Should a rupanuga devotee follow raganuga bhakti as mentioned in the book Realization and manifestation of your eternal identity? I was reluctant to ask this question on forum as many new devotees may take the path of Sahajiyas. If you read the book please guide me on that.

Indeed it was ok You asked this question personally, because the answer which i want to give i would not share with others also.

First i am sure You mean not Rupanuga but Vaidhi Bhakti. Which means bhakti obeying to rules and regulations. Rupanuga means the followers of Rupa Goswami, no?!

And raganuga bhakti is bhakti out of spontaneous love?! I am not expert in Sanskrit so may make few mistakes.


Srila Prabhupada told us to worship Shri Shri Radha Krishna in the mood of Shri Shri Lakshmi Narayana with strict rules and regulations. So we try to do.

Because if we try to over jump our own stage then it will contaminate our devotion.

When we serve to the Deities we should serve to Them in the mood that i am a servant and They are my Masters.

As like when i worshiped to Goura Nitay Deities at the Temple in our country. I tried to do everything according to rules and reguations. Cleanliness, cooking, talking, cloth, ...mudras, mantras....

But sometimes this vaidhi bhakti will be like of a raganuga bhakti. I mean to some extent there will be some spontaneous attraction to Lord. But it will appear only when we follow 4 reg principles and try to chant minimum 16 rounds attentively also regularly hear and read Bhagavatam. It will come. And when that taste for taking care of Krishna comes we will do those rules and regulations out of love not out of duty. We won't feel tired. Even if we will feel tired it will be pleasing tiredness.

Especially in the lectures of HH Bhakti Vigyana Goswami Maharaja i used to hear about this raganuga bhakti. He used to tell that when we wake up in the morning at three we should know that right this time Gopal in Vrindavan also wakes up so we should meditate upon that. So it is raganuga bhakti. "Oh, Gopal woke up i will also wake up and will chant His Names!!!"

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So conclusion is that if this bhakti according to rules and regulations are performed strictly some day Krishna will give other bhakti also. So we should depend on His mercy. See Vandanam- offering prayers it very important. We should pray so that we serve to Him with real love and devotion and that is raganuga bhakti.

Hope i understood You correctly and simple answer was to some extent useful for You!