Srila Gurudeva: Svarupa-siddha-bhakti is divided into four kinds. Tamasika svarupa-siddha-bhakti, rajasika svarupa-siddha-bhakti, sattvika svarupa-siddha-bhakti and nirguna svarupa-siddha-bhakti. These are the four kinds of svarupa-siddha-bhakti. If anyone is always quarreling with anyone, although he is chanting the holy name and is meditating on Krsna, but yet he is always praying that, “He is my enemy, he should be destroyed,” then it will be considered tamasika svarupa-siddha-bhakti. Although he is observing svarupa-siddha-bhakti, sravanam, kirtanam, visnu-smaranam, still it is tamasika. We should try
to get rid of these things. We should not practice bhakti like this.
Don’t think that anyone is in any opposite party, never. The whole world, all living entities are the eternal servant of Krsna. We are all in the family of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, so anyone is not our enemy. Anyone may be ignorant, but we should still honor them. So don’t do these things. Then, rajasika svarupa-siddha- bhakti. You are chanting, remembering and doing all these things, or the five main limbs of bhakti, but yet you want some opulence, some wealth, some good wife or good husband and you are praying, “O Krsna, O Nama Prabhu, You are so merciful, You are so powerful. I want some wealth, reputation, a beautiful wife or husband, and children. I want all these things.” Then this will be rajasic. Don’t do this.
Then when you are doing all these things, doing svarupa-siddha bhakti, but still you are praying, “I want to live in a very little cottage in any nirjana, solitary forest. I will not speak with anyone and I will always be in that forest. I desire so many good qualities so that all may love me and they should honor me and everything.” Then this bhakti will be sattvika svarupa-siddha-bhakti. Like Bharata Maharaja or Narada when he was practicing his sadhana. Narada Muni wanted all these things. So, he was stopped, “You should go on doing bhajana.” He wanted that, “I should be in a forest, always in a lonely place so that I
can do bhajana very peacefully.”
We should not do this. We should give up all of our desires to Krsna. Whatever situation will come, we should accept that and do bhajana, in any way. Especially under the guidance of Gurudeva. There should be no separate interest. But Gurudeva should also be very high and qualified. If you are doing this, giving up all other desires and doing bhakti under the guidance of a very bona-fide Guru or Vaisnava, then it will be nirguna svarupa-siddha-bhakti, having no worldly adulteration whatsoever, nothing. Only then will it be considered sadhana-bhakti. Then that will eventually become bhava-bhakti and then prema-bhakti. You should try to remember this and follow all these things very, very sincerely.
[Spoken by Srila Gurudeva on February 5th, 1998, Malaysia, published as part of the Bhakta Bandhav Anthology, Volume 25]