By Damodara-priya Devi Dasi
There are two tracks (vidhis) required to walk safely on the spiritual path, as Srila Prabhupada often mentioned: In the same way as the physical train needs two parallel tracks, also the train of bhakti needs two tracks: one is the bhagavatvidhi or the path of sravanam and kirtana, also known as rag-marg and the pancaratrika-vidhi or the path of arcana, also known as vidhi-marg. When Srila Prabhupada came to the West to teach Krishna-consciousness, he first introduced the religion of this age: chanting Hare Krishna, in order to create a taste in the young devotees for hearing and chanting. Only after some time he started to introduce the process of arcanam or Deity-worship. He explained to his students that arcanam is a necessary part of devotional service. “…The Pancaratrika system acts on the sudra class of men, supposedly the population of the Kali-yuga, and it is the prescribed purificatory process suitable to the age and time. Such a purificatory process is allowed only for spiritual upliftment and not for any other purpose. Spiritual upliftment is never conditioned by higher or lower parentage….” (SB 1.12.13p)
Read More...