Sri Bhakti Rasamrta Sindhu Bindu (A Drop of the Nectarean Ocean of Bhakti Rasa)

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A through Sri Krsna supported the great weight of Govardhana, He was devoid of pride (santa). He smiled when He saw that the small boys were prepared to hold up the hill (hasya and vatsalya). He spat at the smell of musty yoghurt (bibhatsa). He displayed tremendous prowess to lift Govardhana in the presence of his beloved friends (sakhya and vira). He looked at Indra with red eyes (raudra). Tears came to His eyes when He saw the residents of Vraja tormented by the powerful wind and rain (karuna). He trembled before His respectful elders on account of having spoiled Indra’s yajna (dasya and bhayanaka). His eyes widened at the torrential downpour of water (adbhuta), and His hairs stood on end when He saw the younger girls (madhurya). May that Lord Giridhari protect you.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, the crown prince of illustrious teachers among the Gaudiya Vaisnava acaryas, is the author of the book. In this book there is a description of the nature of uttama-bhakti and its divisions, sadhana-bhakti, the stages in the development of prema, the limbs of bhajana, offences committed in the performance of devotional service (seva-aparadha), offences against the holy name (name-aparadha), vaidhi- and raganuga-sadhana-bhakti, bhavan-bhakri, prema-bhakti and bhakri-rasa.

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura appeared in a family of brahmanas from the community of Radhadesa in the district of Nadia, West Bengal. He was celebrated by the name Hari-vallabha. He had two older brothers named Ramabhadra and Raghunatha. In his childhood, he studied grammar in a village named Devagrama. After this he went to a village named Saiyadabad in the district of Mursidabad where he studies the bhakti-sastras in the home of his guru. It was in Saiyadabad that he wrote three books while still undergoing his studies. These three books are Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu, Sri Ujjvala-nilamani-krianan and Sri Bhagavatamrta-kana. A short time later, he renounced his household life and went to Vrndavana. There he wrote many books and commentaries.

After the disappearance of Sriman Mahaprabhu and His eternal associates who had taken up residence in Vraja, the current of suddha-bhakti was flowing by the influence of three great personalities: Srinivasa Acarya, Narottama Thankura and Syamananda Prabhu, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thankura was fourth in the line of disciple succession coming from Srila Narottama Thankura.

One disciple of Srila Narottama Thakura was named Sri Ganga-narayana Cakravarti Mahasaya. He lived in Balucara Gambhila within the district of Mursidabad. He had no sons and only one daughter, whose name was Visnupriya, Srila Narottama Thakura had another disciple named Ramakrsna Bhattacarya from the brahmana community of Varendra, a rural community of west Bengal. The youngest son of Ramakrsna Bhattacarya was named Krsna-carana. Sri Ganga-narayana accepted Krsna-carana as an adopted son. The disciple of Sri Krsna-carana was Radha-ramana Cakravart, who was the spiritual master of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura.

In his commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam entitled Sarartha-darsini, at the beginning of the rasa-pancadhyaya, the five chapters describing Sri Krsna’s rasa-lila, Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has writing the following verse:

In this sloka the name Sri Rama refers to the spiritual master of Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura, Sri Radha-ramana. The world Krsna refers to his grand-spiritual master, parama-gurudeva, Sri Krsna-carana. The name Ganga-carana refers to his great grand-spiritual master, paratpara-gurudeva, Sri Ganga-carana. The name Narottama refers to his great-great grand-spiritual master, parama-paratpara-gurudeva, Srila Narottama Thakura, and the word natha refers to the spiritual Goswami. In this way he is offering obeisances unto his guru-parampara up to Sriman Mahaprabhu.

The daughter of Srinivasa Acarya, Hemalata Thakurani, was extremely leaded and a great Vaisnavi. She expelled an estranged disciple named Rupa Kaviraja from the Gaudiya Vaisnava community. Thereafter Rupa Kaviraja was known as atibadi in the Gaudiya Vaisnava community. He established his own concocted doctrine, opposed to the Gaudiya Vaisnava conclusions, that only a person in the renounced order of life could act as acarya. He claimed that it was not possible for a householder to become a spiritual master. Completely disregarding the path of devotional rules and regulations (vidhi-marga), he propagated the path of spontaneous attraction (rdga-marga) in an unrestrained and undisciplined manner. His opinion was that raganuga-bhakti could be practised by smarana (remembrance) alone, abandoning the practices of sravana and kirtana (hearing and chanting).

Fortunately, Srila Cakravarti Thakura was present at that time. In his Sarartha-darsini commentary on the third canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, he refuted these false conclusions. The householder disciples in the disciplic succession of Nityananda Prabhu's son, Virabhadra, and those who are descendants of the rejected sons of Advaita Acarya award and accept the title of gosvami. Such action is completely improper according to the line of acaryas. Sri Cakravarti Thakura refuted this idea of Rupa Kaviraja. He proved that it was not incompatible for a qualified grhastha descendant of an acarya to act as a spiritual master. But for unfit descendants of acarya families who are greedy for disciples and wealth to adopt the name of Gosvami is unlawful and contrary to the statements of sastra. This he also proved. Therefore, although acting as an acarya, he never used the title gosvami with his name. He did this just to instruct the foolish and unfit descendants of acarya families of modern times.

When Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura was very old, he spent most of the time in a semi-conscious state, deeply absorbed in bhajana. At that time in the state of Jaipur, a debate broke out between the Gaudiya Vaisnavas and other Vaisnavas who supported the doctrine of svakiyavada (marital love in the Lord's pastimes).