Essential Duty

Essential Duty
Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura
The smṛti scripture states: ambarisa suka-prok¬tam nityam Bhāgavatam srnu. “Ambarisa! you must regularly hear the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam as spoken by Srila Sukadeva Gosvami.” On the authority of this statement we can understand that hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is an eternal devotional activity (nitya-krtya) the follow¬ing quotation is from the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:
(SB 12.3.14)
kathā imās te kathitā mahīyasāṁ
yas tūttamaḥ-śloka-guṇānuvādaḥ
saṅgīyate ‘bhīkṣṇam amaṅgala-ghnaḥ
tam eva nityaṁ śṛṇuyād abhīkṣṇaṁ
kṛṣṇe ‘malāṁ Bhaktim abhīpsamānaḥ

I simply repeated to you the instructions of great sages. Persons interested in attaining unalloyed devotion to Krishna must hear uninterruptedly the wonderful characteristics of Lord Krishna, who is glorified in choicest of verses, hearing of which can permanently destroy all inauspicious¬ness.
This statement confirms that the processes of hearing, chanting, and the other devotional prac¬tices are eternal activities that the devotee should perform incessantly, connecting him with his cherished bhāva (bhāva-sambandha). The other instruments of bhāva-sambandha are eating of¬fered tulasi leaves, smearing the body with scent and sandalwood pulp offered to the Lord, and to respectfully adorn oneself with offered garlands and Deity’s dresses. Some examples of Vaiṣṇava cinha, or signs of a devotee, are tulasi beads, gopīcandana tilaka, and the Lord’s names and His lotus feet drawn on the body. These are called bhāva-anukula. Some other activities favourable to one’s devotional sentiments are worshipping Tulasi-devi, circumambulating the Deities, tulasi, and the dhama. Offering respectful obeisances to the cow, the asvattha tree, and the brāhmaṇas are classified as bhāva-aviruddha, or activities not contradicting these devotional feelings.
The reader must clearly understand that respecting and serving the Vaiṣṇavas, is just as essential a duty as the other processes previously mentioned. An interesting point here is that baby Krishna is very much dependent (posya) on His mother, Yashoda-devi. For Yashoda, however, objects such as butter, cream, and yogurt, which complement and sustain consciousness of Krishna (tat-posa¬ka), have priority over the Lord because these ingredients are used in His service. For example, baby Krishna loved to drink His mother’s breast¬milk, but Mother, Yashoda stopped Him from drinking when He was still hungry and ran to attend to the boiling milk. Similarly, some of the devotional processes such as śravaṇa and kīrtana are posya, or dependent on rāga-bhakti. For the realized devotees treading the path of rāga-bhakti, the tat-posaka (that which sustains) of śravaṇa and kīrtana, including the different aspects of rāga-bhakti just mentioned, reign superior.
Activities such as aham-graha-upāsana (wor¬shipping the self); nyāsa (religious rites accom¬panied by prayers); showing mudras (different hand postures shown during Deity worship); Dvārakā and mahiṣīarcana (meditating in the Dvārakā mood, and worshipping the queens of Dvaraka), are apakarada, or classified as unbenefical for promoting rāgānugā bhakti. Hearing or reading the Purāṇas and similar literatures are tathastha (marginal) activities-neither beneficial nor unbeneficial. Bhakti is described as sac-cid-ānanda-rūpa (having the form of eternality, absolute knowledge, and bliss). Though Bhakti does not accept vikara (alteration or deviation from the original form) it has been referred to in the Purāṇas as upadana-rūpa (constituent cause) because such nomenclatures help to clarify recondite theological truths. In authoritative literatures on the science of devotion, prema is described as possessing six bhāvas such as sneha (affection). In texts describing the principles of devotional mellows, rasa is referred to as vaibhāva. Similarly, in this book terms such as upādāna have been used for comprehensible and pleasurable reading. I pray the saintly souls will absolve me of any inadvertent offences.
– Ragavartma-Candrika – Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura Translated by Sarvabhāvana dasa.