The 3 Fundamental Instructions

The 3 Fundamental Instructions
Srila Vishnvanath Chakravarti Thakura
The Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu gives three funda¬mental instructions: The first is that the devotee must immerse himself in remembering and dis¬cussing Lord Krishna. He should similarly speak about, remember and meditate upon those inti¬mate associates of the Lord whom he finds deeply attractive and wishes to personally emulate and eventually follow. The devotee must also reside in the holy place of Vrindavan; if a devotee cannot be there in body, then he should be there in spirit.
The second instruction states that a practic¬ing devotee (sadhaka) who has not yet attained perfection on the path of raganuga-bhakti must endeavour to serve Lord Krishna, particularly in His Vraja pastimes. The sadhaka should do this in the circumstances he presently finds himself. For progress on this path one must serve Krishna un¬der the guidance of a pure devotee who is steeped in the mood of those intimate associates of the Lord whose feelings complement the sadhaka’s own spiritual, feelings. The perfected devotee (siddha-bhakta), serves Lord Krishna in Vraja by internally absorbing himself in deep meditation. This is done by realising and accepting his per¬fected spiritual form suitable to his personal ser¬vice. Intensely yearning for the same devotional mood that Krishna’s beloved associates possess, such a devotee always follows in their footsteps.
The third instruction explains that in the stage of regulative vaidhi-bhakti all directives for the differ¬ent processes of devotion, beginning with hearing and chanting, are listed systematically according to different grades of spiritual development. The acaryas have applied in principle the same devo¬tional procedures in spontaneous raganuga-bhakti,
The first basic instruction that the Bhakti-rasāmṛ¬ta-sindhu gives,“remembering Lord Krishna”, advocates that in spontaneous raganuga-bhakti the devotional aspect of remembering is of prime importance because raga is a state of mental dis¬cipline, or consciousness. In the Sanskrit for this instruction, the word prestham (most dear) refers to Lord Krishna, the Lord of Vrindavan, whose pastimes appropriately portray the devotee’s own spiritual sentiments. The word used is janancasya which describes the Lord’s eternally, surrendered associates. In order to remove any doubt regarding who they are, the word nijasamihitam, much de¬sired persons, has been used. This refers to devotees such as the Queen of Vrindavan, Srimati Radhika, Lalita-devi, Visakha-devi, and Sri Rupa Manjari. Al¬though Lord Krishna is the worshippable object for those pure devotees who experience the precious jewel of bhava, it is the Lord’s intimate associates, Srimati Radhika and the Vraja gopis who possess the highest development of bhava. Therefore, the pure devotees situated in bhava want to serve and worship such intimate associates of the Lord.
The next instruction ” to reside in Vrindavan” means that if it is physically impossible to do so, then the devotee must be present there in spirit. In the second instruction, the terms sadhaka, prac¬ticing devotee and siddha, perfect devotee, with their different devotional attitudes and statuses, are explained. The sadhaka serves according to his level of advancement, and the siddha serves in his revealed spiritual form which matches his eternal spiritual relationship with Krishna. Tad-bhava-lipsuna means to take shelter of one’s dearest form of Krishna, along with His associ¬ates and paraphernalia, and to foster the intense desire to posses the deep devotional moods of Srimati Radhika and the other associates of the Lord. Both kinds of devotee should serve the Lord using appropriate ingredients, collected either mentally for meditative service or physically for practical service. As for the style of service, the term vrajalokanusaratah means that one must follow in the footsteps of the residents of Vraja. A sadhaka devotee must serve the residents of Vraja (vrajabāsīs) such as Rupa Gosvami, following his devotional mood. A siddha devotee, in his, eternal spiritual form (siddha-deha), must serve the vrajabāsīs like Sri Rupa Manjari, under the guidance of such Vaisnavas as Rupa Gosvami.
The vrajabāsīs whom the sadhaka devotee follows, must have a permanent relationship with Lord Krishna in Vrindavan. Devotees such as Candrakanti and the sakhis (girlfriends), the munis of Dandakaranya mentioned in the Vamana Purāṇa, and the personified Śrutis are in this category. They are good examples of vra¬jabāsīs because of their devotional behaviour.
The first two instructions dealt with smarana and Vrajabāsa (residing in Vraja), and now the third instruction deals with hearing about the Lord and chanting the glories of the Lord, and the other devotional processes. As the devotee sincerely performs this hearing and reciting, he deeply laments his personal inadequacy. By this humility, the devotee finds secure shelter in his guru and in the other devotional activities. The word Maṇīṣibhiḥ (according to the authoritative preceptors) reiterates the point that without dili¬gently practising processes such as sravanam and kirtanaṁ, one cannot obtain the protection and guidance of a Vrajabāsī who is the key to a realm of new spiritual enlightenment. We can conclude that an intelligent sadhaka (madhyamadhikārī dev¬otee), with his personal realizations and purified consciousness assisting him, analyzes and assesses his spiritual inclinations. According to such a sad-haka’s conclusions, he then practises specific disci¬plines, carefully avoiding any activities contrary to his devotional predilection because they impede his advancement on the path of bhava-bhakti.
— Ragavartma-Candrika -SrilaVisvanatha Cakravarti Ṭhakura, First Difussion, text 10 -11; Translated by Sarvabhavana dasa