The currently often discussed subject of the spiritual body of the spirit soul and the meditation involved by Gaudiya Vaisnava tradition requires some clarification.

Since this topics also divides many Vaisnava groups it is even more important to shed light on it from  historic perspective.

In the Goswami literature, the process of meditation on the spiritual body which has been received due to the grace of the spiritual master and which is aspired for by the disciples has been clearly described, including the eleven items which are involved in this meditation in the asta kaliya lila of the Lord.

It was up until the time of Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur that this process was in practice as also given to him by Vipin Bihari Goswami.

Srila Gaura Kishor das Babaji Maharaj taught that all these levels of spiritual understanding will be reached by the proper chanting of the holy names.  All would be revealed by the grace of Hari Nam.

In the same way, he impressed upon his disciple Srila Bhakti Siddhanta Sarasvati Prabhupada to make his missionary effort with the full emphasize on the holy name and on saving the world from  illusion by sacrificing all personal interests for this cause.  His quote was to ��sacrifice 20 Gallons of blood to save one person from Maya.�

This led to a larger distancing between the more contemplative concepts of those who follow the old tradition and the preaching effort of the Gaudiya Math and further subsidiaries.

It is our purpose in this book to establish both the validity in our Sampradaya to follow either way, depending on the teachings of once respective  spiritual master. It is a mistake to reject a Vaisnava  on the basis that he is aspiring for his siddha deha  by simply chanting Hari Nama and by following the orders of his Guru.  And it is also wrong to reject the initiation and practice of Siddha Deha. It is true though that many have made this process so cheap that it is nothing of any substance and also does not bring about the desired result. But it is also true that  those who practice Hari Nam and preaching have  often given a sad representation of our  Sampradaya.

Humility and proper understanding of the siddhanta is our only hope to overcome these rifts which lean  more on misinformation then on true differences.

How could anyone object to a person who tries to think of Krishna all day, whatever technique he may use? On the other hand who can object if someone is trying to tell others about Krishna all day?

Why is there such a rapid inclination to object what  others do? The great Acaryas have harmonized  these things. They have qualified the topic into the  realm where it belongs. The realm of highly  qualified souls. All these topics handled and  interpreted by those who themselves are neophyte  are rather dangerous. What to speak when these topics become the focus for recruiting members and  to attempt to prove ones superiority over other  Vaisnavas.

This is the crucial point. The Acaryas like Srila Gaura Kisor das Babaji Maharaja have adjusted things to suit the need of the fallen souls seeing that  the substance of compassion was lacking in those who only emphasized contemplative service. He gave what the world needed. Thus all the other details remain valid and so is the new adjustment  made by the pure devotees.

Today, we find that the Manjari identity of some Acaryas or the manasic seva described by some  Acaryas causes much surprise in the audience which had no previous introduction to such topics. This lends to the fact that terms such as Rasic Acarya or Gopi Bhava, though indicating to the highest realm  of Krishna Consciousness, become symbolic for  contempt and deviation. Or on the other side they become the Slogan of the proof, that one is supposed to be better than the other. All this  requires clarification. And all those who dearly care to remove the misunderstanding from the new generations of aspiring Vaisnavas would do well to help this situation.

What to speak of the contemporary international  branches of the Gaudiya Sampradaya, there are many branches of our Sampradaya in India which have been lost to our present association.  Due to similar problems of the past, previous to Srila Bhaktivinode Thakur, the Gaudiya Sampradaya had many stalwart preachers and their memory and different disciplic lines are also branches of the Chaitanya Tree. To come together and further the  cause of all souls can only please our Acaryas. The potential difficulty to accomplish that will only enhance the beauty of the attempt.

And the connection between the Visnubhaktas and the Gaudiya Sampradaya is also to be developed  further. Since Lord Chaitanya is the person who marks the beginning of a new theistic awareness,  thus also bringing the whole world to appreciate Sri Laksmi Narayan and all their expansions, how  could any Visnu Bhakta afford to ignore that  contribution. But the path of Siddhanta has so many profound revelations that one cannot stop to be surprised to gain more AND MORE INSIGHT INTO THE UNLIMITED PASTIMES of the Supreme Lord. In the age of Airplanes and Internet the Vaisnavas Theistic world and contribution is also undergoing great changes. All planned by the supreme Lord himself.  Little did Gutemberg know that his invention of the printing press would receive the title �Brihad Mridunga.�  Even the negative of this world will only help to point out that the materialistic path is going the wrong way.

The world and the individual practice, these are two different subjects, but they do come together in as much as a compassionate Vaisnava makes it part of his practice to go into the world to broadcast the message of love for Krishna.  The confidential practices of advanced Vasinavas will take us closer to Krishna.  It will be very good for everyone to guard one�s highest respect for the high revelations coming down either by the grace of the holy name of Krishna or by the grace of the spiritual master.

In either case these confidential topics are not to confuse us or to make us to reject those who  execute their devotional service different to the one we received.

Yasya deve para bhaktir.....

Due to the difference of dress, nobody will get Radharani�s grace. But due to disregarding others who are sincerely trying to execute devotional service, we may as well lose Radharani�s grace.

In one way, one may consider all these elements to be too much trouble to get the mind involved. But please consider that any member of our missions who visits Radha Kunda, Puri or Navadvipa Dham will surely encounter many people and holy places where many unanswered questions will arise. The VVRS-WVA can help to answer such questions if  we all together really try for it. And in our present time, where Gaudiya Vedanta is being taught in Indian Universities by non Vaisnavas and Mayavadis it is about time to focus on our siddhanta and teach the conclusions in an unified  effort.