Which sadhana arouses ras?
Srila Rupa Goswâmipâd has written – “Ras arises when –
1. Bhakti has uprooted all our faults and at last we are happy. And so we are ready to receive pure goodness. Our heart is sparkling with the knowledge required to receive pure goodness,
2. We are deeply attached to Srimad-Bhâgavatam,
3. The only pleasure in our life is – the constant company of rasik devotees,
4. We consider the joy arising out of serving the lotus feet of Lord Govinda as the sole purpose of living,
5. We are incessantly engaged in hearing about the confidential pastimes, glorifying them and meditating on them since these are the very necessity to gain prem.
What causes ras to arise? |
When the heart is radiant with the ras-desire gained in the past life and in the present life, ras arises in it.
What is the way through which ras arises? |
Worldly people relish material ras when a good author composes an interesting piece of literature. Transcendental ras is not like that. It does not depend on the merits of the author or the composition. The passion in a devotee’s heart takes the form of joy and he realizes ras. The passion in the devotee’s heart makes Sri Krishna extremely relishing to him and he attains dizzy heights of tremendous bliss!” – (B.R.S. 2.1.7-10)
These statements prove that ras is like Brahman – gross, subtle, beyond all reasoning and something unearthly. We can only realize ras; we cannot ascertain it by using logic; we cannot debate on it. If we do not have a sanskâr for ras, or a ‘ras-desire’, we can never ever digest ras.