Reflections on Sacred Teachings

Volume Two: Madhurya Kadambini

Madhurya-Kadambini, written by the great Vaisnava saint Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, gradually progresses through eight stages that an aspiring spiritualist must traverse before reaching the ultimate goal—pure love of God. Reflections on Sacred Teachings: Volume II will attempt to present these stages in an applicable way for all devotees and spiritualists ready to make that glorious march on the path towards pure love. In each chapter, beginning with the First Shower of Nectar and ending with the Eighth Shower of Nectar, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti elaborates on each stage in the process of devotional service which includes sraddha (faith), sadhu-sangah (association with devotees), bhajana-kriya (performance of devotional service to Krishna under the guidance of a spiritual master), anartha-nivrttih (the diminishing of all unwanted habits), nistha (firm faith), asaktih (attachment), bhava (emotion or affection), and prema (pure love of God). We then attempt to further elaborate on his delineations by extracting the essence of each shower of nectar in corresponding chapters.

We begin by searching out the cause of bhakti or devotion to God since it does not depend on rituals, rules, austerities, or even the ninefold process of devotion. It is independent and it is locked up in the hearts of the devotees of the Lord who can shower us with their mercy if we open ourselves up to receive. From this point, we take the discussion deeper into an analysis of effort versus mercy, a topic of interest for all spiritualists seeking the mercy of the Lord. Although we must put forth our full effort in serving and executing our duty, we must realize that the results never depend on us; rather, we depend on the mercy.

Devotional service begins with faith, but we must be careful how we repose our faith. Our quality of faith is essential in our progressive march since strong faith will carry us closer to the Lord during the trials on the path rather than farther away. Srila Visvanatha also helps us understand the causes of distress so that we can protect ourselves when they arise, but truly elevated devotees only feel distress out of their desire to serve Krishna more and out of their sorrow for the suffering of other people. After the stages of sraddha and sadhu-sangah, the devotee will begin to perform devotional service under the guidance of a spiritual master while trying to rid themselves of unwanted desires.

Anartha-nivrtti is a significant step on this path because bhakti or devotion is always about the heart and these unwanted desires will prevent the bhakti from manifesting in our hearts. However, we always want to be about growth which means that we not only look at the consequences of not properly dealing with these unwanted desires, but we also examine Srila Visvanatha’s prescriptions to deal with the problem.

The final stages, nistha, asaktih, and bhava, all progressively accelerate the devotee’s attachment and love for the Lord until he or she reaches the ultimate goal of pure, unadulterated love of God. As the devotee develops prema, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti describes how the Lord reciprocates with His servant who has weathered many challenges in His service. The Lord feels indebted to such a surrendered soul and unable to repay him or her, and the servant simultaneously feels unworthy of the benediction that the Lord now offers through His personal association. This ultimate reciprocation of love leaves the devotee in indescribable states of ecstasy.  

The description of this most confidential stage of prema can help us maintain our enthusiasm as we gradually traverse the previous seven stages. We endeavor to present ways to apply Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s teachings in our daily lives because we want to move beyond theory and make tangible advancement. Therefore, it is essential for us to take practical steps to make progress and understand our short-term goals within each stage on this path so that we can ultimately attain prema or pure love of God.