Verse Text
sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi |
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā vraja-lokānusārataḥ ||295||
Translation
Following after the inhabitants of Vraja, one should perform service in one’s physical body and in one’s siddha body, with a desire for a particular bhāva.
Purport (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
One performs service with sādhaka-rūpa—the present body—and with the siddha-rūpa—the body which is suitable for serving Vraja Kṛṣṇa in the particular type of rati or bhāva one desires, and which appears through inner contemplation, with a desire for a particular rati directed to one’s beloved Kṛṣṇa situated in Vṛndāvana (tad–bhāva-lipsunā). [Note: The idea here is that, it is simultaneous in rāgānuga-bhakti, not at the same instant, but during the same period. For instance, for some hours he will meditate, and the rest of the day he will chant, read, and do deity services.] One should follow after the dear devotees of Kṛṣṇa such as Rādhā, Lalitā, Viśākhā, Śrī Rūpa-maṣjarī and those following after them—persons such as Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs (vraja-lokānuṣārataḥ). Accordingly, one should perform mental service in one’s siddha-rūpa, following after the examples of Śrī Rādhā, Lalitā, Viśākhā, Śrī Rūpa-maṣjarī and others. In one’s physical body, one should perform services using one’s body, following after persons such as Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana Gosvāmīs situated in Vraja. By the word vraja-lokā, one should understand persons situated in Vraja — Rādhā, Candrāvalī and others. Following after them, one should perform service using one’s physical body also.
Some modern persons following the sauramya-sampradāya think that since persons such as Rādhā did not perform services such as surrendering to guru, following Ekādaśī vows, and serving śālagrāma and tulasī, we also need not do those activities. That idea is defeated here. Jīva Gosvāmī in his commentary has explained this with the words vraja-lokās tv atra kṛṣna-preṣṭha-janās tad-anugatāś ca tad-anusārataḥ: vraja-lokā means those dear to Kṛṣṇa (like Śrī Rādhā etc.) and persons following after them (like Śrī Rūpa etc.); one should follow in their footsteps.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Sādhaka-rūpa refers to the physical body of the practitioner. Siddha-rūpa refers to the body which is suitable for one’s desired service, and which has been developed by internal meditation. [Note: The siddha-rūpa is given by a guru on the path of rāga-bhakti when he sees the qualification for rāgānuga-bhakti and a particular inclination in a particular disciple. Theoretically this would be a form of an associate of one of the prominent devotees in Vraja with a specific rasa—dāsya, sakhya, vatsala or madhura. Along with the form, specific dress and service for Kṛṣṇa throughout the day would be given. However, forms of maṣjarīs, assistants to the sakhīs of Rādhā, seem to be the most prominent forms given. The details are given in works by Gopālaguru Gosvāmī, Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura.] One serves with a desire for the particular bhāva or rati of an associate of Kṛṣṇa situated in Vraja (tad-bhāva-lipsunā). One should follow in the footsteps of the dear associates of Kṛṣṇa in Vraja (vraja-lokā) and others loyal to them.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
A devotee who is actually advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, who is constantly engaged in devotional service, should not manifest himself, even though he has attained perfection. The idea is that he should always continue to act as a neophyte devotee as long as his material body is there. Activities in devotional service under regulative principles must be followed even by the pure devotee. But when he realizes his actual position in relationship with the Lord, he can, along with the discharging of regulative service, think within himself of serving the Lord under the guidance of a particular associate of the Lord and develop his transcendental sentiments in following that associate.
In this connection, we should be careful about the so-called siddha-praṇālī. The siddha-praṇālī process is followed by a class of men who are not very authorized and who have manufactured their own way of devotional service. They imagine that they have become associates of the Lord simply by thinking of themselves like that. This external behavior is not at all according to the regulative principles. The so-called siddha-praṇālī process is followed by the prākṛta-sahajiyā, a pseudosect of so-called Vaiṣṇavas. In the opinion of Rūpa Gosvāmī, such activities are simply disturbances to the standard way of devotional service.
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī says that learned ācāryas recommend that we follow the regulative principles even after the development of spontaneous love for Kṛṣṇa. According to the regulative principles, there are nine departmental activities, as described above, and one should specifically engage himself in the type of devotional service for which he has a natural aptitude. For example, one person may have a particular interest in hearing, another may have a particular interest in chanting, and another may have a particular interest in serving in the temple. So these, or any of the other six different types of devotional service (remembering, serving, praying, engaging in some particular service, being in a friendly relationship or offering everything in one’s possession), should be executed in full earnestness. In this way, everyone should act according to his particular taste.