RITVIK ACARYA SAMPRADAYA ASSOCIATION...(RASA)

Dear Devotees...Please accept our humble obeisances. All glory to His Divine Grace Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajcarya Ashtotara Shata Sri Srimad A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada! It is our observation that due to all the controversy, hypocrisy, quarrel among devotees of ISKCON, Prabhupadanugas, the Hare Krishna society, ISKCON Bangalore, Gaudiya math, etc we wish to divorce ourselves from all these factions and according to Guru, Sadhu and Shastra create an independent society of like minded devotees under the one banner called RASA...Ritvik Acarya Sampradaya Association. Hence forward we want to be known and acknowledged as Ritvik devotees/disciples of his Divine Grace A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada and no longer want to be labelled as X-ISKCON, Prabhupadanugas, Hare krishnas, etc when the plan fact is we are Ritvik Vaishnavs. Although even amongst other Rtvik devotees and Hare Krishnas alike the name "Ritvik" seems to have a lesser connotation as if it were a taboo word. We do not wish to debate with anyone on this matter and simply want ourselves and other like minded devotees to be recognized for who we really are, Ritvik disciples of Srila Prabhupada.

Srimad Bhagavatam, Canto 10, Chapter 2, TEXT 31

svayaṁ samuttīrya sudustaraṁ dyuman

bhavārṇavaṁ bhīmam adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ

bhavat-padāmbhoruha-nāvam atra te

nidhāya yātāḥ sad-anugraho bhavān

SYNONYMS

svayam—personally; samuttīrya—perfectly crossing; su-dustaram—which is very difficult to cross; dyuman—O Lord, who appear
exactly like the sun, illuminating the darkness of this world of ignorance;
bhava-arṇavam—the ocean of nescience; bhīmam—which is extremely fierce; adabhra-sauhṛdāḥ—devotees who are incessantly friendly to
the fallen souls; bhavat-pada-ambhoruha—Your lotus feet; nāvam—the boat for crossing; atra—in this world; te—they (the Vaiṣṇavas); nidhāya—leaving behind; yātāḥ—on to the ultimate
destination, Vaikuṇṭha; sat-anugrahaḥ—who are always kind and merciful to the
devotees; bhavān—You.

TRANSLATION

O Lord, who resemble the shining sun, You are always
ready to fulfill the desire of Your devotee, and therefore You are known as a
desire tree [vāñchā-kalpataru]. When ācāryas completely take shelter under
Your lotus feet in order to cross the fierce ocean of nescience, they leave
behind on earth the method by which they cross, and because You are very
merciful to Your other devotees, You accept this method to help them.

PURPORT

This statement reveals how the merciful ācāryas and the merciful Supreme Personality of Godhead
together help the serious devotee who wants to return home, back to Godhead. Śrī
Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in His teachings to Rūpa Gosvāmī, said:

brahmāṇḍa bhramite kona bhāgyavān jīva
guru-kṛṣṇa-prasāde pāya bhakti-latā-bīja

(Cc. Madhya 19.151)

One can achieve the seed of bhakti-latā, devotional
service, by the mercy of guru and Kṛṣṇa. The duty of
the guru is to find the
means, according to the time, the circumstances and the candidate, by which one
can be induced to render devotional service, which Kṛṣṇa accepts from a candidate who wants to be successful in
going back home, back to Godhead. After wandering throughout the universe, a
fortunate person within this material world seeks shelter of such a guru, or ācārya, who trains the devotee in the suitable
ways to render service according to the circumstances so that the Supreme
Personality of Godhead will accept the service. This makes it easier for the
candidate to reach the ultimate destination. The ācārya’s duty, therefore, is to find the means by which
devotees may render service according to references from śāstra. Rūpa
Gosvāmī, for example, in order to help subsequent devotees, published such
devotional books as Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. Thus it is the duty of the ācārya to publish books that
will help future candidates take up the method of service and become eligible to
return home, back to Godhead, by the mercy of the Lord. In our Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, this same path is being
prescribed and followed. Thus the devotees have been advised to refrain from
four sinful activities—illicit sex, intoxication, meat-eating and gambling—and
to chant sixteen rounds a day. These are bona fide instructions. Because in the
Western countries constant chanting is not possible, one should not artificially
imitate Haridāsa Ṭhākura, but should follow this
method. Kṛṣṇa will accept a devotee who strictly
follows the regulative principles and the method prescribed in the various books
and literatures published by the authorities. The ācārya gives the suitable method for crossing the
ocean of nescience by accepting the boat of the Lord’s lotus feet, and if this
method is strictly followed, the followers will ultimately reach the
destination, by the grace of the Lord. This method is called ācārya-sampradāya. It is therefore said, sampradāya-vihīnā ye mantrās te niṣphalā matāḥ (Padma Purāṇa). The ācārya-sampradāya is strictly bona fide. Therefore one
must accept the ācārya-sampradāya; otherwise one’s endeavor will
be futile. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura therefore
sings:

tāṅdera caraṇa sevi bhakta sane vāsa
janame janame
haya, ei abhilāṣa

One must worship the lotus feet of the ācārya and live within the
society of devotees. Then one’s endeavor to cross over nescience will surely be
successful