier life.
“Sri Krishna is the crest-jewel of relishers and the most merciful one. His desire [to descend to this world] arose out of two reasons, as he wished to taste the essence of loving rapture and to broadcast devotion on the path of raga to the world.”
The unprecedented contribution of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the realm of raganuga-bhakti has been narrated as follows:
“Out of His causeless mercy, He descended in this age of Kali to bestow the matchless treasure of the rapture of amorous love in His own service, which had not been given since a long time. May this son of Saci, Hari radiant with the enchanting complexion of multitude of gold, always be manifest in the core of your heart!”
The concept of amorous love was certainly present in the bhakti-traditions predating Sri Caitanya. What, then, is His unique contribution? It is a unique variety of amorous love in servitude. Amorous love (kamarupa-bhakti) is divided into two distinct categories.
“The following of amorous feelings (kamanuga) appears as a thirst for following in the wake of that which consists of amorous feeling (kamarupa).”
“Its two divisions are (1) filled with desire for union (sambhogecchamayi) and (2) consisting of a desire for Her feelings (tad-bhaveccatma).”
“That which aims for amorous sports is known as sambhogecchamayi, and that which longs for the sweetness of the feelings is known as tad-bhavecchatmika.”
The desire for union is understood to consist of four kinds of longing for union.
“The four different categories are understood as the various appearances of seeing, discussion, touching and sexual union.”
Particularly the last two forms of sambhoga characterize the sambhogecchamayi-devotion. The second division of amorous devotion, which consists solely of the longing to relish the sweetness of the feelings of Sri Radha, devoid of even a scent of desire for bodily enjoyment with Sri Krishna, is known as manjari-bhava; this is the mood of the maidservants of Sri Radha. The eminent glories of the love of Sri Radha, the foremost among the consorts of Sri Krishna, are narrated throughout the scriptures and the poetry of the saints. Indeed, She is the very embodiment of love for the Lord.
“The essential aspect of the pleasure-giving potency (hladini) of Sri Krishna is called ecstatic love (prema), which is understood as joy filled with rapturous mellows.”
“The supreme pinnacle of prema is known to be maha-bhava, and Sri Radha Thakurani is the embodiment of this maha-bhava.”
Her body is the very embodiment of prema and a transformation of prema. Throughout the world, She is known to be the dearmost among Sri Krishna’s beloveds.”
”This maha-bhava is the the essence of a divine touch-stone; Her task is to fulfill all the desires of Sri Krishna.”
When one's love for the beloved of Sri Krishna exceeds one's love for Him, this condition is known as the jubilant arising of attachment (bhavollasa-rati), the foundational mood of a maidservant of Sri Radha.
“When the affection for Sri Krishna and a dear one are equal, the feeling is known as a transitory feeling, but when devotion to a dear one is nourished and becomes dominant, the feeling is known as bhavollasa-rati.”
The pinnacle of divine joy which is present in the heart of Sri Radha becomes reflected into the hearts of Her dedicated maidservants, thus causing them to taste love which far exceeds any other form loving relish both in quantity and in quality.
“Oh doe-eyed beauties! When your girlfriends are absent, you may have to look at a mirror before you can say whether you are happy or sad. They reflect every mood of yours, they perform all the services of a looking glass! When tears fall from your eyes they also cry; when you are excited, their hairs stand on end; when you laugh they also do so; and when you become depressed, they also look down-hearted.”
This manjari-bhava is the unique contribution of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and the cherished treasure of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. One who desires to attain the ultimate goal of life should diligently study the writings of the saints on the subject matter of raganuga-bhakti.