The teaching of Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati on raganuga-bhakti is, that ajata ruci (without taste) raganuga sadhakas (practitioners) should adopt the methods of raganuga sadhana that they are qualified to adopt in proportion to their development of sacred greed (lobhamayi sraddha), while following the angas (limbs) of vaidhi bhakti (regulated devotional service).
This follows Sri Jiva Goswami's Bhakti-sandarbha 311
ajata-tadrsa-rucina tu sad-visesa adaramatradrta
raganugapi vaidhi-samvalitaivanus heya/
tatha loka-sangrahartam pratis hitena jata-tadrsa-rucina ca/
atra misratve ca tyatha-yogyam raganugayaikikrtyaiva vaidhi kartavya.
"One in whom this taste (ruci) has not arisen but who has come to appreciate raganuga-bhakti only on account of appreciation for a particular saint or scripture (sat), may still practice raganuga-bhakti but with an admixture of vaidhi-bhakti. In the same way, for the sake of preaching (loka-sangrahartaham) one who is advanced and in whom taste has manifested should also practice raganuga with an admixture of vaidhi. Such mixing of the two kinds of bhakti means that one practices vaidhi-bhakti by uniting it with whatever raganuga practices one is capable of."
In the opinion of Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati, such mixing of the two kinds of bhakti means that one embrace the angas of vaidhi-bhakti with a view to attain greater eligibility for raganuga-bhakti and its sadhya (goal) by uniting them with whatever raganuga practices one is eligible for (yatah-yogyam). In his opinion this did not include an emphasis on meditating on the pastimes of Radha-Krsna from the vantage point of one's siddha deha for those who had not attained the stage of nistha, based on the reasoning that dhyana (meditation) requires a pure heart, whereas kirtanam (chanting) does not. He reasoned, as has Sri Sanatana Goswami in Brhad-bhagavatamrta, that smaranam (remembering) arises naturally out of kirtanam. Thus he emphasized nama smaranam for beginners, stressing inoffensive chanting that would lead naturally to meditation on Krsna's form (rupa samaranam), qualities (guna smaranam), andpastimes (lila smaranam). (lila-smaranam, the remembrance of one's lila in Krishna's pastimes)
Of course he also emphasized mantra dhyana of Gopala mantra, kama gayatri, etc., and these mantras were given to sadhakas only after they had attained a degree of steadiness in nama smaranam (japa).
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati was reacting to what he perceived as 'a sleight of hand' in the name of giving, or in some cases making a business out of and selling siddha pranali. Thus his position was that sadhakas while aspiring for Vraja bhakti should do kirtanam and that as this kirtanam qualified them they should combine it with smaranam. Furthermore he maintained that one's svarupa would be glimpsed in the stages of ruci and asakti, at which time effective and meaningful lila smaranam from the vantage point of one's svarupa could take place propelling the sadhaka into bhava bhakti.
Srila Prabhupada Letter to Rupanuga — Los Angeles 8 August, 1969
My Dear Rupanuga, please accept my blessings. I beg to thank you very much for your letter of August 3rd, 1969, and I have noted the contents carefully. In further reference to your question about the form of the spirit soul of the conditioned living entity, there is a spiritual form always, but it develops fully only when the living entity goes back to Vaikuntha.
This form develops according to the desire of the living entity. Until this perfectional stage is reached, the form is lying dormant like the form of the tree is lying dormant in the seed.
Comments
must read to understand the topic
https://raganugaprembhakti.wordpress.com/98-2/
https://raganugaprembhakti.wordpress.com/qualification-for-raganuga...
Thanks for this, Gourab. I think this is important for all of Mahaprabhu's devotees, and those who follow Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Srila Sarasvati Thakura in particular, to understand. This is a valuable post.
Yours in service,
Babhru