Author: Swami B.V. Tripurari
Publisher: Harmonist Publishers, 1998

In his introduction to Sri Guru-parampara, Swami B.V. Tripurari says the essay's purpose is 'to examine the sensitive issue of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's critique of prevalent practices in the [Gaudiya Vaisnava] sampradaya and his analysis of the modalities of raganuga-sadhana'. Tripurari Maharaja then clearly, directly and systematically confronts criticisms of the line of Gaudiya Vaisnavism issuing from Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, and in doing so demonstrates its authenticity without the high degree of contentiousness that often attends this controversy.

The booklet begins by exploring the aspect of raganuga-bhakti commonly practised by Bhaktivinoda and Bhaktisiddhanta's contemporaries, known as the siddha-pranali system. As ISKCON devotees are aware, Bhaktisiddhanta and his followers have not emphasised this practice. This is partly because its too-liberal dissemination has historically resulted in immoral behaviour disguised as spontaneous devotion, which has in turn diminished public regard for Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's movement. The qualification for this initiation has generally been the candidates' eagerness for knowledge of their eternal relationship with Krsna in Vraja. However, citing Jiva Goswami, Visvanatha Cakravarti and Bhaktivinoda, Tripurari Maharaja clarifies Bhaktisiddhanta's distinction between immature desire and the mature eagerness that develops from genuine spiritual progress. Such mature desire for perfection, he says, arises naturally from the positive attachment to Krsna based on freedom from material desire, as described by Rupa Goswami. Thus, as Tripurari Maharaja points out, 'Bhaktisiddhanta appears to have rejected siddha-pranali-diksa, while in reality he rejected its misappropriation' [emphasis added]. Indeed, Maharaja appends a short lecture in which Bhaktisiddhanta tells his disciples, 'Do not think that astakaliya-lila smarana is the property of the sahajiyas. Actually it is our affair. It has to be retrieved from the hands of the sahajiyas.'

Maharaja explains that Bhaktisiddhanta's approach to raganuga-bhakti stresses kirtana, enhanced by chanting the traditional Gaudiya-Vaisnava-mantras, more than smaranam. Moreover, he broadened the understanding of kirtana to include practical activities for disseminating Lord Caitanya's teachings, especially the production and distribution of transcendental literature. Swami Tripurari cites many sources asserting the pre-eminence of kirtana, including Srimad-Bhagavatam and Sri Caitanya-caritamrta. Bhaktisiddhanta's approach was somewhat innovative; however, Maharaja demonstrates its roots in tradition predating the siddha-pranali system. The chanting of the holy name is the prime purificatory activity for Kali-yuga and is accessible to all without any discrimination. This system, Tripurari Maharaja writes, neither ignores nor prematurely imitates the esoteric practices of raganuga-bhakti; rather, it prepares the practitioners by purifying their hearts, ensuring gradual progress, from initial sraddha through the anartha-nivrtti stage, so the sadhakas may realise their spiritual identity in truth rather than in imagination.

This booklet also explores the nature of the sampradaya as conceived by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati. In response to the degeneration of many venerable lines of succession, Bhaktivinoda, and, following his explicit instruction, Bhaktisiddhanta, sought to reform the Gaudiya Vaisnava-sampradaya by stressing the substance over apparent form. Therefore, in pursuance of this end, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta fashioned such an essential lineage, consisting of universally acknowledged maha-bhagavatas, thus making the important teachings of the most prominent lines accessible to all sincere devotees. This essential sampradaya may be called a bhagavata- or siksa-sampradaya. The outward form is less important than essential spiritual ideal, the Swami explains. Such is the nature of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's revolution.

What is the significance of all this to ISKCON devotees? Tripurari Maharaja has written this booklet to encourage all devotees, including those in ISKCON, to understand the nature of their spiritual heritage. It often seems that ISKCON's focus on A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, its Founder/acarya, has isolated ISKCON and its leaders from the rest of the spiritual family that Maharaja calls the 'Bhaktivinoda-parivara'. This isolation, together with Srila Prabhupada's caution regarding the particulars of cultivating spontaneous devotion, Maharaja suggests, has limited the society's impact and perhaps stunted the growth of its members' devotional creepers. Following Srila Prabhupada and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta, ISKCON's leaders teach that following the process of vaidhi-sadhana-bhakti and vigorously preaching Krsna consciousness will automatically deliver the practitioner to the goal. Tripurari Maharaja wants to remind them that that goal is to develop an inner desire for Vraja-bhakti. This desire, he says, 'is the spiritual heritage of ISKCON'. ISKCON's leaders, then, should ensure that service to the movement actually yields such desires; further, they should be prepared to help devotees cultivate those desires as they mature. More than this, though, Maharaja suggests that an honest connection with the rest of Bhaktivinoda's family and an increased focus on the essential mission in all its forms would enhance ISKCON's potency.

Many ISKCON leaders may tend to resist this advice. They will see Tripurari Maharaja as an 'outsider' whose stress on 'substance' over 'form' is code for neglecting the institution Srila Prabhupada worked so hard to establish and exhorted his disciples to maintain. However, this article itself provides evidence that such suspicions may be mistaken. The booklet's tone indicates that Maharaja wrote it in a mood of service to ISKCON and the other preaching missions following Bhaktisiddhanta. Its purpose appears not to criticise any institution, but to critique it with an eye to extending the principle of 'unity in diversity' among all preaching missions. The author advocates revival, not rejection.

It may be that the author's tone is as significant as the essay's subject. Tripurari Maharaja's essay may be an example of what communication scholars have come to call 'invitational argument'. Such a rhetorical approach is concerned less with dominance than with inviting interlocutors into a conversation based on mutual regard and exploration. This may be a model of dialogue more appropriate for discussions among devotees than the more antagonistic response to controversies arising in the movement over the past few years. Maharaja points out that his essay is somewhat exploratory, meant more to open discussion than to close it down. In his introduction he writes, 'I offer this article as food for thought and with openness to information that I may not be aware of that might alter its conclusions... .' Scholars who read Sri Guru-prampara will apprehend more clearly the dynamic nature of the Krsna consciousness movement. Leaders and preachers within the movement who read this booklet — including those in ISKCON — may be better prepared to defend the sampradaya they serve when asked about apparent deviations from Gaudiya traditions or apparent gaps in the lineage. If those who accept Tripurari Maharaja's invitation also examine its manner of presentation, they may benefit from both its substance and its form.

Babhru Dasa