Now we shall discuss the way to perform careful service of the arcana limb of bhakti. Every person initiated in viṣṇu-mantra should undertake daily worship of his own iṣṭadevatā or cherished deity. Stories are heard that if otherwise, extreme harm can be done. dīkṣitānāṁ tu sarveṣāṁ tad-akaraṇe naraka-pātaḥ śrūyate yathā viṣṇu-dharmottare--‘ekakālaṁ dvikālaṁ vā trikālaṁ pujayed dharim. apūjya bhojanaṁ kurvan narakāṇi vrajen naraḥ’ (Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ 283 Anuḥ). There are narrations in the śāstras about those initiated in viṣṇu-mantra who fall into hell if they do not perform their own iṣṭa-pūjā, whether they may be gṛhastha, tyāgī, brahmacārī or vānaprastha. In the Viṣṇu-Dharmottara it is written that a person initiated in viṣṇu-mantra must perform pūjā of Śrī Hari either once, twice or three times a day. If one neglects Śrī Hari’s pūjā but still eats, he goes to various kinds of hells. For the gṛhastha-bhaktas especially, the path of arcana is the primary limb of bhajana. ye tu sampattimanto gṛhasthās teṣāṁ tv arcana-mārga eva mukhyaḥ...tad-akṛtvā hi niṣkiñcanavat kevala-smaraṇādi-niṣṭhatve vitta-śāṭhya-pratipattiḥ syāt. para-dvārā tat-sampādanaṁ vyavahāra-niṣṭhatvasyālasatvasya vā pratipādakam. tato’śraddhāmayatvāddhīnam eva tat (Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ 283 Anuḥ). The meaning is that specifically for those who are wealthy gṛhasthas, the arcana-mārga is primary. If they neglect to perform arcana of Śrī Bhagavān and engage only in smaraṇa like one who has no material possessions, then the fault of being deceitful about one’s wealth is present. If instead of performing his own arcana, a person engages someone else to do it, then it becomes clear that he is either devoted to his business affairs or lazy. In other words, one is either attached to his money-making activities or excessively lazy in matters of sevā. bigraha naha--sākśāt tumi brajendranandana (CC). “You are not a vigraha (deity icon)--You are directly the son of the king of Vraja.” By having such faith while engaged in the service of the vigraha, genuine sevā of the arcana-mārga is performed. Therefore, it is written in Bhakti-Sandarbhaḥ, śrīmat-pratimāyāṁ tu tad-ākāraika-rūpatayaiva cintayanti, ākāraikyāt. śilā-buddhiḥ kṛtā kiṁvā pratimāyāṁ harer mayā--iti bhāvanāntare doṣa-śravaṇāc ca...paramopāsakāś ca sākṣāt-parameśvaratvenaiva tāṁ paśyanti; bheda-sphūrter bhakti-vicchedakatvāt tathaiva hy ucitam. The meaning is that the mahātmās consider the icons of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and other deities to be in all respects identical with those deities. It is improper to consider any difference between Śrī Vigraha and one’s own cherished deity because there is none. Many stories have been heard of material and spiritual inauspiciousness that occurred because of someone thinking there is even a slight difference between one’s cherished deity and Śrī Vigraha, or that the icon is only stone or metal. After Mahārāja Daśaratha accidentally killed Sindhu, the son of a blind muni, with an arrow, mistaking him for a deer, he then took the boy to his father. The blind muni accepted his son and began to wail, saying, “Have I at some time offensively thought of the icon of Śrī Hari to be stone, by which such grief for my son has now come upon me?” In fact, nāma, bigraha, svarūpa tina ekarūpa. tine bheda nāi--tina cidānanda rūpa (CC. Mad. 17.131). “The Lord’s name, form and nature are all identical. There is no difference between them. All three are composed of spiritual consciousness and bliss.” By worshipping the vigraha with firm faith in all the śāstras and the words of the mahājanas, and with complete understanding of the identity of the vigraha with one’s own iṣṭadeva, correct sevā of the arcana limb of bhakti is possible. Vratas (vows) such as observing Śrī Janmāṣṭamī, Kārtika, Ekādaśī and bathing in the month of Māgha (January-February) are all included in the arcana-mārga.
(To be continued...)
