· Visnu and Krsna bhakti

[Guest guest]

> Does anyone seriously believe this about themselves? Most of us are still

> attached to our material desires. To say something like, "I'm not

> interested in Vishnu-bhakti, only Krishna bhakti" sounds ludicrous to me.

> If that were true we would have no interest in anything material first. Is

> that the case for anyone here? Just curious.

 

 

Naturally we are not here to discuss our personal preferences, but the

philosophy. That is what Madhavanandaji presents for us -- the siddhanta.

Not the feelings of his heart. Let us not enter into examining each others

-- that may be done in private letters.

 

The conclusion that one has to be first free from material desire before

having transcendental preferences is incorrect. According to the Madhurya

Kadambini of Sri Visvanath Cakravarti, there are various phases of

mitigation of anarthas, and some of them take place prominently upon the

devotee's attaining ruci, asakti, bhava or even prema, and the

aforementioned four stages are certainly stages where one has such

transcendental preferences. These preferences, and the feelings they invoke,

clear the mirror of the heart. Rasa-varjam raso'py asya param drstva

nivartate -- upon experiencing a higher taste, he ceases to yearn for the

lower.

 

Thus to state that one must first attain freedom from mundane desires to

have legitimate transcendental preferences in allegiance with the acaryas'

teachings and example is equal to saying that one must be a pure devotee to

become a pure devotee. We have to start learning how to love Krishna from

some stage in life, through the practice of devotional service.

 

 

Srila Prabhupada writes in his commentary on BG 18.65:

 

"These words [man-mana] stress that one should concentrate his mind

upon Krishna -- the very form with two hands carrying a flute, the bluish

boy with a beautiful face and peacock feathers in His hair. There are

descriptions of Krishna found in the Brahma-samhita and other literatures.

One should fix his mind on this original form of Godhead, Krishna. One

should not even divert his attention to other forms of the Lord."

 

So, we should not divert our attention to other forms of the Lord, like

Vishnu. We should not be interested in them. This is the clear conclusion

here.

 

 

This is also the conclusion presented by Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Narottama

dasa Thakura and other stalwart acaryas in our line. Dasa Gosvami states in

the fourth verse of his Manah-siksa:

 

tyaktva laksmi-pati ratim ito vyoma-nayanim

 

"Abandon the attachment to Vishnu, the husband of Laksmi, which

leads to paravyoma, the Vaikuntha-planets."

 

 

Should the authority of Dasa Gosvami not be enough, let us further confirm

the conclusion by stating that on page xiii of Sarvabhavana dasa's

translation of Sri Manah-siksa, it states - GBC APPROVAL - in bold typeface,

point size 18. Quote from the GBC statement of approval, written by an

authorized GBC member:

 

"I found the book particularly valuable for several reasons. One is

its emphasis on the exclusive superiority of Radha-Krishna worship following

the conclusions of Lord Caitanya. This is inspiring for the devotees to

consider, and feel allegiance with our sampradaya, and realize its great

superiority because of the conjugal love of Radha and Krishna."

 

Thus there is no objection according to the standards of ISKCON Book Review

Board for this statement. So ekanta-bhakti is also GBC-approved.

 

 

Srila Narottama dasa Thakura repeats the same devotional conclusion in his

Prema-bhakti-candrika, quoting Hanuman:

 

sri-nathe janaki-nathe cabhedah paramatmanih

tathapi mama sarvasvam ramah kamala-locanah

 

"Although there is no difference between Srinatha (Vishnu) and

Janaki-natha (Rama), since They are both the Supreme Self, still the

lotus-eyed Rama is everything to me."

 

Hanumanji states it out loud and boldly -- he is not interested in

Vishnu-bhakti despite being well versed in tattva. Let us follow the

mahajanas.