{"id":650,"date":"2013-04-16T08:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-04-16T12:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vnn.org\/vaisnava-news\/?p=650"},"modified":"2023-01-04T18:45:48","modified_gmt":"2023-01-04T23:45:48","slug":"kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vaishnava-news-network.org\/vaisnava-news\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\/","title":{"rendered":"Kirtana in Raganuga Sadhana"},"content":{"rendered":"

April 15, 2013 (VNN) –\u00a0by Vic DiCara \/ Vraja Kishor<\/p>\n

\"Radha<\/a>
Radha and Krishna hand-drawing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is nothing \u201chigher\u201d or \u201cmore intimate\u201d than\u00a0hari-nama-samkirtan<\/em>, nor is there anything more basic and practical. It is the central cynosure of all stages of bhakti:\u00a0prema, bhava<\/em>, and both types of\u00a0sadhana-<\/em>\u00a0vaidhi<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0raganuga.<\/em><\/p>\n

If there is a doubt that kirtana is the main focus of\u00a0raganuga<\/em>\u00a0practice, I would like to show how kirtana is indicated in all three of Sri Rupa Goswami\u2019s three verses defining the practice of\u00a0raganuga-sadhana<\/em>\u00a0(Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu 1.2.294-296).<\/p>\n

The first verse states:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
k\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u1e3f smaran jana\u1e3f c\u0101sya<\/em>
\npre\u1e63\u1e6dha\u1e3f nija-sam\u012bhitam<\/em>
\ntat-tat-kath\u0101-rata\u015b c\u0101sau<\/em>
\nkury\u0101d v\u0101sa\u1e3f vraje sad\u0101<\/em><\/td>\n		Remember Krishna along with the beloved person
\nwho epitomizes your own aspiration for devotion.
\nAlways delight in discussing their affection
\n<\/strong>And thus always live in Vraja<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

In this verse the word\u00a0katha\u00a0<\/em>is synonymous with\u00a0kirtan.<\/em>\u00a0The essence of\u00a0raganuga sadhana\u00a0<\/em>is to always glorify (kirtana\/katha)<\/em>\u00a0the names, forms, pastimes, and qualities of Krishna and the beloved devotee who epitomizes the perfection of your own devotional aspirations. By constantly performing such\u00a0kirtan<\/em>\u00a0you will always reside in the sacred realm, Vraja.<\/p>\n

If the description of\u00a0raganuga\u00a0<\/em>practices was left at\u00a0only\u00a0<\/em>this verse a misconception would be likely: that\u00a0raganuga\u00a0<\/em>is a practice done solely with the mind and voice. Therefore Sri Rupa adds another verse:
\n<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n
sev\u0101 s\u0101dhaka-r\u016bpe\u1e47a<\/em>
\nsiddha-r\u016bpe\u1e47a c\u0101tra hi<\/em>
\ntad-bh\u0101va-lipsun\u0101 k\u0101ry\u0101<\/em>
\nvraja-lok\u0101nus\u0101rata\u1e25<\/em><\/td>\n		Infuse your practices in this world
\nWith the desire to attain the mood
\nOf the services you desire in your perfected form
\nAs a resident of Vraja<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

This verse clarifies that the mental and vocal aspect of\u00a0raganuga\u00a0<\/em>sadhana must be brought to bear upon ones practical activities as a\u00a0sadhaka.\u00a0<\/em>One must perform one\u2019s practical services\u00a0infused\u00a0<\/em>with the thoughts of how they correspond to the perfected services one desires to attain in the spiritual world.<\/p>\n

Raganuga-kirtan\u00a0<\/em>is different from\u00a0vaidhi-kirtan<\/em>\u00a0because the\u00a0vaidhika\u00a0<\/em>practitioner merely chants because he or she knows it is the best thing to do, and wants to do the right thing;\u00a0the\u00a0raganugika\u00a0<\/em>practitioner, however, additionally chants while inwardly feeling the correlation of the kirtan to the perfected services they desire: for example, singing and dancing in\u00a0rasa-lila<\/i>, singing for Radha-Krishna while they ride a boat in\u00a0Manasa Ganga, etc.<\/p>\n

If the\u00a0delineation\u00a0of\u00a0raganuga\u00a0<\/em>practices were left at only these two verses it would remain unclear exactly what this verse means. Does it mean that we should practically\u00a0imitate\u00a0our desired services, as some people do by dressing as gopis and physically imitating the activities of gopis; or does it mean that our practical services should reflect the\u00a0mood\u00a0<\/em>(\u201ctad-bhava\u201d) of such perfected services? To make it explicitly clear that he means the latter, Sri Rupa concludes with the following verse:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u015bravanot-k\u012brtan\u0101d\u012bni
\nvaidha-bhakty udit\u0101ni tu
\ny\u0101ny ang\u0101ni ca tany atra
\natra vij\u00f1ey\u0101ni man\u012b\u1e63ibhi\u1e25<\/td>\n		Hearing and chanting (kirtan)
\nI mentioned while discussing vaidhi-bhakti
\nThose practices must be applied here too
\nin a realized way, as understood by the wise<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

With this final verse on the subject, Sri Rupa explicitly states that the 64 limbs ofvaidhi-sadhana,\u00a0<\/em>of which hearing and chanting\u00a0(kirtana)<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em>are the most important, are\u00a0the vehicle through which the\u00a0raganuga\u00a0sadhaka<\/em>\u00a0cultivates constant\u00a0remembrance\u00a0of Krishna and his beloved, and through which the practitioner develops his or her own longing for and concept of participation in the loving relationship of Krishna and that beloved.<\/p>\n

Full Story >><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

April 15, 2013 (VNN) –\u00a0by Vic DiCara \/ Vraja Kishor There is nothing \u201chigher\u201d or \u201cmore intimate\u201d than\u00a0hari-nama-samkirtan, nor is there anything more basic and practical. It is the central … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":5,"footnotes":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[262,93,569,260,261],"class_list":["post-650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophy-commentary","tag-bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu","tag-kirtana","tag-notice","tag-raganuga","tag-sadhana","entry"],"yoast_head":"\nKirtana in Raganuga Sadhana - VNN - Vaishnava News Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There is nothing \u201chigher\u201d or \u201cmore intimate\u201d than hari-nama-samkirtan, nor is there anything more basic and practical.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/vaishnava-news-network.org\/vaisnava-news\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\/\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"VNN Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"VNN Staff\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/697219dd9c21dd216a0ea9f7de1cc9c9\"},\"headline\":\"Kirtana in Raganuga Sadhana\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-04-16T12:00:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-04T23:45:48+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":609,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/04\\\/300px-Radha-and-Krishna-hand-drawing-f.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Bhakti Rasamrita Sindhu\",\"kirtana\",\"notice\",\"Raganuga\",\"Sadhana\"],\"articleSection\":[\"PHILOSOPHY & COMMENTARY\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/vaishnava-news-network.org\\\/vaisnava-news\\\/kirtana-in-raganuga-sadhana\\\/\",\"name\":\"Kirtana in Raganuga Sadhana - 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