Text
jāta-ajāta-rati-bhede sādhaka dui bheda
vidhi-rāga-mārge cāri cāri—aṣṭa bheda
Synonyms
jata-ajāta-rati-bhede—by distinction of mature love and immature love; sādhaka dui bheda—those practicing are of two varieties; vidhi—regulative devotion; rāga—spontaneous devotion; mārge—on both the paths; cari cari—there are four different varieties; asta bheda—a total of eight kinds. ¶
Translation
“Those who are practicing devotional service are either mature or immature. Therefore the sādhakas are of two types. Since the devotees execute either regulative devotional service or spontaneous devotional service and there are four groups within these two divisions, altogether there are eight varieties. ¶
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and His expansions are also called the Personality of Godhead. However, Kṛṣṇa is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Speculative philosophers and mystic yogīs also meditate upon the form of Kṛṣṇa, but this form is not the form of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such a Bhagavān is but a partial representation of the Lord’s full potency. Nonetheless, He has to be understood to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. To clarify this matter, one should simply understand that Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja in Vṛndāvana, the friend of the cowherd boys and lover of the gopīs, is actually the original Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is attained by spontaneous love. Although His expansions are also called the Supreme Personality of Godhead, They are attained only by the execution of regulative devotional service. ¶