Danda 1995 - Suhotra Maharaja Archives

Do you think that Narada Muni cannot be an inhabitant of Siddhaloka andVaikunthaloka at the same time?Krsna resides in Divya Vrndavana (in the spiritual world) and Bhauma Vrndavana(in the material world) at the same time. So do all the devotees of Vrndavana.That is made very clear in the Brhad Bhagavatamrta. Those residents of BhaumaVrndavana who have pure vision see that there is no difference between the twoeven now.The Siddhaloka in the material world has a similar relationship with thespiritual Siddhaloka as does Bhauma Vrndavana with Divya Vrndavana. Those whoare pure devotees among the mystics of the Siddhaloka within this universe (likeDevarsi Narada) can freely shift between both realms.DASYA RASAQuestion from Lomancita dasFebruary 4, 1995Some devotee says, that when we are performing a devotional service now, we arealready on the platform of dasya rasa. But I have found in the end of a purportto 8. mantra in Nectar of Instruction, that this relationship with Krsna (santa,dasya, sakhya, etc) can be achieved on the level of raghanuga bhakti. But we arenow on the level of sadhana bhakti proces with folloving regulative principles.So how can one consider himself to be in dasya rasa relationship with Krsna?Answer by Suhotra SwamiFebruary 5, 1995One thing is that in Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement, all devotees areengaged in raganuga-bhakti, even while following vaidhi-sadhana. I explainedthis elaborately in an article about raganuga-bhakti published in thisconference in March of last year. Below is a quote from that article."In summary, according to Srila Jiva Gosvami there are two kinds of raganugabhaktas:jata-ruci (those whose taste has come about) and ajata-ruci (thosewhose taste has not yet come about). It is not that ajata-ruci devotees inISKCON only deserve to be called `vaidhi-bhaktas.'" On the strength of SrilaJiva Gosvami's explanation of raganuga-bhakti, all ISKCON devotees may be calledraganuga-bhaktas. Cc Madhya-lila 22.156-157 also confirms that vaidhi-sadhanais to be accepted by Lord Caitanya's followers as the external aspect ofraganuga-sadhana, not as something separate from the practice of raganuga." [Endof quote]It is true that the members of ISKCON who are properly initiated and engaged insadhana-bhakti are "Krsna-dasa" or "Krsna-dasi", but until they come to thejata-ruci stage, or in other words the stage of awakened transcendental taste insadhana bhakti (especially taste for hearing and chanting), they will not beable to appreciate dasya-rasa on the transcendental platform. Vaidhi-sadhanameans sadhana bhakti without taste, and raganuga-sadhana means sadhana bhaktiwith taste. That taste is internal. Externally the two kinds of sadhana lookthe same.In any case, devotional service must include dasya or servitude. There is noquestion of bhakti without service. As Srila Prabhupada writes in SB 10.9.21,purport: "real bhakti begins with dasya-rasa." There is only a question ofwhether a devotee's taste for servitude has awakened or not. Howtranscendental rasa awakens is explained as follows by Srila Prabhupada in hisintroduction to the Srimad Bhagavatam.