I gave up following the regulative principles taught by my guru 30 years ago, and yet the desire for love of Radha Krishna still burns in my heart and gives me no relief. I didn’t take a guru so that I could follow regulative principles, but rather to develop love of God. I accepted the regulative principles and sannyasa, vows of renunciation, because I was told they were necessary to attain pure love of God. However, my guru and his organization did everything they could to stand in the way of that attainment. All they wanted from me was to raise money, start, build and administer temples, and bring in new disciples as fresh meat for their religious empire. When I realized this and the depths they stooped to to attain these goals I resigned and left.
I set about stripping away the cultural externals of Indian Hinduism to see what would be left that is real. I found attraction to Radha Krishna, engaging in pure devotional service in various forms, a desire to enter into the spiritual realm of Goloka, etc. still remain and burn strongly. I agree that following regulative principles can be helpful for certain persons at certain times in their lives, but they are way over rated. It’s what’s inside that counts. Call me a Sahajiya if you will. I’ll bear the title happily as I follow the natural, spontaneous path.
