Siddha-pranali in the, “Sri Bhaktivinode Parivar”

By: Babhru Dasa

The topic of “siddha-pranali” in gaudiya-vaishnavism is such a fascinating one, and indeed one of the most controversial and misunderstood ones also. To further complicate things, there are at least several types of processes that could fall under the category of siddha-pranali that exist today. Therefore in this essay we will primarily focus on the type of siddha-pranali that seems most relevant to those that consider themselves in the “Bhaktivinode Parivar” (the followers of Srila Thakura Bhaktivinode.)

First off, a brief explanation of what siddha-pranali is must be given. In essence, siddha-pranali can be considered the reception of initial information from where a sadhaka-bhakta can begin to consciously identify themself with a spiritual existential complex (siddha-rupa) that consists of 11 primary aspects (ekadasha-bhava.)

For example, some of the constituents of the spiritual existential complex are the type of body (deha), identity (abhimana), type of service (prema-seva), and type of love (stayi-rati) for Sri Krsna. This conceptualized/realized body/identity is used solely for service to Krsna in the execution of lila-smaranam (meditation on the nitya-lila of Goloka) in practice (sadhana), and eventually in perfection (sadhya.)

For starters, it should be noted that according to “Swalikita-jivani” (the autobiographical letter that Bhaktivinode Thakura wrote to his son Lalita Prasad), and the “siddha-pranali chart (diksa-patra)” discovered at Bhaktivinode Thakura’s maternal home, Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura did seem to have received a type of siddha-pranali-diksa from his diksa-guru, Sri Bipin Bihari Goswami, and later gave a similar initiation to his son Lalita Prasad Thakura (and other disciples.) This conclusion is widely accepted by many stalwart devotees all over the world.

That being said, for the followers of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, it is generally considered more important to understand the topic of siddha-pranali from his teachings and especially writings, rather than what he experienced in his own personal life (as there is some small margin for error in that regard.) Yet, in his books he speaks about this topic in the same way several times. Thus engraving the siddhanta in our hearts and minds for all time to come.

Furthermore his personal understanding of this topic and its application for sadhakas to come may have “evolved” in time. Chronologically speaking, the majority of his writings and especially those of paramount significance all came long after his own initiation.

In regards to this topic, the main emphasis we are focusing on here is the exact method of receiving the details of the siddha-rupa (because this is where most of the points of contention and confusion lie.) I.E the relationship between Sri Bhagavan, Sri Guru, and Sri Sisya, and how the sisya (student) receives this esoteric information and what is the actual eligibuility for sadhana in connection with this information.

First lets take a look at what the Thakur says in “Jaiva-dharma” and “Harinam Chintamani,”

“Vrajanātha, “Which type of rāgānuga-bhakti are we eligible to practice?”

Raghunātha dāsa Bābājī, “My son, you must analyze your own partiality. Your spiritual temperament will mirror your ruci, taste, and that ruci will guide you to your favorite rasa, mellow of service. Surrender to the nitya-siddha stalwart of a particular rasa of your own choice, try to imbibe his or her bhāva, and thus practice rāgānuga-bhakti. If you have developed a relish for rāga-bhakti, follow it with activities that are appropriate and supportive. If you have not yet developed firm and steady attachment for rāga-bhakti, sincerely pursue the regulated path of vaidhī-bhakti with full confidence in its eventual fruition.”

Vijaya, “Gurudeva, I have been studying the Śrīmad Bhāgavatam for a long time and I am always eager for an opportunity to hear about the pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Whenever I meditate upon the wonderful deeds and frolics of the Lord, certain emotions are stirred up within me. I strongly feel the desire to serve the Divine Couple in the mood of Śrī Lalitā devī.”

“Raghunātha dāsa Bābājī, “Yes, I understand your mood; you are a mañjarī under the guidance of Lalitā devī. To what type of service do you aspire?”

Vijaya, “I feel that Śrī Lalitā devī wants me to string flower garlands. I would like to pick beautiful flowers, string garlands, and lay them in the divine hands of Lalitā devī. Upon receiving them, she will flash me a brilliant and merciful smile and gently slip them around the exquisitely beautiful faces of Śrīmatī Rādhikā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa.”

Raghunātha dāsa Bābājī, “I bless you my boy! Let your endeavours for such devotional service be consummated in spiritual perfection.”

“Vijaya asked, “Are there any further instructions regarding rāgānuga bhajana?”

Raghunātha dāsa Bābājī replied, “You have received most of the information. Nevertheless, there are other details you must know pertaining to your spiritual identity—that is your name, form, dress, etc. Come to me alone and I will reveal them to you.”

And from, “Sri Harinam Chintamani”,

“When, on examining the disciple’s natural tendencies, the spiritual master verifies that he truly has the qualifications for serving in srngara-rasa, he informs him of the eternal form (siddha-deha) that he should cultivate as a manjari in Lalita’s subgroup of Srimati Radharani’s group of gopis.

Then the spiritual master explains the mutual relation between the eleven components (ekadasha-bhavas) of that spiritual identity (siddha-deha) necessary for the practice and the object of that practice – the pastimes the Lord enjoys throughout the eight periods of the day and night (ashta-kaliya-lila). He especially shows the disciple his spiritual name, form, qualities, and principle service.”- HC, 15.64-68, Srila Bhaktivinoda’s Notes to the verses.

And from a few verses later,

“If one’s preferences differ, the guru will make changes. If on the other hand the disciple does not like it, he should openly tell his spiritual master what he would prefer. The guru will consider the matter and give him another identity, and if the disciple likes it, also reveal his own.” HC, 15.72-73

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura’s Notes:

“When the spiritual master is ascertaining the aspirant’s pure personal inclinations, the aspirant should also help the spiritual master by speaking his mind about his own preferences. As long as he has not clearly established the disciple’s inclinations, the guru’s directions are not flawless.

The inclinations that have been shaped by one’s meritorious deeds, through both this and previous lives, are called ruci or taste. This particular inclination, however, is integral to the soul (svarupa). Should a person not have a natural inclination for srngara-rasa, but for servitude or friendship, then he should be instructed accordingly; if not there will be undesirable consequences.” HC, Notes to 15.72-73

So there is a lot of really important information in these passages but two things really seem to stand out. Lets start by examining the excerpt from “Jaiva-dharma.”  In this passage it is shown that Vijaya had already acquired a few rather specific ideals for his eternal prema-seva before his guru Raghunath Dasa Babaji gave his blessing (or perhaps even before he had knowledge of his disciple’s disposition) to take up raganuga-sadhana-bhakti. And another important point is that Raghunath Dasa Babaji clearly encouraged his disciple to see into his own heart and follow his ruci (taste) to discern his own internal aspirations. As opposed to just “point blank” giving him information regarding the siddha-rupa. 

So in this scenario, were the attractions of Vijaya’s soul authentic if he did not receive info of his siddha-rupa from his guru initially? Where did he get these aspirations? In short, we can can make the deduction that he was receiving the mercy of Bhagavan via the hearing of his divine pastimes, chanting harinama, etc.  Thus the seed of lobha-mayi-shraddha awakened in his heart and then later by his guru’s blessing that seed turned into a healthy creeper. Furthermore, his guru helped him refine and fix up all the exact details of his spiritual aspirations (ekadasha-bhava.)  Here we see a clear combination of the mercy of Bhagavan and the Guru, coming in installments to manifest a gradual siddha-pranali-diksa for the sincere disciple Vijaya.

And then we see again in the latter excerpt of “Sri Harinam Chintamani,” that Bhaktivinode Thakura lucidly described the “siddha-pranali” as a reciprocal exchange between guru and disciple and not a “one way street.” He even goes as far as saying that siddha-pranali can be detrimental to the disciple’s progress if not treated in this mutually natural way.

For further evidence that information regarding ones swarupa-vesa (ontological position in the Vraja-lila) can be obtained from ones diksa-guru, rasika-sadhu/siksa-guru, or Bhagavan directly (or a combination of all three) we can refer to the writings of Srila Visvanath Chakravarti Thakura,

“When the sādhaka attains greed, the Supreme Lord inspires him by manifesting Himself in two forms: externally, in the form of the spiritual master, He gives instructions, and internally, as the Supersoul, He inspires a person from within the heart about the means to achieve his desired object.

According to a statement made by Śrī Uddhava in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.29.6), in order to follow the method illuminated in the scriptures for obtaining one’s cherished devotional mood (bhāva), some sādhakas with inborn greed gain complete knowledge by hearing instructions directly from the spiritual master. Others acquire this knowledge by hearing from the lotus mouths of elevated devotees who are well-learned in the deep moods of rāgānuga-bhakti and who are highly enlightened in such bhāvas. For a few others, this knowledge self-manifests in their immaculate hearts through the nectar of bhakti. Profuse, enthusiastic endeavors to attain those moods are witnessed in all of these sādhakas, just as a person who desires material happiness strives with great intensity for his own sense enjoyment.” – Raga-vartma-chandrika 9

In a similar way, Srila Prabhupada also said something basically identical in conversation with his disciple Sripad Hrsikesananda Das,

“Srila Prabhupada: So what you have learned in Vrindavana?

Hrsikesananda Dasa: About Nitya-lila, Siddha-pranali, and asta-kaliya-lila-smaran. Right, Gurudeva?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, but who is siddha?

HD: One out of millions of seekers, but isn’t nitya lila our goal?

Srila Prabhupada: Yes, we are the followers of Rupa-Raghunatha. This is the highest understanding, to be dasanudas in Radha-Krishna’s lila.

HD: But what about siddha-pranali? How to qualify? Who will give?

Srila Prabhupada: Guru will give. You just chant Hare Krishna.

HD: How to receive this eternal information about siddha pranali, Gurudeva?

Srila Prabhupada: Guru will give. There is no material consideration about Guru is here or there. When you reach that level, Guru will give.”

One final piece of evidence we can look to is a letter that Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura Goswami wrote on the matter. And one thing we must keep in mind is that much of his preaching mission was dealing with and uprooting the misconceptions of unbonafide esoteric practices that became rather rampant due to sub-sects of gaudiya-vaishnavism.”

And why did Srila Saraswati Thakura consider it so important to understand the authentic mode of approaching rasa-tattva? Objectively speaking, time (before him and after him) has shown that when unqualified gurus and unqualified disciples enter into the application of these practices without proper adhikara, often times a disturbance is created in their own devotional life and the devotional society.

Many devotees have even lost faith all together (or had psychotic breakdowns) upon having their minds twisted by talks of esoteric-bhakti by an unqualified guru. Or they themselves being drastically under-qualified, twisted the meaning of a bonafide guru’s words and misunderstood the grave significance of such esoteric practices, thus finding themselves in the degraded mindset of projecting materialistic emotions (prakrata-sahajiyaism) onto the stage of divine lila.

That being said, we will see below that Srila Saraswati Thakura’s teachings match up perfectly with Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura’s.

“By repeated chanting, a special individual is capable of knowing these matters, which is the identity of the svarūpa. By attainment of anartha-nivṛtti, one’s svarūpa is automatically awakened and the eternal mode of thinking that is innate to it manifests. Those who profess too teach or reveal this identity are deceitful, for it cannot be done.

On the other hand, if a devotee receives some realization after sincerely chanting for a long time, he should go to the sad-guru or an advanced devotee and ask that that realization be confirmed and also purified by him. The svarūpa has eleven (ekādaśa) aspects. There are many cases of unscrupulous gurus who artificially force-feed these topics to unqualified practitioners, yet that cannot be called a symptom of spiritual perfection. Those who have achieved svarūpa-siddhi gain such realization through internal revelation; the guru’s only involvement is to assist his disciples’ ongoing advancement. As a sādhaka progresses toward siddhi, all these things are naturally revealed within the sevonmukha heart.17”- Letter (17 November 1930), Patrāvalī 2.89–90

In conclusion, it seems safe to say that Srila Bhaktivinode Thakura, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, Srila Prabhupada (and his godbrothers) wanted to emphasize that siddha-pranali should be seen as a process of the devotee becoming first qualified by the mercy of Bhagavan, alongside earnest purification of their own heart via nama-kirtana, sadhu-sangha, lila-sravana, etc. and then in conjunction with the guidance and blessings of the guru or sadhu-vaishnava, that devotee’s genuine attraction and internal longings would be refined and consummated, and thus finally bare fruit on the raga-marga.