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Chapter One: Rāgamayī Bhakti and Its Vaishnava Tradition

An ineffable, eternal Reality, whose nature is Existence, Consciousness, and Bliss, pervades all as vibhū, the Infinite. It has two forms. One is nirguṇa, formless and immutable; the other is the supreme abode of all majesty, sweetness, bliss, beauty, and inconceivably infinite auspicious qualities. The many saguṇa forms all belong to that one Reality. Its eternal, conscious, divine abodes are many, and its eternal, conscious, divine līlā, which enchants the moving and the unmoving creation, is infinite. In those divine abodes, that same all-pervading nirguṇa Brahman becomes saguṇa and eternally sports in manifold forms. Just as the nirguṇa form is all-pervading, so too is the saguṇa form present everywhere. All the saguṇa forms and all their līlās are eternally present everywhere. No conception of space or time applies there.

That perfect Reality consists of infinite aiśvarya and mādhurya. The object of worship has two principal attributes: (1) paratva, transcendence; and (2) saulabhya, gracious accessibility. Aiśvarya is paratva, while mādhurya is saulabhya.¹ In some manifestations the splendour of aiśvarya shines forth especially; in others, the lovely radiance of the beauty of mādhurya. In aiśvarya, the Lord abides in his supreme majesty, while the jīva remains enclosed within its littleness. He is vibhū, the Infinite; the jīva is aṇu, infinitesimal. Yet a relationship exists between them: that of master and servant. The foundation of this relationship is the jīva's eternal kaiṅkarya, constant prapatti, and unbroken śaraṇāgati. Here vaidhi-bhakti operates; under the direction of the Vedas and the scriptures, it develops in sequence from hearing and chanting through complete self-offering.² This regulated devotion continues until bhāva arises.

But wherever the Lord's mādhurya is predominant, ruci-bhakti, or rāgamayī-bhakti, manifests. For aspirants whose disposition is rooted in rāga, there is rāgamayī-bhakti; for those whose disposition is rooted in prescribed rule, there is vaidhi-bhakti. In vaidhi-bhakti, close attention is paid to injunctions and prohibitions, and great importance is given to the sixteenfold ritual worship. Vaidhi-bhakti is practised according to scriptural direction. While observing Vedic rites and the rules of varṇāśrama-dharma, the devotee retains toward the Lord a particular attitude of fear, reverence, and awed reserve. This is devotion in which aiśvarya predominates. In it, toward action and religious duty—