Religious culture of Vraja

ACTING AS A WAY OF SALVATION (A Study of Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana): David L. Haberman; Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 120, Royapettah High Road, Mylapore, Chennai-600004. Rs. 295.

SRI KRISHNA Chaitanya (1486-1533), also known as Gauranga and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, was the inspirational leader of Gaudia Vaishnavism, a religious movement that had its roots in the 16th century Bengal and was systematised by the Gosvamis of Brindavan.

It is devoted to the worship of Radha-Krishna and a massive literature in Sanskrit, Bengali and Hindi has grown around it down the centuries.

Chaitanya left it to six Gosvamis of Brindavan to propagate his new system, the "Achintyabhedabheda" (differentiation with non- differentiation); and the six were Sanatana Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami, Gopala Bhatta, Raghunatha Bhatta, Raghunatha Dasa and Jiva Gosvami.

Sanatana and Rupa were brothers and Jiva was their nephew. South Indian readers will be interested to know that their ancestry was South Indian and they were Sarasvat Brahmins hailing from Karnataka.

Rupa Gosvami established a technique by which, in imitation of one of the significant figures in Krishna's dramatic world, a devotee might actually come to inhabit the world of the character whose part he or she was playing.

Such role-playing is called "Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana", a natural part of human experience and the pre-eminent way to salvation.

Rupa defines Raganuga as "that method of bhakti which imitates the Ragatmika bhakti clearly manifest in the inhabitants of Vraja". "Ragatmika bhakti" is defined in terms of passion, the highest access to the beloved Krishna.

In his commentary on Rupa's work, Jiva Gosvami elaborates the meaning of the term at some length. The author has dealt with this subject with great clarity in the chapter "Entering the cosmic drama."

Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana is virtually synonymous with "Manjari Sadhana," a term which Gaudiya Vaishnavas use to designate a very particular type of role that has developed for participation in the cosmic drama of Vraja-lila.

Manjari is a special kind of Gopi, a female friend of Radha, who serves the needs of the Divine Couple (Divya Dampati) during their love play. But there is a conflict in the interpretation of the term, as it is not mentioned by Rupa in any of his works.

How is the Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana practised in real life by Gaudiya Vaishnavas?

In chapter seven, the author has given a detailed description of Raganuga in action and the ritual process followed by practitioners of the Sadhana.

Firstly, the Sadhaka must be initiated by a qualified Guru with the secret transmission of the Maha Mantra and the revelation of Siddha forms.

Gurus have performed several miracles while giving such initiation. The author has reproduced an interesting Yantra (chart) for Manjari Sadhana, similar to the Sri Chakra of the Sri Vidya cult.

The importance of meditation (smarana or smriti) is stressed and the author has done well in quoting Ramanuja's definition in his Sri Bhashya "taila dharavat avicchinna smriti Santana rupa" (a constant remembrance uninterrupted like the flow of oil).

This reference is highly relevant as Gaudiya Vaishnavism is one of the systems influenced by the philosophy of Ramanuja.

Rupa Gosvami does not subscribe to the view that God's grace can be obtained by mere surrender to Him without any effort on the part of the devotee.

The author has pointed out that Gaudiya Vaishnavism does not favour the Marjara Nyaya concept of South Indian Vaishnavism promoted by Pillai Lokacharya in the 13th-14th centuries.

Hence the elaborate ritual called the Raganuga Bhakti Sadhana.

Another interesting piece of information to South Indians is that one Narayana Bhatta, a Telugu Brahmin born in Madurai in 1531 A.D., took up residence in Brindavan and after getting initiation into Gaudiya Vaishnava Sampradaya, wrote seven books in Sanskrit on the glory of the Vraja tradition.

No one did more than this Bhatta to work out the correlation between the mythological stories of Krishna and the physical sites of the Vraja Bhumi.

Throughout the book, the author explores Indian dramatic theory and Rupa's unique application of that theory to devotion.

Bharata's Rasa theory and Abhinavagupta's aesthetic theory have been clearly explained in the context of Rupa Gosvami's views on the subject of Rasa.

The copious notes of the author on each of the eight chapters of the book, the appendices, the glossary and the bibliography make the book a veritable encyclopaedia on Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The publishers deserve praise for bringing out this valuable research work.

T.S. PARTHASARATHY

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