· Visnu and Krsna bhakti

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

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

> world.

 

What exactly is the stage of anartha-nivrtti as a complete cessation of the

mundane, as presented here? According to Madhurya-kadambini of Visvanatha

Cakravarti, complete anartha-nivrtti takes place when prema appears. He

writes:

 

"With the appearance of prema, the eradication is complete. With the

attainment of the Lord's association, the eradication of anarthas is

absolute, with no possibility of their reappearance."

 

Would anyone suggest that one has to attain prema before having a legitimate

preference for a particular form of the Lord?

 

 

> adau sraddha tatah sadhu-

> sango 'tha bhajana-kriya

 

Sri Rupa Gosvami defines sadhu-sanga as follows in his

Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.90):

 

sajatiyasaye snigdhe sadhau sangah svato vare

 

Sadhu sanga has three characteristics:

 

1. The sadhu is sajatiya, likeminded, of the same preference,

2. The sadhu is snigdha, affectionately disposed towards you,

3. The sadhu is svatah vare, more advanced than oneself.

 

This is sadhu-sanga. Then comes bhajana-kriya, engaging in bhajan in the

association of the sadhus. What is sadhana-bhajana?

 

seva sadhaka-rupena

siddha-rupena catra hi

tad-bhava-lipsuna karya

vraja-lokanusaratah

 

"In the transcendental realm of Vraja [Vraja-dhama] one should serve the

Supreme Lord, Sri Krishna, with a feeling similar to that of His associates,

and one should place himself under the direct guidance of a particular

associate of Krishna and should follow in his footsteps. This method is

applicable both in the stage of sadhana [spiritual practices executed while

in the stage of bondage] and in the stage of sadhya [God realization], when

one is a siddha-purusa, or a spiritually perfect soul."

 

Srila Prabhupada states in his translation [in brackets] that this method is

applicable both in the stage of bondage and in the stage of perfection, thus

echoing the precepts of the earlier acaryas. Would anyone dare to refute

their conceptions?

 

 

> 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.

 

Love for Krishna is not a subject matter of nothing or everything. This

love, and along with it the transcendental preference of the devotee,

gradually evolves within the heart of the sadhaka.