0:27connection between those stages, and stages of how we go deeper into meditation, infiltration, meditation, and then eventually to samadhi.
0:46Yes, in Bhakti Sandarbha, Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhupada describes five stages of the anga of Bhakti, called smarana. First, smarana, dharana, dhyana, dhruvanusmriti, and then samadhi. So, also, in Bhakti Sandarbha, he speaks about the gradual internal sphurti, or realization that comes from chanting: nama, rupa, guna, parikara, lila. But he doesn't tie these two together. But they must be related. So, actually, there's a book by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur called Chaitanya-shikshamrita, and really it's the only place where this is being directly correlated. So in Chaitanya Shikshamrita,
1:41Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that you do nama-smarana, rupa-dhyana, guna-dhyana, then lila-dhruvanusmriti and then lila-avesha, you yourself enter into the lila in the state of samadhi. So this is how how the five stages of smarana relate to the five stages of realization: nama, rupa, guna, lila, and entering yourself in your spiritual form into the lila.
2:35Yes, vraja-rasika-shiksha. Sri Gurudev, a person who is not at the level of shraddha and anartha-nivritti, and does not receive the darshan of Krishna, is it possible that this person does smarana?
3:10Smarana cannot take place until the citta has become shuddha.
3:24That the citta is free from destruction. It became ekagra, one-pointed, free from tiredness, laziness, and it became clear. And then by hearing and chanting, automatically the form of Krishna awakens in the heart. If when hearing and chanting the form of Krishna is not awakening in the heart, then the heart is not pure, or you are committing namaparadha, so then some artificial kind of smarana will not make you become free from namaparadha, and smarana itself cannot purify the heart, but rather the heart must be purified before the smarana can take place, it's a prerequisite, that's why in the angas of bhakti, it's sravanam, kirtanam, smarana, not smaranam, sravanam, kirtan starts with hearing and chanting because these two angas of bhakti are necessary to make one qualified for the next anga of bhakti, smaranam.
4:29But still a person may try to remember because a person is serving the deity so they can remember the form of their deity or they may know some verse glorifying Krishna,
5:28so covered with many anarthas. He has faith in archana. That's the definition of the kaniṣṭhādhikārī.
5:55He believes, oh my guru is great and Krishna the deity is great, but he cannot appreciate, so that's why the tendency of the materialistic devotees to become very sectarian, they cannot understand that guru-tattva is manifest in his guru but also in other person's gurus as well, so in that prākṛta stage, the materialistic stage, first stage of devotion, the devotee doesn't actually understand bhakti-tattva, he only has some trust in the path of arcā, so he's thinking that he's doing kirtan, he's thinking that he's doing kirtan, he's thinking that he's he's doing smarana, but he's doing archana and he's hearing, chanting and remembering are sublimbs, they are the sub-angas of the anga of archana. When he enters into the madhyama stage, then he starts to understand bhakti-tattva and actual śravaṇa and kīrtana begins. Because actual śravaṇa means when you hear about Krishna, you are seeing Krishna. Actual kīrtana means when you are chanting of Krishna, the form of Krishna is reflected in your heart. Actual smarana means meditating on the
7:07reflection of Krishna in your actual reflection for searching for the samskaras of a previous realization. Understand? So because not always said, 'yena kenapāyena bhaktiḥ purnā bhavet', all the nine angas of bhakti become completed just by now chanting the holy name. So the chanting of the holy name does not require the extra effort to do smarana, it does not require extra effort to do archana or anything. Everything is included in that, in Harinama. But that is for those who have entered into
8:03Not just the outer practice. So the first 20 limbs of bhakti, beginning with guru-pādāśraya, dīkṣā-guru-sevā, sādhu-mārganugamanam, taking shelter of guru, receiving initiation, inquiring, and rendering service to guru with deep faith, and following in the footsteps of previous Acharyas, like these are the first five, it goes on. So the first twenty angas of bhakti, Rupa Goswami said, actually this is only the praveśa-dvāra, the door to enter into bhakti.
8:40So mainly, mainly we are seeing that the devotees are in the first prākṛta stage for generally quite some time before they actually enter into bhakti and realize what is real śravaṇa, real kīrtana and real smarana. So this is confusion or some apparent contradiction comes about among the neophytes because they don't discriminate between tattva-vicāra, the actual bhakti-tattva and just the general understanding that is called aparā-vicāra, just the general material consideration or understanding of the scripture or the words of scripture.
9:28So that's we'll discuss it today, we'll come in our morning class, about the different levels of devotees.
9:38So in those who are madhyama in vaidhi-bhakti, then śāstra-yukti na hijani, the madhyama in vaidhi-bhakti, he has strong faith, but he cannot understand the śāstra-yukti, the logic of the scriptures, the presentation, what is this? Why does it say you have to be pure before you can do smara? There may be certain things that he cannot grasp yet, because he has not entered into the śuddha-bhakti. So these things we'll discuss in the morning class. So everyone should come back. What time is the morning class? 11 o'clock. And perhaps it will be in here. Yes. Right? Because outside is a bit wet and cold now. So take a break first on a prasadam and we'll meet you here at 11 o'clock.
10:34Granthraj Srimad Bhagavatam ki jai!
