· Visnu and Krsna bhakti

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

>have legitimate transcendental preferences...

 

Srila Prabhupada:

 

"A pure living entity who thus attains the stage of anartha-nivrtti,

cessation of everything unwanted, has nothing to enjoy in the material

world. One attains this stage only by properly performing the functions of

devotional service. Srila Rupa Gosvami has written:

 

adau sraddha tatah sadhu-

sango 'tha bhajana-kriya

tato 'nartha-nivrttih syat

tato nistha rucis tatah

 

'In the beginning one must have a preliminary desire for

self-realization. This will bring one to the stage of trying to associate

with persons who are spiritually elevated. In the next stage, one becomes

initiated by an elevated spiritual master, and under his instruction the

neophyte devotee begins the process of devotional service. ->By execution of

devotional service under the guidance of the spiritual master, one becomes

freed from all material attachments, attains steadiness in self-realization

and acquires a taste<-- for hearing about the Absolute Personality of

Godhead, Sri Krsna.'"

 

anartha-nivrtti haile bhaktye 'nistha' haya

nistha haite sravanadye 'ruci' upajaya

 

"When one is freed from all unwanted contamination, he advances with firm

faith. When firm faith in devotional service awakens, a taste for hearing

and chanting also awakens.

 

ruci haite bhaktye haya 'asakti' pracura

asakti haite citte janme krsne prity-ankura

 

"After taste is awakened, a deep attachment arises, and from that attachment

the seed of love for Krsna grows in the heart."

 

Transcendental attachment to the Lord's specific form as Krishna comes after

one is free from material desires, it does not come while one still

maintains material attachments. One's personal preference of worship

(ishta-devata) is an academic preference as long as one still has material

desires.

 

> Next someone will tell me that they aren't even interested in Krishna's

> Dvaraka form, nor His Mathura form.

>

>Visvanath Cakravarti will do it for you, in his Raga-vartma-candrika.

 

Yet Srila Prabhupada established the worship of many other forms of the Lord

such as Narasimha, Ramachandra, Dwaraka Krishna, etc. Thus your idea that we

should not be interested in other forms of the Lord while in the conditioned

stage is a misconception, not a transcendental attachment.

 

>He advices that one should not meditate on Dvaraka or worship the queens

>headed by Rukmini. Of course this advice is only for those who are

>qualified for it.

 

....as are the statements that one should have no interest in Vishnu,

Vaikuntha, Rama, Narasimha, etc. Prior to freedom from material desires,

such talk of transcendental attachments which free us from interest to other

forms of the Lord are meaningless. If you have "gone beyond Vaikuntha", then

congrats! Sit in a bhajan kutir (somewhere far away from Vaikuntha) and be

happy.

 

Devotee (1): Srila Prabhupada, when one returns to his svarupa, his natural

form, how does...

 

Prabhupada: First of all, anartha-nivrtti. You are accustomed to so many bad

habits. First of all try to rectify it, then talk of svarupa. Where is your

svarupa? Simply wasting time. A man is diseased, he's thinking, "When I

shall be cured I shall eat, go to this hotel, I shall eat like this." First

of all cure, then talk of eating this and that. Svarupa, when you are cured,

that is svarupa. So long you are not cured, what is the use of talking

svarupa? First business is cure yourself. Anartha-nivrtti, that is

anartha-nivrtti. Then svarupa will come. That is the babajis. In Vrndavana,

you have seen? Siddha-pranali.