Introduction Saṅkalpa-kaumudī is about devotional service in practice; more precisely, it is about what this author assesses to be one of the main essences of sādhana, and that is saṅkalpa: the determined efforts one makes to ascend the staircase of bhakti to ecstatic devotion. In addition, I have dedicated the latter part of this effort to three other essences: attentiveness, ekāgratā; emotion-inspired service, bhāva-sevā; and divine grace, kṛpā. Allow me to explain why I consider the four topics of this book of such import. I begin by first defining the terms, and then describing their contribution to a devotee’s progress to perfection. We begin with saṅkalpa. Spiritual practices or rituals begin with a saṅkalpa, a statement of intent, also known as a vow or a determination. Everyday activities that we undertake have a similar foundation. We eat to satisfy our hunger, to seal a business agreement, or to celebrate a social event. Similarly, when we seriously take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness there is a purpose to our practices of chanting and hearing. That purpose is illustrated in the motto of iskcon, “Back to Godhead.” That is our overarching saṅkalpa. The word saṅkalpa is a combination of the prefix sam, meaning “intensity,” and the word kalpa, “determination.” Thus the resolute determination with which, and for which, a devotee undertakes service to Kṛṣṇa is known as saṅkalpa. To clarify further: the verb kḷp means “come into existence,” and so a saṅkalpa is the “intense desire for something to manifest.” Devotees may have many kinds of saṅkalpa depending upon their dominant mode of nature. However, the saṅkalpa of a pure devotee is to rise to the stage of devotion that follows sādhana, the stage of bhāva. That is the best kind of determination and the one that this book focuses upon.
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