4. Sādhakas and Their Spiritualisation

CHAPTER FOUR

Sādhakas and Their Spiritualisation

In previous chapters we have described two kinds of devotees, practitioners and perfected. Rūpa Gosvāmī has articulated these divisions in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu with the words te sādhakāś ca siddhāś ca dvi-vidhāḥ parikīrtitāḥ. 1 In conformity with the theme of this book, this chapter will elaborate on practitioners, or sādhakas.

In the threefold division of Vedic literature, sambandha is knowledge of the soul’s relationship with Kṛṣṇa, first contact of which awakens faith; abhidheya is the regulated activities to revive the soul’s relationship with the Lord, equivalent to sādhana-bhakti; while prayojana, the ultimate goal of life, corresponds to prema. To Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Caitanya Mahāprabhu said,

bhagavān—‘sambandha’, bhakti—‘abhidheya’ haya premā—‘prayojana’, vede tina-vastu kaya

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead is the central point of all relationships, acting in devotional service to Him is one’s real occupation, and the attainment of love of Godhead is the ultimate goal of life. These three subject matters are described in the Vedic literature.”2

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī explains in the verses ādau śraddhā tataḥ sādhu-saṅgo that conditioned souls practising sādhana-bhakti are sādhakas. 3 However, there is another category of sādhakas: the liberated devotees who have attained bhāva. Why bhāva-bhaktas are also considered sādhakas will again be described in this chapter, but in more detail than before.

In the evolution of devotion culminating in love, faith is technically the qualification for devotional service, which then inspires a devotee to seek Vaiṣṇava association. At the third stage of devotion, bhajana-kriyā, a devotee becomes a true practitioner, a sādhaka, and by initiation he further commits himself to the cultivation of sādhana. A beginner situated at this initial stage of practice is a kaniṣṭha-sādhaka.

By systematically committing to spiritual pursuits like chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, a devotee’s heart undergoes a process of purification which gains significant momentum at the stage of anartha-nivṛtti, described in ŚrīmadBhāgavatam thus:

śṛṇvatāṁ sva-kathāḥ kṛṣṇaḥ puṇya-śravaṇa-kīrtanaḥ hṛdy antaḥ stho hy abhadrāṇi vidhunoti suhṛt satām

“Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, who is the Paramātmā [Supersoul] in everyone’s heart and the benefactor of the truthful devotee, cleanses desire for material enjoyment from the heart of the devotee who has developed the urge to hear His messages, which are in themselves virtuous when properly heard and chanted.”4

What are the impurities lodged within the heart that require cleansing?

In order of severity, they are:

Reactions to pious works, sins, devotion wrongly performed, and o ences to the holy name.

Habits arising from pious or sinful acts, as well as from mistaken service, are more or less eradicated at the stage of niṣṭhā. O ences, on the other hand, are only eradicated at the stage of prema.

From a practical point of view, therefore, it can be seen that a sādhaka transits through an extensive process of anartha-nivṛtti to

reach perfection. As the heart is purified, successive spiritual qualities like steadiness, taste, and attachment come to the fore and become the predominating inspiration of practitioners.

Readers should note, however, that while the path to perfection includes cleansing the heart, it must simultaneously be accompanied by the accumulation of spiritual assets, artha-pravṛtti. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura warns that mistaking anarthanivṛtti to be the prayojana, the goal of bhakti, will result in liberation, but not in love. His Divine Grace once said:

“After anartha-nivṛtti comes artha-pravṛtti, or the real world of service to the divine spiritual couple. If we do not know that this is the goal, all our e orts may become transformed into impersonalism. Anyone who has been chanting the holy names for fifteen or twenty years should take note of this.

“Our days pass in trying only for anartha-nivṛtti, but artha-pravṛtti is also necessary. Anartha-nivṛtti is important, but it is necessary until artha-pravṛtti has started. When artha-pravṛtti is present, then anarthanivṛtti becomes a secondary consideration, because artha-pravṛtti becomes prominent. Simply becoming a scholar and instructing others is insu cient. It is necessary to go forward and become a practitioner oneself, and for that reason it is also important to examine your own advancement on the path of non-duplicitous bhajana.”5

Thus we see that the real stages of devotion are named not according to the degree of purification, but according to the characteristic spiritual assets attained. Hence the stages are named steadiness, taste, attachment, and ecstasy.

A sādhaka must know about the transcendental realities of philosophical conclusions, devotional tastes, and Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. As

his heart becomes purified, his natural a nity for devotional topics and nāma-saṅkīrtana become the cynosure, and anartha-nivṛtti a concomitant result.

Taste and attachment are both precursors to bhāva, and are the extremities of spiritual development for a still-conditioned sādhaka. At the stage of taste, a sādhaka’s a nity for bhāva is immature and primarily directed to acts of devotion, while at the stage of attachment, that a nity has matured and is directed to the object of devotion, Kṛṣṇa. In the following verse, Rūpa Gosvāmī explains that a sādhaka is freed of material obstacles in proportion to the attraction that he has for devotional activities:

syāt kṛṣṇa-nāma-caritādi-sitāpy avidyāpittopatapta-rasanasya na rocikā nu kintv ādarād anudinaṁ khalu saiva juṣṭā svādvī kramād bhavati tad-gada-mūla-hantrī

“The holy name, character, pastimes, and activities of Kṛṣṇa are all transcendentally sweet like sugar candy. Although the tongue of one a icted by the jaundice of avidyā [ignorance] cannot taste anything sweet, it is wonderful that simply by carefully chanting these sweet names every day, a natural relish awakens within his tongue, and his disease is gradually destroyed at the root.”6

To the degree, krama, that one is attentive in chanting, to that degree taste for the holy names awakens and to that degree material obstacles are eradicated.

Interestingly, Rūpa Gosvāmī identifies devotees at the stage of bhāva as practitioners, sādhakas. He does so because while bhāva-bhaktas have transcended the modes of material nature, they are still not perfect. And since there are only two kinds of devotees—practitioners and perfected—the ācārya states that bhāvabhaktas remain in the category of sādhakas. Rūpa Gosvāmī writes:

tatra sādhakāḥ utpanna-ratayaḥ samyaṅ nairvighnyam anupāgatāḥ

kṛṣṇa-sākṣāt-kṛtau yogyāḥ sādhakāḥ parikīrtitāḥ

“Practitioners (sādhaka) are those who have developed rati for Kṛṣṇa but have not completely extinguished the anarthas, and who are qualified to see Kṛṣṇa directly.”7

One may enquire:

“What bad habits linger beyond the stage of liberation where one is freed of all reaction to pious and impious deeds?”

Scriptures say:

“Traces of reactions to offences, such as vaiṣṇavaaparādha!”

The effects of offences are long lasting and are the source of spiritual obstacles. And while at bhāva o ences are almost nullified, as explained in a later chapter, they still have perceivable influence.

Incense has a lingering e ect, and when one enters a room in which it has been burned, the aroma is still apparent. Similarly, although the reaction to an o ence has been extinguished, still, at bhāva, its e ect remains. As a consequence, a bhāva-bhakta initially su ers setbacks which he quickly overcomes by the power of his ecstatic devotion. Thereafter, that devotee is a sādhaka no more, for having entered the realm of prema, he becomes a siddha.

The above definition of a sādhaka specifically relates to bhāvasādhakas and not less-accomplished practitioners. This is clear from the definition that says they have awakened love, rati. In a general sense it can be said that lesser sādhakas, those at āsakti for example, also have rati, but that love is dormant. Since the verse specifies that love has awakened, the sādhakas referred to are those at the stage of bhāva, and so it is clear that there are two kinds of sādhakas—those who have awakened love for Kṛṣṇa and those who have not.

From the above description of a bhāva-sādhaka and from the earlier threefold classification of bhakti, it is clear that not every sādhaka is within the spectrum of sādhana-bhakti. Devotional service in practice extends to attachment. And while bhāva-bhakti is a devotional classification in its own right, the bhāva-bhakta is a sādhaka because the aforementioned trace o ences and their consequent su ering disqualify him from being a siddha.

Sādhana begins at bhajana-kriyā, so when such practice is unsteady, then, according to the verse beginning with arcāyām eva haraye, a practitioner may be considered a kaniṣṭha-adhikārī: a neophyte devotee by attainment.8 From steadiness to attachment, as will be seen below, a devotee is intermediate: madhyamaadhikārī.

Interestingly, perhaps surprisingly, in the description of the bhāva-sādhaka, Rūpa Gosvāmī indicates that even those liberated devotees are in the category of madhyama-adhikārī. He cites Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s description of a madhyama-bhakta that begins with īsvare tad-adhīneṣu, and gives the accomplished Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura as an example of one such devotee.9 Who would have thought that the author of Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta was still a novice in the realm of love!

To summarise:

Devotees are known as neophytes at unsteady bhajanakriyā, as intermediates from steadiness to ecstasy, and as advanced at prema as per the verse sarva-bhūteṣu yaḥ paśyed.10

Knowledge and faith, as well as attachment and a ection, are the distinguishing characteristics of a devotee. Cultivating transcendental knowledge and superlative association are essential for a practitioner to rise to the perfect stage. In the absence of suitable practice, a sādhaka, especially a kaniṣṭha, is in a precarious situation. Thus Śrīla Prabhupāda advises serious devotees to give careful attention to the essentials of devotion:

“A neophyte may fall down by associating with non-devotees because he is not firmly convinced and

strongly situated. The second-class devotee, even though he cannot support his position with śāstric reference, can gradually become a first-class devotee by studying the śāstras and associating with a first-class devotee.”11

The hierarchical divisions of sādhakas and sādhana are essential parts of devotional truths. Like other principles of kṛṣṇa-bhakti, they should be known, appropriately applied, and enthusiastically followed. By so doing, a sādhaka will be faithful to Kṛṣṇa’s repeated instructions to recognise his spiritual station and to follow the corresponding devotional recommendations and prohibitions. In two verses of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam that begin with the same phrase, sve sve ’dhikāre yā niṣṭhā, Kṛṣṇa says:

“Steadiness in one’s own position is declared to be actual piety, whereas deviation from one’s position is considered impiety. In this way the two are definitely ascertained.”12

By following the Lord’s instructions, a sādhaka can avoid challenging pitfalls and quickly proceed to his spiritual destination.

Having described the di erent kinds of sādhakas, let us briefly examine how the development of devotion purifies their consciousness. This purification is also known as spiritualisation, and has already been touched upon earlier.

At the conclusion of his dissertation on the stages of devotion entitled Mādhurya-kādambinī, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura briefly describes the stages of spiritualisation that take place in a devotee from the beginnings of faith up to the blossoming of prema.

As mentioned earlier, the practice of devotional service purifies a devotee of material contamination and gradually awakens him to his eternal relationship with the Lord. This awakening is called spiritualisation.

“And what is the material contamination that blocks the devotee’s path to spiritualisation?”

“In short, it is the lingering misconception of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ which will now be extensively described.”

When abhimāna, or self-conception, is materially tainted, it is referred to as false ego, ahaṅkāra, the aspect of the conditioned self presided over by Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa. This impure ego falsely suggests that “I am the doer,” an illusion that Kṛṣṇa discloses to Arjuna thus:

prakṛteḥ kriyamāṇāni guṇaiḥ karmāṇi sarvaśaḥ ahaṅkāra-vimūḍhātmā kartāham iti manyate

“The spirit soul bewildered by the influence of false ego thinks himself the doer of activities that are in actuality carried out by the three modes of material nature.”13

False ego has two facets:

The concepts of “I” and “mine,” or ahantā and mamatā respectively.14

In the materially-conditioned state, impelled by the modes of nature, one identifies with the material mind and body and thinks himself a proprietor. However, in one’s pure spiritual identity, by the influence of prema a devotee thinks of himself as Kṛṣṇa’s servant and everything as Kṛṣṇa’s property. That is pure abhimāna!

Lord Kapila indicates that spiritualisation or purification of false ego takes place in proportion to the strength of devotional service practised:

jñāna-vairāgya-yuktena bhakti-yuktena cātmanā

paripaśyaty udāsīnaṁ prakṛtiṁ ca hataujasam

“In that position of self-realisation, by practise of knowledge and renunciation in devotional service, one sees everything in the right perspective; he becomes indi erent to material existence, and the material influence acts less powerfully upon him.”15

Spiritualisation, then, is the extent to which a devotee has become freed from the concepts of ahantā and mamatā.

Let us now examine the relative degrees of purification as described by Cakravartī Ṭhākura. There are five stages through which spiritualisation of bad habits takes place.16 These stages are:

Partial—partial spiritualisation limited to one or more habits; pervasive—partial spiritualisation relating to many or all bad habits; almost complete—spiritualising the best part of all bad habits; complete—completely purifying all bad habits; and, absolute—eradication of all bad habits with no chance of recurrence.

Let us now study that stage-by-stage spiritualisation, beginning with pre-devotional life and concluding with prema. 17

In the conditioned state, the two aspects of ahaṅkāra are embedded in material conceptions and thus both ahantā and mamatā are extremely dense; indeed, they cover the heart with a Gordian knot of illusion. Even if such a conditioned person identifies with being a Vaiṣṇava, he has no intention of abandoning worldly activities and thus experiences no spiritualisation. Lord Ṛṣabha explains this state:

puṁsaḥ striyā mithunī-bhāvam etaṁ tayor mitho hṛdaya-granthim āhuḥ ato gṛha-kṣetra-sutāpta-vittair janasya moho ’yam ahaṁ mameti

“The attraction between male and female is the basic principle of material existence. On the basis of this misconception, which ties together the hearts of the male and female, one becomes attracted to his body, home, property, children, relatives, and wealth. In this way one increases life’s illusions and thinks in terms of ‘I and mine.’”18

When a person becomes the recipient of a ray of faith, śraddhā, then his material conceptions are stirred and good fortune becomes the source of a trace of spiritualisation. And while the association of devotees, sādhu-saṅga, further nurtures this spiritualisation, there is almost no perceptible change in the condition of the false ego, which retains absolute control over the consciousness of a seeker.

Since bhajana begins at the devotional stage of unsteady bhajanakriyā, the five stages of purification previously listed really begin from there. However, with spiritualisation having just begun and thus still relatively weak, it remains partial. Correspondingly, the false ego experiences minimal e ect, remaining complete and promi nent. But as one’s bhajana becomes steady, niṣṭhā, a more pervasive spiritualisation takes place, although the false ego stubbornly remains almost complete.

With the appearance of taste, ruci, spiritualisation is nearly complete, and although the e ect of “I” and “mine” has loosened, it remains prevalent. However, at attachment, āsakti, spiritualisation finally becomes complete, with all anarthas having been purified, although not irrevocably so. Having said that, it is seen that attachment may still be partially tainted by false ego, appearing in certain traits of a sādhaka such as pride of spiritual advancement.

Spiritualisation is absolute at the transcendental stage of bhāva, indicating that no bad habits can resurface or—for the careful transcendentalist—be acquired. And while false ego has been completely eradicated, because the scent of past o ences lingers, it still exerts its shadow, as previously explained. This shadow obstructs a sādhaka in the maturation of his spiritual identity, in the absence of which he is unable to enter Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes—even while ardently desiring to do so. Cakravartī Ṭhākura likens the

materialistic influence on a bhāva-sādhaka to the influence of sleep on one who has just awakened.19

Only at the stage of prema are all subtle and gross material influences destroyed, never to return. And the spiritualisation that was already absolute at bhāva becomes further condensed as ahantā manifests in a perfected spiritual identity, and as mamatā is expressed in the conviction that Kṛṣṇa is the devotee’s only possession. Rūpa Gosvāmī describes spiritual possessiveness thus:

samyaṅ-masṛṇita-svānto mamatvātiśayāṅkitaḥ bhāvaḥ sa eva sāndrātmā budhaiḥ premā nigadyate

“‘When that bhāva softens the heart completely, becomes endowed with a great feeling of possessiveness [mamatva] in relation to the Lord, and becomes very much condensed and intensified, it is called prema [love of Godhead] by learned scholars.”20

As previously mentioned, the purpose of all spiritual practices is to remember Kṛṣṇa and never forget Him, smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇur vismartavyo na jātucit, especially during nāma-saṅkīrtana.21 However, a lack of spiritualisation of consciousness means that bad habits continue to be obstacles in such remembrance, and even when spiritualisation becomes complete, in the absence of natural attachment, remembrance may not be spontaneous.

We conclude this chapter by describing the quality of meditation that a sādhaka can expect at relevant stages of advancement, as explained in the following verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

avismṛtiḥ kṛṣṇa-padāravindayoḥ kṣiṇoty abhadrāṇi ca śaṁ tanoti sattvasya śuddhiṁ paramātma-bhaktiṁ jñānaṁ ca vijñāna-virāga-yuktam

“Remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet destroys everything inauspicious and awards the greatest good fortune. It purifies the heart and bestows devotion for the Supreme Soul, along with knowledge enriched with realisation and renunciation.” 22

When bhajana is unsteady, then meditation on Kṛṣṇa is an occasional affair, and even then it is mixed with mundane thoughts. When bhajana becomes steady, then remembrance is equally so, but traces or shadows of mundane topics continue to haunt the sādhaka.

At the stage of taste, remembrance of Kṛṣṇa is not only free of distraction, but it is also long-lasting. And when a sādhaka comes to the stage of attachment, his meditations are blessed with a depth from which he is roused by someone or something only with di culty.

The meditations at the stage of sādhana are products of the increasingly purified mind. However, they di er from the spiritual experiences of devotees at ecstasy and love.

As soon as a bhāva-sādhaka meditates on the Lord, He appears within the devotee’s heart in the way that Nārada describes to Vyāsa. This is called sphūrti.

pragāyataḥ sva-vīryāṇi tīrtha-pādaḥ priya-śravāḥ āhūta iva me śīghraṁ darśanaṁ yāti cetasi

“The Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose glories and activities are pleasing to hear, at once appears on the seat of my heart, as if called for, as soon as I begin to chant His holy activities.”23

And a perfected devotee who has attained prema and its various stages gains the direct association of the Lord. When that external association is temporarily absent, a siddha enters an intense kind of sphūrti meditation which, with its intensity and ecstasies, challenges even the experience of direct association with Kṛṣṇa.

Thus we have described di erent sādhakas and their level of spiritual attainment. We have also described degrees of spiritual-

isation at di erent stages of devotional service, how such spiritualisation eradicates bad habits, and how it dissolves the false ego. And we have touched upon how devotees are able to remember Kṛṣṇa at di erent stages of purification, meaning di erent stages of bhakti. The contents of this chapter, specifically nāma-saṅkīrtana meditation in sādhana-bhakti, will be more extensively described in the all-important sixth part of this book.

Notes

1. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 2.1.275. 2. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.178. 3. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.15–16. 4. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.2.17. 5. The Gauḍīya 13.14, 10 November 1934. 6. The Nectar of Instruction 7. 7. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 2.1.276. 8. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.2.47. 9. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 2.1.277 and 279. 10. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.2.45. 11. Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.71, purport. 12. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.20.26 and 11.21.2. 13. Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 3.27. 14. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 4.26.1–3, purport. 15. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.25.18. 16. Mādhurya-kādambinī, chapter 3. 17. See Mādhurya-kādambinī, chapter 8, page 58–59. 18. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.8. 19. Mādhurya-kādambinī, chapter 8, page 59. 20. Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.4.1, as cited in Śrī Caitanyacaritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 23.7. 21. Padma Purāṇa, cited in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 22.113. 22. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 12.12.55. 23. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.6.33.