Ram Bhakti Mein Rasik Sampraday (book review)

The cult of Krishna Vaishnavism is theologically rich and accessible. Gaudiya Vaishnavas have embellished Krishna Bhakti with scriptural sanction, a convincing doctrine of love, and a celebratory allure that must be seen to be believed. A few Vaishnava cults make Krishna subservient to Radha. If Krishna is our Soul, then Radha is the Soul of Krishna. Therefore, unlike Lakshmi and Vishnu, Radha and Krishna are not portrayed as husband and wife. Lakshmi sits at the feet of Vishnu, while it is Krishna who sits at Radha’s feet indulging her. This speaks of her exalted position. Their love is parkiya, extra-conjugal, although attempts have been made to legitimize their relationship. Contemplation of their dalliance is the fruit of devotion. 

The idea of a Self (Atma) within all beings is accepted in Bhakti traditions, but it is not threshed out like it is done in the knowledge traditions of Vedanta. Bhakti cults do have recourse to philosophical concepts of Atman and Brahman but as as pitstops before they can negotiate the racing lane of worship and adoration. The Self of the Vedanta is homogeneous, pure, and simple---the relation-less Absolute.  

The Vaishnava tradition bolts out of this simplistic view of reality. They propose that the Self houses a transcendental body, the svarupa that is unique to each jiva. By rendering devotional service to Bhagwan, the innate svarupa manifests itself. Our spiritual being is an eternal part of Bhagwan and its fulfillment lies in serving Him selflessly. The svarupa encases our spiritual DNA that carries the imprint of our relationship with the Paramatma (the Supreme Self). Realization that stops with the recognition of  one's identity with Atman is an inferior attainment, arrogance of liberation, nay, spiritual suicide because in choosing to merge into the Divine, one forgoes the bliss of eternal servitude to the Divine. The good news is this divine reality is a Personality.

Vedantists analyze reality in terms of the cause of causes, the grand receptacle, non-dual, pure consciousness. However, according to Vaishnavas, the exploding truth of these conceptions is a personality, an anthropomorphic one at that. They don't put up with a relation-less absolute of the Upanishads. The intangible Atma is superseded by an imagined devotional commerce. The devotee is  free to weave his sob stories of sweet anguish. Once the basic theology is accepted, bhakti cults too show strong moorings in philosophy.       

What is this Divine Personality engaged in? He is very much active in Goloka which is the chinmay loka (situated in or made of consciousness). Vaishnavas believe that the Brahman in which Vedantins merge their identity is mere effulgence emanating from this Loka. It's the impersonal light of the bulb as against the filament, which is a personality! When Bhagwan incarnated as Krishna, He enacted a watered-down version of His pastimes in the celestial Goloka. Even as an infant, He destroyed demons; as a five-year old, danced on the ’hoods’ of a spitting cobra; shepherded cows; stole butter in the neighbourhood with His friends for the joy of it; stole away the clothes of maidens bathing in Yamuna; held a mountain on his little finger, and went on a blissful date with the maidens of Vrindavan on a moonlit night proliferating His form to accompany each Gopi in the dance famously known as Raas.

It was a life more eventful, with all the elements of ‘feeling and emotion’ we are familiar with. This Lord revels in human interaction. His eternal abode houses an extended family of all living beings who have realized their kinship with Him. That kinship could be of a leaf on a tree in Goloka where it serves the Lord by hanging in there and rustling in the wind.

The Bhakti tradition recognizes the following sentiments by which a devotee enters into a relationship with the Lord:

• Shant bhav: The attitude of passive service like the cows and trees of Vrindavan. Some believe that this bhav does not exist in Goloka. How can their be passivity in devotion when Lord Himself is willing to receive your service!
• Dasya bhav: The attitude of servitude on realizing Lord’s Aishvarya (opulence).
• Sakhya bhav: The attitude of a friend who treats God as His equal. He is relaxed in the company of the Bhagwan and even cracks jokes to entertain Him.
• Vatsalaya bhav: The attitude of being the protector (parent or elder) of the Bhagwan. The devotee effaces the idea of Lord's magnificence and savours His child-like innocence.
• Shringara bhav: The attitude of a paramour. Now, within this there are two attitudes Parkiya and Svakiya. Where Parkiya is an illicit relationship and Svakiya is the within the bounds of matrimony. This attitude is accorded the highest status in the devotional hierarchy.  

Rasa is the experience of a sentiment expressed in an emotion (bhav). Bhav ‘may’ kindle rasa. You practise a bhav to experience its rasa. Engaged in the service of Bhagwan, devotees experience the rasa of their respective sentiment. Those who have begun to experience it are rasikas. The term is used only for devotees who accept the Lord as their sole possession. A person like me, who perfunctorily lights a lamp and mutters prayers the pace of which depends on the time saved from reading the newspaper or WhatsApp messages, is not a rasika.   

Where am I going with all this? I just finished reading a fine book on the rasik tradition in Ram Bhakti. For someone brought to admire the moral virtuoso of Bhagwan Rama, I was bothering my pretty little head about the Rama cult being limited in its devotional aspects when compared to the myriad approaches taken by Krishna Bhaktas and the pile of literature celebrating the madhurya bhakti of Radha-Krishna, which attracts devotees to this cult. Without learning it from the book, logic suggested that being Maryada Purushottama (best among those adhering to the code of conduct), Shree Rama affords a limited spectrum for contemplation of His pastimes. He does not come across as colorful as Krishna.    

The book dispels this notion completely. Rather, all that is vulnerable in Krishna cult is well-protected in the Rasika tradition of Ram Bhakti. It also establishes the supremacy of Lord Rama as the incarnator (Avatari) and not the incarnated (Avatar) by giving copious references from scriptures like the Krishna Bhaktas do. If your faith is at the mercy of scriptural authority, be prepared to meet a God who is godlier than the one you worship. The author does not rule out the Krishnaite influence on this tradition, but it is not a rip off either. Some Sanskrit writers, probably outside the rasika tradition, have virtually lost sight of Rama’s maryada and have unreservedly described His romantic escapades. But, the rasika tradition has kept this tendency in check.

The rasika tradition in Ram Bhakti is obviously not much publicized. Their literary compositions were handed down strictly within the tradition and much of it is still in the safekeeping of ashrams and akhadas. The author singlehandedly has unearthed about 1,000 books of the Ram Rasika tradition. 250 of them are in Sanskrit. This tradition claims its continuity from the Ramananda Sampraday which is an offshoot of Sri Sampraday of Ramanaujacharya. However, Agradas, the guru of Sri Nabhadas (author of Bhaktmaal), is considered the progenitor of this tradition within the Ramanand Sampradaya.

What also contributed to almost eclipsing this aspect of Ram Bhakti was Gowami Tulsidas’ Ramcharitmanas. It was a tour de force of dasya bhav in Rama Bhakti. It, along with Valmiki Ramayana, established Rama as Maryada Purushottam and that image remains unshakeable since. Not that these books are totally devoid of shringara rasa (romantic mellow); it is within the bounds of propriety, though.   

The term rasika certainly applies to those in the sentiment of madhurya. Majority has voted out shanta bhav practitioner from being classified as a rasika. Some even keep out dasya. Because unless the Aishvarya (magnificence) aspect is relinquished for the aspect of sweetness one cannot be called a Rasika. While other sentiments may also arise in a devotee, the predominant sentiment to which a devotee returns, the sthayi bhav, is acknowledged.

Even among themselves rasikas maintain the propriety of a relationship with Rama in the centre. Interestingly, a Rasika who identifies himself with the vatsalya bhav (say he assumes the bhav of an elder brother of Rama) announces his arrival in the ashram so that the followers of the sakhya bhav on Seetaji’s side can retire to inner quarters. Rasikas display a mastery of psychoanalysis. They have instituted disciplines that nurture one’s bhav and help establish in it. There are many classes of companions and accordingly they are given the names of ali, manjari, sakhi, etc., But, unlike some Krishna Bhakti traditions, men in this tradition don’t dress up as women. Madhurya here is an inner practice. 

Seetaji is the mother of the creation. She is Rama's Mula-Prakriti and the Pleasure Principle. Rama and Seeta are a single Soul inhabiting two bodies. She enjoys the exalted status like Radha except that her relationship is more legitimate. A devotee’s happiness lies in pleasing the divine couple Seeta Ram. When Rama touches Seetaji, it is as pleasurable to those in their service as it is to Seetaji. Much as the Mardaya Purushottam aspect of the Lord is touted to be the hallmark of Rama’s earthly sojourn, it is not an encumbrance in His divine abode Saket. There, He has eight other queens (Patrani) besides Seetaji who is of course the most beloved. These queens in turn have their female companions (sakhis).  

Like I said earlier, this loka is Divine, all its constituents are fashioned out of consciousness. It is the eternal dhaam (divine abode) where His leela (Divine Play) is acted out day after day. It is interesting to note that Hanumanji is the principal sakhi of Rama with the name Charusheela. He straddles both dasya bhav and madhurya bhav. Some of the notable saints in this tradition are incarnations of these sakhis. The tradition believes that men when they meet the Lord are rendered feminine. In a sense, except Rama the sole enjoyer (bhokta), everybody else is female, the enjoyed.

He resides in Kanak Bhavan. In the morning, he is woken up by the crooning of female inmates. As they wake up, designated companions set right their garments. Later, they offer water and beetle leaf to the divine couple. The divine couple takes bath in a pool, adorns new clothes, visits their parents, uncles, teachers, and other elders. The citizens of Saket throng to see Rama when He is out on the streets with his regalia. Rama enjoys the company of His friends, with whom He has His lunch, followed by a trip to the woods and gardens. In the evening, returns to dine with His parents. At night, He is with His queens and other sakhis. To please the Lord, even seasons manifest out of season. We find everything in Saket except death and decay. Although, it is reported that he sometimes enacts pastimes of bhibhatsa rasa (revulsion), for instance killing a demon,...remember, how Lord Narasimha tore open Hiranyakashipu's belly with His claws and hung the intestines around Himself. That's action genre for you!   

Based on one’s svarupa and the concomitant sentiment, one’s duties are fixed. Those in the dasya and vatsalaya bhav don’t take part in rendering services of the inner chamber. Later, some saints have claimed for dasa access to the goings-on of the inner chamber. In a long tradition, you are bound to meet rebellion here and there and witness nitty-gritty trifle overdone. Mind you, all this not a posthumous placement of a jiva. Even while alive, he can take part in this divine adventure through his transcendental body. Reality, it seems, is not a frugal essence like Atma. It is a lavish adventure.

The book packs the entire theology, historical background, snippets from the works of saints in this tradition and a brief biography of important rasika saints. Bhakti traditions, of both Rama and Krishna, have carved out a fantastic world of rapturous delight and narratives evocative of sublime emotions for the faithful to revel in.

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