The Way of Natural Devotion - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

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votion is the process of establishing a relationship with Goddess, and a relationship with an advanced devotee already in a relationship facilitates the process. Devotion is caught through personal interaction as much as taught. 6 Hearing about the names, forms, qualities, and sports of Radha-Krishna. This constitutes an important mode of devotional meditation. There are no rules or particular order for hearing these topics, but tradition recommends hearing the name first to purify the heart before hearing the rest. Everything about Radha-Krishna is attractive. Therefore, the more we hear about them the more we are attracted, and they become the primary attraction of our life. 7 Chanting the divine names, singing God-dess’ praises, and relating what we learn about God-dess to others. Chanting the names effectively focuses the mind in devotional meditation. We may chant them aloud, in a whisper, or mentally. Chanting a certain number of names, or mantras, on prayer beads is a common practice. The divine name is simultaneously one and different from God-dess, who graciously appears as the name. Constant repetition of the name purifies the heart. Then, the pure name manifests fully, and we enter the love sports of Radha-Krishna. All names of God-dess are powerful, but the names of Radha- Krishna are most powerful. 8 Constantly remembering means fixing our mind on the names, forms, or sports of God-dess. We progressively learn to focus the mind until we become totally absorbed in remembrance of Radha-Krishna and their pastimes. We also assume an identity as a participant in those pastimes and enter into them in that identity. Remembrance of Radha-Krishna forms the purpose of all devotional practices. 9 Worshiping a deity form of God-dess such as a picture or statue. God-dess assumes these forms out of grace. They provide a visible focus for the spiritual orientation of our life. They enable us to detach the mind and senses from material objects and engage them worshipping Radha-Krishna. Those who like to engage the senses fully may enjoy statues they bathe, dress, and formally worship. Intuitives may prefer a simple altar with pictures, flowers, candles, and incense as a focus for meditation. We may even focus on a mental image. The point is to fix our mind on God-dess. Material representations or symbols of God-dess remain simultaneously one and different from God-dess. What better way to portray God-dess than through the highest aesthetic ideals of beauty, truth, and love. 10 Surrendering the self entails complete dedication of the self, including body, mind, senses, and soul to God-dess. God-dess cannot help being attracted to a surrendered soul since we totally depend on God-dess’ mercy. All these devotional practices are interrelated. We may use one or more of them exclusively, use them all, and even create our own. Persons possess different aptitudes and capacities, and the practices that work for a particular individual are best for him or her. No one way is right for everyone. There are two stages of developing devotion, regulative and natural. Regulative devotion entails dutifully observing scriptural rules, regulations, and rituals received from the tradition. Conditioned by fear of breaking the rules, it remains formal and mechanical, thus ineffective and not highly recommended. Natural devotion remains unconditioned by fear of breaking rules or scriptural injunctions. A continuous flow of attachment to God-dess often makes it impossible to follow rules and regulations. It is the life of love, and we like to say love is blind. It seeks the beloved regardless of social norms. Devotees practicing natural devotion possess a deep, genuine feeling of attachment to God-dess. The current of 10
devotion flows from their heart spontaneously and ceaselessly overflows all limits. Natural devotion remains intrinsically different from ordinary religion. It flows directly from the spiritual energy of the names and attributes of God-dess, which draw the devotee to God-dess automatically like the senses are drawn to their objects. When natural attraction begins, the need for external observances ends. Devotion is the activity of the soul, not the body, to which external observances relate. When the natural devotion of the soul awakens, the soul regulates the activities of the body and senses spontaneously. Natural devotion supersedes the dangers and conflicts of moral life and the strain and stress caused by obligations of a moral nature. Natural devotion provides a spiritually complete life. It frees one from the sense of “should,” which refers to an incomplete process and calls for striving and accomplishing. Natural devotion provides a life fulfilled in love free of external prohibitions. Regulated love is not true love. It may train one to love, but love conditioned by will and custom is love without zest. Natural devotion sublimates intimate human emotions. Parents’ love for their children or a person’s love for his or her lover is natural and intense. In natural devotion, we direct intense, spontaneous love to God-dess. Although supremely effective, it remains a way to develop devotion, not the goal. Natural devotion follows the ideal devotional attachment of Radha-Krishna’s eternal associates described in devotional writings as model individuals. While their associates exist in several broad categories of devotional relationship—namely: peaceful, servant, friend, parent, and lover—we and most of Chaitanya’s followers focus on the sweet sentiment of amorous love as between lover and beloved. We follow the ideal of Radha’s confidential, female friends in Braj. They are based on ancient Indian role models that may not fully satisfy the devotional needs of contemporary Westerners. Therefore, we freely re-imagine a more contemporary vision since Radha-Krishna remain ever fresh and new, expand their pastimes unlimitedly, and respond according to our approach. Natural devotion imitates perfect devotion. A person in a physical body cannot attain the perfect devotion of the eternal associates, whose bodies are divine bliss. Natural devotion prepares us to attain it ultimately in our perfect transcendental body. As long as we remain in a physical body we go on hearing, chanting, and performing other devotional practices outwardly, while inwardly we imagine ourselves in a transcendental body serving Radha-Krishna constantly. Constant meditation or remembrance makes the transcendental love sports come alive. We enter those sports in the imagination, and by serving Radha- Krishna in a devotional mood, we experience the ecstasy of vicariously enjoying their bliss. The practitioner’s imagined spiritual body is not wholly imaginary. It constitutes a mental image of the spiritual body God-dess imparts to the devotee out of infinite grace. God-dess imparts a transcendental body like the one imagined because it is essential for enjoyment of that particular mode of devotion. The imaginary spiritual body the devotee contemplates exists as an imperfect replica of the spiritual body attained at the perfection of devotion. The imaginary, contemplated spiritual body constitutes the actual spiritual body in the making. We cannot become Radha, Krishna, or one of their eternal associates like Lalita or Bishaka. We can attain a unique, eternal relationship with them similar to that of the eternal associate we emulate. We remain eternally our own individual spiritual self and do not become someone else, except in the sense of changing from a material to a spiritual body. Remembrance, contemplation, and assisting the love-play of Radha-Krishna through the medium of an imaginary spiritual body comprise the essence of natural devotion. Natural devotion emphasizes a spontaneous approach to Goddess by cultivating an eternal relationship with Radha-Krishna. In the erotic relationship, considered the highest loving relationship attainable, we become intimate friends of Radha and experience the greatest 11
Page 1 and 2: The Way of Natural Devotion Devoti
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Page 13 and 14: DIVINE NAMES AND MANTRAS God-dess
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The Way of Natural Devotion - Universalist Radha-Krishnaism

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