The Author’s Submission
Most practitioners of rasika worship perform the eight-watch devotion in the disposition of Chitrakoot, where paramour love reaches its highest limit. It must certainly be admitted that some unqualified people have introduced distortions into the literature of this worship. Yet if we recoil from those distortions and remain at a distance, thereby depriving ourselves of study and reflection upon the tradition’s healthy literature, that will be our misfortune. This is largely why grave injustice has been done to the literature. I now see, however, that scholarly attention has begun to turn in this direction and that the works are being studied with comparatively greater interest and sympathy. This is an auspicious sign.
The collection of material took approximately a year and a half, involving thousands of miles of travel and thousands of rupees in expenditure. By Hari’s grace I had firmly resolved that I would rest only after completing the work. The Lord is the wish-fulfilling tree of devotees’ desires, and he watered my aspiration with his love. I completed the book after living in Kashi for about a year and a half and drinking the water of the Ganga.
As each chapter was written and typed, I showed it to Sri Kaviraj Ji and Sri Dwivedi Ji. Both guided me with great affection and sympathy. Before preparing the press copy, I wished to show it to several more experienced saints and practitioners of rasika worship. Before me were Swami Sri Sharananand Ji Maharaj, Sri Akhandanand Ji Maharaj, and Swami Sri Chakradhar Ji. A copy of the manuscript was sent to Sri Kaviraj Ji for examination. Swami Chakradhar Ji Maharaj lovingly examined the opening two chapters; following his direction, I made necessary corrections, alterations, and additions. Sri Kaviraj Ji remained the bearer of the thread from beginning to end. Despite an extreme scarcity of time, Brother Sri Dwivedi Ji periodically illuminated my path with invaluable suggestions.
When I look back upon this period of three years, at every step I behold the miraculous effects of the Lord’s grace and the saints’ blessings. It seems that the Lord made an unqualified and ignorant person such as me his instrument and himself completed his own work.
Several intentions connected with the book remained confined within my mind. I wished to make a systematic literary evaluation of this entire literature from the perspectives of rasa, metre, poetic ornament, and related disciplines. I also considered undertaking a comparative review of Krishna devotion’s sweet worship, Sufi sweet worship, and Christian bridal devotion alongside that of Rama devotion. I further desired to conduct a psychological analysis of the entire body of literature. Yet because of limited time and the severe pressure of life’s work, these aspirations remained within my mind. If the Lord wills it, these topics may be included in a second edition.
For approximately three years, during the summer and festival holidays, I composed this book while living in the solitary room beneath the bilva tree at Dr. V. L. Atreya’s “Atreya Nivas” in Kashi—