Hare Kṛṣṇa,
BRS 1.2.1: There are three types of bhakti: sādhana, bhāva and prema.
Definition of Sadhana-bhakti as per BRS 1.2.2: Action of the senses that produces the state of bhāva is called sādhana-bhakti. The state of bhāva-bhakti that is attained (sādhyata) is an eternal sthāyi-bhāva which is not created, but simply manifests within the soul by the spiritual energy of the Lord.
Therefore the two characteristics of Sadhana-bhakti are:
- kṛti-sādhyā– Sadhya is executed by the senses
- sādhya-bhāvā– she should be able to achieve bhava.
Therefore, any so-called activity of the senses which does not help us attain bhava cannot technically be called sadhana-bhakti. Rather it is called bhakti-unmukhi-sukrti. A genuine practice of bhakti will lead to the goal of bhava and prema. A genuine practice of bhakti will lead to the goal (bhava).
BRS 1.2.5: There are two kinds of sādhana-bhakti: vaidhī and rāgānuga.
BRS 1.2.6: Now here is the definition of vaidhī–bhakti: Where the actions of bhakti arise, not from the attainment of rāga but by the teachings of the scriptures, it is called vaidhī-bhakti.
It is interesting that the definition of vaidhi bhakti has technically become dependent on raganuga-bhakti. It is therefore important to understand what is raga and raganuga.
In Bhakti Sandarbha, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has defined rāga and rāgānuga as follows:
“Rāga means the strong and natural desire of a sense-enjoyer for his beloved sense-objects. The senses, like the eyes, are naturally attracted to their objects, such as beautiful forms, and they need no encouragement in this. In the same way, when a devotee’s heart is naturally attracted to the Lord and he has a deep thirst for the Lord then this is called rāga. When a mere ray of the nectar-moon of such rāga falls on the crystal-clear hearts of those devotees who only have some taste for a particular rāga but do not possess that rāga itself yet, then the heart rejoices and as a result of hearing from the scriptures and saints taste will awaken within the heart of such a devotee for the devotional expertise of a rāgātmika bhakta. This means that ruci (taste) will awaken within the heart when we hear about the loving devotional expertise of a rāgātmika vraja-bhakta from the scriptures or from the mouth of a saint whose heart is pure, that is,free from lust, anger and envy. The devotion which follows the rāga of a rāgātmikā Vraja devotee along with ruci is called rāgānugā bhakti“.
(Bhakti Sandarbha 310)
On the same line, Jīva Gosvāmī’s gives a commentary on BRS 1.2.6:
“Where the activities of bhakti appear in a person, not from attainment of rāga, but rather by the rules of scripture, that bhakti is called vaidhī. Rāga here means anurāga, a taste for bhakti. This will be understood from a later discussion on the difference between rāgātmika and rāgānuga. In this definition, vaidhi-bhakti is restricted to cases where bhakti is performed exclusively by teachings of scriptures, and not with an element of rāga. With the attainment of rāga, there will also be some use of scriptural teachings as well, but it is not called vaidhi-bhakti.”
Just as the eye is naturally and irresistibly drawn to beauty, and the nose is naturally drawn to a pleasant fragrance, this deep, spontaneous attraction is called rāga in the material sense. In the same way, when a devotee develops that very same intense, natural and spontaneous attachment — not for material objects, but for Śrī Bhagavān Himself — it is called rāga in the spiritual sense. The nature of the attraction is the same; only the object changes.
Both vaidhi and raganuga are bhakti in practice (sadhana bhakti). It may be a common misconception that raganuga bhakti is attained after perfection of vaidhi bhakti. Raganuga is also a category of sadhana-bhakti. Vaidhi bhakti is predominant bhakti when raganuga is not present.
Another aspect that I had a better understanding today is that if our sadhana is not leading towards attainment of bhava, then it cannot be considered sādhana-bhakti.
“Therefore, bhāva-bhakti cannot be included in sādhya-bhakti. However, by no means can it be included in sādhana-bhakti, because in this section, which defines sādhana-bhakti, the goal of sādhana-bhakti is described as bhāva-bhakti. Therefore, it cannot be included in this section of sādhana-bhakti, since the goal of bhāva-bhakti is not to produce bhāva. “ (Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s Commentary on BRS 1.2.1)
So the common element in both vaidhi and raganuga is bhava.
“The phrase sādhya-bhāvā is used in order to distinguish sādhana from bhāva-bhakti, which has actions such as hearing and chanting which appear to be the same as the actions of sādhana bhakti, but which are actually different. Sādhya-bhāvā means “that by which bhāva-bhakti is generated.” Thus, by mentioning that the result is bhāva, other results such artha, dharma, kāma and mokṣa are automatically rejected. The word sādhya means, “Produced or achieved.” Hence, the phrase “sādhya-bhāvā” can mean, “that by which bhava is produced”.
This may give rise to the fear that, though bhāva-bhakti has been mentioned as supreme, it may not actually be the supreme goal of human endeavor, because it is produced artificially or achieved (i.e. it is not eternal). The answer is given in the second line. This bhāva is eternal, and merely appears within the heart of the devotee. Bhāva also includes hearing, chanting and other actions (it is not just emotions). These actions of bhāva also appear on the tongue or in the ear, but are not created, just as Kṛṣṇa appears in the house of Vasudeva (but is not produced out of matter). The emotions and actions of bhāva are all eternal and spiritual and not material because their appearance in the future will be accomplished by the extraordinary actions of the most excellent transformations (saṃvit and hlādinī) of the Lord’s svarūpa-śakti.” (Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura’s Commentary on BRS 1.2.2)
Therefore, the real question — or litmus test — for assessing my spiritual progress is this: is my sādhanā-bhakti actually leading toward the awakening of bhāva in the heart? If the answer is yes, then I can be confident that I am practicing sādhanā-bhakti correctly and sincerely. If the answer is no, then it is a clear signal to pause, introspect honestly, and examine where my practice may be falling short. All glories to Śrīla Prabhupāda!
Krsna Katha 