Monday Morning Greetings 2025 #41 – Have I become a Sahajiyā?

Usually, a few drops on the head and then quickly in and out. But the weather is so warm and the water so ambrosial. Ah! Wading in Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Suddenly a thought comes:

This is liquid rādhā-prema. Who am I to wade in her waters? I offer a prayer and then quickly get out. Another thought comes.

Have I become a sahajiyā?

The word sahajiyā comes from the root words saha (easy) and ja (born). Sahajiyā thus refers to one whose actions and emotions mimic advanced devotion. In other words, they are artificially or easily born, without the requisite qualification or sacrifice. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s spiritual master, strongly condemned those who prematurely imitate advanced devotion (rāgānugā-bhakti). A tract he authored titled “Prākṛta-rasa Śata-dūṣaṇī” (One Hundred Condemnations of Material Rasa) best expresses his view. Two excerpts:

“If transcendental attachment has not yet developed within the heart, a devotee is never said to have attained the stage of ecstatic bhāva. The followers of spontaneous devotion (rāgānugas) never say that neophyte students of devotion (sādhakas) have experienced the awakening of bhāva.” (Prākṛta-rasa Śata-dūṣaṇī, Verse 8)

“Rūpānugās (followers of Rūpa) never eliminate the systematic path of bhakti. One should not climb a tree, grab the fruits and pull them off by force.” (Prākṛta-rasa-śata-dūṣaṇī, verse 57)

Naturally Śrīla Prabhupāda followed his spiritual master and condemned imitators. Here’s his view specifically concerning bathing in Rādhā-kuṇḍa:

“Has he taken order from Guru Maharaja that ‘I am going to jump over Rādhā-kuṇḍa’? … Why should he desire like that? … There is no harm, but they should understand what is Rādhā-kuṇḍa and how to deal with Rādhā-kuṇḍa. Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī showed how to live in Rādhā-kuṇḍa … He can take bath in the Rādhā-kuṇḍa. First of all, do this like Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.” (August 16, 1976 — Room Conversation, Bombay)

But in his books, he said the opposite:

“Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī recommends that even if one cannot live permanently on the banks of Rādhā-kuṇḍa, he should at least take a bath in the lake as many times as possible. This is a most important item in the execution of devotional service. (Nectar of Instruction Verse 11, purport)

Which is it?

I bathe there. Am I following Śrīla Prabhupāda or not?

I try to follow both. I can neither neglect that it is the most important item in devotional service recommended by Śrīla Rupa Goswami endorsed in Śrīla Prabhupāda’s purports, nor neglect Śrīla Prabhupāda’s warning. It is the most sacred and important item of devotional service. We are not qualified to take advantage of it. I thus bathe in this mood:

Śrī Rādhā-kuṇḍa is liquid rādhā-prema and my body is beyond noxious. I have no qualification to touch her waters, but because Śrīla Rupa Goswami ordered us to bathe, only by his mercy, and in the most reverent mood, I humbly touch her waters.

Am I a sahajiyā?

Yes, if I wade carelessly in her waters with a sense of entitlement and enjoyment.

No, If I can enter with the humblest intent.

Different Vaiṣṇavas may reconcile those instructions in different ways. I respect that. But one thing is sure. Rādhā-kuṇḍa is the most exalted place in the universe and must be approached with the utmost humility. If we don’t, indeed we are sahajiyās!