Bilvamangala meditated on his Siddha Deha without receiving Siddha Pranali, as all the devotees did before this method was introduced (Bilvamangala appeared much before), leaving open the two possibilites as authentic.
If Somagiri belonged to Visnuswami's line and was the Diksa Guru of Bilvamangala ... is there Siddha Pranali practice in other Vaisnava Sampradayas? No. Before and nowadays? No.
But this is the most relevant part: Bilvamangala did not accept Siddha Pranali of Somagiri, yet meditated in his Siddha Deha. There was not the Siddha Pranali practice previously nor in current days in other Vaishnava lines.
In the Patala Khanda of the Padma Purana we find descriptions of how the practitioners who have take shelter of Madhurya Rasa, meditate on their Siddha Deha which is suitable for mentally rendered devotional service, without receiving Siddha Pranali.
Padma Purana - Patala Kandha:
"Ashokamalini to Narada: You had desired to see the girl who would become the consort of Lord Krishna. Please listen now as I describe to you how it came to be that various fortunate souls were born in the land of Vraja, as daughters of the cowherd men.
There was a sage known as Chandraprabha, who had a charming son named Chitradhvaja. This boy was a great devotee of Lord Krsna from childhood.
One day, the boy went to Lord Vishnu's temple. While there, he thought as follows: "How shall I worship Lord Krsna, who fascinates the cowherd girls of Vrindavana? Indeed, the Lord is always engaged in pastimes with them, in the forest and by the side of the River Yamuna."
That night, the boy had a dream. He saw before him the beautiful form of Lord Krsna. It was a Deity made of stone, and was placed upon a golden throne. The Lord was standing in His charming three fold bending posture, and He was playing His flute. On His two sides, the Lord was being served by two of the best of gopis. Indeed, infatuated with love, the gopis were embracing and kissing their Lord.
Lord Krsna then said to the gopi on His right, "Lotus-eyed one, you will manifest a wonderful female form, who is very bashful in behavior. Touched by the lustre of your body, that form will resemble yours. That gopi then approached Chitradhvaja, so that the lustre of her body filled his body. From the lustre of her breasts, two stout breasts were produced. From the lustre of her hips, charming round hips became manifested. In this way, a female form came into being, decorated with garlands and ornaments. It was as if from one lamp, another lamp was lit.
The gopi took that girl's hand and led her to Govinda's side, saying, "My Lord, this is Your female servant. Kindly tell her what service she should perform.The gopi then named her Chitrakala and instructed, "Always stay near the Lord and sing in accompaniment to His flute. Chitrakala touched the lotus feet of the Lord, taking the dust and placing it upon her head. She then began to sing, giving pleasure to Lord Krsna and the gopis. The Lord then lovingly embraced her.
At this point in the dream, Chitradhvaja woke up.
Remembering his dream and the sweetness of Lord Krsna, he wept. From that time on, being determined to think of Krsna only, he gave up all material enjoyment and remained silent, even when addressed by his father.
In this way, he remained at home for one month.
After that, he went to the forest and practiced austerities that were difficult to perform. Some time later on, he gave up his material body and was then born as Chitrakala, the daughter of the cowherd, Viragupta."
Chitradhvaja did not receive Siddha Pranali.
"Who can measure or judge ones personal realization and greed and inner Sphurtis in this matter?" (Unknown source)
Who?
Exactly for this reason, we may conclude that Bilvamangala meditated on his Siddha Deha without receiving Siddha Pranali, as all the devotees did before this method was introduced (Bilvamangala appeared much before), leaving open the TWO possibilites as authentic.
"these personalities u quoted who did not take siddha pranali are not Gaudiyas."
Srila Krsna Das Kaviraj Goswami IS Gaudiya.
Raganuga bhakti and ashtayam/astakaliya seva is certainly possible without receiving ekadasa-bhava [the 11 particular details of a proposed divine-body suitable for direct seva].
There are many examples in the Srimad Bhagavatam of people who were gifted a divine indestructible body fit for direct seva without ever receiving such information [the ekadasa bhava].
The other sampradayas [both the Vraja worship based and the non-vraja worship based] also have systems of raganuga bhakti and general bhakti wherein they receive factual attainment [vastu-siddhi as per Gaudiya terminology] of divine bodies without ever receiving ekadasa-bhava.
In Sri Vallabhacarya Mahaprabhu's own commentary to the first verse of his work 'Sevaphalam', he says: sevayam phalatrayam alaukikasamarthyam sayujyam sevopayogideho vaikunthadisu – “In worship there are
three rewards, transcendent power, absorption (in the Lord), and a body fit for worship [sevopayogideho] in Vaikuntha, Goloka, or other” (Page 191).
Sri Vallabhacharya's sampradaya, Pushti-marga have no scope for nor see the need for ekadasa bhava and yet they have highly praise-worthy rasika saints as do the 3 major sampradayas of Sri Vrindavan [Radhavallabhis, Haridasis and Nimbarkis], who also do not practise the giving of the details of the divine body [i.e. ekadasa bhava].
Even Sri Satyanarayan das babaji of Gadadhara parivara agrees with this:
Question by devotee: Of course, in agreement with you, there is a misunderstanding that rāgānugā bhakti can only be practised when ones reaches bhāva or prema. In Rāga-vartma Candrikā, Ṡrila Viśvanāth Cakravarti established that the devotee on the path of rāgānugā advances from the platform of anartha nivṛitti. So, that means that even on this level one can practise it. You said:”Getting Ekādaś bhāva is one process of rāgānugā bhakti, but it is not the only way.” Please could you tell which other way/s you are referring to?
Answer by Sri Satyanarayan das babaji: The other way is that it can also be revealed to the sādhaka by the grace of the Holy Name. In Bhakti Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī stresses the importance of nāma-smaraṇa. Then, when the heart is purified by the grace of nāma, one is revealed guṇa, rūpa and līlā and one can do guṇa-smaraṇa, rūpa smaraṇa and līlā smaraṇa.
The point being made is that if the heart is not in sattva, līlā-smaraṇa is not possible and one may even get an adverse effect. This has been seen in many cases.
There are 4 ways to achieve Siddha Deha:
1 - Guru.
2 - Kṛṣṇa (Putana, Gajendra).
3 - By realization of chanting the Holy Name.
4 - Parikalpya (creates, builds, manufactures).
Where numbers 3 and 4 are essentially the same.
By chanting the Holy Name, the Sādhaka develops spiritual desires for service, and thus "creates, manufactures, and builds" (Parikalpya) his own Siddha Deha in which he meditates.
In his Sāraṅga Raṅgadā-ṭīkā to Kṛṣṇa Karṇāmṛta (by Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura) (3), Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī (who is Gauḍīyā Vaiṣṇava) says:
rāgānugā mārge anutpanna rati sādhaka bhaktair api svepsita siddha dehaṁ manasi parikalpya
"On the Rāgānugā path even a Sādhaka Bhakta who has no Rati yet can think and meditate of his own desired and created Siddha Deha."
Then he continues:
jāta ratīnāṁ tu svayam eva tad deha sphūrteḥ
“When Rati arises, then that body will be automatically revealed."
Here the word Parikalpya is extremely important. Parikalpya means the Siddha Deha built, manufactured, created by Sādhaka himself.
And so the Sādhaka thinks and meditates on the 11 (Ekādaśa) aspects of his Siddha Deha.
Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura did not receive Siddha-praṇālī from his Guru and yet he meditated on his Siddha-deha.
And there are many other examples as well.
So it is certainly possible to meditate and serve with Siddha-deha without receiving Siddha-praṇālī Dīkṣā.
It is not very common and neither is tradition.
But it is possible.
Sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 22.158, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.295):
sevā sādhaka-rūpeṇa
siddha-rūpeṇa cātra hi
tad-bhāva-lipsunā kāryā
vraja-lokānusārataḥ
"O devoto avançado que está inclinado ao serviço amoroso espontâneo deve seguir as actividades de um associado particular de Kṛṣṇa em Vṛndāvana. Ele deve executar o serviço externamente como um devoto regulado, bem como internamente a partir de sua posição de auto-realização. Assim, ele deve executar o serviço devocional tanto externa quanto internamente."
Aqui, devoto avançado, significa nada mais do que aceitar seriamente um mestre espiritual. E isto porque este verso está na secção de Sādhana.
O significado da forma Sādhaka é evidente, isto significa o corpo físico atual. No entanto, o conceito da forma Siddha merece uma análise mais aprofundada. Como é que se pode servir numa forma Siddha, se a pessoa não atingiu a perfeição (Siddhi)?
Afinal, o devoto(a) Siddha é aquele que alcançou Prema, e este verso aparece numa secção que descreve Sādhana-bhakti. Não é isto um oxímoro?
Para isto, os comentadores (Jīva Gosvāmī, Mukunda Gosvāmī e Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura) respondem em coro:
siddha-rūpeṇa antaś-cintitābhīṣṭa-tat-sevopayogi-dehena ||
"A forma Siddha significa uma forma internamente pensada e desejada, adequada para o Seu serviço."
Aqui, a palavra "abhīṣṭa", "desejada", revela que estamos a falar de algo que ainda está para ser alcançado.
O conceito é ainda mais esclarecido por Śrī Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura no seu Prema-bhakti-candrikā 5.8:
sādhana bhāvibo yāhā, siddha-dehe pābo tāhā |
rāga pathera ei se upāya ||
"Seja qual for o Siddha-deha que se almeje durante o Sādhana é o que se alcança no estágio Siddha. Este é o método para aqueles no caminho de Rāgānugā-bhakti."
