Nectar of Instruction - Prabhupada's Purports support raganuga?

Hey gang... It's me again.... wondering if this will strike up a heated debate , or not

I skimmed thru Nectar of Instruction on Saturday & particularly found Prabhupada's purports interesting in that they seem to support, or perhaps not contradict raganuga-bhakti...as far as in what I have learned so far... It seems to me that in text eleven's purport, Prabhupada goes so far as to say we would be fortunate to live and serve at Radha-kund.

I also posted a question about text eleven itself in the topic "Eligibility for Raganuga bhakti" but I thought I would take a "Prabhupada" discussion here.

I don't know why I think this is odd, but I have been getting the impression so far that Prabhupada discouraged his disciples from practicing or pursuing raganuga bhakti. A friend of mine in ISKCON told me that to follow Prabhupada is to practice raganuga or Rupanuga, in that we follow the teachings of Rupa Goswami...

I am eager to hear what you would have to say about this?

I just want to be clear that my motive is not to rock the boat or to try and start something or challenge anyone here at this site. I am just looking for more clarity on the differences between an individuals practice and what Prabhupada taught, iz'all

Just to add, on page 88 the last paragraph of the purport to text ten, Prabhupada says in comment to a verse from Laghu-bhagavatamrta (Uttara-khanda 45):

yatha radha priya visnos
tasyah kundam priyam tatha
sarva-gopisu saivaika
visnor atyanta-vallabha

"Just as Srimati Radharani is dear to the Supreme Lord Krsna [Visnu], so Her bathing place [Radha-kunda] is equally dear to Krsna. Among all the gopis, She alone stands supreme as the Lord's most beloved."

Prabhupada writes:
"Therefore everyone interested in Krsna consciousness should ultimately take shelter of Radha-kunda and execute devotional service there throughout one's life. This is the conclusion of Rupa Goswami in the tenth verse of Upadesamrta."

...

Ha you fond it before I did. I too am interested in this. I hang out w/ HK and am always willing to give them a ragnuga verse they can look up that was written by ACBS since they slam it so much.

I remember reading that passage welll, I just could not find it.

Dear Srijiva,

When ACBS wrote his purports, he did not just decide freely what to put there. His purports consist mostly of translations or paraphrases of the statements made by the previous acharyas who commented on the same verse (even though he often does not state his sources). Of course, if he had many commentaries to choose from, he might just pick what he felt was most relevant, and expand on it. Sometimes he takes his inspiration from elsewhere. And sometimes he does contradict what the earlier commentators in his line had written.

Your text inspired Ek and me to check what the other acharyas said, commenting on the verse you refer to. I.e. Ek did the job and I wrote down the conclusions. In the case of Upadeshamrita, ACBS used an edition of it published by the Gaudiya Math. That edition contained commentaries by Radharamana das Gosvami, Bhaktivinoda Thakura and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati -- ACBS' own guru. In the verse under discussion it is Bhaktivinoda who supplies the most "rasika" commentary. Bhaktisiddhanta's own is a bit more restrained. ACBS' purport to this verse is a partial paraphrase of what his guru wrote. Minor portions are omitted.

In trying to determine where ACBS' own priorities for ISKCON lay, it is more useful to look at what he says/writes at occasions where he is not bound by what the earlier acharyas said. For example, what he would say about raganuga bhakti when lecturing, in a conversation or a letter.

My impression is that he played down that aspect of the tradition. In doing so, he pretty much followed Bhaktisiddhanta's line.

And in his teachings, Rupa Goswami tells us to practice raganuga-bhakti-sadhana. Now, what does that mean, then?

Following the teachings of Rupa Goswami actually means following them, not just paying lip-service to them. Not following his teachings cannot be compensated by any quantity or ki-jayhos, with any volume.